[Afterword 1] A Past Encounter
“North Calendar Year 568, Spring.”
“Although more than a decade has passed since that unimaginable catastrophe, the memories still linger.”
“Who was it that saved us?”
“And now…”
Lilia paused, a flicker of a memory, a fleeting image, flashing through her mind, but it was gone before she could grasp it, as if some invisible force was preventing her from remembering.
This had happened many times before, and with each passing year, the fragments had become clearer, yet they were always gone in an instant.
“Your Majesty, it is the day of the Imperial Festival. The ministers are hoping you will make a public address,” Erlya’s voice came from the doorway. More than a decade had passed, but she was still as heroic as ever, though with a few gray hairs at her temples.
Lilia, on the other hand, had not aged a day. She still looked the same as she had as a princess.
She put down her pen. “I’m not the Empress anymore. If you keep calling me that, people will get the wrong idea.”
Yes, Lilia had eventually abdicated.
Although the entire nation had strongly opposed her decision, she was tired.
The beastkin were no longer a threat, the Bewildering Forest was a close ally, and the Abyss was still sealed. The Empire was at peace.
And after setting the Empire back on its course, she had passed the throne to her father’s younger brother’s line, a return to the traditional succession.
“But I’ve been calling you that for so many years, I’m used to it. And besides, there’s no one in the North Empire who doesn’t wish you were still the Empress,” Erlya said with a wave of her hand. With Lilia’s abdication, she had also resigned from her post and had followed her to a remote palace.
“…There will always be a new Emperor. And at least for now, I am not,” Lilia said, shaking her head and standing up. “But the current Emperor is still young. It’s not appropriate for him to make a public address to all of Solor.”
“It’s rare for our former Empress to be in the mood for a walk,” Erlya said, her voice cheerful, and she opened the door. “Shall I prepare the carriage?”
“No, let’s walk.”
…
With the legacy of Vikarn, the Empire had continued to develop. And with the end of the cataclysm, with the demons no longer a threat, their device technology had shifted from military to civilian use.
Now, in the capital, device-cars zipped along the roads, the streets lined with device-lamps, and even the vendors used device-megaphones to hawk their wares.
Compared to a decade ago, the capital had entered a new era.
Lilia, who had been the architect of all this, looked at the bustling scene, a faint smile on her lips.
“Where is this?” she asked, looking at the crowded streets, at the children playing. “I don’t think I’ve ever been here before.”
“This is the eastern marketplace. It’s mostly for the commoners,” Erlya said, greeting the shopkeepers as they passed.
After following Lilia to the palace, she had often come here to buy groceries, and with her past experience as a mercenary, she had quickly befriended the shopkeepers.
Lilia was now using a spell to conceal her face. The former Empress, appearing in a crowded marketplace, would cause a riot.
“It seems… interesting. We should come here more often,” she said, like a child discovering a new toy, her gaze sweeping across the various stalls, picking up items and asking Erlya what they were.
“What’s this?”
“A wrench. For tightening screws.”
“What’s a screw?”
“Uh… good question. You can’t eat a screw.”
“And this?”
“That’s a necklace!”
“A necklace… where are the jewels?”
“A commoner’s necklace doesn’t have jewels.”
“Oh… then what about this?”
“That’s food, but… you can’t eat it.”
“Why not?”
“…”
Erlya looked at the pot of mush Lilia was pointing at. It was a delicacy from the Savage Lands, an acquired taste even for most commoners, let alone the pampered Lilia.
“If Your… you want to eat something, I’ll take you somewhere else, okay?”
She rubbed her forehead. She had never seen her like this before.
But then again, in the past, Lilia had either been gravely ill or buried in state affairs. She had rarely had a chance to just… walk around.
“You decide, Erlya,” Lilia said with a demure nod, though her eyes were filled with an unsuppressible excitement.
“Let me think, what can you eat here…”
Erlya’s eyes narrowed, then she snapped her fingers. “Oh, right, candied haws! A sweet little snack. I’m sure you’ll like it.”
“Candied…”
Lilia was still trying to figure out how candy and haws went together, when Erlya grabbed her hand and pulled her in a certain direction.
“I remember there’s a shop around here. I think it’s been here for over ten years. It’s just up ahead… huh?”
She stared at the old man selling candied haws, who was cheerfully packing up his stall, his cart now filled with empty sticks.
“Business is that good today, Old Vera?” she asked, her voice filled with a disappointed frustration.
“Ah, Erlya! You want some candied haws?” he said with a smile. “Unlucky for you. I had three and a half sticks left, but they were just bought by someone.”
“Three…”
Three and a half sticks, that was at least three hundred! It was a wholesale purchase!
“I don’t think they can eat that many. Why don’t you go ask them?” Old Vera said helpfully. “They just left. Turn the corner, and you should see them. Two little girls, carrying candied haw sticks.”
“Maybe… we should just go…” Lilia said, tugging at Erlya’s sleeve.
“No! I can’t lose face! I said you would have some, and you will!” Erlya said, her temper flaring, and she ran towards the alley.
Lilia, with an apologetic nod to Old Vera, followed, her small steps a quick patter on the ground.
She turned the corner and heard Erlya’s loud voice.
“Did you buy all of Old Vera’s candied haws?”
“Yes,” a soft, yet indifferent, voice replied, and for some reason, it sounded familiar.
She paused, then, when she recovered, she was at the end of the alley, Erlya and the two girls just around the corner.
She took a deep breath and turned.
A pair of terrifying, dark-gold vertical slits for eyes, and a pair of clear, bright, pale purple eyes, looked at her, and a voice said,
“Yo.”
