“You’re finally here, Celine.”
“Lady Lyssa? What are you doing here?”
The Goddess of Wrath stood in the hallway with a smile on her face.
“I’ve come here to pick you up,” Lyssa said. “I’ve already talked with Thanatos. This is not a good place for you to give birth, so I’m taking you with me to the Elysian Fields.”
“B-But, this is too sudden,” Celine replied.
Although she was happy that her Patron Goddess had appeared to ensure her pregnancy wouldn’t have any problems, she had been reunited with William, making her feel reluctant to leave him.
“I know that this is sudden, but you have to leave sooner or later,” Lyssa stated. “I know that this is too much to take in all at once, so I’ll let you say your proper goodbyes to him. Why don’t we go to the reception area for now? They have already prepared it for your arrival.”
The black-haired lady who was guiding William and Celine earlier bowed her head, and made a gesture of, Please follow me, leaving no room for negotiations.
After arriving at the reception room, the Goddess Lyssa made herself at home and sipped her tea as if she owned the place.
“Go on,” Lyssa said as she eyed the Half-Elf and the beautiful elf beside him. “Treat me as if I’m not here. Feel free to take as much time as you need to say goodbye to each other.”
“…”
“…”
William and Celine were both at a loss for words, but one thing led to another and, before they knew it, the time for them to part again was here.
The two of them had stayed in the same room for the past six days while they traveled towards the Tenth Circle of the Underworld and had talked about many things.
William had told her everything that had happened since they were taken away by the God of Death, and Celine had also told him about all the things she had experienced in the Underworld.
Once could even say that, over the past six days, they had aid almost everything they wanted to say to each other, except for their farewells.
In the end, it was Celine who broke the ice and cupped William’s face. She then gave him a long and passionate kiss, making him feel all the emotions that were inside her heart at the moment.
Naturally, William returned her kiss, and made Celine feel his overflowing feelings for her.
They kissed, kissed, and kissed some more, making even the Goddess of Wrath feel as if becoming the third wheel was a very bad idea.
After the two kissed for the Umpteenth time, Lyssa was unable to take it anymore, and left the room before she started vomiting sugar.
When the Goddess had finally left, William and Celine stopped kissing and stared at each other with affectionate gazes.
“I promise to give birth to a healthy child,” Celine said. “I will care for him until you finish your business in Hestia. Make sure that it will be a place where our child can grow in peace and happiness. But, don’t force yourself too much, okay? If it’s hard, you can take a break. I will wait patiently for you to take me back.”
William nodded as he lightly squeezed Celine’s hand.
“I will do my best to take care of the problems as soon as possible,” William replied. “I can’t bear to leave you, Ashe, Sidonie, Morgana, and Chiffon here in the Underworld for a long time.”
“We believe in you. But, don’t make us wait too long. All of us look forward to the day where we can be by your side, under the same sky.”
“Mmm.”
William pulled Celine closer to him, and the latter rested her head on his shoulders. Although the Goddess, Lyssa, had told them that they could take their time saying their goodbyes to each other, they also knew that they couldn’t spend the entire day in each other’s arms.
The world wouldn’t stop turning because of them, and time wouldn’t bother to wait for them either.
Since that was the case, they said their final farewells, with the promise to meet again as soon as possible.
“Please, look after her for me, Your Excellency,” William said before bowing his head respectfully to Celine’s Patron Goddess.
“Of course I will,” Lyssa replied. “The next time you see each other, your child will have been born. Have the two of you already decided on a name for your firstborn?”
William and Celine glanced at each other before nodding their heads in unison.
They had already agreed on the name of their child if it was a boy, or a girl.
William wished that Celine would have a smooth pregnancy, and their child to be born healthy. With the Goddess Lyssa watching over Celine, the Half-Elf was confident that everything would be fine.
Even so, he couldn’t help but feel anxious. After all, Celine was about to give birth to his first child. His only regret was that he wouldn’t be there when their child was finally born in the world.
As a father, this was something he wished he could witness, but since the circumstances prevented him from doing so, there was nothing he could do about it.
“Until we meet again,” Celine said softly as she caressed William’s face. “Do your best, Papa. Me and our child will be rooting for you wherever we may be.”
“Mmm,” William nodded.
Lyssa smiled and held Celine’s hand.
“William, allow me to give you a piece of advice,” Lyssa said before moving closer to whisper something in William’s ears. The Goddess’ words were so faint that the Half-Elf almost didn’t hear her properly.
“When you leave the Underworld, don’t look back no matter what,” the Goddess Lyssa whispered. “As long as you do that, everything else is in the gray area.”
The Goddess then winked at William before waving her hand.
A moment later, a golden portal appeared, leading to the promised paradise of Elysium.
Celine gave William one last glance before following her Goddess inside the portal.
As soon as the beautiful Elf had fully entered the portal, it disappeared completely, leaving nothing behind but a Half-Elf, who was still trying to understand the advice that was given to him by the Goddess of Wrath.
