Side Story 06. [After Story] Ash

    In front of Crossroad’s lord’s manor.

    Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!

    Lucas, riding his horse at full speed, dismounted with an agile leap.

    “Huff, huff, huff!”

    Sweating profusely from the nonstop ride, Lucas didn’t even bother catching his breath before asking,

    “E-Evangeline?! Where’s Evangeline?”

    “Sir Lucas!”

    It was Damien who came running out to meet him.

    Seeing his old comrade for the first time in a while, Lucas’s eyes widened in surprise.

    “Damien?! What are you doing here...? How was your journey?”

    “Ah, thanks for asking... I just got back from the west this time...”

    The two men, both notoriously lacking in situational awareness, momentarily forgot the urgency of the moment and began catching up.

    AAaaaaaaahhhh!

    A piercing, almost inhuman scream echoed from inside the manor.

    There was only one person in the world who could scream like that.

    “Evangeline!”

    Lucas gasped, and Damien quickly snapped back to reality.

    “She’s about to give birth! Go inside, quickly!”

    “R-Right! Let’s catch up later—gotta go!”

    Nodding hastily, Lucas practically threw himself into the manor, using both arms and legs to scramble inside.

    And not long after—

    Waaaaaah! Waaaaaah!

    The loud cries of a newborn echoed through the manor.

    The faces of everyone anxiously waiting outside, including Damien, lit up with joy.

    Waaaaah!

    Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd as if they were celebrating their own achievement, filling the area with a wave of happiness.

    “Wow...”

    Evangeline, pale-faced and utterly drained, mumbled to herself.

    “I thought I was going to die, seriously...”

    Of all the pain she had experienced in her life, today was undoubtedly the worst. She let out a hollow laugh.

    “From now on, if anyone tries to torture me, I’ll just laugh it off. ‘You think this is pain? Try giving birth!’”

    “Uh... no one’s planning to torture you, though...”

    Lucas murmured awkwardly.

    He was seated beside her, holding her hand tightly. Fortunately, he had made it just in time for the birth.

    “Cutting it real close there, mister...”

    Initially, Evangeline had been planning to tear into him the moment she saw him, but now, none of that seemed to matter.

    As she mumbled weakly, Lucas gave her a faint, wry smile and gently brushed aside her sweat-soaked bangs.

    “You did well. Let’s eat something nice later.”

    “I’ve completely lost my appetite... I just want to sleep...”

    Evangeline’s eyes, which had been fluttering shut, suddenly snapped open.

    “Oh, wait! So, is our baby a boy or a girl?!”

    “...”@@@@

    “We made a bet, remember? You said it’d be a boy, I said it’d be a girl. Which one is it? Huh?!”

    Suppressing a laugh, Lucas quietly replied,

    “Both.”

    “Huh?”

    At that moment, Zenis, who had acted as the midwife, approached them.

    “Congratulations. Both the mother and the babies are healthy.”

    “Babies...?”

    “They’re twins.”

    “What?”

    Zenis carefully placed the swaddled babies—plural—into Evangeline’s arms.

    “...”

    Evangeline stared in disbelief, her mouth hanging open.

    The two babies, who had screamed loud enough to shake the heavens at birth, were now peacefully sucking on their fingers, each cradled in one of Evangeline’s arms. ?АNO?bЕs?

    The boy had shimmering golden hair, a blend of Evangeline’s platinum and Lucas’s blonde, with green eyes like his mother’s. The girl shared the same golden hair but had her father’s striking blue eyes.

    “Wait, wait, hold on. I only felt one baby kicking in my belly this whole time...”

    Still unable to process the situation, Evangeline alternated her gaze between the two babies, and then a realization dawned on her.

    “...No way. Were these little rascals taking turns kicking me in unison this whole time?!”

    Lucas, who had been smiling like a proud father (for real), nodded with a hum as he gazed lovingly at his wife and children.

    “I made them, but wow... both of them are so beautiful and handsome.”

    “Excuse me? You made them? I’m the one who did all the work!”

    “Doesn’t half the design credit go to me?”

    And he was someone they deeply respected...

    But Lucas and Evangeline, embarrassed, couldn’t bring themselves to say this out loud. They just mumbled awkwardly, unable to look Ash in the eye.

    “Ash...?”

    From a distance, Damien—who had been listening—suddenly looked conflicted and started glaring at Ash.

    “What’s wrong with him now? Get a grip, Trigger!”

    In any case, since the twins were born, the pre-planned name “Ash” couldn’t be used for both of them.

    “Alright then...”

    “Guess we have no choice.”

    Lucas and Evangeline exchanged determined looks and nodded.

    “Let’s split it!”

    “Into A/Sh!” (TL Note: The name Ash is ???? (ae-swi). They were going to name one ?? and the other ??)

    “...?”

    Ash’s face went completely blank.

    “So, which one is ‘A,’ and which one is ‘Sh’...?”

    As Evangeline and Lucas wiggled their fingers back and forth over the peacefully sleeping babies, Ash finally snapped.

    “Just pick new names, you idiots!”

    And so.

    Following Crossroad tradition, a naming contest for the twins was held on the spot.

    However, also in line with Crossroad tradition, naming contests never produced reasonable results.

    The list of proposed names grew increasingly bizarre and absurd. Lucas and Evangeline, indecisive and too agreeable, seemed ready to accept anything, leaving Ash no choice but to step in as the judge and veto every single suggestion.

    Finally, it was decided.

    The boy would be named Emerald, after his green eyes, and the girl would be named Sapphire, after her blue eyes.

    “Great names!”

    “They’re beautiful!”

    “Way better than Bean/Rice Cake or A/Sh!”

    “...”

    While everyone seemed satisfied, Ash alone was sweating nervously.

    The names Emerald and Sapphire reminded him of countless Earth-related puns and jokes, which now flooded his mind.

    But he decided to keep quiet. No one here would get the references anyway.

    “Alright, the mother and babies need to rest, so everyone, please head out!”

    Zenis shooed the crowd away. The group, still buzzing with excitement, relocated to the first-floor drawing room of the lord’s manor.

    There, Ash caught up with old comrades, exchanged news, and shared stories. They enjoyed a nostalgic dinner prepared by the manor’s head chef, accompanied by tea and desserts.

    The lively gathering lasted until late into the night.

    When it finally ended, Ash initially intended to stay in one of the guest rooms in the manor. However, at Lucas’s insistence that such accommodations were unfit for a Duke, Ash reluctantly agreed to move to the Crossroad Hotel instead.

    The hotel, built during Ash’s time as Crossroad’s lord, welcomed its former owner and founder with great honor.

    The current manager—a young, sharp-looking man who had inherited the position—greeted Ash and Serenade with a respectful smile and personally escorted them to the top-floor suite.

    “Wow. I built this hotel, but it’s my first time staying in this room.”

    Ash’s belongings had already been unpacked. He walked over to the window, drew back the curtains, and gazed outside.

    The view of Crossroad had changed significantly over the years. The city was vibrant, even in the evening, illuminated brightly. It seemed the townsfolk were also celebrating the birth of their lord’s children.

    As Ash took in the nostalgic and heartwarming scenery, a faint smile crept across his face...

    “Hehe.”

    A soft, familiar laugh came from behind him.

    “Hehehehe.”

    “...”

    Breaking into a cold sweat, Ash turned around slowly.

    Click!

    Serenade hung a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door and gently closed it before walking toward him with light, deliberate steps.

    “Weren’t the babies adorable, my dear husband?”

    “Huh? Uh, yeah... sure, very adorable...”

    “Well then, shouldn’t we try our best too?”

    Serenade’s bright, radiant smile remained fixed as she took another step closer.

    Ash let out a nervous laugh and instinctively began stepping backward.

    “W-Wait, Serenade. I mean, we’ve been riding in the carriage all day, so I’m a little tired...”

    “Where do you think you’re going?”

    “Eeeeek!”

    From the top floor of the Crossroad Hotel, a faint, high-pitched scream rang out.

    It trailed off... and then silence returned.

    And a few days later.

    Crossroad’s famous autumn festival began.

    –TL Notes–

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