Chapter 363: Side Story 4: The Setting Sun

Alfred sat looking out his balcony, leisurely enjoying the sunlight. Closing his eyes, Alfred took a deep breath and slowly allowed himself to drift off to sleep. It was a rare moment of peace he had been given.

After what felt like a few hours, he opened his eyes again and found himself in the familiar void of his mind. From a distance, a golden orb approached. "Welcome back." The young, childish voice of Little Alfred came from the orb, and Alfred looked at it confused.

"Wh...Where’s your body?"

"Gone," Little Alfred said nonchalantly. Looking at each other, there were no features to show how the robot was feeling, but Alfred could tell he was being looked at with immense pride. "I think this is enough."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, over the years, I have had less and less influence and, by extension, have slowly disappeared. What was once my dream of having an Empire became ours. You now see that body as yours, which means it is rejecting me. It has been slow, but soon I will vanish completely." Alfred looked at the orb, dumbfounded, before lowering his head in shame.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t know."

"DOon’t be." Little Alfred spoke like Alfred was an idiot, "I had a fun time watching. And what you have created, no one will forget me in this world, for good or bad reasons. That was what I wanted. To not be forgotten, and even if I vanish, my name will live on."

Alfred looked at the orb, its golden light dimming. "It’s really over. I..." Alfred paused, "Thank you." Like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders, Alfred looked at the orb.

"It’s fine. I wonder what will come next." Little Alfred spoke with childlike excitement, and Alfred chuckled, seeing what remained of the young child. The orb grew dimmer and dimmer until it vanished, the world going black as Alfred went back to his normal sleep.

After a few hours, Alfred awoke, the setting sun in the distance. By his side, he heard gentle breathing. "Good evening," Isra said warmly and grabbed his hand, holding it tight.

"Evening." Alfred chuckled, shaking his head at himself. "I can’t believe I slept into the evening."

"Isaac tried to wake you with some matters, but after he couldn’t, he got so scared and ran to me. I dealt with it. You were in such a deep sleep, I wanted you to rest." Isra looked at the setting sun, which created warmth in her eyes that she had rarely seen, and mixed with her gentle smile, she fell into a daze, staring and admiring him.

The longer she looked at him, the more she noticed the peace in Alfred’s eyes, a peace that couldn’t be brought from a sunset. "What happened?" Isra asked softly, and Alfred looked at her, his smile getting wider.

"I have been told the one thing I wanted." Alfred grabbed Isra’s hands and brought them to his lips, kissing them. "He finally freed me of the burden."

"He’s gone?" Isra knew about Little Alfred, and seeing her husband so free, she couldn’t help but feel happy for him. "What now?"

"Now..." Alfred paused and looked at the setting sun. His eyes filled with nostalgia for his old world. "An Empire where the sun never sets," Alfred spoke casually. Curling into a ball on the chair, Isra leaned on Alfred’s shoulder.

"It will be tough." Isra played with Alfred’s fingers, enjoying the moment of peace the two had. His soft chuckle was like music as he leaned his head on top of hers.

"I’m through with hiding my desire. I had always hidden behind Little Alfred for everything I did. I used you and Edward as justification, but I think at the core of everything, I just really like power." Alfred fiddled with the ring on her hand, "I guess I’m greedy. Are you okay with that?"

"Always." Isra said lovingly, "I will stay by your side until the end. Just promise me you will protect Edward. He has suffered enough."

Alfred didn’t reply straight away and watched the sun. The moment of silence made Isra nervous. "He was born at a disadvantage. He will suffer more in the future." Alfred paused and took a deep breath, "But I assure you. I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe."

"That’s enough," Isra said with a smile. She knew what Alfred meant. Edward was the Crown Prince and had a disability. Even as the price, his life would be hard, having to live up to his father’s legacy. The disability was just an extra hardship.

The two stare in silence, gazing out at the scenery before them. It was a rare peace where they could enjoy each other’s presence and neither wished for it to end. Both had fleeting thoughts of leaving everything behind to live their life like this, but that was all they were, knowing that after a while, it wouldn’t be enough.

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"Sasha," Catherine called out to her daughter. Sasha lifted her head from the blueprints in front of her and sighed.

"Hello, Mother."

"Yes, yes. Sorry for interrupting you." To her daughter’s annoyed tone, all Catherine could do was sigh and take a seat. "We need to talk." Sasha took a final glance at the blueprints before her and frowned, before rolling them up and focusing on Catherine.

"What is it?" Leaning back in her chair, she stared deeply into Catherine’s eyes.

"Shasha." Catherine paused. "You need to have a child." Blurting out the words made Sasha freeze, not expecting that this was what her mother wanted to say.

"I already told you..."

"I know." Catherine interrupted and shrugged, "You want to sail the seas and confirm his Majesty’s words. I know your dream, Sasha, and I’m not here to tell you that you can’t." Catheirne sighed, "William had retired, and that has made me painfully aware of my age. I won’t stop you from living your dream, but you are the next Duchess, you must secure the Godwin future. That means you need to have children."

Sasha wanted to say something to counter, but couldn’t. Lowering her head, she clicked her tongue, "I know."

"The plans to travel the sea won’t happen for another few years, you know this. In that time, you can easily have some children. When you leave, I will happily raise them until you return. This isn’t a request, it’s a demand. Have a child."

Sasha looked at Catherine and smiled, "Who will my husband be then. You don’t expect me to have a bastard after all."

"God no." Catherine was stunned that her daughter would even suggest that. "I have a suggestion. What about Marcus?"

"Marcus." Shasha paused and smirked, "Are you sure, mother. He is a commoner."

"He is also General of the Ammary Military. Behind Esmond, William and Charles, he probably has the most power in the Empire." Catherine’s eyes changed, becoming deeply serious, "Even more than us. Him being a commoner is not an issue. If he wished, he could start his own house."

Sasha took a deep breath. "Who else?"

"Your only other options are those from the other duchies. And I assure you, my daughter, none of them are good enough for you." Catherine said with pride, making Sasha slightly blush.

"He would want the children to have his last name." Sasha tried to find a way out, but her hopes were quickly crushed.

"That’s not an issue." Catherine said in a relaxed manner, "Let him claim any sons you have. The Godwin house has always had a woman in charge. I’m sure Marcus is reasonable enough to accept that condition."

Sasha had lost any other way to argue and sighed, "Fine. If he accepts, then I will marry him. I just feel bad for our children." Catheirne chuckled and shook her head. It was nearly impossible to find a match for her daughter. Either the candidates were not good enough, or Sasha scared them off before it could go anywhere.

She was lucky Marcus had come into existence. Both of them were similar in personality, placing their duty and desire above all else. Whilst her daughter may not gain anything from the marriage, she was sure that, in any case, it wouldn’t make her unhappy. As for the children, Catherine couldn’t disagree that it would be rough for them after she was gone.

"I’ll send word to the general. Don’t mess this up, or I will marry you to someone else. Whether you like it or not." Sahsa could tell her mother was serious and quietly nodded. Seeing her daughter agree, Catherine got up and walked out, leaving her alone. Groaning, Sasha unrolled the blueprint again, making slight adjustments in certain places.