Chapter 16 – Long Time No See, Your Highness~
“Next time after having dessert, Aistride, you should remember to wipe your lips,” said the golden-haired girl with a sugar-coated smile as her ample bosom swayed slightly with her forward lean. She then carefully used a napkin to clean the cream off Aistride’s mouth.
“Don’t move, there’s still a tiny bit of cream left,” Tillysha said upon noticing Aistride instinctively leaning back to avoid her.
With a meticulous yet smiling gaze, Tillysha wiped the cream off Aistride’s mouth and neatly folded the napkin containing a speck of cream she wiped away, then tossed it into the trash can.
“Ah, there seems to be a little bit left,” Tillysha lightly tapped her forehead after glancing at Aistride and then looking at the napkin already thrown into the trash.
Before Aistride could react, Tillysha’s soft hand lightly grazed her lips, leaving a momentary cool sensation and a refreshing fragrance, as if nothing had happened at all.
A second later, Aistride finally realized what just occurred. Her violet gemstone-like eyes slightly narrowed, though her face remained expressionless, an unnoticeable blush rose to her cheeks. She didn’t understand why an indescribable shyness was bubbling within her.
“Excuse me, waiter, could you give me another napkin?” Tillysha asked for another napkin to wipe her fingers that touched Aistride’s mouth. “Thank you.”
“Aistride, the sun is about to set; we should head back,” Tillysha stood up and saw Aistride still seated and reminded her. “Or do you wish to stay longer to admire the breathtaking sunset?”
As Aistride stood up quietly from her seat, she noticed Tillysha already turning to leave. When her gaze met Tillysha’s back, the latter turned around and threw a playful look at her.
A flicker of resentment flickered in Aistride’s eyes.
Miss Tillysha sure likes teasing people.
As they walked back side by side, the golden-haired and silver-haired girls naturally attracted numerous gazes, becoming a stunning sight.
“Aistride, you weren’t troubled by what happened earlier, right?”
“Hmm?” Surprised by Tillysha’s unexpected question, Aistride gave a simple “No” after a moment of confusion.
“Really? If my actions earlier bothered or displeased you, please accept my apology. I won’t do that again,” Tillysha didn’t know why she harbored such uncontrollable whims, but before she realized, she had already acted in such a teasing manner.
This was not how she usually acted with Aistride.
Maybe it was Tillysha’s personality that had influenced her somewhat.
Troubled, displeased?…..
Aistride fell silent, remembering Tillysha’s earlier act of cleaning her lips.
In the culture of the elves, such behavior was already crossing boundaries—something even couples refrain from until marriage.
Yet…..
For reasons unknown, Aistride couldn’t find it detestable.
Not only was she unable to dislike it, but there was even a hint of…..
Why would she have such strange thoughts?
This left Aistride feeling confused about her own heart.
But these should be very normal interactions among female friends, just her being too tense makes them seem strange, otherwise why wouldn’t she feel dislike?
Yes, that’s right, such behavior is normal between women, but it’s strange that she felt bashful about it.
Realizing this, Aistride shook her head. “Not detestable.”
“That’s good.”
Entering the dormitory area, a distinctive manor appeared on the horizon.
“Hmm?” Approaching the door, Tillysha glanced at the distant street corner, seeing nothing but a few withered leaves.
“What’s wrong?” Aistride asked upon noticing Tillysha’s unusual expression.
“Nothing, it was probably my illusion,” Tillysha shook her head. Perhaps from staying in Ruglien, she was still a bit hypervigilant, feeling as if someone had been watching her.
This was Coleman Academy, absolutely secure—there shouldn’t be any dangerous individual here; she must be overthinking.
“……Miss Tillysha?” When Aistride noticed Tillysha bending down upon entering the manor, with something suddenly appearing in her hand, a curious glint briefly appeared in her eye, but she finally decided not to comment.
Maybe it’s Miss Tillysha’s personal preference.
But…..
Aistride somehow felt Tillysha wasn’t quite right.
“Miss Wenfu, we’re back.”
“Ah, Sister Tillysha, Sister Aistride, where did you go today?” As soon as they entered, they saw the cat-eared loli in an apron, barefooted, rushing out of the kitchen.
“We had coffee at a dessert shop,” Tillysha poked Wenfu’s little head, then her gaze was drawn to a dazzling ring on the shoe cabinet.
“Wenfu, what’s this?”
“Ah, this was given to me by the boss at the jewelry shop on Entertainment Street today. I thought it’d be better to give it to Sister Tillysha.”
“Oh? Is it for me?”
“Yes yes! It’s my way of expressing gratitude. Sister Tillysha will accept it, right?”
“Of course, it’s very pretty,” Tillysha examined the slightly pink glittering ring, her emerald eyes reflecting a pink hue.
She strangely liked this ring, inexplicably drawn to it, even though she wasn’t someone who usually cared for jewelry.
“How about trying it on?”
“Okay,” Tillysha subconsciously nodded and slipped the ring onto her index finger.
“It fits Sister Tillysha perfectly,” Wenfu smiled and crossed her arms.
“Is that so?”
Dinnertime arrived, and the five of them sat at their respective seats. Aistride and Princess Filisia seemed interested in Tillysha’s ring, glancing at her occasionally, but Tillysha paid no attention, her focus entirely on the exquisite and appealing ring.
As night fell, Tillysha turned back into Dillin and returned to his room to sleep.
After a bath, he felt unusually exhausted, falling asleep in no time.
Faintly, he thought he heard someone calling him.
No, they weren’t calling him, but maybe Tillysha…..
Wait, he was Tillysha!
The subconscious mind lacks logic, which is why dreams cannot be controlled or follow a time sequence.
‘This ring was given to me by the boss at the jewelry shop on Entertainment Street today, and I felt it was more suited to Tillysha-sister.’
‘It’s from me, it’s so beautiful.’
“………”
In a semi-conscious state, Dillin sensed an indescribable sense of unease.
Something felt strange about the afternoon, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.
…..Wait.
‘Today, when I was shopping on the Entertainment Street, the boss gave me this ring.’
No, that’s wrong.
Wenfu should’ve been studying all day, she shouldn’t have had time to go shopping and accept a ring!
Realizing this, Dillin instantly woke up, abruptly sitting up.
Regaining consciousness, Dillin questioned his surroundings.
Where is this place?
Wasn’t he supposed to be sleeping in his own room? How did he end up sleeping in the middle of nowhere?
Recognizing the familiar forest around him, Dillin had a sense of déjà vu.
It felt like déjà vu.
“What the heck, what’s going on?” he started reviewing his memory, trying to find out where things went wrong.
In the afternoon, he went to the dessert shop to enjoy some pastries and encountered Aistride. This much he remembered.
After that, he returned home, Wenfu gave him the ring, and then he ate dinner and went to bed.
Replaying the events in his mind, he noticed something odd starting from when Wenfu gave him the ring.
In principle, Wenfu couldn’t have had the time to shop all day at home, even if she did, he should have encountered her, let alone the boss who gave her such an expensive piece of jewelry for free?
Why did he fail to question such a simple problem at that time?
And his memories after dinner to bedtime felt foggy, as if only the beginning and the end existed, skipping the middle entirely, leaving only a vague image.
When did things go wrong? Something definitely felt like an alien memory forced into his consciousness.
Standing up, he realized he was barefoot in his pajamas.
Could he have been space-shunted here while asleep by someone using Divine Authority?
That was unlikely; spatial Divine Authority was exceptionally rare and extremely hard to master.
Looking behind him, he saw a trail of footprints leading to his position.
The grass had unmistakably been stepped on, all the way up to his feet.
So, he walked here by himself.
Could it be…..
Dillin glanced at his right index finger and froze.
There was no ring; instead, there was a pink stamen with a thorny red flower tied around his finger like a piece of string. The flower still faintly emitted a peculiar fragrance.
This flower was oddly familiar, as if seen somewhere before.
Dillin didn’t know the flower’s effect, but he was sure it wasn’t something innocent, so he tore it off and threw it on the ground.
As soon as it touched the ground, the petals withered and fell in an instant.
Even dehydration wouldn’t wither it that fast; this flower definitely had an issue.
“Ah, a bit of trouble seems to have arisen,” a somewhat familiar voice rang through Dillin’s ears at that moment.
Looking up, he saw an obscured silhouette of a girl in the distance.
Her hood concealed her upper face; judging from the strands of hair falling down, her hair color was silver.
“How disappointing for you to wake up at such a crucial moment. This is rather imperfect,” the girl lightly touched her lips as if slightly distressed.
“Who are you?” Dillin watched the girl cautiously, although his vision was blocked by a hazy barrier, so he couldn’t clearly see her features.
“Ah, it appears your spirit power has increased recently, this oversight is my mistake,” said the girl.
“Is my being here your doing?” Dillin frowned. “What do you want? Why are you here?”
“Not far now, you’ve come this far, aren’t you curious about what I intend to do?” The girl placed her hand in front of her mouth, and her enchanting voice seemed like it was playing a melody directly in Dillin’s ears. Instantly, a glint of clarity in his eyes faded, and he was tempted to take a step forward.
Dillin obeyed.
“Come~ come inside. We have so much to talk about.” Behind the blurred barrier, the girl extended her hand towards Dillin walking closer. “Grab my hand.”
Dillin complied as his hand extended forward; however, just as it was about to penetrate the barrier, his eyes regained clarity.
“Ahhh,” the girl showed irritation. “My illusions seem to weaken so drastically when acting across dimensions.”
“Just a step away… ”
“But it doesn’t matter.”
The next instant, her hand unexpectedly broke through the blurry barrier, revealing itself clearly to Dillin. At the same time, countless repulsive forces began to push back the protruding hand, breaking the pristine skin visibly, staining it with bl**d.
Dillin stared wide-eyed and, before he could react, felt the bloody hand seize him and forcefully pulled him inside the blurred barrier.
“d*mn it!……” That feeling he recognized immediately resurfaced.
After all this commotion, Dillin recalled precisely where this déjà vu came from—it was from his first visit to Coleman Forest.
So it seems……
Accompanied by a series of hollow sounds, Dillin briefly lost his senses for a moment, and this strange sensation was akin to receiving a dimensional drop.
In a flash, Dillin fell onto the grass and, upon looking around at this all-too-familiar scene, he felt a premonition of ominous events on the horizon.
“Welcome back, Your Highness~” Beneath the moonlight, the teasing voice struck him like a thunderclap, telling him explicitly that no, the ominous event was indeed coming for him.
