Chapter 54: A New Life Begins
Having concluded his final battle with his half-brother, Rest returned to the Rosemary Marquis House, his body enhanced by magic. It was evening by the time he arrived, and two familiar figures were waiting at the entrance.
“Ah, Rest!”
“Rest-sama!”
“Huh? You two were waiting for me?”
Rest’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Viola and Primula standing at the doorway. He hadn’t informed them of his return time… just how long had they been waiting?
“Um, well… I was worried. You went there, after all.”
“The carriage came back without you, so I thought something might have happened!”
Viola spoke awkwardly, while Primula seemed a bit irritated. The tense feelings that had lingered in Rest’s heart dissipated, replaced by a warm surge of emotion. He felt accepted, knowing there were people who cared for him. It was a happiness he had never fully appreciated before.
“I’m sorry for making you worry. But… thanks to that, I was able to settle things properly.”
He took both of their hands, speaking in a gentle tone. The ring he had gifted himself sparkled in his grasp.
“Those people will no longer be involved in my life. I’m sure of it.”
His father, a staunch believer in magical supremacy and an authoritarian, would not provoke a son who had become the fiancé of one of the Marquis’s Sisters. While there was a possibility his stepmother might act foolishly, she was insignificant. What could she possibly do?
(And then there’s Cedric…)
The Cedric Evern Rest knew was no longer in this world. He would never again appear before Rest or the Rosemary Sisters.
“So… it’s all right now. Thank you…”
““…………””
Though Rest smiled gently, the Rosemary Sisters’ expressions clouded slightly. They likely thought he was forcing himself to be brave after severing ties with his family, no matter how dysfunctional.
“Alright! Then let’s celebrate by taking a bath together today!”
“A… bath?”
“Yes! It’ll be a way to wash away all the unnecessary things! Let’s get nice and clean!”
Viola’s face turned bright red as she made the suggestion. Rest was taken aback by her tomato-like complexion.
“That sounds great! As expected of you, big sister!”
Primula immediately agreed, her hands clasped together and a beaming smile on her face.
“Rest-sama is taking a new step forward, so let’s all bathe together with a fresh mindset! Don’t worry, we’re fiancées after all!”
“W-wait… I feel like we’ve been bathing together quite frequently even before we were engaged…”
“W-well, starting today, we can share the same bedroom too! I’m totally… um, totally fine with that…!”
“Viola doesn’t look fine at all… If it’s that embarrassing, you really don’t have to say it…”
Viola, the one who proposed the idea, was practically on fire with embarrassment. She was desperately trying to cheer Rest up, thinking he was feeling down.
“…It’s okay, I’m feeling better now.”
Rest couldn’t help but smile at the sisters’ antics. With fiancées who cared for him so deeply, he wouldn’t let the trivial matters of his former family weigh him down.
“You don’t have to force yourselves so much. I’m already feeling better thanks to you two. Really… I’m so glad to have met you…”
“Rest…”
“Rest-sama…”
A sweet, warm atmosphere enveloped the three of them. However, Primula soon broke the moment with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“But… let’s definitely take a bath together. And for sleeping, we can push two beds together so we can all sleep side by side.”
““Eh!?””
“It’s fine. We’re fiancées after all… and my mother said that as long as we take precautions, there’s no problem, right?”
With no hint of embarrassment, Primula dropped this bombshell, causing both Viola and Rest to lean back in shock.