“Where are you going?”
Vivianne tapped Ophelia on the shoulder.
Ophelia almost screamed but she quickly slapped a hand over her mouth before the sound could escape.
The poor girl practically jumped out of her skin, her eyes wide with terror.
“Shh!” Vivianne whispered.
Ophelia stared at her, one hand clutching her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart.
Vivianne stood a few steps behind her, boots half-laced and a thick fur cloak hanging crookedly around her shoulders.
She looked less like a spy and more like someone dragged out of bed by gossip.
Ophelia slowly turned around and pressed a finger to her lips.
“Keep your voice down.”
Vivianne narrowed her eyes.
It was midnight, and Ophelia was sneaking out of the den like a thief.
Naturally, that made Vivianne even more curious.
“Why are you sneaking out?”
“I’m not sneaking.”
“You’re walking around outside at midnight without telling your brother. That is literally sneaking.”
Ophelia sighed and glanced toward the dark village behind them.
“Just… follow me.” Vivianne considered arguing but her curiosity won.
“Fine.”
They slipped deeper into the trees, leaving the village lights behind.
After nearly ten minutes, the last lights of the Canavar Pack disappeared behind the trees, leaving only pale moonlight between the branches.
Vivianne kept following Ophelia.
“This better be worth losing sleep over,” she muttered.
Ophelia gave her an apologetic smile but said nothing.
A few moments later, they reached a small clearing.
Someone was already waiting there.
A young wolf beastman stood beneath the trees, his green hair silvered by the moonlight.
His hazel-brown eyes were sharp and observant, taking in everything around him even as they settled warmly on Ophelia.
He seemed to be around Oswald’s age, but unlike him, there was something calculating behind this man’s calm expression.
Oh.
So that’s him.
The way Ophelia smiled at him told Vivianne everything she needed to know.
Yep.
Definitely him.
So he was Ophelia’s secret lover, huh?
Vivianne immediately turned away to go back to the village.
“I’ll leave you two alone.”
“What?”
“I suddenly remembered that I have absolutely no business being here.” Vivianne grinned and was ready to get back to the village.
“Please, don’t let me interrupt.”
“Go ahead and enjoy your time, lovebirds. I’ll pretend I saw nothing.” Vivianne disappeared between the trees before either of them could protest.
She was curious, obviously.
But even Vivianne knew when to give two people privacy.
Ophelia was in love.
And Vivianne had just stumbled into her first real matchmaking mission.
Later, when they returned to the den, Ophelia finally told Vivianne everything.
The beastman was someone she had been seeing in secret for months.
They had fallen in love, but her family would never approve of their relationship.
Most importantly, Oswald would never allow it.
Ophelia fidgeted her fingers nervously.
“So we’re leaving tomorrow.”
Vivianne’s eyes widened.
“Leaving?”
“I’m going to elope with him.”
Vivianne stared at her for a moment.
Then her face broke into a huge grin.
“You can count on me.”
Ophelia blinked.
“You won’t tell my brother?”
“Of course not.”
Vivianne placed a hand over her heart with complete seriousness.
“Your secret is safe with me. I’m on your side, Ophelia.”
Ophelia’s shoulders relaxed.
“Thank you.”
Vivianne smiled.
This was perfect.
Vivianne had come to this world expecting to collect husbands, and somehow, she had ended up helping someone else get theirs.
Maybe this was fate.
Or maybe the System had simply realized Vivianne was much better suited for being Cupid than a Phoenix.
[Ding!]
[Side Quest: A Wolf’s Heart — Completed!]
[Reward: 50,000 Gold]
Vivianne’s eyes lit up.
Fifty thousand gold for helping two people fall in love?
Talk about easy money.
Cupid really did have the easiest job in this world!
[Ding!]
[Main Story Quest Unlocked: Star-Crossed Lovers]
[Objective: Help the lovers overcome the obstacles standing between them.]
[Reward: ???]
Vivianne’s smile widened.
Star-Crossed Lovers.
That sounded important and incredibly romantic.
Perhaps they were like this world’s version of Romeo and Juliet.
Vivianne’s chest puffed up with pride.
I was a history-maker.
Shakespeare would be so damn proud of me.
How hard could love possibly be?
Apparently, getting two lovers together was the easy part. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Keeping Oswald from finding out was going to be the real problem.
He might have been dense about some things, but Oswald was annoyingly attentive when it mattered.
When Vivianne and Ophelia returned from their midnight outing, he had been waiting inside the den.
“Where were you?”
Ophelia had immediately panicked.
Vivianne had quickly claimed they had gone outside to get some fresh air because Ophelia couldn’t sleep.
Oswald hadn’t looked convinced.
But he hadn’t pushed them, either.
Somehow, that was worse.
Since then, he’d been watching the two of them more closely.
Every time Ophelia whispered something to Vivianne, his ears seemed to perk up.
The next evening, Ophelia approached Vivianne again.
“I’ll leave tonight.”
She immediately sat up.
“Tonight?”
That would be a problem.
If Ophelia planned to sneak out again, they needed something convincing enough to keep Oswald occupied.
Ophelia nodded.
“My brother can’t know. If my brother finds out, he’ll stop me.”
Oswald had a habit of noticing things he probably shouldn’t.
This would be tricky.
“How do you want me to help?”
“I need you to distract him.”
Vivianne rubbed her chin then her eyes lit up when she remembered something.
“Just leave it up to me. I’ll give you a signal when I get him away from you.”
Vivianne could already imagine how simple this would be.
Ophelia loved someone but Oswald was standing in the way.
All she needed to do was give them a little push in the right direction.
Easy.
A little distraction.
Vivianne had no idea why people made love sound so complicated.
Two people liked each other.
They wanted to be together.
Someone objected.
Then Cupid stepped in and fixed everything.
This was going to be her first official mission as Cupid.
How difficult could one little distraction be?
That night, Vivianne waited until Oswald was fast asleep before quietly slipping out of the den.
Ophelia was already waiting outside.
Dressed for travel with a small bundle clutched against her chest.
“Ready?” Vivianne whispered.
Ophelia nodded.