"This much is true."

"And you married into their mysterious new benefactor's kingdom, as I recall politicians tend to care about things like that.'

"Usually arrangements like this are less...straightforwardly mutually beneficial. I'm honestly not certain whether any of the usual rules apply. But yes," the empress said.

"Sometimes I'm not sure things that aren't weird exist anymore," Idaia nods.

Hug.

"Weird isn't always bad! Milliways is weird. Alts are weird."

More hug.

And of a less depressing flavor, hooray.

The twins talk with the empress some more. Imliss's resurrection plans come up and the empress recommends her some people to work with on that, if she wants. Eventually the empress has a meeting with someone else and the twins leave.

Was that what you were hoping for?

I dunno if I was hoping for anything in particular but it was--good.

Good.

It's nice to be able to not resent my home country. I mean, my hometown, yes, I still have issues with. But when the empress herself tells me she's sorry my parents are dead, I can--not blame the whole country. And it's a load off, let me tell you.

I bet.

I get to come home, I have my husband back and my country back and I get to come home and we're going to have a baby and I'm so so happy I'm so glad I don't need to try to use words.

I'm so glad.

I love you so much. We're going to be such great parents.

I am sure you will be fantastic.

Also you.

I'm scared of how fast they'll grow.

That's--yeah. It'd be better if they grew up like an Elf.

I'm sure we can handle it.

Yeah.

Any child of ours would grow up this fast no matter when we had them. I mean, I guess not in Valinor, but I don't regret not raising our child in Valinor. It's--sort of weird having something we'd rather otherwise that's not--that wouldn't be different if I'd never--if we'd never been separated--

Well, we were going to have them in Valinor originally.

Yeah.

But Valinor has much less convenient timefuckery than Milliways and it wouldn't have felt like more time.

I'm not sure. But I'm really glad you didn't land fifty Years sooner, so-