Cafeteria next to the central square.
Junior and Hecate, watching the disbandment of the Crimson Wing Knights, covered their mouths and laughed as they sipped their wine.
After the commotion in the square subsided a bit, the two began to chat.
“Did Junior say he was going home first?”
“Yes. My siblings live in a village by the eastern sea. It’s been a while, so I need to go and let them know I’m still alive.”
Junior smiled brightly.
“After that, I’ll go to the Imperial Capital… to take classes at the academy. If I want to work at the history foundation that the Crown Prince suggested, I need to have some basic knowledge.”
“Junior, you’ll do great.”
“What about you, Hecate?”
As Junior asked carefully, Hecate smiled softly.
“I’m going back to where I grew up… the White Blossom Orphanage.”
“The orphanage?”
“Yes.”
Hecate stared at the wine swirling in her glass.
“I heard that it’s no longer a facility for raising war machines for the Empire, but a normal orphanage… a place that takes in and educates the children of veterans.”
“……”
“I want to work there. So that children with the same scars as me don’t grow up to be adults filled with the same hatred… I want to take care of them.”
Junior nodded.
“Hecate, you’ll do great too.”
“Hehe, thank you.”
After a brief silence.
The two, who had been hesitating, spoke at the same time.
“I…”
“Um!”
They looked at each other with wide eyes, then burst out laughing.
“You go first.”
“No, you first, Hecate.”
“I said you go first, Junior.”
“Ahem. Okay. So….”
Junior, who had been fidgeting, squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out.
“Will you live with me in the Imperial Capital?”
At the unexpected proposal, Hecate just blinked.
Junior began to ramble, explaining his proposal.
“So, um… the rent in the Imperial Capital is quite expensive. I can’t afford it alone even if I rent a place. So, um, I thought it would be good to have a roommate, and you’re the only person I know in the Imperial Capital….”
Hecate stared at Junior, who was waving his arms around and trying to explain, and then finally.
“Okay.”
She answered readily.
Junior was surprised by her easy agreement. Hecate smiled.
“I also needed to find a place when I got back. Like you said, Junior, if we rent a place together, we can save money….”
Hecate held out her wine glass.
“And it’ll be much more fun than living alone.”
Junior, who was a beat late in catching on, hurriedly held out his glass.
Clink-
The two toasted.
“So, um, is this a toast to celebrate becoming roommates?”
“Hehe. Shall we say it is?”
“Hehe, hehehe….”
Junior, who was happily sipping his wine like a child, suddenly opened his eyes wide and asked.
“Come to think of it… what were you going to say earlier, Hecate?”
“Ah, that.”
Hecate, who had been swirling the wine in her mouth, suddenly leaned forward.
“Shall we start speaking casually?”
She made that suggestion.
This time, it was Junior who blinked in surprise. Hecate shrugged.
“We’re the same age. And we’re going to live together now. It’s awkward to keep calling each other ‘-nim’ all the time.”
“Ah… right. It is, but….”
“Since we’re talking about it, shall we start speaking casually right now?”
“Now, now? From now on?”
“Yes. From now on. Come on, hurry.”
Hecate gestured for him to go first, and Junior stammered.
“Th-th-then….”
“……”
“I’ll, I’ll speak casually… no, I will. Heca…te.”
“……”
“I-is this… okay?”
After hearing Junior’s clumsy attempt at casual speech.
“Pfft.”
Hecate couldn’t help but make a sound like air escaping, and then she burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
“Ahahaha! Ahahahah!”
Junior’s face turned bright red.
“Why, why are you laughing! No, why are you laughing! What’s so funny!”
“No, it’s just. I’m already looking forward to it.”
Speaking casually with ease, Hecate held out her wine glass again.
“To the days we’ll spend together in the Imperial Capital.”
“……!”
“Let’s go see a performance at the grand theater, take a yacht tour of the inner sea, and stay up all night at the New Year’s fireworks festival. Thanks to being dragged around by the prince during my school days, I know all the fun things to do in the Imperial Capital.”
Hecate shook the wine glass she was holding out.
“It’ll be fun. Definitely.”
“……Yeah.”
Junior held out his wine glass again, clinking it against Hecate’s.
“It’ll be fun. Really.”
Clink-
They put down their glasses and laughed happily as they made plans to hang out together.
“……”
Suddenly, the images of the two mages who had greatly influenced her life flashed before Junior’s eyes.
Lightning and icy wind.
At the end of the divided valley, her mother and teacher, who had died while cradling Junior in their arms.
Two women who longed for each other but could never be together.
Junior didn’t want to take revenge or forgive, even if the other was an enemy. She just wanted to live together.
And finally, she had made a friend like this.
A friend who, even if they were standing on the other side of the valley, would reach out their hands and live together.
‘Some wounds can never be healed, and some valleys can never be filled.’
Even with those wounds, even above that valley, people can live.
She had proven it now.
So Junior smiled.
Brighter than at any other time in her life.
***
An alleyway near the central square.
It was late at night.
“Uweeaaahhh.”
A young drunk was leaning against the wall, throwing up.
The new lord, Evangelin Cross, with her platinum blonde hair tied at the nape of her neck and green eyes.
“Tsk tsk, you should have drunk in moderation….”
Lukas, standing behind her, grumbled as he patted Evangelin’s back.
The new lord had no idea of her alcohol tolerance. She had drunk several glasses in a row, carried away by the atmosphere, and ended up like this.
“Ughhh, I’m gonna die….”
Evangelin groaned, wiping her mouth with a pale face.
“I thought I was finally getting the hang of it, but it all came right back out… uweeaaahhh.”
“Good job, good job.”
While grumbling, Lukas carefully continued to pat Evangelin’s back.
“Okay, okay! I’m fine now! Let’s go for round two?!”
Evangelin, who had been throwing up for a long time until there was nothing left, rinsed her mouth with water and then staggered, waving her hand wildly.
“Fine, my foot.”
Lukas supported Evangelin from the side and led her to the lord’s mansion.
“Go wash your feet and go to sleep.”
“Ehey, mister! What kind of day is it that you’re trying to put me to bed already?”
“What kind of day is it?”
“It’s the first day I’ve attended an official event as the Count of Cross! It’s the first day I’ve ever drunk alcohol in a public place!”
Evangelin’s index finger pointed at Lukas’s face.
“It’s the day I’ve been waiting for to hear those words from you!”
“……”
“You’re leaving this Crossroad tomorrow! What do you have to say to me, who’s been waiting with bated breath for you to come?!”
Lukas stared at Evangelin, who was slurring her words with genuine drunken sincerity, for a long time.
“Evangelin.”
He suddenly stepped in front of Evangelin, grabbed her shoulders with both hands, and called her name in a calm voice.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, Evangelin swallowed nervously.
“Y-yes?”
“……I’ll be honest.”
Lukas let out a soft sigh and then spoke.
“I will continue to stay by my lord’s side and protect him.”
“…….”
“And my lord is now the Crown Prince. In other words, he will become the Emperor in the future… and I will become the Emperor’s Imperial Knight.”
Evangelin’s mind became clear at the serious talk about the future.
“As long as I live as a knight, no matter how hard I try, my personal life will be limited.”
“…….”
“And I will continue to protect my lord with loyalty and my life. There may be times when I value him more than you.”
Lukas’s voice trembled slightly.
“But if it’s okay… if you allow it. If I can be a little selfish and speak my mind.”
“…….”
“I… I like it when you smile.”
Lukas was serious, but for some reason, Evangelin laughed.
“I like it when you eat a lot and are happy. I like it when you talk loudly and hit my shoulder. When we’re exhausted from sparring and lie down together in the training grounds to look at the stars. When we fight and sulk, then reluctantly make up while sitting back-to-back on the sofa in the reception room. When we stand shoulder to shoulder on the ramparts… it was fun.”
Because it was the same.
The feelings Evangelin had for Lukas were the same.
“Do you remember? Whenever our lord left the front lines, we were always left here to fight the monsters together.”
The two times Ash left for the Imperial Capital, and the half-year he was missing.
Lukas and Evangelin had never been apart. The two of them had protected Crossroad together.
“Every time, I thought. With you, even the cold nights are bearable.”
“…….”
“These past three years here. In every pitch-black moment, you, shining brightly, were my comfort.”
Lukas took a deep breath.
“I’ve never felt these emotions before in my life… I was late in realizing it myself. But if I don’t say it today, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, so I’ll say it.”
The knight’s clear blue gaze met Evangelin’s without wavering.
“I like you, Evangelin.”
“…….”
“I don’t want to lose you. I want you to keep smiling by my side.”
Thwack!
Evangelin could no longer hold back and covered her face with both hands.
It was to hide her bright red face, but also to hide her trembling lips.
Evangelin squeezed her eyes shut and let out a strange scream, her voice rising an octave.
“Crazy, wow! So cheesy! I’m going crazy!”
“…….”
“Aish, mister! My hands and feet, what am I going to do with my hands and feet. Ugh, ugh, my face is burning. I’m embarrassed just listening to it, really!”
“I’m not embarrassed.”
When Evangelin slightly opened the fingers covering her face, Lukas was still looking at her with a clear gaze.
“Because it’s a sincere truth.”
“Wow, really… you’re amazing in many ways….”
Evangelin slowly lowered her hands from her face.
After tapping her cheeks, which were as red as a beet, with her fingertips, Evangelin looked directly at Lukas.
“It’s too cheesy, so I need to cleanse my palate.”
And then.
She raised her heels, stood on tiptoe.
Stretched out her arms, wrapped them around Lukas’s neck.
And slowly placed her lips on his.
Neither Lukas nor Evangelin had any dating experience, so their kiss was clumsy.
Afraid of breaking each other, they held each other gently and exchanged a cautious peck.
“……But.”
After slowly pulling their lips apart.
Lukas, who had been quietly looking at Evangelin’s face, narrowed his eyes.
“You threw up a little while ago.”
Evangelin smiled.
“So what? We’ve seen each other in worse states.”
“That’s true.”
The two kissed again.
This time, more boldly and daringly, they wrapped their arms around each other’s necks and waists, pressing close and kissing deeply.
After the second kiss, Evangelin opened her mouth.
“I think.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re more of a bad boy than my senior.”
“Depending on your perspective, that could be true.”
“Wow, you’re not even denying it?”
“I think it’s easier to score points by starting as a bad boy and turning into a good one.”
“See, that kind of mindset is what makes you a bad boy….”
Evangelin laughed softly and then spoke seriously.
“It’s the same for me, mister. I’m now the Count of Cross. The lord of this Crossroad.”
“…….”
“There will be times when I prioritize the citizens of my territory over my husband, over my family. No, there will be many times.”
Just like her father had.
As a public figure representing the people and governing the land, there would be times when she would have to prioritize the value of the city over her personal happiness.
“But if it’s okay, I’ll confess too.”
“…….”
“My feelings are the same as yours.”
Evangelin smiled as she caressed Lukas’s cheeks.
“We’re still young and naive. Let’s set a shameless goal.”
“What is it?”
“Let’s not give up on either our dreams or our love.”
As the Emperor’s knight.
As the lord of the city.
To be faithful to their own lives, and at the same time, to be faithful to each other.
Then Lukas smiled wryly.
“It’ll be hard.”
“Of course, it’ll be hard. But.”
Evangelin playfully narrowed her large emerald eyes.
“Will it be harder than the past three years?”
“…….”
Lukas burst out laughing without realizing it.
Truly, truly—Evangelin was right.
They had faced the destruction of the world and endured an unprecedentedly harsh three years.
Compared to the hardships they had experienced in those three years, balancing dreams and love was a challenge worth taking.
“I’m going to become an incredibly cool count. I’m going to become an incredibly cool lord too.”
Evangelin clung to Lukas’s neck with her characteristic arrogant smile.
“Even if your senior becomes the Emperor, I’ll become such an incredibly cool woman that you’ll want to see me more. ”
Lukas did not avert his gaze as he wrapped his arms around Evangelin’s waist.
“I’ll become the coolest man so that you’ll want to see me more than the citizens of Crossroad.”
“You’re both trying so hard to make each other neglect your duties….”
The two shared a third kiss.
After the long kiss, Lukas chuckled. Evangelin blinked.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, it’s just….”
Lukas spoke honestly.
“I’ve been trying so hard to live as a model knight my whole life, but now that I’ve tried something a little different… it’s better than I thought.”
“Our mister has become a delinquent knight.”
Evangelin giggled.
“Then I’ll have to be a delinquent lord for today too.”
“How long has it been since you became lord….”
Lukas couldn’t finish his sentence. Evangelin’s lips had stopped his.
The remaining night was short, and the two were young.
The two kissed so many times that it no longer made sense to count.
As if blessing the newly formed lovers, the bright moonlight illuminated the alleyway.