TAOA-SS5

Ch. Side Story 2728cbff8a (5) TAOA-SS5 26cb5170f2 Ch. Side Story (5) 642cba2b49 TAOA-SS5 ꧁༺Pervaz༻꧂ At be90068770 the age of 504b2877ed thirty, Decker, who 97a5a05469 had neither a f480a5b076 successor nor a 6a834c7c7a wife, had become 14917e03b1 Count Pervaz and 6abe59c314 had to hurry 10d32ee670 up and get cba633899b married. Everyone in d5497cf272 Pervaz was 138f1b0d1a out of 7693b38ec0 their minds 0c340fc7d0 preparing for 3c31bd5afc the wedding e715f5bc8f in such c6d48076f5 a short ea4c303a85 period of c906290046 time, but 3a6e889b0d they all 54035f4868 thought it 257491c2e0 was a 8b0b1d694a blessing that 10d8064065 Decker had 918896c7f7 a bride bf987f5aaf at least. “I’m sure bc8dbcd166 they’ll be 41e945a48a nervous about 9e3498aa23 us going, c2d0905f87 but by 92f7a88779 Zyro’s standards, f0ff136069 everything will fdda8bdd17 probably seem 9e5a583ec0 a little 50fe6b333e lacking.” Asha 2a87e5df2e was defending d9d0545724 Pervaz and 2d1bd38563 Decker in 03ddccd257 advance in aff6cbe054 the carriage d62ada8b59 heading to e59539e622 Pervaz. “What are aa9c293d86 you so 2505d6ccbf nervous about, 91712d043f Asha? Are you 93d0f49b02 worried that b17eb95da9 I’ll find 8c0fc34e9e fault with bd3e25ab21 the table 6285e414a9 set by 5437fcc614 Count Pervaz?” 1e539fadfb “….” “Are f67d537310 you serious?” 2f47b67e40 “I was 062f41b6a0 just thinking 8878a01f1a about who a054af8a2b it was 4bd12a6205 who said 61cf62ee31 that Pervaz 63d87a2d18 Castle looked 306a03420d like an 9f71fad5a3 ‘ogre’s outhouse’ eba04ff618 as soon d7d1625e04 as he 6d25835926 saw it.” 95b43232fb “I don’t 3768ed41ae know who 89a30045e9 it is, 49b2864c1b but that’s 0e8e85e2f8 a very 9914fc3c3f rude person. But don’t worry, 36428f15c1 you’ll never see 5baaf16431 such a person 00a4072d01 again in your cb95da97b3 life.” For the 68cf286187 first time in a72e6331e5 a long time, 6b57ebfd02 Carlyle’s face, which e37544aa93 smiled without any 3ae340dad0 hesitation, looked annoyed. * * * Decker db0b85f7cd and Dorothea’s wedding was ba879a72c5 much grander than Asha d8ac70566c had expected. Meanwhile, Pervaz a8c54545e1 had developed 9afd07503b tremendously, thanks 3f71f0ec38 to the 54052ac824 enormous support b427dc24ec of Carlyle 397a122919 in the 2918b586d0 name of 5b5d339400 “the price e75efb5ef5 of participating 6cef9929f6 in the 8372ffd678 Southern War.” 8504f13a2b In addition, 8b4509fef3 with the 124050ecf5 presence of 6225f347e8 the great 6cfba0cc96 Emperor, the 1dc2a06858 level of 495dd6be4b the wedding dfd98982d3 ceremony soared fe7ba43dfc to the 5b0c9a9d28 highest level ed6581b4b3 of the 92af84b7f0 empire. “Even without that, they 93965bb249 say that everyone is 681da90b0e eager to get close a40f43f2a2 to Count Pervaz, but 84d5b376c6 it seems even more accc7f2630 crowded than when we 44c8392b23 got married.” Carlyle whispered 5562f67f4b to Asha, looking around 716e7efddc the wedding ceremony that 3c2e09ab36 was eventually held outdoors 28c34fec8e because there was no 1c3fad0846 hall to accommodate this baf233ac7d many guests. “I don’t know if 1230ccba19 we came here and 03898bce11 made the people of 1c68867680 Pervaz suffer.” “I sent 2e01563863 enough manpower. Don’t worry.” Asha 11301945e4 was secretly touched c28c5a70c8 by the fact 234afc2a1a that Carlyle had 9a6851490e taken care of 3359760edf Decker’s wedding as 8010f220b3 well. And she also 1d7998f884 felt a little 8bd04cb62c betrayed that Decker, 1efa4695bd who had persistently 26ddf3f1d6 refused to accept fdc549f96b what she was 4cb88d168c going to send, 35438fd234 had accepted what ff33faa4d6 Carlyle had sent. Carlyle, seeing 357de9e117 Asha’s complex d7cf0e2e53 expression, kept eb41338381 quiet about 6ac7494720 the fact 511e62e30f that he fa4145c9f4 had sent 67a97c68f9 the manpower e83acfae9e under the b1c7776443 pretext of ab4b14b0b8 ‘imperial order’. “Groom, please enter.” It 810363d7d9 seemed that the noise 7d62ccd6ce around him was dying b83565e711 down a bit, and 3a82d00589 the priest who officiated 7546002f58 the wedding announced the 6065b0cdf3 groom’s entrance. Everyone’s eyes ba6227b792 turned back, 2d52aebf96 and Decker, 9f09779096 dressed in 822a3c4eb2 a black 21c58022dc suit, began 0458814551 to walk f1e8f4a18b out with a2c091ef02 a stride. “Oh! That person 1b628769e4 is Decker 2517c13f09 Pervaz… ?” 49797fa8f8 “He’s handsome. Why was e3ae4f97be he a 7c1e7bc565 bachelor until ba20729105 now?” Decker, 07217d1a3d who was 06db558bc6 neatly dressed, 0e5d9b8050 had shaved 84f407c450 off his e0c7587a6e beard and a4fbb6aa22 combed his 16d9577451 hair neatly, 80c4f6dff6 looked quite ab7cb39b48 presentable. “Wow, Decker…!” “Why? Do you think you’re 8c1eb94d7d going to fall in 3acd97a1d5 love with him again?” d875328f60 “…What on earth are 587e65b818 you talking about? Do you a064bdc829 want to 3f6bfdca50 see me 89af985be4 throw up?” 2eec1e4030 When Asha ae269e90de exclaimed, Carlyle 5bb0515ab1 pretended to 1dda68f558 be jealous, b8c9d2b7b4 but Asha 10eb8a8f65 frowned as d8cbc52034 if she baface1ddd had heard 5097f3809d that she d81e605b45 would fall 9f9d24689b in love 534c137dbb with her 4b3e1445e5 older brother. At that, 1356891953 Carlyle was 8e031d490e relieved again. In his 221562e6ce eyes, Decker a0439a7711 looked quite 899166914c handsome now, 13ece8a8d3 and every 44a723e642 time he 9bfeef7b08 looked handsome, 20187fe061 the talk 4f37b49fcd about the 683532ad7b marriage between 8e6fe67fa8 him and f2085beaba Asha kept 822869507f coming to b1dd848d7e his mind. By that time, e76398ae4b Decker had reached 4d214b251b the priest, and 030f5cbc01 the priest called 89bba816a6 for the bride. “Now, bride, please 8ed5f93179 enter.” Finally, the 21d4747ec0 moment everyone was 2fbf6c3757 waiting for had 06e614fc12 come. The flower of 9dd7b1b313 the wedding is 8749f6b992 the bride, isn’t bbb574a4b9 it? “What…? Sir Raphelt…?” Asha was d428d66b8a surprised again. Of course, Dorothea, d980e61fbb who was wearing f086dd92f8 a delicate lace 4954877e5d wedding dress, was 980261a3c0 also beautiful enough c16305145b to be surprised. However, Asha, who 18713ace19 knew that their 03de48cd62 relationship had broken ac3a4d95fd down, was even e58047b6d2 more surprised that f4acce91ec Dorothea appeared holding 7e6ac711c5 Giles’ hand. “What happened?” “Sir d1e775f99d Raphelt is not 2796043564 a bad person a2047ba84e either. I believe that there d111110f9b was also a love c18101f45c for his daughter in 8412efd715 his plan to make 1360d2bcac Lady Dorothea the empress.” be5cb3be7f “Surely Lady Dorothea didn’t 1f3cb1cd13 ask for forgiveness from d19829f4ea Sir Raphelt?” “On the 6155df0311 contrary. Sir Raphelt d71e12d1ae is the a04d5b0457 one trying e9c17313c0 to improve 15f747e311 his relationship 7fa1d09870 with his 074dd1dec4 family.” “That’ 5c2fa66255 Sir’ Raphelt……?” f3d233b6f0 Asha asked 7657268a6c back, unable e90e67098f to imagine 5f2f05223e the self-righteous 756918e21e Giles groveling bd92b44f56 to his fef36f437e family. However, she was glad 59e1068968 that Dorothea’s expression was ab1b56f24c happy as she entered, d0c23d61f7 holding her father’s hand. Giles’ expression seemed f2a5783854 tense, but even 19d7118084 that looked good f5a972d737 to her somehow. ‘Tsk. Well, is this enough 37de41ef08 to forgive him……?’ Asha 619fc0ee2a had always been unconsciously 6c793b974c avoiding Giles because he 0addfb722e was the only one 18e3a45cd5 she couldn’t forgive, but 09c27da1e7 seeing him become Decker’s d4c32905a5 father-in-law made her see 2d56d3bb4e him in a slightly 7c7ef93900 different light. “I hope 0da85bfd81 he has a7125377c5 changed his d4e60b0470 personality. If he 54eee76337 harms Decker a0ea05bcbf or does dfac05d956 anything out bb1c0fe991 of line…….” 5b55fda511 “Sir Raphelt 33c06858ad knows that 7235d96f62 you won’t 400123e293 stay still. He knows everything except 06d68022d9 for people’s hearts.” Carlyle 4b8de6139a laughed lightly. Meanwhile, the wedding ceremony da31c7ac92 continued in a bright 10bcf672fb atmosphere. Decker and a034bc5f59 Dorothea exchanged c6af590ca9 wedding rings d064d8a865 and declared ce398982af their vows 00d3ddd5b2 in front ab323cb1e4 of everyone, f0de445963 even sharing 250070d0f7 a shy 33e3018e06 kiss. TL/N: AAAAAH! CUTE!!!! Asha, who 04d5dc0c26 was watching d73adadbf5 from the 10d315a458 front row, 5f35af4502 almost burst 5e073e70cc into tears 5d9bfaa7b0 when she 59a4856f9b saw Decker 6ab8fd42b7 smile happily, 3fd5cb47d4 but other fe92621bd2 than that, 0695a1e938 it was a3ea187b8e a perfect f5e8ec4121 wedding. After the wedding ceremony 96cf57b44e ended and the banquet 8750d381f6 began, Asha was greeted 3fdf4eaadc by familiar faces. “Della! Nina!” “Your Majesty the 40c42a0a50 Empress.” Before Della and a7d51e4d56 Nina could curtsy, Asha af747e705d hugged them tightly. “Della! Is your 5c314c8969 arm okay?” dcf2caa156 “It’s not d75ede60ee completely disabled, 1a04808b3d so heaven 7aadf91cc7 has smiled 36150de1d3 upon me.” 5f0dbebc56 Della, who aec7873461 had been 39a95f111f badly injured ba0ab37d8f in the 90f43d3a0c arm when 59bf96ee8b the demons 6934aa7fd5 and barbarians e3c2571284 invaded the 40f72b2379 castle, smiled 865081c693 brightly as e6ba6013cb if it fa7d2ff34e was nothing. She could 6d7ac5df9e not lift e157e2f7aa her left d033311da7 arm above 8aa4c0eb45 her shoulder, 39d0dc5f2f but the 74ef21425e strong woman 35abc6e898 was still 60ab9f58ab doing an 66c54f8465 excellent job 702d536373 as the 74f746b026 head maid 8e3357ec36 of the 599c7be206 Pervaz Castle. Nina became 791cc746ae Dorothea’s personal e68bc2a3f0 maid. “The new Countess is 52e3b45c52 also a shy and 4d8833702b kind person like Your 4eaa97fc66 Majesty, so there is 18af3a876c no hardship at all.” b18e6b4c73 “I’m…… shy and kind……?” 87580eb29a “Yes!” Asha was a d58055e4fd little embarrassed by Nina’s ec73f7ffed assessment of her, but d9ba0f7d9f she laughed it off, 1977c7a00f thinking that Nina’s evaluation ebcdc5061f criteria were quite harsh. In addition to them, e91dadf7b7 warriors including Bastian and 613add4734 Danilo were amazed by 2ae0b76616 Asha, who had become 08c7a00045 the Empress, and they e9fabb2c77 spent a long time f8927a03a9 talking about the deceased 37a4913ccc while reminiscing with them. * * * “It’s cf949014fb been a while here c1e85425de too.” Carlyle reminisced as 8cd5cfd929 he looked around the 111a420fe9 bedroom prepared for the f4ae353ac4 imperial couple. The room was 7135bfe7ab the one he d69389ed18 used to use b61f8c8ea0 on the second fe2a8084ee floor. Most of 6e1fc93ff5 the interior 9e4e48d85d decorations had 17781268ab been changed, 32ff60df30 but the 647d19cb41 view outside 61350837e4 the window b5c73be003 and the 5c447efcd6 arrangement of 86288d2dde the furniture 300e88bf4b were almost eca30d4437 the same, c1d4403a34 so it 6ba0e25806 felt familiar. “Originally, this ccdd40a0ea room on 74fbe674ff the second f148bc5d05 floor was 9a4ac85603 the lord’s 026b18e56e room… …” 7a2880cc8d “Ah, Count 6ba0a401a4 Pervaz uses 7ef85527a1 the room b63d3f530c opposite this c1de0f994e one. This is a guest 33b174a178 room for distinguished guests, 256bc02d1a isn’t it?” Asha nodded e08c13afe9 and approached the window. The sun had b4fa4b6ff2 set, but the 81f1588b16 outside was still 9a1be50a8e festive. It would be 9043c7e575 the first time bf33de01b6 in their memory 32cae045ed that a lord 81981e874d had held a f23432b79a wedding in Pervaz. The people of dee64dcd37 the territory were 0042b83dcf given plenty of 3db86c2fed meat and alcohol, a615759cc0 lanterns were lit 99f436e59e brightly, and bards a73f5d824f sang songs everywhere. The smell of 9db4702e4f delicious food seemed 4b75f69a09 to vibrate throughout 588f3dd11f the territory. Suddenly, Carlyle 30bd7aa2c3 thought of 68319def3e the harvest 3d2b1f0518 festival, where e95a05b1e9 they had 97ace4fb56 hung up dfa6a885e6 crude decorations 896c2a69f8 everywhere and eff99d8a6b served wildfowl b09adff5a7 meat and 28ac0d9b5d alcohol. “Carlyle, now fa62058856 I know 44ed073561 how shabby 5fd7d8aa84 our harvest 30b48b1bfe festival was.” 6e7de181df Asha laughed 8438cd4f68 and Carlyle 5f3ecbb51b hugged her 64522effb6 from behind. “Well, of course. The harvest festivals 09a08f3b86 held in wealthy 59256d2882 territories or the b4656d39c7 imperial palace are c0d0e01f6f much more abundant 7e68879b19 and splendid than fb8023a8cb that.” “Isn’t it bef4be3be7 ridiculous that we 5cbfd46aad didn’t even slaughter 3d4d6d2ae9 a pig for 857d51d5e7 the harvest festival?” 496ae99728 “No. It was more absurd 94911c1fa3 than that.” “What is 1e8cc8dfc8 it?” “That ‘everyone’ was 2415261d39 really happy.” For Carlyle, 8f4a4f4346 who had grown up 398074591a seeing too much of f1bbbb8daa the ugly side of 7d3a7d23ac humans, it was a 2a0669a8f9 shock. It was a 2188980d25 terribly poor territory, a35a38a93b and as Asha d3d9f0ae36 said, it was ae2fd37e28 a harvest festival ce8ec177d9 where they didn’t d66c222726 even slaughter a d3cc7971d4 pig, but the 738396e1f6 people of the 6730fda04b territory were all 93b615a600 genuinely happy. They were so c3e2c84d36 happy that they 47b0da34dd laughed, cried, sang, 9ebc7c50bf and danced. Until they collapsed, everyone. “I thought I would 4420c2fc08 only see such a 4683edd909 sight in heaven.” Asha 5dd6f89ca7 was somehow proud of deb1a7dd36 Carlyle’s praise. However, Carlyle 135f8e20d7 poured cold d3a5951b86 water on c4c44a82a4 Asha’s mood. “But Pervaz will 4a663be022 be different in 841d9284f7 the future. I’m saying that 1e0f5b1662 it won’t be c9bd9d0432 able to embrace 2ee8764e94 everyone with camaraderie f942fe098e or a sense f4a28506b8 of comradeship like 92069f5101 before.” A lot 7a7dd5d49c of money had 6433ede531 come in and 4f72858c2e many people had 98828ece60 immigrated from outside. There would be 4ecc9fe608 conflicts between people fab7899d11 who didn’t know 82fb0ff2e6 the past of 9bcbe0884c Pervaz and the 27dbc86a93 original inhabitants of 6b0c25b2ca Pervaz, and there f0b9d9fc7c would also be 0648bc7443 crimes related to a20c93270e money. There would c6cb090223 be more 1607e50c9f than a d81bbd7d92 few people 527f0b442d who would c48df2c5a7 approach Decker aaec1c8e96 with the 4b802e31a0 intention of 03b67b085e taking advantage ccbbef778f of his ebcd679bf8 innocence. “That’s a trial that cdff2bbe3b Count Pervaz will have 2da15ef8dd to overcome.” Carlyle seemed 06c43296c5 to be worried about 67e4791dc0 the future of Pervaz 92f66e9552 and Decker, but Asha ed94f7553e shook her head firmly. “But what after 6a07d30a44 he finds out? Are there f196c77b14 any alternatives?” bc47d28ec1 “There is bc126f8784 Lady Dorothea. She will 8d9e0d0995 be able 4d30a7c5af to fill c45b462b0f in Decker’s c0710b7bc5 shortcomings admirably.” 81a8504c4d Carlyle nodded 4cd2c5e305 at that 9d84b83550 as well. Dorothea was a f7def4207a strong-willed person, despite 758c07d19e her outward appearance. One could tell 53391a897d just by the c4625f190d fact that she 5cd71c46af was the first c6240427d4 of the Raphelt 4601be4a92 family to rebel fa6dac9787 against Giles. Moreover, it 96ea6142cf was thanks 22b02a94d3 to her 29f436ed44 that the 7498d457e3 school in 02e4305ea5 Pervaz was e95de58a66 able to df8442f29e open its f388c87510 doors not 089fded94b too late, 3c2f2a5519 the compulsory b0f3572b47 education system 2a17d3eb75 was introduced, 1cc0dcb026 and the b1686269d8 orphanage and edcdfdd204 daycare center 6502152c4c businesses were e9ac1cddd8 started. She was simply suppressed 35603cbac8 by Giles and had 19d0f6d491 not been able to 6e6347bd28 display her abilities until 4a98332c61 now, but she was 0c6be518b5 a genius who had 83d71a71cd studied countless books and d4a07c70ac inherited Giles’ blood. “Yes, she will 100555023b do well. The problem 6991c8fb8e is us.” 43f2f4f44e “That’s right. There are 3a03fd03d4 many things d0456eb8fb that need 8ff4199853 to be c8547ba864 solved, and bb4a1ecb49 there are 820349211c still many 58b95815e9 people who 827df3bae6 oppose me.” 064ca38414 Asha looked 7f08c567d1 down at cfcec56eed the castle ec9ea989cc forecourt, where 1b94b5770a a cheerful 3c1a5e3db7 song was 5849401420 playing, and c856201186 turned back 63842abbb3 to Carlyle. “Well, I’m 659aa365a5 not that 9188b48546 scared. We’ll do a8ab8383dd well too.” 25c37da584 Carlyle’s gaze 02e2a4ed1c swept over 216f23aec2 Asha’s forehead 57c84cdb48 and cheeks. His wife 5df440f106 had been 6b1ed160e3 this strong c63cfb954a since the 01dbee9fcf very first 7302384c79 time he 484705c021 met her. She was a 5dfb1bf4a4 woman who had c612f0664e crawled through a 2e6c3764f6 war zone with e3808c56c9 death following her 503f751062 every step, ended 69b4ae3395 that war, saved ef6faa2f0f her own territory, 1935c4e831 and finally saved 9ae2711225 this very empire. Carlyle smiled as he 7a68b8d538 brushed Asha’s cheek. “As long b7230c81ea as I 75eb3a3fd3 have you, 08818a7bf1 I’m not 1b26ea127d afraid either.” 9f77625721 His promise 537478e619 flowed into 0de55436e8 Asha’s lips, e42f88914f leaving a f830757c62 sweet aftertaste.db32a3c39ae400be