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Ch. Side Story (10) Side 9dcc4dd304 Stories Finale Ch. Side Story (10) ba811c6163 Side Stories Finale 4eeb2afbb1 ꧁༺The Person I 27ad2cd906 Love The Most b9513bb488 ༻꧂ The Imperial 36de5b536b Salon Exhibition, held cbd922cb40 every two years, 0eb0e99abc was the most 76b89da6e7 prestigious art competition 51df9e2b84 in the Chad 4735217202 Empire. Although the 8c76b9c90e year Carlyle 34d9a02a24 ascended to 800aa7b6a1 the throne 1a37f54a55 was skipped bce878de1a due to b5b3764f73 unfavorable circumstances, fca9c9e361 it had 5b69d2458a been held c74bde9acd regularly every 3bb52157ca two years d86eef6fa5 since the 2b036a52f3 following year. And this bfb81f707e year’s Salon 1b63c92a73 Exhibition became 1a74d46d89 a hot c82fcf205f topic when ab2a802ec9 it was 30f4da9620 decided to c9179520fa exhibit masterpieces 763bf78bac owned by 72ea512520 the Imperial c7369e87e0 Family along 3a651e2c12 with the edf22b93ff winning entries 907b57d786 of this 4762a75c4e year. “It would 6378c09e86 be good 948661eb2b to show c83687d699 the level 1061b9cf52 of art 36e3793c8c in the 76e81ad054 Empire to c9ffb7742a the foreign 9cd3ac14e2 envoys who d930b724c1 visit this 43b7b89fcf time.” With a5ae946689 a single 9964eea51f word from 8a17b4db69 Carlyle, the 1cd3e394ef nature of 09ddf037a1 this exhibition cace509aea was determined. And as he expected, e6ebfefa96 the exhibition of the 88d8b82668 Salon Exhibition winning entries 8e23b25453 and the Imperial art f51a43ecf2 collection was a great 85a459fcc8 success. Among them, the most af2b1fdae8 acclaimed was Fabian Ruscoe’s 6058289384 883 work, “Portrait of 6f3fe113a4 Prince Carlyle Evaristo and c412a38977 his Wife.” The work, db6c5618f5 also known by the 7b396efdd8 subtitle “The Crucible of e93aee2a83 Glory,” was always crowded 926d2d7485 with people. “Is this 047bf7cbf1 a painting 028d684beb that he cd378fbead painted after 0ebace8f6a seeing the f004b9166c two of 12ba56c674 them fighting 0258ee5daf the savages 67cdf454f8 in person?” 1e9c5d287a “Yes, of 430a54334c course there 11d2e2b347 is some 2abde59d47 exaggeration.” “No! I heard it was fdfb833bc3 more than this, not fbf311fabf less. It was said 21d75fefd4 that if His bbb5851199 Majesty the Emperor 29efecd583 received the protection 0d4310fba0 of the God df5776993d of Victory, Her 7a5ae211e1 Majesty the Empress f51a7745f4 received the protection 262d1962ca of the God b90da11e8d of Death.” The 7c764b00d1 conversations people shared b35579fc9f became the spark f69e8e66c8 that fueled the efad1b6fc2 rumors about the 6f1a045e91 painting. However, the painting 786860e741 was so great 928f7c6a42 that even the fda89cb839 wildest rumors seemed 76678b1109 plausible. No, it 3f4edbd46b should be 9cb05baa52 the two 1058b542c2 people drawn c937095bc1 in it fbc82e56e5 that are 5a01e1ea9d great. “I never imagined 80f023969d that this painting 94a0beb94a would come out 4ef4b2b451 of the Imperial 874a76e0f1 Archives.” Asha shook 46bf50d7bf her head. She felt dec4cb2e1e a little ca01ef564e embarrassed that 201389ff5a people were 3ad4ee83af so impressed 2439d41452 even though 9a2ea8a321 it seemed 5b30c0a835 to her 407a853dc8 that the 919625740a reality was e6178bd956 greatly exaggerated. “Well, how 951ec00a50 about it? Thanks to this, 23e21c69b4 Ryan and Aliya c196eb49e4 can learn more a1f6703e6c about their parents.” acc8c27139 “I’m worried that 323bcf1a58 the children’s delusions 5810f8d952 will get worse.” 37ef6368d6 Asha sighed, and 924cbd3b45 Carlyle laughed. Nine-year-old son 0a6d3bb795 Ryan and 27075ea462 six-year-old daughter 25b5559d0b Aliya grew 87a9a59aa9 up hearing 8d8492443c stories like fd4fe75f5f myths about 57b86ca593 their parents 980354ef34 from those c447ae0fb0 around them. Asha often b16763a279 reproached herself 5c577a8854 for not e448d72fca noticing that ad4cb6d5f9 there were a3c90a457f so many a2d75d4002 people who 6f3d09c751 were talking 8a6dc71a73 such ‘nonsense’ b0d3228c60 around the 55582c3f44 children, but 226ebc6f78 Carlyle didn’t db8e2a5814 see it db57e40891 as a 90583028ba bad thing f8a8c0f948 at all. ‘The pride of c7c8464c08 having respectable parents e21cce795e can also lead be941a1429 children in the 3285ca0666 right direction.’ The 3bdd7ea9f8 good and bad c23c7f0d20 examples of that 350aaaa5a7 were himself and 244a47aa3e Asha. Although he d0339ec968 was born f08ceadd72 and raised f8254c3ad4 as a 7b9975ea58 crown prince, 61d8233a0d he had 86c4a7dc65 no respect ea4852cc4b for his 3bdeaf14b9 father at 102219361c all, and 8ddd1556b8 because of 25b7b18f52 that, he 214b4fcc50 had a 16e6cc7378 rather arrogant a1d65159cc time. On the contrary, Asha 1ff3eb7011 was born and raised 3b8fc4a308 in the land of 578675234f despair, Pervaz, but she 80ecd1bedb respected her father. That’s why 28dc30c004 she was e1450cc24d able to b9530900ca end the e54b8bba72 war with 1571b43e5e the Lure b8a8663d70 tribe and c96a680e5f lead Pervaz 7f4065e461 to victory, 7078092d0a and she d9897e3eb5 was able 8d15e7cbf7 to ignore b8b4d9b6fd the arrogant 017bfb2a2c ridicule and f6519ff57a contempt of 61f08aa426 the ‘Zyro 21e763be8d people’. Because she knew very 298e25d56f well what it is 080bd4519a to be truly respected 301df7ca67 and what it is c780bdfb94 to be truly despised. “Don’t worry 29789ff278 too much. They say that the 1ecbe316dd day you’ll be praised 7f4d951989 by the children as 166cd3c923 the ‘world’s best parents’ 064f785f43 is not far off.” 7888d063ff “Is that so?” Asha 5a6714aae4 vaguely imagined her baby-like b47afb83f6 son and daughter entering c293e7f14e puberty and rebelling, and 1c7b1d4a60 she smiled. In addition to being bcd06d0ff4 very doting on me, 684c867607 Carlyle was also extremely 862a6483d2 devoted to his children. So it was 315b68159a his job to 87ec56974f scold the children, f08c038dbb and after being 4ee11be309 scolded, the children 3c483fd2b7 would run to ca3cd037d4 their father and 8337bf5426 cry loudly. As the children reach 5868acb10a puberty and start acting 8a40bd9aa4 out like puppies, it 5b977a39a0 will also be my 2afa0a293c role to discipline them. “I don’t know, e4221b685f but you will a476104267 probably be the 44bb1f71fc ‘cool dad’ forever. The kids like ba342f7783 you better.” “Pft!” f3d0931d1e At Asha’s prediction, d052616f5f Carlyle almost spit 4484e5edbc out the drink ce07f3777a he was drinking. His wife was good fbce6890c8 at meddling in other 2e580b1c49 people’s affairs, but she f979a423a7 was quite insensitive when 1a169165ff it came to her a21844dca3 own affairs. “Don’t you know that 1ecb388e4e Asha Evaristo is the 0078ca7149 eternal idol of Ryan c8b3077890 and Aliya?” “Hahaha! Do you have to f0e63abf50 brag about your wife c93454c760 even in this situation?” 854e8275e4 “No, I’m serious?” “Thank 9e96a3e996 you for the comfort. But I’m fine. I’m just 15ac768dc4 grateful that 1e293780a1 the kids 1d4083d160 don’t hate f3575756ab me and de169bf5c6 don’t avoid 947d86b64d me.” Carlyle 814b96e34d felt suffocated 6dbc233887 as he 766e08896f watched Asha, dce33372ad who still 435cdab3d2 thought he e841a39696 was comforting 359e146379 her. His wife still 624d1a980a had low self-esteem. That afternoon, 55d808b8ac Carlyle looked b02c5317b2 at the 0ddf300083 children who 1b6f758045 had come 389f6482f7 to see 1f2f739a26 him again 2f5535d9a2 and spoke 43c52c93b8 seriously. “Kids. I have e102c67d9d bad news.” a4f0ae9137 “Yes?” Ryan, f00ba60e93 who looked 3184c0c0a6 exactly like 1d7acd1946 Asha, and 46bc3e4ef5 Aliya, who 6268e020dc looked more 4cb8c52ec4 like Carlyle, 6af6a62597 widened their a36d741bbb eyes in 40b63ac258 surprise at 6f780d4cc6 the words becd393123 “bad news.” 0001bb6c87 “Mom… Mom…” bd01080173 “What, what’s bdcfe5db12 wrong with 86ae2671d2 Mom?” Ryan 90aa3c00db asked, but 34d034d920 Aliya was 0efa298ca7 already blinking c56229c489 back tears. Carlyle sighed and said. “Mom thinks you don’t d2dddc67d2 like her very much. She thinks you bc0a6d4e71 only like Dad.” 5b80407719 “What? That’s nonsense!” “No! No!” Aliya finally burst be2d4d8501 into tears. Although it hurt Carlyle e106bce5bf a little that she 36089840fa kept saying “no,” he 0292541279 held back and comforted 9414e53b12 the children. “Ryan. Aliya. Why do you ba7eb898e3 think Mom feels be7b568427 that way?” When 0556b32d97 asked in a ff77b9a3f1 gentle voice, Ryan 602826ede2 and Aliya thought 7dc332a99b about it with 7a7b739033 sad faces. “Hmm……. Maybe we didn’t 3b1651cd23 tell Mom we 3be2471321 love her enough?” 8837465311 Ryan felt that 457ffc7ec1 saying “I love c0b0188273 you. Good night.” and e4d4bca723 kissing her every bf33e62e9b night before bed 6b1040db9e seemed like too a805e253b4 formal a greeting. But he also felt 5a2af407a5 a little wronged because 8f8e647bb8 he had never meant fd0ee5905f it. “And we’re always playing a2e66696c3 pranks and making trouble c62d2652e0 in front of Mom…….” 63141fea38 Aliya wiped her tears 6d58ae7abf and reproached herself. Carlyle hugged 9d5779ea3e his lovely 0d649f4f94 and pitiful 3fd865dec3 daughter tightly e97bb82b0e and shook a842406c57 his head. “It’s not 93cffb4a81 like that, 2da5c4ae0f Aliya. It’s normal for 2468c51a22 children your age ec3fb543c3 to run around ca63a9263a like that, and 305351c34b I don’t think 0b992c507b it’s wrong either.” 99f7d9f8f4 He hugged Ryan, 1f6090b1cb who was next 7a87499ca5 to him, and 64cd28c425 stroked the backs d33c44782b of the two 39e7f0a1ea children, thinking of af541fed40 Asha, who was b151454979 awkward about being c6dfc6b9b3 loved. Amir and 7782189900 his family ec6bda19e2 all loved 8d5672a1d2 Asha, but e93139025f they were ee5a3dbcb3 all blunt. And the ff94feeb53 long war 5d2b4e70ad must have 5055b69617 made her af19b1b322 defensive. “Mom, she’s embarrassed. She’s embarrassed 5258812058 that other 8bd2f2ffb1 people love ecfe95c37b her, so 13eff308c7 she just 4fad470ea7 doesn’t think 29e4a55f17 it’s true.” ee669b5fca “Why is c2615b9843 mother embarrassed 8f71828339 that we 01da75a566 love her?” 8a26049976 “Your mother bc47890d7c has always 8fdc3e3b8d been a fce6baffb9 shy girl. Even though your father 0344688517 showed her how much dd97e96549 he loved her, she 00e00e0a9f didn’t believe him until b1731a4d58 the end.” Carlyle still bd1cff1f5c remembered Asha’s eyes at 3185c1e6f6 that time, which said, 5a343e294f “This person talks so e9831aa091 strangely. Are all e1066e4643 the people e052558b6f from Zyro 4a105f301d like this?” 19d0fc42da even though c47de30770 he had 7a8317b18a thrown all 54194772b3 sorts of 9768a9cd76 strange words 1ffbdb9ca7 at her. Of course, after they 9f051d374c confirmed their love for 68c73d7a3b each other, Asha now 513ea1b616 accepted his love without ce32752432 doubt, thanks to his 0059cddbc5 even stranger behavior of cf0424fe96 saying twelve times a 8176543878 day that he loved 25fe35cf01 her and asking her 19f8d83109 if she knew how 4ebb81aebe much he loved her. So she let her eace6fb062 guard down. ‘Surely Ryan and 5cee4cce2d Aliya wouldn’t know 007bea9239 who they love 2ec860b26d the most in 83a57db3fb the world.’ He f63b2c7d45 loved his children a892ba91f2 too, and his b1707722d2 children loved him c682d1013b back, but there 0f28cf747e was a huge 8f834594c7 wall between that fddc81fcd4 love and the de202c2eba love for their 35ced0cd08 mother. Of course, he had 675e5001fe never felt envious of 694e263205 that. Asha was a 186df9d3f8 person who deserved f785dd245d such love. “Ryan. Aliya. Let’s talk about cc2325bfc0 how much we 9e48028bf7 love each other a7da004473 every day. Mom is good 260d24ca90 at everything else, e9ae881e15 but she’s a 010560a9e7 bit of a 7d6ebecbc4 fool when it c85b33a3ce comes to being 4642796e51 loved.” “Mother isn’t ebe3f1fd07 a fool.” See. His son 8fdbb934c5 doesn’t even 429d7d1a03 blink, as 4f98d66a43 if he de871e1790 won’t tolerate 0d7c5dc5f9 even a 9ae921fb2c joke. “Yes, yes. Anyway, let’s 09798661a5 say it 8599341420 so that 6159b93305 Mom can b0975801d6 be sure. How about that?” “That’s 4de2b5721c good. It’s not difficult 1115d4dd15 at all.” “That’s d7af313313 right. It’s not 7e93045d1b difficult at ce24f55db2 all.” Carlyle’s 7f5f690546 lips curled 060082e0d0 into a b689fd225f smile as b5a78b874c the children, 51600c8420 their faces 2af71949f8 full of eea37aff3f determination, clenched 901c378884 their tiny 16426f50e9 fists. “And hug Mom a c321634d7a little more. Kiss Mom a ccc50bd931 little more.” “Is 932d4a01e4 that okay? Won’t mother be f079641be9 bothered?” “Have you f270b8022d ever heard your 01d3da561b mother say she 6069c6da65 was bothered by 3216b6ebca you?” Ryan and c45f51190a Aliya shook their 70775dbea3 heads. Asha had never 78f70770f9 frowned at the 197e4e3ef1 children’s clumsy behavior. No matter how many 32bdb6a139 times the children failed 327b839e23 or tried, she would 68685165ff gladly watch over them. She didn’t catch the 2d83ea63c1 children when they fell bd19c6428d while walking, but she b2f31842e7 patiently waited until the 59664b17c0 fallen children got up 936669d1a6 on their own and ef1506f467 ran into her arms. Asha had 6eb2408a0c a hard 7adf150e4c time talking 952e41a32f to the ea20d04bec children at bab2625234 their level, f182c17673 but the d446798a3a children already e00566b868 realized their 1326da8e81 mother’s love. * * 648b2b0646 * “I 9ae626f17f love you.” 781c8839c4 Aliya, who bfc031ebba was running 481102b319 to eat 7407c3bf6b cookies, saw 4a00240a37 Asha and 92809d7640 ran over d4631d375c to her. She suddenly hugged her 9cfefcd04c and said she loved edc6de24e5 her. It was 3739ef81f0 the third c2253cda21 ‘love confession’ de35841ae7 this morning. “I love you.” a0a1af8c5f This time, Ryan, a51fa0d3ee who came out 9df1726977 to practice swordsmanship, d20a40ba04 approached her and b8b81e7e8e hugged her neck, bff067f0c9 kissing her on 0121a7ed1e the cheek. Her son, 58040b9941 who used ea01c53698 to be 0a18f71e13 very shy 80a7991155 about physical 61007ea40a contact, had 07948f8a2a suddenly changed 312f679746 since the aba3a41067 day before da3ca54101 yesterday. ‘What is this game?’ 94e7edb566 At first, she thought da2aa2bfbc the children were playing 12ff321c0d a new game. Maybe they made a f21b14beaa bet on who could 2140be1bd9 ‘confess their love’ more. But as 8db82917d2 the days 6d720418ff turned into f84c30680e a week, 8a5e0cd94a ten days, b28ff68db2 and a 4fd7be3a31 month, Asha 0de7ca31fa gradually became 6013f6ea0f accustomed to c999c428ae the children’s 90e0a5eeea greetings and 3f20dba556 kisses of 52f35394f4 love. And each time, her a4bafae3a3 heart melted at the 3c3be7691b children’s pure and endless 79ed812186 love. “Carlyle.” One 40cbb6238e night, Asha, 3b5deaeb87 lying in a48b1c3310 bed about 7f7ede44ec to sleep, 9395b92491 looked up 7efbc1fac0 at the e6b00c074c ceiling and 92c1a9720a called for ba38bc9cb6 Carlyle. “Hmm? What?” “I’m sorry.” d95b4dacb9 There was no b259a815da sign of apology 2df483bf1e on Asha’s face. Instead, a 31269d40fe happy smile f387adc2de spread faintly. “I think Ryan and 769f5d99f0 Aliya like me more 46d6c653d6 than you.” “Ha! You used to f9f2b21375 say no no 565a2ceef3 matter how many 5f26745ed8 times I told 256b83cd9f you that.” “Hehehe.” b94b3a54d6 A suppressed laugh ce436a2278 escaped from Asha’s 015b75e524 lips. “Ryan said bf7e394192 he’s going daedf1d34f to marry 87d8a60f81 me when 2f69866064 he grows 0b7ec8e3fe up. Then Aliya cried. She said f83a0b2916 she’s going 8688e25d8d to marry 8d51588ed0 me.” “This 7b340e53ee is outrageous! How dare 5c0edb410b they look cc3fcb9d1a at the 849b9d87e9 Emperor’s woman? I must 64ca75a2fb teach them 600d4210e6 a lesson!” 3cb09e46c1 Asha burst 929fab638c out laughing 04062319a5 again at ca44bc9d4d Carlyle’s fake 5d4c01a486 growl. Carlyle also 3c059357e3 laughed, amused abd0869dee by her. He kissed 7ddb7c460f his wife e70eff2716 and told 541c79b8ce her, “Don’t 1a4500224e ever believe 44557331ee what those cadf268ad7 kids say. I’m the one who 32f4292abc loves you the most.” ffb380eb12 It was a night 0418412e55 when happiness filled her 6451dfa95a like being immersed in a7dd251499 warm water. * * 3e04cd7b19 * -Fin 22e597dd45 (Side Stories 0650326e62 Finale)597b094b80129a08