“Long live the Holy Scripture!”
“Long live the Gongwang’s granddaughter!”
“She’s the hero of the Duchy!”
When I hopped down to the ground, the front yard of Saint Agnes Church was packed with people.
They were all celebrating our victory and praising me for it.
At the very front of the crowd stood the people I was closest to—the ones most precious to me.
“Aye.”
“Aga.”
“Ailet.”
“Noona.”
“Unnie…”
Grandfather, Mother, Father, Brother, Hestio, Ifeil, Ash, Hilde—each of them called out to me in their own way.
I passed by Hilde, who was standing nearby, gently ruffling her hair. Then I stopped in front of my family.
“I’m home.”
“Aye…!”
Mother’s face was on the verge of tears.
Expecting an onslaught of scolding, I huddled my shoulders slightly.
But what followed was far from what I’d anticipated.
“Yes, my daughter… Thank you for coming back safe and sound. I’m just so grateful… truly…”
“…I missed you, Mom.”
She embraced me tightly, and Grandfather came in and…