Novel Full Chapter 1025 The princess at Marshlands
[OP: ]
Under the serene glow of the moonlight, a young girl with long, snow-white hair sat silently on a fallen tree turned into a sitting log, her presence exuding a unique aura of cold so gentle that the very air around her seemed to turn into snowflakes visible to naked eyes.
She was the embodiment of frost, her pale skin shimmering faintly like the frozen marshland that spread out before her, where ice crystals clung to the still waters, untouched by the slightest ripple.
Her eyes, an otherworldly silver, were as cold and expressionless as the wintry landscape she had created before her.
-Buzzzz…
Despite the biting chill she radiated, delicate fireflies floated around her, their warm, flickering lights a stark contrast to her icy form.
She made no motion to shoo them away, nor did she welcome their presence. Her face remained unmoving, devoid of any emotion, as if frozen in time like the marshland itself.
With slow, deliberate movements, she lifted her slender hands and cupped them in the air. A single firefly settled gently into her grasp, its golden glow casting a soft light against her frost-kissed fingers.
She was a witch, a princess, as well as a simple student that was forced to spend this fine night in a place like this. But since this was all part of her test, she couldn’t even complain about it.
The firefly’s warmth did nothing to melt the cold that clung to her since it was magical, and she showed no reaction as she observed the tiny, harmless creature play around her.
Her gaze remained distant, almost detached, as if she was somewhere far beyond this quiet, frozen world.
-Swiiiiiiiiiiish…
The night was utterly still, the only sounds the occasional rustle of the marsh grass swaying in the light breeze, yet even that seemed subdued in her presence.
The cold was everywhere, but she remained unmoved, a figure carved from frost— the figure that was the creator of all the frost around her- and silence, as if the warmth of emotion had never touched her.
The fireflies danced around her, fragile lights in a landscape of ice, yet she remained the unfeeling centre of it all… at least, until she sensed a certain presence.
-Shrrrrrr…
“Hmmm?”
From some distant bushes, a distinct figure walked out with his hands wrapped around his cloak covered body.
“How… how do you live in such… achoo! In such a cold place!”
His dark hair shining with a faint glimmer of the blue moonlight, his eyes watching the person standing in the middle of this frozen land with a bitter look, his runny nose indicating a natural reaction to the cold environment… he shouldn’t be here, but still was here.
For no reason at that.
“What brings you here, mister?” Luna asked, her ever frozen expression melting with the first warmth of what seemed to be a nearly undetectable smile.
A smile that instantly melted down the snowflakes surrounding her.
The fireflies around her gathered before her and then scattered as she stood up, a new life present in her previously sill eyes.
“You’re… here, all alone… I thought… you’d be lonely.” He seemed sensitive to the cold. But Luna could tell this was all acting.
Captain Alpha.
He was a good actor.
“For someone with a Salamander on his back, you sure seem pretty convincing you know?”
She shook her head with the same warm expression as he walked up to her. He was a funny character, that much she had known about him.
“A jester should at least try, no?”
He gave her a sweet smile, greeted her nicely, and the two sat down on the log by the frozen marshland, Luna’s familiar, the unique shark-like creature roaming freely within the dirty waters.
“There you go.”
Alpha had brought his partner with him as well, though the creature did not want to go anywhere with him at such late hours.
The little unique creature, the embodiment of fire, the blazing creature that did not melt the magic snow it was standing on, simply scoffed at its master and stomped away to the other side.
It did not like him very much, but sadly it stuck with him.
There were many things it did not like about this human, but he was a good human, so it followed him sometimes.
Still, it did not mean he could just drag it wherever it wanted. It wasn’t a thing!
He gave it freedom even though he had the option of just keeping it inside its familiar mark, so it was at least a good thing, but it still did not like how it was dragged around against his will!
And the little creature showcased its frustration by glowing far brighter than its normal glow, so every time it was glowing like it did right now, both of these people knew it wasn’t feeling good.
“Haha, he’s always like this.”
“I thought he’d like this place since it’s new. Why is it acting so much? Funny guy…”
Their bond was very strong and they could do things that not just anyone can do, but only if this grumpy old man started acting like the normal familiar… they would become a much stronger duo.
“At least, he’s useful. Unlike my dumb thing.”
Luna looked at the fish that was wimping across these marshlands, ignoring the snow barriers completely, somehow phasing through the waters and any obstacles in its way.
It was strong and a glutton but aside from that, there wasn’t much that it could do.
On the other hand, though it was young, Alpha’s familiar could not only keep him warm or cool depending on what he wanted, it could also use various techniques to help his master granted it was in the mood of doing it.
Comparatively, it was much more useful for his master, so she had always found it more fascinating than the little girl that she had.
She had a little too many teeth so she wasn’t even cute looking like that little grumpy fella.
“Anyway…”
He looked at her, deep within her eyes, his heartbeat audible in this dead quiet place.
“How have you been?”
She looked back at him, many questions present in her eyes as well.
But, she answered him first.
“I’m giving a test so I’m supposed to stay here for the night. I didn’t like this place so I changed it a little.
It looks better now.”
The eye contact had gone on for too long… yet for some reason, it wasn’t really uncomfortable for either of them.
“You didn’t have to come here, you know? Or, did you think you’ll have better chances of courting me if you do dumb things like these?”
This time, she really smiled.
And that smile was so special that… anyone could have melted down after seeing it.
But, this person had seen this expression of hers many times already.
“Oh? Are we already talking about courting? We haven’t even confessed to one another yet.”
“There’s something we have to confess? Wow, really?”
She placed her cool hand on top of his warm hand, and looked at him with squinted eyes.
“That’s quite upsetting, you know?”
She didn’t speak much, usually. But with certain people, she couldn’t contain her melodious voice to herself.
“You’re coming all the way here even though no one knows much about this side of the island, you even brought your familiar since you knew this would be dangerous and yet, here you are… isn’t this enough confession?
Besides, who was the one that asked me to bring him with me to my home for the vacation?
Do you think I’m dumb, Mister Captain Alpha?”
She wasn’t the one that made any advances. She wasn’t the one that smiled at him first, she also wasn’t the one that was hindering her for the last few months, bothering her day and night.
“You like me, everyone knows that-.”
“Only a few…”
He placed a finger on her lips, stopping her midway.
“You’ve still not answered many of my questions, so we aren’t really dating or anything.”
He knew what he was doing when he lifted her hand and started tracing the lines on her palm with his fingers.
“You don’t tell me anything even though I’ve been asking for months now, Miss Luna.”
She couldn’t look away from his eyes. It didn’t use to be like this…
“Liking one another and being with the person you like… I do so many things… even now, I’ve come all this way…”
The blue moon in the sky. It was the only one that knew everything, about everyone.
“But look at you. Sitting in this frozen place… all alone… what do you do when you find someone to give you company?”
He guided her hand down, and placed it on the log… the thin layer of ice present on it when he arrived here had now vanished, so one could feel the natural patterns on this log.
“You do nothing-.”
“Oh please, Alpha.”
She shook her head with a smile and grabbed his cheeky face with the same hand that he was holding until a moment ago.
“You think you’re all that special? Don’t you see? Isn’t This… something more precious than what you could have expected already?”
She was pointing at herself, at her face to be specific, with her other hand.
“You said my expressions are worth more than a thousand Wealth coins. So, I most certainly didn’t do nothing.”
She released his cheeky face. Continue your adventure with empire
There were many reasons to not like this person. The first of it being his countless secrets that he hasn’t told her yet.
“I’m not the one that doesn’t tell you anything… you’re the one hiding your truths.”
And she did not like that. That’s why she had an upset expression now…
“It’s not time yet… I’ve told you that much-.”
“You’re a good actor, Alpha. A good scammer as well, perhaps. But… if you want anything from me, you should start peeling off a few of your masks now.”
She did not like how difficult he made this for her.
She… really did not like this.
“If you really want This to go somewhere…”
The blue moon in the sky…
“Then stop this nonsense.”
At the end of the day…
“You don’t have much time anyway.”
It was the only one that will know everything.