(EP-264.1) Song #1

264 – Cicada’s Song #1

I spoke to Mirna.

I asked her to become my family.

I proposed that we have a child together.

Hearing this, Mirna was even more embarrassed than when I had asked her to ride on top of me earlier. She even started trembling all over.

“Uhh…”

Her face turned as red as a detonated bomb, and she hesitated. Then, she picked up the cloak from the ground and used it to cover her face.

“… Is that true? Do you really want to have a child with me?”

“Yes. There’s not a single lie. I want to make a family with Mirna-nim.”

“Was this the confession you were going to make today…?”

“It’s similar. But the process is completely different.”

In truth, I planned to have a lovely dinner at a fancy restaurant, then confess at a luxury hotel with a view of Monarch City’s nightscape. That was probably the kind of confession noble ladies dreamt of.

Though, plans would often go awry. There was no luxurious wine that Mirna might like here, nor was there a balcony with some shimmering night view.

Just an old ruin and the glaring sunlight.

Realizing this, I suddenly felt insignificant as a man.

Such a tasteless confession.

“… To bring this up now, so suddenly… I never thought of it…”

Mirna looked anxious. Her eyes darted back and forth, and her hands clenched tightly around the cloak covering her face and body.

It was hard to tell if this was a good reaction or a bad one.

At least she didn’t seem angry, which was a relief.

I decided to make a manly dash towards Mirna’s tightly closed door.

“Mirna-nim, please become my family.”

“Family…”

“Yes, family.”

‘Family.’

I wasn’t sure how those words sounded to Mirna.

However, for me, there was no better way to express my feelings than asking her to become my family.

Whether my sincerity reached her or not, Mirna, who was looking anxious, suddenly bowed her head and sighed softly.

“… Sir Theo, regarding the child… no, about this matter, I need some time to think.”

“Time…?”

My expression must not have looked good, as Mirna explained.

“To conceive a life is not something that should be decided lightly. It requires thorough consideration and deliberation.”

“I also gave it a lot of thought before bringing it up.”

“Were you perhaps distracted recently because of this? Because of thinking about such matters?”

At Mirna’s question, I recalled my recent state.

“That’s right. Every day, I was busy thinking about the future with Mirna-nim.”

“W-what embarrassing things are you saying…!?”

Mirna’s hair ruffled in surprise. She then sighed deeply and added a few words.

“If we really do have a child, do you know how much we need to prepare beforehand?”

“Are you talking about things like parenting methods?”

“That’s part of it. But I’m also the eldest daughter and head of the Draco family. I carry many titles and responsibilities. Having a child would add a lot of complications.”

“I’m aware of that. How could I not?”

When I answered readily, Mirna seemed somewhat embarrassed and avoided my gaze.

“And as you know, I’m a bit special. The idea of having and raising a child normally… it’s hard for me to imagine… I’d also need to talk to Narmi about it…”

Right.

I could see where Mirna was coming from.

Mirna and Narmi shared the same body. If we were to have a child, the situation would be quite complicated.

Not to mention, they even fought to the point of spilling blood over the control of their body, so there was a need to be careful.

“Also, becoming a family with me means, in many ways, becoming a family with Narmi too.”

“That….”

“Sir Theo, can you handle that? You’ll also have to persuade Narmi.”

Indeed.

Life with Mirna wouldn’t be ordinary. But I was already prepared for that.

I had anticipated that Narmi’s involvement would come up.

Narmi was a kind and cheerful girl. I had no reason to refuse the idea of becoming family with her. So I gladly answered.

“I will get along with Narmi-nim as well. I’ll make every effort. I’ll also do my best to persuade her.”

“……!”

In response, Mirna looked happy while at the same time puffing up her cheeks softly, as if she was full of dissatisfaction.

“Your answer is too quick and easy. You could have thought about it a bit more. Aren’t you acting like a complete flirt? Like couldn’t you say, ‘even if I’m with Narmi-nim, my heart belongs to you, Lady Mirna’!”

“……”

That was a bit of a mouthful.

As I broke into a slight cold sweat, Mirna let out a long nasal sound, “Hmm.”

“I see, even for a half-fairy, it seems a long-lived species is a long-lived species. No sense of restraint or fidelity.”

“What does longevity have to do with fidelity?”

“Long-lived species tend to have more liberal views on romance. Look at the elves.”

“Elves…?”

“Before that, Sir Theo, let’s get dressed first. You’ll catch a cold if your sweat dries. Do you have a portable shower device in that storage?”

* * *

Darkness slowly descended upon the dungeon. The sky, which had briefly turned crimson like sunset, quickly deepened into a dark navy blue, with stars beautifully twinkling.

Of course, they weren’t real stars.

They were just parallel worlds that looked like stars.

“So, we were talking about the characteristics of long-lived species?”

Mirna said, shaking her wet hair after washing it.

“Elves, being a species that lives long lives, have a different view of marriage compared to other races. You could say that they are not bound by the institution of marriage.”

According to her, fairies would live long lives.

As a result, the frequency of bereavement or separation from their spouse was very frequent.

Thus, they didn’t place much importance on the institution of marriage and could engage in free love.

Polygamy, polyandry, polyamory, etc. Remarriage and divorce were very common.

“Do you know why the Bellhawk family is called the ‘Free Bellhawk’? If you had taken the Introduction to Fairy Studies with me, you would naturally know this…”

Edited by: faker