The Flower Of Eternity
Epilogues

"What are you looking at until you smile like that, baby?"

Xavier's voice surprised me. I turned my gaze from the scene outside the window towards my newly-awakened husband.

But it turned out that Xavier was already behind me, hugging me from behind while stroking my stomach which was now enlarged. We still have to wait another two months until the birth of our third child.

"Should I be jealous?" He asked me when I saw what I saw out there that made me smile.

"Because of Leon?"

Since then I was looking at two of our daughters—Xavierra and Leonora—who were playing with Leon and his son, Elyan. Leon decides that the kids need to get sword lessons from him early on. Though they are still five years old—Leonora even just three years old. I told him they were too small. But Leon quipped that he had started holding the real sword since the age of six.

Leon gave the children a wooden sword to practice. As a result, instead of training, they were playing around with him. Vierra flaunts her fire on her sister and Elyan so nearly burns their wooden sword, leaving Leon panicking and hastily turning off the fire. Vierra just laughed mischievously as it overwhelmed her uncle. Leonora, who did not really understand, laughed when she saw her brother laughing.

"Because my two daughters seem to be much closer to my sister than to me." Said Xavier who was now also looking at the scenery out there. Despite saying it with jealousy, she also smiled at the familiarity of all of them.

I couldn't help but laugh when I heard the jealous tone in her words. He might be jealous because our children are more familiar with Leon. Though it is only natural because in fact they are indeed more often spend time with Leon and Mother-in-law and Elyan. While Xavier and I were always busy with the agenda in the Palace and affairs outside the city.

"Leon was close to all the children. Vierra, Leonora, Elyan, even a cold and quiet Luna Smirnoff like Ludwig could be the most jolly child with Leon." I said.

"So I can't be jealous?" Ask again while kissing my shoulder.

I turned to face her, put my arm around her neck and kissed her lips. "Don't get greedy. You already have my heart, baby."

Hearing that, Xavier smiled. He kissed me longer.

"But Princess Xavierra and Princess Leonora are my daughters." Said later. Still can't accept defeat.

"You may have to learn to Leon how to take the Princess's heart."

"I must admit Leon always managed to take the Princess's heart." Xavier finally admitted his defeat. "He always knew what they wanted. I have to ask them first."

"You once took the heart of a princess." I said. "And made him a Tsarina who ruled three kingdoms and seven seas. Then keep him super busy."

Xavier laughed, "Right as well. I turned out to be quite skilled at taking a Princess' heart" Then kissed me again. Her kiss kept me strong and healthy even though this third pregnancy was harder for me than ever. His embrace warmed me as the air in Noord grew colder and colder.

I'm not moving the seat of government to Schere. We settled in Noord. The palace in Schere will be used for political purposes when we need to be in Schere as well as when we want to avoid frequent blizzards in Noord. The main reason why I wanted to stay at Noord was because of the cold weather. Thanks to the cold weather of Noord, I have reason to ask to be hugged and not to be often away from my beloved husband. The other reason was because I didn't want to be away from my mother-in-law who was now my close friend. Also because the Princesses liked their uncle so much, they were unwilling to stay away from Leon and Elyan.

"I can't wait for my son to be born." Xavier said, still hugging me, watching our daughters play with their uncles and cousins.

"There's two months left, baby." I said. But then I realized what he just said. "Why are you so sure this boy is a boy?"

"I've seen it." Xavier smiled arrogantly.

"cheat!"

He laughed to see me whimper. It's annoying that she's seen it first when I'm still pregnant with it and still have to go through two months to see it. Even when I was pregnant with Leonora she told me that our second child was a Princess who had Dragon Eyes. And the future that Xavier saw in his dream proved to be true. If Princess Xavierra was born with the power of the Dragon and the abilities of the Reyes Clan, Princess Leonora was born with the red Dragon Eyes.

Xavier then explained the contents of his dream, "In my dream, our son was reading a book in the library of the Palace. Smart kid who is diligent, likes to read and does not really like to go out of the palace. He looks a lot like you, so I knew right away that he was my son."

I wondered what our son would be like. If it looks like me, he might inherit my red hair as well as Vierra's. And he might have looked like my father as a kid, too, because I look like my father. Thinking about it made me think back to my father. My father is really dead. He sacrificed himself for Xavier. For me. For our happiness. I never thought that my father who had not been too close to me because of his busy life as King was so loving to me that he bequeathed his throne to me and even gave up his life so that I could be with the man who love this.

"You want to go for a walk today?" Xavier asked suddenly. He must have seen the look on my face while thinking about my father. He wants to cheer me up.

"Where?"

"To a warm place. There's something I want to show you."

When Xavier said 'walk', it meant he wanted to take me to a place so far away that it couldn't be reached on foot. To get to that place, we used a Grimoire hourglass. Right, we're exploring space and time. That's how we walk now.

We've used this Grimoire hourglass several times to go for a walk, seeing other versions of ourselves in other lives. Or just feel another lifetime where we don't become a pair of super busy Imperial rulers. In most places, we had to disguise ourselves as other people, becoming commoners using Ludwig's transformation ring. The rules are pretty simple, no matter what we do, we can't make a big change in that life. We can do nothing but watch and see. Usually we do not do much, just enjoy the atmosphere as ordinary people, see other versions of ourselves, he said, and culinary tour—just keep away for a moment from the work at the Palace that sometimes makes my head dizzy.

"Where are we?" I asked while trying to observe around us.

This time Xavier took me to a warm place. Definitely not Noord. I suspect that this is Schere. But not the present Schere, which was rebuilt after the bombing by Empress Dowager Reina. Maybe we went to the past.

We used disguises. My skin became snow white like the skin of the people north—like Xavier's skin. My eyes became ice blue and my hair became blonde. In short, I borrowed the form of Eleanor Winterthur. Xavier only needs to change the color of his emerald eyes to icy blue because his emerald eyes are too striking and can be the center of attention.

Then I realized where we were when I saw a garden full of roses blooming and a palace that was no stranger to me. Schiereiland Palace before it was bombed. The building was exactly as I remembered it. My childhood home.

"Who's married?" I asked when I saw that the palace looked different because it was decorated in such a way with white roses, ribbons and lace. Red carpets are held along the road to the stairs. The palace looked crowded by the distinguished noble guests. It was clearly being held a wedding party at the Palace.

I turned towards Xavier who was still holding my hand. He was staring deep into the Palace as if he could see who was getting married inside there. He then looked at me and smiled.

"Leon." The answer. "You said you wanted to see Leon get married and live happily. I think he's happy now."

I can't hide my surprise, "Leon is married? Are we in the future now?" my many. I want to go inside the palace and see it. "Who is the bride?"

Xavier didn't answer me. He only invited me to come along with the other noble guests, entering the Palace.

We do look like a couple of nobles from the north because we are wearing typical clothes of the northern people. So this is why Xavier asked me to wear a party dress and put on my jewelry. Because we will attend the wedding of a member of the royal family Schiereiland—the adopted son of King Schiereiland—as an uninvited invited guest.

And it was there that I saw Leon dressed in formal attire like Prince Schiereiland on his wedding day. He greeted all the guests kindly. A smile was always on his face. He looks really happy. I'm not sure I've seen him this happy before.

Then the wedding ceremony began. Me and Xavier immediately took place in the line of noble guests. Orchestral music is played. The bride also entered the room.

The wedding dress was so beautiful, made of the finest silk and decorated with a sprinkling of jewels that the dress seemed to glitter in the sun through the large windows in this room. The bride had very long red hair, neatly styled behind her back. The curls of her hair dangled looking like fire. The bride walked towards the altar, her face still covered in transparent white veils so I had trouble seeing her clearly. But I could see that he was smiling happily when he saw Leon waiting for him on the other end. And Leon looked at her charmed, his eyes full of love until anyone who saw her would envy the bride.

Then the time came for the bride to show her face. Xavier and I watched in silence from the bench as the two happy couples exchanged their marriage vows.

I immediately turned to my side, towards Xavier who was still nailing a glance at the two happy brides. I clasped her hand tightly, afraid that she would suddenly disappear from my life again.

"true." Said. He looked at me while smiling soothingly. "In this life General Irene Smirnoff was killed in the war after giving birth to Leon. He never returned to the Winterthur family and chose to settle in Schiereiland with Kris Smirnoff. Prince Vlad died at a young age from the usurpation of the throne before he could marry anyone."

"You were never born in this life." I concluded.

Xavier nodded. "As the son of Irene and Kris who died in the war and saved King Edward's life, Leon is considered the King's adopted son. Kris Smirnoff, Leon's father, was indeed Grand Duke Smirnoff—'s stepson from your mother's side—but he was also the biological son of the Marquess, so since Kris had died, Kris had died, Leon inherited the title of Marquess as an adult. You and Leon have lived together in the palace since childhood. You guys love each other. And Leon accepted your proposal when you were twenty. You are Crown Princess Schiereiland who will become Queen Schiereiland. And Leon will be King of Schiereiland." Xavier explained.

I didn't know that there was this life among many other lives. A life where my father never used a Grimoire hourglass for Irene so Xavier was never born. And I've never met Xavier.

"That's your mom and dad. And Alexis over there." Xavier said again.

I turned my teary eyes away knowing that there was no Xavier in this life. And that's where I saw my family. They were all alive and seemed happy. I don't want to miss them. My mom and dad and Alexis, they all look happy for my marriage to Leon. But more than all the happiness, Leon seemed really happy until I was about to shed tears seeing him that happy in this life.

"Leon seemed very happy" I said unconsciously.

"You too."

I looked back at my husband. How does Xavier feel about seeing all that?

"Xavier's..."

"I'm not jealous." He answered before I asked. So I knew right away that he was lying. "All right, a little." He admitted while smiling at me. "But that's not the point. I just wanted to tell you that Leon looks just as happy, because in the life we live, he has a whole family whereas here he gets you as his wife. So do you. You're my wife, and you're Leon's wife, both happy." Xavier then kissed my hand, where a circular wedding ring was on my finger. "You want to say hello to them? We can congratulate and say that we're cousins far from the north." He offered.

"I don't have a cousin far from the north" I said.

"Leon has. He was the son of Irene, who was originally a northerner. Anyway they—I mean you and Leon— won't pay too much attention."

We also approached the two happy brides, like other noble guests. It was time for the two brides to greet us.

"Congratulations on your marriage." Xavier shakes Leon's hand.

Leon smiled kindly, "Thank you very much, sir..."

"Xavier Winterthur's. And this is my wife Anna, Your Grace."

Crown Princess Anastasia looked at me. Of course he doesn't recognize me because I'm undercover. "Oh, from the Winterthur Clan. Thank you for coming all this way, Mr and Mrs Winterthur." Said. She then looked at my stomach, "You're pregnant apparently. How many months has it been?"

"Seven months." I answered while holding my stomach automatically.

"Well, wait another two months. Is it okay to travel so far?"

"It's okay, Your Majesty." I said. It was strange to talk to myself. So I added, "But it seems like we can't linger. Once again, congratulations to you both." I said to the two brides. I turned a glance at Leon who also did not recognize me in this disguise.

Leon smiled at me, "Thank you very much" he said.

Xavier and I immediately left the place and went for a walk around Schere. Enjoy the sunshine and the hustle and bustle of the city center who are rejoicing over the wedding of the Crown Princess with their beloved General. We took off our transformation ring after being quite far away from the Palace.

"How's it?" Xavier asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Do you regret marrying me?"

I immediately stopped my steps and turned to him.

He could have said that to me! To me who had been waiting for him to come back to life for months! Grieved for his absence and spent those long nights crying! How could he think that way when I almost killed myself for not being able to live without him! Because it was so upset, it might have hormonal effects as well, or it might be because of the desire of our baby who didn't like his father to talk like that, I hit him. But it was my hand that hurt.

"Don't be crazy!" I scolded her. "You know how much I love you, baby. Please don't think that."

Xavier hugged me immediately. "I know." Said. "I've been wanting to bring you here for a long time. But I was always afraid of myself. Stupid and very unreasonable, I know. But that's how I feel."

"Your fear is completely unnecessary." I said. I broke out of his arms to look into his now teary eyes. Both palms of my hands touched her face gently, exuding warmth and calmness to her just like she used to do to me. "I'm so happy to be married to you. And maybe I'm in this very happy life to be married to Leon. But this me, this me that is before you right now, is all yours. And I don't want another life than the one I have right now. Because I have you in my life."

My husband shed his tears at my words. I wiped her tears with my lips.

"But you in this life have a complete family. While with me, you—“

"I also have a full family. I have a loving husband that I love very much and sweet children, Vierra, Leonora and Edward."

Xavier frowned in confusion upon hearing the latter's name, "Wait... Who's Edward?"

"Our unborn son." I said while stroking my stomach.

"Oh, you've already determined his name apparently. I think we'll discuss it first as usual. Hold a naming meeting or something."

"Hands up!" My laugh. "You disagree?"

"I totally agree. Prince Edward. To remember your father who sacrificed his life to save me." He paused for a moment to look at my expression as he talked about my father. My father's death still makes me sad, but Xavier's whereabouts always cover my grief. Xavier hugged me, "I'm so grateful to your father. Thanks to him we can meet again."

I nodded, "And I must admit, I am also grateful to your father. It is thanks to him that you are in this world. When I go home later I will also thank Mother-in-law who has given birth to a handsome son who is kind and loving even though sometimes jealous." I looked at him and continued my words, "And more than anything, I thank you for being born, I thank you, because you're alive and you're not giving up on staying alive all this time despite the many trials in your life. Thank you for living and marrying me, Xavier. Thank you for always being there for me and loving me even though I still lack a lot. I am so grateful to have you in my life. And I'm so grateful to be yours."

Because the phrase 'I love you' is too simple to describe what I feel for her, for what we have, I kiss her. We kissed with no regard for passers-by passing around us in the bustling, busy city centre, the people who carry their own stories, he said, for we have nothing more beautiful than our story.

***