Free Web NovelChapter 32: A Stolen Moment of Peace (Alicia’s POV)
Alicia’s POV:
As Alicia held his hand firmly and started leading him around the city, she couldn’t feel more happier about the date than she did right now.
’Hehe... Finally, we have some free time together, where you can’t run away from me.’
As they walked around the coastal city hand in hand, Alden made several requests, trying to tell her that he was not going to run away, but she didn’t let go of his hand. She didn’t want to let go of the warmth she had finally gotten back after years of separation. Never.
She looked around with an excited expression, searching for something fun to do rather than just walking quietly.
Her face finally halted as her gaze fell on a white stuffed teddy bear. It had bright red eyes. The teddy was cute, but that is not what attracted her. The teddy gave her a distinct familiarity to her Alden, whose natural red eyes always drew her in.
She stepped forward. She couldn’t hold back, wanting to claim it for herself.
"Do you want to play that game?" he asked.
"No."
She took out a few silver coins from her pocket, gave them to the shopkeeper, and received three throwing rings for three tries.
She didn’t plan to play it herself. She didn’t come here to play games; she came here to spend time with him, and that meant involving him in anything she wanted to do.
"You will play for me."
He looked confused and shocked as he pointed a finger at himself.
"Me? But—"
"No buts. I order you to win that teddy for me."
She pointed at the one at the very top and center, where her eyes remained fixed.
Alden finally agreed, as he couldn’t win against her demand.
When the shopkeeper talked about the Awakener rules and the blindfold, she didn’t care about the restrictions. She just helped him tie the blindfold. She strongly believed that he would definitely going to win it. It was not a prediction based on past experience; it was just her gut feeling.
She watched as the shopkeeper started to use his scheme, quietly moving that specific teddy away from its targeted place. She narrowed her eyes but didn’t say anything.
If Alden still wasn’t able to win it, she would just buy it with more money. Money was not a problem for her. As the daughter of an SS-ranker, she had enough monthly pocket money to waste that she could buy an entire city with it. A small teddy was nothing to her.
She waited for Alden to get ready and toss the ring. Unexpectedly, his ring missed the direction where the teddy was earlier present. It deflected off the wall and a vase, landing directly where the shopkeeper had moved the prize.
As the ring fell perfectly around the teddy’s neck, Alicia couldn’t help but feel amused by the situation. She looked at the shocked expression of the shopkeeper.
’Hehe... It seems he is too lucky to lose for me.’
Alden then tossed the remaining two rings. The result was the exact same as earlier. Both rings landed bizarrely on the other targets.
She looked at the prizes. One was a similar teddy with white fur and violet eyes, and the other was a tiny one with white fur and violet eyes.
Suddenly, her mind turned blank. She walked forward without even hearing his comments.
"Give me my teddies."
The shopkeeper snapped out of his daze. He hurriedly walked over, collected the three teddy bears, and handed them to her.
Alicia picked them up and clutched them tightly against her chest, holding the three pushies protectively.
She looked at them while fantasizing about something to herself.
’One day, our family will also be like this. You, me, and our little one. Hehe... It will be a happy family.’
She clutched the three teddies tightly, embracing the beautiful fantasy that might become possible someday.
She then started walking while cradling the teddies like a precious treasure. For a brief moment, she even forgot about the boy behind her, who was the primary component needed to make her fantasy into reality.
Alden joined her, walking beside her as she remained in her daze.
"I think you should put those away now in your storage ring. No one is going to steal them from you."
Alicia paused as she suddenly returned from her thoughts. She nodded and stored the teddies in her storage ring while composing herself.
"So where shall we go now?" he asked.
"Let’s go eat something. I feel hungry."
As Alden nodded, Alicia quickly grabbed his hand and started leading him again.
"Hey, but I am not running away anymore!"
’Nope, my precious treasure. Until our little family is formed, I will never let you go from my sight again. I am not going to repeat the same mistake I did before.’
"Nope. I don’t trust you. You might run away."
"What?..."
Alicia pulled his hand and started to lead him out as an imperceptible smile tugged on her lips.
...
Near the seashore of Nerevia.
Alicia sat while gazing at the beautiful setting sun. The bright orange light fell on the sea water, sparkling as the light illuminated the waves even more.
Alicia leaned on the wooden bench as she looked at the view.
’Hmph... It feels peaceful... It has been a while since I last had such a moment of peace. But I know that peace won’t last for much longer, as the world will be filled with chaos once again. New problems will arise, the world will be trapped in constant battles and war, and no one knows if this world is still going to survive or not.’
’And in the center of it all, he will surely get dragged in there again. I have to protect him at any cost. I won’t let him get hurt. He is mine, and his worries and problems are also mine. I have to handle the situation so that I can clear the trouble before it even arises.’
’But that is all the secondary part which I have to handle. The primary part is to take care of any bitches that—’
"Here, take this."
Alden finally came back. He sat beside her and offered the barbecue. She took it and started to eat with small bites.
All of the messy thoughts vanished from her brain the moment he sat beside her. She could still feel his warmth from the small distance. She looked at his side profile.
"You know what? You are the luckiest person in the world."
The words slipped from her tongue unexpectedly. Even she didn’t know why she suddenly said it. She noticed a look of panic in his expression as he hesitantly questioned her.
"Why do you think I am lucky?"
She smiled softly, a genuine one, as she looked right at him.
"You already know, or you might just be ignoring it."
She looked away, gazing back at the warm sea.
’Stupid Alden, don’t you know that as long as I am beside you, I will not let anything or anyone touch you? You are mine to care for, you are mine to protect, you are mine to brag about. You are my lucky star.’
She stood up, turned around, and offered her hand to him. She didn’t back down even though he was trying to find excuses. She didn’t want this moment to end. At least not until today’s date ended.
As she held his hand and pulled him to walk forward, she suddenly noticed his shocked expression. He stared at the empty air with a pale expression.
’What is he looking at? Hmph... I remember the past Alden also used to look at the empty air like that. What is the exact mystery? Something is definitely there... It seems I have to find out.’
She didn’t ask him what happened, as she knew he would not give her a genuine answer right now.
"Is everything okay? Are you not feeling well?"
Alden finally snapped out of his daze and smiled softly.
"No, let’s go. I just remembered something important I had missed, but now it is fine."
’Hmph... You are pretty bad at lying, Alden. You should improve your skills in it.’
As they started to walk and navigate their way toward the seaport, her gaze was entirely focused on him, noticing his pale complexion. She strongly wanted to ask him what problem he was facing. What big decision he was planning to make. But she remained quiet. It was his decision to tell her or not. She could not force him to tell her what he wanted to hide.
As both of them reached the bustling port, Alden gently let go of her hand. He backed away a little and looked at her with a small smile.
"Well... It is a bit embarrassing to walk into the crowd together... So let’s go our separate ways from here. It was a nice day with you, Alicia. I will remember this day for a long time."
Alden nodded, turned around, and walked away toward the port, leaving Alicia standing alone in the back.
Alicia remained standing there silently for a few seconds. Her eyes narrowed at his back as he walked further away from her.
’It seems he is trying to push me away again. How dare you, Alden... Even after our happy date, how could you dare to pull away from me? I won’t let you. Not this time. You can’t escape me.’
As his figure completely disappeared, she finally stepped up to walk into the port. Clasping her hands behind her back, a faint smile tugged on her lips. Her eyes looked ahead with an intense, burning gaze.
"Hehe... It seems you are not going to change how you are... What a stubborn little boy you are, Alden, trying to push me away, not knowing it is completely useless. You won’t be able to run away for much longer. After all, you are mine. Hehe..."
"And... If that is how you will continue to behave, then it seems I have to change my tactics. It seems from now on, you will also see a glimpse of my other side too."
She walked forward through the crowds, waiting to see what their new journey might unfold, which might make them closer or might push them further apart. But she didn’t care about anything else other than him. He was the only thing that mattered to her now.
