Side Story 40. [After Story] The Children
Imperial Year 672.
Twenty years after the final battle against the monstrous beasts.
Southern Everblack Empire.
Crossroad.
After all the coronation ceremonies in the Lake Kingdom had concluded—
Our group headed straight to Luxan, to Crossroad.
“Lake Kingdom was so cool!”
“Lake Kingdom was so pretty!”
Inside my personal carriage.Seated beside Evangeline and Lucas, Emerald and Sapphire clung to their mom and dad’s arms, singing loudly in unison.
Apparently, the kids had wanted to see the coronation, so Evangeline personally brought them along. Now we were all heading back together.
It was heartwarming seeing the whole family traveling as one, but…
‘Can’t believe they’re already fifteen…’
I let out a quiet chuckle as I looked over at my two niece-and-nephew(?). Time really flew, didn’t it?
The wild little beasts they used to be were long gone—at least on the surface—and both had grown into neatly dressed teenagers in formalwear. A few more years, and they’d be full-fledged adults.
Emerald, though a boy, looked exactly like his mother Evangeline when she was younger.
Conversely, Sapphire, though a girl, looked just like her father Lucas in his youth. Well, that was just appearances—on the inside, they were still the same energetic troublemakers, bouncing around nonstop.
“Your Majesty!”
“Tell us a story! A story from the old days!”
The kids switched targets and rushed to my side, pestering me eagerly. I smiled.
“A story from the old days? What kind of story?”
“A story from when Mom and Dad were young!”
“You lived with them, right? What were they like back then?”
As the children bombarded me with questions, Lucas and Evangeline looked flustered, but I waved it off.
Raising kids was their responsibility. From my perspective, these were adorable little creatures I got to enjoy with zero consequences. That’s what nieces and nephews are.
The purest form of guilt-free pleasure…!
I spoiled Emerald and Sapphire with all kinds of sweets and spent the entire three-day journey back to Crossroad playing with them joyfully.
“Stop feeding them so much chocolate!”
“You’re ruining their discipline!”
“Yup~ That’s your job to fix. I’m gonna keep playing with the kids however I want~”
“His Majesty is the best!”
“Uncle Ash forever!”
And so, after a glorious time—
We arrived at Crossroad.
After passing wide fields and orchards, we reached the southern gate. There, waiting for us at the castle gates—
“Darling!”
“Father!”
Were Serenade and Stella.
My wife and daughter waved at us with excitement. I waved back just as enthusiastically.
Actually, Serenade and Stella had come with us for the Lake Kingdom trip. But as we neared the southern edge of the continent, Serenade’s health began to decline from the long journey.
Since the Lake Kingdom required three more days of travel south from Crossroad, we decided it was too much for her. So Lucas and I continued on ahead, while Serenade and Stella stayed behind to rest and recover in Crossroad.
Serenade had felt bad toward Ariel and regretted missing the event, but health always came first.
After stepping down from the carriage, I kissed both Serenade and Stella on the cheek. Serenade adjusted my outfit gently as she asked,
“Was the journey peaceful? You delivered my regards to Lady Ariel, right?”
“Of course. She said she was grateful you even came this far. She hopes you’ll rest well and meet again next time. How are you feeling?”
“Much better after resting.”
“You still look pale. Let’s take a few more days before heading back north.”
I gently patted Stella’s head as she stood beside me.
“Weren’t you bored, sweetheart?”
“No! Crossroad is so fun. It feels like a foreign country. Not that I’ve ever been to one yet—”
“Aren’t you sad you couldn’t visit the Lake Kingdom?”
“I was curious, but just sightseeing around Crossroad with Mom was fun enough!”
After catching up with my family for the first time in days, Evangeline came forward and offered a greeting.
“Your Majesty the Empress. Princess. It’s been a while.”
“Marquess! It really has. Have you been well?”
“Thanks to His Majesty’s grace and your kindness. Hehe.”
Whoa, listen to her go. Evangeline’s gotten slick over the years—laying on that flattery like a pro.
As I quietly admired her performance, Evangeline gestured to the kids behind her.
“Emerald! Sapphire! Come here. You need to greet Her Majesty and the Princess.”
Sapphire rushed forward first, immediately grabbing the hem of her skirt and bowing with perfect form.
“Hello, Your Majesty the Empress. Your Highness the Princess. I am Sapphire Cross of the House of Cross, at your service.”
The little beast I used to know was now showing such impeccable manners!
Lucas, standing beside me, was visibly moved, his eyes glistening.
“You have no idea… how hard we worked to make her into a proper human being…”
“Was it… that bad?”
Anyway, Sapphire gave her greeting, but the problem was Emerald.
The blond boy simply stood there, mouth slightly open, staring this way in a daze, offering no greeting at all. Evangeline’s smiling face froze slightly.
“Emerald! What are you doing? You need to say hello!”
“…”
“Emerald?”
Wondering what he was staring at so blankly, I followed the direction of his gaze.
‘Hmm?’
Standing there was Stella, blinking in confusion.
“…?”
Stella tilted her head, confused, as she met Emerald’s dazed gaze.
“Hey, what are you doing? Snap out of it!”
Unable to take it anymore, Sapphire smacked the back of Emerald’s head.
Only then did Emerald snap back to his senses and mutter a single word.
“An… angel…?”
“What?”
“That girl over there… isn’t she an angel? I’ve never seen anyone that pretty in my life…”
I couldn’t hold it in.
“…Pfft.”
I burst out laughing.
“Pu… Puahahaha?! Hey, what did you just say? An aaangel?! Everyone, did you hear this? Emerald just called my daughter an angel!”
I was practically rolling with laughter.
Serenade let out a flustered little “Oh my…”
Even Stella, who was used to getting compliments like that, stood there with her usual blank expression.
Meanwhile, Lucas and Evangeline had gone completely pale and started scolding Emerald fiercely.
“Emerald! How dare you say such nonsense in front of Her Highness the Princess!”
“Bow your head and apologize at once!”
“Huh? She’s not an angel? She’s a princess? Her Highness?”
Emerald, clearly panicking, dropped to one knee in front of Stella, lowered his head, and declared,
“I pledge my lifelong loyalty, Your Highness…!”
A sudden declaration of loyalty out of nowhere!
Stella looked at me with a baffled expression.
“…He’s kind of weird. What should I do, Father?”
Still shaking with laughter, I barely managed to speak through trembling lips.
“You’ll be seeing this kind of thing often, sweetheart. Just do whatever you feel is right.”
“Hmm…”
Stella furrowed her brows in thought, then cleared her throat.
Trying her best to sound dignified, she asked,
“You there, what is your name?”
“Emerald Cross, Your Highness!”
“Emerald Cross, son of House Cross.”
Stella’s round eyes rolled thoughtfully as she continued.
“Your sentiment is admirable, but in this empire, there is only one sovereign—His Majesty the Emperor. As a citizen of the empire, your loyalty must be directed solely to His Majesty…”
“…!”
“Consider carefully to whom your allegiance truly belongs.”
She finished with that and gave me a look that said, “I did good, right?”
It was a perfect answer—responding to the boy’s impulsive confession with principles, while also scoring points with me.
And she’s only ten! Our daughter really isn’t secretly an old soul or something, right?
“Your words are most righteous, Your Highness.”
But Emerald wasn’t done yet.
“However! Uncle Ash—no, His Majesty the Emperor—will understand! His Majesty cares for me deeply!”
“Eh?”
“From the moment I first saw Her Highness, my heart became hers… Whether granted permission or not, I shall devote myself to Her Highness!”
Stella stared at him with her mouth agape in disbelief.
I couldn’t stop laughing.
Honestly, that didn’t sound like loyalty but more like a little crush…
Well, kids are like that.
While Sapphire apologized for Emerald’s inappropriate behavior by hitting him repeatedly, Lucas and Evangeline bowed their heads and apologized profusely to Stella.
And just then—
“Oh.”
From inside Crossroad, appeared the viscount’s assistant, Lilly, and—
“There you all are.”
The last mage of the world, the Empire’s officially appointed one and only national magician.
Sid, now twenty-one years old, appeared.
He was pushing his mother’s wheelchair, smiling brightly as he approached me.
“Godfather—no, Your Majesty!”
“Sid!”
I was about to greet my long-time godson, but someone else beat me to it.
“Brother Siiid~!”
With a melodious voice, Sapphire launched herself at Sid.
Just moments ago, she was smacking Emerald around, but the moment Sid appeared, she flew to his side in a heartbeat.
“You look amazing today as always, Brother! I heard you recovered magical remnants from the eastern coast?”
“Uh, yeah… I did. Just got back.”
“You’re incredible. As expected of my dear brother! Oh—Mother. I mean, Aunt Lilly, it’s good to see you too!”
Sapphire laughed in an over-the-top “O-hohoho” way, acting all sweet to Sid and polite to Lilly.
Watching this scene unfold, I leaned toward Lucas and muttered quietly.
“Your kids are really… transparent types, huh.”
“…They only recently became human be… I mean, they’re still young. Please forgive them, my liege.”
“It’s not something you need forgiveness for. Don’t be so hard on them.”
Sapphire continued showering Sid with sparkles and hearts.
Meanwhile, Emerald was still kneeling in front of Stella, begging for her loyalty to be accepted.
Watching this noisy chaos unfold, I smiled warmly.
“Having all the second-generation kids together like this is kind of nice.”
This place—once called the city on a grave.
The southern gate that used to be the final line of defense for humanity against the beasts.
Now, we who had grown up, become adults, and had children of our own, were gathered here again—watching our children mingle and grow together.
It felt good, and strange at the same time.
“Sometimes I really can’t believe we’ve gotten this old.”
Evangeline grumbled as she laced her fingers behind her head.
“I still feel like that sixteen-year-old brat meeting you two for the first time. And now… I’ve got kids the same age I was back then.”
“You used to act just like that back in the day.”
“Really? I was like that? Ugh, that’s terrifying.”
That’s when Lucas chimed in.
“Terrifying? Come on, they’re a bit immature, sure—but they’re cute, aren’t they?”
“So… was I cute back then too?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Excuse me?!”
“You were waaay cuter than them. Not even close.”
“Ah…”
Evangeline looked at Lucas, eyes wide with emotion.
“Mister…!”
“Fufufu…”
The knight couple naturally clung to each other.
Back in the day, I would’ve grumbled “Get a room, seriously—” at a sight like this.
But now that I’m older, even that kind of scene just seems… nice.
If the couple’s in love, then it’s all good~ I’ll allow it~
“Your Majesty.”
It was then—
Sid, having pried Sapphire off him, stepped forward and spoke in a serious voice.
“There’s something I need to speak with you about.”
“…?”
His face, now that of a proper young man, was solemn—almost grim.
I blinked, surprised, and asked,
“What’s going on?”
“Well…”
As if steeling his resolve, Sid swallowed dryly.
From the side, Lilly suddenly shouted something in a panic, trying to stop him.
But Sid was faster.
“I… I want to go to the Imperial Capital.”
–TL Notes–
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