Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 57 Ring
Yumilia slowly opened her eyes; the morning light from outside the window had already spilled onto her pillow.

"Well"

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked around.

"Didn't I sleep on the sofa last night?"

He yawned but didn't pay much attention. He got out of bed, found some clean clothes, and went into the bathroom.

One by one, the velvet clothes slipped to the floor, were folded, and put into the laundry basket. A moment later, she walked barefoot into the shower room, her feet pattering on the tiled floor.

The temperature in the capital city started to drop in mid-August. You could feel a chill even when you were naked. Luckily, there was such a convenient thing as a shower, with hot water available anytime.

Warm water flowed over her fair, rosy skin, quickly filling the bathroom with steam.

Yumilia hummed a song, her slender fingers combing through her long gray hair that fell to her calves.

The morning's weariness was washed away by the warm water.

Steaming hot and damp, Yumilia emerged from the bathroom, dried herself off, wrapped her wet hair in a towel, changed into clean clothes, and gazed at her rosy, pretty face reflected in the mirror, where tiny water droplets clung. She patted her cheeks and got into the zone.

In the kitchen, a frying pan was sizzling as eggs were being fried. Caesar's door opened, and he walked out looking exhausted.

"Good morning, Caesar. Breakfast will be ready soon," Yumilia said.

But then footsteps approached from behind, and Caesar suddenly grabbed her from behind.

"Huh?" Yumilia froze, and the spatula she was about to use to flip the egg stopped.

Caesar held her close, his cheek resting on the hair on the top of her head.

Perhaps sensing Caesar's emotions, Yumilia reacted, took Caesar's hand, and softly asked:
"What's wrong, Caesar?"

"."

Caesar remained silent for a long while, then released her and smiled slightly:
"It's nothing, just a good morning hug. Good morning."

"Caesar has actually learned to be so romantic," Yumilia exclaimed in surprise.

“I’m eleven years old now, practically an adult, so of course I need to learn how to be a gentleman,” Caesar said.

“Okay, my little gentleman, come, help me carry this plate.” Yumilia handed him the plate.

Caesar tidied the table, setting out cutlery and plates, his gaze drifting to the gray-haired figure still busy in the kitchen.

For some reason, he didn't have the courage to ask the question that was on his mind.

What exactly did Yumilia do for him on that night eleven years ago?

He put his hand in his pocket and grasped a ring inside.

"This is what she left for you. It bears the marks of her contract with you and cannot be transformed into a soul state, so she gave it to me."

Sothos gave Caesar a small ring.

Upon seeing the ring, Caesar's pupils contracted even further.

The ring band is linked, and at the top is a small, faded starstone.

The Stardust is the most precious metal in the world, used only as a raw material for the highest level of alchemy. It was found in the treasury of a once-conquered territory. He took two of them and had them made into rings.

Caesar clutched the small ring, gazing at the dim starlight. He seemed to see again that night by the campfire, when he presented the ring to her in front of everyone, and Greta's stunned, almost paralyzed expression. "I once tried to persuade her to give up this idea; it's too dangerous. Her soul could very well wander the spirit world forever. But she insisted on keeping her promise to you and wouldn't listen to anything I said," Sothos said, staring intently at Caesar.

The ring landed in Caesar's palm, where he gripped it tightly.

"That idiot."

Sothos pressed down on his shoulder: "You have to go find her, Rean, go get her out of here. No matter what's going on, no matter how difficult it is, you have to go find her."

Sothos let out a long sigh and said, "And that relic of an ancient god, the source of your curse, was probably used once after you entered the Cocoon of Origin. The divine imprint remaining on it has weakened considerably, and it is now placed within the forbidden zone."

The divine relic Caesar used to ascend to godhood, the "Heart of the Uncrowned," was cursed because the divine imprint left over from the ritual was activated. If the imprint's energy is weakened, he will be able to use the relic without risk.

“I know, but…” Caesar sighed deeply.

The current royal court ruins sank after the Great Destruction, the entire royal city was submerged in the sea, and a magical turbulent current enveloped the entire royal city, which no one has been able to approach for hundreds of years.

“You’re not the kind of person who gets scared by a little difficulty, Your Majesty,” Sothos said, pressing his shoulder and smiling at him.

“Let’s start over, Rean. Just like we did, we went through countless storms and finally climbed that palace. Now, you can climb it again.”

"There, beauty and strength await you."

Caesar looked into Sothos's pale blue eyes, finally managed a weak smile, and pressed down on Sothos's hand that was on his shoulder.

"I will."

The two smiled at each other.

“Alright, I’ve said everything I needed to say. I’m about to go,” Sothos stood up, dusted off his clothes, turned to face him, and knelt down.

"I also entrust my descendants to your care, so that they may stay by your side just as I did back then."

Caesar lowered his eyes. At this moment, he didn't say anything sad about parting. He simply reached out, clenched his fist, and patted Sothos's chest.

"I will."

Sothos smiled at him, his body gradually dissipating into specks of light, leaving only an echo that reverberated through the palace.

"Take care, Your Majesty."

The black box fell to the ground again. Caesar, facing the empty hall, slowly knelt down, placed his left hand on his chest, and, suppressing the overwhelming grief, softly read:

Take care, my dearest friend.

But at that moment, a slightly amused voice came from the black box:
"You should at least cry once, shouldn't you?"

Caesar froze, staring at the black box, as the voice continued to pour from within:
"I forgot to tell you, in order to preserve it for a long enough time, I added a lot of protective spells to this wisp of consciousness, so it can be activated at least a few more times. If you have any problems that you can't solve, come and ask me for help, or if you're free, come and chat for a while."

"But it's quite tiring to be used once, so I'll take a break first. Don't come looking for me for a while."

The sound ended, leaving Caesar kneeling on one knee before the black box, his left hand gradually tightening its grip on his chest.

"Sothos, why didn't you say so earlier?"

All that heavy feeling from just now has been wasted!

(End of this chapter)