Author's Note: Yay! Finally this is the last chapter of this story! I have waited for so long for this day to come when I get one whole story up and close it :) Anyways, I am feeling happy, so enjoy!

Rina Seriko: Yes, Kotae is cute (I guess that is not a really appropriate word, but he is a kid still.) Thank you very much for supporting the story!

shadowpreistess: Thanks! Finally the next chapter is up!

Disclaiminer: This is mine, and shall stay mine forever XD

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Chapter 30 The Restoration of Illinotis

“Meeting for all the lords and sages! Meeting for all the lords and sages! Please assemble yourselves in the meeting room in 10 minutes!” The royal messenger ran along the Cardolavis castle corridors, making his announcement.

“Well, I guess I need to go.” Kotae grabbed his coat from the hanger by the door and turned the knob.

“Wait, Your Highness.” Hane called after him. “Can I come with you?”

“The announcement says all lords and sages only.” Kotae turned around and said.

“I am a sage too! I officially became one this morning! I got my skills approved by Prescilla!” Hane stuck out her lips in a childish manner.

“Oh really? Where’s your certificate?” Kotae ask purposely, knowing that she hadn’t got one.

“They cannot give me in time, since it is just this morning…” Hane put her fingers together and pushed her index fingers against each other.

“So you cannot come.” Kotae headed for the corridor, but Hane pulled his cloak.

“I am coming with you! I am your ‘princess’ afterall.”

Kotae blushed and sighed, a sign showing that he admitted his defeat. “Whatever you like.”

“Yay!” Hane clapped her hands and jumped. Then noticing Kotae halfway down the corridor, she raced towards him at full speed. “Wait for me!”

The king sat on his usual large chair at the end of the meeting room, with the queen and Rei on each of his sides. Kotae walked up and sat beside the queen, and Hane sat down beside him. Lords and Sages gathered round the table, and Archsage Grandiel stood up, holding onto his staff for balance.

“The main issue for today’s meeting is the restoration of Illinotis. It has been three weeks since the battle with Scanevalon ended, and according to our messengers, Scanevalon has chosen its new king and signed a peace treaty with us.” Grandiel said steadily. “The Illinotian soldiers will be returning back to their country soon, and we would like some of our men to go and help them with the restoration.”

“I and the third Cardolavian troop will be glad to lend a hand.” Kotae stood up and said.

“Well, since stupid brother is going, and this is for the sake of Hane’s kingdom, I will be helping out.” Rei added.

“I don’t need your help.” Kotae said, staring at his brother.

“But sweetie does.” Rei smiled.

“Don’t call her that!”

“Why can’t I?”

“Because you are not allowed to.”

“Who set the restrictions?”

“Me.”

“Stupid Kotae.”

“Lame brother.”

“Please stop it, you two.” Hane held onto Kotae while the king held his elder son. All the lords and sages looked at them, speechless.

“Humph.” Both of them looked away from each other.

“Well, I guess the second and third Cardolavian troops will be coming along.” The king said. “We will be heading for Illinotis tomorrow. Materials and tools are ready at the eastern gates.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The lords and sages answered and left the room.

“It would be good if you two can argue less.” The queen said to her sons.

“Rei is always the one to start an argument.” Kotae protested. “I am not responsible.”

“But you are the one to make it worse.”

“Stop it!” Hane shouted, while pulling Kotae away. “Let’s go. We have to go back to our rooms and prepare for tomorrow.”

“Yah, I guess you are right.” Kotae said as he was dragged along reluctantly. “See you, lame brother.”

“Stupid Kotae!” Rei shouted after them.

The Cardolavians and Illinotians arrived once again under the gates of Illinotis. Many of them were streaming tears when they saw the memorable stone walls and the half-collapsed wooden gate. They loaded their tools and materials inside the gate and started the construction of new houses and roads.

Hane sat at the side while watching the men did their job. Prescilla was beside her, taking care of the soldiers who had wounded themselves. Hane was looking at Kotae and Rei arguing over where a certain bar should be put, holding her face with her hands and resting her arms on her knees.

“This bar should be one of the girders on that building!” Kotae shouted.

“No! It should be reinforced inside the pillar over here.” Rei responded.

“Did you really pay attention when we planned? It should be the girder!”

“The pillar!”

Hane sweat dropped as she watched the brothers quarreling again. Sighing, she got up and approached them, putting out her hands to separate the two about-to-fight- princes.

“This bar is for the truss of the castle roof. Please let the men responsible for that part handle it.”

Kotae and Rei stopped their quarrelling, both embarrassed at the mistake they made. “Well, since sweetie says so, you are wrong, stupid Kotae.”

“I can’t see any means of correctness in your words as well, lame brother.”

“Please stop…” Hane tried to pull a smile in front of the about-to-crush-each-other brothers again.

“Princess! The rooftop trusses are all done for the civilian housing!” Some random worker shouted. “Please come over here and see if they are enough.

“Your Highness!” Another random worker shouted from the other side. “Please have a look at our city plans!”

“Coming.” Kotae and Rei said together, but looked at each other as they moved.

“He is calling me, stupid Kotae.” Rei said as angry marks began to appear on his forehead.

“I bet he is referring to me.” Kotae answered calmly.

The worker dropped his jaw in the sight. “I… I was calling prince Kotae… because princess requested him to be in charge.”

“What?” Rei’s angry eyes shot at the worker, who got chills immediately behind him.

“This is my win, lame brother.” Kotae smirked and went towards the worker.

“I am going to win next time!” Rei shouted.

After several weeks of hard work, Illinotis was fully restored. It was not as beautiful as it had been in the past, mainly due to the lack of gardens. Kotae had ordered his men to plant trees and flowers around the whole kingdom, but plants needed to take their time to grow. The castle stood in its almighty rigid form once again in the centre of Illinotis, just like how it was before the invasion. Hane went into the castle and saw the little green grass and flower buds in the central yard. All her childhood memories of herself running around the castle came back to her. She felt her tears flowing out from her eyes profusely and involuntarily.

“So, how do you like here, princess?” Kotae knelt beside her and asked.

Hane turned and looked straight into his eyes. “I… I am so happy, Your Highness.” Kotae was shocked with her crying, and was more surprised when Hane suddenly wrapped her arms around him. “I am very grateful for this, Your Highness. I am really happy that you saved me on that day when my kingdom fell.” She cried as she said her words blurrily

Smiling, Kotae put his arms around her and said in a whisper. “I do too.”

The 8th of February marked the day when Hane officially became the princess of Illinotis once again. She was still too young, so the citizens agreed that she would only be crowned queen at an older age. Kotae became the prince of both Cardolavis and Illinotis. He would become the king of Illinotis when he reached the age of eighteen.

Too bad girls were not allowed to rule the kingdom by tradition.

However, to Hane, that was not something of importance. She would care less of what the past laws said. What she really treasured should be the happiness she regained from her country and from her loved one.

So, on the day of the start of another era for Illinotis, where confetti, wine and food were thrown around and people were celebrating throughout the two kingdoms, Hane and Kotae walked out of the balcony on the highest room of the castle, looking down at the millions of happy faces underneath them.

There was nothing more she could yearn for. King Sadifyr and Queen Adrenne smiled, Rei searched among the crowd for another target, Prescilla held her tears of joy as she looked at the lovely couple, Gregius and Claudius raised their wine glasses up high as all the citizens of Illinotis and Cardolavis celebrated the wonderful day.

Hane looked at Kotae, who was about to say something but checked himself. Instead he lowered his head and kissed her on the lips.

Throughout the several miles of great plains, the cheers of the Illinotians and Cardolavians echoed endlessly.

“Long live the prince and princess of Illinotis!”

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Epilogue

The day was sunny, just like any other day where the citizens woke with a smiling face, looking out at the clear sky and the bright warm rays from the sun. The people started work early, and before dawn, the whole kingdom had already woken up and carrying out their daily routine work.

“Kotae! Over here!” Hane called loudly, waving her hands above her excitedly.

“Geez, please be serious at occasions like this.” Kotae walked slowly up the hill.

“Prescilla has already arrived! You are the last one!” Hane’s voice was heard again.

Kotae arrived at the top of the hill. Prescilla was standing a few metres away from them. Everywhere there were grass and wild flowers, covering the hill and extending to the plains beyond.

From the top of the hill they could see the whole kingdom of Illinotis on one side and the far-stretched open ocean on the other. The waves were crashing against the rocks at the coast, but they were too far from it to hear the sound of the splashes.

Somewhere among the greens, piece of grey stone stood, bare and new to the surroundings.

Prescilla walked over to the stone and knelt down. She put down a bouquet of flowers in front of it and closed her eyes in deep thought.

Hane and Kotae stood beside her, looking down at the piece of stone where words in a nice handwriting were carved on it.

LORNSBANE 1203-1244

Prescilla brushed her hand across the stone surface gently, feeling the depth of the carved words. She did not open her mouth to speak, but both Hane and Kotae knew what she was thinking.

Turning around, Prescilla told them to sit down and took out some lunch boxes. “Let’s have lunch here. It is nice and warm out under the sun.”

The two of them agreed as they sat down beside Lornsbane’s grave. The opened the lunch boxes and started munching the delicious pasta Prescilla made.

“Hey, Hane, I would like to say sorry.” Kotae spoke suddenly.

“For what?” Hane raised an eyebrow and looked puzzled.

“For calling you not cute when you were a baby.”

Hane chuckled. “That’s alright. Actually I have tried my best to forget it, and you raise the topic again. I will have to punish you.”

“Well,” Kotae looked away, trying to change the subject. “I just discovered something. Where’s Iliya? I don’t seem to see her recently.”

“I don’t know, perhaps caught up with some handsome guy.” Hane joked.

“Well then, as long as she is not bothering me I feel great.”

Hane and Prescilla both laughed. They finished their lunch and packed their belongings.

As they strolled slowly downhill, Prescilla turned around and looked at the gravestone for one last time.

Sleep well, and may peace be with you, teacher.

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Special Thanks To…

Hane (羽音) - Princess of Illinotis

Kotae (こたえ) – Prince of Cardolavis

Rei (レイ) – Prince of Cardolavis

Rineavrre – Hane’s Maid

Adrenne – Queen of Cardolavis

Sadifyr – King of Cardolavis

Lornsbane – Head Sage of Illinotis

Prescilla – Head Sage of Cardolavis

Illiya – Kotae’s Maid

Gregius – Cardolavis 3rd Troop General

Claudius – Cardolavis 2nd Troop General

Roku – Prince of Scanevalon

Reuhardt – King of Scanevalon

Archer-Rayne – First Commenter

FallenBlueEyedAngel – Second Commenter

Virage – Third Commenter

Natsuhiko – Fourth Commenter

Bleu Mystz – Fifth Commenter

konzill – Sixth Commenter

Konrad Zielinski – Seventh Commenter

Rina Seriko the fallen angel – Eighth Commenter

aj - Ninth Commenter

shadowpreistess - Tenth Commenter

Citizens of Illinotis

Soldiers of Illinotis

Citizens of Cardolavis

Soldiers of Cardolavis

Soldiers of Scanevalon

Scanevalian General

And finally…

Ki Hiwatari – ME!

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Thank you so much for supporting the story so far. It is a sad thing to see it comes to an end, but anyways, this can't be helped :P Meanwhile please support my other story "Le Diable". A new one will be posted after I finish my on-going story.

Le Diable - Do you think that angels are good while the devils are bad? Sometimes it may not be the case. Yuki Kasaki, born with the powers of the devil, had to live her life as a normal high school girl as well as the guy in black cloak at night. She did not trust anyone, and friends meant nothing to her. However, with the arrival of Nagisa Yukihiro and later Yamiyoru Kouga, Yuki's life turned more complicated. How could she cope with the relation between demons and humans?

Arigadougozaimashita! Hope to see you again!

-Ki Hiwatari.