Chapter 228: No Romance Arc

Lieyin found herself in high spirits as she made her way down the long corridors leading to the courtyard.

She tried to convince herself that it was all because Qingyue’s health was getting better. But...Lieyin had never been good at lying to herself.

To others? Definitely.

But herself? Never.

At least that was what she thought. She smirked to herself as she walked, her eyes round and glowing in the dark.

It wasn’t until she bumped into something— or rather, someone, that she hissed under her breath in annoyance.

"I’m sorry," Kael rushed to say when he saw that it was the second sister. "I didn’t see you coming." He looked at Lieyin in suspicion when the frown on her face switched back to a smile.

"It’s fine," Lieyin muttered, finally looking at the boy. "Just watch where you’re going next time." She patted his head. "Not everyone is as forgiving as me."

Kael tilted his head slowly to the side as he stared at her. "What has gotten into you?"

Lieyin smoothed down the front of her robe, looking at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I’ve only seen you smile a total of three times since I’ve come to know you." He took a step forward, having to look up since Lieyin was a head taller than him. "You must’ve received very good news."

"Oh—" Lieyin tried to school her face back into one of indifference, but the muscles on said face wouldn’t cooperate. "It’s nothing you should concern yourself with."

"Does it have anything to do with the letter that arrived earlier?" Kael asked.

Usually, he avoided the second princess like she was a plague. With her very explosive temper, it was best to stay clear before one would be on the receiving end of her anger.

But seeing her in an elevated mood gave Kael the courage he needed to speak with her, even though he’d initially planned to meet Qingyue directly.

"Not really," Lieyin answered honestly. "Why do you ask?"

Kael still felt a bit nervous. "I just wanted to know what was in the letter. Qingyue usually checks in with me."

Lieyin finally felt the excitement she felt drain out of her. Something about the red-eyed boy always made her stand on guard. She could never understand why Qingyue trusted him fully.

She sighed when he looked at her in expectation. "There’s a shipment of weapons passing through the North for the Imperial Army."

Kael’s brow twitched.

That explained Lieyin’s unusual mood. "You want to intercept it." It was a confirmation more than a question.

"That’s the plan," Lieyin replied. "Don’t concern yourself with it." She patted his shoulder as she walked back.

Lieyin was almost at the end of the corridor when Kael’s voice rang out...

"I want to come with you!" he yelled. "Let me come with you."

Lieyin paused for a mini-second before turning. "Why? You’re needed here, especially with Qingyue being sick."

"This is the beginning of the Blood Lotus arc," he said, more to himself. "Also essentially the romance arc between you and Ru Yi. I need to make sure that never happens."

All Lieyin caught from his words was ’Ru Yi’.

"What?" she asked.

Kael cleared his throat. "I’d like to follow you."

Lieyin narrowed her eyes on him. "Why? We’ve never worked together before." She raised a brow. "Did Qingyue ask you to do this?"

Kael wanted to facepalm so bad. "I only knew about the letter a couple seconds ago. When did I have the time to meet with her?"

Lieyin tapped her chin like she was in deep thought. "True..." she paused briefly, "but I don’t like you. I’d rather find someone more capable of accompanying me on this journey."

Kael felt his temper flare up. She was straight up calling him incompetent to his face. "I’ll let you know that I’m very capable. I’ve traveled this road more times than anyone here has."

Lieyin nodded as she replied. "True again...but your fighting skills are very lacking. What’s going to happen if this ends up being an ambush? I’m not one to play the hero."

Kael ground his teeth together. "I’ll let you know that I’m capable of taking care of myself. I promise to not be a burden to you." He wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Why couldn’t it have been Qingyue, or even Yexue?...he would readily pick them over spending a minute more in Lieyin’s presence.

Lieyin started taking threatening steps towards him. "Why do you want to follow me so badly? Do you have anything up your sleeve?"

She rolled her eyes when Kael patted the sleeves of his robes. "You must really be an idiot. How can someone as clueless as you possibly be plotting something bad?" She muttered the last bit to herself.

Kael said nothing in return.

How could he possibly explain that his ultimate goal was to make sure Ru Yi didn’t get back together with any of the triplets.

From afar, the mission would seem more achievable since Lieyin was the one going. But Kael...who knew the story better than anyone else, also knew that Lieyin’s feelings run the deepest.

Her love was just as deep as her anger. If not deeper.

Lieyin looked at the boy for sometime, flipping through her options in her head. There was no one else she could potentially go with.

Sure, she could take a few men. But the journey required subtlety and stealth, none of the men could offer her that.

"Have you been training with the men?" she asked him.

Kael nodded eagerly. "Yes. I know a couple defense moves." He made gestures in the air like he was trying to fight someone.

To Lieyin, he looked completely ridiculous. "You’d be dead before you’d have the opportunity to actually cause damage to your opponent."

Kael was already panting. Hard. He was definitely not built for combat. "No need to worry about me, I’ll keep up and make sure not to slow you down."

He would do everything in his power to never let Ru Yi and Lieyin get together. Even if it meant risking his own life.