Chapter 177: Reason to join the mission

"Just the scenery outside," Vlad replied, turning around.

He found Seraphina standing there, wearing a high-neck sweater and thick but loose pajamas. Her crimson hair was spilled freely around her shoulders, framing her ethereal face, which carried a faint, natural pinkish hue.

"What’s there to see?" Seraphina asked, giving a quick glance outside before returning her gaze to Vlad. "One look and it might give you nightmares for the rest of your life."

"Hmm, the scenery inside is far more beautiful," Vlad nodded in agreement.

His words left her with parted lips and widened eyes. ’D-did he just mean that for me? He definitely meant those words for me. What else is there here that he would find beautiful? But how could he say that with such a straight face?’

She began squirming, the pink hue of her cheeks turning crimson.

’There she loses her screw again,’ Vlad sighed inwardly. He had gotten used to these minor crashes every now and then.

"By the way, there is something I wanted to ask you, Sera," Vlad said, gesturing towards the bed for her to take a seat.

Once they sat at the edge, he continued, "Why exactly did you want to join this quest? You said it was because you’ll be extremely busy at the Magic Tower starting next semester, but that doesn’t seem like enough of a reason to risk your life when you already have everything you could want. Still...if the reason is something you can’t share, that’s completely fine with me."

A brief silence followed.

Seraphina’s lips parted but closed again. She took a deep breath and finally managed to say it out loud, "It’s because of my mother."

Vlad was a bit surprised, but he didn’t let the emotion flicker across his face. He listened to her silently.

"My mother was a strong woman, second only to the Legendary Knight. She fell in love with Father during their training at the academy under the Principal. Their feelings were mutual. As soon as the War of Dragons ended, they got married and had me. Mother told me this story when I was little," Seraphina’s words came low but steady. "Whenever I imagine her, only her smiling face appears in my mind because that was the only way I ever saw her. I was too little to understand back then. But now that I look back, I realise she was helplessly in love with Father and me. She seemed like someone who had truly won at life."

Her grip tightened on the fabric of her pajamas, her eyes shaking as she revealed in a suppressed tone, "Contrary to what history claimed, Mother never suffered a fatal injury during the war. She was perfectly healthy. One day, she and Father left home, claiming they had an important mission to attend to. T-two months later, only Father returned, completely broken."

Tears trickled down her cheeks as the image of Lucas from back then reappeared in her mind. "I-I didn’t see the pain he carried. I-I blamed him for Mother’s death. I kept hitting him. He accepted all the beating and kept crying while holding me."

Her breath came in short, ragged gasps. She wiped the tears from her eyes and continued, steadying herself. "He never revealed how Mother actually died. When I kept relentlessly pushing him for answers, he declared that he would tell me once I surpassed him. He might have said that just to avoid telling me, but that is the only lead I have to find the truth. I must surpass my father."

Vlad didn’t need to know any further why she was so desperate to join such a dangerous quest. If her goal was to surpass her father, Lucas Cendral, the man who had fought the mighty dragons and was the only Eight-Ring Mage in the Argentum Kingdom, she would need more than just forming more rings. She needed the same, or even more, battle experience than her father.

"Thank you for telling me all this, Sera," Vlad finally spoke up as he gently placed his hand on her head. The small gesture gave her a deep sense of comfort.

"I know you wanted to ask about my mother when you saw her picture in my room," Seraphina murmured, her eyes lowered. Her hands rose slightly from her lap in hesitation but moved back. She took a deep breath and raised her hands again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "Thank you for being considerate of me back then. And thank you for listening to my story."

Vlad’s hand moved down from her head, reaching her back and letting her feel the comfort of his embrace.

A few seconds later, when Seraphina had calmed down, she muttered as she moved back, "Ugh, your armor is cold as ice. Why won’t you take it off?"

"I need to be on alert since we are just a couple of kilometres away from the orcs," Vlad revealed with a shrug. "What if they suddenly ambushed us and I didn’t get the time to put on my armor?"

"I would have agreed with your thoughts if we were in regular camps or in the deeper part of the forest," Seraphina replied, returning to her usual demeanor. "The monsters below Rank Four cannot destroy these mushroom camps instantly."

The moment she said those words, Vlad instantly rose from the bed and unstrapped the metallic gauntlets. The pieces of armor fell to the ground with heavy thuds as he removed them one after another.

"It certainly feels more comfortable now," Vlad sighed in relief as he took off his gambeson, leaving only a thin fabric tunic that did little to hide his refined muscles.

"Th-that seemed to be really heavy," Seraphina released a low gasp, her eyes darting toward the pieces of armor spread across the floor.

"It probably weighs the same as you," Vlad replied in a casual tone, once again not choosing his words wisely.

"You didn’t just say that when I called it heavy?" Seraphina muttered, her expression darkening as she glared at Vlad with her sharp pink eyes.

"No, I mean that the armor is really light," Vlad clarified himself as if stating a matter of fact. "I can carry it for my whole life without even breaking a sweat."

"H-huh?" Seraphina blinked twice, her expression taking a total flip as her cheeks bloomed crimson. ’H-he wants to carry me for his whole life!?!?!?!???’