FTP-SS1-06

Aiden politely bowed toward them before turning his attention back to Anje.

 

“What was the word you were trying to say earlier?”

 

“You don’t need to know, you fool.”

 

“Should I take a guess? It starts with ‘dar’ and ends with ‘ling’—”

 

Even as they bickered, the subtle smiles in their eyes and at the corners of their lips made it obvious to anyone—they were a newlywed couple enjoying their sweet honeymoon phase.

 

A middle-aged woman unknowingly smiled as she began to push the wheelchair.

 

『They were kind people, weren’t they, ma’am? It looks like tourist season is picking up again.』

 

The elderly woman she was caring for, though her mind occasionally wandered, was generally gentle.

 

On her good days, she was well enough to visit their favorite restaurant like today.

 

The old woman turned her head to gaze at the street and muttered something to no one in particular.

 

『Red eyes.』

 

『Pardon? Oh, right. That man’s eyes were red.』

 

It was an unusual eye color, not something one saw often.

But in this maritime city, where people from various nationalities gathered, it wasn’t shocking. Dark-skinned visitors, people with striking hair colors—they all passed through.

 

The elderly woman continued her monologue, seemingly directed at no one.

 

『My husband officiated a wedding long ago.』

 

It wasn’t the first time she had brought up disjointed memories, so the woman humored her with a light response.

 

『You mean your husband, the pastor?』

 

『Yes, he officiated the wedding of a very important person.』

 

The old woman’s mind had wandered deep into the distant past.

 

Blood-red eyes and a distinctive surname.

 

Her husband had been well-read, diligently keeping up with the diplomatic section of the newspaper. With those two clues, he had been able to piece things together.

 

『Oh? How important were they?』

 

It was just a casual question, without much sincerity. But the elderly woman took it seriously, gripping the armrest of her chair with her wrinkled hands.

 

『Hush, you mustn’t speak of it. We swore to keep it a secret. Swore upon the Bible.』

 

If they vowed silence until death, their sick daughter would receive treatment—a sum of money so vast that a poor pastor and his wife could never have imagined it.

 

And so, both she and her husband had kept their promise.

 

Even as death loomed, even as her mind wavered, the vow remained unbroken.

 

『Y-Yes, of course.』

 

The middle-aged woman brushed it off lightly. The elderly woman often muttered strange things.

 

『By the way, your daughter is coming to visit tomorrow. You must be excited.』

 

『My daughter? I have to hurry and bake cookies for her.』

 

Though she was far too old and weak to knead dough, the old woman urged her caregiver to pick up the pace.

 

Her mind had returned from its wanderings, settling once again in the present.

 

『My daughter loves cookies more than anything.』

 

Even in her fading memory, that was one thing she could never forget.

 

And so, that past—known to only a select few—sank beneath the surface, never to be revealed.

 

* * *

 

A long time ago, back when Aiden was still in the imperial palace, inside one of its most luxurious chambers.

 

Rudolph Cardiner, a man who looked far older than his actual age, gazed up at the ceiling with a faint smile.

 

‘At last, it’s time.’

 

Even if he wasn’t the imperial physician, he could tell. The death he had long awaited was finally at his doorstep.

 

There was a time when he had held onto a lingering regret—that he could not die before seeing Nancy Dilton one last time.

 

But now, he felt at peace. Soon, he would be able to see her again.

 

‘Nancy, my dear Nancy.’

 

He fumbled with the object in his hand, the only thing he had left that reminded him of her. It was encased in a frame.

 

The very thing that had brought them together in the first place.

 

‘Excuse me, sir. Would you mind posing as a model for a moment?’

 

At first, he had mistaken her for a boy, given her short-cropped hair and the baker’s cap pulled low over her face.

 

But upon seeing the delicate contours of her face beneath the brim and hearing her soft, slender voice, he realized the person speaking to him was a woman.

 

Normally, he would have dismissed such a request without a second thought, but for some reason, he found himself nodding. Perhaps it was the peculiar contrast that had intrigued him.

 

Why would such a beautiful woman be dressed like a man?

 

Or maybe it was because, from her accent, he could tell she was from the same country as him.

 

‘No, if I’m being honest—it was love at first sight.’

 

He let out a quiet chuckle, eyes gazing off into the distance once more.

 

The way she called out to him so earnestly, the determination in her eyes as she asked him to model for her—he had sensed it instinctively.

 

Though her clothes were stained with paint and oil, though she appeared shabby, the soul within her was noble.

 

And his judgment had been right. She was remarkably pure and honest—one of the rare few in his life untouched by deceit and pretense.

 

She had grown up in a small countryside village with nothing but nature, raised by a single father who doted on her, and devoted herself wholeheartedly to the world of art.

 

Perhaps because of that, she had a fatal flaw—she never doubted that people could deceive her.

 

‘That’s why I took things too lightly.’

 

She had believed every word of the stories he told her when he visited in secret.

 

At first, he had lied that he was the abandoned son of a noble family. Then, after Nancy had heard rumors about his red eyes, another lie surfaced—that he was a distant relative of the emperor.

 

Even when he finally grew tired of fabricating tales and revealed his true origins, she did not resent him. She continued to believe in him.

 

‘Nancy Dilton, will you be my wife?’

 

He had proposed that they marry in secret so that the imperial family could not oppose their union. Once they returned to his homeland, he would buy her a noble title.

 

He had promised that he would do whatever it took to make her his wife—to make her empress.

 

And Nancy had never doubted the promise of a young man madly in love.

 

She desperately learned etiquette and manners, preparing herself for a noble life. She even resolved to sever her ties with her biological father, at least formally. She was ready to give up her lifelong dream of becoming an artist.

 

‘Perhaps it was because Aiden was already growing inside her at the time.’

 

That thought had only crossed his mind much later, after Aiden arrived at the imperial palace. Maybe Nancy Dilton had not entirely trusted him after all.

 

But she must have tried with all her might to believe in him—for the sake of giving their child a complete family.

 

‘And when that trust was broken, she was just as resolute.’

 

Even in hindsight, it was something that made him want to grab someone by the collar.

 

A filthy newspaper journalist had written an article about the “crown prince of a neighboring country,” filled with baseless speculations.

 

According to the piece, he was engaged to the beautiful daughter of a certain duke and was soon to be married—something he had never even heard of.

 

Nancy Dilton, upon reading the article, had every right to be furious and call it a fraudulent marriage.

 

Rudolph had tried to calm her down when she handed him the divorce papers. Or rather, he had convinced himself that he had succeeded.

 

She had always trusted him. They were already husband and wife—he had never imagined that such a ridiculous rumor could break their bond.

 

‘I was a fool.’

 

And that foolishness was repaid with an empty house, a lengthy letter, and the completed divorce papers.

 

All he had to do was sign and submit them to the court, and it would be finalized.

 

That was when he finally realized—Nancy Dilton was not a woman to be taken lightly.

 

When he returned to the empire to track down her whereabouts, that realization only deepened.

 

Once he had realized that no matter how hard he tried, the chances of ever seeing Nancy again were slim, he gave up on living sanely.

 

He drowned himself in alcohol and drugs, abandoning both his duties as crown prince and his life itself.

 

‘Nancy, my Nancy.’

 

Clinging to the faintest sliver of hope, he never submitted the divorce papers.

 

Maybe, just maybe, Nancy would come back one day.

 

As long as the documents proving their marriage remained in a church in Francia, as long as he still held their marriage certificate, they were, in name and in truth, husband and wife.

 

He also longed for revenge against the greedy duke’s daughter who had incited that foolish journalist to publish a false article.

 

No matter how much she flaunted her title as empress, once Nancy returned, she would be expelled for bigamy.

 

She had stolen Nancy from him—she deserved at least that much retribution.

 

‘Nancy… Ah.’

 

He didn’t care that the so-called empress brought other men into her bedchamber.

 

He had only thought of Nancy, longing for her, reminiscing about her.

 

When he heard the rumors that she (Empress) had even reached out to his own relatives in her desperate desire to bear a child with red eyes, he could only let out a hollow laugh.

 

Lost in his memories, his eyes suddenly snapped open.

 

‘Still, I’m glad I stayed alive until now.’

 

Because he had lived, he had been able to meet Aiden.

 

Their true son, Aiden. The precious child that Nancy had left behind and protected.

 

‘Kind and good-hearted, my Aiden.’

 

Though he resembled Rudolph in appearance, his spirit was entirely Nancy’s.

 

‘That crown looks too heavy for me, Father. It seems like my neck would hurt if I wore it for long.’

 

That bold reply, spoken without fear even before the emperor, reminded him of the letter Nancy had left behind.

 

「Meeting you made me truly happy. But I don’t know if a future with you will continue to make me happy.」

 

At the time, he had resented her words, unable to understand her feelings. How could she say such a thing when she was the one who had abandoned him?

 

But now, he understood.

 

For Nancy, this marriage meant leaving behind the warm, familiar world she had known and stepping into the cold, ruthless imperial court.

 

A place as beautiful and lifeless as a jewel. And when even the one man who was supposed to be her sole ally had become untrustworthy, she had chosen a path where she could find happiness without him.

 

‘If only I had given up my position as crown prince and chosen to live a commoner life with her…’

 

No—there was no point in dwelling on useless regrets now.

 

More than anything, he just wanted to meet Nancy again and tell her thank you.

 

Thank you for allowing him, whether by fate or accident, to meet their child. Thank you for raising him so well.

 

The Emperor’s breath grew ragged.

 

‘If there’s only one thing I regret…’

 

He wished he could see Aiden find love and build a family of his own.

 

But no—it wasn’t really a regret. He would simply watch over him from the heavens, together with Nancy.

 

‘May that child find true love and be happy forever.’

 

And may he live a life different from his own.

 

With that final wish, the light faded from his eyes.

 

A peaceful smile, one he had not worn for a long time, rested upon his lips.

 

TL/N: TBH, I HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ABT AIDEN’S FATHER, HE’S PATHETIC AND A LAIR YET I CAN’T BLAME HIM, NO ONE CHOOSES THEIR FAMILY, IT’D BE NICE IF THEIR WERE MORE CHAPS ABT THEM OR ABT ANOTHER SIDE COUPLE BUT AFTER ALL I STILL LOVED THIS NOVEL THE MOST.

 

* * *

 

–Honeymoon Side Story Fin–

 

* * *

 

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: JUST FOUND OUT THAT THIS NOVEL HAS EVEN MORE SIDE STORIES LOL AND IT’S ABT 10 MORE CHAPS TO BE FINALLY COMPLETED (MAIN STORY+EPILOGUES+ALL SIDE STORIES) I HAVEN’T NOTICED BEFORE CUZ THE RAWS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN MY HANDS ONLY END HERE BUT AFTER CHECKING NAVER SERIES, THERE WERE 10 MORE CHAPS (MAYBE ANJE WOULD BE PREGGO THERE AND WE WOULD FINALLY SEE FITZROY II LOL)

ANOTHER NOTE ABT THE SIDE STORIES:

NOW THE SIDE STORIES ARE DIVIDED INTO 3 SIDE STORIES, EACH SIDE STORY HAS AN AMOUNT OF CHAPS,

SIDE STORY(1) >> 6 CHAPS

SIDE STORY(2) >> 4 CHAPS

SIDE STORY(5) >> 6 CHAPS

AND SINCE I’VE ALREADY FINISHED SIDE STORY(1) CHAPS THERE ARE ONLY 10 CHAPS LEFT OF BOTH SIDE STORIES(2)&(3) TO FULLY COMPLETE THE NOVEL.

SO WHAT I’M SAYING IS: IF YOU GUYS WANT ME TO START TRANSLATING THE REMAINING 10 CHAPS PLZ SAY IN THE COMMENTS BELOW SINCE I’LL NEED TO BUY THESE CHAPS FROM NAVER AND TRY RIPPING THEM, THANK U:)

 

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