Side Story, Chapter 34
Loved ones departed, and new loved ones were born.
“Father!”
“Dad!”
His son, now his only child, Alan. And Alan’s younger siblings, the twin brother and sister, Liddell and Lina.
As one life ended and another began, sons and daughters grew into fathers and mothers, retracing the paths their own parents once walked.
“Don’t be hasty, my dear.”
Charlotte smiled warmly yet firmly, while the eldest, Alan, gently calmed his younger siblings. Dale watched them with a quiet smile. It was a scene that could be found in any family.
Even as the sole ruler of the continent’s only empire, nothing was different.
An era had ended, and a new one had dawned. Dale, Charlotte, and the old guard found their places gradually diminishing.
The Night Raven Knights, too, left the Saxon house one by one, and Dale blessed their journeys without hindrance.
Those who once fought in the shadows for Dale were no exception.
The pure maiden, Aurelia, remained in the old world as the ruler of the Kingdom of Britannia before Lize froze her world. She left behind a legacy as a revered Holy King, marking her final chapter.
Yet the dark maiden, Aurelia, was frozen within Dale’s empire, and when the ice melted, she journeyed to Britannia Island to fulfill an old promise to Dale.
She was celebrated as another Holy King, a reincarnation of the pure maiden, Aurelia.
As the members of the Saxon house departed one by one, each met their own conclusion.
Master Baro was among those who left the Saxon house, though some occasionally returned.
“Ah, this unworthy wretch dares to greet His Majesty the Emperor.”
“You’ve come, Master Baro… or should I say, Marquis Ptolemy.”
“Ah, such a strange name.”
Master Baro, also known as Marquis Baro of Ptolemy, laughed heartily, accompanied by his wife, Maria of Ptolemy.
“Congratulations on your pregnancy.”
Dale bowed to the woman beside Baro, who smiled gently, once known as the Shadow Maiden.
Her eyes were still wrapped in black bandages, much like Dale’s sister, Lize. Yet she would no longer see beyond what lay before her.
“I hear you’ve become a new man, drinking less.”
“It was the lady’s command, after all.”
“Baro, I told you not to call me that in front of others.”
Maria spoke up, and Master Baro scratched his head sheepishly.
“Ah, I understand… my dear.”
Dale turned away, stifling a laugh. The two seemed mismatched, yet ironically, that made them perfectly suited for each other.
After his father Alan and mother Elena passed, Dale was not left alone in the world.
Loved ones departed, and new loved ones were born, continuing the cycle that is history.
In a way, the words of Ray Eurys and the Blood Duke weren’t entirely wrong.
Human history is a history of blood.
The blood of the Black Duke, the Duke of Saxon, flowed in Dale’s veins, passing on to his sons and daughters.
The blood of the Divine Sword flowed to Charlotte, and from her to their children.
That was all there was to it.
Even as the era of monsters faded, there was still time before Dale and Charlotte would disappear. In the meantime, no one dared challenge the empire or the obsidian throne.
Thus, days of peace continued, cherished with those he loved.
As Alan of Saxon, Alan II, grew, he began to understand the feelings his father, Alan, once had for Dale.
As a prodigy of the ducal house, he worked hard to prove his worth and talent before his father, believing it had paid off.
However, his son, Alan II, was not a prodigy like Dale. He was an ordinary, diligent child, unable to sense the power of the era.
Yet, strangely, every time he watched his son at work, an indescribable certainty filled him.
“Look, Father!”
“Your swordsmanship is very clean.”
The sight of his son diligently practicing swordsmanship and never neglecting his studies was, to a parent, a testament of trust beyond compare.
Even if young Dale had lacked monstrous talent, his father Alan would have gladly believed in and supported him.
“I’m so proud of you, Alan.”
Thus, Dale spoke, just as his father had once told him.
“Because I’m your son, Father.”
Alan replied, just as Dale had in his youth, bringing a bittersweet smile to Dale’s face.
“Dale… Uncle.”
There was only one person in the world who could call him that. Realizing it was no longer strange to be called “Uncle,” Dale smiled wryly.
“Yuffie.”
A girl learning the secrets of blue magic under Lize’s tutelage stood before him.
“I heard you’ve inherited the secrets of blue from Lize.”
“Yes.”
Yuffie smiled a little wistfully.
“Do you despise me?”
“Uncle Dale is a good person.”
Yuffie shook her head in denial.
“It’s just that sometimes, kindness can hurt people.”
“Perhaps you’re right.”
Kindness can indeed wound. Her words were painfully true.
“Yuffie, you are a very wise person.”
Dale’s words made Yuffie smile shyly. She was a girl from the countryside, once illiterate, yet now she had inherited the most complex and intricate art known as blue magic.
“What do you wish to change in this world, Yuffie?”
Thus, Dale asked.
“Thinking you can change the world is foolish.”
“Is that so?”
“The world isn’t something you change; it’s something that changes.”
Yuffie replied, and Dale smiled again.
“Do you believe this world will change for the better, Yuffie?”
At his question, Yuffie fell silent. She was no longer the naive country girl. As a sorceress who had inherited blue magic, she saw the world through the web Lize had woven across the continent.
Understanding the world’s ugliness and filth, Yuffie finally answered.
“I don’t know.”
Yuffie smiled wryly.
“I think it might not change much at all.”
”…”
Dale remained silent at Yuffie’s answer.
“Emperor or revolution?”
After a pause, Dale asked. It was a question that had once brought Yuffie to this point. And now, at the end, Dale asked again.
“Neither.”
Yuffie answered without hesitation.
Before the Emperor of the Tenth Empire, the Obsidian Sovereign.
Once a god of meaninglessness, now a monster feared by all.
Every dawn, as the light seeped through his eyelids, Charlotte lay beside him. As Dale gently brushed her hair, Charlotte awoke.
Day after day, month after month, year after year, their mornings remained unchanged.
As time passed, wrinkles appeared on Charlotte’s face, just as they had on Elena’s, and on Dale’s face, just as they had on Alan’s.
The era of monsters was ending, and its conclusion lay before them.
“Charlotte.”
That morning was no different.
“Dale.”
Dale reached out to brush Charlotte’s hair, and she smiled, calling his name. Lying in bed, they gazed at each other, savoring the happiness they felt.
“Hey, Dale. Are you happy?”
“Yes.”
These were the longest, happiest days of their lives.
The next day, and the day after, were the same.
Master Baro’s wife, once known as the Shadow Maiden, was there.
“Lady Maria.”
”…Your Majesty.”
Their connection was brief. As the Shadow Maiden, she had guided the Shadow Lord Dale on his path, and now she was enjoying happiness with Master Baro.
Soon, her child would be born.
“As the Emperor of this empire, I have something to bestow upon you.”
Dale glimpsed the truth within her shadow. The happiness she now enjoyed.
Further back, the madness of her father, who had gouged out her eyes, claiming she was possessed by a demon during the Third Empire.
The vulnerability of a girl desperately calling out Master Baro’s name amidst the madness.
“What is it?”
Maria asked, and Dale answered.
“Light.”
“Thank you, brother.”
“Aunt Lize!”
Lize smiled. Dale’s children laughed beside her, and she embraced them warmly.
Even kindness can wound.
Realizing this, the siblings no longer hurt each other.
And so, Lize simply smiled quietly. Just as Maria had once received ‘his eyes’ from the Emperor, she gazed upon a world made of light through the eyes her brother had given her.
“May the happiness you wish for come true.”
Dawn broke once more, but Dale, wrapped in black bandages, could not perceive its light.
Instead, he felt a touch more precious than anything else.
“Charlotte.”
“You’re awake?”
“Yes.”
Just because something isn’t visible doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Charlotte lay beside him, and every time she caressed him, he could feel her presence.
Her skin, her scent, her voice.
It was the same that day, the next, and the day after.
Then one morning, he awoke to find Charlotte’s touch absent.
Understanding this, Dale smiled bitterly.
After smiling, he broke into tears.
Among scholars, there are many theories about what led to the fall of the Tenth Empire.
When the Black Gold Sovereign died and Alan II ascended the throne, the Saxon dynasty continued for several generations under his rule. However, in a world where monsters had vanished, the Saxon lords no longer possessed the power to bring the world to its knees.
Thus, after several internal conflicts, the Tenth Empire fell, ushering in a new era of war.
Yet, nothing was ever known about the whereabouts of the man once called the ‘Black Gold Sovereign’ and the Magic Emperor.
It was during the time when Alan II’s reign had ended, the throne had passed to the next generation, and the Saxon family continued to rule the world for several more generations.
A man was walking.
He wandered across a land where pure white snowflakes danced. The sky was pitch black, and the ground was stark white.
He walked aimlessly, his eyes covered with black bandages, feeling his way forward with a cane.
With no destination in mind, he simply moved forward.
Crying like a child.
“Why do you wander so?”
At that moment, a voice called out. A voice he could never forget.
“My beloved father and mother have left.”
The man replied.
“My beloved wife has left, my sister too. My beloved sons and daughters have gone, and even my grandchildren. Yet, I could not leave.”
“I see.”
The voice responded, tinged with a bittersweet emotion that words could not capture.
“Then, would you not join me on a journey?”
“To where?”
“Who knows.”
With that, Sepia smiled and fell silent. After a pause, Sepia spoke again, and the man quietly laughed.
“12. The Beginning of a Journey”
Hiss!
It was a steam-powered train. A testament to the birth and fall of empires, the rise and fall of dynasties, and the arrival of a new revolution.
The struggles of the Lords of Gold and Shadow had become nothing more than distant legends.
As the train’s departure drew near, gentlemen in suits began to move one by one.
A boy with black bandages wrapped around his eyes was there.
He fumbled with a cane like a blind man, and just then, a hand reached out to stop him.
“Lady Sepia.”
“The train will be leaving soon.”
A woman in a suit whispered, hiding her ears beneath the wide brim of her hat. The boy nodded.
“Where is the train going?”
“Who knows.”
Sepia smiled and tilted her head.
“Anywhere would be fine, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, it would.”
Hearing this, the boy smiled.