Chapter 226: Your tears hurt more

Seeing the wyvern heading in the direction from which he had come, Vlad decided to follow it.

What if they were subordinates of Daemoth who had come to get rid of the evidence?

When he reached the area around the cave, his suspicion only deepened. The snow was completely gone, and Daemoth’s corpse lay exposed in the open.

He climbed a nearby tree for a clearer view. No one was present in the vicinity.

"Did they all go to the cave?" Vlad wondered, his gaze reaching the tunnel.

Someone was coming out.

His hand moved to the hilt of the sword at his side as two people emerged from the dark cave.

Seraphina and Chloe.

Vlad’s eyes widened, a smile blooming on his face. His heartbeat suddenly quickened, and his fingers trembled slightly. Even though not much time had passed outside, it had been four years for him since he had last seen them.

The sight of them alone stirred something deep within his heart.

The bodysuit covering him transformed into a pair of regular trousers and a loose T-shirt.

He jumped off the tree, arriving a few meters in front of the duo, who seemed on the verge of tears.

"Chloe..." he called, his crimson eyes narrowing with warmth. "Sera..."

Chloe’s head lifted, her eyes settling on Vlad. Her breath caught in her throat, her heartbeat rapidly increasing.

Her pale lavender irises began to tremble, a pool of tears forming along her eyelids.

"Vlad..." she murmured, slowly moving forward.

Her pace increased with each step, tears falling directly onto the cold ground as she sprinted forward.

She only stopped when her body met Vlad’s in a hug, her feet leaving the ground.

Vlad’s heart skipped a beat, a low gasp escaping his lips as her familiar warmth washed over him like nirvana.

Muffled cries escaped Chloe, filling the air as her body squirmed in his arms.

Vlad’s arms gently wrapped around her back. "I’m fine, Chloe. Don’t worry."

His words only made her cries louder as all her anxiety drained away, replaced by a surge of relief.

Her face parted from his chest and rose upward. She began kissing him on both cheeks as if afraid that he might vanish again.

"Th-thank goodness...th-thank goodness," she whimpered in a broken voice while continuously kissing him.

It was only then that Vlad realised how much his disappearance had actually affected her. Each tear falling from her eyes, each gasp escaping her mouth, struck Vlad’s heart like a dagger.

He held her firmly by the waist with one hand, her feet still in the air, while his other hand patted her head to calm her down.

"I’m sorry." These were the only words he managed to say aloud.

He only let go of her once she had calmed down a little.

He wiped her damp cheeks with the sleeve of his T-shirt. Her red eyes were proof enough of how much she must have suffered in his absence.

"You have grown," he murmured, noticing her increased height. Her head, which had only reached his chest before, now came up to his chin.

The little baby fat on her cheeks was gone, making her features even more striking. She was already beautiful enough, but now...she looked as though she had been sculpted by the hands of the gods themselves.

"I entered the State of Enlightenment for three years," she revealed with low gasps, her little nose red from all the crying.

Vlad was about to ask her more about it when she continued, "I will tell you about it later. Meet her first."

She glanced at Seraphina, taking a step back.

Vlad’s gaze now turned to her. She had been standing in her position, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Ang...hic...waaah..." Her cute cries slowly grew louder.

Vlad quickly moved towards her. He extended his arms for a hug. "Sera, I—"

Slap!

Before he could finish his words, a sharp slap landed across his face. Seraphina’s other hand was still rubbing her eye.

"O-ow!" Vlad gasped, slightly taken aback by the sudden slap. Nevertheless, he still approached her.

She tried to push him back and move his arms away when he tried to hug her. Her resistance was minimal.

He pulled her into his embrace, completely melting away her futile struggle. The hands that had been pushing him away wrapped around his back.

"N-never...never ever d-do that again," she muttered, referring to how he had stayed behind to let the team escape. "You have no idea how scared I was."

"I’m sorry," Vlad murmured in a calm tone, his hand gently stroking her head. "Forgive me for scaring you."

After a couple of minutes, she parted from him, her hand rising to his face. She brushed his cheek and asked, "Did I hit you too hard? Does it hurt?"

Her words were laced with genuine worry, her pink eyes looking at him with guilt.

Vlad shook his head. He grabbed the hand resting on his cheek, his other hand wiping her damp cheeks. "Your tears hurt more."

Her eyes immediately lowered, her cheeks flushing with shyness.

"Wh-when did you become such a smooth talker?" she asked in a low voice.

He gently lifted her face by the chin, making her pink eyes meet his.

"You look ugly when you cry," he lied with a straight face.

She looked so adorable that he wanted to hug her again.

His words made her immediately flinch, her cheeks slightly puffing up in a sulk as she lowered her face in an attempt to hide from his eyes.

"But you look very cute when you smile," Vlad continued, his tone teasing. "So you should smile more. Tears don’t suit your face."

Her cheeks turned even redder, the blush reaching her ears.

"Y-you couldn’t be Vlad. He is a dumb-dumb. He can never talk like this."

"Say those words while looking at me," Vlad chuckled, continuing his teasing.

She raised her face in a fluster, her fluttering eyes looking at his annoyingly handsome face.

"You shouldn’t tease a lady, or else..."

"Or else?" Vlad asked, a smile playing on his face.

She stepped closer, placed her hands on his shoulders, and rose onto her toes. Her eyes closed as the distance between their faces slowly decreased.

She was about to feel his warmth when a voice came from the background.

"Ahem-ahem."

The duo immediately took a step back, their heads snapping toward the source of the voice.

Lucas stood by the entrance of the cave, his arms folded and his dark eyes narrowed at Vlad.