Aeliana's golden eyes flickered toward the group of won, watching the way they whispered among themselves, their gazes trailing after Lucavion with faint intrigue.
Her brow twitched.
'Tch. Of course.'
She supposed it wasn't surprising.
Lucavion was—
Well.
Objectively speaking—if she were to detach herself entirely, strip away all personal opinions, and assess him the way a stranger would—
He was… annoyingly good-looking.
Sharp, defined features, dark eyes that held an ever-present glint of mischief, hair that always looked like he had run a careless hand through it yet still sohow worked. And then, there was the way he carried himself—utterly at ease, exuding a lazy confidence that made him impossible to ignore.
Aeliana hated to admit it, but she understood why people looked.
Or….well, she may be a little biased but so what.
'Still—'
The way those won kept glancing over, whispering amongst themselves—
It irked her.
She didn't even know why it irked her.
Maybe it was because they were so obvious about it. Maybe it was because Lucavion was already insufferable, and the last thing his ego needed was more attention.
Or maybe—
She scowled, shaking the thought away. Doesn't matter.
Lucavion, on the other hand, had heard exactly what they were saying.
His enhanced hearing, courtesy of being an Awakened, picked up every word—clear as if the won were speaking right beside him.
["He looks too plain to be beside her."]
["Maybe he's a personal guard? He's got that trained air about him."]
["She's clearly noble, but he…? He doesn't quite fit."]
Lucavion's smirk twitched.
'Heh. Interesting.'
He wasn't particularly bothered by their words—he had heard worse in his life. But what did amuse him was Aeliana's expression.
She had clearly noticed the won watching him.
And judging by that faint irritation flickering across her face—
Lucavion exhaled lightly, his smirk deepening.
'She must've heard them too, huh?'
That faint irritation in her eyes, the way her brow twitched just slightly—she wasn't exactly subtle. He had seen her react this way before—when soone had sothing to say about her.
And he understood why.
Aeliana's past was sothing most people wouldn't know just by looking at her now. They wouldn't know that there had been a ti when she had been sickly, when she had wasted away in a bed, fighting off an illness that nearly took her life. They wouldn't know that her skin had once been marred by the scars it left behind, that she had once been soone society barely glanced at—if not to sneer.
But he knew.
And while the scars were gone now, healed with ti, with magic—he wondered if the words of others still left their mark.
'Tch.'
Lucavion's smirk twitched.
He wasn't the sentintal type, but—
He didn't want this to get to her.
Didn't want her to waste her energy on this.
So—
With a casual shrug, he said, "It's nice to see that ladies are talking about ."
Aeliana froze.
Her fingers twitched against his sleeve.
Her eye twitched.
This bastard.
She had noticed them looking, and she had assud it was because they liked what they saw.
But for Lucavion—the arrogant, smirking bastard that he was—to just say it outright? To brag about it so shalessly?
Oh, she was not letting that slide.
Her fingers moved before she even thought about it—
Pinch.
Lucavion hissed, barely holding back a wince as Aeliana dug her fingers into his arm, her grip ruthless and unyielding.
He shot her a glare. "The hell was that for?"
Aeliana's golden eyes narrowed.
"You sound obnoxious."
Lucavion blinked.
'…Huh?'
He had expected her to be annoyed, sure, but—
She looked pissed.
Lucavion tilted his head, amusent flickering in his gaze. "Oh? And what exactly about my words did you find obnoxious?"
Aeliana scoffed, crossing her arms. "What kind of man just says sothing like that?"
Lucavion's smirk returned, effortless. "A man who knows his worth?"
Aeliana clenched her jaw.
Lucavion could see the war waging inside her—the sheer, indescribable urge to smack him warring against her self-control.
And it was hilarious.
But before he could press further—
Aeliana moved.
She shifted closer, leaning into him, her grip tightening, her body pressing against his arm.
Lucavion tensed.
For the second ti that night, she felt it—
That barely-there hesitation. That slight stiffening in his posture. That almost imperceptible intake of breath.
Aeliana smirked.
"That's right," she murmured, her voice deceptively sweet. "You should be grateful."
Lucavion barely turned his head, his smirk slightly fraying at the edges. "…Grateful?"
Aeliana humd. "That you have a beautiful woman like clinging to you."
Lucavion exhaled sharply, shaking his head.
"You really are sothing else," he muttered, his voice lower than before.
Lucavion let out a low chuckle, shaking his head, but his dark eyes flickered—just briefly—downward.
Aeliana caught it instantly.
Her smirk widened. "Looking?" she teased, her tone dangerously smooth.
Lucavion, utterly unbothered, t her gaze with a slow, easy smirk. "What can I say?" he murmured, voice deep and laced with amusent. "It is right there."
Aeliana scoffed. "Of course it is. No other woman can compare to ."
Lucavion exhaled lightly through his nose, closing his eyes for a brief mont as if in amusent. His smirk softened—not in arrogance, not in mischief, but in sothing quieter, sothing infuriatingly unguarded.
Aeliana blinked.
'…Tch.'
It was rare—so rare—that he looked like this.
No teasing glint in his eyes, no calculating edge to his expression. Just an easy, fleeting calm.
She swallowed, glancing away.
Who would have thought?
This was the sa man who had singlehandedly taken down a kraken not long ago, standing tall on the deck of a wrecked ship, his flas licking against the ocean waves.
The sa man who had burned through sea-monster flesh as if it were nothing, the sa man who had smiled so casually amidst the chaos, unfazed, unhindered.
And yet—
Right now, with his eyes closed, his posture relaxed, his expression almost innocent—
Who would ever guess?
'What a ridiculous man.'
Aeliana exhaled lightly, loosening her grip just a little.
And then she noticed.
More gazes.
More than before.
She had been so focused on him—so caught up in her own little victory—that she had failed to register just how many people were watching.
Aeliana was no stranger to attention.
But this?
This was starting to feel a bit…
She blinked.
Oh.
Oh.
Maybe—just maybe—this looked a bit inappropriate.
Even for her.
Aeliana cleared her throat, shifting ever so slightly, loosening her grip, though she refused to pull away entirely.
'Tch.'
Perhaps she had gotten too caught up in making him squirm.
They walked, arm in arm, through the lively streets of Stormhaven, their conversation flowing as easily as the ocean breeze that carried the scent of salt and spices through the air.
Lucavion, to Aeliana's mild surprise, seed genuinely interested in the city—not just in passing, but in the details.
"So," he mused lazily, glancing around, "this place. You used to run through these streets as a kid?"
Aeliana scoffed. "Run? Hardly."
Lucavion arched a brow.
Aeliana exhaled through her nose, smirking. "I graced these streets."
Lucavion chuckled. "Oh? Graced them?"
Aeliana humd. "That's right. I didn't just exist in Stormhaven. I owned it."
Lucavion let out a quiet, amused laugh. "I don't doubt it."
They passed by rows of food stalls, and Aeliana's gaze flickered toward a familiar street corner—one she had marked in her mind earlier.
"There," she murmured, tugging him slightly toward a vendor. "I ant to co back for this."
Lucavion followed, eyes settling on the small stand.
Thin, delicate pastries lined the stall—lightly crisped at the edges, drizzled with a warm honey glaze, and dusted with crushed nuts. The scent of butter and spice curled through the air, rich yet sohow subtle.
Aeliana reached for one, biting into it, her expression shifting the mont the taste hit her tongue.
"…Still the sa," she murmured, almost to herself.
Lucavion watched her carefully before taking a bite of his own.
A slow hum rumbled in his throat. "Not bad."
Aeliana smirked. "Not bad?"
Lucavion glanced at her. "What? You want to kneel in reverence?"
Aeliana scoffed. "You should."
Lucavion only chuckled, shaking his head as they continued walking, sampling a few more things along the way—a citrusy sorbet from a stall near the docks, a spiced at skewer from a vendor who eyed Lucavion with the sharp scrutiny of an old fisherman sizing up a storm.
It was strange, though—
As they strolled through familiar streets, through corners of the city she had once known so well, Aeliana began to notice sothing.
So vendors—the ones she had once recognized, the ones she had ntally bookmarked from childhood—
Were gone.
Her gaze lingered for a mont too long in certain places, her steps slowing ever so slightly.
The old woman who used to sell sugared almonds near the fountain? Gone.
The baker who always gave her an extra sweet roll when she passed by? Not there.
She wasn't sure when they had disappeared.
Or why.
She had been away for so long—caught up in her own world. Maybe, inwardly, she had always assud Stormhaven would be waiting for her, unchanged.
But ti had moved without her.
"…Sothing wrong?"
Lucavion's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
Aeliana blinked.
She exhaled lightly, shaking her head. "No. Just thinking."
Lucavion humd but didn't push further.
They continued walking, the sounds of the city filling the silence between them—voices, music, the rhythmic crash of waves against the harbor.
And then—
They arrived.
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