The morning had barely begun, yet sohow it had already beco the most awkward one of Regaleon’s life.
The lake was cold... Or at least, it should have been.
The water cascading endlessly from the cliff above carried the chill of mountain springs, mist drifted across the surface of the lake in pale veils, and the breeze that swept through the clearing should have been enough to raise goosebumps on anyone’s skin...
Yet standing there now, Regaleon could have sworn the entire lake had beco unbearably warm.
Or perhaps it wasn’t the lake...
Maybe it was simply this... This situation...
The waterfall still roared, the lake rippled softly, and creatures sowhere deep within the Crimson Forest still cried out in strange haunting tones...
But despite all those sounds, the silence between him and Aureleah sohow felt louder.
Neither of them spoke nor did they moved; golden eyes remained fixed stubbornly on the water while silver eyes did the sa...
Suddenly, both of them found the surface of the lake to be extraordinarily interesting. Seconds stretched... Then they beca minutes...
The silence beca suffocating and the duo refused to break it.
For the first ti since arriving in the Crimson Forest, Regaleon discovered sothing terrifying...
Monsters were easier to deal with than this.
Give him another horde of Wights...
Give him the five monstrosities again...
Hell, even give him those cursed Winged Wights...
Just give him anything...
Anything would be preferable to standing waist-deep in a lake while trying to pretend that another person wasn’t standing only a short distance away.
The Forgotten Knight silently curse his luck.
How had this happened?
He had only wanted a bath, that was all.
Just one simple bath after days of blood, sweat, and endless combat.
Yet sohow fate had managed to conspire against him.... And now, he was trapped in what might genuinely beco the most embarrassing mont of his life.
Regaleon released a slow breath... Then another...
For a mont, the silence persisted...
Eventually, he gathered enough courage to glance sideways. His gaze landed on Aureleah, and imdiately, his thoughts beca even more complicated.
For perhaps the first ti since eting her, Aureleah’s expression wasn’t completely unreadable.
A faint blush covered her cheeks; it was subtle, barely noticeable... But impossible to miss once it was seen.
Regaleon stared longer than he should have; not because he ant to, but because the sight genuinely caught him off guard.
Aureleah had always seed composed, cold, and distant; like a perfectly forged blade covered in frost.
Even when facing death, her expression rarely changed. Even in a situation that would make everyone else panicked, she always maintain that calmness...
Yet now... Now she looked completely different. Like a human... Vulnerable and real.
And sohow, that realization struck him harder than he expected as a strange thought surfaced. It was a very dangerous and unwelco one.
Aureleah looked... Beautiful.
Then, he reeled back visibly as if he was suddenly struck by a hamr as his eyes widened slightly...
Instantly, he looked away.
What was wrong with him?
The silver-haired Knight practically shook the thought from his head.
No! Absolutely not!
This was not the ti. There were already countless problems in the Nether Lands, countless dangers and mysteries, and he was about to let this beco another one.
Clearing his throat, Regaleon scratched the back of his head. This action felt strangely childish, yet it was the only thing he could think of doing.
"Aureleah..."
He drawled; his voice sounded odd, almost hesitant. And that made him wince internally...
Wonderful! Now he couldn’t even speak properly.
He swallowed a mouthful of air before pushing forward...
"S-sorry." The word erged far quieter than he truly intended.
"...I didn’t know you would co here this morning."
As he said these words, his gaze remained fixed sowhere beyond the waterfall; at least anywhere except directly at her.
For several monts, silence reigned over them.
Then finally...
"It’s not your fault."
Her voice sounded calm and collected; almost to the point of indifference... Almost.
Because underneath that familiar calmness, there existed a slight tremor. It was tiny, nearly imperceptible, but it was there, and Regaleon noticed it.
Aureleah looked away before continuing.
"I was the one who is at fault. I should have checked the lake first."
Her tone remained composed. Yet inwardly, she felt anything but that.
Her heart was beating far too quickly and Aureleah disliked it. She disliked losing control of herself, and she especially disliked situations she couldn’t understand.
Another silence followed after that as neither of them knew what to say next.
The conversation should have ended there as it was a perfectly reasonable conclusion. Yet sohow, the awkwardness refused to disappear.
Instead, it lingered stubbornly between them, like a third person standing in the lake.
Regaleon desperately wished for a monster to appear... Because at least then, he would know what to do.
Then suddenly, a realization struck him hard like a lightning bolt.
Right!
He was supposed to leave imdiately now, wasn’t he?
What was he still standing here for?
Regaleon ntally cursed himself.
Of course he should leave.
That was the obvious solution... The sensible solution... In fact, it was the only solution.
"Ah..."
Brilliant! What a truly inspiring internal dialogue.
The Forgotten Knight wanted to bury himself underground... No! Underwater.
"Right... Uhm... I’m gonna go now..."
Scratching the back of his neck again, he slowly turned toward the shore.
Each step felt hurried... Almost desperate.
Behind him, Aureleah remained silent.
Thankfully.
Had she said anything else, Regaleon wasn’t entirely certain he would survive the conversation.
Slowly, the shore approached and Regaleon nearly sighed in relief. Like a man who was finally seeing salvation... And freedom.
Then, halfway out of the water, another horrifying realization struck him...
He froze completely... For several agonizing seconds. Then slowly, very slowly... He turned his head just in ti to see that Aureleah wasn’t looking.
Relief flooded through him so powerfully that he almost laughed.
Thank Aetherium...
Moving with an efficiency that would impress most military instructors, Regaleon grabbed his folded clothes and dressed faster than he ever did in his life.
Clearly, years of training had practical applications beyond combat...
Monts later, he was fully dressed. He didn’t even bother manifesting his Armour; instead, he turned and left...
Branches rustled... Leaves shifted... And footsteps retreated rapidly...
Then, he vanished into the forest. Fleeing with the urgency of a man escaping certain doom.
Only after several seconds did Aureleah finally turn her head. Through the drifting mist, she caught a final glimpse of his retreating figure before he disappeared between twisted crimson trees.
Then he was truly gone... And silence returned.
Aureleah stared at the place where Regaleon had vanished. Then slowly... She released a breath she didn’t realized she was holding.
One hand rise instinctively to her chest. Her heartbeat was still racing. Fast. Far too fast.
If Regaleon believed she had remained calm throughout the encounter, then he was greatly mistaken.
Outwardly? She looked calm.
Inwardly? It wasn’t even close.
The usually composed assassin closed her eyes briefly...
She could still feel her pulse; still feel the lingering tension within her body, and she hated it.
Not because the feeling was unpleasant, but because it was unfamiliar.
Aureleah had spent most of her life training, surviving... And protecting Sylveris. So there were few things that managed to genuinely unsettle her.
Yet sohow, this simple encounter had accomplished just that.
Why?
She couldn’t answer and that is what bothered her the most...
The mory replayed itself against her will. Golden eyes eting silver ones; his flustered expression, his awkward apology, and the way he had practically foer afterward.
For so reason, the mory almost made her smile. Almost...
Because the expression never fully ford but it ca closer than it had in a very long ti.
Aureleah stayed like that for a few monts... Then her gaze sharpened.
The Crimson Forest remained dangerous and survival still ca first. Everything else would just have to wait...
Yet even as she told herself that, Aureleah found her thoughts drifting back toward the silver-haired Knight...
Toward his strange sense of responsibility....
Toward the countless monts over the past few days...
Toward the way he always stepped forward when danger appeared...
Instantly, she frowned slightly. Then shook her head.
Enough!
She had spent enough ti thinking about this already...
With that, Aureleah pushed the matter aside and swam deeper into the lake.
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