“Liana, let’s go home!”
“Oh. Coming!”
Liana clutched her little notebook, stuffed everything into her bag, and trotted over to Alona.
Although they were in the library, the two of them were the only ones left, so there was no need to keep their voices down.
*Clang!*
Liana collided with another person.
The dizzying impact forced Liana to brace herself on the floor with both hands as the books and stationery in her backpack went flying.
“Liana! Are you okay?”
Hearing the noise, Alona followed the sound and found Liana lying on the ground.
Standing opposite her was a girl Alona didn’t recognize, though she looked somewhat familiar — she seemed to have seen her in the classroom that morning.
“I’m fine… just a little dizzy.”
“Miss, are you all right?”
Alona turned to help the other girl, who was currently sprawled out on the floor in a starfish position.
“I’m fine.”
The girl scrambled to pick up her belongings and hurried away without looking back.
“She left so fast.”
Alona helped Liana into a chair and then crouched down to help put the scattered books back into her bag.
“What’s this?”
There was a small card in the corner.
Alona had to press herself close to the floor to spot it.
“Liana, is this yours?”
“That… isn’t mine.”
Liana shook her head.
“But your name is printed on it… Herya Serafina.”
Looking closer, Alona realized it wasn’t Liana’s name after all.
However, it shared the same surname.
“Eh? Does your family have other relatives?”
“What are you saying? Of course, my family… wait, no, our family only has our branch left.”
“That’s strange. The owner of this Identity Card has the same surname as you. I remember that noble surnames can’t be duplicated.”
Hearing this, Liana hurriedly crawled over to look at the Identity Card in Alona’s hand.
“It… it really is… could it be…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Liana’s tears were already falling.
“I knew it! Father and Mother think I’m stupid, so they must have secretly found another girl to replace me! *Wahhh*… why can’t this world be a little kinder to idiots? *Wahhh!*”
Alona flicked Liana on the forehead.
“Ow, that hurts!”
“Good, as long as you can still feel pain. There’s no way your parents would do something like that. There must be something fishy going on! Let’s go home and ask them first to see if your family actually has such a person.”
“That seems right. Alona, you’re so smart!”
“Let’s go, it’s almost dark.”
“But my feet hurt. I didn’t feel it just now.”
“They’re probably just numb… I’ll carry you.”
Alona hoisted Liana onto her back, hung the bag over her shoulder, and headed toward Liana’s home.
Liana was much lighter than a bundle of firewood; Alona could carry her with ease.
Even though Liana was quite dim-witted, she was a truly kind child, which was why Alona liked her so much.
However, once Alona’s studies were over, she probably wouldn’t be able to stay here anymore.
At the very least, she had to enjoy this brief, beautiful time.
“Alona, look over there! Fireworks!”
“It looks like they’re coming from the direction of the Imperial Palace. It’s probably another gift from the Demon King to the Empress.”
***
In reality, that wasn’t the case.
These weren’t fireworks set off by the Demon King.
In fact, if the Demon King truly tried to use magic to create such an effect, the entire Royal Capital would probably explode along with it.
Her mana capacity was far too vast.
To execute a high-precision Explosion Magic like Fireworks Magic required rigorous training, but where would the Demon King find the time for such things?
This was actually the work of her father.
Misilanka and Lifaliya were currently sitting at the very top of the Imperial Palace, with the Magic Dragon Astina curled up behind them.
“Father, if we work this hard to set off fireworks, will Sister and my sister-in-law really like them?”
“Don’t overthink it. Keep going.”
“Oh. Here comes the fireworks!”
Successive explosions echoed from the sky as the brilliant colors of dissipating magic painted the air.
Lifaliya fluttered her small wings, happily chasing the falling sparks.
‘You look so much like her. It’s a pity you can’t see this.’
The radiant colors in the sky were reflected in Misilanka’s vacant eyes.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t see the fireworks himself.
However, she knew exactly what they looked like; this was a magic unique to their family.
Now, this magic had spread throughout the world, but the person who created it had long since departed.
“It would be nice if there were some wine.”
‘You must be watching too, right?’
Misilanka sat in the corner of the wall where the evening breeze blew, looking out toward this newborn Kingdom.
Alcohol had destroyed her vision, but it could not take away her sharp mana perception.
The silhouette of the Royal Capital formed in Misilanka’s mind.
She hated this Kingdom so much, yet her own daughter had become its King.
It was truly ironic, but Misilanka didn’t want to bring up those past events to her daughters.
‘Let the past drift away with the wind, sinking into the dust with the smoke.’
“Let’s go, Ai’er! Time to go home!”
“Oh, oh! Let me finish this big one!”
The final and largest firework was shot into the sky, bursting with a loud *Boom!*
***
Lying in bed with her wife, the Demon King saw the massive firework through the window.
“What is it? Oh, fireworks.”
Sephine looked out the window as well, finally noticing the display that had started some time ago.
Earlier, Sephine hadn’t even heard them; perhaps her own voice had drowned out the sound of the fireworks.
The Maid Outfit she had been wearing had long since fallen to the floor, with some parts clearly damaged.
The Demon King was truly too wasteful.
However, the emotional payoff was certainly worth it.
“Yes. Fireworks.”
“Is there a holiday recently?”
“No.”
The Demon King knew perfectly well.
Who else would set off these fireworks besides those two?
But it was strange; the last time her father had set off fireworks in front of her was almost ten years ago.
After her mother passed away, her father never set them off again.
She didn’t know what kind of whim had struck him today to set off such loud fireworks and disturb the people, making it so she couldn’t even sleep.
“They’re so beautiful. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen fireworks.”
The last time she had seen such things, Sephine was still a young man in her prime.
She never expected that by the next time she saw them, she would be the mother of a child.
It was truly nostalgic — a lingering thought from the past.
Calculating the time, the New Year was fast approaching.
“Vi, are you crying?”
“No.”
But Sephine clearly saw the tears hanging from the corners of Vi’s eyes.