Sidestory – 3

The peaceful days flew by like the wind.

It was time to fulfill all the promises I had made with Vivian.

She got to dance, something she had longed for, and we held a wedding in front of many people.

We spent leisurely days paddling a boat by the riverside, and I led the knights on an adventure to defeat the troublesome dragon.

I seemed to see her smile every single day, and I too had no days without smiling.

Perhaps because we had fought so much in the past, we knew each other so well.

We no longer fought because we no longer crossed each other’s boundaries.

The days of struggling to adjust to each other were long gone, and now we were perfectly in tune, becoming one and simply happy.

But sometimes, Vivian would still suffer from nightmares.

Definitely from experiences where she almost died… or from our separation… those painful memories seemed to have left deep scars on her heart.

“No… don’t go… Kailo… please…”

When I woke up to her murmuring in her sleep, it was clear the nightmare had already worsened.

Each time, I quickly woke her up, but Vivian, so vivid in her nightmare, would fumble for my face, then sigh in relief, and then cry again.

When she woke up from the nightmare, Vivian always looked like she had a lot to say.

She wanted to say things like “Don’t leave” or “Don’t leave me alone,” or ask me to reaffirm our love.

But Vivian, as if not wanting to burden me with such words, would bite her lip tightly.

Since I could read her heart, I would be the one to bring up those words first.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“…”

“I’ll be by your side forever. We’re married now.”

Vivian really liked the word “married.”

It seemed like it gave her a special bond, as if it gave her a lot of strength.

She acted as though she had found someone who was always on her side, something she had never had before.

And she relied on the word “married” to shower me with affection.

No matter where I went, she would pretend not to care but would always follow me around.

If I told her I was going for training, she would say,

“Okay. Go ahead.”

And then, after a while, when I checked, she would be watching me from a distance.

“I’ll drink with the others.”

She would say, “Sure,” but then show up later with good drinks and sit beside me.

Even the knights of the Fourth Order didn’t mind her presence.

Of course, there was still a formality to the hierarchy, but the truth was, we had grown up together.

Beyond the relationship of lord and vassal, we were like awkward friends at a distance.

And yet, sometimes her presence became uncomfortable, I would jokingly ask.

“Would you like to go to bed first?”

And while my comrades would swallow their sighs, Vivian would look up with shining eyes and quietly leave.

Then, once she returned to her room, we would share a passionate reconciliation, the kind that felt like venting our past struggles.

Reconciliation intimacy was somehow fun, as it seemed to revive memories of past conflicts.

Vivian loved walking around the castle, holding my hand.

She would tightly entwine our fingers and hang onto my arm as we walked.

The maids and soldiers would always gossip about this.

Considering Vivian’s temperament, they didn’t expect her to act this way with anyone.

And thinking back to how we first met, they couldn’t have imagined it would be me.

“Kailo, wow…”

The people were just as surprised by my actions.

They never thought I would be the one to act so openly in front of everyone.

That wasn’t untrue.

But I did it because it was Vivian.

If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have acted like that.

Our story passed from one person’s lips to another’s.

Our tale became a fairy tale and a song.

Whenever we snuck into the city, Vivian would suggest going to a tavern, and our story would often come up.

Many of the letters from other noble houses carried stories about how our tale was bringing joy to their people.

Looking back now, our past seemed beautiful.

The happiness we had earned after enduring so many hardships felt even more precious.

It was a peace we had built with our own hands, without anyone else’s help.

It couldn’t be anything less than precious.

Sometimes, we would lie in bed, wordlessly gazing into each other’s eyes.

Without saying anything, without even laughing at the strange situation, we just stared deeply into each other’s eyes.

And while doing so, Vivian would quietly let her red jewel-like eyes shine, shedding tears.

I knew those tears came from joy, so I didn’t tell her to stop.

Even after a year, even after two years, she still did that.

Time hadn’t dulled her feelings.

“Thank you.”

And every time, she would whisper, her voice breaking,

“…Thank you, Kailo.”

I fully understood the deep meaning behind those few words.

If it weren’t for our bond, I probably wouldn’t have understood their full meaning.

Her words healed my past.

Three years passed.

We decided to have the child we had promised.

The process itself was joyful.

Imagining the future and deciding what to do on those days was fun.

Also, my excitement during the nighttime activities couldn’t help but rise.

Both she and I enjoyed the act of trying to have a child.

Of course, there were fights along the way.

“It has to be Rondor.”

I said.

“…It should be Alan. This is something I can’t accept.”

Vivian retorted.

We continued our argument about what surname to give our child.

I wanted the child to inherit the Rondor name, while Vivian insisted that the child should carry the Alan name.

“Here, we are in Loctana. I’m from the Alan family now. In this situation, what good would it do to pass on my surname? If our child is to lead this land, they need the Rondor name.”

I argued.

“…You wouldn’t even let me change my name, and now you want to give the child your surname?”

Vivian had once wanted to change her name to Vivian Alan.

It would have felt natural, but Loctana had been ruled by Rondor for a long time.

Since this land was still stained with the blood of our past battles, I made it clear that our child could not carry the Alan surname.

We were revisiting that old argument.

For the first time in a while, Vivian was heated.

“Darling, where’s the proof that I belong to you? My name is Rondor, and our child will be Rondor. This doesn’t feel like a family, does it? You’re the only one who feels like an outsider.”

She said.

“…This isn’t the time to act emotionally. Even without being bound by a name, nothing changes the fact that we are family. In this matter, we do it my way.”

After several days of persuasion, Vivian finally agreed.

She clearly showed signs of being upset, so I had to go to her frequently to comfort her.

By the end, it seemed like she enjoyed the act of me approaching her, pretending to be upset on purpose.

When I gently grabbed her shoulder and pressed my head against hers, she would smile secretly, hiding her expression.

That was the proof.

In the end, she understood my point.

We weren’t bound by names.

Even if our names were different, that didn’t mean we would part ways.

We shared a bond that was even stronger than the deep history between our families.

The child’s surname was decided to be Rondor.

***

Vivian soon became pregnant.

The day it was confirmed that she was pregnant, I was so happy that I picked her up and spun her around.

Vivian, although teary-eyed with joy, teased me for showing too much emotion.

“…Aren’t you being a little too happy? I’m already feeling uneasy, Kailo. Don’t neglect me while you’re loving the baby so much.”

“I’ll love you more, what are you talking about?”

“…I’ll be keeping a close eye on you.”

Vivian smiled as she ended the teasing.

“…Maybe our son will ask me to take him for a walk today?”

Vivian referred to the child as if it was already a son.

Her comment about not wanting a daughter still lingered.

Of course, she didn’t truly dislike the idea of a daughter.

Whenever she gently stroked her growing belly alone or took care in every step she took and every food choice, it was clear that she loved the baby too.

At first, she hadn’t been particularly eager for a child, but over time, the bond between her and the baby grew stronger.

As she grew her belly, she couldn’t help but develop some small desires.

If she had to choose whether the baby would be a son or a daughter, she seemed to prefer a son.

Maybe it was because I had been paying too much attention to the possibility of a daughter.

In the past, I too had hoped for a son as the first child.

But that had changed.

The thought of having a daughter who looked like Vivian made me excited just imagining it.

The doctor often mentioned that light exercise was good for her.

As a result, Vivian began learning to use a sword from me.

It was all her choice.

“The baby in my belly wants to learn to use a sword, Kailo.”

She tried to persuade me with such absurd reasoning, but it was so cute I couldn’t resist.

“He wants to be a proud knight like his father.”

Thanks to our child, Vivian and I created many special memories together.

Time passed quickly, and before we knew it, ten months had gone by.

Vivian’s agonized screams filled the room, and I couldn’t stay still.

I held her hand, but I couldn’t understand why I felt so scared and anxious.

This was the first time I had felt this way, wasn’t it?

I couldn’t ease her pain this time, and I realized this was the first time I had ever felt so helpless.

Her body was covered in sweat, and she screamed in agony as she struggled to give birth to our child, and my heart hurt deeply.

This was the first time I had ever felt such fear.

Not even when I first arrived in Loctana, or when the land was full of enmity, or during the great fire, or when I rode a dragon, or when I had to face assassins, or when I killed the Eight knights, or even during the war, or when I opposed the Las Order had I felt this way.

My hands were trembling, and this was the first time I had ever felt this way.

“…Ha-ha.”

Vivian seemed to like my appearance at that moment.

She seemed to find it good that I was afraid because of her.

Even though she was screaming in pain, when she took a moment to catch her breath, she smiled at me.

“…Don’t be afraid, Kailo.”

She said that, even though her eyes were bloodshot, and she tried to comfort me.

“…I’m fine.”

“Ugh! Ugh!!”

Finally, with a loud cry, the baby was born healthy.

Thud.

At that moment, Vivian’s strength seemed to leave her body.

I was so shocked that I didn’t even have time to look at the baby and instead tightly grabbed her hand.

“…Vivian?”

Vivian let out a shallow breath and glanced at me.

“I… did well, right?”

She was just exhausted, and it didn’t seem like there was anything seriously wrong.

I nodded and gently stroked her hair.

I softly wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“You… you did so well.”

“…I guess I should have another one. I didn’t know you’d praise me like this…”

I couldn’t answer.

After seeing this, I wasn’t sure if I could go through this process again.

The image of how hard Vivian had struggled was strongly etched in my mind.

It seemed like it would take some time to recover from this shock.

“Ugh! Ugh!!”

“Sir Kailo.”

But before I could even gather my thoughts, the midwife called me.

As I looked up, tears that had built up without me realizing it fell, and my vision cleared.

For the first time, I saw my baby crying loudly.

“…Ah.”

And in that moment, I could be certain.

It was the same feeling I had when I first saw Vivian.

I would protect this child for the rest of my life.

A second being I wanted to protect appeared in my life.

The red hair that resembled Vivian, and yet the eyes that resembled mine.

It was still wrinkled, but it was still beautiful in my eyes.

Vivian, perhaps trying to reassure me, made a joke at that moment.

“With such a loud cry… it must be a son, right?”

…Is that really a joke?

Now, I wasn’t sure.

I took the baby.

It was so small that I couldn’t believe it was a human.

I gazed at the baby’s face for a long time, then handed the child to Vivian, who was now sitting on the bed.

I finally found the energy to unbutton my shirt and, smiling, said to her.

“…It’s a loud-crying daughter, Vivian.”

Vivian smiled at my words.

“…This is bad. She’s going to steal all of my husband’s love…”

But even so, the love in her eyes was undeniable.

Although she said she didn’t like it, it seemed that she couldn’t help but feel that way when facing her.