After they finished eating,
Xara and Aether were walking down the streets, the evening light with cool air flowing against their skin. Though they walked side by side, there was a noticeable distance between them—no hand-holding, no affectionate gestures like mother and son.
It wasn’t because they didn’t want to; rather, it felt like someone was simply too angry for that.
Xara, with an annoyed expression, picked up her pace slightly, her heels clicking against the pavement with just a little more force than necessary. Aether, walking a step behind, smiled softly as he observed her irritation.
“You’re walking too fast,” he commented, his voice calm as if he found the situation amusing.
Xara snorted in response, not bothering to slow down. If anything, she increased her speed, her irritation growing.
How dare he twist his words like that?
How dare he act so unaffected?
She still couldn’t wrap her head around it. How had Aether, the boy she once considered almost naive, turned into someone so dangerously unpredictable? His words, his actions… there was an unsettling smoothness to it all, as if he was entirely used to handling situations like this.
Her brows furrowed as a troubling thought crossed her mind.
‘Hmm… don’t tell me he’s been playing around with other women?’
That thought alone made her stomach churn. For the longest time, she had thought of him as an innocent child, someone inexperienced in these matters. But the more time she spent with him, the clearer it became—he was far from innocent.
Heck! If anything she was innocent!!
This realization gnawed at her.
Was he just naturally good at this, or was this something he had practised?
Had he been in situations like this before?
‘Hmm… ‘ Xara nodded inwardly, her frown deepening, ‘Something is definitely wrong… and what’s more… something is wrong with me too…arrh!!’
She hated this feeling, this unfamiliar, strange sensation crawling inside her chest.
It wasn’t just irritation; it was something deeper, something unsettling.
But what bothered her the most was how her heart didn’t waver when he kissed her or even when he flirted with her.
No, her heart only trembled when he looked at her with that dark, unreadable expression… as if he was claiming her, as if he was silently telling her she belonged to him.
Her breath hitched as the memory of his possessive gaze flashed in her mind.
‘Ugh… what the hell is wrong with me?’
She shook her head, trying to shove the thought away. Then,
‘Wait… why is he not nagging me?’
That thought made her pause mid-step. A second later, she turned her head to glance at him, only to find… nothing.
He was gone.
“Aether?” Her voice came out sharper than she intended, her chest tightening with an unfamiliar panic… not like those when she thought she lost him… this now felt different pain!
Her eyes darted around, scanning the passing crowd.
Where the hell did he go?!
Her teeth clenched as she turned on her heels, retracing her steps with a rising sense of urgency. Her gaze flickered from face to face, searching—then, finally, she spotted him.
Standing in front of a small street stall.
Xara let out a sharp exhale, relief washing over her so fast it almost annoyed her.
‘Tch. Making me worry for nothing.’
Her expression darkened again as she stormed toward him, her footsteps heavy, her irritation returning full force. Just as she was about to demand an explanation, Aether turned his head and smiled at her as if he had been waiting for her to come over.
“Oh? You showed up at the perfect time,” he said smoothly.
Xara blinked, caught off guard by his casual tone, “Huh? What are you even—”
“Here.”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Aether handed her something.
A cone of ice cream.
Xara stared at it, utterly baffled. “What…?”
She had expected some sort of smug comment, maybe an excuse for why he had wandered off without telling her, but instead, here he was, handing her an ice cream cone like nothing had happened.
Her fingers instinctively wrapped around the cone as he finished paying for it. Then, as if he had just done something completely normal, he looked at her with a soft expression.
“Since it’s our date… I don’t want it to end on a sour note,” he said simply. “So, I bought you an ice cream. Well… to be honest, I at least wanted to buy something for you with my own money.”
Xara blinked in surprise, staring at him, then down at the ice cream in her hand. For a moment, she didn’t say anything. She just… licked the ice cream, almost subconsciously. A small blush dusted her cheeks as the cold sweetness melted on her tongue.
“…Well, not bad, I suppose,” she mumbled.
The second the words left her mouth, she realized what she had just said, her eyes widening.
“No! I-I meant—”
“You meant the ice cream, right?” Aether finished for her, his voice carrying a teasing edge.
Xara’s face turned a deeper shade of red. She hesitated before nodding stiffly. “Y-Yeah.”
Aether smiled again, but this time… it wasn’t a smile of happiness.
There was something else behind it. A hint of sadness, a quiet longing, as if… he had been hoping for something more.
Seeing those hurtful puppy eyes… Xara felt a tug in her heart… she then sighed deeply, her fingers slightly curling into her palms as she averted her gaze, her voice barely above a whisper. “Hmm… I meant you’re not that bad.”
Aether raised an eyebrow before a cheeky grin spread across his lips, his eyes glinting with mischief… as if he achieved something!
Xara’s lips twitched the moment she saw that smug expression, ‘Damn it!!’ —she messed up again!
“Oh? Am I getting better at it?” Aether teased, his tone dripping with amusement. “At being your man?”
Xara’s expression twitched. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment, but she wasn’t about to let him have the upper hand. Without a word, she turned on her heel and strode away, acting as if she hadn’t heard him.
Aether, of course, wasn’t one to let things slide so easily. He grinned wider and followed closely behind, his voice filled with playful taunts. He kept teasing her, pressing just the right buttons, poking fun at her reactions, until at some point, she genuinely wanted to slap herself for letting her emotions slip even for a second!
Before long, they arrived at a secluded park, its surroundings peaceful, with only the soft rustling of leaves and the occasional chirping of birds… All thanks to Aether’s persistent pressure, of course.
Xara frowned as she sat down on a bench, crossing her arms in mild irritation. “Hmm… why are we here again?”
Aether casually took a seat beside her, though he made sure to leave a little distance since she kept shifting away every time he tried to move closer.
“Well, that’s how a date usually ends,” he said nonchalantly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Xara’s lips twitched. “I’ve told you, this is not a da— Wait!” She suddenly turned to him with narrowed eyes, realization dawning upon her. “How do you even know that? Now that I think about it… you act like you know everything about dates. Hmm… why is that?” Her sharp gaze locked onto him, as if trying to peel away whatever mask he was hiding behind.
Aether wasn’t the least bit fazed. He had expected this question… he already had someone in his mind. With a perfectly composed expression, he answered smoothly, “Well, whenever Kai goes on a date with a woman… I always end up tagging along, so I’ve picked up a thing or two just by watching.”
“Oh?… Oh…” Xara nodded in understanding before turning her gaze toward the small lake before them. The water shimmered under the dim glow of the streetlights, reflecting the night sky in a mesmerizing ripple of light. She stared at it for a moment, lost in thought, before muttering, “Aether… I just want you to know, I will never be your lo—”
Before she could finish, Aether suddenly interrupted her, his voice softer than she had ever heard it before.
“Xara… just for these few moments… please.”
Xara’s words caught in her throat. She lowered her gaze, her fingers gripping the edge of the bench, before letting out a quiet sigh. Without saying anything, she hesitantly shifted slightly closer to his side.
The silence between them wasn’t awkward, nor was it uncomfortable. It was simply… there.
A quiet understanding between two people who didn’t need to speak to feel the weight of the moment. They simply sat together, watching the calm lake as an unspoken tension lingered between them. Their hands, resting on the bench, were barely an inch apart—so close, yet not quite touching.
It was as if the distance between them was slowly shrinking, little by little.
After what felt like an eternity, Aether’s gaze shifted toward Xara. He took in the subtle way her shoulders trembled, the way she shifted in place as if something was bothering her. Her body twitched slightly, discomfort evident in the small movements she made.
Rustle. Rustle.
“Huh?” Xara blinked in surprise as Aether suddenly draped his coat over her shoulders.
“I know you wore those clothes because people call you boring…” Aether muttered, his voice filled with a kind of sincerity she wasn’t used to. “But there’s no point in proving anything to others if you’re uncomfortable, right?”
Xara’s eyes widened slightly. There was something about the way he said that—something genuine, something… warm.
For whatever reason, those simple words made her heart feel lighter. A strange warmth bloomed in her chest. She gently tugged his coat closer around her shoulders before turning to him with a smirk.
“That’s how a son should take care of his mother,” she teased, her voice laced with amusement.
Aether’s lips twitched, ‘Damn it’—she was still clinging to that?
Letting out a slow, sly smile, he leaned in slightly, closing the distance between them. Xara instinctively leaned back.
“Well, to be honest…” Aether murmured, his voice dropping just slightly, his tone edged with something dangerous.
Xara frowned, already expecting some kind of playful or sweet remark. “What?”
Instead—
“I actually prefer the shabby look.”
Her frown deepened. “Why?”
Aether’s expression shifted in an instant. The teasing smirk vanished. His eyes darkened, his voice lowering to an almost devil whisper.
“Because that way, I’d be the only one who knows the kind of beauty that’s hidden inside…” He paused, his smirk curling into something far more intimate as he leaned in just a fraction more. “Just for me. Only me, dear~”
!!!!!! Xara’s entire body flinched. Her legs stiffened, her face turned beet red, and her breath hitched in her throat.
‘What… the hell… was that?!’
She immediately dropped her gaze, her hands flying up to cover her face as if she didn’t want him to see just how much those words affected her…. she could here her heart beating in her ears!
Aether, clearly satisfied, grinned as he reached out a hand to her, his expression turning effortlessly refined.
“Well then, my lady,” he said smoothly, his voice returning to that polite, noble tone. “Shall we?”
Xara took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Peeking at him through her fingers…
His entire demeanour had shifted again—his noble, refined expression was so different from the teasing, dangerous side he had shown just moments ago.
‘Who… is he, really?’
She stared at him for a long second before shaking her head. No, no, she was getting way too caught up in this, This boy… no, this man—
Wait!!
‘Man?’
She immediately coughed, her face burning, before swatting his hand away.
She starting to see him as Man? Her adopted son?
OMG!!!
Without another word, she stood up and stormed off, her steps hurried, as if she was desperate to escape whatever the hell this situation was turning into.
Aether’s grin only widened as he followed after her. She was walking faster now, her pace practically doubling, as if she wanted to end this entire day as quickly as possible.
But then—
“Do you know… where the Prophetess is?”
Xara’s body froze, “Huh?”