“I’m boreeeedd…” Lory sighed heavily. She sat on an arhat couch in the pavilion looking gloomy. 

[Don’t even think about it…] Girsha warned her strongly.

​​

[I’m not thinking of anything…] Lory rebuked with a pout.

[Really…? You used to make the same expression before you snuck out the castle with the others] Girsha said with disbelief. He remembered the numerous times she snuck out of the castle with Lucas, Jay, and Clift in order to have fun. Fredhard caught them most of the time and punished them by giving them extra homework for the week yet it never stopped them.

[I know I’m as weak as an ant in this world. I won’t do anything reckless here!] Lory convinced him.

[And the sun rises from the west…] Girsha responded sarcastically.

Lory’s mouth twitched. He wasn’t wrong. She thought of sneaking out, but she feared angering Zhao Li Xin for some reason. He wasn’t like people in her world who were hard on the outside but soft on the inside. The people in her world would have scolded her for few hours only but it was different with Zhao Li Xin. She was more intimidated by him than she had been of Fredhard.

Imagining Zhao Li Xin’s angry face did not just scare her but also made her feel sad. She couldn’t dare go against his order.

[Why have you become more of a worrywart than before birdie…?] Lory sighed again.

Girsha worried about Lory because she was weak without her ‘Gift’ and because Lucas and the others were not around to protect her. Girsha was adamant about protecting her in their absences. He felt responsible for Lory after failing to protect her before.

What was so good about being the ‘First Kind’ if he couldn’t even protect one girl? It was sad that his real power was bound together with Lory’s power. Although he could use half of his powers, he was not as badly off as Lory who lost most of her powers. This world also had strong beasts like the phoenix, dragons, and more…. a fact that made him more worried for her.

[Hey Lory…!]

[Hnn…] Lory was chewing on the grapes when he called her suddenly.

[Why don’t you marry that lord?] Girsha asked casually.

Lory almost choked. She spits out the grape from her mouth and coughed profusely. She only managed to stop coughing after a minute and proceeded to glared at Girsha for almost killing her with his question. 

[What the hell!!] She shouted angrily. 

[What’s wrong? He’s got the power, the wealth and looks…you even drool over his looks] Girsha ignored her red face. He couldn’t tell if she was shy or lacked air.

[Hey, any normal person who has feelings would drool when they see a face like his. It is a human reaction!] She justified her behavior. [Besides he doesn’t look at me that way…]

[What way?] Girsha was baffled. It was hard for him to understand humankind even after many years.

Lory exhaled. [I saved his life and he grateful to me…so, it is not like what you think, I guess you haven’t heard the phrase ‘you don’t shit where you eat’.]

[Who asked you to take a SHIT? I want you to get married or at least find a partner!] Girsha was more confused.

Lory rolled her eyes. She was too tired to explain it to him. Talking about Zhao Li Xin made her realize she hadn’t seen him in a while. It is funny that the manor felt quieter when he was gone yet Zhao Li Xin was not the chatty type. However, she tended to feel restless when he was not around. She was unaware of her feeling for him but all she knew was she felt better when he was around.

Lory never experienced romantic relationships. She lived in a world where most people married in their late twenties or thirties. As a teen, she was busy with her royal duties or having fun with Lucas and their friends. At seventeen she ended up learning the hard truths about her family and the kingdom and failed to experience dating. She never had the time to think about love when everything she had was at stake.

Things got worse a few years later as her father died, the kingdom burnt to ashes and her people were dying. Lory failed to experience a normal life. She was proficient in combat strategy, fighting, politics, and scheming but love was a different matter altogether.

She used to rely on Fargo, Fred, or Jay to be able to understand the social part of life, but she was now lost as they weren’t here to guide her.

“It has been a week… Where is he…?” Lory murmured to herself.

 ‘And you said you don’t want to marry him…’ Girsha sighed to himself as he wondered how dense she was.

She suddenly heard a commotion close by. She looked up only to see a man with an enchanting face that would make top models in her world cover their faces with shame walking towards her slowly. His black robes, which had a gold flower embroidery on his sleeves, moved slowly with every step he took. His silky black hair fluttered perfectly behind his back. Lory wondered how he managed to look so cool. 

Lory first touched the corners of her mouth to make sure she was not drooling. She bowed respectfully at Zhao Li Xin, “Welcome back, Mi Lord.”

“Li Xin…” He never tired of correcting her.

The problem was Lory couldn’t call his name without blushing. She could even feel her cheeks get hot as she thought of it. Unfortunately for her, Zhao Li Xin loved seeing her blush. He felt a tickle in his heart every time he saw this prompting him to tease her every time he could.

“I… Li Xin…” Lory said softly as her face turned into a tomato. Zhao Li Xin was satisfied with her reaction. He missed her so much while he was away for a couple of days. He wouldn’t have left her if it was not for his approaching breakthrough. His breakthroughs were usually dangerous to common people like Lory and he didn’t want to hurt her by accident. 

Zhao Li Xin sat on the couch next to her. They were only separated by a small table. A male servant arrived and served Zhao Li Xin wine and replaced Lory’s tea with a warm teapot. He also placed a few pastries on the small square table next to Lory since Zhao Li Xin didn’t eat pastries. Someone had tried to poison Zhao Li Xin using pastries while he was a child as a result making him hate this type of food.

The servant left after serving the food. They all knew it was a bad idea to interrupt Zhao Li Xin’s cultivating time or his lovey-dovey time with Miss Luo. Lory was oblivious to the servants’ treatment as she thought the people in the manor were just too polite to her. She thought they did it because she was Zhao Li Xin’s personal maid and maybe they know she saved him once so she didn’t realize they treated her, unlike a normal maid.

“I never thought you would heed my words. You are quite obedient,” Zhao Li Xin sipped his wine elegantly. He made Lory feel she had wasted her years of training with Fred.

“Of course, I listen. I heard the situation outside gets rowdier every day.”

Zhao Li Xin sneered, “Just a bunch of fools.”

“But it is quite festive, isn’t it? So…when can we go out?” Lory asked with an eager face.

Zhao Li Xin remembered Lao Min Na was still looking for her. He was confident he could protect her from thousands of people like Lao Min Na but the idea of putting her close to danger didn’t settle well in his heart, “Lao Min Na is still looking for you.”

“Why? Does she think I will hurt her?” Lory frowned with anger. It wasn’t her fault Lao Min Na got hurt when she was the one who attacked Lory first. Why would she keep blaming her? Lao Min Na was a petty person.

“Someone as paranoid as her wouldn’t like to have loose ends…” Zhao Li Xin said in a mocking tone before he comforted her. “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to you when I’m around.”

“I’m not worried…” Lory smiled at him. She didn’t worry even though she didn’t know the power or authority he had. She felt safe with him for some reason. It was the same feeling she had with Lucas and the others. Nothing could go wrong when they were around. The only difference between them and Zhao Li Xin was that she blushed a lot around Zhao Li Xin.

“Maybe you should wear a veil or mask,” Zhao Li Xin suggested to her.

“Mm… I don’t like it…” Lory tilted her head. She didn’t like either of the choices. A veil would hinder her from eating snacks and a mask would suffocate her. She blinked her eyes repeatedly to make herself look pitiful. “I think I can do something else. If I could do something to my face, can we go out…?”

“As long as you don’t hurt yourself…” Zhao Li Xin said with reluctance. He couldn’t refuse her request when she gave him that look.

“Then it is settled!” Lory clapped her hands. “When will we go?”

“How about tomorrow?”

“Okay, wait for me tomorrow then!!” Lory smiled with excitement.