At the cafeteria next to the central plaza.
Junior and Hecate, who had been watching the disbanding of the CFHMRC (Crossroad Female Heroes and Mercenaries Rights Committee), covered their mouths and chuckled as they sipped their wine.
As the noise from the plaza quieted down a bit, the two started chatting softly.
“Junior, you said you were going back home for now?”
“Yes. My siblings live in a seaside village to the east. I haven’t seen them in a long time, so I should at least show them that I’m still alive.”
Junior smiled.
“After that, I’ll head to the Imperial Capital… to attend officer training. If I want to work for the history foundation His Highness suggested, I need to have some basic qualifications.”
“You’ll do great, Junior.”
“What about you, Hecate?”
Junior asked cautiously, and Hecate smiled softly.“I plan to return to where I grew up… to Whiteblossom Orphanage.”
“The orphanage?”
“Yes.”
Hecate stared at the wine swirling in her glass.
“It’s no longer a facility that raises war machines for the Empire. Now, it’s becoming a normal orphanage… a place to take in the children of war veterans and provide them with an education.”
“…”
“I want to work there. I want to make sure that kids who’ve suffered like me don’t grow up to be adults full of hatred like I did… I want to take care of them.”
Junior nodded.
“You’ll do great too, Hecate.”
“Thanks.”
After a brief silence,
both hesitated and then opened their mouths at the same time.
“I…”
“Hey!”
They both widened their eyes at each other, and then burst into laughter.
“You go first.”
“No, you go first, Hecate.”
“Please, go ahead, Junior.”
“Ahem. Alright, then…”
Junior fidgeted, squeezed her eyes shut, and suddenly blurted out.
“Do you want to live together in the Imperial Capital?”
Hecate blinked in surprise at the unexpected proposal.
Junior started babbling as she explained her idea.
“Well, I mean… The housing prices in the Capital are quite high, right? Even renting is too much for one person to handle alone. So, um, I thought it would be nice to have a roommate, and you’re the only person I know in the Capital, Hecate…”
As Junior kept waving her arms around, trying to explain herself, Hecate finally said,
“Okay.”
She responded without hesitation.
Her answer was so straightforward that it caught Junior off guard. Hecate gave a gentle smile.
“I also need to find a place when I get back. Like you said, it’d be more economical to share a place…”
Hecate extended her wine glass.
“And living together would be much more fun than living alone.”
Realizing what was happening a beat too late, Junior hurriedly extended her glass as well.
Clink—
They toasted.
“S-So, this is a toast to becoming roommates?”
“Sure, let’s go with that.”
“Hehe, hehehe…”
Junior, happy as a child, sipped her wine and then, with a twinkle in her eye, asked,
“Come to think of it… What were you going to say earlier, Hecate?”
“Oh, that.”
Hecate swirled the wine in her mouth before suddenly leaning forward.
“Why don’t we start speaking casually with each other?”
She suggested.
This time, it was Junior who blinked in surprise. Hecate shrugged.
“We’re the same age, after all. And now that we’re going to live together, it’d be awkward to keep using formal speech all the time.”
“Ah… That’s true, but…”
“Now that it’s been brought up, how about we start right now?”
“Y-Yes? Right now?”
“Yes, right now. Come on, go ahead.”
Hecate gestured for Junior to start, and Junior stuttered.
“Th-then…”
“…”
“I’ll start talking… casually. Heca…te.”
“…”
“L-Like this… right?”
After listening to Junior’s awkward attempt at informal speech,
“Pfft.”
Hecate couldn’t hold back and let out a small sound before bursting into laughter, holding her stomach.
“Hahaha! Hahahahahaha!”
Junior’s face turned bright red.
“Why, why are you laughing?! I mean, what’s so funny?!”
“It’s just… I’m looking forward to it.”
Hecate said as she effortlessly switched to casual speech, extending her wine glass once more.
“To us living together in the Capital.”
“…!”
“Let’s watch performances at the Grand Theater, go on yacht tours along the Inner Sea, and stay up all night during the New Year’s fireworks festival. Thanks to being dragged around by His Highness during my school days, I know all the fun spots in the Capital.”
Hecate shook her extended wine glass.
“It’s going to be fun. Definitely.”
“…Yeah.”
Junior extended her glass again, clinking it against Hecate’s.
“It really will be fun.”
Clink—
They set their glasses down and continued to laugh as they made plans for all the fun things they’d do together.
“…”
Suddenly, Junior’s mind flashed to the two mages who had had a profound impact on her life.
Lightning and Wind.
At the edge of the rift valley, the mother and mentor who had laid their heads on Junior’s lap before passing away…
Two women who had longed for each other but had never been able to be together.
Junior didn’t want revenge or forgiveness, even if the other person had been her enemy. She just wanted to live alongside others.
And now, she had finally found a friend.
Someone to reach out to, to live together with, even if they stood on the opposite side of a chasm.
‘Some wounds can never be healed, and some valleys can never be filled.’
But even with those wounds, even over those chasms, people can live on.
As Junior had just proven here and now.
And so, Junior smiled.
Brighter than at any moment in her entire life.
In an alley near the central plaza.
The night was growing late.
“Bleeeh.”
A young drunk was leaning against a wall, throwing up.
It was the newly appointed lord with platinum-blonde hair tied in the back and green eyes: Evangeline Cross.
“Tsk, tsk. I told you to take it easy…”
Lucas, standing behind her, grumbled as he patted Evangeline’s back.
The new lord had no sense of her drinking limits. Caught up in the moment, she’d downed several drinks in quick succession, ending up in this state.
“Ugh, I’m dying here…”
Evangeline groaned miserably as she wiped her pale face.
“Just when I was starting to get a taste for it, it all comes back up… Bleeeh.”
“You’re really good at this.”
Despite his complaints, Lucas continued to pat Evangeline’s back carefully.
“Okay, okay! I’m fine now! Let’s go to the next round?!”
After heaving for a long while, Evangeline finally rinsed her mouth with water, waved her hands in the air, and staggered around.
“You’re not fine at all.”
Lucas put an arm around Evangeline to steady her and began leading her toward the lord’s mansion.
“Go wash your feet and get some sleep.”
“Hey, old man! Don’t you know what today is, trying to send me to bed so soon?”
“What’s today?”
“It’s my first day stepping out as the Margrave of Crossroad for an official event! And the first time I’ve had a drink in a formal setting!”
Evangeline jabbed a finger in Lucas’s face.
“It’s the day I’ve been waiting and waiting to hear those words from you!”
“…”
“You’re leaving Crossroad tomorrow! And I’ve been waiting and waiting for you to say something to me! Don’t you have anything to say?!”
Evangeline slurred her heartfelt complaint, and Lucas watched her for a long moment before speaking.
“Evangeline.”
He suddenly stepped in front of her, gripping both her shoulders firmly with his hands. In a low, steady voice, he called her name.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, Evangeline gulped nervously.
“Y-Yes?”
“Let me be honest.”
Lucas exhaled a shallow sigh and said,
“I will continue to stay by my lord’s side and protect him.”
“…”
“And my lord is now the Crown Prince. In other words, he is destined to become the Emperor someday… which means I will be serving as a guard knight to His Majesty.”
Evangeline’s mind cleared at the serious talk about the future.
“As long as I live as a knight, my personal life will always be limited, no matter how much I try to make time.”
“…”
“And I will continue to protect my lord with my loyalty and my life. There may be times when I value him more than you.”
Lucas’s voice quivered slightly.
“But if you’re okay with that… if you’ll allow it. If you’ll let me be a little selfish and speak my mind…”
“…”
“I… like seeing you smile.”
Lucas was sincere, but for some reason, Evangeline felt like laughing.
“I like seeing you eat heartily and happily. I like it when you chatter noisily and bump my shoulder. When we’re exhausted from sparring and lie down in the training ground together to look at the stars. When we sulk after a big fight, only to reluctantly reconcile while sitting back-to-back on the sofa in the parlor. When we stand side by side on the ramparts… I enjoyed it.”
Because it was mutual.
It was the same feeling Evangeline had felt when she looked at Lucas.
“Do you remember? Every time our lord left the front lines, it was just the two of us left behind here, facing the monsters together.”
The two times Ash had left for the Capital, and during the half-year he was missing.
No matter what, Lucas and Evangeline had never been apart. Together, they had defended Crossroad.
“Every time, I thought, ‘If you’re with me, I can endure even the coldest nights.’”
“…”
“These past three years. In every pitch-black moment, your bright light was my solace.”
Lucas took a deep breath.
“These feelings… I’ve never experienced anything like them in my life. I was slow to realize them myself, but if I don’t say this today, I’ll regret it forever. So, I’m saying it now.”
His earnest blue eyes gazed directly at Evangeline without wavering.
“I like you, Evangeline.”
“…”
“I don’t want to lose you. I want you to keep smiling by my side.”
Pop!
Evangeline couldn’t hold it in any longer and brought her hands up to cover her face.
She did so to hide her face, which had turned bright red, but also to cover the smile spreading across her lips.
She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a strange squeal in a voice pitched an octave higher.
“Oh my god, wow! That’s so cheesy! I’m going crazy here!”
“…”
“Oh, man, old man! What are my hands and feet supposed to do now? Ugh, my face is burning up. I’m so embarrassed just hearing this!”
“I’m not embarrassed at all.”
Peeking through her fingers, Evangeline saw that Lucas’s gaze remained unwavering.
“Because it’s the truth, and there’s nothing to hide.”
“Wow, seriously… You’re something else in so many ways…”
Evangeline slowly lowered her hands from her face.
She tapped her now-bright red cheeks with her fingertips, then looked directly at Lucas.
“It’s so cheesy I need a palate cleanser.”
And then,
She stood on tiptoe, stretching up.
She wrapped her arms around Lucas’s neck.
And gently pressed her lips to his.
Neither Lucas nor Evangeline had any experience with romance, so their kiss was clumsy at best.
Both of them were afraid of breaking each other, so they carefully held each other in a gentle embrace, sharing a tender kiss.
“…But.”
After their lips parted slowly,
Lucas looked into Evangeline’s face and squinted his eyes.
“You just threw up a moment ago.”
Evangeline snorted.
“So what? We’ve seen each other in much worse states before.”
“That’s true.”
They kissed once more.
This time, it was bolder and more daring than before. They wrapped their arms around each other’s neck and waist, pulling each other into a deeper embrace as they kissed.
When their second kiss ended, Evangeline spoke.
“Here’s what I think.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re more of a bad boy than His Highness.”
“Depending on the perspective, that could be true.”
“Wow, you’re not even denying it?”
“I figured it’d be easier to score points by starting as a bad boy and becoming a good one.”
“See, that kind of mindset is what makes you a real bad boy…”
Evangeline chuckled softly before speaking seriously.
“I feel the same, Lucas. I’m now the Margrave of Crossroad. The lord of this city.”
“…”
“There will be times when I prioritize my citizens over my own husband, over my own family. No, those times will be frequent.”
Just like her father had.
As a public figure representing people and governing land, there would be many times when she would have to prioritize the value of the city over personal happiness.
“But if you’re okay with that, I want to confess too.”
“…”
“I feel the same way you do.”
Caressing both of Lucas’s cheeks, Evangeline smiled warmly.
“We’re still young. So let’s set some shameless goals.”
“Like what?”
“Let’s not miss out on either our dreams or our love.”
As a knight of the Emperor.
As the lord of a city.
They would both be true to their own lives, while also being true to each other.
Lucas chuckled bitterly.
“It’s going to be tough.”
“Of course it will be. But.”
Evangeline playfully winked her big emerald eyes.
“How could it be harder than the past three years?”
“…”
Lucas couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh.
Because truly, truly—Evangeline was right.
They had survived three grueling years, standing against the end of the world.
Compared to the hardships of those three years, the challenge of balancing dreams and love was, honestly, something worth trying.
“I’m going to be an incredible Margrave. And an amazing lord, too.”
Evangeline, with her characteristic cocky smile, hung onto Lucas’s neck.
“Even if His Highness becomes the Emperor, I’ll make sure you want to see me more. I’m going to be a stunningly remarkable woman.”
Still holding his steady gaze, Lucas wrapped his arms around Evangeline’s waist.
“I’ll become the best man ever, so that you’ll want to see me more than you care about the citizens of Crossroad.”
“You’re really working hard to make us both neglect our duties…”
The two shared their third kiss.
After the long kiss, as they parted their lips, Lucas chuckled. Evangeline blinked at him.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, it’s just…”
Lucas spoke honestly.
“I’ve tried so hard to live as a model knight all my life, but now that I’m bending the rules a bit… it’s more enjoyable than I thought.”
“You’ve really become a delinquent knight.”
Evangeline giggled.
“Then I’ll be a delinquent lord, just for today.”
“It’s not even been that long since you became a lord, and already…”
Lucas didn’t finish his sentence. Evangeline’s lips cut him off.
The night was short, and they were both young.
The two continued kissing until it no longer made sense to count.
The bright moonlight illuminated the alley, as if blessing the newly formed couple.
–TL Notes–
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