Side Story – The Premonitory Dream Was Really True

Seven years later.

Grasping her throbbing head, Seilia wondered if she was dreaming again amidst this perplexing and chaotic situation.  

The vast lawn of the garden, which resembled an endless field, was littered with toys her children had left behind while playing. Over there, her son and daughter were fighting tooth and nail.  

No…  

To be more honest and accurate, it was her daughter, Aveline, who was one-sidedly beating up her older brother, Ecleon.  

Earlier, she had pinned him down and pinched him, but now she had gone beyond that and was outright biting his arm.  

“D*mn that cursed premonitory dream…”  

Muttering under her breath as she clutched her head again, Seilia resented the premonitory dream more than ever.  

It wasn’t a mere dream but a revelation of the future!  

How could it be so accurate?  

“Ahhh-!! Mother, please do something about Aveline. She won’t let go!”  

Hearing Ecleon’s voice, dripping with cold desperation as he pleaded for help, Seilia stopped lamenting her fate and stood up to separate the rampaging Aveline.  

“Enough.”  

While even the attendants dared not intervene, Aveline looked up to see who had grabbed her arm.  

Mother?  

At the stern and icy tone, Aveline puffed her soft, fluffy cheeks and let out a huff! However, her green eyes still didn’t withdraw their glare toward Ecleon.  

“Who on earth do you resemble so much?”

Holding Aveline in her arms, Seilia reached out to straighten Ecleon’s disheveled clothes when she suddenly felt arms wrapping around her waist.  

The person she found most infuriating at this moment.  

Leo, who had joined the commotion at some point, casually kissed Seilia’s cheek and walked toward Ecleon.  

“She must take after you—whether it’s her temper or that audacious glare.”  

“How could those eyes resemble me? Clearly, they’re identical to the green eyes you use to stir up the ministers.”  

Unable to deny that he had indeed stirred up the ministers earlier, Leo lifted his son instead of replying.  

As Seilia gently touched Ecleon’s face, which bore faint scratches, she once again reflected on the power of genetics.  

Despite having been thoroughly beaten by Aveline earlier, Ecleon’s handsome face, which resembled Leo’s, showed little sign of distress.  

What concerned her most was how much his personality mirrored the icy demeanor she had feared.  

To make things clear to the ill-tempered doll in her arms, Aveline, Seilia brought up her daughter’s greatest weakness.  

“Aveline, if you ever treat your brother like that again, I’ll take away your sword and hide it. Consider yourself warned.”  

At the mention of the sword, Aveline stopped sticking her tongue out at her brother.  

The now-docile Aveline sparkled with the beauty she had inherited from Seilia.  

Of course, exceptions were made for moments like earlier, when she behaved violently.  

Aveline’s sudden compliance had a clear reason.  

The sword was a gift from her father on her fifth birthday, and losing it would mean forfeiting the swordsmanship lessons she eagerly anticipated more than her etiquette classes.  

“Just give the sword to me, Mother. What swordsmanship could someone with such a pig-like body possibly learn?”  

Ecleon, who had been calmly nestled in Leo’s arms, shot a sharp remark at Aveline in his composed tone.  

At the word “pig,” both Seilia and Leo turned their heads, stifling their laughter.  

How could they all be so alike?  

Ecleon, now only seven years old, was gradually following in the footsteps of a younger version of Leo, who had always responded to Seilia’s provocations with a detached attitude when they first married.  

“What? Pig, pig?! Do you want to get beaten again to stop saying such things?”  

Ecleon, completely unfazed by Aveline’s pretty shoes kicking in his direction, acted as if he wouldn’t even dignify her childish words with a response.  

“Both of you, stop it. Go inside and start packing for tomorrow’s trip to the Grand Duchy of Mirkan.”  

Leo finally stepped in to end the fight, and only then did the two reluctantly turn their hostile faces away.  

However, their strained relationship showed no signs of improving.  

Later, while packing together in their shared room after dinner, they ended up fighting again, leaving each other with bruises on their foreheads and cheeks before finally stopping.  

When Seilia and Leo heard about it, they raised their voices in frustration.  

After alternating between scolding and calming them down, Seilia grew exhausted.  

“Anyone would think you two are step-siblings! Will you both stop it already?!”  

Catching Aveline and Ecleon poking at each other again while listening to her, she snapped in anger.  

This time, Aveline had started the quarrel, but Ecleon, feeling unfairly scolded alongside her, pouted and spoke up.  

“I still don’t understand why I’m being punished, Mother.”  

“That’s because you’re ugly.”  

“Shut up. When I inherit the throne from Father, I’ll lock you up in a tower.”  

“Before that, I’ll marry Prince Serlin from the neighboring kingdom and leave!”  

Aveline’s thoughtless retort was meant to counter Ecleon’s threat, but the two men beside her took a long moment before finally smoothing out their furrowed expressions.  

***

“Aveline and Ecleon are already fighting like this. When they grow up, one of them might actually kill the other for it to end.”

After the chaotic dinner, once Aveline and Ecleon were put to bed one after the other, Leo and Seilia sat down to talk over wine.  

Though it wasn’t a new occurrence, Seilia recounted the day’s commotion in detail, prompting Leo to sip his wine with a smile.  

“Surely, you remember when Neir’s son came to the Imperial City last time?”  

When Seilia, preparing to refute Leo’s denial, recalled the event, she stopped mid-sentence.  

Neir’s son was the same age as Aveline. That day, when he accompanied his father, he had fallen head over heels for Aveline at first sight, just like the other young noble boys. Ecleon, however, had looked on with clear disapproval.  

“Father, I don’t understand what Trihan sees in Aveline to follow her around like that.”  

Ecleon had grumbled as he observed the two, unable to comprehend their behavior.  

When Neir’s son approached Aveline too closely, Ecleon had rushed over, exuding a cold aura, and separated them, keeping them at a distance.  

As Seilia’s expression showed that she understood Leo’s point, Leo gently brushed Seilia’s wine-stained lips with his thumb and continued speaking.  

“That’s all proof that Ecleon still thinks of Aveline as his little sister, isn’t it?”  

“I suppose I’ll have to tell Ecleon something later.”  

When Seilia, taking a bite of dessert, made this remark, Leo asked, 

“What?”  

“Not to interfere with his little sister’s future plans.”  

At those words, Leo’s face darkened, much like Ecleon’s had that day when he was brimming with cold displeasure.  

“Our Aveline is only five years old. Isn’t it a bit too early to think about such things, Empress?”  

What’s the point of such roundabout statements?  

‘I don’t like my daughter dating a boyfriend.’ Just write it down like that…’

Fine, have it your way.  

“Well, I think the sooner, the better. That way, she’ll develop the eye for choosing a good man. Like I did.”  

If Aveline wanted, Seilia could summon a line of young noble sons from high-ranking families to meet her immediately.  

The same went for Ecleon.  

“No. Absolutely not.”  

Leo now seemed determined to ban all young noble boys from entering the Imperial City.  

“Even Ecleon’s jealousy is something he inherited from you.”  

Seilia said as she stroked Leo’s hair.  

However, Leo caught her hand firmly, stopping her.  

With a mix of tenderness and firm resolve, Seilia wondered if she had said something wrong but couldn’t pinpoint anything.  

“Did you just say earlier that meeting many men helps develop the eye for choosing a good one?”  

“Of course….”  

Why does it always take a moment too long for such crucial realizations to hit her mind?  

Surveying the sorrowful outcry within herself, Seilia rose, attempting to leave the scene.  

Leo halted her with just four words, 

“Stay where you are.”  

Fixing Seilia with a gaze filled with deep intensity, Leo moved the wine glasses and plates they were holding onto a nearby table.  

When Seilia silently questioned his actions, Leo smiled warmly and answered, 

“I’m ready to hear all about your extensive dating experience.”  

Even after seven years, Leo’s obsession showed no signs of waning.  

Of course, that was one of the reasons Seilia loved Leo so deeply.  

Likewise, Leo’s unparalleled good looks, which hadn’t faded over seven years, only shone brighter when paired with his fervent obsession.  

“Fine, I’ll tell you.”  

Though she reluctantly agreed to appease him, Leo’s smile was brimming with a harsh, unyielding resolve, as if to say, ‘Go ahead, just try to say a single word.’  

“It was really just light, very light relationships….”  

Speaking in a voice barely above a whisper, Seilia tried to explain as gently and positively as possible. Even under Leo’s relentless, questioning gaze, she maintained a calm and confident demeanor.  

Eventually, Leo let out a heavy sigh and nodded, 

“I see. So, you’ve indeed honed your eye for finding a good man.”  

At this, Seilia let out a short, amused scoff.  

Such arrogance.  

With an expression as though he would devour her whole, Leo swiftly pulled Seilia into his arms and claimed her lips, which had dared to let out that mocking laugh.