"Those damn scoundrels!"

My personal aide, Troy, flinched at my outburst.

"It has not even been two years since I rose to the throne, and now they're fussing over an imperial heir? Do they really want me to die and abdicate early?"

He sighed. "They want to take this opportunity to make their sons your consort, Your Majesty."

I bit my nails anxiously. The death of my brother, Prince Dion, has led to my succession as second in line to the throne. Since then, two separate factions have been vying for my attention with marriage as their ultimate weapon.

"Make a list of noblemen eligible for marriage." I ordered menacingly. "I want someone average in all aspects. Not too smart, not too wealthy, and definitely not too ambitious. Someone who can be manipulated easily."

Troy nodded. "I have received the order, Your Majesty."

Unless I get myself a husband, I doubt that those people would leave me alone. They're so annoyed by the fact that a woman has risen up to the throne that they wouldn't stop pestering me to get married!

I was in the midst of contemplation when a servant knocked and announced the arrival of my expected guest. The doors to the throne hall opened, then came the figure of Grand Duke Averill.

As he walked the red carpet leading to the throne, the grand duke seemed tired after coming all the way from the north. His appearance looked unusually ragged, with dark circles under his eyes and a pale countenance at that.

"Greetings to the sun of the empire." He placidly remarked.

"I appreciate you coming all the way here to the capital, Grand Duke Averill."

He gave me a small smile. "It is my duty, Your Majesty."

His Grace then proceeded with the quarterly reports concerning the north. From the external threats to the annual budget and the current state of the market, he gave me a detailed and organized overview.

Alistair Kirsten de Averill was competent. I liked that about him.

"Very well," I blew a sigh. "Your concerns are reasonable. The winter is already harsh and unforgiving as it is, and for you to go through it all year long... Of course you'd be asking for an increase to the allocation."

Grand Duke Averill smiled rather shyly. "I am grateful."

I massaged my own temples. What a tiring day.

The fatigue must have been palpable on my face. His Grace noticed it and spoke out of concern, "Do you feel unwell, Your Majesty?"

"A little bit, yes." I answered in all honesty. "The council is putting a lot of pressure on me to find a consort soon. It's giving me a headache."

His brows lifted in surprise. "Do you have anyone in mind, then?"

"No." I stood up from the throne and walked down to him. "Men are foolish. I do not need one in my life."

My statement earned a smile from the grand duke.

"As much as I am offended, I do agree to some extent." He chuckled.

"I meant no offense," I laughed. "Thank you for today, Grand Duke Averill."

"It is my pleasure, Your Majesty." He bowed politely.

"I shall retire to my chamber for now-"

To my shock, my vision turned bleary and I suddenly lost my balance. With his quick reflexes, the grand duke managed to catch my waist with his arm.

At that moment, my mind went blank.

I have slept with men and women in the past, so I am in no way ignorant of intimacy. However, with the lack of distance between us, I became conscious of things I wouldn't normally pay any mind, such as the veins bulging on his arms, the long and bony fingers of his hand, and the sturdiness exhibited by his body.

"Are you alright, Your Majesty?"

His eyes gazed down on me, filled with concern.

Oh, to be the sole focus of those golden orbs...

I take it back. Perhaps I do need a man in my life.

"Your Grace," I stared intently at him. "Will you marry me?"

The grand duke flinched at my query. I could tell by the way his eyes twitched that he wasn't expecting such a proposal from the emperor.

Still, I had to take it a shot. How would you know if something could work if you wouldn't even start it?

For a moment, we both remained silent. After a while, the grand duke cleared his throat then slightly backed away from me.

"I shall be leaving, then." Alistair said nonchalantly.

"Hey!" A vein popped on the side of my forehead. "At least give me an answer!"

"Is that an order, Your Majesty?" His Grace gave me a rueful smile. "I am asking because... how could anyone reject the emperor? If you command me to marry you, then I shall do it in a heartbeat."

I was taken aback by his bluntness.

"Would you take no as an answer, Your Majesty?"

I pursed my lips. It's so obvious that he doesn't want to.

"Forget it." I smiled regretfully. "Who wants an unwilling groom?"

"My sincerest apologies." he replied earnestly.

"Fret not." I waved my hand dismissively. "It's my fault for proposing to a man whose heart is fully occupied by another woman."

The grand duke simply smiled at my remark before politely excusing himself. As soon as he walked out of the throne hall, my personal aide arrived.

"How was your meeting with His Grace?" he inquired.

"He was impressive as usual." I sat back on my throne regretfully. "Which is why I find it a shame that he rejected my proposal."

Troy was flabbergasted. "You proposed to him?"

"I did, and he rejected me cleverly." I shook my head while smiling.

Before I knew it, I couldn't take Alistair Kirsten de Averill off my mind. I kept thinking about him, not because I have fallen in love or anything of the sort... but because he was the perfect groom for me.

Still, I'm not so heartless to force a man to marry me, especially one who swore to love only a single woman for the entirety of his life.

And so, I gave up on the idea of marrying the grand duke.

---

No matter how much I tried to set aside their demands, I knew that I wouldn't be able to ignore the nobles forever.

Two weeks have passed, and as soon as our next council meeting started, the nobles were cornering me again with the unresolved matter of my marriage.

"Your Majesty, there's no excuse for you to stay unmarried!"

Ah, my blood pressure... Should I just kill them?

"An emperor should be able to prove that they're potent and capable of producing an offspring to make sure that the imperial lineage persists!"

It took me a lot of self-control not to throw my shoes on their faces. My personal aide, Troy, seemed equally stressed as I am, but when our eyes met, he lightly shook his head as if telling me to hold it in.

Grand Duke Averill, who was also present in the meeting, was dashing in his military attire, but his silver hair was quite unruly and his golden eyes were filled with displeasure.

"Enough," I said firmly.

"But Your Majesty-!"

"I shall get married. I have already chosen a consort."

All of their jaws dropped.

Before anyone could even raise a query, I sprang out of my seat and flounced out of the council room.

It was true. I have already made up my mind on who to tie the knot with, though I can't say that I'm happy with my choice.

As soon as I left the room, I could hear someone fumbling and chasing after me. I suppose it was Troy, but I dared not to look at him because I was afraid he would see my reluctance.

"Troy, my dear friend, you must have been surprised." I blew a heavy sigh. "But it is all true. I have decided to marry Count Koscher from the southern lands."

The footsteps behind me stopped.

I also halted then turned around. To my surprise, it wasn't Troy who followed me out of the council room. It was none other the shield of the empire himself, who was frowning after hearing my words.

"Your Grace?" I raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here?"

"That man is twice your age, Your Majesty." Alistair ignored my question. "Moreover, he's from the south... and you know how the southerners are known for their strong desire to be autonomous. What if he's using you as a leverage?"

"I could care less. I would only be using him as well."

"Even so..." The grand duke trailed.

Before he could even speak further, I raised my hand.

"I understand your concern, but I have already made up my mind." I told him, my face stoic and calm. "If I were to marry someone I don't love, I might as well marry someone who would at least be of use to me."

His Grace stared at me in disbelief.

"Only Count Koscher could meet the conditions I set in choosing a husband. He was not too smart, not too wealthy, and not too ambitious. I need someone who can stay neutral amidst the pressure among other nobles, and he happened to be the best candidate for that."

After my lengthy explanation, I turned my back from Alistair and started walking again. As for him, he must've have stayed rooted to his spot since I didn't hear any footsteps.

I have already taken a few steps when he spoke again.

"Will you marry me, Your Majesty?"

I flinched.

When I glanced at him over my shoulder, Alistair was staring intently at me with his right hand closed into a fist. His countenance tells me that he's rather frustrated by this whole discussion of my marriage.

More importantly, what did he just say?

"What?" My brows furrowed in confusion.

"Will you marry me?" he reiterated.

I walked up to him then leaned closer to his face.

"Is this some kind of joke, Your Grace?" I asked in a threatening tone.

"No." Alistair remained unfazed. "Think of it as a former comrade lending you a hand. We were on the same side during the battle of succession between you and Dion."

I pursed my lips. Is he helping me out of pity?

"Marry me, Your Majesty." He remarked softly. "The novel has long ended, but the rest of our lives is the epilogue that has yet to be written."

Grand Duke Averill offered his hand to me.

"Would you like to write it together, Odette?"

He just called me by my name. How insolent.

I should've taken offence from that, but then his golden eyes looked like the sun itself that I almost melted from his gaze.

To think that this man was merely a product of my imagination... How did a character that I created out of words look so perfectly carved in reality?

He was right. The novel has long ended, and the rest of our lives is up to us. We are no longer controlled by the words of the novel that I myself wrote.

And yet my heart faltered.

Because as the author of this novel, I knew how much he loved her.

"But you love someone else and I don't love you, too." I pointed out.

"Then let's start learning to love each other." Alistair gently took hold of my hand. "If we ever got tired of learning, then let's go our separate ways. At least we tried."

Such irresponsible words.

Back then, I didn't know that our half-hearted decision would actually last for a lifetime. I did marry Alistair Kirsten de Averill, and we even had two children together.

When I look back at the life I had after the novel ended, it was so hectic. As an ambitious woman who rose up to the throne at a fairly young age, I had so much on my plate.

But Alistair was there with me.

He accompanied me during my territorial inspections, and he also stayed by my side during life-threatening events. He lessened the pressure from the nobles to me, and he also helped me a lot when making decisions of utmost importance.

He brought me tea at night whenever I had lots of work to do. He recommended a number of books to me whenever I needed a break. He gave me silly gifts like a tail of a lizard and a talking mirror just to make me laugh after having a stressful day.

He held my hand while I was giving birth to our son, and he shed tears when I almost died while giving birth to our daughter.

Alistair was there with me. Always.

So even when he had that melancholic look on his face whenever spring, summer, fall, and winter came, I couldn't blame him. Even when he never told me that he loved me in any of those seasons, I couldn't get mad at him at all.

Because he always came home to me anyway.

And that means he never got tired of learning.

"Odette, aren't you going to cry for me?"

Now that he's on his deathbed, all weak and wrinkly, I realized just how lucky I was to have married him.

"Do you want me to?" I scoffed.

My husband smiled. "Of course not."

I gently held his hand then squeezed it.

"Alistair," My voice cracked. "Thank you."

"For what, my dear wife?"

I smiled sentimentally. "For not getting tired of learning."

For a moment, his golden eyes lit up, as if he remembered something. "Ah, come to think of it, we agreed to go our separate ways if we ever got tired of learning how to love each other."

He raised his hand on my cheek then gently caressed it.

"We never got tired, did we?" he asked me, smiling.

"Hmm." I held his hand placed on my cheek. "Never."

We never got tired of learning how to love each other. We just stopped learning along the way because it became as natural as breathing.

It turned into something that we didn't have to try learning anymore.

Love, however subtle it was.

---

And that's it for the first side story! Honestly, I was losing hope in writing it because I finished the main story last year, but here it is!

Again, thanks to everyone who read, voted, and left comments on my story. I appreciate it.

Take care and happy reading to all of you!

Yours Truly,

Aomine-san