Chapter 229: Troublesome Side Quests

Sniff~

Sniff~

Moon frowned; this was a smell he recognized. It was utterly pleasant to the point of being absolutely unpleasant.

"Lord Mooooon?" A sweet, melodic voice called out.

Moon sped up away from the voice; he had too much on his mind to waste time now.

"Lord Mooooooon?, please wait?" The owner of the fragrance called again.

Moon pursed his lips. ’She’s part of the faction after all; I can’t just ignore her like this,’ he thought to himself before justifying turning around to face his follower.

He was met with a silk dress, long and dragging on the floor—a new kind of clothing he was seeing for the first time. Something he wouldn’t have believed was real if he had been told about it. Unlike the secure kind of clothing everyone else was wearing, such as robes or armor, this was entirely defenseless.

Moon had used his entire capacity of mental power to control his actions and behave normally around women. And today, of all days, when he shouldn’t...

He was being challenged all over again by a dress that was too revealing at the top, featuring a bust so large he wasn’t sure what to look at. Her arms were thin and smooth, her skin soft and smelling pleasant. Her hair was shoulder-length blond, paired with hazel eyes that looked like they could stare right through his soul, a round face with a pointy chin, and a perfect neck-to-jawline.

Ehm~

"Haya, how may I help you?" Moon asked sternly while holding his breath, trying not to be overwhelmed by the scent.

He brought his eyes up, carefully avoiding looking at the needlessly pleasant-to-look-at bust.

"What’s troubling you?" Haya asked. "You look too troubled, Lord Moon.?"

’Ah, fuck... she said it again,’ Moon thought silently. ’I didn’t know my name could sound so pleasant,’ he added a mental note that he knew he would need to discard soon.

Instead, Moon raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself. "Me, troubled?" he asked. "You must be imagining things." He shrugged, turning around to leave.

Or run away.

If anything, he knew he needed to stay away from her.

Haya, on the other hand, stepped closer to him, almost allowing her chest to rest against Moon’s arms.

Moon instinctively dodged her. ’I’m just a kid; leave me alone,’ he screamed inwardly, trying to fight the urges flashing before his eyes.

Haya didn’t give up; she jumped into his path and leaned forward, revealing a little more than usual in a straight line to her face that Moon made sure to strictly focus on.

Cough~

Moon sidestepped and sped up even faster.

"Lord Moon, wait," Haya called in a tone full of feigned defeat and weakness, running to stand in his way once more. "I’m only worried about you. Maybe discussing your worries would make them go away."

’Go away, my ass,’ Moon answered in his heart. "Get ready for the war," he said sternly, avoiding looking at her entirely.

"We’re going to war," Haya said in a scared voice. "Lord Moon will protect me, right?"

’Women are dangerous,’ Moon’s mind screamed at this point. He found himself sweating, torn between the desire to bond and the frightening feeling of having his mind overtaken by something foreign.

Moon was a person who lived his life through the desire for sheer control. Controlling his life, his fate, the battlefields he was thrown into, and making sure his brothers survived...

He felt his thoughts and actions being influenced by Haya’s behavior—something he had never seen or experienced in his life, and something his brothers had never mentioned to him.

If anything, only once, while eating, Ed had said: "Beware of women; they’ll probably ruin your life completely if you take the wrong turn."

Only one warning, and Moon recognized the exact situation he was now facing as a bad turn—a frightening turn that would cost him dearly. Yet, the problem was that he had no idea how to get himself out of it.

’Should I stab her?’ he thought. ’Or punch her in the face and gut?’ he wondered.

A deeply problematic situation.

Moon needed help, or at least guidelines to resolve this. He couldn’t just go around killing members of his faction.

’Why didn’t she go after Roran?’ Moon wondered.

He knew he wasn’t very good-looking compared to the guys on the other faction’s side. They had Roran, Enzo, Lorian... ’Those bastards look like they shower every day,’ Moon thought. ’There’s also Emrys here; that bastard is good-looking too,’ he reflected.

Little did he know, his mind was beginning to wane under the pressure of those cute, affectionate eyes and the bright gaze calling out to him.

"Oii!"

Someone suddenly interrupted the sticky situation he was in, placing a firm hand on Haya’s shoulder. "Are you going to war like this?" the newcomer asked.

Creak~

Crack~

Lexie ran her thumb over her knuckles, cracking them while holding onto Haya’s shoulder with her other hand.

"Oh my, Lady Lexie," Haya said brightly. "Glad you’re finally here," she added with a hint of joy.

Lexie’s face fell as she brought her eyes closer to Haya’s. "I thought you needed a few punches in the face."

Haya froze, blinking.

Pat~

Pat~

"Now be on your way, or I might really punch you," Lexie warned with a rough shoulder pat.

Haya pursed her lips, bowed curtly to Moon, and walked away.

After she left, Moon exhaled sharply. He looked at Lexie, unsure whether he should thank her or not. If he thanked her, it would mean he was truly cornered. And if he was truly cornered, it meant he needed help and could easily be cornered again.

Lexie waved her hand dismissively, looking smug. "No need to thank me. Nola said that brat was bothering you."

Moon nodded. "Say thanks to Nola for me then."

"What about my thanks?" Lexie asked, crossing her arms and squinting. "It was me who came here to help you, after all."

Moon felt a sense of deja vu kicking in. He had seen this scene play out before somehow and knew exactly where it was going.

Holding his head, Moon felt a headache coming on. "I thought I told Nola about this already," he tried to explain, recalling the tea conversation he had had with Nola during the last skirmish round.

"Hohoho." Lexie covered her mouth with a hand and laughed. "I’ve prepared something special for this."

"Moon, you’ve got a call."

Talia’s voice rang out, saving Moon once more from another troublesome side quest.

"Sure," Moon answered readily, turning back to Lexie, who looked perplexed. "Sorry, let’s discuss this later," he said, speeding away from where she stood.

Walking over to Talia’s side, he asked, "What’s going on?"

"Just follow me," she said, moving quickly in a specific direction.

Moon followed her wordlessly until they reached the roof of the palace.

"He’s waiting," Talia said, raising her ring. "He found my contact and wanted to talk to you."

Moon knew immediately who was waiting. He sighed; it was still his first day here, yet he couldn’t even take a smooth breath without someone wanting something from him.

Shaking his head, he conceded, "All right, let’s talk then."

Talia nodded. With a small swipe, Enzo’s face appeared on the projection. "Hey Moon, sorry things got too complicated... I had a hard time trying to contact you too."

"Oh... Yeah, hey..." Moon paused. "Sorry, but what was your name again?"