After taking an oath and dealing with the Sixth Prince, King Baldur and the members of the Royal Family returned to the Magdar Kingdom.
The journey had been uneventful, and everyone managed to safely return without any problems.
As Princess Ramona's most esteemed guests, King Baldur wanted to give Ethan and Joanne a villa near his personal residence, but the young man declined his offer.
Ethan then added that since they had come to support Princess Ramona, it would be best if they stayed in her residence instead.
In the end, the King reluctantly agreed and allowed Ethan to stay with his daughter.
This naturally made Princess Ramona very happy. Not only did she reunite with Ethan, but he was also going to live with her.
On the contrary, Joanne was still discontented. She didn't want to stay anywhere here and wanted to go back home as soon as possible.
However, since she knew nothing of the Magdar Kingdom and the current timeline they were stuck in, she decided to talk to her brother against her will.
"How do we return to the future?" Joanne asked.
"I'm already working on it," Ethan replied. "But it will take some time."
"How long are we talking about?"
"At least half a year."
Unlike his past self, Ethan was more composed since he already knew a way to return to the future.
Sebastian could activate the pyramid at the center of the City of Zentris, allowing them to travel back to their original timeline.
Since that was the case, the only thing he could do was wait.
For the time being, he planned to help Princess Ramona secure the throne, which was something that he and Lily had wanted to do in the past.
"Is there no other way?" Joanne inquired. "Maybe there's a faster way to get back home."
"You're right. There might be another way," Ethan nodded. "But I only know the method I used in the past."
Joanne was smart and mature for her age.
Several months ago, Fortuna casually mentioned that her brother was attacked by bandits and was forced to enter a Nexus, which sent him to the past.
Back then, the little girl, who still hadn't met her brother, thought that Ethan was pathetic to have been defeated by mere bandits.
If it were her, she would have handled the situation easily without breaking a sweat.
Seeing that Princess Ramona, King Baldur, and the Princes were familiar with Ethan, she swiftly figured that her brother had been transported to the Lands of Alastor and had found a way to return to the future.
If not for that, she wouldn't be as composed as she was now.
"Since we'll be here for a while, why don't you and Ramona become friends?" Ethan proposed. "She doesn't have any friends because she's always cooped up in the palace. Also, your ages are about the same, so both of you should be able to get along just fine."
Joanne pondered a bit before nodding her head.
Since she was stuck in the past and Ramona was a princess, it wouldn't be bad to befriend her.
Aside from that, she was also curious about what kind of magic people used in the past. Ethan's idea was indeed good.
"Lastly, I introduced ourselves as brother and sister to everyone," Ethan stated. "I know that you don't like me, but for your own safety, it will be best if you use my influence to intimidate those who wish to harm you.
"The Tidebringer is the Deity of the Lands of Alastor. As my sister, they will give you special treatment. However, don't abuse it. Remember that Princess Ramona has many enemies, and they might try to butter you up so that they can have a connection with me."
"Hmph! To think that these people refer to you as a Deity when you are clearly a fake," Joanne sneered. "But your proposal isn't that bad. Very well. I will use your influence as the Tidebringer and live a comfortable life here.
"Also, messing with the past sounds fun. If we make Ramona a Queen, will our names go down in history?"
Ethan nodded. "When I returned to the present, I saw a statue of me and my fiancee, Lily, in a Port Town. Who knows? If you and Ramona became good friends, she might also build a big statue of you and call you the Guardian Deity of the Magdar Kingdom."
Joanne didn't realize it, but the corner of her lips curled up into a smile as she envisioned a giant statue of her built in the Magdar Kingdom.
'If that really happens, then I can brag to mother, father, grandpa, and grandma,' Joanne thought. 'I'm sure that they will praise me for becoming part of history!'
Joanne was a sheltered child, so she didn't know many things about the world. But she was fond of reading, and some of them were stories about heroes in faraway lands and Witches who made their names known in history.
The mere thought of having bards sing songs of her adventure made her feel that spending half a year in the past wouldn't be that bad.
Since she was certain that Ethan had a way to return to the future, she would just treat this experience as a long vacation, which she would tell her family about when she returned to Caer Wydion.
Just as Joanne was thinking thoughts of grandeur, she and Ethan heard a knocking sound on the door, which made the two of them share a knowing glance with each other.
"Come in," Ethan said.
When the door opened, Princess Ramona entered with a sweet smile on her face.
"We'll be having dinner soon, so I was wondering if you'd like to dine inside the residence—or should we have it on the balcony facing the sea? The stars are beautiful at night, so it will be a very romantic experience~"
"Sounds good," Ethan replied. "I prefer eating with a beautiful view, so let's have dinner on the balcony if you don't mind."
"Yes, let's do that!" Princess Ramona nodded happily before leaving the room with a spring in her step.
Joanne looked at the Princess who didn't even bother to close the door behind her as she left the room.
"That girl likes you very much," Joanne said with a smirk. "How about you send me to the future, while you stay here in the past? I'm sure that the two of you will be a good couple after a few years."
Ethan ignored his sister's words and walked out of the room.
Princess Ramona was truly endearing. But in his eyes, she was like the sister he never had. He never thought of her as a romantic partner.
After all, she was only twelve years old. Ethan believed that she was just seeing him as her crush.
He was certain that in a few years, she would be able to move on from her feelings for him and find an exceptional man who would love, care, and protect her for the rest of her life. Searᴄh the NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Seeing that her teasing had no effect, Joanne pouted before following her no-good brother, whom she planned to defeat no matter what.
Sebastian and Ethan's Other Half glanced at each other and thought that perhaps getting sent to the past wasn't that bad of a thing.
It would give Ethan and Joanne a lot of time to get to know each other. Perhaps as they spend more time, the distance between them would disappear.
Both of them knew that, even though Joanne was being mean to Ethan, the young man would not do anything to harm his sister.
They just hoped that time would come when the little girl would open up to Ethan, and recognize him as her brother, which would definitely make the young man very happy.