Chat at Night
Standing outside the door, the youngster directed his speech inside the room in a quiet voice: “Um… Miss Liu Yue, are you asleep?”
The youngster was nervous. Speaking to her agonised him. As a matter of fact, he didn’t dare to look her in the eye. If was as though he could see his despicable acts reflected in her eyes.
Liu Yue was combing her wet tail in her room. When the youngster called out to her all of a sudden, she panicked; however, because Vera notified her prior, she was able to quickly return to a calm state. She walked to the door and replied, “Not yet. Do you need something?”
“Um… You don’t need to open up. People will talk ill of you if you open your door for a male stranger at night. I’ll just speak from here,” answered the youngster.
He was right. If somebody saw them, misunderstandings would arise. He was surprisingly thoughtful. He sat down against her door.
“I’m very sorry, Miss Liu Yue.”
“What?” Liu Yue didn’t comprehend what it was about.
“I’m sorry about what happened.”
The youngster scratched his ear. He perceived recognising a fault as a virtue, but the virtue would always make him feel a little shy and wronged. The youngster was somewhat glad Liu Yue didn’t open the door; he’d unlikely be able to apologise when he looked into her eyes.
The youngster peered into dark sky. He elaborated, “Ever since I met you, I’ve hurt you over and over again. I don’t know why accidents continue to happen between us when we’re together. I almost squashed you at first, accidentally offended you and threatened you when you cared for me. I’m to blame. I’m very sorry. I know that a mere apology is plain and weak, but I don’t have anything at the moment. All I can give you at the moment is an apology. If you want my life, if belongs to Queen Vera, so I can’t thoughtlessly hand it over.”
“I don’t need your life, anyway.”
Liu Yue recalled the things that happened between her and the youngster. Indeed, the two continued to have misunderstandings ever since their meeting and in peculiar ways no less. It didn’t apply to just the youngster but also Liu Yue. She almost stomped him to death on their first meeting, and then she got him imprisoned.
“What do you need, then? I honestly feel too guilty. I repaid your kindness with grief. If I can’t compensate you, my conscience will torment me. I may have to live in guilt and regret forever. It would be too cruel if you did that.”
While it was a fact that Liu Yue was initially angry, she didn’t think he did anything wrong later on as he fell down due to snapping a branch the first time and the second time was due to a negotiation. It didn’t turn into a physical altercation.
“I don’t need your apology or compensation. Since you said it was a misunderstanding, treat it as a misunderstanding. I don’t have any desire to make you compensate me. Plus, what can you compensate me with? My father can give me what you can.”
Liu Yue lost interest. The apology was, frankly, meaningless to her. He couldn’t give her what she wanted. What Liu Yue wanted most was her dad’s love, something the youngster could never give her.
The youngster pondered to himself for a while, and then suddenly remembered what Vera said. There was one thing he thought would entertain the four sisters, and that was different scenery and enjoyment. As Vera said, the four sisters weren’t pursuing some noble ambition but merely an adventure to prove themselves. Extrapolating from that, he reasoned another nation’s celebration must be very interesting to them.
“In that case, I will make time to have some fun at the celebration once we arrive.”
“A celebration?!”
Liu Yue liked celebrations in spite of residing in the North. Liu Yue didn’t want to reveal it, but she was actually still a girl who couldn’t sleep the day before a school festival. Therefore, she was very excited when she heard there was a celebration there.
“Yes. Once we overcome this crisis, there will be a three day celebration when Queen Vera successfully ascends the throne. Lots of people will only get to experience this celebration once in a lifetime, which is why it’ll be a grand event. Lots and lots of merchants will sell things on the streets. The entire city will be filled with the fragrant smell of food. There’ll be a ball and cocktail party in the palace. Additionally, Queen Vera will open the palace. It’s an auspicious festival.”
He didn’t say that to trick Liu Yue. He, too, wore a look of eagerness. The youngster also looked forward to the big ceremony. As opposed to saying he informed Liu Yue, you might as well say that he was informing himself.
“I want to see it. Such a grandiose celebration must be fun.”
Liu Yue began to imagine how it would look. The North held big celebrations, as well. There were a total of two annually, which was a total of four days. The two celebrations were the national holiday and Troy’s birthday. Liu Yue was very, very eager to attend each time. Not only did she get a break from school for the four days, but, most importantly, her mom would take her to the Imperial Palace. There’d be all sorts of stores at the Imperial City, and the festive atmosphere was unforgettable, making her to indulge in it forever. That was why she teemed with interest for a foreign nation’s big celebration.
The youngster firmly nodded. He apparently forgot Liu Yue couldn’t see him. He, too, grew excited about the celebration as he spoke of it. It was as if he wasn’t going home to save his Queen but to have fun at the celebration.
The darkness he fixed his eyes on was still, yet the youngster sounded excited as he spoke. Liu Yue asked for a summary for all sorts of questions. She’d ask about the festival and about what she cared about. Their warmth seeped through the door to meld together. In his young voice, he illustrated bustling crowds, the fragrant air, the people’s laughter, the nobles’ cocktails, the scent of perfumes in the air and the people’s smile. The sound of the ocean waves around them virtually died out. The conversation brought a smile to their faces.
They lost track of how many times the stars flashed. Perhaps the stars were tired of shining by then. They lost track of how many times the waves splashed. The young man and girl finally fell quiet after countless droplets of water had hit the water. It was as if the two ran out of things to say. Maybe it was because they were both finally tired. Eventually, it was silent.
Nobody knew what the future held. Neither he nor Liu Yue knew what they’d go through after reaching his nation, but their mood was as pleasant as the weather.
With her back against her door, Liu Yue looked around her room and softly sighed: “How nice… Celebrations and whatnot… are really nice… I want to see it.”
“Aren’t we on our way there? I promise that, if we can resolve this, then I shall to take you to the celebration. We won’t have to worry about anything by then. You can play to your heart’s content. Before that, however, we need to protect Queen Vera.”
“I honestly don’t know if we can do it. Honestly speaking, I’ve never undertaken such a job before; or rather, I’ve never gone through something so serious before. I don’t understand politics, and I’m ignorant with respect to military affairs. I’m just an ordinary girl; I just want to prove that I’m not a girl, though.”
“It’s all right. I’ll protect you.”
The youngster was in horrible shape at the start. He, in fact, almost died.
Liu Yue pursed her lips into a smile: “If you really can protect me, I won’t need my sisters, right? I trust my sisters more than I trust you.”
“Don’t say that. I’m actually strong.”
The youngster awkwardly rubbed his head. Liu Yue stood up. The didn’t notice that they were no longer shy or awkward around each other.
Liu Yue turned around. Smiling, she gently pressed her hand onto her door. Voice soft, she said, “I need to sleep now. I’m happy to have heard so much about the celebration today. It’s something I’ve never seen before. I’m eager to see it, but as you said, what we need to focus on first is how to protect Miss Vera, correct?”
“Oh… Yes.”
The youngster stood up. When he went to leave, nonetheless, he looked at the door and had lingering feelings for some reason. A part of his heart didn’t want to leave.
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter
