Side Story 52. [After Story] Flos
Imperial Year 692.
Forty years since the final battle against the monsters.
Southern region of the Everblack Empire.
Crossroad.
“I think it’s about time I retired.”
Lilly took a sip from her teacup and spoke those words.
In the drawing room of the lord’s mansion, across from her, Evangeline had just picked up a snack. Her eyes went wide.
“Eh? Lilly unni! What are you talking about?! What’ll happen to Crossroad without you?! Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”
“It’s not really sudden…”Lilly gestured with her chin toward the southern part of the city.
“Junior and Hecate are having so much fun after retiring. Watching them made me feel a little jealous.”
“Ugh. I mean, it did look fun.”
“I’ve worked long enough, and I sent off Sid to a good marriage~”
She gave a sweet smile toward Evangeline, now her in-law, and shrugged her shoulders.
“I think it’s about time I stepped aside too. Maybe I’ll just relax and enjoy my twilight years.”
Sensing it would be hard to talk her out of it, Evangeline let out a sigh and sank back into the sofa.
“Tch. Maybe I should pass down the lordship to Sapphire and finally have some real fun myself.”
“That sounds like a good plan. You could go traveling with Sir Lucas.”
“I wonder what that guy’s retirement plan even looks like. I should ask him sometime. How long’s he gonna keep chasing after our dear senior Emperor anyway?”
Just then, the door to the drawing room cracked open, and a small girl came running in, giggling.
“Grandma! Grannie!”
At the sight of her, both Lilly and Evangeline’s faces lit up at once.
“Flos!”
“Come here, sweetheart!”
Flos, turning five this year, was the child of Sid and Sapphire. She was the granddaughter of Lilly and Evangeline, who were now related by marriage.
Her name was Flos—meaning “flower.”
She had inherited her mother’s radiant golden hair, and her father’s eyes, a blend of brown and green.
Bouncing into the drawing room, Flos gave kisses on the cheeks of both Lilly and Evangeline in turn. The affectionate gesture made their smiles bloom even brighter.
“Sweetie, want some snacks?”
“Yes!”
“Let’s have some milk too. Gotta grow tall. Here you go.”
“Heehee!”
As Flos nibbled on cookies and sipped milk with a happy giggle, Sapphire burst into the room a moment later, practically yelling.
“Wahh! Mother! And Mom! Don’t feed Flos! She just had lunch!”
But Lilly and Evangeline, wearing stern faces, did not stop feeding her.
“Now now, what are you saying, sweetheart? Just look at our granddaughter’s little belly. She needs to eat more.”
“Exactly. At this age, all the baby fat turns into height later. Can’t you see your mom’s sexy-hot-dynamite body? That’s all from childhood chub turning into curves!”
“Heehee!”
With the fierce protection of her grandma and grannie, Flos happily munched on her snacks.
Sapphire threw up her hands and sat down next to her daughter, helping herself to the cookies too.
“Heh.”
Watching Evangeline, Sapphire, and Flos—three generations side by side, nibbling snacks—Lilly found herself laughing aloud without meaning to.
Just then, noise stirred near the mansion entrance, and Sid entered in travel clothes.
“There you all are.”
“My son!”
“My son-in-law!”
“Brother!”
“Daddy!”
Sid looked bewildered at the barrage of titles and gave an awkward smile.
Flos ran straight into his arms, and Sid lifted her up, giving a small, tired nod.
“I collected the last of the magical fragments that had any potential danger. I don’t think I’ll need to travel far anymore.”
It marked the end of the decades-long mission to recover remnants of magic.
Declaring that his work as the world’s last magician had come to an end, Sid kissed Flos on the forehead.
“Daddy’s going to stay by your side now, Flos.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm. I’m going to be in Crossroad from now on.”
“Heehee, yay!”
Flos took the snack she’d been eating and popped it into Sid’s mouth. He chewed with a warm smile.
“…”
Lilly, watching, suddenly saw a flash of memory—Sid as a little boy, feeding her cotton candy.
She gave a faint smile.
“So, son-in-law, where was your final mission destination? You didn’t even tell us where it was since the Emperor gave you a top-secret assignment. Still a secret?”
“Oh, no. Now that the mission’s over, it’s been declassified.”
Sid answered Evangeline’s question without hesitation.
“I went to the Eastern Continent.”
“Gasp! The Eastern Continent? That’s super far—and dangerous too!”
“Yeah. That’s why I got a lot of help from someone who was already stationed over there.”
Just as he said that, the next guest entered the drawing room.
“It’s been a while, everyone.”
“Oh my gosh, look who it is!”
Evangeline sprang to her feet in shock.
“Damien oppa!”
It was Damien—the head of the Eastern Continent Exploration Unit and a diplomat of the Everblack Empire.
He pulled back the hood of his robe and smiled gently.
“I was on my way to New Terra for a routine report. Thought I’d stop by for a glass of water.”
“Water? You’re getting a full meal! Heck, just stay the night! Come on, this way!”
As news of Damien’s visit spread, Junior and Hecate, who were nearby on a stroll, also made their way to the lord’s mansion.
“We’re here too!”
“Wow, it’s been ages since the drawing room felt this crowded!”
The lively drawing room buzzed as Damien shared why he had returned from the Eastern Continent.
He explained that he usually returned to New Terra every few years for a routine report, and since he had just wrapped up a major mission with Sid, he was now on his way to have an audience with the Emperor.
Evangeline’s face brightened.
“That’s perfect. If you see my old man on your way to New Terra, can you give him a letter? I need to ask when he’s coming back.”
“Of course I will.”
“By the way, how are you getting to New Terra? By carriage? I heard they’re laying railways near the capital these days. Didn’t that old man Kellibey say he was developing a steam-powered train?”
Junior shook her head.
“Oh, it’s going to be a while before that’s running properly. I peeked in to try it myself on my way down recently, but it’s only on trial runs around New Terra for now.”
“Wow, but it’s running at all? That’s amazing. I heard Verdandi unni and Kuilan oppa are helping with it too.”
“The Emperor organized a TF team made up of engineers from all races, or so I heard… but even so, I think it’ll take at least ten more years before it’s in full operation.”
Damien continued, sharing stories from the Eastern Continent.
“Most of it was destroyed in the Great Fire centuries ago, but the fire’s long since gone out… and now that Sid has finished clearing out the magical wreckage, the land is finally safe for people to live on.”
Sid nodded in agreement, and Damien went on.
“There are still small nations surviving there, carrying on their bloodlines. His Majesty hopes to establish friendly relations with them, so I’ve taken on the role of envoy.”
“Isn’t that Crown guy over there too?”
“Yes. Christian helps manage our base over there.”
“Ariel unni says she misses him sometimes.”
“Ha, she says that, but I think she’s planning to stay buried over there. She’s gotten quite attached to the locals.”
Junior widened her eyes in surprise.
“So Damien, are you going to spend your retirement in the Eastern Continent too?”
“Retirement… huh. I guess it really is time for us to start talking about that.”
Damien gave an awkward smile.
“My heart still feels like it’s on the monster frontlines, but time’s gone by.”
“Back then, Sid was just a baby. Now he’s got an adorable daughter of his own.”
Flos, cradled in Sid’s arms, was nodding off to sleep.
Junior smiled softly and gestured in the direction of her own home.
“Think about retiring in Crossroad. The weather’s warm, the fruit is delicious, and there are lots of familiar faces. It’s fun.”
Hecate rolled her eyes.
“Look at her trying to lure neighbors just because she’s bored…”
“No, that’s not it!”
Junior tried to protest as Hecate jabbed at her, while Damien quietly fell into thought.
“Retirement in Crossroad… that does sound nice. But where would I stay?”
“Oh, please. Just say the word! Like I wouldn’t spare you a room. This house is full of guest rooms.”
Evangeline started counting on her fingers.
“If Damien oppa moves to Crossroad too, then let’s see… there’s Junior unni, me, and my old man will probably retire here soon too… Wait, could even the senior Emperor come visit one day?”
Junior clapped her hands.
“Then the main party’s getting back together!”
“I like it. We can all just lie around and reminisce about the old days.”
The old comrades began excitedly chatting about retirement plans, and the drawing room filled with lively conversation and laughter.
Sid quietly slipped out of the room with Flos in his arms. He was putting her to bed.
Her room was on the first floor of the mansion.
As they made their way down the hall, Flos, nodding off in Sid’s arms, rubbed her cheek against his chest and asked sleepily,
“Daddy… you’re really not going far anymore? You’ll stay with me here?”
Sid gently brushed her messy bangs and smiled.
“Yeah.”
“Yaaawn… Are there no more magic shards? That’s kinda sad.”
“There’s one last piece. It’s here.”
Sid lifted his gaze to look out the window.
The southern forest’s edge. A small house built nearby.
Lilly’s house—where Sid had spent his childhood.
“It’s not a dangerous shard. But… I still don’t know how it’s going to manifest.”
Staring at the thick forest, Sid finally smiled gently and looked back at his daughter.
“So I’m going to keep an eye on it.”
Flos yawned wide and smiled drowsily.
“I’ll help too, Daddy…”
“With my daughter helping, I can’t ask for more.”
Sid entered her room and laid Flos in her bed, staying by her side until she drifted off.
Even as she fell asleep, she held onto her father’s finger tightly with her tiny hand.
“Isn’t it amazing?”
Lilly, who had followed behind her son, peered down at her granddaughter’s face as she asked.
Sid was silent for a moment.
Then he quietly nodded.
“It really is…”
Lilly reached out her hand. Sid took it.
And the three generations remained connected by their fingertips, listening in silence to the rhythm of each other’s breath.
That evening, they had dinner at Lilly’s house.
Sid, having returned to Crossroad after a long time, wanted to eat his mother’s cooking. And Lilly had proudly declared she’d host everyone.
So everyone went shopping together and came back to her home.
Of course, they couldn’t just leave all the cooking to Lilly. So even the guests rolled up their sleeves and helped prepare the meal.
Junior and Hecate mixed together a trendy New Terra drink, while Damien prepared a dish commonly enjoyed in the Eastern Continent. As everyone expected, Evangeline and Sapphire grilled the meat.
As the noisy dinner carried on, Flos—well-rested after her afternoon nap—came bouncing into her grandmother’s house.
With an appetite that seemed inherited from someone and a deep curiosity for new foods, Flos eagerly explored the table.
“This is pretty delish!”
With her round cheeks puffed out, she sampled various dishes and offered her own little reviews. The others watched and burst into laughter at her antics.
Amid the noisy and joyful meal…
“…”
Lilly quietly slipped out of the house, wheeling herself onto the terrace to feel the open air.
A warm autumn breeze rustled through the nearby forest, tousling her red hair as it passed.
Lifting her gaze, Lilly silently watched the darkening southern horizon.
The golden wheat fields shimmered, mingling with the setting sun and the weight of passing years.
‘Ah.’
Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe.
Again.
So much time had passed like this.
The seasons had completed yet another cycle, and now…
“Grandma!”
A voice called from behind.
Turning around, Lilly saw Flos poking her head through the door, looking up at her.
“What are you doing? Come inside! Everyone’s waiting!”
Inside the house, everyone was laughing and chattering away, and Sid gave his mother a gentle smile and a wave.
“…”
Lilly looked once more at the swaying forest and the far southern fields.
Then, she slowly turned her wheelchair.
Flos climbed into her lap with tiny movements, and Lilly held her tightly in her arms as they reentered the house.
“Sweetheart, is there anything else you want to eat? Grandma will make it all for you.”
“Heehee. Then… I want that pie you baked for me before, Grandma…”
Clack.
The door closed softly behind them.
From that day on, Lilly stopped.
She stepped down from her role as assistant to the lord.
And she stopped waiting—for someone who would not return.
–TL Notes–
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