Side Story 57. [After Story] The Wedding
49 years ago.
Imperial Year 653.
One year after the final battle against the beasts.
Everblack Empire. Southern Crossroad.
“My lord!”
Someone shook my shoulder as I dozed off, leaning against the carriage window.
When I opened my eyes, Serenade, sitting beside me, was beaming brightly.
“Look, it’s Crossroad! We’ve arrived!”
“Huh? Already?”I brushed my face and looked out the window.
Just as Serenade had said, the familiar fortress walls stretched out before me.
It was Crossroad, my beastfront where we parted with tears just a year ago.
After the war against the beasts ended, I left for the Bringar Duchy and worked as Duke Bringar. Now, I was back after one year.
“It’s only been a year, but it feels like such a long time has passed.”
“Hehe.”
Serenade covered her mouth and laughed as she fixed my tousled hair.
“I’m sure the people who’ve been waiting for you feel the same way.”
“People waiting for me…?”
Soon, those people came into view.
The area in front of the North Gate of Crossroad was packed with citizens there to greet me.
“It’s the former lord!”
“It’s His Highness, Crown Prince Ash!”
People cheered and waved toward my carriage.
“Your Grace!”
“It’s been so long!”
“We’ve missed you!”
“Congratulations on your wedding!”
Amid the overwhelming welcome, I waved back from the carriage.
Elize, who was driving the carriage, adjusted the speed with great timing. I exchanged glances, shook hands, and greeted the people.
“Thanks for coming out, everyone! I’ll make sure the wedding goes well!”
Waaaah…!
As we entered the city of Crossroad amid the cheers and greetings, the streets unfolded before us like a grand festival.
Bodybag—no, Daram—sitting in the front seat, admired the scene with a quiet gasp.
“Wow, the whole city feels like a festival.”
“Well, it basically is.”
Ash ‘Born Hater’ Everblack, Crown Prince of the Everblack Empire, and Serenade Wintersilver, Head of the Wintersilver Merchant Guild.
Evangeline Cross, Border Countess and Lord of Crossroad, and Lucas McGregor, knight and bodyguard of the Crown Prince.
The main players of the Beast War were having a double wedding.
The scale of the wedding was massive, and with comrades returning from all corners of the world, of course it turned into a full-on festival.
“I left it all to Evangeline, trusting she’d take care of it…”
I sighed as I looked over the city.
“And just as I thought, it’s a flower bed.”
The central boulevard of Crossroad was drenched in the new lord’s extravagant, glittery, and extremely sparkly taste.
Brightly colored buildings, flowers hanging everywhere…
It was festive and beautiful, but I’d probably get overwhelmed if I had to live in this every day. It’s probably just for wedding season, right? It’s not like this normally, right?
As we reached the Crossroad Lord’s Manor, several people came out to greet us.
Among them were Lilly, working as the Lord’s aide, and Sid, nestled in her arms.
“My goodness, Sid!”
I got off the carriage and ran straight toward Lilly.
Sid, who had been dozing in her arms, opened his eyes wide and dashed out from his mother’s embrace toward me. Wow, he runs well!
“Godfatah!”
“Sid!”
I scooped up the baby running with tiny steps. Whoa—he’s gotten heavy over the past year!
“Wow, look how much he’s grown. How old is Sid now?”
Lilly, smiling as she watched us, replied.
“He’s two years old.”
“Two years old!”
This is age two! Growing so fast! Still adorable!
“Godfatah!” (TL Note: Sid mispronounces Godfather)
“That’s right, Sid. It’s your godfather.”
“Hehe, godfatah!”
Sid giggled and waved at me.
“Godfatah, want cotton candy?”
“Of course! I’d love some cotton candy.”
Then, wriggling out of my arms, Sid turned around and trotted back to Lilly.
“Mommy! Godfatah wants cotton candy!”
“Look at this sly little guy. He says he’s buying it for me but just wants to eat it himself.”
Lilly scolded him gently with something like “No cotton candy for godfatah—” as she lifted Sid into her arms. I greeted her with a smile.
“How have you been, Lilly?”
“Very well, Your Highness. Everyone in Crossroad is doing great.”
Then, looking visibly more tired, Lilly murmured.
“Things have been hectic with the event preparations… but I suppose that’s the fate of an aide…”
“Ohhh, I get that!”
Suddenly, Daram popped out beside me and grabbed Lilly’s hands, both of them tearing up. Aides really do bond fast. Hopefully they sneak off later for some behind-the-boss venting.
“Wow, it’s our senior!”
“My lord!”
Just then, Evangeline and Lucas emerged from the Lord’s Manor.
Lucas had come to Crossroad a week early for the wedding preparations after being assigned as my guard in the Bringar Duchy.
After greeting several other staff members I hadn’t seen in a while, I turned to Evangeline and asked,
“So, what’s the actual schedule?”
“Guests are coming from all over the continent, so we can’t just hold a one-day event, right? The wedding will go on for a whole week.”
Pre-wedding festivities. The wedding. Post-wedding celebrations. That’s how it was set up.
Stunned, I clicked my tongue.
“A whole week? Isn’t that a bit much? What are we even going to do?”
“Don’t worry! I’ve packed it with super fun events!”
Evangeline proudly shrugged her shoulders with confidence. Which… honestly only made me worry more.
“All the recipients of the invitation have confirmed they’ll be attending. It’s a wedding, yes, but it also feels like a reunion of beastfront comrades.”
Lucas, standing next to Evangeline, added his thoughts.
“I hope you enjoy your time, my lord.”
“Appreciate it, but… you do realize you’re one of the grooms too, right?”
Anyway, since Evangeline had confidently declared I should just leave everything to her, I figured she’d handle it and didn’t press any further.
After unpacking at the Lord’s Manor, while the long-separated comrades chatted away, I stepped out. I wanted to take a look around Crossroad again after so long.
“I’ll escort you, my lord.”
“Sure. Let’s take a walk together.”
As Lucas and I stepped out of the manor, a familiar voice called out.
“Your Highness, Crown Prince! Sir Lucas!”
When I looked over, a man in a military uniform with a pipe between his lips and a steel brace over his jaw was waving.
Though his split jaw was gone, he still wore that same suave, handsome grin.
It was Sir McMillan, former commander of the Imperial Airborne Unit.
“Congratulations in advance to both of you.”
“Sir McMillan! You arrived early.”
He firmly grasped my hand and shook it with a big smile.
“I really appreciated you officiating my wedding last time.”
McMillan had married about half a year ago. As promised, I officiated the ceremony.
I smiled and patted his shoulder.
“No need to thank me. You’re the one emceeing this wedding, remember?”
“Haha. It’s an honor.”
As a war hero known for his eloquence, and having the connection from my officiating his wedding, McMillan was the perfect choice to emcee ours.
“I’m counting on you. Just run it like any other normal wedding.”
“Haha. Don’t worry. I’ve been through plenty on this front line. Even if something unexpected happens, I’ll manage.”
We both burst out laughing.
An unexpected situation? What could possibly go wrong?
…
What could possibly go wrong…?
Later that afternoon.
Guests began to arrive at Crossroad one by one.
“You punk of a Crown Prince!”
“Kellibey!”
Leaping forward, Kellibey threw herself into a fierce hug. Gah! Still strong as ever!
“How’ve you been?”
“Of course. And you’re looking great too, Kellibey.”
“Hehehe, I’ve been looking forward to this wedding and preparing hard for it.”
Kellibey grinned and puffed up her chest.
“You can look forward to the congratulatory song!”
“Haha… I’ll be counting on you.”
She had asked a year ago to either officiate or sing at the wedding. Apparently, she meant it.
By the way, my father—His Majesty the Emperor—would be officiating the wedding. He’s far too busy to come early, so he’d arrive on the day of. Hence, the congratulatory song had gone to Kellibey.
“Well then, I’ll head over to the rehearsal room I had set up and warm up my voice!”
“Alright. Enjoy the festivities, Kellibey.”
Next came Kuilan and the beastkin.
“Captain~!”
“Kuilan!”
This musclehead also went in for a rough hug, making me choke back a gasp as I patted his shoulder. Did I get weaker after the war or something? Why’s everyone so damn strong?
“How’s Yun?”
“She’s resting peacefully in our village.”
“She’ll wake up. She’s strong.”
“Haha. I’ll wait ten, twenty years if I have to.”
After a bit of small talk, Kuilan grinned and wiggled his thick brows.
“Ah right, you can look forward to the congratulatory song! My squad and I practiced hard!”
“…”
I froze for a second, then blinked in confusion.
“Huh? You prepared a song?”
“Oh, you didn’t hear? I made a promise with Sir Lucas a year ago. I’d sing at the wedding.”
“Uh…”
“So I’ve been practicing like mad for a whole year. Kehaha, time to show it off in battle! Get ready, Captain!”
Kuilan hummed merrily as he headed off to rehearse with his Penal Squad members.
“…”
I blinked blankly, then the next guest arrived.
“Ash!”
“Verdandi!”
Even our elven queen had come.
We exchanged greetings and talked briefly about how things were going in our respective countries.
Then Verdandi smiled brightly and said,
“You can look forward to the congratulatory song! I brought the traditional orchestra of the Elf Kingdom just for today!”
“…By any chance, who did you make that promise with?”
“A year ago, with Evangeline Cross, the Border Countess!”
“Ah… I see.”
I see. So that’s how it is…
Everyone made separate agreements for the song…
Verdandi headed to the nearby forest to rehearse with her orchestra. As drums and horns blared in procession, children from the city followed behind, giggling and squealing with joy.
And then—
“Your Highness~!”
“We’re here~!”
The Rompeller siblings appeared, their blue hair swaying like waves—merfolk, through and through.
I asked without hesitation.
“It’s not you too, right?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The song. You didn’t… right?”
“Oh, the song?”
The Rompeller siblings gave me fierce grins, like true former pirates.
“Don’t worry! It might’ve been a year ago, but you think we’d forget our promise with Lady Wintersilver?”
Aaaah…!
So this is how it’s going to be…!
“We’ll sing something so stunning, it’ll make a siren jealous. You better be ready to cry tears of joy~”
And then, right on the spot, they began humming a rap-like tune, keeping rhythm as they went. The other merfolk who had come along joined in with enthusiasm and started singing in unison.
“…”
Well, I mean… sure. Having multiple groups sing the congratulatory song isn’t unheard of. Maybe there are just a lot of people who want to perform. It’s a joint wedding anyway, so this much is fine. This much doesn’t even qualify as trouble. Yeah. Hahaha.
“Your Highness!”
The next arrivals to Crossroad were Junior and Hecate.
After exchanging greetings with them for the first time in a year, I casually tested the waters—and thankfully, it seemed neither of them had anything to do with the congratulatory performance.
Relieved, I let out a small sigh of relief.
Then Junior held up the wedding invitation and said brightly,
“I’m really looking forward to the wedding festival! Especially the special event that Lord Evangeline prepared!”
“…Special event?”
“Yes, what was it again? She said, ‘It’s time to fulfill the long-standing promise of the K.H.E.W.’ or something like that?”
The long-standing promise of the K.H.E.W.?
What the hell is that?
“Do you know what that promise is?”
“I have no idea. The Lady said she was preparing it under absolute secrecy.”
…This is bad.
A shiver ran down my spine.
Despite the sky being perfectly clear with not a single cloud, I felt like a dark storm was gathering over Crossroad…
It was then.
“Your Highness~!”
The next one to come running was Damien.
He’d become an adventurer and left Crossroad, but returned upon hearing news of my wedding—my trigger, back after a year.
Seeing him again made me wave enthusiastically, and Damien smiled brightly and waved back—until his expression twisted in panic with a loud “Uwaaaah!”
“Your Highness—no, Your Highness the Crown Prince! This is bad!”
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Po… Podong 2.”
Podong 2, the second-generation hamster Damien had been raising in Crossroad.
He’d left Podong 2 at the temple while he was away.
Now, pulling that name out after all this time, Damien cried out in anguish.
“While I was gone, the temple lost track of Podong 2…!”
“Podong 2?”
“He’s gone missing—!”
Why is that hamster causing problems again—?!
Messed-up song assignments.
Evangeline’s sinister scheme brewing in the shadows.
And the mysterious disappearance of Podong 2.
With these seeds of chaos planted, time passed helplessly…
And finally, morning broke on the day of the wedding’s eve festival.
–TL Notes–
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