“A family trip, but with my fiancé. I would have really appreciated it if these were two separate trips instead. Did it have to be done this way?”
“Wasn’t it thrilling and fun though?”
“Good grief. It seems you still find life lacking in thrill and fun. It just so happens this place is perfect for some thrill and amusement. How about I help a bit?”
As soon as Rosetta finished speaking, Blanca immediately raised her hand again.
“I’m sorry.”
Indeed, it’s always better to apologize sooner rather than later.
Glancing around sneakily, Blanca scuttled off towards somewhere.
It was towards a mat laid out alone on the rooftop.
“Why don’t you sit down for now?”
With a slight push of her arms, she gestured invitingly and tapped her shoulder.
Rosetta rolled her eyes but reluctantly sat down beside her.
“It seems you have something to say.”
“Of course. My dear lady is very quick-witted, isn’t she?”
Haha. Blanca let out a small laugh and leaned back, extending her arms.
The fluttering veil danced in front of her face.
“Actually, I wanted to give you both a gift, but since I don’t have much time, I ended up giving it all at once. I’m sorry if it caused any trouble.”
“…Don’t have time? What do you mean?”
“I’m planning to go far away.”
Her voice was light, almost humming.
“Going away? When? Where to?”
“It guess you’re going to miss me?”
“Well, a little.”
“Oh my, how exciting.”
As she playfully responded, Blanca chuckled.
“I just want to travel around a bit. I don’t see a reason to stay in the empire any longer.”
A reason to stay in the empire.
‘She’s talking about Duchess Carter, perhaps?’
No, to be precise, the former Duchess Carter. Soon, Rosetta herself would become the duchess.
“Is it because your revenge has been fulfilled?”
“Maybe. I’m not quite sure myself. I don’t fully understand my own feelings. That’s why I want to find out.”
Blanca stretched out her hand.
The ring on her left ring finger caught the moonlight and sparkled.
“Anyway, I wanted to give you both a farewell gift. Trying to rush it made the schedule quite tight, didn’t it?”
“When are you leaving?”
“Hmm. Right after your wedding?”
So, she intended to keep her loyalty till the end.
A hollow laugh escaped Rosetta.
“After I leave, please take good care of Logan.”
“And why on earth are you leaving a grown man in my care?”
“Well, that child has some childlike aspects. Still a chick. A chick that diligently follows its mother hen.”
“Are you the mother hen?”
“Haha. Thanks to you, I got to play the role of a parent without having kids. It was quite fun. But now, it’s time for him to be independent.”
“What about the guild?”
“I’ve decided to hand it all to Logan. Though he doesn’t know it yet.”
Was it alright to proceed with such important matters without the person knowing?
Seeing Rosetta’s frown, Blanca laughed loudly.
“He’ll do well. He grew up tough under my care.”
“Must have been a stern mother hen.”
“My beak was quite sharp, yes. And, Ducal Lady.”
What is it?
When Blanca softly called out to Rosetta, her held weight.
Rosetta turned to look beside her, puzzled, to see Blanca slowly moving.
She knelt and sat in front of Rosetta, looking at her.
“What are you doing?”
“Apologizing.”
Blanca’s head dropped sharply, her deep bow not just serious but almost reverent.
Rosetta waited silently for what would follow.
“There’s always a cause and effect in everything. In that sense, I can’t be free from the blame for your mother’s death.”
“…Brave of you to bring that up. I wasn’t expecting this.”
“I wanted to avoid it shamelessly and cowardly, but it kept haunting me.”
“You were thinking of apologizing ‘shamelessly’ and yet you went ahead and asked me to take care of Logan anyway?”
“Indeed. That really is shameless of me.”
The two fell silent for a moment.
The broken silence let in the sound of the waves hitting the night sea.
Rosetta lifted her head to look at the sky.
“Is this cruise called the ‘Apology Cruise’ or something?”
At Rosetta’s murmuring, Blanca gave a bitter smile.
She closed her eyes, lost in thought for a moment.
The darkness was like the night sky above, with things rising into it.
Cassion.
Leo.
Daniel.
Their past selves and Alicia.
Her late biological mother and the kind woman she had considered her real mother in a past life.
Her father and Damian.
And all those who had helped her, among whom Blanca undoubtedly ranked first.
Ironically, even surpassing Cassion.
“If I say I don’t resent you, do you think my mother might feel disappointed in me?”
“…Ducal Lady?”
At Rosetta’s calm utterance, Blanca asked back as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Aren’t you already my friend? I feel we’ve come too far together for any real resentment.”
Anyway, you’re really so cunning.
At Rosetta’s added murmur, Blanca couldn’t continue.
She just chewed on her lip.
After a long silence, Blanca, uncharacteristically trembling, spoke up.
“My friend really has a wide heart. Too wide, worryingly so.”
“And strong. Worryingly so. My broad heart comes from unflappable strength and benevolent generosity.”
“Haha. That’s a relief. Really, it is.”
At the end of Blanca’s fading words, moisture followed.
“But you still need to reflect. Use the past as a stepping stone to move forward, being careful not to make the same mistakes again. You know?”
To think I’d say this twice in one day, Rosetta thought.
“If I hadn’t intended to reflect, I would’ve just kept my mouth shut and moved on.”
“That’s a relief.”
Rosetta shrugged.
“So, will you come back?”
“Yes. Someday.”
“Good. That’s all I needed to hear.”
The conversation didn’t continue. Sometimes, silence is better than any dialogue.
This was one of those times.
But before parting, Rosetta added one last request, almost like a command, to Blanca.
It was to shoot the fireworks one more time so that she and Cassion could see it from the rooftop.
At the mention of spare fireworks prepared just in case, Rosetta responded with a scoff.
“You’ve got spare fireworks, but no spare rooms?”
“O-Ohoho~”
With an awkward laugh, Blanca casually pushed Rosetta’s back, telling her to come here with Cassion.
And now, back to the present.
Looking at the lavishly decorated rooftop, Rosetta let out a chuckle.
When did she manage to decorate like this?
“Since it’s come to this, why not? Let’s enjoy it to the fullest.”
Saying this, Rosetta went and sat down on the mat, and Cassion followed, sitting down beside her.
She opened the chilled champagne and filled their glasses.
Just then, fireworks began to erupt.
As he wasn’t expected this at all, Cassion widened his eyes in surprise.
“What’s this? Did you prepare this?”
“Yes. It’s my gift to you. I wanted us to watch it together, so I sort of blackmailed the ship’s owner.”
With a proud tone, Cassion laughed and leaned his head on her shoulder.
The fireworks, which they thought would end after one or two bursts, continued much longer than expected.
Those who thought the ball and fireworks show had ended and had gone to their rooms were now hanging by the windows to watch this.
And at the very top,
Clink.
Rosetta’s and Cassion’s glasses touched.
The two of them, having lightly moistened their lips with the alcohol, kissed without any prompt.
“Being here like this reminds me of that day—when you proposed to me.”
“That’s right. You also carried me up a tree that day.”
It didn’t have to be the same as that day.
Cassion gulped quietly.
Noticing this, Rosetta smiled again and kissed his lips.
“We’ve kissed like this already.”
“…So, what’s left now, a proposal? But I’ve already done that. What should we do?”
“Then, we can do something else.”
The implication in her subdued voice was clear to anyone.
Their gaze met, filled with heat.
As the fireworks ceased, this time, Cassion inefficiently carried Rosetta back to their room at a considerably inefficient pace.
The night—the last of their trip—was deep.
* * *
“Ah, I’m so nervous. What should I do, Sister?”
“Really, someone might think you’re the one getting married.”
Gasp—!
At the joke, Alicia’s face turned completely pale.
The determination to somehow stop her trembling was felt from her tightly clenched fists.
So cute, seriously.
I was about to mess up Alicia’s hair but decided to refrain, given the occasion.
Messing up beautifully done hair would be upsetting, after all.
Right.
Today was the long-awaited day of my marriage to Cassion.
After Alicia left, I remained alone in the bride’s waiting room, lost in thought.
I never imagined I’d really get married.
I couldn’t have imagined such a day would come.
Living a fake life all this time, and then, for the first time, experiencing something like love. Hadn’t my life veered off my intended path just a little too much?
Love, affection.
I lived thinking those things were far from me, daring to say they were things I could never have.
But, after a long journey, to arrive at such a day.
“…The weather is nice.”
The clear blue sky was not just clear but piercingly so.
I shielded my eyes with my hand and looked up at the sky.
Despite having seen the sky in four different lives, today, it felt exceptionally special.
Ah.
Why do I feel like crying all of a sudden?
Overcome with an absurd sense of rising emotion, I let out laughter instead of tears.
* * *
In the end, it was fortunate that Rosetta didn’t cry.
If she had, there’d be one too many at the wedding in tears.
The first to burst into tears was Alicia.
“Sister, you must live happily…”
Alicia murmured to herself, tears streaming down as she watched Rosetta walk down the wedding aisle.
Damian discreetly wiped away his moist eyes as well.
The duke tried to do the same as Damian but failed. There were too many tears to simply brush away with just a finger.
“Unbelievable.”
Walking down the aisle, Rosetta saw her family all in tears and clicked her tongue, though she was grateful that she managed to stop herself from crying too.
As she slowly walked and looked around, she saw many familiar and welcoming faces.
“Congratulations, Milady… hiiic.”
Diana, bursting into tears out of nowhere as she offered her congratulations.
“Sister, don’t cry. It’s not good to cry on a happy day. Stop.”
Ria, now such a radiant child, consoled her older sister Diana with considerable composure.
“So, those two are finally getting married.”
“The moment Her Ladyship brought that ragged man back, it was destined to happen.”
Logan and Blanca, standing side by side, engaging in conversation.
“They really are a perfect match, aren’t they, Father?”
“Hoho. Yes, a beautiful pair indeed. They’ve found good partners in each other—I’m very sure they’ll be happy.”
The straight-backed, expensively dressed Evelyn and Count Riddle, too.
And there, at the end of the aisle, stood a man.
Cassion Carter, standing tall and looking somewhat nervous, directly gazed this way.
As Rosetta drew closer, he extended his hand.
Rosetta, with a smile, took his hand.
Gradually, a firm strength filled their clasped hands.
Though a lengthy officiation began, neither of them heard a word.
All they felt was the warmth of their hands and the relentless beating of their hearts.
Whose heartbeat it was, theirs or the other’s, they couldn’t tell amidst the palpitations, as the officiation was nearly over.
Then, the question came.
“Do you, the groom, swear to love the bride for all eternity, until the end of your mortal life and the departure of your soul from this world?”
“I do.”
“And do you, the bride, swear to love the groom to the very end, through any trials and tribulations that might come your way?”
Trials and tribulations.
Ironically, that was her specialty.
After a long and winding road,
Overcoming suffocating difficulties and ordeals to finally seize happiness and love.
“Yes. I do.”
Behind the firm answer followed the officiant’s declaration that they were now husband and wife.
A thunderous cheer and applause erupted from all around.
In the midst of this clamor, the two looked at each other.
“I will make you happy for as long as we live, Rosetta.”
“Thank you for being the new beginning of my life, Cassion.”
Yes. This was a new beginning.
Another new start to life. A step towards a true happy ending.
They smiled at each other, and soon, their lips met.
Flower petals fluttered all around the two of them,
Just as there was the perfect ending to a fairy tale with the words ‘And they lived happily ever after,’ this was the perfect beginning.
It was an incredibly beautiful sight.
—Side Stories, End—
t/n: I thought author-nim was done making us cry, but apparently not?? brb– crying, sobbing, throwing up
Honestly, I’m still reeling. It doesn’t feel real that ‘Exhausted’ is over now. I do hope that more side stories will be released following the manhwa’s updates, but I wouldn’t mind for this chapter to be the very last one—it’s already such a blessing that this second set of side stories had been released long after the novel’s serialization! It’s the perfect end—or rather, the perfect beginning.
Thank you for sticking around, dear readers~ And see you around! I’m still translating a few other stories here and there, and there’s also still Reset and Honey~ I’ll strive to finish those stories to the best of my ability too <3
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