I'll Just Be Friends With My Ex-Husband - Chapter 116.1

It was a night when everyone was asleep.

The Arena Empire was as good as  fallen.

The system had been chaotic, and those who fled had not yet returned.

The fear that once consumed them still lingered.

Ernst’s first action upon regaining his composure and the disappearance of the white snake was to send a messenger with a decree.

“Do not abandon your posts and guard the borders of Arena. I and the central nobility will uphold the system. Everyone should fulfill their roles. Do not let the enemy breach our borders. Do not give them any openings.”

The letter, sealed with Ernst’s insignia, was dispatched to the empire’s borders.

All of them received the letter and took solace in the safety of the system and the stability of the emperor’s position.

There would be no crumbling of the vast Arena Empire.

They all swore on their family names to hold their ground, and none dared to knock on Arena’s door.

It seemed that Ernst’s preparations for becoming the emperor had not been in vain.

While Ernst was working on restoring the system, he appeased the public sentiment by presenting Philia as a holy maiden.

Philia, who returned from the dead.

She was fitting for the role of a holy maiden.

It was as if the black snake gave Arena a small but effective gift during its crisis.

Philia returned as she was when she had died.

She was still 15 years old.

It would take time for Philia to grow up and become the empress.

Neither Ernst nor Philia seemed to care about that.

They valued the simple fact of being alive more than anything.

They found joy in each other’s safety.

The times they had shared had made them both tender and strong.

This incident had shaken everyone’s core beliefs.

Gerald’s life was no different.

Gerald leaned against the city walls.

The cold dawn breeze brushed against his cheeks.

It had been two weeks since the black snake he had been so close to disappeared.

The deity that had resurrected Philia and turned the world upside down had vanished like foam.

“Why are you here?”

He had thought it might appear again someday.

Gerald smirked and turned around.

“Were you waiting for me?”

The black snake grinned.

Its distinct black hair blended into the night sky.

Now fully empowered, the black snake seemed to embody the night itself.

Having reclaimed its place in the world, the black snake quickly regained its power.

It was now able to use various abilities and avert the many calamities that had befallen the empire.

Earthquakes and tidal waves ceased, and the innocent who perished without cause vanished.

The dark clouds over Arena were dispelled.

“…It seems like I was waiting.”

Perhaps that’s why he couldn’t sleep.

“It seems you missed me,” the black snake shrugged.

“I thought I should see you at least once.”

The black snake’s voice dissipated like smoke.

It seemed to be looking at Gerald, yet also seemed to be observing something much farther away.

It was as if the snake was peering right through him.

A shame that felt like his soul was laid bare made Gerald bite his lip.

“I wonder why you’re looking at me like that.”

“…Are you happy in this life?”

Caught off guard by the question, Gerald nodded.

“When you first came to me, asking to turn back time, you had a face that seemed to have embraced all misfortunes. You looked exhausted, and your soul seemed weaker than that of a worn-out old man.”

“…”

He was talking about the past.

Gerald silently stared at the black snake.

“But now, you seem full.”

“Why that…”

“I wanted to see you like that.”

Although Gerald and Luiella might not realize, the black snake had waited for them for a long time.

It was the first breath the black snake had taken in this world, being human.

They had promised to return, so the snake believed they surely would.

Even when curled up after giving everything to the white snake, it waited for them.

Believing that, as before, the two would come back to ease the black snake’s loneliness.

And true to their promise, they returned, though with faces that seemed about to crumble.

The black snake held Gerald’s hand, turned back time, and eventually brought about the present.

It could watch over their happiness once more.

In turn, the two saved the black snake.

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