"How was I supposed to know there were other idiots like that Baron Ohard bastard at the Academy?"

Zahid gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"We’re going to make it grand. We’ll announce that Rosie Noart and Zahid Dyfenril are engaged again."

An engagement ceremony...

I hadn’t even considered the idea, but suddenly my heart began to race.

Come to think of it, Zahid had said he’d been mocked relentlessly for nine years.

Especially by the Empress Dowager, who openly ridiculed him behind his back.

Well, he did wait all alone for nine years after his fiancée publicly broke off the engagement and fled to the Magic Tower...

"Let’s do it, let’s do it!"

I grabbed Zahid’s hands and said with sparkling eyes.

"Let’s make the engagement ceremony huge! Let’s show the whole world. They all thought Zahid Dyfenril was a fool, but that so-called fool ended up finding love!"

"Yeah. I’m going to make it as grand as a real wedding."

Determined, Zahid’s eyes were sharp with resolve.

"Honestly, I want to hold the wedding right away, but if I did, your brothers might assassinate me. So I’m holding back."

The fact that he said "brothers"—plural—meant this plan had been brewing for a long time.

Just a moment ago, I didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger, but I leaned in and kissed Zahid first.

Because the man who had waited so long for me... was too lovable.

"Alright, let’s hold our engagement ceremony at the Temple."

Zahid embraced me passionately in return and whispered.

"Yeah. First, let’s get through the inauguration."

Thanks to that, the attendants who had come upstairs to help us prepare for our outing had to turn back again.

* * *

Curtain Call

The inauguration was held at the Temple.

Originally, the Temple was an institution separate from both the imperial family and the general public. It functioned under its own rules and customs—in a way, it was its own world.

However, the one rule that had always been upheld since the Temple’s founding was this: "The one with the greatest divine power shall serve as High Priest."

So, in accordance with that rule, it wasn’t difficult for me to ascend to the position of High Priest.

"Aietar’s rigid chain-of-command protocols are surprisingly useful now."

Yuta spoke softly while holding Liri in his arms.

"Once I told ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ them to accept it, they more or less accepted it..."

They had no choice.

The number of priests had drastically declined after the Arhad incident.

"Of course, the Marquis of Sinesse was a tremendous help as well."

Even in this, Yuta gave Abraham credit where it was due.

Ironically, Abraham never came to visit me while I was bedridden. It seemed he didn’t want to set foot in the Noart estate.

So I only got to meet him after I had recovered. But even then, he was so busy, we only met a few times. It was a bit disappointing.

"Well then, Rosie, I’m looking forward to your inauguration speech today."

"Inauguration speech? Oh, come on..."

I waved my hand and replied sheepishly.

"We’ve already agreed to keep that short and simple. Don’t expect much."

"Ah... Honestly, no one listens beyond the first two sentences of those speeches anyway. Smart move."

After Yuta disappeared into the garden with Liri, the one who came to me was Shulva.

"The laboratories have all been shut down, and the improvement plans for the apprentices’ treatment are ready. Once you take office, you just need to implement them."

Shulva had taken care of everything so thoroughly that there was no mess left for me to clean up.

Even the priests whose divine power had been altered through experimentation had been restored to their original state.

Of course, there were still many things that needed to be addressed.

Having heard the word "apprentice" for so long and been experimented on myself, I had plenty of things I wanted to change within the Temple.

"First and foremost, I hope divine power remains simply a power for healing."

I looked around the Temple once more as I spoke.

"Let’s step back from politics and society—let it be just a force that helps the weak and suffering. That’s what the Temple was originally meant to be."

All over the Temple, phrases like "Empathy and Understanding, Mercy and Love" were inscribed.

"RosieRosie."

As I was reading each old inscription, Julian approached.

"Are you ready? Oh dear, isn’t the heel on your shoe a bit too high? Is your skirt hem alright? Are the jewels too heavy? Huh? Why did Grandpa have to prepare a ceremonial robe with gemstones dangling all over it? He really overdid it..."

He had fulfilled his childhood dream and risen to the position of Holy Knight Commander. That appointment was completely at the discretion of the High Priest.

Originally, there were supposed to be four Knight Commanders, but I had drastically downsized the Holy Knights and didn’t appoint any others.

"With no monsters around and black magic mostly eradicated, what reason does the Temple have to hold such excessive military power? It only needs to be enough to protect us."

I didn’t want the Temple to become overinflated again, like it did under Aietar, meddling in every little thing.

"If walking becomes hard, just tell me. I’ll carry you."

"Oppa, don’t you dare ruin my inauguration by doing something like that."

Regardless, no one accused Julian of nepotism.

Naturally so—his skill surpassed that of any other Holy Knight.

He wasn’t particularly devout, but he had taken over the order in no time.

From the look in his eyes, from his entire bearing... it would’ve been strange if he hadn’t taken over.

And I remembered what Yuta had once whispered to me:

"No one really understands Julian. He’s ice-cold and brutal, utterly heartless... but then, suddenly, he’ll show these strangely moral, human moments."

He had shown that side to me before, too, but it was good to know that range had widened.

Lately, I’d even begun to think, "In the long run, maybe it was better that he lost his memories once."

"Let’s go then, RosieRosie."

Julian smiled brightly as he took my hand and escorted me. Then he leaned in and whispered softly.

"My little squirt... You’re wearing those earrings I gave you."

Now, Julian could recognize everything he had once gifted me.

I looked at Julian, whose eyes were sparkling like when he was seventeen, and said,

"Yeah. Thanks to your vanity, gifting oversized earrings to an eleven-year-old."

"Squirt, this is one of those moments where you’re supposed to use a nice word like love instead of vanity."

The fact that he occasionally talked back like that proved a bit of his memory-wiped personality still lingered.

"RosieRosie."

"Hmm?"

"I never liked that you always put yourself in danger to help others... I worried too much about you."

He patted my head as he spoke.

"I didn’t like that you ran off to save the Prince of Water, or pretended to be a maid to approach the Princess of Earth. That’s why I sent the divine beasts with you."

How could I not understand?

I just smiled wordlessly, and he added,

"But still... seeing you now, I feel like my sister belongs exactly in this place."

"Ah..."

"Every path you’ve walked was one of goodwill. Of course, it was sometimes hard to tell because you kept talking."

I wondered if that meant my big heartedness went unrecognized because I talked too much.

...Come to think of it, Zahid said something similar not long ago.

Why does everyone seem to forget that I’m actually a really good person...?

As I stood there, having a moment of clarity right before the inauguration, Julian smiled and said,

"My proud little sister, thank you for growing up so well."

My heart fluttered.

In my previous life, I thought I’d done nothing but be a burden to Julian.

But now, in the end, I had become his pride.

"It’s all thanks to you, Oppa."

I gave him one last childish grin, took his hand, and stepped into the square of the Grand Temple.