Chapter 65: First time

The two of them walked past a clothing store. Lathel merely happened to stare at the gray coat displayed behind the window a little longer than usual, and Catrina immediately stopped.

"Like it?"

He shook his head, but she still turned to the woman standing by the entrance and said, "Wrap it up."

Lathel immediately turned his head, while the shopkeeper had already bowed happily. "Yes, honored guest."

He lightly tugged on the thread, making Catrina look over, then took out his writing board and wrote:

[I said I don’t like it.]

"I know."

Lathel looked even more confused. Catrina glanced at the coat and explained very naturally, "Then we’ll buy it and not wear it."

He: "..."

Pandora immediately said inside his head, "I’m starting to understand her logic."

Lathel had absolutely no desire to understand it and continued walking. A few minutes later, his gaze accidentally stopped on a small stall selling Magic Items, where the vendor was demonstrating a metal bracelet capable of retaining heat.

Catrina immediately said, "Buy it."

Lathel shook his head.

She looked at him, making Lathel think that this time she had finally understood, but right afterward Catrina turned toward the stall owner. "Give me every other type. Leave out the one he just looked at."

Lathel immediately grabbed her wrist. When Catrina turned back, he quickly wrote:

[That’s not what I mean!]

She read it and asked, "Then you want the one from before?"

[I don’t want to buy anything.]

Catrina thought for a few seconds. "There’s nothing you like?"

Lathel nodded.

"Then we’ll go to another store."

He: "..."

Pandora laughed so hard that her voice began to tremble. "I’ve never seen anyone spend money like this."

Lathel stared into empty space with a helpless expression, and this time Catrina finally noticed it and stopped trying to drag him into another shop.

"You don’t like me buying so much?"

Lathel nodded immediately.

Catrina remained silent for a moment before answering, "All right." She turned toward the Black Rose female knight carrying more than ten boxes behind them. "No more buying."

The female knight visibly sighed in relief.

So did Lathel.

Catrina looked at him and added, "I’ll remember."

Those simple words made Lathel pause slightly. She did not justify herself by saying she had money, nor did she tell him he needed to get used to the way she did things. Lathel said he did not like it, and she stopped.

Because of that, the awkwardness in his heart eased considerably.

...

Near noon, Catrina brought him to a restaurant close to the northern plaza. From the outside alone, the place looked luxurious enough that Lathel instinctively glanced down at his own clothes, but the two formally dressed attendants standing at the entrance immediately bowed when Catrina appeared, without asking for a name or identity.

They were led directly to the third floor, not into the main hall, but into a private room overlooking the garden. The moment the door closed, almost all the noise from downstairs disappeared.

Lathel looked around. There were only two seats at the table, no servants stood nearby waiting, and beside his chair, a writing board and several small sheets of paper had already been prepared. He paused slightly, making Catrina ask as she removed her cloak, "Don’t like it?"

Lathel shook his head and pointed at the writing board.

"I told them to prepare it." Catrina sat across from him. "You can’t call for someone, so if every time you need something you have to wait until they ask, it would be troublesome."

Lathel looked around again and noticed a small Magic Crystal set into the door.

Catrina pointed at it. "Touch it, and only then will the servants come in." She paused before adding, "No one will enter without permission."

Lathel looked at her. They were all very small things, but Catrina had clearly remembered them. He did not like people staring at him, he could not speak, and he did not like others getting too close without permission. Compared to all the things she had just bought on the street, this room made him far more comfortable.

Pandora noticed it too. This time, she did not tease him and only said, "At least she really is learning."

Lathel gave a faint nod in his heart.

The meal passed very quietly. Catrina did not force him to eat. She only introduced a few dishes and let Lathel choose for himself. When he put down his utensils, she did not order anything more.

Near the end of the meal, Catrina suddenly touched the Magic Crystal. The door opened, and a woman entered carrying a bouquet of flowers. Lathel glanced over and thought it was merely decoration, until Catrina stood, took the bouquet, then turned and handed it directly to him.

Lathel looked at the small bouquet, mostly arranged with white and pale blue flowers. It was not overly bright, and the stems were neatly tied with a silver ribbon. He looked at the flowers, then at Catrina, then back at the flowers again, while she continued holding them out.

"For you."

Lathel pointed at himself.

"Yes."

He slowly accepted the bouquet, his movements slightly clumsy because he clearly did not know where to hold it without crushing the petals. Catrina sat down again and quietly watched his reaction.

Lathel stared at the bouquet for a long time before finally writing:

[I’ve never been given flowers before.]

The hand holding Catrina’s glass paused. She did not ask why, nor did she show any pity. She simply looked at him for a few more seconds before saying, "Then today is the first time."

Lathel looked up, and the eyes behind her mask curved slightly.

"And it won’t be the last."

A strange feeling appeared in Lathel’s heart. It was not strong, nor did it make his heart race wildly like when the Original Sin Core acted up. It was only a small warmth, but it was clear enough that he could not ignore it.

In his previous life, Lathel had bought flowers before, watched other people give flowers, and there had even been times when he helped others choose which type would be suitable to give their lover. But no one had ever stood in front of him, handed him a bouquet, and simply said, "For you."

Yet somehow, it left him unsure where to look.

Pandora laughed softly, without much intention of teasing him this time. "You’re blushing."

Lathel immediately lowered his head to look at the flowers. Catrina naturally noticed too, but she did not expose him. After a while, he placed the writing board on the table and wrote:

[Why are you doing so much?]

Catrina looked at the question. "Because I like you."

Lathel immediately stiffened.

Pandora also made a sound. "Oh."

He raised his head, but Catrina was still sitting there calmly, as though she had just said something completely ordinary. Lathel continued writing:

[We haven’t known each other for long.]

"I know."

[It’s too fast.]

"I know that too."

He frowned. Catrina thought for a few seconds before saying, "Maybe it’s love at first sight."

Lathel’s gaze clearly showed that he did not completely believe her. Catrina laughed softly, because she could not tell him that she had already lost him once, nor could she explain that in her previous life, she had realized her feelings too late. By the time she wanted to pull this person back to her side, all that remained was a cold body.

But there was another part she could still tell him truthfully.

Catrina placed both hands on the table. "My previous marriage was arranged by my family."

Lathel remained silent.

"I didn’t choose that man. My family said he was suitable, said the marriage would benefit us, and said a daughter of the family should understand what she was supposed to do." Catrina’s voice did not tremble. She spoke calmly, as though recounting something that had happened a very long time ago. "I listened, and then I married him."

She paused. "In the end, nothing good came of it."

Lathel looked at the silver mask. He knew the face beneath it was connected to her former husband.

Catrina lightly touched the edge of her mask. "I don’t want the rest of my life to be spent waiting for other people to tell me what I should like, who I should keep beside me, or when I’m finally allowed to take a step forward."

She looked directly at Lathel. "I like you, so I say it. I want to give you flowers, so I give them to you. I want to pursue you..." The corners of her eyes curved. "...so I will."

Lathel looked at her for a long time before writing:

[What if I reject you?]

Catrina did not avoid the question. "You have that right."

He looked slightly surprised. She raised her wrist, causing the silver thread between them to tremble lightly.

"Like this." Catrina touched the thread with one finger. "If you don’t like it, I’ll take it off."

Lathel lowered his gaze.

"I won’t force you to love me."

Those words made him remember the chain that had once locked his wrist, and Catrina remembered it too. Her gaze rested on Lathel’s wrist for several seconds before she continued, "But rejecting me is your right, while continuing to like you is mine."

Lathel: "..."

Pandora immediately laughed. "I like that logic."

Catrina continued in a softer voice, "I still don’t know what you truly like." She glanced toward the window, remembering the pile of things she had bought earlier. "It seems buying everything with money isn’t a very good method."

Lathel nodded hard.

Catrina laughed. "I understand. So I’ll try little by little. I’ll remember the things you like, and the things you don’t..." Her gaze fell on the silver thread. "...I’ll try to stop."

Not definitely.

Only try.

Yet precisely because of that, Lathel believed her more.

Catrina was not someone capable of changing everything in a single night. Her possessiveness remained, and her stubbornness had not disappeared. But at least now, she had started asking before touching him, started stopping when he said he did not like something, and started giving him the right to decide what was allowed to remain.

Lathel looked at the bouquet. After a while, the corner of his lips unconsciously curved into a very faint smile.

Catrina noticed immediately, but she said nothing. Only the hand beneath the table slowly clenched with happiness.

...

By the time the two of them left the restaurant, the sun had risen higher. Lathel held the bouquet in one hand, while his other wrist was still connected to Catrina’s by the silver thread, and their carriage was waiting ahead.

Catrina had been walking half a step slower because she kept watching Lathel hold the flowers as though he were afraid of breaking even a single petal, but suddenly, the thread tightened.

She looked down.

A very slight pull came through her wrist because Lathel had walked ahead. He was not deliberately pulling her. He was simply walking, and the thread connecting them made Catrina follow.

She stood still for a moment.

The thread was extremely thin. If Lathel used only a little more strength, it would snap. It was completely different from the magical chain she had once used to lock him beside the bed.

Catrina had once believed that if she wanted to keep someone, she had to make it impossible for them to leave.

But now, this thread was so weak that it could barely restrain anyone at all.

And yet Lathel still had not broken it.

He turned back. Seeing that Catrina had not moved, he tilted his head slightly, raised the bouquet a little, then used his free hand to sign:

Thank you.

Catrina froze.

A warm sensation immediately spread through her body. The Lucky Star Halo, which had only been faintly surrounding her, suddenly became a little clearer.

But Catrina did not even bother checking it.

She only looked at Lathel.

"You’re welcome."

He nodded and continued walking.

The thread gently tugged at her wrist again.

This time, Catrina did not remain still.

She immediately followed, the corner of her lips slowly curving behind the mask.

The thread was very thin.

It could not lock anyone in place.

But at least for now, the person walking ahead still had no intention of cutting it.