TYHL SS 38 💫

~ Side Story 38~

“Aaaahhh!”

“Why… why are you hitting me?”
“It’s for a reason!”

Rubian smacked Leviathan’s arm furiously, then hurried to finish the time warp.

‘Wait… before that…’

She whispered something to Khalid.

Leviathan was curious, but this little secret was for the mischievous dad to remain unaware of.

‘Send Dad first… then I’ll…’

There was one last thing she had to do.

Time warping, which she had thought would be simple, was far more exhausting than expected.

It wasn’t just the warp error caused by Rosetta’s false diary.

It was because seeing Rosetta’s past up close was far sadder than she imagined.

Fortunately, that past was now settling in a better direction…

In reality, Rosetta’s life was only just beginning.

‘Once I leave here, it’s over for me.’

But her mother would remain…

Rubian stared toward the distant place where Rosetta should be.

Time here and real-world time differed.

So even if Rubian spent ten more minutes here, the arrival time would differ by only a few seconds—Leviathan wouldn’t notice.

“Dad! Let’s go back, now! Immediately!”

Leviathan nodded and prepared the time warp.

Rubian moved quickly.

Flash!

Instead of jumping together, Rubian and Khalid locked eyes, nodded, and ran toward the last place she had to go.

A few minutes later…

If you were the master of all space and time,
Would you go to the future… or the past?

Ending past-directed time warp
Remaining time: □□□□■

[Farewell Message]

Goodbye is not forever, right?

“Please! Don’t ever time travel again! You’re trash! Complete trash!”

With some distance between them, Rubian and Khalid safely returned to the real world.

The only thing left where Rubian had been was a floating message window.

[LOL]
You can’t discard me!

The commander died at the hands of the women.

Cornered in the forest, he met the most painful and cruel death.

He didn’t use the weapons he was familiar with.

Good weapons weren’t needed.

Rosetta used only blunt, rusted, crude tools.

“Ugh… aaaahhh!”

So he could suffer the most.

Flames!

Her angry companions burned him without leaving a body behind.

It mirrored how he had “disposed” of others.

They returned immediately and smashed the wall.

Although Duke Zebert’s knights had suggested using explosives, they insisted on using their own hands, swords, and arrows.

Leviathan, arriving quietly, ordered no one to intervene.

Crash…

The old wall collapsed.

Too briefly… but justly.

Leviathan watched Rosetta’s back as she stared at the crumbling wall for a long while.

“Explosion! Explosion!”

“Sir! The explosives and magic tools the commander kept are going off!”
“You really need to get out now!”

Leviathan grabbed Rosetta’s hand.

“Rosetta. You need to move now.”

Bang! Bang!

The explosions spread through the mercenary underground and across Biltein.

“The keepsake box?”
“…Sorry.”

Rosetta’s eyes widened.

“It wasn’t in the place you mentioned… The commander must’ve stored it somewhere else.”

“Impossible! He said he put it in the vault!”

The knights shouted to hurry.

Leviathan clenched his teeth.

“Rose, it’s too dangerous here. I’ll send someone to find it later… Trust me for now.”

Rosetta bit her lip tightly.

Bang! Bang!

Explosions continued, and she heard that the sleeping beasts were now approaching.

“Rose.”
“…Okay.”

Rosetta left, promising to return one day.

‘I’m sorry.’

Leviathan raced through Biltein.

‘You won’t have to come here again.’

The keepsake box would likely have turned to dust inside the exploding building. The key was left somewhere safe.

She must never see that terrible letter.

Even if she ever felt anger at him someday…

Never.

‘Better for her to hate me than hate herself.’

Leviathan didn’t want Rosetta, craving her mother’s affection, to fall into despair.

After that day…

Leviathan repeatedly sent people to search Biltein.

He and Rosetta went themselves, but the keepsake box was never found.

Rosetta slowly learned to accept it.

Sometimes she asked about the key, and when told it was safe, she nodded.

Over time, she stopped wondering about the key altogether.

More important things had appeared in her life than the keepsake box.

Rosetta first left Braum Castle and was adopted into a noble family, long-time friends with Balrog.

Her new identity gave her a sense of stability for the first time.

Her foster father was kind.

Though his careful affection felt strange at first, she gradually got used to it.

Her loyal companions became her personal attendants.

“Are you really satisfied? There might be a better life out there.”
“We’ve always wanted to follow our captain. Being by her side is our joy.”

Hazel smiled.

“How about you, master? It feels a bit… ticklish.”
“Who’s the maid, who’s the attendant?”
“Shall we draw lots?”
“…Can we really decide that way?”
“It’s not like choosing a successor by rock-paper-scissors…”

The laughter of her companions was comforting.

Time passed quickly.

Rosetta learned the ways of nobility fast and entered high society, which was another battlefield—but for someone who had truly fought wars, it was like drinking cold soup.

On a day when the sun shone the brightest…

Their grand wedding took place.

The entire empire marveled at the opulent ceremony.

The marriage was like a dream. Rosetta experienced true happiness by Leviathan’s side.

And the fruits of that happiness…

Arrived very quickly.

“I’m pregnant.”

Clang!

Leviathan jumped from the table.

He hugged her and kissed her for a long time.

Another person to protect.
And it was wonderful.

“Will it be a boy or a girl?”

In the lazy afternoon, Hazel asked, as Rosetta caressed her growing belly.

“I somehow think it’s a girl.”

“Really? How do you know?”
“…I just feel it. This one’s a girl.”

Daughters were rare in the north, so everyone assumed it would be a boy.

Only Rosetta insisted it was a girl, collecting all kinds of girl’s items.

“When did you ever give me a hint, little one?”

She smiled gently in the warm sunlight.

Her eyelids slowly closed.
A sleepy, drowsy nap overtook her.

‘Come quickly…’

My child… my precious.

Rosetta slept with a soft smile.