By Zephyria Michael, who had arrived like the wind, departed like the wind.
Michael departed for Floyd to subjugate gods. And this time, he did not return.
After the Floyd Expedition ended, the Second Prince returned with the First Prince’s body. He naturally became Emperor. Peter, no, Spiritus, revealed his true form and widely publicized Michael’s achievements. Thanks to Rubel, who had become Emperor, inciting those who praised Michael, everyone missed Michael.
Seiren fussed with worry, but for some reason, I wasn’t worried at all. I believed Michael could do anything well. The sense of relief that filled my heart was enough to be considered faith.
Yes, faith.
I had already seen gods who spoke and acted like humans. Their language, gestures, and actions were sufficiently inhuman, yet when examined one by one, they seemed no different from my son, who had been so exceptional and great since childhood.
So, I decided to simply believe from now on that my son Michael had become a god.
I no longer wrote letters. Instead, I prayed. Not searching for the names of vain gods, but repeating Michael’s name. Didn’t they say gods grow stronger by consuming faith? I prayed and prayed, relying on legends whose truth I couldn’t ascertain. I prayed for my son, for Michael, to be returned.
Michael and Asdel conspired to invite playwrights to Count Ernhardt’s residence. Michael valued honor and name greatly. So, if the countless people of this Empire wished for Michael’s return, wouldn’t he hear them more easily? With that thought, I granted permission without much deliberation.
Michael’s actions became a myth.
Seiren, upon newly learning that Michael hadn’t simply gone on a pilgrimage but had joined a journey to defeat Black magicians, jumped up and down in indignation. But I couldn’t help but laugh. Michael cut down hundreds of corrupted monsters, dismembered resurrected corpses, and made a pact with gods to ensure the Empire’s peace. There was no room for hesitation in any of his actions.
Sometimes, while my wife was bathing, I would lie alone in bed and grope for the empty space beside me.
When I did that, I remembered when Michael, who was smaller than my forearm, used to crawl around the bed. His blue eyes looking up at me, his round cheeks that would break into a smile after a sigh of “Hoo.” His stern voice saying, “Father,” I remembered that very often.
That child, who was now a head taller than me, in his very small and fragile days.
If I had been a more reliable father, would my son be by my side now? Should I have told him it was okay not to become stronger, just to grow up healthy, and that he didn’t necessarily have to accomplish everything? Whenever late regret chilled my heart, I just laughed. Thinking that Michael would return soon.
My father passed away.
I thought I was coping well enough, but Father didn’t seem to think so. He believed I had lost my mind. He had repeatedly ordered me to forget Michael during his lifetime, and once, he even slapped my cheek. But his aged hand didn’t hurt at all, and I just laughed it off.
Of course, there were days when I couldn’t bear the impatience. On Michael’s birthday, which had been celebrated without its owner for several years now, at a moment when the empty seat at the dining table, set for the whole family, caught my eye, or when I saw Michael’s portrait hung in a grand theater, or in all those moments when the Emperor sent courteous letters to console us…
Yes, for some reason, I had been living as if my feet were lifted off the ground every day. And Seiren, Michael, and Asdel often cried missing Michael. But I was truly alright…
And Father wrote in his will that he wished for me to hold my son’s funeral.
…
When a person dies, one wears mourning clothes for three months. Our family endured throughout that three-month mourning period, but we couldn’t possibly disobey his will. In the end, we decided to prepare a grave for Michael next to Father’s.
It was a winter morning, the sky shining clear and blue. Our family, still in mourning clothes to honor Father, woke up as usual and prepared for the new funeral. November. The grass, covered by winter, lay like ripe wheat, and the ground, not yet frozen, was soft and easy to dig into a neat square.
In a funeral prepared without a body, the deceased’s belongings were placed in the coffin. We placed the casual clothes Michael often wore and his frequently used handkerchief. However, the iron sword he used as a child or the school uniform he mainly wore during his Academy days were not placed in the coffin.
A coffin without a body is very light. Although it was proper to enlist the help of knights to bury it, Michael and I volunteered, holding the ropes tied to both ends of the coffin, and carefully lowered it into the square hole. Seiren shed tears again, but I did not cry.
I, I believed even at this moment that Michael had truly not died.
As long as he lived in our hearts, Michael was a child who could tear through space and appear out of nowhere, just like before. Just as he was born into this world to save me, just as he suddenly appeared at Demon Port to save Asdel, just as he ran towards the center of the continent to save the world.
No one covered the coffin with soil. They simply gazed into the hole where the coffin had been placed, standing in their respective spots, enduring the silence.
“…Shall we begin now.”
It was so difficult to utter those words. Seiren, unable to bear it, buried his face in his hands. Michael looked up at the sky, and Asdel bit his lip. We waited until the family was sufficiently prepared. It was around the time when one by one, they began to nod.
A large steed charged towards Ikyun.
Seeing the rider galloping wildly, as if he intended to take my place in the coffin, surprised the knights. They half-drew their swords, but upon recognizing who it was, they flusteredly blocked the way to our family, unarmed. Fortunately, the Emperor did not behead them but leaped from his horse.
And he grabbed the coffin with his bare hands.
“What is this, what is this?”
The voice, shouting without a single greeting, cracked and tore sharply. Even that piercing cry, which felt like it was squeezing and tearing at my insides, did not frighten me in the slightest.
The man who used to bow low whenever he saw me and Seiren, smiling gently, now looked up at us with disheveled hair and fierce, axe-like eyes. His face was completely wet. Whether he had been crying for how long, how, or how much, his once pale face was covered in fiery red blotches.
Asdel nudged Michael’s side with his elbow. Michael was the only one among us who could have informed the Emperor of Michael’s funeral schedule. After briefly looking at Michael’s face, who shook his head as if to say he was not at fault, I composed my voice and asked calmly,
“What is this? And what are you doing, Your Majesty?”
“No, no. I… I told you I could guarantee it. Mika, Mika hasn’t left yet. Soon… She will return very soon. No matter what Father says.”
“I believe so too.”
“…Yes?”
He’s strong, too.
I burst into laughter at his vacant expression, lifting the mahogany coffin like a pillow and hugging it to his chest, even if he was empty inside. When I laughed, Seiren followed, then Michael, and Asdel, covering their faces with their hands and sobbing with laughter. The knights, who had been watching Ikyun, couldn’t control their expressions and looked around at the sky and the ground.
The escort knights who followed the Emperor, having arrived in such a hurry, stopped their horses one by one beyond the low fence. It was a sin to tread on another family’s common grave while mounted on a steed. Of course, the Emperor, in his haste, didn’t seem to have thought that far.
“I told you I believe Michael will return alive, Your Majesty.”
“Then… then why is this?”
“There was a will from the former Count Ernhardt. I was hesitant to follow his wish to hold the funeral of his living grandchild, and I had been contemplating it until now… However, I couldn’t just pretend I hadn’t heard it.”
“…”
“Since you’ve come, you might as well watch the ceremony with us. Perhaps Michael will return sooner if Your Majesty misses him. As you know… our son liked you very much.”
The Emperor’s hands, which had been tightly gripping the coffin, slowly loosened their grip. His dark eyes, as if contemplating something, sank into a deeper light. I gazed into his bloodshot eyes, the whites of which were crimson, and murmured as if coaxing him.
“It was the wish of the deceased, so we should grant it if he wanted to hold the funeral of his living grandchild.”
“…”
“Still, let’s bury him today. We have also thought about this for a long time.”
“…”
He bit his lip so hard that blood seeped from the noble Emperor’s mouth. His trembling hand slowly lowered the coffin it had lifted. The hole where the coffin was to be placed had been neat at first, but its edges had crumbled here and there as the grown young man had rushed in. Thus, the Emperor became the first to sprinkle soil into the coffin.
As the head of the family, I was next to sprinkle a handful of soil onto the coffin. After Seiren, Michael, and Asdel sprinkled soil in turn, I looked at Rubel again. He couldn’t sprinkle the soil he held tightly in his fist and just kept it in his hand, then smeared the clumped soil onto the coffin as if crushing it.
The knights also added clods of soil. A priest standing nearby recited the eulogy, and the prepared choir sang a memorial song with care. A marble slab, engraved with the family crest in ornate detail, was placed on the leveled grave, and flowers were scattered.
Throughout this time, Rubel, who had been standing rigidly, collapsed again before throwing his share of the flowers. Seeing him face down, his forehead pressed against the white stone, was astounding.
Would it feel like this if I had one more son? It was funny to think about. I had never seen Michael cry in my life, but I saw the noble Emperor cry far too often.
“…When Michael returns.”
My voice was hoarse for some reason. Rubel’s sobbing breaths gradually subsided. He seemed to be listening intently to my voice. After a long exhale, I organized my voice and finally said,
“Get married. I will give you my permission.”
“…Yes?”
“Thinking about it, it’s true. How many years has it been now?”
Michael, who had shown tears for a moment, chuckled. He irreverently grabbed the Emperor’s shoulder, who was lying down, and pulled him up. The knights, seeing the Emperor kneeling before our family, who were now gathered around, backed away in distress.
“That’s right. I think my brother is also hooked, Your Majesty.”
“…Didn’t you live with my brother longer than I did? I originally wasn’t going to give permission easily… But it’s fine. You can have him.”
Despite the jokes added one after another, Rubel couldn’t smile. Tears streamed down his pale face. Seiren, who had been quietly watching, dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. Her voice, suppressed, was filled with sighs in every syllable.
“Still, since you’ve come this far, stay the night. We can offer you a room.”
“…”
“Are you just going to leave?”
“…No, no. Thank you… I will stay.”
Yes, at least having someone to cry with instead made me feel a little better. I looked up at the still clear sky. From the blue sky, which matched my son’s eye color perfectly, I somehow heard Michael’s hollow laughter.