Chapter 218: Long-Awaited Reunion II

In a luxuriously furnished room...

A girl and a boy sat facing each other on opposing sofas, a polished coffee table resting silently between them.

Neither spoke a word.

The girl’s pale pink eyes darted around the room, deliberately avoiding the boy’s gaze.

Her hands, resting neatly on her knees, fidgeted with her fingers— a quiet display of her nerves.

A soft blush colored her cheeks as she pressed her lips together, as though holding back the words threatening to spill.

Meanwhile, the boy in front of her only looked at her with a slight smile on his face.

He seemed to be observing every little detail of her.

’Do I look okay? Is my hair messy? Are my clothes alright?’

’Ugh... I should’ve picked something better.’

’Maybe... I should’ve worn a dress or something...’

At that moment, a whirlwind of thoughts spun relentlessly through Dahlia’s mind, making her feel faintly dizzy.

She had never truly cared about what she wore—fashion had always seemed irrelevant.

Her focus had always been on becoming stronger, on perfecting her aura arts and advancing her magic spells.

That had been her world; her purpose.

But now, sitting face to face with the person she had longed for all this time... she could not stop thinking about everything she had once ignored.

Now, every wrinkle in her clothes, every stray hair, suddenly mattered.

’Argh, I’m going crazy!’

’What if I smell bad? What would he think of me?’

At this moment, the boy in front of her, Regis, finally broke the silence that had been lingering in the room for over ten minutes.

"Haha..."

Dahlia’s face froze as soon as she heard his laugh.

"Why are you so quiet? Back in the slums, you’d never stop talking the moment I came home."

Regis leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Tell me what you’ve been doing all this time we’ve been apart."

"How did you end up meeting Doron?"

"What happened after you ran off into the forest?"

Regis asked one question after another, his voice gentle but eager.

Yet when Dahlia kept her gaze lowered, her lips tightly sealed, he slowly leaned back into the sofa.

The eagerness in his voice did not falter, even in the face of her silence.

"...Well."

He continued with a softer tone, trying to fill the silence, "I’ve formed a party and gone on some adventures."

"I made a few new friends too."

A small, reminiscent smile crept onto his lips. "Oh—and I even got to experience some really fun thi—"

"Stop it."

The abruptness of her voice made him freeze mid-sentence.

"...Huh?"

His expression turned puzzled, eyebrows slightly raised as he looked at her in surprise.

Dahlia’s voice had been quiet, but firm and tinged with emotion.

His blood-red eyes locked with her pale pink ones, and in that fleeting moment, an unspoken connection surged between them.

It was Regis’s turn to become speechless.

Dahlia looked him in the eye, "Why are you acting like that?"

"Acting as if you were fine— as if you did not face any hardship. Do you take me for a fool?"

"Did the time we spent together mean nothing to you?"

"No..." Regis soke, his tone gentle.

Dahlia stood up, "Then why are you treating me like an outsider?"

"If you’re going to be like this, maybe it’s better if we don’t talk at all."

She turned to storm out of the room—or at least, she tried to.

Just as she took a step towards the door, a warm hand gently caught hers, halting her in place.

"Three years, eleven months, and twenty-six days..."

Dahlia’s eyes trembled as she heard Regis’s gentle voice behind her.

"We’ve been apart for exactly three years, eleven months, and twenty-six days... so when I finally saw you again, I didn’t know what to do."

"I didn’t know how I should act... what I should say..."

"...so I guess, I panicked and tried to look cool? Let’s start over again, don’t be mad, okay?"

Dahlia clicked her tongue.

"You’ve been talking like a stuck-up noble ever since we were back in the meeting chamber. The Duke’s not here. Who are you trying to impress? Where did you even learn how to talk like that? It’s annoying!"

She turned around and quietly returned to the sofa, sitting down with a huff.

"Erm, a friend of mine..."

Regis scratched the back of his head, then followed suit and sat beside her.

"Let me guess—your friend’s one of those smooth-talking charmers?"

"Exactly."

"Figures."

"So, where should I start? What do you want to know?"

"Everything." Dahlia spoke with finality before raising her hand in the next second, "But before that, I want to ask you something."

"What is it?" Regis tilted his head.

"About what you said earlier... is it true?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you really know the exact time we’ve been apart?"

"Nah, I just said some random numbers."

"Tsk..." Dahlia hid a small smile on her face under her facade of anger, ’You’re still a bad liar.’

She finally felt like he was the same Regis she had known all those years ago.

"Hmph, make sure not to skip anything."

"Ehem..." Regis cleared his throat as he nodded his head before beginning to speak.

After all, she had always been caring, never bossy, and her very presence was a comfort to him.

They had known each other for as long as they could remember—long enough to sense when the other was hiding something.

Deep down, he knew her anger hadn’t come from resentment, but from worry.

And thus, he started narrating everything he had gone through.

From the moment he was taken by the demonic humans, to the trials he endured, and finally, to how he ended up sitting here before her once more.

This went on for about an hour and a half, with Dahlia’s face shifting through a comical parade of expressions every now and then.

There were moments when Dahlia’s fists clenched tightly, her aura flaring with barely contained anger.

Other times, sadness overwhelmed her, and tears quietly slipped down her cheeks.

And then there were times she burst into boisterous laughter right in Regis’s face.

Regis found himself entertained by the wide range of emotions playing across her face as he continued his story.

He introduced the friends he had made along the way:

Greg and Lea, two companions from the demonic human camp.

Pandora, the girl who had stayed by his side since they left the ruined Toran City.

Killian Gladius, the last descendant of his family line.

Aurelia, daughter of one of the wealthiest merchant families in the world.

He even told her about Alaric.

There were only a few small details he kept to himself, like the awkward incident with Lea that still made him blush with embarrassment.

At the end, as he finished speaking, he found Dahlia buried in his chest.

Her touch, smell, presence... everything about her reminded her of home.

"Hic..."

Dahlia’s sobs silently echoed throughout the room.

Regis smiled as he tapped her back, "There, there~"

After a few minutes, she pulled away, "Can you send letters like this in the future too?"

"I’m not sure, since it’s a gift from me by Uncle Aurum and it’s very expensive..."

Seeing the hesitation on his face, Dahlia smiled, "How much is it? Maybe I can borrow some money from Uncle Doron."

"Apparently, it’s worth at least five hundred to a thousand platinum coins..."

"Eh?"

Dahlia’s face froze, her mouth hanging open like she’d just seen a ghost.

"Platinum? Is that even a thing?"

Regis laughed, shaking his head. "I also thought that was some kind of fancy food at first."

Despite finally escaping the slums, some things about the two of them clearly had not changed.

In their minds, just hearing the word "gold coin" was already too much.

It was understandable that they were not ready for something like "platinum coin" at the moment.

As they sat beside each other, Regis spoke with a smile, "Alright, your turn! Spill everything!"

"So there are these boys that have fallen for me—"

"Bullshit. Do you want me to throw a tantrum like you did earlier? I’d rather believe that they’re all weirded out and are scared of you."

"No, they’re not!"

"You’re still such a bad liar."

Just as easily as she could sense his lies, Regis could read hers just the same.

Dahlia burst out laughing. "Stop, stop! Haha—okay, okay, I’m kidding!"

She cleared her throat, putting on a mock-serious face.

"Ahem. I’ll be serious from now on..."

Time slipped by as they talked and laughed, slowly stitching the gap time had left between them.

***

After a long while, the door to the guest room opened...

Regis and Dahlia went outside side by side as Doron greeted them with a smile, "Are you two able to catch up?"

"Yes, Uncle! Though it would be nice if we had more time in the future." Dahlia was the first to respond.

Meanwhile, Regis stepped forward and extended his hand, "Thank you for taking care of Dahlia. I know I’m still lacking, but I’ll do my best if you ever need my help."

"I’ll take your word for that."

Doron replied with a smile, shaking his hand in the process, "The Duke and the others have been waiting, shall we?"

Regis glanced at Dahlia with a smile before nodding.