When the huge flame died down, the dark forest was gone, and all that could be seen was the wheat field gently swaying in the wind.
Cecil stood still for a moment and closed her eyes. There was no trace of the echo that had spoken to her earlier.
“I probably won’t be able to open my eyes for a while.”
Even if you k!lled a high-ranking devil, it would simply disappear for a while and eventually come back to life. K!lling the “Echo of the Black Forest” was ultimately a temporary measure.
Cecil slowly walked back the way she came and gently covered the corner of her mouth. The fishy taste of blood rose from within her. She swallowed it again, thinking—perhaps the day would come when she would have to k!ll the saint, her own father.
The sun looked down from the sky upon Cecil, who was harboring such unsettling thoughts.
Silently, it wrapped her in its warmth.
***
“So? By treating me like this, are you saying that cooking is easy?”
When she woke up, Cecil was sitting in her chair with a sulky expression, rubbing her mouth. She wore her long blonde hair loosely tied back and looked at her husband’s face.
“Why the argument so early in the morning?” he asked.
“If you refused my lunch box, doesn’t that mean you’re a good cook?”
“…Good enough to get by.”
“Lies! You were at my level back when you lived in the capital!”
Julius, listening to her recounting her life before her death, shook his head slightly and stood up.
“How many years do you think have passed since then? I can at least cook now.”
“What can you master in just five years? Even after trying for ten years from my youth, I couldn’t succeed!”
Cecil stood up, knocking over the chair, and pointed accusingly at him.
“Then you cook the meal for our date today. Don’t tell me you can’t do it!”
“…All right. I’ll prepare it.”
Julius nodded calmly and walked out of the room with confidence.
Did he really believe he’d learned to cook in five years? Praying Julius hadn’t actually improved, Cecil followed him, trudging into the kitchen.
***
“…So, this is cooking?”
“What’s the problem? If we’re going out to eat, isn’t something simple better?”
“This is simple, but it’s too simple!”
In the kitchen were slices of bread, vegetables, thinly sliced ham, and jam.
Julius, who was toasting bread with a small flame, glanced at Cecil’s face and smiled slightly.
“It’s obvious you couldn’t manage anything more complicated, so I kept it simple.”
“…Have you said enough? I can make something like this!”
Cecil rolled up her sleeves and jabbed Julius’s waist once with her elbow before beginning to make sandwiches.
A short while later…
“…Is it like this?”
“… ….”
Julius sighed as he looked at all the ingredients, now crushed and unrecognizable in her hands.
Cecil had no choice but to droop her shoulders and leave the kitchen.
***
After wrapping a sandwich in a cloth, Julius left the kitchen.
In the living room, there was a black basket, and next to it, unlike before, a faint but pure flame with a black aura twisted in the air like an open doorway.
Julius packed the food into the basket, put his hand through the rift, and instantly felt himself being pulled inside.
“…Why are you so late?”
The one who had pulled him was none other than Cecil. She clasped his hands, puffed out her cheeks, and nudged his mouth.
“I was late because I was making food.”
She gently lifted the basket, but her mood showed no signs of easing. She lowered her head, leaning into Julius’s arms.
He stroked her hair once and looked around.
The gentle scent of flowers wafted by, and when he looked up, he saw a field filled with colorful blossoms and a small hut standing atop a hill. Was this what paradise for the two of them would look like?
He took in the enchanting scenery for a moment, and a soft sound reached his ears.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
He could feel his wife’s heartbeat. Proof that she was alive and breathing.
Yet, doubts lingered…
Was this truly his wife, carrying the soul of a devil, or was it simply a clever trick of the devil?
But Julius wanted to savor this moment, trap or betrayal though it might be. In the end, he was only human.
“…Stop being angry… dear.”
“…? Did you just call me that?”
Cecil, who had been pretending to be angry in Julius’s arms, forgot her pretense and looked up at him, eyes wide. In her misty blue eyes, she saw Julius smiling, reminiscent of the man he once was.
“…All right.”
“Hmm, hmm. Are you finally coming around? Yes, all you need to do is let go of those strange, serious worries and live happily with me.”
Her humming—a clumsy imitation of her favorite tune she would hum in good spirits—filled the air. She slipped from his arms, her light brown skirt fluttering as she walked through the mystical garden he had created.
Various vibrant flowers, blooming out of season, danced in the breeze, following her cheerful steps.
Red, purple, white, blue… it was a paradise crafted just for the two of them.
And if you looked closely, in the distance, a devil with his wife’s familiar brown hair looked back at him, calling out.
“Julius, come here! The wildflowers are blooming beautifully.”
This was his beloved wife, who had passed five years ago.
“Don’t stand still—come here quickly.”
His wife had returned to him, though tainted by the spirit of a devil. Or perhaps… it was the devil, come to deceive him.
‘So, Lord, please grant Your servant unwavering faith. Give me the wisdom to discern the truth without being misled. Tell me that my dear wife is truly alive.’
‘And if not, give me the power to turn this beautiful dream into reality. Grant it to me, I implore You, as Your humble servant.’
***
This is the story of a devil and a servant of God, of a love that defied fate, a story of hope reaching toward a happy future.
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