Side Story 6

One of the reasons Louis came to Rakus for a short honeymoon was to mediate the long-standing conflict between the Kingdom of Rakus and the Kingdom of Altine before ascending to the throne as Emperor.  

The day after arriving in Rakus, the King of Altine arrived in Rakus via a sea route.  

While Louis was away briefly for work, Vivian was having tea time with the Queen in the palace garden, which offered a splendid view of the sea.  

“As expected, Daon’s tea is excellent no matter when you drink it.”  

Vivian had chosen a tea among those she brought that wasn’t too strong in aroma. It had been personally prepared by Daon. Bella closed her eyes and savored the tea slowly.  

“I’m glad it suits your taste.”  

“Crown Princess, you are so kind and thoughtful. Unlike… someone else…”  

Vivian smiled faintly, guessing who Bella’s “someone” might be.  

“His Highness the Crown Prince is also kind.”  

The Queen, who was in the middle of raising her teacup, paused. Her eyes widened as she stared at Vivian in disbelief, causing Vivian to burst into a fresh, bright laugh.  

“This is just between us, but words like kind, warm, or gentle don’t really suit the Crown Prince, do they?”  

After setting down her teacup and carefully looking around, Bella leaned forward.  

“As the only son and sole legitimate successor of the Empire, it’s understandable in a way, but I used to wonder who on earth would marry someone with his personality…”  

The Queen’s eyes crinkled with laughter.  

“To think it would be someone as beautiful and warm as you… His Highness the Crown Prince seems to have been born with all the blessings in the world.”  

Vivian blushed at Bella’s heartfelt compliment.  

“I was lucky. My husband, chosen by the Emperor, is handsome, kind, and capable. I’ve never felt homesick for the empire, even after getting married and quickly becoming pregnant, adapting to a new environment…”  

The Queen lowered her head and looked at her stomach. She placed both hands over her lower belly and smiled bitterly.  

“But with my third child, I’ve been experiencing morning sickness for the first time, and it’s made me miss the empire.”  

Vivian listened attentively to the Queen’s words. Above her, the white canopy shielding them from the sunlight fluttered in the sea breeze.  

“And during that time, Louis… Oh, since it’s just the two of us, may I call him Louis?”  

When Vivian smiled and nodded, Bella responded with a bright smile of her own.  

“When I heard Louis was getting married, I wanted to go so badly that I cried alone, and it seems Alisa saw me.”  

Alisa’s personality was very different from that of her elder brother, Noah. She couldn’t sit still for a moment, except while eating.  

Neither the King nor the Queen of Rakus particularly restrained her. Because of this, Alisa’s maid had once remarked that the princess probably knew the palace better than the King and Queen themselves.  

“That’s probably why she went looking for Proki, I think.”  

“Alisa has such a beautiful heart.”  

The two women exchanged smiles again and laughed brightly.  

“Thank you for coming all the way here, even though there are so many other lovely places you could have visited.”  

“Not at all. I really wanted to meet you, Queen. And the Kingdom of Rakus is so beautiful that I would have regretted it if I hadn’t come.”  

How did Louis manage to meet such a lovely woman? Did he save the Empire in his past life? The Crown Princess was beautiful in appearance and heart. There wasn’t a single thing about her that wasn’t beautiful.  

Louis had always drawn Bella’s attention since childhood.  

Born as the son of the strongest Emperor in the Empire’s history, Louis was considered perfect in every way, comparable even to Emperor Henry himself.  

Except for his personality.  

While other cousins kept their distance from Louis’s sharp demeanor, Bella never could.  

When Louis was seven, after Consort Violet passed away, his sharp edges became even more pronounced.  

Though it wasn’t without its challenges, Bella had closed the distance between them and treated him warmly. It would be a lie to say she hadn’t been hurt, but she never regretted it.  

The cousin she was seeing after so long had changed significantly.  

And Bella knew that most of those changes happened when he was with the Crown Princess.  

“Queen!”  

From the path leading from the palace to the garden, Alisa’s voice rang out loudly.  

Bounding forward with a bright smile, Alisa froze upon seeing Vivian. Then, as if realizing something, she bowed her knees and greeted her.  

“Your… Empire… um… Anyway, nice to meet you!”  

Noah had spent an hour after the banquet teaching Alisa how to greet properly, but unfortunately, it was only a partial success.  

“Alisa. What brings you here…”  

The Queen asked, and the maid standing behind Alisa hesitated before stepping forward.  

“Well, that is… The Princess insisted on showing Proki to Her Highness the Crown Princess…”  

In the maid’s hands was a large object wrapped in cloth. At the mention of Proki, Vivian and Bella exchanged glances.  

“Angel! You want to see Proki, don’t you?”  

Alisa’s sparkling eyes made Vivian nod before she even realized it. At that, Alisa jumped up and down excitedly, urging the maid forward.  

The maid placed a small cage containing Proki in the center of the large tea table. Carefully removing the cloth covering the cage revealed a frog with large, blinking eyes.  

Seeing Proki, Vivian immediately understood why Louis had fallen at the beach.  

Proki was much larger than a typical frog and far more colorful. Considering Louis’s reaction to even small green frogs, it was no wonder he had stumbled upon seeing one this size.  

“Isn’t it amazing?”  

Alisa’s shoulders were raised high with pride. Watching her alternate glances between Proki and the proud Alisa, Vivian smiled softly.  

At that moment, Queen Bella spoke to Alisa.  

“Alisa. Let’s release Proki back to its home now.”  

Alisa’s eyes widened at Bella’s words.  

After all the trouble she’d gone through to find Proki, now she was being told to let it go. Alisa’s blue eyes wavered intensely.  

Bella stood and bent down so she was at eye level with her daughter.  

“I deeply appreciate your thoughtfulness, Alisa. But I’m not sick. Your sibling is simply growing inside me.”  

“But…”  

“Proki also has a precious family waiting for it at the beach, doesn’t it?”  

At Bella’s words, Alisa flinched.  

The frog, confined in what was clearly once a birdcage, tilted its head and blinked.  

“Yes… I’ll let it go.”  

“That’s my sweet Alisa.”  

Watching Bella and Alisa, Vivian briefly imagined a scene from the future. A child who resembled both her and Louis smiling brightly as they made eye contact. Louis watching over them.  

A warmth that started in her chest spread throughout her entire body.  

“Oh, and it might be nice for the Crown Prince to accompany you when you release Proki.”  

Vivian, who had been adjusting her windblown hair, froze in place.  

Bella, smiling mischievously at her daughter, had a playful look on her face.  

“Sure!”  

Alisa, who had been saddened by the thought of releasing Proki, instantly brightened.  

***

“I’m not going.”

After finishing a dull and long meeting, Louis firmly rejected the visitor who had come to see him.

“B-but you have to go with me… Mother said you had to come too…”

Rayden, who had been grinning at the sight of Alisa appearing with her maid, leaned toward his superior and whispered in his ear.

 “You should go, really. Come on.”

Louis took a step back from Rayden, who whispered creepily, and rubbed his ears vigorously. The meeting had dragged on longer than expected. To make matters worse, the gap between Rakus and Altine’s positions hadn’t narrowed, and the meeting had ended with both sides simply reaffirming their firm stances.

It was partly his fault for underestimating the situation.

He needed to hurry back to Vivian…

He felt sorry for leaving Vivian to spend time alone during their honeymoon, and, truthfully, he missed her very much.

“Little Princess.”

“It’s Alisa.”

“Right, Princess Alisa. You should go with your maid today. I have urgent matters to attend to.”

At Louis’ words, Alisa’s shoulders drooped. As Louis walked past her, he paused.

D＊mn it.

Cursing inwardly, Louis turned back and approached Alisa.

“But you have to come back quickly, Princess Alisa.”

Alisa’s head shot up, and she smiled brightly. Seeing his cousin’s face reflected in Alisa’s expression, Louis chuckled softly and offered his right hand.

***

“Vivian.”

On the path leading to the beach where Proki had been found, Louis blinked slowly when he spotted Vivian standing in casual attire.

D＊mn it.

Louis cursed inwardly once more. Vivian was dressed in a light white dress with a wide-brimmed hat.

As the wind blew, her skirt fluttered, revealing her slender, pale ankles.

He wanted to grab Vivian by the wrist and drag her straight to the bedroom, but, unfortunately, Princess Alisa was clinging tightly to his right hand.

“I wanted to come along when I heard Proki was being set free. Would it be alright if I came along, Princess?”

“Yes!”

Alisa cheerfully let go of Louis’ hand and ran over to Vivian, grabbing her hand and starting to walk down the path.

Watching the backs of the two women, Louis’ lips curved into a soft smile.

No matter how he thought about it, having a daughter first seemed better than a son.

If a daughter who looked exactly like Vivian were born, he would hold a grand festival for an entire week. Every year on her birthday, he’d give her the most precious gifts in the Empire.

His happy thoughts spiraled endlessly.

“This is it! This is where Proki was yesterday.”

When Alisa pointed to the rock from the day before, the maid following behind set the cage containing Proki on a flat rock.

“Goodbye, Proki. Go live happily with your family, okay?”

The moment the door was opened, Proki leapt out as if it had been waiting.

How did it get so far so quickly?

Vivian burst into laughter as she watched Louis standing quite a distance away. Proki, now free, glanced at Alisa once before quickly disappearing into the crevices between the rocks.

Once Proki’s figure had completely vanished, Louis finally began to approach hesitantly.

“Do you… want to dip your feet in?”

Vivian smiled brightly and took Louis’ outstretched hand.

Tia spread out a cloth that had been prepared earlier on the white sandy beach. Alisa sat on it, munching on cookies. With every big bite she took, her chubby cheeks moved energetically.

Rayden, meanwhile, was sticking close to Alisa’s maid, chatting about trivial matters and laughing heartily.

Vivian’s feet were tickled by the waves as she observed the scene. Each time she wiggled her toes, fine grains of sand slipped between them.

“Louis.”

Louis, who had picked up Vivian’s hat that had blown away in the wind, raised his eyebrows at her call.

“When we have a child, let’s come back to the beach together.”

At Vivian’s words, Louis chuckled softly and brushed back his tousled hair. His jet-black hair sparkled brilliantly under the dazzling sunlight.

“Then we’ll have to have a child first. That comes first, doesn’t it?”