As the marble palace courtyard slipped away from beneath our feet, giving way to the pitch-black night and the cold, damp embrace of the clouds, we were left entirely alone inside the translucent mana barrier floating through the air.
Luna was trembling slightly from the ruthless height we had reached, yet her eyes never wavered, staring directly at me.
In her gaze, there wasn’t a single trace of that blood-curdling hatred I had just witnessed in my nightmare.
There was only a deep, inexplicable sense of bashfulness.
Gently lowering her eyes to the ground, she asked timidly, “My Lord…
Have I unwittingly offended you in some way?
You seem as though you wish to distance yourself from me.”
Looking at her, I could still feel the phantom ache of that future spear piercing the exact center of my chest.
Yet, I forced a hollow, contrasting smile onto my face.
“I just…
wanted some quiet, private time with you.
That is all,” I said, deliberately softening my tone.
We drifted silently through the dark sky until the colossal silhouette of the Sun City dwindled into a mere speck behind us.
Once we were sufficiently clear of the city’s vanguard lines and sealed wards, Luna gently pressed her hands against the perimeter of the barrier.
Her fingers glided lightly over the mana, as if touching invisible glass.
Pointing down at the pitch-black valley carpeted with dense trees, she spoke:
“My Lord, look…
Right down there lies the border and the entrance to the Independent Elven Lands.
From this point onward, we must tread with utmost caution.
This is the domain of the wild, rogue tribes who have yet to recognize the authority and banner of Elf King Enwoybi.”
We made a slow descent into a secure, secluded clearing within the woods and set about preparing camp for the night.
While I merely watched, Luna set up the tent with immense skill and devotion, then stoked the campfire with brushwood she gathered from the surroundings.
As the crackle of the flames echoed through the silence of the night, the sheer mental exhaustion of flight and the ghosts of the past caught up to me.
I threw myself straight down onto the dirt, stretching out.
Seeing me lie on the hard ground, Luna sprang up immediately, as if a grave disrespect had been committed.
She was wearing the azure attire I had specially bought for her back in the city—a garment that flawlessly complemented the noble, frigid aura of the Ice Elves.
Smoothing down the fine fabric of her dress with her hands, she spoke in a humbled tone.
She gestured towards me, extending her lap, and averted her eyes in embarrassment.
I gently rested my head on her delicate knees.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
To conceal her excitement and the erratic rhythm of her heart, Luna kept her face turned away, staring out into the dark expanse of the forest.
I, however, lay flat on my back, my eyes locked onto her pale, flawless features.
I was caught in a vice, trapped between the ruthless thirst for vengeance inside me and her current innocence.
Involuntarily, my hand rose; I brushed my fingers through the soft, snow-white strands of her hair.
Toying abstractly with her tresses, I let out a deep sigh and asked:
“Luna…
Why do you think the universe is so cruel?
Why is it that the things you trust the most always stab you in the back one day?”
She couldn’t quite grasp the vast, dark philosophy behind my question.
As she tilted her head slightly downward, I saw her eyes from up close once more.
My heart skipped a beat; for her eyes were gleaming exactly the same way they had on that bloody night—just as they did when she drove the spear through my chest and buried me in the dark. The source of this chapter is novelping(.)com.
Bowing her head slightly, she whispered, “My Lord…
The universe does not always grant us mortals what we desire.
Sometimes, the greatest agony is simply the path destiny has carved for us.”
As she spoke, she hesitantly extended her hand toward my hair.
Caught in a wave of profound hesitation between touching me or drawing back, her fingers hovered in mid-air just behind my head.
When she finally resolved the fierce conflict within and gathered her courage, her fingertips brushed my hair.
Unable to help herself, she murmured under her breath, “So soft…”
Amused by her childish, innocent reaction, I burst into a loud laugh.
Caught in the act, Luna flushed crimson and buried her face in both hands.
“Forgive me, My Lord!
I am truly sorry, it was a momentary lapse of judgment…
For a wretched, ordinary creature like myself to even touch you is a grave insolence,” she stammered, attempting to draw back.
Caring absolutely nothing for this slavish loyalty of hers—whether it was feigned or genuine—I kept my head pinned firmly on her lap.
“Forget the past for now…
Tell me a bit about your family.
Who are you, and where do you come from?” I inquired.
The moment the words left my mouth, I felt her body tense up slightly.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, she fixed her gaze on the fire.
“My Lord…
I am truly not ready to speak of this right now,” she said, a faint barrier rising in her voice for the first time.
This reluctance instantly stoked the embers of suspicion within me.
Raising an eyebrow, I asked in an involuntarily harsh, commanding tone, “Why?”
Blindsided by my sudden outburst, a look of sheer terror flashed across her eyes.
“I mean…
My Lord, if you desire it so deeply, if you command it, I will tell you, of course!
I am so sorry, I only—”
Just as she was about to frantically spin a lie, I raised my right hand and gently pressed my index finger against her soft lips, stifling her words in her mouth.
“It’s fine…
No harm done.
You don’t have to tell me,” I said.
I surrendered my head completely to her knees and closed my eyes.
The crackle of the fire, the peaceful rustle of the forest, and Luna’s soft skin beneath me…
‘What a relaxing, flawless atmosphere,’ I thought to myself.
‘If only everything had stayed this pure, if only it could last forever.’ At the melancholy peace brought by that thought, an involuntary smile tugged at the corners of my lips.
Noticing this rare softening of my features, Luna whispered in astonishment, “My Lord…
You are smiling.
Seeing you so at peace…
is not a frequent sight.”
Looking straight into her eyes, I said, “Luna…
Can we share a hug?”
Startled by this sudden and peculiar request, she instinctively took a step back.
But when she realized there was no malice in my eyes—that it was merely a simple, human yearning for an embrace—she slowly stepped toward me.
I wrapped my arms around her slender waist, and we held each other tightly.
I buried my face in her shoulder, greedily inhaling the scent of her snow-white hair into the deepest recesses of my lungs.
Her body shuddered slightly, taken aback by the sudden intensity of my embrace; yet, she made not the slightest effort to distance herself or pull away.
After a moment, we gently parted and returned to our seats.
Without breaking my gaze from the fire, I said, “Your hair…
It truly smells beautiful.”
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment once more as she lowered her head.
“It is all thanks to you, My Lord…
I am only this way because of your grace,” she murmured.
Picking up a dry stick, I lightly poked at the campfire, stoking the flames.
As the sparks washed over our faces, I dropped my voice into a bone-chilling register, as if merely making casual, idle conversation:
“Such magnificent quality of hair…
It is truly a rarity in this world, Luna.
Especially a white so pure and radiant; it is mesmerizing…
But…
what a pity it is that such an extraordinary woman works for that treacherous Oberon, who spins his insidious plots behind our backs, hm?”
The moment the words left my lips, my eyes remained anchored to the fire, but my entire focus was locked onto her.
Thanks to my advanced mana sensitivity, I felt it instantly—all of Luna’s magic circuits and mana veins dilated under immense pressure in a split second, her body snapping into absolute combat readiness, primed to cast an immediate spell.
She knew she had been caught.
Turning toward me, she spoke with a bewilderment that desperately tried to mask the sudden tremor in her voice: “My Lord…
This Oberon you speak of is nothing more than a rogue elven chieftain living reclusively in the woods, refusing to recognize King Enwoybi’s sublime banner and authority.
How could a loyal servant of the palace like myself have any affiliation with a rebel like him?
I truly do not understand…”
I slowly averted my eyes from the burning fire and locked them dead center into hers.
A sinister smile played upon my lips.
“Are you aware, Luna…
Just now, as you spoke, you didn’t call him an ‘Elf King.’ You called him an ‘Elf Chieftain.’ A slip of the tongue,” I said, tightening the vise of pressure around her.
At a total loss for what to do, Luna frantically scanned the dark woods around us.
Attempting to salvage the situation, she steeled her voice and said, trying to project absolute confidence, “The only true king of these lands is Enwoybi, My Lord.
I merely muddled my words.”
I stood up, dusting myself off as I decided to play a massive gamble.
I had no definitive proof yet as to how exactly the elves would later unify under Oberon’s rule; I was purely bluffing.
“You know, Luna…” I said, resting my hand upon the hilt of my katana.
“I hear that certain noble elven houses in the palace are secretly signing alliance pacts behind our backs, preparing to launch a massive rebellion against Enwoybi and us.
What a striking coincidence, isn’t it?”
Luna pressed her lips together, murmuring an uncertain “Mmh…” as she tried to stall me with words.
But right at that moment, I saw it with my own eyes—her eyes narrowed slightly, casting a stealthy glance into the depths of the dark trees, throwing a covert command to her spies.