31 Extra 1: Gentle Evening Star--A Tale of War

With all love stories, they begin in a place with two people. For some, it may be under a lampost--the glowing night pearl shining a spotlight in the dark--or perhaps the Church, where all come to receive their blessings.

Sometimes, the people of Rhine might even find love in the various Magic Towers, going to and fro on their day to day life when--oops! They bump into a charming stranger while finding new ways to enhance the mirror messaging system. Hmm, perhaps a way to hear someone's voice on the other mirror?

For the famous Odum couple, it was neither of these options.

In a war, there is no time for romance and passion. Only until the violence and brutality end will two youths come together to form a union.

So their story starts here.

In the trenches of No-Mans Land.

"Aghhh!"

"...Ughhhhh..."

"Help...! Help--"

Boom! Boom!

Schpk!

Cling! Cling!

Vespera had the pleasure of beheading another Polska soldier. She flicks the blood of her enemies off her saber and leads another charge.

The army before her has magic tanks. And it seems they have brought their best magicians.

The young woman scoffs. As if sorcery and machines have ever stopped her blade.

Within hours, she's rendered the tanks useless, slashing their tires and blowing up the mana cores.

For the magicians, she made sure they were torn to pieces by the edge of her saber.

"Captain! We have to fall back! They have bombs!"

One of the foot soldiers ran beside her, barely keeping up with her speed. He was smart to stick to her blindspot, taking shelter in it while she decapitated a slew of enemies in a row.

"We will continue to fight." She replies, shoving her blade into the stomach of another brave enemy who dares to run at her with his blades drawn.

Duel swords. Nice.

She takes them out of the dying mans grasp and hands them to the foot soldier.

The young man takes it clumsily and begins guarding her side.

"But Captain! The enemies have hidden Dark Mana Bombs in the fields!" The soldier objected, ducking the swipe of a spear and letting Vespera cut the offender down.

She glares at the cowardly foot soldier.

"Then evacuate the premise. Those who still have the will to fight, we will fight until our last breath."

"Captain..."

The foot soldier looks conflicted. Vespera gives him some time to decide, stabbing a bunch of people charging at them as she waited.

When she turned back around for an answer, the man looked more determined.

"I'll send the strategic team. They should have people who know how to dismantle bombs!"

She snorts.

And goes back to killing.

---

Vespera counts the battlefield.

Her army, those in the colors of the Empire, was made up of five-thousand special force soldiers. She trained them all by herself.

Now, it would seem she has only half of these soldiers left, either losing them through evacuation, or death.

The Polska Nation had brought over twenty-thousand soldiers, but her soldiers--she thinks with immeasurable pride--have decimated them down two a mere few thousands.

Now, the only problem is the Dark Mana Bombs.

She has to find them.

"Wait, what?"

When she told one of the soldiers of her intentions, he only looked at her with a dumbfounded face.

"But, Captain... I thought you didn't know how to deactivate mana bombs."

She shot him a glare.

"I'm going to chuck them towards the enemy trenches."

The soldier sputtered. "That's over three-hundred yards!"

Vespera was about to reply but got distracted by the glint of a knife.

She sliced the flying dagger in half with her saber and threw her sword at the enemy, removing their torso from their waist, before it boomeranged back into her hand--blade-first.

Vespera flipped her saber around and gave the soldier a look.

"I can do it."

That terrifying face splattered in enemy blood was so terrifying, the soldier almost wanted to cry out for his mother.

"... Okay..."

Vespera entrusted the soldier to help evacuate their own people before running towards the heart of the battlefield.

More Polska soldiers were decimated like mere vegetables as she drew a bloody river.

The sight was so horrifying that the Polska soldiers all decidedly got out of her way and retreated back into their tanks, in fear of being split into six pieces.

Vespera didn't pay them any mind as long as they got out of her way.

Where would they hide the Dark Mana Bombs?

Vespera charged around the field like a madman, killing left and right. Anyone wearing the colors of the Polska Nation immediately died on her blade.

Sshwoop!

The air in the atmosphere suddenly shifted.

Vespera's hands clenched around her saber.

Was the bomb going off--

Wait--

No.

This was... a teleportation device?

Suddenly, she sensed three people appearing near the center of the field.

"Attention soldiers! You must all retreat from this premise! A bomb is about to go off!"

Vespera wasn't within seeing distance of the three strangers yet as she ran towards them, but she had enhanced hearing honed for survival.

She caught snippets of what the three individuals were saying.

"... Can you do it, Eubulous?"

"I think... Red wire... Green..."

"Gareth! Do you have..."

"... Wait... Let... Blue..."

"Can I throw it in their trench?"

The last person who spoke had a voice like ice. Cold, glacier-like.

Vespera was immediately interested as they came into view.

"No! Do you want to commit a war crime?!"

She is right behind them when this question is asked, and before she can stop herself, she proudly declares, "I will gladly do it."

Two of the three men scream in unison.

She tilts her head in confusion. Was it something she said?

They all turn to her as one.

The third man--the one with the icy-voice, just stares at her with unnaturally blue eyes.

Like sapphire jewels.

She blinked at the thought. That was... rather poetic. Especially coming from her...

"We got it!"

The blond man in the group of three yells out in victory, cutting an intricate wire on a black, box-like metal object that she can only assume to be the Dark Mana Bomb.

The timer on it dies.

The second man, who holds a large manual, sighs in relief.

Vespera felt rather disappointed at this.

Looking at the man with the sapphire eyes, it seems he feels the same.

"Oh, thank the gods." The manual-holding man cries before he turns to glare at the glacial man. "Gareth! We cannot commit war crimes left and right!"

Glacial man looks away, properly chastised.

The blond man smirks. "Give him a break, Leroy. It's not Odum's fault that he's so violent in his ways."

The glacial man, who Vespera now learns is from the Odum Household, retorts quickly with, "Eubulous, you shanked your commanding officer, yesterday."

"--Only because he was making the female soldiers uncomfortable!"

The blond--Eubulous--defends himself immediately.

Odum snorts.

Vespera can relate.

The manual-man--Leroy--seems to have lost his patience as he snaps, "That's enough, you two. We have to get going--"

"Ahhhh!"

A vengeful Polska soldier ran at them with his sword. His target? Odum.

It was sudden and no one had the time to react.

Except for Vespera.

--Who promptly throws her saber into the soldier's face, cutting it in half with a satisfying schlik.

Her saber returns to her after making a wide half-circle, swiftly cutting down whichever Polska soldier in the way.

She catches her blade by the hilt this time and gives a fearsome grin with lots of tea.

She turns back to the three men proudly.

The Eubulous guy gapes, his mouth opened wide enough to the point that she worries he might catch mosquitos.

On the other hand, the manual-man is looking at her fearfully, casually stepping a few good feet away from her.

Eh?

Finally, there was Odum, who had a remarkable expression on his face.

---

Gareth was in love.

This violent woman just sliced a bunch of people into three parts to protect them and now he is in love.

Not just love, but a once in a lifetime, palpitating, heart-stopping, rapid-breathing, sort of love.

"May I... may I ask you for your name, my Lady?"

She looks at him with her ax-murderer-like face, stained with the blood of her enemies.

She bathes in the color red and he loves it.

He sees her flick remnants of the blood off her blade before sheathing it. Once that was done, she looks at him.

"Vespera Arcadia. Daughter of General Arcadia, sister to Malark and Ortho Arcadia, and sister-in-law to Artho Arcadia. Captain of the Special Forces and Leading Commander."

What a detailed introduction.

She is a child of the Arcadia family!

That explains everything!

(It actually explained nothing.)

"I'm Gareth... of the Odum Family."

She nods. "Yes, I have come to that conclusion myself."

Wow. Her deductive skills are so great. She managed to figure out which family he's from!

(As if no one knows the name "Odum." That's one of two Ducal Houses in the Rhine Empire... Also, Eubulous said his name earlier!)

"Oh... That's... That's very intelligent of you. Not only that, but you are exceptional with the blade."

"I have been training since young, my Lord. How long have you?"

"I can't say the same for myself. I specialize mostly in blackmail."

"Oh? That is quite the talent, my Lord..."

Eubulous stared hard at this awkward interaction between the most annoying guy he's ever had the displeasure of working with, and the most horrifying woman he's ever had the misfortune of encountering.

"Are they... are they flirting?"

Leroy, the man holding the manual, eyed the two with a taut smile. "I believe so."

"Should we... go introduce ourselves?"

They watched as the woman spoke of her brother poisoning one of the top officials in the Polska Nation while Gareth listened with an enraptured face.

"No. Let's give them a minute."

---

Vespera didn't know why she was talking so much. She usually has a set word count, but this man... she wanted to make sure this man stayed.

And if that meant breaking past her word count, then she will.

In her head, she has already designated him as her husband to be.

"Oi! Odum, we have to get going. You can bring... um.... Lady Arcadia? That is--if you are alright with coming with us, ma'am."

Eubulous seemed almost nervous talking to her, which isn't very strange. She can be quite intimidating, sometimes.

Gareth turns to her. "Will you come with us? We can give you a ride back to the trenches."

She almost said that she can just run back--but then, that means less time with her husband.

"I will accept your offer."

Turning to the other two men, she sees that the manual-one is trying so hard to smile, but you can clearly see tears about to leak from his eyes.

"I won't kill you as long as you're not wearing the colors of the enemy."

She reassures him.

But it seems her words have made it worse, because the next she knew, he was crying.

"Let's... let's just go..."

He raises the teleportation device.

And then, they were gone.

---

"So these are my teammate, Eubulous and Leroy."

"From the Elysium Family, ma'am."

"And... and... the Moores..."

Vespera's eyes lit up with recognition.

"So you're Lydia's little lover."

"Eh?"

She nods. "You're Lydia's lover, are you not? She is one of my lieutenants in the special forces. I sent her on an espionage mission a few weeks ago."

"Ah! So you're Captain Arcadia."

"En. The mission was successful, so you do not have to worry. She is on her way back to base."

Leroy looked almost relieved at the news--and then he smiled wide. "Yes, yes. I'm Lydia's lover. Her only lover. I'm the best lover!"

"You're... disgusting..."

Eubulous cringed, shooting a dirty look at the Earl of Moores.

"Well, what about you?"

"Hah?"

Vespera blinked at the blond. "Do you have a lover waiting at home?"

He scoffs. "As if. Don't you know anything about my family? All we care about is making babies."

"Ah... I see."

She didn't see.

But it was none of her business what the Elysium Family did.

Now... what of her husband?

Gareth, as if sensing the question at the tip of her tongue, shakes his head.

"I have no lover, no fiancee, no childhood sweetheart, and no mistresses. My family has no need for concubines or consorts. I lost my virginity recently, but that was by accident. My friends dragged me to a brothel after my graduation and got me drunk. You won't have to worry about bastard children because it is impossible for my family conceive children unless we undergo a ritual. I am single, a bachelor, and an available marriage candidate waiting for love."

Ignoring Leroy and Eubulous' judgemental gaze, Gareth shamelessly revealed his personal dating history to this woman.

Vespera nods in approval, happy that Gareth has no lover.

"I don't mind bastard children, but I require my husband to be mine and mine alone. We have only met one another recently--"

("Recently my ass. It's only been an hour.")

"--But I find that I hold strong feelings for a man like you."

Gareth looks almost elated behind his glacial mask.

"Then... does this mean what I think it means?"

Vespera nods.

She pulls out her saber and chucks it to the side. It clangs loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the trench.

Then, she gets down to one knee and takes Gareth's smooth, pale hand in her scarred ones.

"Gareth Odum,"

("Oh, by the gods. They are really doing this...")

("Shut up, Eubulous. This is their moment.")

"Yes," Gareth breathes like he was about to tear up.

Vespera gazes deeply into those sapphire eyes.

"Will you give me the honor to court you?"

Silenced reigned.

And then--

"Yes! Yes! A million times yes!"

He brings her to her feet and swoops her into his arms, practically spinning her around like the war is already over.

This was quite a sight for everyone.

THE Gareth Odum.

THE Vespera Arcadia.

Acting like it's their wedding day.

The audacity.

They shake their heads, feeling pity for the two of them. It's only been a year since the beginning of the war. It is calculated that it will end in another five years. Surely, the two young couples will fall out of love sooner or later.

Meanwhile, unaware of everyone's thoughts, Vespera cackles in laughter as she allows her husband-soon-to-be to manhandle her in this way.

---

The Lesser Krieg War is officially over a week later.

The Polska Nation watched the magic recording of Vespera and her army killing their soldiers like they were mere vegetables on the chopping block. Not to mention the exploding tanks and being chopped into six pieces. They wordlessly surrendered to the Empire.

Vespera becomes a legend on the battlefield and was welcomed home as a war hero. She found out her oldest brother, Malark, eloped with a healer from the Polska Nation, taking her second older brother and brother-in-law with him.

The entire Arcadia Family quickly accepted this fact--now that the war was over and the Polska Nation is no longer an enemy. They quickly held a banquet without their son actually being present for the celebration.

Gareth returns homes and ascends as the new Duke of Odum. His responsibilities rapidly increase like bunnies in heat. The Dowager Odum couple decides to travel the world together as a retirement gift to themselves. They are never seen again.

Eubulous survives three assassinations on the month-long march back to the capital for the welcome home ceremony. He becomes the Duke of Elysium while recovering in his tent. A messenger from the dying Elysium Duke--Vivian--bids him farewell with the family seal and disses him one last time. It is said he cried and laughed while reading his mother's letter.

Leroy and Lydia reunite. Lydia returns to the Moores Household, not as a maid, but as Leroy's fiancee. The Dowager Earl and Countess of Moores are highly disappointed with their son. They die in a tragic carriage accident a week later. Leroy and Lydia hold their wedding the very next month.

Emperor Platus marries Lady Octavia Glendavius, daughter of Baron Glendavius.

She was also a war hero who saved the Emperor's life on the battlefield.

The Emperor and Empress, along with Leroy, Lydia, Eubulous, and the Arcadia Family attended the wedding reception of Gareth and Vespera.

The party was hosted a day after the official ceremony.

Vespera suddenly got angry with the decorations on the wedding cake.

She proceeded to cut it in half with her saber.

It took both Empress Octavia and Countess Lydia Moores to restrain her.

They brought her outside the manor to battle it out with a three-way duel.

All the husbands fell in love once more and started to place bets.

Vespera threw up--the first sign that she is pregnant.

Everyone cheered and toasted one another at the joyous occasion.