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Chapter 68: Goodbye Sarion, Hello Englasia
A month passed in Sarion.
Varion trained a bit but kept it light. He could have pushed himself much harder, but he chose not to. Instead, he focused on control and he spent his mornings moving through slow, deliberate exercises, learning how to wield his new strength without relying on Great Sage to regulate it for him. It was frustrating at times, but it felt necessary.
The rest of his day was spent with Prinz and her family.
To everyone's surprise, including his own, he and Erald had actually started getting along. After the initial tension faded, the two men found common ground over drinks in the evenings. Erald was gruff and protective, but once he saw how serious Varion was about Prinz, he softened up. Their conversations were short and often filled with long silences, but they were comfortable one.
He also spent time with Elmesia. Their talks had shifted from purely political to something more friendly. She asked about Tempest, about his goals, and occasionally teased him. Varion didn't mind. For the first time in a long while, things felt… steady.
Prinz was happy. That was what mattered most to him. But he figured he should also let Prinz have some time with her family. So he figured he should leave.
When the day came, they stood together in a quiet courtyard near the edge of the palace grounds. Prinz's hands were clasped in front of her, her golden eyes soft as she looked up at him.
"You're sure?" she asked quietly.
"I'm sure," Varion said. He reached out and tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on the bright red streak. "You should spend more time with your family. They missed you. And I think… I think you missed them, more than you think as well."
Prinz nodded. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest.
"I'll miss you," she murmured.
"I'll miss you too." He kissed the top of her head, then tilted her chin up and kissed her properly. It was slow, warm, and unhurried pouring his emotions into it. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers. "Enjoy your time here. Don't worry about anything. I'll see you back in Tempest before you know it."
She nodded again, then pulled him down for one more kiss, this one a little deeper. When she finally let him go, her cheeks were faintly pink.
"Go see Rimuri," she said with a small smile. "I know you've been wanting to."
Varion gave her one last gentle squeeze before stepping back. He opened a gate behind him, the silver threads unfolding cleanly in the air.
"I'll be back before you know it," he said.
Prinz watched him step through, her hand raised in a small wave until the gate closed behind him.
Englasia's Freedom Academy was lively even in the late afternoon. Children's voices carried across the training field as two of them sparred under Rimuri's watchful eye. She stood with her arms crossed, occasionally correcting issues they had, her expression focused but casual.
Varion stepped out of his gate directly behind her.
He had asked Great Sage beforehand to hide his presence, so she didn't notice him arriving. For a moment, he simply watched her. She looked good, comfortable in this role, teaching Shizu's old students like they were her own now. The sight made something warm settle in his chest.
Then he smirked and decided to be a little mean.
Varion stepped forward quietly, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and quickly leaned down to blow directly into her ear.
Rimuri jolted so hard she nearly jumped out of her skin letting out an embarrassed noise.
"EYYAAA—!!!!"
She spun around in his arms, face instantly bright red, eyes wide with shock. For half a second she just stared at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Then the embarrassment hit full force.
"Varion—! You—You—! You scared me half to death! You big jerk!" she yelled, immediately starting to hit his chest with her fists in a series of light, flustered punches. "That was mean! I was in the middle of class! What if I had— you—!" her face getting progressively redder and redder.
Varion laughed, low and warm, keeping his arms around her so she couldn't escape. The kids had all stopped what they were doing to stare. Five pairs of wide eyes watched their usually calm and composed, if sometimes goofy, teacher flailing and blushing while being held by a tall, crimson-haired man none of them recognized.
Rimuri kept hitting his chest for a few more seconds before she finally gave up, her face still burning. She let out a frustrated huff and instead wrapped her arms around him properly, burying her face against his chest.
"…I missed you," she muttered, voice muffled.
Varion's laughter softened. He hugged her back, resting his chin on top of her head.
"I missed you too."
She pulled back after a moment, still a little pink, and looked up at him. "What are you doing here? I thought you were staying in Sarion with Prinz."
"I was," he said. "But I figured she should have some proper time alone with her family. And…" He hesitated for half a second, then continued honestly. "I wanted to see you… And also meet your students."
Rimuri's cheeks went even more pink than before, and her smile grew warmer.
Before she could say anything else, one of the kids (Kenya, by the sound of it) called out from across the field.
"Teacher Rimuri! Who's that?!"
Rimuri blinked, suddenly remembering they had an audience. She turned slightly, still half in Varion's arms, and cleared her throat.
"This is Varion," she said. "He's my… my…"
She tried to say it. She really did.
"My… h-hus-husb…"
The word got stuck somewhere between her brain and her mouth. Her face went scarlet. She tripped over the syllables, stammering badly.
"M-My… h-hus— I mean— he's— Varion is—"
She couldn't do it. The embarrassment was too much. She covered her face with both hands and made a small, mortified noise.
One of the kids, Chloe, this time, tilted her head and finished for her in a completely innocent tone.
"Oh. He's your husband that you told us about before."
Rimuri made another strangled sound behind her hands.
Varion, for his part, went very still.
He had heard her try to say it. Heard the way the word "husband" caught in her throat, the way she stumbled over it like it was something precious and terrifying at the same time. Something warm and tight bloomed in his chest, surprise, affection, and a quiet kind of awe all mixed together.
He looked down at her, still hiding her face, and felt his expression soften into something dangerously fond.
'She tried to say it.'
He didn't tease her for it. Not this time. He just tightened his arms around her slightly and let her hide against him a little longer while the kids continued to stare in open curiosity.
After a few seconds Rimuri slowly pulled her hands down, her face still flushed. She glanced up at him and immediately froze.
Varion was looking down at her with an expression she had never quite seen before. His emerald eyes were soft, almost tender, with a quiet warmth that made her stomach flip. There was no teasing in his gaze, no smirk. Just… fondness. Deep, genuine fondness.
Her heart stuttered.
She quickly looked away, cheeks burning even brighter, and instead reached down to grab his hand, lacing their fingers together tightly.
"W-Well," she said, voice slightly higher than usual, "since you're here, I should probably introduce you properly, yea we need to do that!!."she said it as if trying to convince herself it was the case.
She turned toward the group of children, who were still staring with open curiosity (and a few poorly hidden grins). Rimuri cleared her throat, trying to regain some semblance of composure.
"This is Varion," she said, squeezing his hand. "He's… my husband."
The word came out this time, though her ears were still bright red.
The kids immediately erupted into good-natured chaos.
"Teacher Rimuri's face is so red!" Kenya crowed, pointing.
"She's glowing!" Ryota added with a laugh.
Alice giggled behind her hand. "I've never seen Teacher Rimuri this embarrassed before."
Even Chloe, who was usually the quietest, had a small, knowing smile on her face as she watched them.
Rimuri made a small, mortified noise and covered her face with her free hand again.
"Stop it, all of you," she muttered, though there was no real heat in her voice. She was clearly trying not to smile.
Varion let out a low chuckle beside her, his thumb brushing gently over the back of her hand. He didn't say anything, but the way he looked at her hadn't faded in the slightest.
Rimuri peeked at him through her fingers, saw that same soft expression still on his face, and quickly looked away again, squeezing his hand tighter.
She was happy.
Embarrassed beyond belief… but undeniably happy.
She took a steadying breath and began pointing to each of the children one by one, her voice gradually returning to its usual calm tone even as her cheeks stayed pink.
"This is Kenya," she said, gesturing to the loudest of the group. "He's energetic and a bit of a troublemaker, but he works hard."
Kenya puffed up proudly at the "works hard" part.
"This is Ryota," she continued. "He's very kind, observant and good at reading situations."
Ryota gave a small, polite nod.
" That's Gale, he's a bit quiet but don't let that fool you, he's incredibly sharp."
Gale offered a tiny wave.
"Alice is very kind and takes care of everyone," Rimuri said warmly.
Alice smiled a little shy at the comment but also proud.
"And this is Chloe," she finished, her voice softening slightly. "She's… gentle and very thoughtful of others."
Chloe tilted her head and gave Varion a small, curious smile.
Varion nodded to each of them in turn, polite and calm.
"It's nice to meet all of you," he said. "Rimuri's told me a lot about you."
The kids exchanged glances, clearly still processing the fact that their teacher had a husband who was apparently tall, strong-looking, and made her turn bright red just by existing.
Kenya grinned mischievously.
"Teacher Rimuri talks about you a lot," he said. "She gets all dreamy when she does."
"Kenya!" Rimuri yelped, scandalized.
Varion's lips twitched.
Rimuri groaned and buried her face against his shoulder again for a moment, muttering something about "never living this down."
But even as she complained, she didn't let go of his hand. And Varion, still watching her with that same soft expression, didn't seem to mind one bit.