Side Story 9 – Reunion
Side Story 9
Reunion
“Excuse me, could you move a bit!”
“I’m already crouching as much as I can!”
“I can barely see anything. This is the finals, after all—I should be able to see better!”
“But I also…”
“Just tilt your head this way a little. Please?”
In the middle of winter, on the second day of the year-end festival, the martial arts tournament was in full swing at the arena.
Countless people had gathered to watch the finals, and the arena was so packed that it was difficult to even see the competition.
“Hadel, who do you think will win this time?”
But no matter how crowded it was, the imperial couple’s seats remained spacious.
Ashaella whispered to Hadel with an amused smile.
“Who do you think will win, Asha?”
“Hmm…”
One competitor was Ruban, who had joined the Imperial Knights four years ago, and the other was a masked man of unknown identity.
Originally, only nobles of verified identity could participate in the tournament, but thanks to Hadel changing the rules last year, commoners and even those of unknown background could now participate with a sponsor, adding a new flavor to the event.
“Ruban is certainly strong. He won last year too.”
Ruban had trained so diligently that he had risen to the position of deputy commander at an unprecedented pace.
There were rumors that the Emperor had personally trained him… but since the results were good, Ashaella had left it alone, thinking all was well.
“But this time, I’ll cast my vote for the masked man.”
After some deliberation, Ashaella made her decision with a sweet smile.
Her sparkling silver eyes were so beautiful that Hadel naturally kissed the corner of her eye and wrapped his arm around her waist.
“I think you got it right this time, Asha.”
“Oh, really?”
Having half-guessed, Ashaella widened her eyes at Hadel’s response.
“He’s come back much stronger. More than I expected.”
“Hmm? What do you mean? You speak as if you know who the masked man is.”
As Ashaella asked curiously, Hadel held her close and laughed softly.
“Of course I know. And you know him too.”
At his warm, gentle voice, Ashaella felt her body relax languidly as she rested her head on Hadel’s shoulder.
“Someone I know too… I wonder who it could be.”
While they were talking, the finals had begun.
Ruban, a fighter with formidable skill, performed admirably. At first glance, it seemed he would win, but in the end, it was truly the masked man who remained standing on the arena floor.
“The masked man wins!”
The examiner’s voice thundered through the arena, followed by a wave of cheers.
“Woooooooahhh!”
“A new champion! He defeated Ruban!”
The spectators cheered and threw flowers onto the arena floor.
Though it was a bitingly cold winter, the atmosphere here was so heated that it made everyone forget the chill.
Naturally, the audience’s attention shifted to the “wish” the winner would request.
While everyone was busy speculating what wish the masked man would make, Hadel approached the winner to congratulate him and drape a cloak over his shoulders.
“You may join the Imperial Knights, and you may formally make one wish to me. You don’t have to say it right away, so take your time to think…”
“I’ll speak it now.”
For whatever urgent reason, the masked man declared his intention to make his wish before Hadel could even finish speaking.
Hadel, finding the situation amusing, curled up the corners of his mouth and nodded.
“Very well. What is it?”
Silence fell over the venue. Not an uncomfortable silence—it was the silence of tens of thousands of people waiting to hear what would come from the masked man’s lips.
Cutting through everyone’s curiosity, the masked man slowly raised his hand.
The moment he removed the mask from his face with deliberately slow movements—
“…Ah!”
A faint exclamation escaped from Ashaella’s lips.
And it was the same in the nobles’ section.
“That man is…!”
“Tremain?”
“It’s Ensay Tremain!”
“Since the Tremain name has fallen, is he a commoner now?”
“Wait. I heard he had already abandoned the Tremain family and left.”
“Hold on, what does this mean?”
Some showed displeased expressions, but most were intrigued and entertained.
This was understandable, as almost every current noble knew that thanks to Ensay, they had easily obtained evidence of the Tremain Count family’s corruption.
As even the commoners began to recognize the masked man’s identity, Ensay broke the silence.
“My wish is.”
His face no longer bore the refined features of a noble’s son.
It was marked with the traces of countless hardships endured as a commoner.
Ensay’s ash-gray eyes trembled slightly, momentarily turning toward somewhere in the commoners’ section.
Following his gaze, Ashaella’s silver eyes also flicked in that direction.
At the end of Ensay’s gaze stood a brown-haired woman cradling a small baby.
She was a beautiful woman biting her lower lip anxiously.
Then Ensay’s lips parted again.
“Please forgive the crimes that my wife and I have committed, Your Majesty.”
With a thud, Ensay knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
The spectators who didn’t know the context looked puzzled, but Hadel and Ashaella understood.
Ensay and Repha, who had been fugitives, though no one had actually pursued them.
‘Actually, I didn’t know what had happened to them afterward either.’
Since she thought it was fine not knowing forever, she hadn’t made any effort to find out.
She had given Ensay and Repha a new chance.
And they had accepted it.
Whether Repha had opened her heart to Ensay had been uncertain.
The result was now before their eyes.
“Mother.”
Robelia, who could now speak quite distinctly, climbed onto Ashaella’s lap with effort.
She must have been bored sitting apart from them.
“You look happy.”
Robelia’s red eyes looked up at Ashaella with curiosity.
Ashaella, still smiling, gently stretched Robelia’s cheek.
“Yees. I am happy. Is our Roa bored?”
“A little…”
Robelia buried her face against Ashaella’s waist, seemingly embarrassed.
A warm, fluffy feeling seemed to spread throughout her body with Robelia’s breath.
“What would you think about having a younger sibling, Roa?”
“A younger… sibling?”
Wriggle, wriggle. Squirm, squirm.
Robelia’s movements were adorable.
“Ensay, your wish is granted.”
Hadel’s voice circled the interior of the arena.
It seemed to ride the wind, scattering far, far away.
In Ashaella’s eyes, as she stroked Robelia’s hair, she saw a woman bursting into tears.
A lovely woman whose brown hair, rather than silver, made her even more beautiful, stretched out her arms.
At the end of her reach was Ensay’s tear-soaked hand—a story that needed no further telling.
