Amor looked up staring at the sky. Both of his feet stepped firmly on the surface of the giant monster's skull bone.

Slowly the white skeleton began to sink swallowed by the seawater.

Amor fell silent in his place. His eyes stared at the expanse of churning seawater beneath his feet. "I am going to sink."

He turned his neck, staring straight at Leafa who was still floating in the air while holding Aldes's hand.

Aldes turned his head sharply. "Oi, Leafa. He is going to sink. Move him." Aldes's eyebrows furrowed deeply, his right index finger pointing straight at Amor down there.

"He can swim," Leafa answered with a very casual tone. The girl smiled faintly then waved her free hand toward Amor.

"Does his face show that he wants to swim?" Aldes said quickly. "He is looking at us. He is clearly waiting for you to move him. Hurry up."

The skull skeleton was now almost completely submerged. The cold seawater began to wet the surface of Amor's iron shoes. The red haired man did not move at all, his eyes only stared flatly at Leafa.

"Leafa!" Aldes snapped.

Swish.

The aerial view instantly vanished. Leafa, Aldes, and Amor had moved and were standing on the outer side deck floor of the ship.

Amor turned his face staring at the expanse of the deck around him. He let out a short breath. "Slow," Amor said flatly.

He turned to Leafa. "Thank you."

Then his eyes shifted to Aldes. He nodded once. "Aldes."

After that, Amor turned his body and stepped into the ship building without saying anything else. His wet white cloak dripped water onto the wooden floor.

Aldes crossed both of his arms in front of his chest. "I think he is mad at you. You are being playful today."

"It is fine. He is indeed like that," Leafa said while waving her hand again toward Amor's retreating back.

"Whatever." Aldes rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Leafa lowered her hand. She stared closely at Aldes's face. "Why are you mad at me?"

"I am annoyed," Aldes answered with a cold tone. "I could probably just hate you."

Leafa's pupils instantly shrank. The smile on her face immediately disappeared.

Aldes turned his body and stepped toward the ship corridor. "I am going to sleep. I am tired."

After five steps, Aldes stopped his feet. He realized there was no sound of Leafa's footsteps following him.

"Leafa?"

Aldes turned around.

The purple haired girl stood stiffly in her position. Her head bowed deeply staring at the wooden floor. Both of her hands clasped each other very tightly in front of her stomach.

"I am sorry." Leafa's voice sounded very quiet and slightly trembling.

Aldes tilted his head. His face was filled with confusion. "Leafa? What is wrong with you? Why are you apologizing?"

"Please do not hate me, Aldes." Leafa slowly raised her face. Her eyes radiated a deep sense of guilt. "I apologize. I went too far."

"Huh? Why are you suddenly acti" Aldes stopped his sentence. He saw Leafa's fragile body language. Aldes took a long breath and exhaled it slowly.

"You can be like this," Aldes muttered.

He stepped back toward Leafa. His right hand reached out and grasped Leafa's cold palm very gently.

"I was only joking," Aldes said with a calm tone. "Let us go inside."

Leafa blinked her eyes. She snapped out of her daydream. Slowly, a smile was carved back onto her lips.

The two of them walked side by side down the wooden corridor.

"By the way, it is unusual for Mila or Illfa not to come out when there is a monster that big," Aldes said breaking the silence.

Leafa adjusted her footsteps beside Aldes. "They are sleeping."

"Of course," Aldes replied quietly.

Inside his room, Aldes sat leaning at the edge of the bed.

The room radiated a luxurious warm aura. Its wooden walls were coated in dark colors with gold motif carvings on every side. Beside the bed, a large thick glass window framed the outside view. The previous storm was completely gone without a trace. Now there was only the expanse of the calm night sea decorated with crescent moonlight and the dots of other ship lights in the distance.

Aldes massaged his right temple slowly.

*It is truly crazy what has been happening lately,* Aldes thought. *Crazy. I am quite surprised I am still sane.*

*Amor. He is that strong. But even his strength is not enough to kill Villavia.*

Aldes took a deep breath. *I have to find a way to complete this mission without killing the Husa clan. Why did Villavia order us? Why not another kingdom. Why was I brought into this mission. There must be a reason. A strong reason. But what.*

Knock. Knock.

"Aldes." Leafa's voice was heard from behind the wooden door.

Aldes jolted slightly from his daydream. "What."

The sound of a turning knob was heard. Leafa opened the door and poked her head inside. She waved her hand at Aldes.

"That door was locked you know," Aldes said staring at the girl.

"And I opened it," Leafa replied casually.

Aldes raised one eyebrow. "Yes, you opened it."

"I cannot sleep." Leafa stepped fully inside. She walked approaching the bed and sat right beside Aldes.

Click. The wooden door behind her closed and locked itself back by magic.

Aldes did not feel bothered. He shifted his gaze staring at the night sea from behind the glass window. "We have the same problem it seems."

Leafa leaned the side of her head on Aldes's shoulder. "Hmm."

Aldes slightly turned his head to Leafa. "You are being blatant."

"You already know, why should I hold myself back right." Leafa turned her head up and kissed Aldes's left cheek briefly.

"Why," Aldes asked quietly. "You know who I am. How my nature is."

"You know the reason very well, Darlin."

Leafa raised her hand and gently rubbed Aldes's jaw. "You saved my life. If it were not for you, I might not be as strong as I am now. Having the position I have now. As strong as now."

Leafa tilted her body and leaned completely on Aldes's chest. "I always knew you are a good person. A little unique. And strong."

Aldes bit the inner wall of his lip. His mind churned sharply.

*That was Aldes, Leafa. Not me,* his mind screamed silently. *I was not the one who saved you from the slander of those spies. I was not the one who treated you well when that noble wanted to sell you. That was Aldes. Plus, Aldes at that time only used you so he had a pawn to protect him.*

Aldes took a long breath. He laid his back on the mattress with deep red sheets, letting Leafa lay down on his chest.

"Say it" Aldes said flatly. "Say it without sarcasm. Without being playful. Be honest for once."

Leafa fell silent. Her ear pressed against Aldes's chest, listening to the man's heartbeat. Her fingers slowly rubbed the buttons of Aldes's uniform.

Slowly, Leafa rose to support her body. She looked down bringing her face closer to Aldes's face. The strands of her purple hair fell dangling touching the mattress surface. Her eyes stared straight scanning Aldes's face. Leafa's eyes sparkled, radiating admiration and very deep affection.

"I love you, Aldes."

"I really really love you."

Aldes stared into Leafa's pair of eyes without blinking. He raised his right hand, held the girl's cheek, and rubbed it slowly using his thumb.

"I will become a king someday," Aldes said breaking the silence. "You know what that means."

"I do not mind," Leafa answered without hesitation. "As long as you are fair. I will be your number one wife."

Leafa moved her face forward. Their lips touched. Leafa kissed Aldes's lips with a deep and slow touch. Their warm breaths merged amidst the cold room temperature.

A moment after releasing her kiss, Leafa lowered her head. She bit the side of Aldes's neck slowly but applied a firm pressure.

"You are wild," Aldes said while holding the back of Leafa's head.

"I am going to eat you, I already said it," Leafa whispered right against the skin of Aldes's neck.

Knock. Knock.

The sound of heavy knocking echoed from the direction of the door.

Leafa jolted in surprise. She immediately pulled her face back and stood upright beside the bed. Her eyes stared sharply at the wooden door.

A layer of deep purple magical energy instantly exploded enveloping her right palm.

"I will kill them, I will kill them, I will kill them," Leafa muttered with a low threatening voice.

"Whoa, calm down, calm down." Aldes got up from the bed quickly. He grabbed Leafa's wrist and held it.

The purple energy on the girl's hand instantly faded and disappeared.

Aldes held both of Leafa's palms tightly. He stared closely into the girl's eyes to calm her down. "We will continue later."

Aldes lowered his voice to be very gentle. "Can you wait for me a moment, my beloved Leafa?"

Leafa's body jolted slightly hearing that title. Her eyes widened for a moment before she nodded quickly with a slightly flushed face.

Aldes released his grip. He tidied his uniform for a moment, walked approaching the door, then turned the knob and opened it slowly.

Behind the door, a pink haired woman stood upright. The woman had a pair of curved dragon horns on her head and wore an all white servant outfit. Her face was very flat without emotion.

The dragon servant bowed her head slightly. "Good evening, Sir. I apologize for interrupting your time together."

She stood back upright staring into Aldes's eyes.

"The Prince wishes to speak with you, Sir."

The servant's eyes glanced briefly at Leafa inside the room, then stared back at Aldes.

"Privately."

Aldes's eyebrows narrowed sharply. He tilted his head slowly toward the servant. Both of his hands slowly moved behind his back. Out of anyone's line of sight, the fingers of Aldes's hands trembled violently.

"Villavia?" Aldes asked quietly.

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