Stupid!
'Who is that man? He was not here the other nights!'
Harriet ran from the river, her face bright of embarrassment. She wanted to cry, but she also wanted to keep her dignity intact. After running for a while, she came to a forest clearing and tried to catch her breath.
"What's wrong, Harriet?"
Harriet raised her face, and she saw a middle-aged man looking at her with worry in his eyes.
"I-I'm okay, Father. I just saw a giant leech near the water, and I freaked out," Harriet explained in panic.
The silver-haired middle-aged man laughed. "You and your fear of wriggly creatures..." he said between his laughs. "So, you're not going to take a bath today?"
Harriet shook her head with a bland smile.
"Alright, then, let's go home," Orcenal said.
They mounted their horses and rode down the hill.
"What do you mean the Diamond Duchy managed to catch Jake?" Harriet snapped. One of the men in front of her flinched at her sharp glare. "Just tell me the truth."Harriet's boiling anger frightened the people inside the room. They had never seen Harriet this angry and perplexed. But it was understandable."Milady, you have to calm yourself first. We have to trust Master Scolecite," one of them said softly."That's why this doesn't make any sense," Harriet said in a low voice, terrifying and cold enough to freeze the blood. "Jake is no fool; he would never get caught like that. The only possible explanation is that he had betrayed us.""That couldn't be!" the men denied the truth, even when they had no other answer. One of them even saw that Jake willingly being captured even though he could just go."What if he had another plan?" one of them asked."What kind
"Haa..."After dipping her body into the cold water that night, Harriet felt her worries and the weight of her responsibilities fade a little. She looked into the sky, feeling tiny and weak yet relaxed.She was grateful she was alive. She was thankful she had a wonderful family...Even though living on the street as one of the underground organization's lords was not what she thought she would be, she was still thankful.She raised her hand toward the sky, gesturing to grab the full moon. It would be great if she could get her life back. It would be great if she could walk under the light of day, not in the shadow of the night like this.She wondered if she could become someone who could directly be the friend of the righteous government. She wanted to help the people of this nation... not from the underground, but as a legally recognized authority."Well, my
"Huh?" Liam widened his eyes.The woman in front of him had only finished wearing her underwear, staring at him closely with hair and skin still wet, reflecting the moonlight.Secretly, Liam swallowed. He tried to focus his eyes on her beautiful eyes, narrowing them because he was afraid that the expression he was making right now looked suspicious."My wish. Meet me every full moon," she repeated.Liam blinked. "Why? What are you going to do to me?"His question made her flinch. Her sharp eyes widened, and her soft cheek reddened further."Why? You said you had to grant one wish for me, then that's my wish. I-is that too much?" she asked back.Liam was actually trying to find a reason to meet her again, so he proposed the one wish. He never thought that this woman... would ask him to meet her in every waking hour he had.
The night they made the contract, Harriet asked Liam to call her by her first name. And in turn, Liam asked her to call him by his first name too.It took half a year for Harriet to discover Liam's real identity. She silently searched high and low for anyone in the Empire, and even outside of the Empire, who could fit his description.Right now, she had known the man so well, even to his smallest habits. It was all thanks to the full moon nights of missions and adventures.But after she finally found out about his real identity, she had to straighten her chest and let out a long sigh.She shortened his required travel time to meet her by moving her headquarters closer and closer to the north... and even thinking against a more challenging mission for them to do every month.CREAK...Harriet turned to her windows. She saw the tall man she was waiting for every
Almandine City was bright with lantern lights. The Winter's End Festival was always the biggest in the North. Harriet heard that it was essential for a woman in the North to participate, whether to sell something, to have fun, or to learn from it.When Liam left the castle, he was so excited to meet her that he didn't realize the lights on the street. He just jumped into the sky and landed outside the city.Harriet's headquarters was not far, so they arrived in just around 30 minutes back to Almandine... but when he came alongside her, everyone gazed at them...Because Liam was once again carrying her bridal style.Liam only had a couple of waking hours on the night of a full moon, so he didn't want to waste time.He ran all the way here carrying a frightened Harriet, who was clutching his neck with everything she had."We're here. You can get down now," Liam
Harriet had never researched the Winter's End Festival. She had never attended one and had never heard about its contents. She spent the majority of her life in the Capital and focused on the other problematic side of the Empire.Truly, if there was a place she didn't need to come to, it would be Almandine. The place that had no danger of sorcery, where the Old Duke himself was said to hate the dark art to the bone.But how?How did she know?Not only the main event for the festival, but how did she guess the main prize that quickly?Harriet's brain was immediately in shambles. From the start, her attachment to this man was incredibly strong. The way she trusted him almost instantly was weird.It didn't feel like her usual self.How could she believe a random naked stranger she met on top of a waterfall? How did she believe her own judgme
Six lives, six identical timelines. Even if someone didn't have the memory to recall something that happened in a different timeline, they would be able to connect with themselves from the other timelines.Sometimes, they would feel a sense of deja vu. Sometimes, they would be able to predict the future because of their subconscious connections. And sometimes... they would do the same thing over and over again, like falling in love.Even if it was wrong... or even dangerous.As they walked up towards the city square, the crowd had been thick around them. They weren't being too loud, but people were staring at them as they passed by.Just a few people knew about Liam, now that he had always lived on top of the castle tower. So that was not the reason why they were being stared at.Or... that was the exact reason..."Look! He looks just like a prince," a girl w
"Starting tomorrow, we can talk and think about what actually happened. Tonight, can you please just grant my wish?"That was what Liam said.But..."And don't worry, after all of that, I'm not planning to sleep tonight."The man's golden eyes stared straight into hers, stripping her naked even without touching her. The balcony windows opened, and the cold wind blew against their bodies. It felt like a breath of fresh air but also like an attack on their foggy minds.They had come back from the festival that confirmed their feelings. Even though many more had been revealed aside from that, it was not more important than what was right in front of them.They shared another kiss. Their lips were so soft and warm, as if they were melting together, and she could feel his body heat through their clothes. They separated only when he pulled away, leaving her dizzy f