18.

Moving to a serious topic. I asked her about what happened after she fought with Acnologia.

She explained what happened. Turns out, they fought for 3 days and 2 nights and only with the help of Zeref who turned out to be in the area, searching for a rare herb, that they managed to chase away Acnologia. Due to weak and battered body, Irene turned back into her human form and seeing her helper she was shocked. In fact, both of them were shocked seeing each other. Zeref seeing the Princess of Dragnof Kingdom and vice versa.

Zeref though shook it off and decided to heal her from a distance and Irene used her last drop of magic to cast a simple regeneration rune to heal faster and find her husband and daughter.

"Seems like something is bothering you?" Zeref asked while healing Irene from a long distance as he believed that anyone who gets close to him would die.

"My... daughter... husband... please... find... and save... them..." Said Irene with a raspy voice due to using Dragon's Roar far beyond her limit.

"What direction did they head off? When did you last see them?" Asked Zeref. He is surprised to hear about Irene having a husband and a daughter as he remembered Mavis as regret started welling in his heart but he shook his head to stop thinking about her.

"I don't... know... but it was at ...least 3 days... and ...my sense... of smell... can't pick...them up... I think... they... went north." Said Irene as Zeref knitted his eyebrows. Due to being weak, her senses are somewhat disoriented and can't pick up my scent.

'This could be difficult.' thought Zeref.

"I have a plan in mind, but we need to get back to my kingdom and ask help from my people." Zeref said as Irene struggled to get up to find her family.

Zeref then told her about his plans of his kingdom and turning it into a safe haven against Acnologia. He also told her about his plans to kill Acnologia, and if Irene so decided, she could become a general in his army.

"I don't... care... what you wanted... to do with me... on the condition... that you will find... my daughter and my husband." She said as she started healing and her voice is starting to get back to shape.

Zeref nodded and motioned for her to follow him, back to his kingdom.

It took them a month before they managed to return back to their empire and Irene's wounds have already closed up but her internal injuries is really serious and needed a very long time to heal. According to Zeref, She needs 3 years at most to be fully healed. She can still smell from a long range but the smell she perceives is different to what it actually is. For example She smelled a cat in a distance but if she comes closer to confirm, turns out it is a wolf.

When they returned, Zeref immediately ordered his spies to find Irene's family members to the north of Fiore but he didn't know was that my predecessor went to the far south of Fiore, near the borders.

2 Years have passed and Irene is still recuperating with her internal injuries as her senses are still somewhat disoriented.

Through the years, with the help of Zeref's kingdom, she learned many things about enchanting and was considered the at the pinnacle of it, and Zeref praised her for her aptitude in enchanting. She also learned from the spies that Zeref sent out to help her search were fruitless. They have searched the northern and western part of Fiore but it were all fruitles and soon she will receive about the results of the search in the eastern part of Fiore.

She knows that my predecessor is smart enough to not return to his hometown kingdom as it will only endanger him more. Sadly, she haven't heard of the name of my predecessor's origin kingdom and only knows that he is the eldest prince of a kingdom.

So she is betting on finding him in secluded areas but till now turned out to be fruitless.

Another year later, she have fully healed from her injuries and she received the reports of the spies searching in the southern part of Fiore. She was elated to hear that they have found a father and daughter pair with his daughter having a scarlet hair but was immediately shut down when she heard that the village where they are living was razed to the ground by unknown organization.

Irene despaired and felt like the sky has fallen when she heard about it. She tasked the spy to find out what organization did it as she promised herself to erase it from existence as the spy nodded its head. Even though she is despairing, she clung to the little hope she had that they have escaped because she knows that even though my predecessor's magic circuit is wrecked, he is unmatched in the way of the sword.

A month later, while the meeting between the spriggans and Zeref was ongoing, she picked up a really familiar smell as newfound hope arises within her and can't wait to confirm it.

And the rest is history.

Hearing her story, I can't help but sigh. But now it doesn't matter to me at all as now she is back and reunited with me and Erza.

I continued telling her about Erza's story of her childhood when I heard a loud bang in my front door as it startled me. We went inside and as I opened the door, I saw Gildarts, as a bloody mess with one of his arm cut off as he passed out in my arms.

Irene seeing Gildarts immediately turned hostile and was about to attack him because he is a fairy tail member but I motioned for her to stand down and told her to accompany Erza and the kids upstairs.

Irene reluctantly let it go as she followed my words and went upstairs. I carried the bloody mess upstairs and fetched a bucket of water and cleaned his wounds and used basic first aid that I've learned over the days of being an adventurer.

I wrapped his cut arm with cloth I got from the system and sewed his wounds close. I wrapped his wounds and cloth and let his natural healing kick in and let him rest. Although it took me a long time, it didn't tax me and I still felt energetic. I checked the time and is already near-midnight and went upstairs to check the kids. When I opened the door, I saw Irene lulling the kids to sleep as she hummed and looked at me, full of questions.

Irene covered the kids with a quilt before heading outside and I motioned her to follow me to my room to explain to her.

"Why did you stop me?" She asked.

"Irene, I built this place as a tavern, and he came in as a customer. I don't care if he is from fairy tail or you becoming a general of a kingdom. If you are a customer then I will welcome you with open arms." I said as Irene retorted.

"But this is not a hospital!" She said.

"I know, that's why whether he lives or not is not my jurisdiction anymore. Of course if he lived, then he will pay me but if he doesn't then its just a corpse." I said as Irene calmed down. I didn't use the basic Damage Knocking on Gildarts to numb the pain in his body, indicating that whether he lives or not depends on his willpower to live.

I motioned her to come closer and I pulled her hand and hugged her from behind as we fell onto the bed and cuddled while consoling her as she melted in my arms before we fell asleep under the veil of the night.

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2nd chapter, whether there's a third if I finished it, I don't know. Depends. No promises. Promises are meant to be broken after all.