After his intense encounter with Hippolyte, Napoleon wasted no ti in making his way back ho. With determined strides, he reached the grand Chateau and headed straight for Ciela's bedroom. Pushing the door open, he entered to find Ciela and their two little children gathered inside.
"Oh... Papa is already here," Ciela exclaid, her voice carrying a mixture of relief and surprise. The children turned their attention to the door, their innocent eyes widening as they laid eyes on their father standing before them.
"Papa!" Aveline exclaid, her voice filled with a mix of joy and curiosity.
Napoleon ambled forward, a gentle smile spreading across his face. The weariness from his encounter with Hippolyte faded away in the presence of his beloved family. He knelt down before Aveline and Francis, opening his arms wide.
"Co here, my little ones," he said softly, his voice filled with tenderness. "It feels like forever since I last held you both."
Aveline and Francis rushed into their father's embrace, their small bodies fitting snugly against his chest. Napoleon enveloped them in a warm hug, savoring the familiar scent of their hair and the feel of their tiny arms wrapped around him.
"Oh, how I've missed you," Napoleon whispered, his voice filled with a mix of longing and adoration. "I've thought of you every day, my precious ones."
Ciela watched their tender reunion from her bed, a soft smile gracing her lips. Seeing Napoleon with their children filled her heart with warmth.
"Papa, are you staying ho with us now?" Aveline asked with Francis leaning forward as if eager to hear his answer.
"Unfortunately, my little ones, not yet. Papa is still in a battle with the enemy, so I will leave in a few days. But don't worry, papa will be safe and will return to you as soon as I can," Napoleon replied.
Aveline and Francis exchanged glances, their expressions reflecting a mixture of understanding and disappointnt. They had grown accustod to their father's absence, but the yearning for his constant presence lingered in their young hearts.
Napoleon gently set Aveline and Francis down, his hands lingering on their shoulders for a mont before releasing them. He stood up, straightening his attire, and turned his attention to the maids who were present in the room.
"Thank you for taking care of them," Napoleon addressed the maids with a firm yet appreciative tone. "Please, escort Aveline and Francis to their rooms. Let them rest and ensure they are comfortable."
The maids nodded, but as soon as the maids got near them, Aveline spoke.
"Can't we stay, papa?" Aveline's voice quivered, her eyes pleading for a few more monts in their father's presence.
"I wish you could, my little ones," Napoleon replied, his voice filled with affectionate regret. "But your mother and I have important matters to discuss, matters that require our undivided attention. It won't take long, I promise. And then, we can have so more ti together."
Aveline's lower lip trembled, but she nodded, her trust in her father's words evident in her eyes. Francis, though disappointed, mirrored his sister's response.
They were escorted out of the room by the maids, leaving Napoleon and Ciela alone. The door closed softly behind them, muffling the sounds of their children's fading footsteps.
Napoleon turned his attention back to Ciela. He took a seat beside her and took her hand gently in his.
"How are you feeling my love? Feel any better?"
"Better than earlier I suppose," Ciela chuckled.
Napoleon scanned her appearance, she seed to be recovering well from her fever. The worry lines that had etched themselves on his face began to fade as he saw the color returning to Ciela's cheeks.
"I'm glad to see you recovering," Napoleon said, his voice filled with genuine relief. "The thought of you unwell weighed heavily on my heart while I was away."
Ciela gave him a tender smile, her hand squeezing his gently. "Did you et the man who scared ?"
"Oh yeah, it was an amicable eting," Napoleon replied with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Ciela couldn't help but chuckle, her eyes twinkling with amusent. "Oh, Napoleon, what did you do?"
Napoleon leaned closer, a playful grin on his face. "Well, let's just say I asked him nicely to stay away from you."
Ciela giggled. "Is that so?" she paused for a mont, gathering her thoughts before speaking. "Napoleon…you must be wondering why soone like falters to a man like him? Sure I could take care of him better than you but…" she trailed off, rembering her dark mories.
"It's okay, you don't have to explain yourself," Napoleon said.
"No, I think you should know, my love," Ciela said. "I told you my occupation in my previous world. I am a Vtuber…an entertainer. In my line of work, I have thousands of fans around the world…but one of those fans stalked relentlessly. It started innocently enough, with ssages and comnts, but it quickly escalated into sothing much more sinister, eventually taking my life. Charles said sothing that matched one of the stalker's ssages to ."
Hearing that, Napoleon confird that Ciela was indeed suffering from trauma. But her telling that to him is making him guilty. He hadn't been fair to her, keeping his true identity while she divulged her previous life. He knew at one point, Ciela is going to find by herself, so he might as well confess now. He took a mont to gather his thoughts and prepare himself for the outco.
"Ciela…I too have a secret to share with you," Napoleon began.
Ciela tilted her head to the side. "What is it, my love?"
"You see, I'm not the Napoleon Bonaparte that you look up to, I'm just soone who shares the sa circumstances as you, dying and getting reincarnated in this world."
There, Napoleon closed his eyes, afraid of the reaction that would follow his confession. He waited for Ciela's response, his heart pounding with uncertainty. He opened his left eye slightly, peeking at Ciela through his lashes.
Napoleon continued.
"You see, there was a goddess nad Ciel who made a mistake by cutting my life thread prematurely. In exchange for that error, she offered a second chance—a chance to live another life in a different world. However, she didn't reveal that I would be reincarnated as Napoleon of this universe. What I do know is that Ciel granted a gift—a special ability to access information. This ability allows to learn about the technology and concepts of my previous life. From thermodynamics to steam engines, everything I know is essentially a replication of the knowledge I possessed before. Even my military achievents were based on studying and implenting the strategies of the real Napoleon Bonaparte from a specific battle."
Despite telling all that, Ciela remained her beautiful smile on her face as she listened to Napoleon's story.
"I kept it from you because I was afraid. Afraid that revealing the truth would change how you saw , that it would alter our relationship. I wanted to preserve the love and trust we share, even if it ant hiding this part of myself. It was a lie I was willing to carry alone, but I've co to realize that keeping it from you is not fair to either of us. So that's why…"
"I see…Thank you for telling this, Napoleon. But you don't have to worry about changing my impression of you because I already knew."
"You…knew?" Napoleon repeated, his voice breaking. "Since when?"
Ciela simply smiled, recalling the mories of how she found out that the man in front of her is not the Napoleon she studied in history but a different man.
Reviews
All reviews (0)