Chapter 103

I didnt expect father and mother to be so cruel! Even my brother took their side I understand that Sakura disappeared quite some time ago already, but how can they expect me to randomly find a new fiance? Even mother had taken a liking to Sakura!

And if it wasnt for her, the war two years ago could have gone terribly wrong However, 1 year has passed and its time to end the search . I understand fathers view from the position of a ruler, allowing me to get one whole year to search for someone with 0 clues or leads was already quite the concession, so by now she should be assumed dead .

But we found no evidence she is dead I cant give up on her, no, I dont want to give up .

Where are you, Sakura? I want to see your smile again The only things that belonged to her that we still have are her sword and the things she left in her tent While looking at those items, I started dozing off .

Hey, Sedrim! Get up! What . . ? Was I asleep? Im sorry to come when youre tired, but we need to talk . Edwils voice awoke me .

What is it, brother? I corrected my posture in the sofa to hear him out .

About the thing you talked with father He started .

I understand, its necessary for the country Im aware of my own position .

I got married right after the war was over, and Aria is already late in finding a consort Its our duty as royalty . I know you cant forget about Sakura, but we need to think of the future of the country . He continued .

I know this much I replied .

Sorry It would all be well if you still had Sakura with you He said dejectedly .

She isnt here though However I tried to continue, but he stopped me .

I understand how you feel, and Im not asking you to decide on how to move forward right now, but you cannot stay as you are forever . Our parents are very worried about you . I couldnt find the words to reply to him . Thats all I had to say, sorry for coming when you were this tired .

No, its alright . I know he was worried about me, but I cant simply agree with what he said . We looked at each others eyes for a while, and when he was about to get up to leave, the outside suddenly got noisy .

I felt as if trouble was about to come, What is all this noise!? Edwil exclaimed as the door was flung open, there were supposed to be guards there, but I couldnt see any there .

Sedrim nii-sama, excuse me! Oh, Edwil nii-sama? Its been a while . Aria came in from the door .

Edwil-sama, Sedrim-sama, please excuse my rudeness . Chiffon came with her .

No, it cant be helped if you came with Aria . Im sure she forced Chiffon to come along . So, whats the matter? Chiffon is still serving us as a maiden, she was supposed to get married last year, but she refused to believe Sakura was dead . And since Chiffon wanted her to attend the wedding, she convinced her fianc to wait . He is someone that Sakura helped during the war, so it was easy to make him accept Also, Chiffon used her time off to take care of Sakuras home, I was so busy looking for her that I didnt even think about her house, so I was happily surprised when I found out .

Edwil nii-sama is useless, the one we need to talk to is Sedrim nii-sama . Aria started .

Useless Y-you know youre talking to the next king!? Edwil tried to retort .

That doesnt matter, Sedrim nii-sama, did you see Eru-chan? Aria ignored him and asked me .

Eru? I tried confirming .

Yes, Eru-chan, did you see her? She pressed on .

By Eru you mean Sakuras pet? I asked .

Yes, I took care of it for Sakursama, but I havent seen it since yesterday Chiffon complemented .

Its a cat, isnt it common for them to stay out for a day or two? My brother asked .

Edwill nii-sama, be silent . Im talking to Sedrim nii-sama . Aria cut him off .

Eru-sama is a very smart cat that always came back every single day at around the same time, however, it left yesterday and hasnt come back yet I dont know how I could face Sakursama if something happened to it Chiffon explained .

Since Chiffon was this troubled I came here to ask if you saw it, I got no glimpse of Eru-chan though . Aria continued .

Its not surprising you didnt see her, that cat absolutely hated you . I said .

Thats rude! Im not disliked, she just tried to make a cute neglect play by running a small, very small bit from me . She replied .

Youre sure thats not being hated? I teased her .

Im definitely not hated! Eru-chan just scratched me by accident when I tried hugging her! She exclaimed .

Isnt that just the cat trying to protect itself? Though those claws are scary, she actually left a mark in my armor I replied .

Wh-wh-what!? I thought those were made by a monster, youre telling me a cat left those!? Edwil was absolutely astonished .

I dont think a normal cat should be able to scratch an enchanted iron plate either, so it was a big surprise when I saw it The armor was repaired already, but the knights raised a fuzz when they noticed that the armor was damaged I wonder if that cat isnt an actual monster .

My deepest apologies for interrupting, but did Sedrim-sama truly not see Eru-sama? Chiffons question brought me back to matter at hand I had completely forgotten we were talking about a missing cat .

My deepest apologies for interrupting, but did Sedrim-sama truly not see Eru-sama? Chiffons question brought me back to matter at hand I had completely forgotten we were talking about a missing cat .

I havent seen it since yesterday . I answered . Edwil also said he didnt see it .

Is that so Im truly sorry for taking your time . Chiffon apologized and tried to leave, but the corridor suddenly got noisy again What is it now?

Excuse me, Your Highness! Its an urgent report! Before they even finished knocking, the person in the other side of the door hastily exclaimed . Something must have happened, so I immediately gave them permission to enter .

P-please excuse me A single knight came inside, he certainly didnt expect to see Edwil and Aria, so he seemed very flustered . I-Im truly sorry for interrupting your time with his highness and the princess

Dont worry about us, is there a report for Sedrim? Edwil cut him and urged the knight to continue .

A report came from the guard in the eastern gate, a person resembling the black hero was seen entering the capital at around 2pm . He said .

What!? Is this true!? I asked in disbelief .

The soldier said that it was a girl around 7 to 8 years old that had an adventurers card that matched with the black heros Her appearance also resembled what we were instructed to search for before . The bell of 6pm rang just a while ago, if she entered at 2pm, she should already be home by now .

Maybe Eru-sama noticed she returned and went to Sakursama? It seemed like a stretch, but this is too much of a coincidence, so maybe Chiffon is right? It could be an animal instinct thing .

Sedrim nii-sama, Chiffon, Im going to Sakurchans house! She should be back home already! She is right, I can think about that later, I will know if its really her if we meet .

Hey, are you ignoring me!? Edwil exclaimed .

Edwil nii-sama can do whatever you want, if you want to come then just follow us . Tell the guards to prepare a carriage, were leaving now! Being led by Aria for some reason, the four of us headed to Sakuras house .

The lights are on Aria muttered as the carriage approached Sakuras house, they were faint, but we could definitely see them .

Sakura did come back, Im convinced now . We immediately got off and I knocked on the door, I could barely stop myself from barging in right now .

Before long, a shadow appeared behind the entrance and opened the door with a small clatter . Thank you for wai ting? Everyone? How come youre all here? Sakuras voice resounded in my heart and time seemed to stop .

I searched everywhere for her in those last 2 years . Black hair, a small childish build, and adorable face, a voice that sounds like a bell Everything seems the same as 2 years ago .

You arent thinking of anything strange, are you? Sakuras voice made time flow again, she looked at me a bit impatiently .

Saku- I tried calling her out, but

Saku- I tried calling her out, but

Sakurchan! Sakursama! Aria and Chiffon pushed me aside and hugged her . I was unable to hold her outstretched hand, but Im not going to give up this easily .

Sakura I wanted to meet you . She temporarily interrupted her reunion with the girls and shifted her attention to me, turning those lovely black eyes in my direction .

Its been a while, prince . Seems like two years passed . I understood from those words, Sakura was back in her world these past years, no wonder we couldnt find her But she is now here, right in front of my eyes .

I wont let go of her, I have been waiting for this moment for so long Ill tell her what I wanted to say all this time, now that Im sure she wont go anywhere . Sakura, please listen I want- Nya . Eru suddenly interrupted me .

Eru? Whats wrong, I told you to wait She reprimanded it .

Eru-sama! You really did come back to Sakursama . Chiffon exclaimed .

ahaha Sorry Chiffon-san, Eru seems to have sneaked out Thank you for looking after her for so long . Sakura bowed .

No need to thank me Im just glad Sakursama is back . Chiffon replied .

Im happy to hear that, but those are my true feelings . Sakura insisted .

Is that so? Then, I have one request for you . Chiffon continued .

What is it? As long as its something I can do . Sakura asked .

Its not a big deal, but Id like Sakursama to attend my wedding . Chiffon told her .

Eh? Youre not married yet, Chiffon-san!? I thought you had a fianc already! Sakura exclaimed .

Ufufu, Chiffon said she wouldnt marry until Sakurchan came back! Aria intervened .

Really? But what if I hadnt come back? Were you really not going to ever marry? Sakura was flabbergasted .

No, I mean Sakursama disappeared, but I didnt want to give up, so we decided to wait at least 3 years My fianc was fine with it too . Chiffon clarified .

I see, Im glad then Oh, and of course, Ill be happy to attend . Sakura said .

Alright, Ill contact you when the date is decided . Chiffon happily declared .

Im looking forward to it already Oh, Im sorry we interrupted you, Prince . What were you talking about again? She is now talking to me? Brother, please dont laugh!

Alright, Ill contact you when the date is decided . Chiffon happily declared .

Im looking forward to it already Oh, Im sorry we interrupted you, Prince . What were you talking about again? She is now talking to me? Brother, please dont laugh!

Now that I lost the momentum, its suddenly very awkward to continue Still Well Uhn Sakura?

Yes? She obviously didnt get what I meant .

I want Like Sakuras I tried continuing .

Mine? She asked even more confused .

Sedrim nii-sama, do your best! Aria cheered me on .

Fight on your Highness! Chiffon did it as well .

Go man! Even Edwil joined in Those onlookers should all shut up and stop grinning like that!

I mean I coughed to clear my head . I want Sakuras I tried finishing the sentence, but the embarrassment made my voice become too low I wonder if she heard me .

Eh? Could you repeat? Of course she didnt .

I want Sakuras I want to eat Sakuras cooking everyday from now on . I finally said it!1

Oh, right, you always came to eat dinner here, to think you wanted to eat my cooking so much I was just making dinner, so would you like to come in? It will take a while though, so Ill understand if you cant wait . She answered .

Uhn Right Okay I didnt mean that though Im sure this was a way of proposing Is it not the case in Sakuras world?

Anyways, whats up with this bad timing!? It was already hard enough to say it, but to actually explain that I meant it as a confession is Absolutely impossible?

Im happy I can eat her dishes again though I guess its alright, there is always the next opportunity . Ill definitely propose then!

You good for nothing! Aria, Edwil and Chiffon exclaimed in unison .