Side Story.3
“Ugh……”
Cold air brushed past Maia’s cheek.
Her trembling eyelids snapped open and her brilliant violet eyes reflected the ancient sky.
A moment of silence passed.
“This is—”
Realizing the situation, Maia hurriedly pushed herself up from the ground covered in brush.
The parlor she’d been in moments ago was gone.
All that remained was the cane from Grand Duke Aeterna, held in her left hand.
‘This cane, passed down from the First Grand Duke Aeterna to his descendants, was originally said to be used as a weapon by my ancestor, but there’s a legend in the Grand Ducal House that it holds a hidden power.’
‘A mysterious power that can take one back to ancient times, even to the founding era.’
“Crazy……”
As Maia recalled Grand Duke Aeterna’s words echoing in her ears, she cursed.
She had no choice.
She tried to convince herself that maybe she’d just been transported to some mountain far from the mansion, and walked down the rough path.
“Oh my, look at that woman. Her hands and face are so white and flawless.”
“What’s with those clothes? I’ve never seen such a style…… The skirt is so puffed and long, she can’t even run properly.”
“If not for those bizarre clothes, she’d surely be thought a princess from somewhere.”
“What’s that in her hand? Looks precious. Is she an underling of Uperta?”
Only when Maia met people speaking in strange accents, dressed in unfamiliar styles she’d only seen in illustrations in history books, did she have to admit it.
This was the ancient Adelstein Empire.
No, not even the Adelstein Empire yet, but a time before its founding, when twelve beasts rampaged and people died daily as prey, and the strong formed groups to exploit the weak in a desperate struggle for survival……
The horrible, harsh era before the founding.
“D*mn you, Aeterna……”
Faced with this unbelievable reality, Maia could do nothing but grip the cursed cane tightly and spit curses at Aeterna.
* * *
“Ugh, my legs hurt……”
Even walking was exhausting now.
Wandering aimlessly around half-collapsed houses and buildings made of dirt and brick, Maia finally stopped, grimacing at the pain in her knees.
What Lukalis Aeterna had done to Maia was not a mere moment’s whim or prank.
It was no different from making someone disappear—killing them!
By luck, she hadn’t run into marauders or hungry beasts yet, but those threats could appear at any moment.
Maia’s only hope was that Grand Duke Aeterna would realize what he’d done and Hyperion would come looking for her in the past.
If anyone could do it, he could.
If even an ancient relic could do this, surely Hyperion Luar could.
But although it felt like three hours had passed since she fell into the ancient era, Hyperion was nowhere to be seen.
How long had it been since those peaceful days, and now she was plunged into this insane situation.
Her legs gave out.
She didn’t try anymore and just sank down.
“Ha……”
How was she supposed to get through this?
She should never have trusted someone like Grand Duke Aeterna alone.
But who could have imagined he’d do something so insane?
Just as despair clouded her vision—
“Excuse me.”
A small voice pierced Maia’s ears.
Her nerves were so frayed that even a voice with no harmful intent made her jump and tremble as she raised her head.
“Ah, sorry for startling you. You don’t need to be wary.”
She didn’t even have time to focus on the gentle voice trying to reassure her.
“……”
Had he noticed her and approached while passing by?
Maia looked up at the boy casting a shadow over her and was dumbstruck.
With the midday sun at his back, his hair shone like molten gold poured over his head.
Was he about thirteen or fourteen?
The young boy was so beautiful that even in this terrifying, bewildering moment, Maia nearly forgot her circumstances.
His tall stature, masculine clothes, and short hair made it clear he was a boy, but without those features, he could be called a peerless beauty.
Anyone would be captivated by him, a flower in full bloom, but he also carried a sense of frailty that stirred inexplicable compassion—a beautiful boy.
But she couldn’t only admire his dazzling looks.
“!”
Along with his golden hair, what caught her eye……
Were those eerily familiar red eyes.
“You’re new to this village. Are you lost?”
His gentle tone was nothing like the voice Maia remembered, but she couldn’t help but recall him.
The Emperor, Sahar, killed by Hyperion’s hand.
The boy’s red eyes resembled the dead Emperor’s eyes.
No, they didn’t just resemble—they were exactly the same.
Why? Why did the dead Emperor come to mind?
Maia clung to the cane and hesitated to answer.
“If someone saw us, they’d think we’re threatening you. Brother, let’s go.”
Then a different voice came from behind the boy.
Maia hadn’t realized someone else was there.
She looked at the boy with red eyes, then at another boy who stepped out from behind, glaring at her with a sullen expression.
Given he called the first boy “brother,” he must be the younger sibling.
Their height and build were nearly the same, so they couldn’t be far apart in age.
He had the same golden hair as his brother, but his eyes were a beautiful, sparkling green.
Unlike his brother, who was delicate and frail like a flower, the younger brother was bold and sharp, his youthful vigor evident in his gaze, expression, and tone.
“Even her clothes are weird. Don’t get involved.”
“She must have her reasons.”
“Brother!”
“Shh, you’re scaring her.”
Despite the younger brother’s harsh words, the boy with red eyes gently calmed him and turned back to Maia.
“If you’re in trouble, I truly want to help. But if my concern has made you uneasy, I sincerely apologize.”
At that moment, Maia realized—
From the start, the boy’s attitude and words toward her had never been disrespectful.
He’d asked about her troubles so gently, even though she needed help.
She was almost ashamed for being wary just because his eyes resembled the dead Emperor’s.
“No, you don’t need to apologize. I’m not lost, it’s just……”
The kind boy’s face brightened as Maia spoke, listening intently.
But Maia hesitated, unable to continue.
If she wasn’t lost, how could she explain?
She’d come from a future two thousand years ahead, received a cane, then suddenly ended up in ancient times when it glowed.
……Wouldn’t she just be dismissed as crazy, or a liar with a wild story?
He seemed kind, but surely he wouldn’t believe such nonsense.
“……Yes, I’m lost. I lived far away, but picked up this cane and suddenly found myself in a land I’d never seen.”
“What? How could that……”
The boy’s red eyes widened in disbelief.
Maia forced herself up, legs shaking, and spoke in a desperate voice.
“I can’t believe it either. I have nowhere to go, and I don’t know how to get back. ……I’m sorry, but could you help me?”
The boy looked at Maia with pity and, without hesitation, said,
“If you stay out here alone, beasts will attack for sure. If you have nowhere to go, why not stay at our house for a while?”
“Thank you, truly……”
She was so relieved to find somewhere to stay.
Maia sincerely thanked the boy and sighed in relief.
But unlike his brother’s kind concern, the younger brother, standing a few steps away with a cocky stance, frowned deeply and spoke.
“Why are you bringing a woman we’ve never met to our house? She’s suspicious. I’m against it, Brother.”
There were still obstacles.
Maia’s expression hardened.
The younger brother, who’d disliked her from the start, was now opposed.
“We’re just helping someone in trouble.”
The gentle-eyed boy looked at his brother and, surprisingly, spoke in a firm tone.
“If you’re caught up in suspicion, you’ll never do anything.”
“……Brother, you’re just too kind. It’s not helpful at all for surviving.”
The younger brother spat out the words, obviously frustrated.
His voice was sharp, his attitude unyielding.
Cold sweat ran down Maia’s back.
It seemed a fight might break out between the siblings because of her.
She parted her lips to say something, but the older boy’s calm voice was faster.
“If everyone in the world forgets kindness and pursues only their own survival, this world will become even more hellish than it is now.”
“Brother!”
She thought he was just a rarely kind-hearted boy.
“…….”
But maybe that wasn’t all.
Maia stared blankly at the boy who turned his back, forgetting even her own swirling anxiety.
“It’s hard enough for us to survive……!”
“There are people living even harder lives than us.”
He wasn’t just kind.
Every word he spoke was thoughtful, and within them was a gentle yet unyielding conviction.
His younger brother twisted his lips, his expression full of sorrow.
The older boy called his brother in a quiet voice, as if to comfort him.
“Aeterna.”
And at the moment Maia heard the younger brother’s name—
“……!”
All her thoughts stopped.
……Aeterna?
There was no way she didn’t know that name.
Hadn’t she just spoken with the one who inherited that name before falling into the ancient era?
The one who sent her to this time was also a descendant bearing that name.
Only then did Maia feel a sense of déjà vu.
The younger brother’s all-too-familiar golden hair and piercing green eyes finally registered in her vision.
“……Fine, do whatever you want!”
If the younger brother’s name was none other than Aeterna—
“I showed a bad side right in front of you. I’m sorry. He’s not usually like that…….”
The boy who spoke awkwardly was—
“Um, excuse me…… May I ask your name?”
“My name?”
The boy’s brilliant eyes widened in surprise for a moment, then he replied.
“Adelstein.”
It was an answer she already knew, but what should she call the feeling she had when she heard it confirmed?
Maia clasped her hands silently, unable to meet the gaze of the great master of fate standing before her.
The boy who had shown her kindness was Adelstein.
How could she not know that name?
Her country’s very name was his.
The boy before her eyes would one day become the Founding Emperor of the Adelstein Empire, the country where she was born and lived.
He was the only true friend and companion Hyperion ever acknowledged and cherished.
And the boy who had just shown his displeasure was the First Grand Duke Aeterna.
Goodness, even with the ancient relic—the cane—in her hand, she hadn’t recognized its true owner standing right before her……
Maia was overwhelmed by indescribable feelings as she looked down at the cane still in her grip.
“Don’t mind my brother too much. Ah, the sun’s already setting. Let’s go.”
“……Yes.”
What kind of twist of fate was this?
Before the Empire was founded, in the ancient land, she’d met the young Founding Emperor Adelstein and the First Grand Duke Aeterna and ended up indebted to them.
As Maia followed the boy, she suddenly stopped, anxious.
What if she was the reason the future went astray?
She thought so for a moment, but Maia laughed at herself and dismissed the thought.
What excessive worries was she having?
How could someone like her, with no abilities, influence their great destiny?
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