Chapter 142: Friends?
’Is it finally karma catching up with me,’ Vlad whimpered inwardly as Lily looked at him, her shy silver eyes waiting for an answer, her cheeks blooming like a rose. ’Although I currently have the upper hand in this conversation, I need to be careful with my next words. Even at my current level, I cannot gauge her strength. She must be, at bare minimum, either a three or four-star knight or a four-ring mage. If I offend her too much, she might get rid of me right here.’
What should be the right words? The question grew heavier and heavier as Vlad’s mind raced to find a proper answer to her proposal.
"Miss Lily, do you like me?" he asked in a calm tone, fixing her serene face with an intense gaze.
"N-no! I don’t even know much about you!" she snapped, her eyes squeezing shut. "Why would I like you?"
"Precisely," Vlad nodded. "Aside from your name, I don’t know anything about you either. Is it really worth marrying me when neither of us knows anything about the other? Also, do you truly wish to marry me?"
"I—"
"Think it through carefully before you answer," Vlad insisted before she could make a hasty decision.
Now that Vlad had said it, Lily gave the reckless proposal she’d just made deeper thought. ’We barely know each other. What if we never get along, not to mention our vast age gap? Moreover, he is only human, with a lifespan of seventy or eighty years at most because of his low talent, while I am a dragon. I will be left alone again, even if we did get along.’
She shook her head, letting out a quiet sigh as sadness clouded her eyes. ’What was I thinking, making such a proposal? I am fated to remain alone for eterni—’
"Why don’t we start by becoming friends?" Vlad said, his tone awkward. The look of melancholy was something he believed didn’t belong on her ethereal face. He was certainly not feeling guilty for having caused the gloomy expression.
"Friends?" Lily asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah, that way we can learn more about each other. Share our likes and dislikes," Vlad said, nodding calmly. "Then you can decide whether you wish to take our relationship to the next step."
Lily’s hand drifted to her chin as she considered Vlad’s proposal. "Could I meet you outside of the full moon as well?"
"I never said I would only see you on the full moon," Vlad chuckled. "It was you who declared you’d come see me next month, before suddenly vanishing that day."
"O-oh, right—No, not right. The whole reason for our conversation was for me to compensate you for accidentally seeing your body," she blurted, shaking her head and cupping her cheeks in both hands.
"I think the chance to become friends with such a beautiful woman is compensation enough," Vlad said, a warm smile forming on his lips as he extended his hand. "What do you say, Miss Lily?"
’A friend... after so many years. Do I truly deserve one? He will run away, or change entirely toward me, once he learns what I am. He willl disappear within a few years even if I manage to hide my identity. A friendship built on lies? How can I—’
"Tch, you didn’t think twice before proposing, so why do you need to deliberate so much over becoming my friend?" Vlad retorted, moving closer as he took her hand, lifting it between them and holding it firmly.
"Like it or not, you’re my friend now, Miss Lily," he declared, his tone firm. Having spent so many years with Chloe, who suffered from the trauma of abandonment, Vlad could clearly tell from Lily’s expression that she had suffered from something similar. He didn’t know what exact fear made it so difficult for her to decide, so he decided to give her the little push she needed.
"H-how could you make that decision yourself?" she muttered as the warmth of Vlad’s hard hand pressed against her thin, soft one.
"That’s the way of the commoners, noble lady," he chuckled with a grin and a playful wink. "Better get used to it if you wish to marry this lumberjack, Miss Lily."
She simply shook her head at the sheer audacity of this kid, whom she could blow into countless pieces with only the flick of a finger. When was the last time someone had spoken to her so freely?
There hadn’t been one.
Even her disciples who had spent the most time with her, always remained too uptight and nervous in her presence. That was one more reason she would never reveal her true identity to Vlad.
"Drop the ’miss’ part," she replied, her lips rising into a warm smile. "Friends shouldn’t address each other so formally."
"Sure, Lily~" Their hands continued moving back and forth in a handshake, their eyes drinking in the breathtaking features of each other’s faces, which seemed even lovelier now that they were smiling.
"Umm... Vlad," Lily called as she withdrew her hand, her eyes lowering in shyness. "Would you turn the other way while I get out of the pond?"
"Y-yeah, sure," Vlad said, turning around.
For the next few seconds, the sound of slow movement in the water, followed by drops falling to the ground from Lily’s wet body and the rustle of cloth as she covered herself, was all that echoed besides the rustling leaves and the melody of singing insects.
For some reason, the sound of her movement burned through Vlad’s body even more than the heat of the spring. It was sheer willpower alone that kept him from taking a peek.
"I’m done," Lily said in a low, awkward tone. "I’m facing the other way. You may come out and get dressed."
"Well, I don’t mind either way, since you’ve already seen everything, peeping perv," he teased, reaching the ground beside the pond.
"Stop calling me that! And I already told you, I didn’t see everything!" she blurted, squirming as she stood beside the tree, facing the deep forest.
She wore a white robe with a translucent layer of cloth over it, similar to the clothes she’d taken off before entering the pond.
"You know I’m older than you," she continued in a sharper tone. "You shouldn’t tease your elders."
"Eh? It hasn’t even been five minutes since someone ordered me to drop the formalities," Vlad’s voice came from behind her, his footsteps echoing on the dried leaves as he drew closer and closer.
"Are we back to this elder-and-younger sort of relationship? That’s not very pleasant to hear, you know," he whispered, his voice right behind her.
"Why are you here?" Lily asked, her fists tightening at her sides at the sudden echo of his deep voice behind her. "Go put your clothes on. Stop messing around."
"But I’m still too hot after staying in the pond so long. I wish to cool my body down for a few minutes."
"But I’m still here!"
"I don’t mind. Why don’t you turn around and enjoy the view while you still can?"
She pivoted on her feet, her eyes narrowing in anger as she hissed,
"You shameless—"
Her words stopped mid-sentence when she found Vlad standing behind her, fully dressed in a shirt and trousers.
"Oh my~ you deliberately turned around just now, thinking I was standing here naked," Vlad gasped, his fingers rising to his lips. "You aren’t denying the allegations with these actions, Noble Missy."
At this point, Lily had nothing to say. Her lips trembled, her silver eyes quivered, and her cheeks had already turned the darkest shade of red in embarrassment. Vlad had laid a trap, and she had foolishly taken the bait. There was no way out now that she’d been caught red-handed.
She just wanted to hide in a hole and never emerge again.
"Y-you... you’re so mean!!!!" she hissed, her cheeks puffing as she nearly reached the verge of tears.
"Hehehe~ I’m just kidding. I promise I’m not judging you," he said, bursting into laughter that only flustered her further.
He looked even more handsome now that he was laughing. His delighted, narrowed eyes seemed almost enchanting.
"I’m curious about a few things. Will you indulge my questions?" she asked once Vlad had had his fill of laughter. It had been years since he’d last laughed so freely.
"Should we sit down first?" Vlad offered, pointing toward the base of a massive tree.
Once the two had settled side by side against the thick bark of the tree, Lily asked, "It hasn’t even been a full month since I last saw you, yet you’ve grown so much, not just physically, but you seem more mature and daring as well. Last time, you couldn’t even speak in my presence without stuttering."
Vlad remained silent. He had only parted his lips when Lily continued, "Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not trying to pry. I was just curious. You don’t have to answer if you’d rather not."
"Haha, no need to be so on edge," Vlad chuckled. She didn’t want to be misunderstood by her newly formed friend after decades of loneliness.
"As for your question, when I entered the State of Enlightenment for my Umbra element, I spent five years inside my inner mind, which accelerated the growth of my body."
Vlad had learned of this phenomenon from a book on Elemental Studies. During the State of Enlightenment, some awakeners, in rare cases, might enter an inner world created by their attribute, where they would spend days, months, or even years deepening their understanding of their element, while only a few hours or days passed in the real world. This phenomenon also caused the body and mind to age by the same amount of time spent within the inner world.
This was the explanation Vlad had decided to give whenever anyone asked about his sudden growth.