Chapter 190: We are not at that stage

"W-won’t you say something?" Seraphina asked, her shy eyes looking at Vlad expectantly. He had been staring at her silently with his half-opened eyes for several seconds now. "Do you like me or not?" She demanded, pressing his cheeks.

His face slowly moved closer to hers, the anticipation only making her heart race even faster.

"Sera..." Vlad murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "Sera, I..."

Thud!

He fell onto her chest before he could finish his words.

"Vlad... Vlad..." Seraphina called out to him, but no response came. He was completely passed out. "Dummy, how could you leave me hanging like this?" she muttered, releasing a sigh. Her arms warmly cradled his head as she continued, "How am I supposed to sleep now?"

The last time they had slept together, it was Vlad who couldn’t get a wink of sleep the entire night. The tables had completely turned now. He was sleeping soundly, leaving the poor girl at the cliffhanger.

---

Vlad’s eyes opened as he felt something softer than a pillow beneath his face, while a sweet, rosy fragrance filled his nose. A hand was gently massaging his head.

He slightly lifted his head, finding himself lying on top of Seraphina. She was already awake, her pearl-like pink eyes fixed on his face.

"Good morning, Commoner," she whispered, her tone gentle.

"G-good morning, Sera," Vlad mumbled, flustered. He moved away from her and lay beside her as he asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

Seraphina took a long breath as nearly a hundred kilograms of weight had been lifted from her. "Not too long," she revealed, her chest rising and falling beneath slow but heavy breaths. "It’s still early morning."

After a moment, she muttered, her eyes trembling with nervousness, "You are such a terrible man. How could you do this to me?"

Vlad almost lost all color from his face, the remnants of sleep vanishing from his eyes. He instantly looked down. Both of them were still dressed. He released a sigh of relief.

"Wh-what did I do?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I asked you something last night," Seraphina sulked, her cheeks slightly puffing up. "You fell asleep without answering."

Vlad’s brows twitched in confusion, seeming completely unaware. "Could you ask me again? My memory of last night is very hazy."

"What do you remember!?" Seraphina demanded, leaning closer and tugging at his shirt.

"I remember carrying you to the bed," Vlad answered, his brows knitting together as he tried to recall.

"And?" Seraphina probed, clearly flustered.

"Oh right. I also remember that you told me to always call you Sera."

"Anything else?"

"Was there supposed to be more?" Vlad asked, appearing genuinely clueless. "I really can’t recall anything else."

Seraphina stared directly into his eyes, finding nothing but confusion in them. She released a sigh of relief. She shifted closer to him, resting her forehead against his chest, and muttered, "You really are a terrible man. It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember. I will ask you again when we return to the academy."

"Why wait until then?" Vlad chuckled, patting her head. "Ask it right now. I will answer you honestly."

"That’s why I’m not asking," her voice came out muffled as she hid her face in his chest. "I’m afraid of your honest answer."

Vlad didn’t pry any further, even though he was very curious. She must have had her reasons for being secretive about it.

---

Within an hour, the duo readied themselves and met up with Hugo, Alisha, and Raphael.

Just as they had planned the previous night, the party was divided into three teams: Vlad and Alisha would eliminate the first troll. Raphael and Hugo would take care of the troll on the right path, while Seraphina would go to the left, eliminating the third troll.

They could have ignored the trolls altogether and gone straight inside the area the trolls were guarding. Eliminating the monsters was never their mission. They needed to find the reason behind the unusual monster surge.

The only reason they even bothered to eliminate three of the five trolls was to avoid getting surrounded by them after completing the mission. Defeating all of them was unnecessary, time-wasting, and energy-consuming.

Once everyone went their separate ways, Vlad asked Alisha, "Senior, what is your element?"

The duo rode their beasts along the icy path, weaving through the dense, shadowy forest.

"We have been traveling for days now, and you don’t even know that?" Alisha muttered with a frown.

"Well, I haven’t seen you in action yet," Vlad shrugged, stating the obvious. He only knew that she was a healer and must be one hell of one since Seraphina had chosen her. As for her abilities or elemental affinity, he had no idea whatsoever. She had mostly remained passive until now.

"It sounds like you are calling me useless," she retorted, swaying her thick auburn braid back. She placed her hands on her hips and continued with a playful pout, "It is considered a blessing for the team if there is no work for a healer. As for my element, it is Lumin."

"Lumin..." Vlad mumbled, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Senior, I think you should avoid using your spells on me during the battle. Your Lumin mana might disrupt the flow of my Umbra Mana."

"You don’t need to worry about that," Alisha replied in a boastful tone, raising her head high. "There is a reason Lady Seraphina has trusted her man to me. Healing is my speciality, not the extent of my abilities."

"I-Is that so..." Vlad murmured, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Wait!" The corner of his eyebrow rose as he noticed her strange choice of words. "Could you repeat what you just said?"

He needed to make sure that he had heard her correctly.

"Healing is my speciality, not the exte—"

"No, before that," he interjected, cutting her off.

"There is a reason Lady Seraphina trusted her man to me," she repeated the exact same words.

Vlad’s lips parted, then closed again, as if he was at a loss for words. Alisha could clearly see the flustered expression on his usually composed face.

"I-I think you are misunderstanding my relationship with her," he blurted, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. "We are only fr—"

’But I don’t wish to be your friend.’

Before he could finish his declaration, Seraphina’s words from when they were interrupted by the trolls echoed in his mind.

"W-we are not at that stage," he murmured in a flustered tone, covering his mouth with his fist, clearly embarrassed.