Damien slowly got up without waking Valentina, and he opened the door to see a middle-aged maid waiting.
"How can I help you?" Damien asked while looking around to see if anyone else was accompanying this maid.
She didn't reply but simply took out a white letter and forced it into Damien's hands before leaving in a hurry.
"Huh?" Damien was confused, but he quickly hid the letter seeing that whoever sent it didn't want others to know.
He closed the door and opened the sealed letter,
[
Dear Thief,
I saw you breaking into the palace and haven't reported you due to how kind-hearted I am.
But my heart has its limits to kindness, so if you want my lips to stay shut, come meet me at Hidden Grove, which is located just outside the royal palace ALONE, in case you didn't know. If you don't, then I will have to do my kingdom a service by reporting a thief :) I hope you heed my gentle words ;)
P.S Burn this letter after reading ^_^
Yours,
Cute Girl
]
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"You can't be kidding me," Damien smiled to himself in amusement, knowing full well who sent it. He just never expected this girl to have such thick skin or even to send him a letter like this.
Damien's hand lit up in flames as the letter got burnt to fine dust and disappeared into the air.
However, his expression suddenly became glazed as he once again thought about the contents of the letter, feeling some sort of familiarity from it.
The way the letter was written, including the funny writing style, made him think of someone.
He then shook his head, thinking that there was no point in reminiscing now. He woke up Valentina and told her about the letter and what he would have to do.
"Okay. I will wait for you here. But you have to be back quickly and don't listen to any other nonsense she might spout," Valentina said with pursed lips.
"Of course," Damien smiled as he kissed Valentina.
"Mmhh…" Valentina kissed him back before he left. However, she had a blank stare as she looked at the door, nobody knowing what she was thinking.
Damien didn't find it hard to leave the royal palace since he was a guest and had the freedom to enter and exit the royal palace.
He then went towards the area behind the royal palace and located a grove with a number of tall trees.
He made his way through the trees when suddenly a cloaked figure grabbed his wrist and began to pull him along as they ran to god knows where.
"Hey!" Damien called out, but he didn't resist seeing where this person was going to take him.
He was dragged to the middle of the grove and saw them dusting the ground to reveal a wooden door to an underground place.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})The cloaked figure opened it and gestured at Damien to come in. Damien spread his senses and sighed as he decided to follow her.
As soon as he entered, orange lights lit up, highlighting a small room with various books, chairs, flowers, and even a bed.
Damien had a dumbfounded expression if this was supposed to be a hidden cellar or a cozy prison-like cell.
However, he noticed some painting canvas stashed in the corner, making him wonder if she paints as well.
The cloaked figure removed their hood, and Damien wasn't surprised to see an amber-haired gorgeous beauty.
"So princess, any reason why you kidnapped me to this place?" Damien asked as he looked around and continued, "Who even built this place for you?"
However, hearing no reply from her, Damien returned his gaze only to see that she was circling him while keenly scrutinizing him from top to bottom as if she was studying him.
Damien felt weird being closely examined like this and asked, "What are you looking at? Have you never seen a man before?"
"Yes, I have. But not one like you," Yuria casually replied as she continued to stare at him from various angles.
'One like me? Why do I feel like she's talking about some animal,' Damien sighed inwardly.
Even though Damien felt weirded out, he decided to sit still and see what she was up to since her behavior seemed so strange.
He never thought the princess that everyone considered to be so poised and graceful would be this weird and amusing character.
The more angles of Damien's countenance she observed, the more she felt like the puzzle of the mysterious man in her mind was getting pieced together, especially now that she was able to see him clearly in the light closely.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"What is your name?" She finally asked.
Damien replied after a brief moment, "My name is Godnim. Why are you so interested in me? Is it because of what happened yesterday? Didn't I tell you it was a misunderstanding?"
Damien was also surprised that this girl didn't seem to put up any guard before a stranger like him and that too alone with a man. If anyone found out, they both would be in grave trouble.
'Are princess' so carefree and open these days?' He couldn't help but muse.
But he felt as if he had interacted with this girl way before.
However, Yuria focused only on the name he mentioned and looked at him with squinted eyes, "You are lying," She said curtly.
Damien chuckled, "Lying? Why would I, and what makes you think so?"
Yuria felt like his name was supposed to be different. But she could only feel as if his true name was in the tip of her tongue but unable to remember it.
"Uhhhhhh…" She tapped her head in frustration as if hitting her head would help her remember his name.
Seeing her actions and her behavior around him, Damien felt as if she knew something about him, especially seeing how confident she was when he gave out a fake name.
"Do you know me?" He finally asked, making Yuria look up at him.
"I…" Yuria felt speechless since she didn't know what to say. She felt that she finally found the person she was looking for and was feeling quite excited. However, she had no idea what to do after or how she could talk about her dreams to him.
She felt that he would find it ridiculous if she said she might be seeing him in her dreams. It would sound too stupid and embarrassing even for her.
"Show me your alchemy flames, the ones you use to concoct pills," She said in order to confirm.
Damien was getting confused by the minute with her various questions, but he felt like indulging her and getting to the end of this. He also knew she wouldn't listen to anything else unless he satisfies her questions.
"How do you know whether I can even do alchemy?" He asked with a smile.
"Then why are you even here? Aren't you here to marry me?" Yuria asked as she puffed up her cheeks.
Damien slightly laughed as he shook his head, "I think you have misunderstood. I am accompanying my good friend, Tristen, and not here to seek your hand."
Yuria felt her facing going red from embarrassment seeing that she jumped to conclusions without giving much thought. However, she kept up her expression, hiding away her embarrassment as she said, "I-I know. I was just testing you if you might spout any more lies."
'What a funny girl,' Damien inwardly laughed.
She continued, "But I still want to see your alchemy flames. I already know that you can concoct pills. Don't ask me how or don't bother lying."
"Okay, okay. I will show my flames," Damien slightly smiled as he closed his eyes and began to concentrate.
After a few moments, amber flames began to rise from his palms as he opened his eyes.
"Happy now?" Damien asked, but he only saw a disappointed expression on Yuria's face, making him wonder if she was expecting something else.
'Why does he not have black flames??' Yuria felt the whole thing was even more confusing than before now that things seemed to be contradicting. Even though she found his amber flames to be beautiful, it was still not the result she was hoping to see.
She was sure in her heart that the person she was looking for was indeed before her, but not all the things she saw in her dream were matching with what she was seeing before her eyes, especially his flames.
She could still ignore the strange clothes the man in her dreams were wearing, but if the man was supposed to be real, then the boy standing before her should have the same flames as well.
He looked younger than the man in her dreams but had the same characteristics, especially now that she saw his smile and starry black eyes up close.
"I want you to win the competition tomorrow," Yuria said with a determined expression since she could confirm by seeing the manner in which he concocts his pills.
