A campsite north of Starlight Academy, hidden within a snow hut made from a snowbank.
That was where Alex had taken Evelyn, Emma, Marisa, and Roland to rest after they began their trek north.
While there was apparently a lot going on at the academy... and while it seemed that something had happened to both Elio and Headmistress Lux...
Evelyn didn't care. Because right now...
"Mommy! Look!" Emma smiled and held up a lopsided snowball. "Snow rock!"
...She was with her family. And that was all that mattered.
Evelyn smiled back at Emma and then booped Emma's nose. "You're such a creative child, Sweetie."
"Heehee~" Emma smiled and plopped in Evelyn's lap by the fireplace.
As Emma did that, Evelyn took a look around.
...Like she said, they were within a campsite hidden within a snowbank.
Though, rather than a campsite, 'shelter' would be more accurate?
Was it due to their return to the past, or was it always like this?
Evelyn didn't know, but shortly after they headed north, an intense blizzard unfolded.
While she and Emma would be fine due to their
And so her beloved had gone ahead with Marisa to fortify their temporary shelter, a simple snowhut, to wait out the storm.
That left just herself in the snowhut along with Emma and Roland.
Roland, who was anxiously pacing around the perimeter of the snowhut.
Evelyn looked up at him and said, "Worrying will not do you any good, Roland."
Roland paused. Then he sighed and brushed off the snow from the blanket that Alex had pulled out earlier. Sitting down, he said, "I know that. I'm just worried. Running away like this... and if Professor Endless and the Headmistress are BOTH missing... That means that time didn't turn back like Alex planned. Not completely. So what ELSE didn't get brought back?"
Emma looked at Roland and tilted her head. Then she smiled and said, "Uncle Roland! Smile!" She hopped out of Evelyn's lap and then tugged the corners of Roland's cheeks up. "Smile!"
"H-Hey! That...!" Roland wanted to frown, but seeing Emma's earnest expression and her small hand reaching for his cheeks, he gave up. Letting out a sigh, he put on a smile and said, "There. I'm smiling, Emma. Happy?"
"Happy!" Emma giggled and then got up, scampering back to sit in Evelyn's lap.
Evelyn chuckled and idly patted Emma's head. "You are such a sweetheart, aren't you, Emma?"
Emma smiled again, nuzzling against Evelyn's body and hugging her.
It was adorable. A sight that Evelyn never could have imagined, but one she wouldn't have wanted any other way.
Roland looked at Evelyn with a strange expression.
Evelyn tilted her head and said, "Is something that matter?"
"No. Just..." Roland shifted his gaze to Emma and said, "...She really is your daughter, isn't she? In blood and in truth."
Evelyn nodded. "Mm. It was unexpected... and honestly, I should be quite offended and upset that my beloved was so thoughtless as to result in my immaculate conception..."
Especially since it was at a very complicated timing to introduce a child into the mix.
"...But Emma is mine and Alex's. And she is our world. Aren't you, Emma?"
Emma giggled and hugged Evelyn again before letting out a yawn and going to sleep.
Roland watched Emma for a bit longer and murmured, "It's strange. From the circumstances, you would think that she would be some supernatural or competent familiar spirit or being. But she's... just a toddler. Although she was born a toddler instead of an infant... she's just a girl. Isn't she?"
Evelyn nodded, a soft smile on her face. "Yes. Emma... our daughter is simply that: our daughter."
Marisa had confirmed it. Although the circumstances were a bit strange... and although Emma apparently could use demonic energy without worry or inhibitions when she matured down the line...
Which was concerning, but something for the future.
In any case, while Emma had a few exceptional abilities and a great deal of potential... she was just a toddler. A child barely three years of age, physically.
Or at least, that was what it felt like to Evelyn.
"...Which is why we are ensuring she grows up whole, hale, and safe," Evelyn murmured.
Maximilian... Evelyn's older brother would not let it stand if he knew. That man had clearly shown his true colors in the past loop.
Evelyn's father...
If she was being honest, considering that Evelyn had not seen her father for quite some time, and the fact that Maximilian had been taking more and more control over the Empire and various political measures...
'Father is either dead or dying.'
...That was the only conclusion.
And likely the source of Maximilian's haste.
The moment that the death of the Eternal Emperor was unequivocable. The instant that it was confirmed without doubt...
'The Empire will break in half.'
Since Evelyn was the rightful heir due to her father's will and spoken words, there were those who would push her to the throne.
But Maximilian was the Crown Prince. By virtue of being the first son, barring other circumstances, the throne, and the Eternal Empire, SHOULD be his.
It was only because Evelyn's father had explicitly stated otherwise that this was occuring.
'Father... did you intend for this?'
Was it on purpose? By accident? Or was it compensation?
Evelyn's mother had died while she was young. And though she was never able to find the exact reason or circumstances of said death, that fact alone was enough to reveal a conspiracy.
Then, from Uncle Elio's actions and mannerisms around herself and the recent knowledge she had of his past...
Complicated.
And a complication that was unfolding in realtime.
Even so...
Roland frowned and said, "Does none of this bother you, Princess? The Eternal Empire could very well splinter in half or shatter with your absence. Your Uncle's faction may move as well, causing even more disorder. And the moment that word of Emma's birth as well as existence gets out, there will be nothing but assassins in pursuit of us as parties vie for power."
"I am aware." Evelyn nodded.
Of course she was aware.
Evelyn was the Imperial Princess. The rightful heir to the throne. The one who had spent her whole life under incredible expectations and the weight of the Eternal Empire's future resting on her back.
But...
Evelyn let out a brilliant smile, hugging Emma close. "I simply no longer care."
Roland froze. Then he let out a long exhale and covered his face. "Of course you don't." He let out a wry smile and said, "You are loved. Cherished. And happy. You also have a wonderful daughter... Compared to the constrained life before, this must be heaven."
"Indeed. And I would not give it up- No. I would give up the world before I give this up."
A clear delineation of priorities.
A choice, a selfish choice.
But the first that Evelyn had ever truly made for herself.
Roland stared at Evelyn. Then he shook his head. "The prince is willing to burn everything to the ground to claim the Empire. And the princess is willing to discard the Empire for love..." He laughed. "Although it's terrible in the moment... I can already tell. This tale will be told of for centuries down the line in plays, stories, and more."
"Oh, I have no doubt." Evelyn chuckled, idly fiddling with the amethyst star pendant hanging from her a chain around her neck. "The brilliant princess, expected to become the perfect ruler. A seemingly worthless commoner who entered her life. A commoner who suddenly revealed extraordinary depths, stealing both the princess's heart and her all before vanishing into the darkness with her at his side..."
Roland smiled. "The noblewomen will eat it up. In fact, you could make a killing off selling the story yourself."
Evelyn smiled back at Roland and said, "Perhaps I will. A peaceful life penning stories of my beloved and myself sounds like a pleasant life. Perhaps a small bookstore in the capital, some signings done while I don a mask..."
She could see it already. A peaceful life spent beside Alex, watching Emma come into her own as a young child, then teen, and finally woman...
"...But first, we must overcome this situation," Evelyn said.
Roland nodded, focusing. "Right." He shifted his gaze towards the entrance, where Marisa and Alex were still preparing the defenses and enchantments. "We have to escape the Empire, regroup, and figure out what to do next first."
Evelyn let out a teasing smile and said, "You could always house us at your Barony. House Lionheart would gain a great deal of prestige from granting asylum."
Roland snorted. "My father would ACTUALLY execute me if I showed up with the princess-in-exile as well as Mari."
"True..."