Luid, who had been standing with his hands covering his ears, walked toward us with an expression that said he couldn’t bear to watch Kian and Lucy any longer—but when he saw us in the same posture, he looked flustered.

Beside me, Durion, startled awake by the loud explosion of a firework, had instinctively tried to cover Vika’s ears—only to get smacked by Vika.

“What are you doing!”

“No, I thought since everyone else was doing it, I should too!”

I awkwardly smiled and lowered Sikar’s hands.

“We can stop now. And honestly, I wasn’t even that startled.”

“Then that’s fortunate.”

Kian handed Sikar a sparkler.

“Father! Come out and play with me!”

Sikar, looking annoyed, passed the sparkler to Vika, who then passed it to Durion.

Kian handed it back to Sikar, who promptly passed it again to Vika.

This time, Vika couldn’t hold back and yelled furiously at Sikar.

“Don’t give me this nonsense!”

Kian giggled and grabbed Vika’s hand.

“Let’s play together, Master Vika.”

Vika sighed deeply but rose from his chair as Kian led him, holding the sparkler with a thoroughly bored expression, waving it limply.

Somehow, that look suited Vika even better.

Next, Kian handed a sparkler to Sikar—and then offered one to me. But I told him I needed to ask Seo Yeon to serve as my lady-in-waiting. Kian immediately nodded at me, winked with one eye, and dragged Reidox away.

Meanwhile, Aaron had brought milk, and Hersia was scolding someone for being so late—until she finally noticed Reidox and Jeremi and began greeting them.

“Ugh. I’m completely frazzled today.”

No wonder.

“You’ve worked hard, Lady Hersia.”

“Are you hungry? Please wait a moment—I’ll bake you some muffins.”

“Could you? I was just getting peckish.”

“Of course.”

As Hersia and Aaron prepared to start cooking, Seo Yeon stood up again.

“I’ll go help too.”

Normally, I’d have told her to go ahead—but today, I had a request, so I caught her arm.

“Lady Seo Yeon, may I speak with you for a moment?”

She looked at me curiously but nodded.

“Yes. Please speak, Duchess.”

“Then I’ll be blunt. I’d like to formally ask you to serve as my lady-in-waiting.”

As expected, Seo Yeon looked flustered. She stared at me incredulously.

“Me? I’m not even nobility—how could I possibly…”

In this era, becoming a lady-in-waiting required high social standing—Seo Yeon, holding no official position here, couldn’t simply volunteer for it.

But status was something we could fabricate as needed. Who were these people, after all? Weren’t they all villains?

Villains who wouldn’t bat an eye at doing something wicked—forging or laundering status was trivial to them.

“Don’t worry about that, Lady Seo Yeon. We can easily resolve any status issues on our end.”

Seo Yeon seemed to acknowledge that to some extent and nodded.

“Well… I suppose that’s true.”

“Then will you accept? I’d feel so much more secure with you by my side.”

Seo Yeon hesitated, unable to answer immediately.

“But I’m not familiar with the etiquette here…”

“Neither am I.”

“But a lady-in-waiting should know etiquette well. Besides, I’m not good with words—I doubt I could handle verbal sparring.”

“Will there really be verbal sparring?”

“We’ll constantly be dealing with nobles—it’s unavoidable.”

True, but I thought differently. After all, I had Sikar beside me—who could read memories and sometimes push others with terrifying intensity.

“If someone verbally overpowers me? Then the Duke will see all their memories—he won’t let it slide.”

Seo Yeon nodded, conceding my point made sense.

“That’s true.”

“Right? So eventually, word will spread, and everyone will tread carefully around me. That’ll make things easier for you too, even as my lady-in-waiting. And according to the Duke, the King is such a filial son that no one would dare challenge my authority.”

Even after I said this, Seo Yeon still couldn’t readily agree.

“Actually, I’ve been devoting my time to bonding with the twins—I haven’t even considered other matters. To me, that’s currently the most important thing.”

“Wouldn’t that make this an even better opportunity? The twins will practically be commuting to the palace daily now.”

Seo Yeon blinked at me as if hearing this for the first time.

“What do you mean…?”

“Kian has asked the twins to become his personal knights. Since becoming Kian’s knights is their destiny, the children will soon come to the palace for training. And Lucy, whether she likes it or not, is now engaged—she’ll visit the palace more often. Wouldn’t it be helpful if you, Lady Seo Yeon, could guide her through palace affairs?”

Seo Yeon seemed to find my reasoning sound and nodded.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you.”

Her willingness to consider it already gave me hope for a positive answer.

As night deepened, firework sounds grew louder.

“How noisy.”

I felt regretful that the festival was ending. This beautiful festival night, with its blooming fireworks, was slowly fading. The fireworks grew louder, and then music drifted from somewhere.

Everyone began to dance. Reidox and Seo Yeon went out to dance with the twins; Hersia and Aaron danced too.

The sight of everyone gathered in the square, dancing in pairs, was beautiful.

Then Sikar extended his hand to me, inviting me to dance.

As I reached for Sikar’s hand, Kian snatched mine away.

I was startled—but pleasantly so.

“Kian!”

“I love you, Mother.”

“I love you too, Kian.”

I turned away from Sikar, took Kian’s hand, and began to dance.

I’d expected him to ask Lucy to dance—not me.

Even though Sikar stood nearby, arms crossed, watching us, Kian’s invitation moved me deeply.

Suddenly, as if concluding a blessing, Roen came running breathlessly, grabbed Jeremi, and began dancing boisterously.

Hopeless people.

In the midst of this beautiful scene where everyone danced in pairs, only Vika and Durion were playing rock-paper-scissors and flicking each other’s foreheads.

Of course, Vika—with his sharp eyes—kept winning and was giving Durion a variety of bumps on his forehead.

Reidox danced with Lucy; Seo Yeon danced with Luid.

Come to think of it, Sikar stood alone, pitifully with his arms crossed.

“Kian, shall we three dance together with the Duke?”

Kian seemed to ponder briefly, then nodded in agreement.

“All right, Mother.”

Kian and I danced toward Sikar and held out our hands. Sikar, who had been wearing a disinterested expression, promptly grabbed our hands.

So the three of us formed a circle and danced together.

The night, intoxicated by the festival, deepened further.

Jeremi crowned the festival’s finale. He conjured a massive firework shaped like a dragon, which charged toward a blue-eyed king wearing a golden crown—then soared skyward and burst in all directions with a loud “Pang!”

The citizens applauded the mages.

The bittersweet festival ended gloriously with the fireworks display.

Festivals may come again, but this one—for the once-in-a-lifetime Blue Sun—was now passing into memory.

Perhaps because it was so joyful.

To soothe our lingering festival regrets, we didn’t head straight into the palace—we sat on the garden swing instead.

“It was such a wonderful day.”

Sikar nodded in agreement with my words.

“Not bad.”

When Sikar said that, it meant it was truly excellent.

Truthfully, what made today my best day wasn’t just the festival.

I took Sikar’s hand and spoke to him as he looked at me, puzzled.

“Sikar, thank you.”

As expected, he wore a bewildered expression.

“For what?”

“For breaking my curse. Thank you.”

“You said that last time too—still calling it a curse?”

“I thought my agoraphobia was a curse. No, to me, it was a curse. Whenever I went anywhere crowded, I’d get dizzy and my heart would race as if I might die. I had no choice but to believe I was cursed.”

Sikar listened calmly to my words. He must already know everything—I didn’t need to tell him, since he’d seen it in my memories.

But he couldn’t have known my inner thoughts—he wouldn’t have realized I’d lived thinking this way.

“You know, everyone carries a curse. Some have panic disorders like me; others are suddenly overwhelmed by depression. I had both—but looking back, they all vanished after I met you. That’s why I want to help you break your curse too.”

“By your logic, curses aren’t only from monsters. It seems the curses you speak of are those endured by people in your modern era.”

“Exactly. That’s how I see it. I used to think it was an unbreakable curse—but thanks to you, I feel it’s truly gone now. Yes, today’s festival was fun, but what made me happier was realizing I could be among so many people and feel completely fine.”

“True—you’ve never endured being in front of so many people before. You couldn’t even attend graduation, let alone a simple street festival.”

I didn’t mind Sikar retracing my experiences as if they were his own memories. In fact, I was even more grateful for how deeply he understood me.

“That’s why I’m truly thankful. The one who broke my curse was none other than you.”

Sikar pulled me tightly into his arms and said,

“I’ll make you even happier from now on—so stay right beside me. Don’t disappear.”

Lately, he’s been saying things like this unusually often. Has he grown so fond of me that he’s become inexplicably anxious?

Today, he seemed to be hugging me especially tightly.

“Sikar, I know you’re anxious because you love me so much—but don’t worry. I’ll never disappear.”

“Right. No matter what happens, I’ll make sure you never disappear—so stay close to me. Always.”

“Aren’t you hugging me too tightly? My bones might vanish first.”

Sikar loosened his hold slightly and looked at me.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine now.”

“Yura.”

“Yes?”

“You haven’t forgotten the promise you made to me—about when the Blue Sun rises?”

“What promise…?”

I stopped mid-sentence as the promise with him suddenly flashed into my mind.

We’d promised to have a child when the Blue Sun rose.

If I’d known it would rise so soon, I’d never have made that promise.

As the memory surfaced, I jolted wide awake.