There was a slight feeling of disappointment, to be honest, but she couldn’t show such feelings to her close confidants who had worked hard for her until the end. Above all, she was happy to know that the two were doing well.

Louise watched Ciel and Marquis Est from a distance. They were buying cotton candy for the baby in their arms.

But at that moment, Louise felt as if she had made eye contact with the two.

“Ah……”

But they disappeared into the crowd with their lovely children, as if the eye contact had been an illusion.

Only Louise and Rondimio stood there for a long time. It was right for them not to acknowledge people who didn’t exist in the world, but they still felt newly disappointed.

But only Rondimio understood Louise’s feelings.

“Are you disappointed?”

“A little. For the first time, I felt sad about becoming someone who doesn’t exist in the world.”

Rondimio gently pulled her round shoulder with the hand that wasn’t holding Delphin. Then suddenly Dallin nestled into Louise’s arms.

Louise gently stroked Dallin’s silver hair as she held her. Well, she was just briefly, just a little, disappointed.

My precious child. With my family, I had nothing to envy.

“Oh dear. How should I cheer up my wife? Should I buy you cotton candy?”

“No, that’s not necessary!”

Louise quickly lifted her head at Rondimio’s playful voice.

But in the meantime, he had actually bought cotton candy from the market.

Fortunately, the cotton candy was for Dallin and Delphin, but Louise rolled her aqua blue eyes, afraid that he might still hand her some until the very end.

“Well, shall we go home now?”

The family of four, with cotton candy and plenty of things they wanted to buy from the bustling area, returned home with light footsteps. Of course, Louise’s mind was still complicated.

Clang—.

“They’re both good people, so they’ll continue to do well. I hope they stay happy for a long, long time.”

Late at night, Louise and Rondimio, who had put their two children to bed after a long day out, reminisced about the day’s events while sharing wine with low alcohol content.

Having been away from the Araceli Empire for a long time, they didn’t know much except news about Tenueis, the emperor of the Araceli Empire, but they roughly guessed that Marquis Est was living well as his confidant.

Perhaps they had come here on vacation by chance.

Of course, the excuse of coincidence made anything possible, but it bothered Louise that they had met Ciel and Marquis Est in a small city far from the capital of the Araceli Empire.

Louise and Rondimio looked into each other’s eyes. Without speaking, they would be thinking the same thing.

“It seems it’s time for us to leave this place too.”

* * *

The day after accidentally meeting Ciel and Marquis Est.

Louise and Rondimio diligently prepared to leave this place. After five years, they had tried to stay in one city as long as possible, but they had to leave when something bothered them.

“I really liked this city, so it’s a shame. It’s also sad that I have to transfer schools again.”

It was also to protect the children. Louise gently patted the shoulder of Dallin, who had grown into a proper young girl.

Even though Dallin had agreed, Louise always felt sorry. She had made her daughter, who had lived as a precious princess of the empire, wander endlessly without settling anywhere.

And now Dallin, who had started going to school and mingling with peers, was struggling with the constant moving, though she didn’t show it.

“Let’s settle down in the place we’re going to next. Then our Dallin can make all the friends she wants and attend school for a long time.”

“Really?”

Dallin’s eyes sparkled at Louise’s words, which were close to a certainty. She thought she had grown a lot, but in Louise’s eyes, she was still a baby.

Then, with her silver hair fluttering just like Rondimio’s, she quickly nestled against Louise’s waist. She had always been a child who loved being held since she was young.

“You agree with that too, right, Rondimio? We can live more freely now.”

Rondimio, who was feeding baby food to Delphin who had just woken up, turned his head toward Louise and Dallin.

Having already heard their conversation, he wore a faint smile that made it predictable what answer he would give.

“I will always follow what my princesses want.”

“Dad. What about Delphin?”

The clever Delphin, noticing he wasn’t included in Rondimio’s words, refused the baby food Rondimio offered and pouted his lips.

Usually, Rondimio called Louise and Dallin princesses and Delphin a prince.

“What would our prince like to do?”

“Mmm. Delphin likes it too. What Mother and Sister like.”

“Thank you, Delphin.”

Chuckling at his young son’s answer, Rondimio finished feeding him his baby food and then gave a peck on his soft cheek. He couldn’t help but laugh because they were all so lovable.

And before sunset, Rondimio went out briefly with Delphin. Not knowing that something he could never tell Louise would happen.

* * *

His original purpose was to buy a bouquet of flowers for Louise.

The reason he took Delphin along was because he wanted to secretly buy one more cotton candy for the child who had been slightly upset during the day, but at the cotton candy store stood a familiar face. With a very surprised expression.

“Are you doing well?”

“Lord Ron.”

Rondimio finally spoke to the person who couldn’t take his eyes off him. Judging by the immediate response, perhaps the other person had been hoping for Rondimio to speak to him.

Marquis Est. He called Rondimio without delay. This was in contrast to yesterday when he had passed by as if they were complete strangers.

“Dad. Who is that?”

“Who is that, Dad?”

As the two men stood silently, the children in each of their arms fidgeted curiously. The children had cotton candy as big as their faces in their hands.

Finding this quite cute, Rondimio smiled slightly. Then he introduced Delphin to the girl who resembled his old confidant.

“Delphin. Say hello.”

“Hello!”

“Hello……”

The girl in Marquis Est’s arms greeted Delphin with her mouth full of cotton candy. Delphin seemed awkward despite having been curious.

But the awkward atmosphere was quickly broken.

Because Ciel came running from the next store, making a loud noise. Like Marquis Est, she too greeted Rondimio with a smile, forgetting that she hadn’t greeted him at all yesterday.

“Oh my goodness, I didn’t know you had a second child. What a lovely prince.”

Ciel, nearly full term, wrapped her arms around her round belly and looked lovingly at Delphin in Rondimio’s arms.

As a close lady-in-waiting who had taken care of young Dallin, she seemed to have a special affection for Louise and Rondimio’s child. Then she began to introduce her own child in Marquis Est’s arms.

“This child is Blinche. She came to us not long after you two left.”

“Helloooo.”

The girl who resembled them had been staring intently at Delphin, but at Ciel’s urging, she bowed politely to Rondimio. But her gaze immediately returned to Delphin.

The girl seemed very interested in Delphin.

“Ciel had a child early, so we had our wedding a bit late.”

“Your wife might have been disappointed. I denied for quite a long time that I liked my husband.”

So Louise’s guess was right. Seeing that they had a child about Delphin’s age, they must have conceived right after Louise and Rondimio left.

Rondimio hesitated, then seeing the two couples holding hands tightly, he felt awkward and gave up trying to say something. Actually, Louise would probably like this scene more.

“I see. My wife did seem a bit disappointed.”

Ahem. Rondimio, clearing his throat unnecessarily, conveyed to Ciel what Louise had said last night.

He wanted her to know that Louise had been disappointed.

“Ah, so she was disappointed after all. But I’m glad to see you like this. I had no other intention; I just wanted to know if you were all doing well.”

At Rondimio’s words, Ciel looked upset for a moment, but soon smiled brightly at Rondimio and Delphin.

Being closer to Louise, Rondimio didn’t know much about her, but he felt grateful thinking she must have taken good care of Louise all this time.

“You seem to be doing well, are you?”

“Yes. Very much so.”

And Rondimio too didn’t regret this meeting, as he had learned that the confidants who had been close to them were doing well.

If he ever missed them and longed for them again, he thought he could pass it off by saying he had seen them doing well when they accidentally met.

“I’m going to keep today’s meeting a secret from Louise. I think she would be very upset if she found out I met you alone.”

“Oh. Wouldn’t she be more upset if she found out?”

“I bought Delphin cotton candy, so he’ll keep the secret.”

Rondimio adjusted his hold on Delphin in his arms. It was time to end this second chance meeting.

He wanted to talk with them a bit more, but he couldn’t. Louise and Rondimio were non-existent in the world, and this meeting might become known to the world, even if by chance.

“When we meet next time, I hope it’s with Louise.”

“Will there be a next time for us?”

“We can’t say for certain there won’t be.”

“Then, I’ll look forward to seeing you again.”

After parting from Ciel and Marquis Est, Rondimio went straight to the train station and purchased four train tickets.

It was truly time to say goodbye.

* * *

That night.

With a loud noise, the train that would take the four of them to a new place arrived at the platform.

Without hesitation, they would leave this city tonight. After Rondimio, Louise, Dallin, and finally Delphin all agreed, they headed straight to the train station.

“Let’s board carefully. This is your first train journey, so it will be fun.”

“Yes! I’m so excited.”

“Delphin too!”

The train attendant checked the four people’s tickets and let them pass lightly. A family going on a train trip was such a common thing that there was nothing strange to think about.

They wouldn’t notice, not even slightly, that this family had once been part of the imperial family of the Araceli Empire.

Louise held onto her lovely children, who were excited about their first train journey, and found their assigned seats.

Rondimio lightly moved the large suitcase containing the family of four’s belongings, then squeezed in between Louise and the two children, who were already giggling and sharing snacks.

Their peaceful days would continue endlessly.

End of Side Story