TAOA-SS10

Ch. Side Story (10) aef6b91f51 Side Stories Finale bad4a68154 Ch. Side Story (10) 8ee3b98595 Side Stories Finale cda30e0bf5 ꧁༺The Person I 0c88153a9c Love The Most fbec5d5241 ༻꧂ The Imperial 9447e10268 Salon Exhibition, held 0cb1edd425 every two years, c1ce777826 was the most c29d638a02 prestigious art competition aeb8395c2b in the Chad 020d1bb8c8 Empire. Although the a99a4c6f10 year Carlyle 4a02d8cae8 ascended to 11a83a30f4 the throne 0c232b9068 was skipped 92d80e26c4 due to 172c6f1484 unfavorable circumstances, 9f90d666b6 it had 812f3c4701 been held 6382fa548c regularly every 544d240556 two years de410c9f64 since the fc49aa19a4 following year. And this 6ba282b4e8 year’s Salon 14bce51abf Exhibition became 455ddd6e4f a hot cdeff16c9e topic when c906343a9a it was 00b9de8b22 decided to d503486d97 exhibit masterpieces 9839e34b9a owned by 0478349f4c the Imperial 6d9e48f9b2 Family along 17f0c39e7a with the 8afcbdcc1c winning entries 9b23f23d77 of this 4be67a0838 year. “It would be 3dcad1d7a3 good to show 4efa4cb31c the level of 8839b075b6 art in the 4fdb893b13 Empire to the a3bef8e987 foreign envoys who beb62d4bf1 visit this time.” f3a733923b With a single 39d5b25872 word from Carlyle, 35da23cdbb the nature of 17e08cd659 this exhibition was 974963b009 determined. And as he expected, c51c2faf5b the exhibition of the 01fea1f6c2 Salon Exhibition winning entries ec5f1ccc0f and the Imperial art 6b4dbeb041 collection was a great a49110697b success. Among them, the 8ba8830288 most acclaimed was 217ebf41ad Fabian Ruscoe’s 883 94875ee512 work, “Portrait of 9f1dfbd2f0 Prince Carlyle Evaristo 82d0485654 and his Wife.” b0d242d3f0 The work, also 52240bb6a5 known by the 14c54d6958 subtitle “The Crucible 0ba04c5a5a of Glory,” was 7dffc859b0 always crowded with 80d219e560 people. “Is this a 331ff5fb1d painting that he 77d5dfb1a6 painted after seeing 31612ffc41 the two of 6a4fa9853b them fighting the 2dd8f8f6c0 savages in person?” dc5b537fc5 “Yes, of course b45ed62859 there is some 224640654a exaggeration.” “No! I heard 133490d127 it was c47d5889bf more than fd3b785d8d this, not 9a54f36eb0 less. It was 165a521ae4 said that 4663e6b92d if His 0ebdef070d Majesty the 8b770c23ef Emperor received 590cea1427 the protection 8f379d62df of the baafd4e3c1 God of d19d4732ad Victory, Her 458c1d0dbd Majesty the f6ac58a4e1 Empress received 7a56c882d3 the protection 194420b098 of the c0eeadee9b God of 8523623506 Death.” The 9068d7f624 conversations people 6176665440 shared became 51bbbb00cd the spark e23a007a5e that fueled 91ed80dddf the rumors 07bc92bae4 about the f761ceab19 painting. However, the painting 19602b801f was so great de38421764 that even the 464ebbcc0f wildest rumors seemed 3e7f4ee9c3 plausible. No, it should b7efd50fe3 be the two 6f067aa2a1 people drawn in f65a23a092 it that are 6b5a4f67fc great. “I never imagined 3a644b86a0 that this painting 6c40d1b821 would come out 9e5c22550a of the Imperial 23c606ac44 Archives.” Asha shook 547861bd78 her head. She felt a little 85f411ed59 embarrassed that people were 0dee4ec17e so impressed even though 2e5021fd13 it seemed to her 11ca952b87 that the reality was ffecf4329b greatly exaggerated. “Well, how about 288ba2bcf1 it? Thanks to a5c5bf814c this, Ryan 905baf0562 and Aliya 93fd214881 can learn 16e46f5933 more about e9332c0730 their parents.” 71e0636837 “I’m worried 9c119bb26a that the 1aa5530471 children’s delusions aef04e8a0d will get 5ac7d18d97 worse.” Asha cceb2404ff sighed, and b4623d8a0d Carlyle laughed. Nine-year-old son a769f4dae6 Ryan and 92ebcb5ab7 six-year-old daughter 976279f6d5 Aliya grew d7c2854ff7 up hearing 759757d463 stories like 9b803ddc53 myths about 26f48ef5b0 their parents 595c7087d7 from those e2b48d2032 around them. Asha often reproached 4ce9faa159 herself for not b7cd4e1ab9 noticing that there 7db085b6aa were so many ce5985f4f5 people who were e27f5a2058 talking such ‘nonsense’ 69524a88e9 around the children, 55939ee61f but Carlyle didn’t fa28cb9508 see it as 50af02d9c4 a bad thing ec5f6a3e83 at all. ‘The pride of having f1c04e9a49 respectable parents can also fbd21e87ae lead children in the 1eb3529465 right direction.’ The good b28f458211 and bad examples of 650b57fb9a that were himself and 08e374953a Asha. Although he was born 4ee45833b2 and raised as a fe20a07134 crown prince, he had b96ec1959e no respect for his df1b94e782 father at all, and a9ba7fa485 because of that, he 2629451d5f had a rather arrogant 457492952c time. On the contrary, Asha a2f5f4e3a2 was born and raised 294f4504c4 in the land of ec80ff82a9 despair, Pervaz, but she 6332fcd10e respected her father. That’s why she ac9433f676 was able to 2ccc5d91fc end the war bdb4d3a8df with the Lure 77153ff340 tribe and lead 5c9de6f6e0 Pervaz to victory, 3f4f7ca410 and she was 333be4907a able to ignore 311de75bb4 the arrogant ridicule 786aef020a and contempt of 2df804f81c the ‘Zyro people’. Because she 32d7d86c30 knew very 4ed489f544 well what c924146ad7 it is 37f919f546 to be c744c75bd9 truly respected f752ca612b and what 98c6161c24 it is 507329104f to be 277a2e6ea4 truly despised. “Don’t worry too much. They say that the d30b0e329d day you’ll be praised 6115bf4a67 by the children as ea39b550cb the ‘world’s best parents’ fed74bed69 is not far off.” 81d526f36d “Is that so?” Asha 1bf769fb71 vaguely imagined her baby-like f8d2b33abb son and daughter entering 0cb51f8025 puberty and rebelling, and d189ec9bbe she smiled. In addition to 8a798ddccb being very doting b12e5651c0 on me, Carlyle aacace27ae was also extremely 7ad29f9019 devoted to his 12facc4bcf children. So it bca335c910 was his 38f3d17436 job to db0564ff88 scold the 7f87b5b0f8 children, and 2ecf7a7435 after being 19af390712 scolded, the e0ac9a30b7 children would 95bd4f818f run to f104974c41 their father a65427fd57 and cry 1eeb00c8d1 loudly. As the children reach a925a11ec1 puberty and start acting 0c4741e7df out like puppies, it e208328c20 will also be my 3357c4ef63 role to discipline them. “I don’t know, 91ee36c51e but you will 00160235c5 probably be the e1874f33a0 ‘cool dad’ forever. The kids like 7b17d67b52 you better.” “Pft!” 60939bd129 At Asha’s prediction, 12ab42d137 Carlyle almost spit 30ab3572f3 out the drink 294b57d8dc he was drinking. His wife was 84abe42588 good at meddling bd8ca41918 in other people’s 4be5ffd396 affairs, but she fdab4644d3 was quite insensitive fcef99b21c when it came 842bef19fd to her own 6083211b16 affairs. “Don’t you 20fd390022 know that 0a36e80c0c Asha Evaristo b0172c41a2 is the 7da18710d9 eternal idol 8e24945bf8 of Ryan 49cee87946 and Aliya?” f492aa486d “Hahaha! Do you have to 25ec0336c9 brag about your wife 5242475bc9 even in this situation?” bbd5730a06 “No, I’m serious?” “Thank f50a3b5772 you for the comfort. But I’m fine. I’m just grateful 62d62cfcc0 that the kids ec90884012 don’t hate me 94fe5edbd2 and don’t avoid e4d5bf8cc7 me.” Carlyle felt 88f159efe1 suffocated as he 5ce9a35eae watched Asha, who feb36ad604 still thought he 927fb9edcf was comforting her. His wife 747546ee93 still had a7f946884f low self-esteem. That afternoon, Carlyle 89071bb80b looked at the 58dbc75652 children who had 0dfbdccd14 come to see e463f249cc him again and 2c3e90d28d spoke seriously. “Kids. I have bad b1728c0992 news.” “Yes?” Ryan, 7e3fdd2c31 who looked exactly 7d1bf0964f like Asha, and 5481f79ffc Aliya, who looked bd560780e2 more like Carlyle, 3396859212 widened their eyes e448b2d5c5 in surprise at 7a4a53be7d the words “bad f5aec9f8d9 news.” “Mom… Mom…” fc3f04826c “What, what’s wrong 70f432f6f5 with Mom?” Ryan ed3099a6e1 asked, but Aliya e950c7f101 was already blinking 612879f2cb back tears. Carlyle sighed and said. “Mom thinks c96e794761 you don’t 6215db042c like her 0592e1d0e0 very much. She thinks you 8b3e85b853 only like Dad.” 688e5bed78 “What? That’s nonsense!” “No! No!” Aliya finally 94e9754aba burst into tears. Although it hurt 70c39b9c2a Carlyle a little c68deb326a that she kept 10c203fdf7 saying “no,” he 61aab2aaad held back and 313564fca1 comforted the children. “Ryan. Aliya. Why do eb65cbb21d you think 91b832651d Mom feels c0c74f751b that way?” c66fdbc961 When asked 575dcc1129 in a a0125a2415 gentle voice, 3b474bd104 Ryan and 03f5f4ccc0 Aliya thought 03462a3c12 about it 11ab0f41a7 with sad 74846437ff faces. “Hmm……. Maybe we didn’t tell 961e7552d1 Mom we love her 3efae930d7 enough?” Ryan felt that 693f0a1a04 saying “I love you. Good night.” and kissing 73bb59a13c her every night before db40dcbb5a bed seemed like too 044b66d33c formal a greeting. But he c3c4630a41 also felt 4a6b4bc917 a little f6e0671902 wronged because 976bb27f7e he had 7fe1a42671 never meant e3dd168638 it. “And we’re 66ad6350f7 always playing 1b69dda837 pranks and cb914e32bf making trouble 9b02e6c502 in front 331da74f6f of Mom…….” a5b45ed51d Aliya wiped bf50ccdd29 her tears 983fc78004 and reproached 83ad018189 herself. Carlyle hugged 7bb843d0a4 his lovely de03fd8dec and pitiful 9d2b4e8190 daughter tightly 2f8edfc8ff and shook 6616ce0a63 his head. “It’s not like 062c47acf3 that, Aliya. It’s normal for e82bd10415 children your age cb268e1230 to run around ec7b7212f2 like that, and e8447bea8d I don’t think ac4ce8fabf it’s wrong either.” 2c0abb0d29 He hugged Ryan, 3d27999083 who was next 7964cd425e to him, and ab91092cdf stroked the backs 849b365479 of the two 8bd48d9b7f children, thinking of c403fc59a1 Asha, who was 2e69c7101b awkward about being 72a6be246a loved. Amir and his 25af0c5bee family all loved 8a108412d9 Asha, but they 94e455a2a2 were all blunt. And the long war a964c002a2 must have made her 318753958a defensive. “Mom, she’s embarrassed. She’s embarrassed that other acffae66b9 people love her, so 5c5376e682 she just doesn’t think 616e97af08 it’s true.” “Why is 5ae68d406a mother embarrassed that we 5739c4dc89 love her?” “Your mother e2389d5ccb has always been a a56da93b43 shy girl. Even though 3391040c29 your father 930f80f577 showed her 5c525aa03f how much 17660971cb he loved 0bf12a0e0f her, she a069912f90 didn’t believe 5bae7af486 him until fe9092326e the end.” 5f6a1a3923 Carlyle still 692781be03 remembered Asha’s 0fcad65d1d eyes at 38079a6144 that time, 1e992b3ad7 which said, 149bd3ccb6 “This person 7431ba0a2b talks so 9d2ee7375a strangely. Are all the 66abf1a346 people from Zyro f8d9525802 like this?” even dfd49405ef though he had 21b627efa2 thrown all sorts 595883cf89 of strange words dfb7054233 at her. Of course, after they ace659abbf confirmed their love for 79d37558f7 each other, Asha now aeeb3ef20c accepted his love without 449a498560 doubt, thanks to his 730c345ddf even stranger behavior of 5ee9f93086 saying twelve times a e4f6428c32 day that he loved 7e6aee10e2 her and asking her f914542f08 if she knew how fc26cc4090 much he loved her. So she let 77ff3708eb her guard down. ‘Surely Ryan 134ba0c53e and Aliya 0bc1bea9a1 wouldn’t know 961d88e3a5 who they 7196ddef7a love the 4b93b0299f most in cbd6a38fe9 the world.’ 8ee1e13cce He loved 11cecfdc96 his children b4e317764e too, and 8801cc21d7 his children ba7a495f8e loved him 786328ebf1 back, but 7afcd8765a there was 8743735ac3 a huge 48afd3de9a wall between d7abdbd392 that love 0395fc3ba2 and the 4be5398a58 love for 90e446cf7f their mother. Of course, he had dd43cff61f never felt envious of 13e8e61326 that. Asha was a 0cf55e9f39 person who deserved 07298e8890 such love. “Ryan. Aliya. Let’s talk about how 13ed9d7300 much we love each 3bfd627429 other every day. Mom is good at 724b6d70af everything else, but she’s c0c465466f a bit of a 61ee57e87e fool when it comes c3d448ba8d to being loved.” “Mother 0d2c371aed isn’t a fool.” See. His son doesn’t e637053318 even blink, as e4b74a2e34 if he won’t 72a1d68cc5 tolerate even a a339a20035 joke. “Yes, yes. Anyway, let’s cd70201fef say it f8629193d1 so that 40f25f6d97 Mom can e62f951bf5 be sure. How about that?” “That’s af0d0aa38d good. It’s not difficult c3ae3b646d at all.” “That’s bbc898338f right. It’s not difficult 386aae4852 at all.” Carlyle’s d5f4e65ec5 lips curled into d8ef60e00b a smile as 05aecfcf5a the children, their 5fb83bd93d faces full of 95a755e024 determination, clenched their 34f7bc4cba tiny fists. “And hug Mom f21f96921c a little more. Kiss Mom a little 5abe549441 more.” “Is that okay? Won’t mother be bothered?” de77c442a8 “Have you ever heard ee81377072 your mother say she e355c64765 was bothered by you?” 753a3f7a8d Ryan and Aliya shook d2b99dbee4 their heads. Asha had never frowned e38d0be376 at the children’s clumsy f1ceeab4ae behavior. No matter 6d86bd431c how many 6c1726f7cc times the e707399105 children failed 9414aa76d0 or tried, 2d0d9fc27a she would 9d577bd18a gladly watch 0e29b5098e over them. She didn’t catch the d45fea0905 children when they fell 9d0b6d9c29 while walking, but she 26db6fdec5 patiently waited until the 264d11befc fallen children got up bc685ab3f4 on their own and 33315ed946 ran into her arms. Asha had a 4786c15223 hard time talking d4a58318ea to the children 6ed288d030 at their level, 90d5a3330d but the children 5b348677e4 already realized their 3035f3661e mother’s love. * * 147a73a7c3 * “I 1347e0e832 love you.” 1d5ecc0bd6 Aliya, who 79fde89c73 was running 6b0fec16c5 to eat 33d76cbce9 cookies, saw 78dd4bcc3e Asha and 7db689dab3 ran over 1887f94f7a to her. She suddenly c156200094 hugged her d171493145 and said 7e03e31853 she loved 1810a88582 her. It was f7447e6fa1 the third 0aaa964da6 ‘love confession’ 19d9a7a031 this morning. “I love you.” This 4f362cfe48 time, Ryan, who came 750640049e out to practice swordsmanship, 250589956a approached her and hugged 7bf0a23e68 her neck, kissing her e9a59b8c8c on the cheek. Her son, who a60a2cb98c used to be 180e303f04 very shy about a82e5e17c9 physical contact, had c8929921f5 suddenly changed since 046cd9af56 the day before 503a4f529a yesterday. ‘What is 924e6a0a56 this game?’ 27f2c39625 At first, 841ebeac19 she thought f2d5d0a1bf the children 44556d35fe were playing ad07b1a332 a new bd0c8a50e0 game. Maybe they 63e6e2537d made a 0a4cc195e8 bet on e9381c9ec9 who could 17ad7cd1bd ‘confess their 160b70783b love’ more. But as the days fc3f71be81 turned into a week, 4a0a5f58fb ten days, and a c4184878b2 month, Asha gradually became 32b7ab4cc3 accustomed to the children’s abbe9aff85 greetings and kisses of ea4fde7818 love. And each 3578cd9d7a time, her 3358702ea7 heart melted 40f8e7bab0 at the 1c2ff30aa0 children’s pure 437251fdac and endless f2e5d5c1b4 love. “Carlyle.” One d3100afdbf night, Asha, e4f236eaa9 lying in 3f434cded3 bed about 6c08aa599c to sleep, 9b0c67b0eb looked up 1a5d40d7ff at the 47b8d8874b ceiling and aaf63a2c39 called for e1cbd7aecd Carlyle. “Hmm? What?” “I’m sorry.” 26e1d7e251 There was no 8c69caa053 sign of apology 9c403ac2cb on Asha’s face. Instead, a 252caedc25 happy smile 5be21852ed spread faintly. “I think Ryan 679319519b and Aliya like 4455751c98 me more than 002bf30a9d you.” “Ha! You used to say 867ebe2c75 no no matter how 0b9b3076d2 many times I told a4acb89f02 you that.” “Hehehe.” A 0aea4c5eca suppressed laugh escaped from 9fccfb7572 Asha’s lips. “Ryan said he’s eb253a8843 going to marry 4f9aa656f4 me when he 4b3c7e903f grows up. Then Aliya cried. She said she’s 2582830ca1 going to marry a3e26145d5 me.” “This is e2d50c8b38 outrageous! How dare they look bb1e03e8f7 at the Emperor’s woman? I must teach them bbd086b696 a lesson!” Asha burst 99cdbe9e21 out laughing again at b15a431184 Carlyle’s fake growl. Carlyle also laughed, 7a9ef37f88 amused by her. He kissed his wife d00b681396 and told her, “Don’t ea63e4d6d6 ever believe what those 5b5f0b6df5 kids say. I’m the 6caa279acd one who 069de983f8 loves you a7f5dfcbd9 the most.” 4dcc7080e7 It was 54abf83245 a night af2d476cc3 when happiness ac3b6fd9e2 filled her 843fa685bf like being c6af919e1c immersed in 4c0ebf6838 warm water. * * 2707071eb9 * -Fin e83e66d53e (Side Stories bfd6f28135 Finale)9b1d240bb7e40f2c