Chapter 1360 Bittersweet Memories
After clearing things up with his women, William returned to the Thousand Beast Domain to run away from the aftermath.
However, before leaving, he made sure to take Princess Aila with him.
Haleth, Amelia, and Priscilla would return to the Ainsworth Empire in the morning after they finished wrapping up the missions that had been assigned to them.
Because of this, he decided to retrieve the fragmented memories he had of Belle, that his past self had given to the angelic Princess for safekeeping, first.
"You look very troubled, Will," Princess Aila said as she gazed at his face. "Is there something wrong?"
"Yes," William replied as he looked at the naked, angelic beauty in front of him, who was also inside the bathtub with him, and currently straddling his lap. "Something is rising, and it's not the Shield Hero."
"Rising?" Princess Aila tilted her head. "Shield Hero? You're funny, Will."
The angelic beauty smiled sweetly, which melted William's heart. Among his lovers, Optimus told him that Princess Aila was the shyest among them all.
However, that shy person was now alone with him inside the bathtub, and pressing her soft, and fragrant body against him.
William didn't expect that his casual favor of having Belle's memory returned to him by the Princess would lead to this scenario, where the angelic beauty would take a bath with him.
Frankly, just like William's other lovers, Princess Aila wanted to be with him. But, with so many women wanting to have some time alone with the handsome Half-Elf, the "shy" princess needed to take the initiative in order to have some quality time with her lover, who had lost his memories.
"I missed you, Will," Princess Aila said softly. "I'm sorry because I am unable to help you recover all of your memories."
William felt an ache in his chest after seeing the teary expression of the lady in front of him. He then lightly pulled Princess Aila close to him, and kissed her soft lips, making her forget the worries inside her heart.
Shannon had told him that if there came a time when he felt that his wives and lovers were feeling sad, or troubled, the quick fix was to give them a kiss, to help lighten their mood.
He didn't know if what the fox lady told him was the truth, but after seeing Princess Aila's expression, he decided to give it a try.
Soon, only the sounds of kissing echoed inside the bathroom, as the Half-Elf, and the angelic beauty in his arms, kissed, until they panted for breath.
"Are you feeling better?" William asked after he regained his composure.
"Yes," Princess Aila replied with a slight blush on her face. "Your kiss is clumsier compared to how you kissed me in the past, but it feels good as well."
William smiled. He was still not used to being surrounded by so many beautiful women, but he had to admit that having them around made him feel at ease.
"Can you return my memories of Belle?" William inquired. "I really need them."
Princess Aila nodded. "Of course. Now, close your eyes."
William obeyed. A moment later, he could hear and feel the water being drained from the bathtub. He also felt a pair of soft lips pressed over his own, and his manhood sliding inside Princess Aila's… until its tip kissed the entrance of her womb.
However, before he could do anything else, a flood of information passed inside his mind, filling up the blank spaces in his memory.
—---
Within a field of flowers, with fireworks illuminating the night sky, a young teenager stood.
The scene looked so picturesque, and yet, William could only see sadness emanating from the red-headed teenager, as he gazed upon the heavens.
Suddenly, a pair of slender arms wrapped themselves around his body from behind.
William saw the teenager look up to see a beautiful lady smiling down on him.
A moment later, the black-haired beauty lowered her lips to kiss him.
The Half-Elf watched as their kiss ended.
He watched as the two talked heart to heart with each other, surrounded by a field of flowers, with the moon and the stars shining down on them.
—-----
"Belle, for me, You are the beginning of a letter, the contents of a poem, the ending of a Fairytale," William said after he finished putting the ring on Belle's finger. "I don't know what the future holds, but I will do my best to find you."
—-----
Yes. He said those words to her back then. But, in the end, it was Belle who found him.
It was her who crossed that insurmountable distance between their two worlds to be with him.
—-----
"Let us make some ground rules before you return to your world," Belle said with a serious expression. "If you marry dozens of wives I will castrate you."
"Okay," William replied. "I didn't intend to have dozens of wives in the first place."
—-----
William shuddered after hearing Belle's threat, and his promise.
He had already surpassed the limit that she had set for him. Did that mean that his Little Brother really would have to be chopped off?
'She's not really going to castrate me, right?' William thought as he continued to watch the scene in front of him.
Soon, the image of the flower field disappeared, and was replaced by a wedding.
His Wedding.
—-----
"Should anyone present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace," the priest said as he looked at the people inside the church.
It was at that moment when William remembered the face of his grandfather, James, who had appeared on Earth just in time to facilitate his wedding with Belle.
A man then suddenly opposed the marriage, but his Grandpa threw a wooden mallet at the guy's face, making him lose consciousness.
"Is there anyone else who opposes this marriage?" James asked in a challenging tone.
William couldn't help but chuckle because even he wouldn't oppose his own wedding, if the priest who was in charge of it was his grandpa, who was hell-bent to have their bloodline spread far and wide.
"With the blessing of everyone who is present here today, I now pronounce both of you husband and wife," James said before giving William a wink. "You may now kiss the bride."
That was the day when William got married to Belle, and the day that Hebe's Ten-Thousand-Year wish became a reality.
Several more scenes happened after that. William visiting the kids in the orphanage with Belle and giving them toys, and their last bittersweet goodbye before he left Earth to return to Hestia.
His memories with Belle weren't that many, but they were enough.
As the memories firmly rooted themselves inside his mind, a single tear streamed down the side of William's face, which Princess Aila caught with her fingertips.
She then placed it inside her lips to taste it because she instinctively felt to do so.
The taste of William's tear was bittersweet.
She had already finished transferring the memories to the Half-Elf, who still had his eyes closed. The angelic princess knew that William was currently watching the scenes of his memory, and the tear he shed just now was proof that his memories of Belle had finally been restored.
A few minutes later, William opened his eyes. No more tears streamed down the side of his face, and yet, he felt very sad after regaining his memories.
So little of his memories remained of Belle, which proved that he was really on the verge of forgetting her completely by the time he could pass his memories to Princess Aila.
This realization made his heart ache, as he thought of his older self, who desperately tried to preserve Belle's memories, while his soul was slowly being corrupted by darkness.
"It's fine," Princess Aila said as she pulled William's head close to her chest, in order to help calm him down. "You're going to be fine."
Soon, the angelic Princess felt something warm sliding down her chest, as William's tears finally fell like rain.
Princess Aila held him close, and lightly patted his head. She allowed him to cry because this was part of the healing process. The Princess who had used all of her courage to be with William, was now giving him the courage to overcome the sadness he was feeling.
An hour later, William finally stopped crying, and the angelic Princess did her best, to make her lover temporarily forget the sadness of having his memory returned to him, by making him feel the love and affection that only she could provide to him.