Side Story Chapter 322

Side Story Chapter 322

With his father on his mind, Selim hurried over to the imperial communication center where communication crystal balls were placed.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

The servants he ran into bowed respectfully. Selim just nodded; he’d gotten used to it by now.

‘Did Mother succeed?’ he wondered.

Iceline had been cooped up in her lab at the Magic Tower for over a year, determined to find a way to meet Joshua again even if it took her the rest of her life.

“I hope she’s close to a breakthrough...” Selim abruptly stopped in the middle of the long hallway, baring his energy slightly. “...Stop hiding and come out. Who are you?”

He detected a faint trace of energy. Even with his finely honed senses, he couldn’t feel without concentrating. Well, to get past the Imperial Knights, they’d have to be at least that skilled.

Selim didn’t think too much about it and unleashed more of his energy.

“I said, come out.”

“You should look down, not up.”

Selim gasped and stumbled several steps backward.

A woman leaped out of the shadows on the ground.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to surprise you...”

Cold sweat dripped down Selim’s back. If the woman had wished, Selim would have been long gone from this world. Fortunately, she showed no signs of hostility.

‘Have I gotten too soft? Even if I was too busy with my duties...!’

Selim decided to spend more time on his training.

“...You almost gave me a heart attack,” he said.

Selim recognized the woman; her black robe revealed her unrealistically beautiful face and nothing else. She was one of the few people Selim treated with respect even though he was an emperor. On top of being a dark elf who was several times older than Selim, she was also known as the notorious Assassin King.

“How is your stay in the palace? Has everything been okay?” Selim asked, to which Aisha nodded.

It had been over a year since she had begun living in the palace.

In the past, Aisha had conducted countless assassinations as part of the Black Wind, Avalon’s former intelligence agency. Her hands were stained with blood. Once it became known that Aisha’s seclusion had ended, those who still held grudges against her would come to the palace first. That was why Aisha had come to Selim requesting that he let her stay in the palace after the war. Selim had been more than willing.

“I would like to thank you again for having me,” Aisha said.

“No problem. But I heard you had some visitors.”

“...Humans’ lives are short,” Aisha said, beating around the bush. “Many men came to take revenge for their fathers... but most of them were fakes.”

“I guess that’s possible.” e of the visitors were actually victims of my past, though.”

“Did they forgive you?” Selim cautiously asked.

“No, they said they’ll curse me even after they die.”

“Are you done with your work?”

“Play with us!”

His son and daughter came running in his arms, so Cain picked them up with a bright smile.

“What game shall we play?”

“Mmm... I want to ride on your shoulders!”

“How about we have sword practice this time? It’s been a while,” Cain suggested.

“Then I want to use a spear! I’m going to be a spear knight!” his son shouted, raising his arm high in the air.

“I’ll be the Martial God!” his daughter immediately yelled.

“What do you mean? You played the Martial God the last time, so you should be Dad this time!”

“Why do you always try to be the cool one?”

“You should have been born sooner if you have a problem with it!”

“Are you joking?! You were only born a few minutes earlier! That’s it!”

His twin began to bicker again. Cain burst into laughter. Although it would be natural for him to feel jealous, Cain wasn’t bothered at all. He actually liked listening to them compliment his master more than when they flattered him.

“You guys shouldn’t cut in line, you know,” Lilith said as she walked into the room.

At the sound of her voice, the twin immediately jumped down from Cain’s arms and went running over to her.

“Mom!”

“I reserved Dad’s time first, so you guys will have to take a rain check,” Lilith declared.

“Ehhhhhhh!”

Cain looked away from the groaning children, his head in confusion. “I don’t think I know anything about this reservation.”

“You forgot about it again?” Lilith put her hands on her hips. “We have a ceremony to attend at the Great Temple.”

Cain frowned. “The Great Temple? The paladins will bully me again. They never stop asking me to spar.”

“Did you think that it would be easy to become a cardinal’s husband?” Lilith giggled. Like her late father, she was now a cardinal—the first woman to do so.

After the Second Continental War, Hubalt had reinstated the papacy, with the sole surviving cardinal assuming the pope’s mantle. The new pope was a long-time acquaintance of Lilith’s father, so she was pleased by the arrangement.

“...Alright, let’s go. The lady of the house has ordered and I shall obey.” Cain stood up.

His chair bumped into the desk, sending his pen rolling off. With his quick reflexes, Cain caught the pen before it hit the floor, but it felt like someone was yelling at him for leaving when he wasn’t done writing. He scratched the back of his head.

“You haven’t forgotten that tomorrow is my turn to have you, right? You need to come with me to the Magic Tower, remember?”

“Oh, my. Is it that day already?” Lilith covered her mouth playfully.

“Come on! You can’t forget about this.”

The question about what happened to Cain’s master was about to be answered soon.