Volume 2 Epilogue
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The 14th day of the first month of the year 3306 of the World Calendar.
The Schultz family kitchen.
“So you really went through all that, Lillia? …That’s incredible.”
Strauski Megmica,
“It was a real once-in-a-lifetime experience…”
And Lillianne Aikashia Corazòn Whittington Schultz were talking over the table, several newspapers open before them.
It was afternoon, and the weather was cloudy. Both had returned from the start-of-classes ceremony and come straight to Lillia’s house, and were still in their uniforms.
On the newspapers from the 3rd of the month were headlines like ‘Treasure of Ikstova—Found’, ‘Never-Before-Seen East-West Corridor Discovered’, accompanied by articles on the rediscovery of the valley.
The articles summarized the following. That the current queen of Iks made the decision to announce the discovery of the valley, which had been kept a secret in the royal family for centuries. It explained that the royal family had desperately kept the valley’s existence hidden for fear of further conflict.
But the militaristic value of the valley had dropped when the queen’s husband, Carr Benedict, discovered the mural and ended the war. And when Benedict learned of the treasure twenty years hence, he convinced the queen to announce it and made yet another mark in the pages of history.
The reactions from around the world, printed the next day, were generally positive. The royal family of Iltoa officially announced, ‘The royal family of Iks saved the world from war by concealing the valley’s existence’. The Presidential Office in Roxche released a statement saying, ‘the royal family of Iks prevented bloodshed by hiding the valley from the public eye’.
Some in Roxche argued that the East could have been victorious had the valley been used, and that Iks had betrayed them, but they were very few in number and were soon buried in the voice of the majority.
“There must have been such a big commotion.” Said Meg.
Lillia nodded. She quickly glanced through the paper, and found a tiny news article about a documentary crew from the Capital District shooting a film in Iks being killed in an avalanche.
“…”
For a time, Lillia stared silently at the article. She and Allison had been asked by the queen to abide by a gag order. Lillia could not tell Meg the truth, either.
She sighed. Meg gave her a quizzical look.
She sighed. Meg gave her a quizzical look.
“What’s wrong, Lillia?”
“Hm? N-nothing. I’m fine.”
“Did something happen? Is something bothering you?”
“Huh? Er… it was just a lot of confusion.” Lillia said vaguely.
“Mhm.” Meg nodded, “say, about that boy who came here before—Treize—he’s from Iks, right? Did you meet him there?”
“Huh? Y-yeah. I did.”
“Lillia. Did you talk about anything important with him?” Meg asked, looking into Lillia’s eyes.
“No. I didn’t. Things were so hectic that I barely got to say hello.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all.”
“That’s all.”
“Did you make plans to meet next time?”
“Actually, no. We just didn’t have the time to plan that stuff.”
“That’s so sad.”
“Huh? For who?”
“Both of you.”
* * *
“Thank you for everything, Elder Sister. It was so kind of you to grant Meriel of Ikstova such a marvelous holiday.”
“Not at all. Please send my greetings to Queen Francesca and Sir Benedict when you return.”
“Of course!”
“Of course!”
“To tell you the truth, Meriel, I hope dearly to soon become your real sister.”
“My real sister?”
“Yes. I have already sent word to Treize, with permission from Queen Francesca and Sir Benedict.”
“What… might you be saying, Elder Sister?”
“When Treize is twenty years old, I…”
“Yes?”
“…I want to bring him into the royal family of Bezel, as my husband.”
“…Pardon?”
-The Longest Day in Ikstova: End-