Emma lovingly held her daughter Ellie, whose little head was nodding off after following William and Melanie around all day. She gently rubbed her cheek against the top of Ellie’s head.
"Ellie really liked the fireworks you gave her. This isn’t just the happiest birthday she’s ever had, but it’s also the happiest day I’ve had in years. To have such a joyful ending, I guess there are no regrets."
"It’s nothing. Ellie is a very adorable child; I really like her too."
Facing Senior Emma’s goodbye-like words, Leon, who had also made up his mind, didn’t try to persuade her. Instead, he asked quietly with a calm expression,
"Senior Emma, are you ready? Even if it means being exiled to the Realm of the Dead by headquarters, will you go down with him?"
Emma glanced at Leon with guilt, then nodded slightly and said seriously,
"All my kin are in the Realm of the Dead. My father, mother, grandfather... they’re all still in the City of Regret. I should have gone with them six years ago; now I’m just going to the place I should have gone all along."
"I see... Since you’ve decided, I won’t stop you."
Looking at William, who was still stubbornly eating cake yet poking his nose with the fork, and Melanie, who was already curled up in Anna’s arms snoring with a wrinkled nose, Leon switched out the Performance Master. In a full-on act, he sighed and said goodbye with a mysterious demeanor,
"Senior Emma, then... goodbye."
Seeing the four parts melancholy, three parts solitude, and three parts indescribable regret in Leon’s eyes, as if he were bidding a permanent farewell to something extremely precious, Emma felt a sharp pang in her heart. Words of persuasion nearly slipped out.
But the nearly two thousand days and nights of pain and regret over the past six years, coupled with the hatred sharpened by remorse, successfully held her rationality in place, transforming almost spoken promises into a similarly dry and low farewell.
After hearing her response, the last trace of hope faded from Leon’s eyes. He gently nodded, then smiled bitterly and stood up from the table, taking Melanie from Anna’s embrace.
"Okay, I’ll go get the carriage."
After spending the whole day together, even though Leon and Anna had avoided talking to each other, sharp-minded Anna had already sensed the strange atmosphere between her brother and Sister Emma. To accommodate their emotions, she voluntarily led William out of the small log cabin early.
After Emma returned her daughter to bed, gently tucked her in, and silently walked Leon out of the cabin, she wrapped her arms around Leon’s waist and gave him a soft hug. Her gentle eyes filled with apology as she whispered,
"I won’t see you off... Leon, I... if only I had met you sooner."
*It’s not too late, at least not now!*
Leon looked at her deeply, but he didn’t reply; instead, he waved his hand, then slowly walked down the gravel path in the garden with the snoring Melanie in his arms.
"Since you’re awake, get down and walk on your own."
After walking for a while, Leon couldn’t help but pause, patting Melanie’s tense little bottom with annoyance,
"Who sleeps with their legs all tense? And snores faster than they breathe? If you’re going to fake it, at least do it right!"
After Leon exposed her act, Melanie, who was struggling to hold back her expression, relaxed her whole body. She opened her swirling eyes, glanced cautiously at Leon, then hugged his neck coquettishly and whispered shrewdly,
"Big brother, Aunt Emma... I mean... can we not visit Ellie anymore in the future?"
*You’re such a clever little thing!*
Seeing that she clearly comprehended something, perhaps even guessing that Emma was saying a "permanent goodbye," Leon couldn’t help but pinch her little nose, replying with irritation,
"What are you guessing at! Your Aunt Emma will be fine, and you can still visit Ellie when you and William aren’t in school!
Melanie blinked her big, watery eyes, responding skeptically, then asked curiously,
"Then... just now, you..."
"Your Aunt Emma thanked me for helping Ellie have her birthday, so she hugged me in excitement, that’s all... Oh, right!"
At this point, Leon narrowed his eyes "boss-like," then unkindly threatened,
"When we get back, if Anna asks, what you just heard and saw..."
Melanie blinked her big eyes.
"I was dreaming the whole time, dreaming that big brother bought me a new doll, and when I woke up, I was already in the carriage!"
*Goodness, she’s even taking this opportunity to blackmail me!*
Rolling his eyes at the opportunistic Melanie, Leon replied with mock annoyance,
"Fine, I’ll buy you one! But absolutely no next time! You really are..."
"Big brother’s the best~"
Melanie giggled and gave Leon a peck on the cheek. After playing all day, she couldn’t help but yawn, then closed her big eyes, curling up in Leon’s arms like a kitten, murmuring softly in her sleep,