Receiving such high praise left me feeling very odd.

A hero… That title seemed so mismatched with my life.

‘So, is it true that Duchess Valentino is a spirit contractor?’

Someone voiced their lingering doubt until the end, to which I calmly nodded. I had no intention of responding further, but the Queen Mother urged me to reveal the spirit right there and then.

Feeling the Queen Mother’s strong will to dispel all doubts here and now, I reluctantly woke Somnia.

…The problem was, along with Somnia, the other two spirits also emerged.

‘Ah, isn’t it not just one spirit?’

‘Those spirits are… could they possibly be…’

‘Seems like the spirits of the Everett family!’

Ultimately, I had no choice but to explain. I was contracted with Somnia alone, and the other two spirits… were considering a contract with me but were currently on hold.

‘Why the delay? Surely, spirit power is essential for overseeing your lands. You should contract them soon.’

The Queen Mother’s encouragement turned the audience room into even more of a tumultuous scene. And for good reason…

‘It’s rare enough for one person to contract with two spirits, let alone three…’

’And all of them are powerful spirits…’

’Somnia…. I thought it existed only in legends.’

’In my opinion, this isn’t something ordinary people can achieve.’

’What? Then…?’

…As the situation unfolded this way, people began speculating that ‘Lily Valentino’s biological father might actually be of significant lineage’. As if that explained everything.

This is ludicrous. Let them think what they want. Who my real father is holds no value to me. A person whose face I don’t even know didn’t shape who I am today.

Anyway, the controversy regarding me was settled for the time being, and a palace banquet was held late into the evening. Theodore and I found the banquet terribly dull and managed to escape.

And now, we stood in front of two gravestones.

These gravestones, erected in the place where Duke Everett’s castle once stood, were meant to appease the wizard Ethan and the spirits forced to live as the dark spirit.

After Hessen, the last of the Everetts, died, the dark spirits sealed in the binding stone dispersed, having resolved their vengeance. And Ethan finally found the death he longed for.

‘May they find peace in a better place.’

I placed flowers in front of the tombstones and prayed for the deceased. It seemed many had visited before us, as various flowers were already laid in abundance.

Theodore stood beside me and quietly murmured something with his eyes closed. His voice was too soft to catch, but I knew he was paying tribute to the victims.

I silently observed him, glancing at his right arm. The scars and curses left by the dark spirits had vanished cleanly with Hessen’s death, so there was nothing to worry about anymore. It was indeed a relief.

I diverted my gaze from him and exhaled. The warm breath that slipped between my lips dispersed into the cold air and turned into mist.

‘…It’s all over.’

I looked up at the sky, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.

Above, in the high and chilling winter sky, hung a crescent moon that was like a piece of ice sculpture.

…It really was all over.

My revenge, the turmoil of the world, all the misfortunes that would have never ceased as long as the Everetts existed…

Now, the world had become relatively peaceful, and that peace was beginning to seep into my life as well.

Yet….there remained an issue we had not resolved.

“…”

Having finished his prayer, Theodore looked back at me. A lonely wind blew from somewhere and scattered our hair. Unconsciously, I reached out and smoothed his black hair.

Theodore smiled briefly at the gesture, but his smile slowly faded as our eyes met. As if he had read something in mine.

“Now…”

I suggested.

“It’s time for us to conclude our own story.”

The things he had been avoiding and ignoring, the things I had always kept in my heart.

Now was the time to address that story.

__