The King's Mandate: Anomalous System

Grandpa started telling his story, about how he met his wife, my grandmother.

I don't have many memories with my grandma as she passed away about ten years ago.

"I tried to make a move on her every time I saw her, but she just pushed me away like she has been used to it"

"You continued this for 2 years?"

"Yes, this continued for two years. I was almost twenty"

"Twenty..."

The Edens' legend.

"I used to escort her to her house from the university every day. She treated me like her bodyguard"

"...."

"Then one day she grabbed my sleeve and--oh! It rained that day"

"Rain? Really?!"

"Yeah, that was the last rain of this world"

The last time it rained in this world was about fifty years ago.

"You are so lucky"

"Indeed, I am"

"What happened after that?"

"Our clothes were wet, her beautiful shining hairs looked dazzling in the rain. We were on our way to her house. And when it rained, she grabbed my sleeve and said, 'Let's dance', and we danced"

"Rain dance"

"It rained for four hours, and we danced till the rain stopped"

"You danced for four hours?"

"Yeah. After that the sunset, stars were in the sky, the rainbow...it was truly a beautiful sight"

"Rainbow"

"Our clothes were still wet. I had spares in my car, but she didn't. I gave her my clothes to wear. She said she doesn't want to wear them. Then I said, 'I will take off your clothes if you don't wear them', and she wore them immediately"

"...."

"Then I grabbed her hand, knelt down and asked her to marry me"

"Propose?!"

"She slapped me and said, 'When I was finally going to accept your confession, you had to propose to me'!"

"She rejected you?"

"Not quite right, but our relationship changed after that"

"Like?"

"She got pregnant"

"...."

What the hell happened in between?! 

"Her parents disowned her. And she blamed me for it"

"...."

"We broke up and lived our own lives"

"But..."

"Six months later, I met her again. It was a total coincidence. She was with Caleb, you know Caleb?" 

"Elena's grandfather, right?"

"Yeah, him"

"He said you two are childhood friends"

"Yeah, we are. He was the only person I trusted back then"

"What happened after that?"

"I was sure that those two were dating now. I got out of my car and greeted them. 'You two look good together', I said."

"...." 

"I received two slaps. One from her and the other from Caleb"

"...."

"I realized how scum I was. She was disowned by her parents because she got pregnant, and I left her alone. The thought of 'Where will she go now?' never crossed my mind"

"...."

"Apparently, after we broke up, Caleb told her everything. About the legend too, and they tried to look for me all over the city"

"You weren't in the city?"

"I changed my location every day" 

"...."

"We both apologized to each other and got married, and soon after your mother was born" 

"What about your parents? They didn't oppose?"

"What was there to oppose? All the Edens have married the same way"

"Oh..."

"What about you? Want to marry Lier?"

"I..."

I already married her.

"What's wrong? You don't like her? She likes you a lot, you know?"

"I love her" 

"Okay then. It's decided. You two will get engaged after your coronation"

"I will do it my own way"

"What do you mean?"

"I will do it when I feel like it, my own way"

He stared at me and said, "Sure"

"Hey grandpa, you were popular with girls, right?"

"Who told you that?"

"Mom did"

"Your grandma must have told her. Yes, I was popular with girls, but your grandma was the only one for me"

"You never thought about other girls?"

"What do you want to say?"

"You know...poly...gamy"

"Oh. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to" 

"You wanted to?"

"Well, girls are beautiful beings. They are like stars, they will only look beautiful when it's night. If you get what I mean"

"I somehow understood it"

That's what's happening with me now.

I never had any interest in girls, but after I started dating Elena, my eye would also follow other girl's like with Serah. I never thought about them, but deep down I still felt guilty. And when Elena allowed me to be with other girls, all those emotions ran wild.

I think that's what grandpa meant by that.

Stars only look beautiful when it's night.

"So, why did you ask it?"

"Have you ever thought of being with other girls?"

"As I said, I wanted to, but I couldn't"

"Grandma wasn't okay with it?"

"She was very weak hearted. Whenever I talked with the other girl, she would start crying. She wanted us to stay together, together forever"

"....."

"And she lied. She died before me, leaving me all alone in this nasty world"

"....."

'You only have 2 to 3 years left'

I will die soon too.

If I use my system, I will die. And if I don't use it, I will still die.

Dammit!

I also want to stay with Elena and others forever.

"Do you want to see photos of me and your grandma, and when your mother was little?"

"Yes"

He pointed his finger to the shelf and said, "Bring that book"

I got up and brought the photo album.

It's so old. Even the pages have started to turn yellow.

"This is my life" grandpa said, waving his hand on the album.

He opened the album.

The first photo on the album was of their wedding.

"Layla" he said in a calm and soft voice.

Tears fell from his eyes to the photo. He wiped his tears from the photo, but more tears fell from his eyes.

Looking at the photo of his dead wife must be painful.

I can't even imagine how would I...I won't be alive to see that day.