The next hours passed in a haze of enjoyment. Inara dragged Kaden everywhere her mind whispered to her, making Kaden go through many kinds of situations in the process.

They passed the day together, laughing, joking, and doing some activities that beings of their power would never have thought of.

Not only their power, their identities themselves didn't allow them to enjoy life so leisurely and so peacefully.

To the people of Waverith, one of them was a Princess with the power to make monsters kneel in submission. The other was a hero who saved them from doom and was blessed by the Heavens.

But that was only in Waverith.

In Fokay, their identities went far beyond mere fantasies created by mortals to entertain themselves and motivate the young to be great.

Inara and Kaden were beings of responsibility.

Yet sometimes people often forgot that they were nothing but fifteen-year-old children to whom the world had given too much burden.

So on that day, they decided to forget.

They decided, implicitly, that they were no longer the Mother of Monsters or The Burdened.

The future became a blur, blocked away by thick clouds of insouciance. The past became a wall of forgetfulness, one they could no longer get through.

They focused on the present, making them simply Inara and Kaden. Two young people with childish tendencies and feelings like any other mortal crying when the room began too dark.

So the day passed, and through the streets of Waverith many could witness two youngsters enjoying their day.

Their smiles were bright. So bright that people around them smiled in return at the sight. It was contagious.

But life was made of endings. Bitter or sweet. And eventually, that day came to an end, with Inara and Kaden walking through the streets of the stronghold, a bunch of food in their hands.

The day was sweet. Now a bitter ending loomed over them.

The sun had sent its goodbye hours ago, giving its place to the moon with its starless sky.

The streets were illuminated by bright yellow lights, powered by mana. One could see the patrols of the Warborn soldiers, and some snakes sneaking here and there.

The two youngsters walked along the cobbled streets, Inara wrapping her right hand around Kaden's arm.

At that point, she was no longer hiding her feelings. Yet she remained dissatisfied, for Kaden did nothing except watch and let her do everything she wanted.

She wanted him to react. To say something about her actions. About how she always held his hand, always hugged him, always looked into his eyes as if searching for something hidden beneath them, something that made her monsters rattle in fear.

She wanted to know his feelings about her.

Clearly, Kaden appreciated her. But Inara couldn't feel more than that. It was frustrating.

Still, she didn't want to think about it, let alone ask. The fear of rejection was choking her from within.

The Heiress of the Mother of Monsters didn't know what she would do if Kaden rejected her. But she knew, actually. She would just cry and try to laugh it off.

After all, they already had a good relationship together. She didn't want it to be strained just because she dared to feel more than she should.

She didn't wish to lose this relationship. Even if she wished for more than this.

So Inara bit the inside of her lips and continued to smile while talking brightly to Kaden, hoping to drown away her insecurities.

Her monsters felt her emotions. And all of them couldn't help but wonder how their fearsome, cursing mother could be so sweet and shy in front of this strange man.

But they didn't know. Love has a nasty, twisted way of making the toughest person crumble like a castle made of cards in front of the right one.

They said love is a bloody damn bitch; that it will doom us all, yet ironically…that is the only thing that can save us all.

The monsters might not know this because of their innate nature. But even they couldn't bear the sight of Inara like this.

'Mother! Do it!' Oeil bellowed inside Inara's mind, just as Kaden and Inara stopped in front of the Ouroboros building.

Snakemen were coming in and out of the gigantic, serpentine, greenish door. There were humans too, but scarcely.

'Shut your damn mouth, Oeil! Don't make me act weird in front of Hero!' Inara grated inwardly, suppressing an angry twitch of her lips.

But would Oeil stop? She would never.

She was now the speaker of all the monsters within Inara.

Inara didn't have the habit of guarding her thoughts from the world. She was blunt, harsh, and rude.

So for her not to say anything to Kaden meant that later the monsters would have to bear her stinking mood.

They would never allow that. So better anger the devil now and make her crack than let her refine her profane mouth for later.

They said to choose your fights. The monsters had chosen theirs.

And they were damn ready.

'Ah, staying silent is something I cannot do, Mother!' Oeil bellowed, voice strong and inspirational. 'I have the right of speech! And speech I will do for all my siblings!'

'YES! OEIL! OEIL! OEIL!' the leeches inside screamed, supporting their younger but braver sister.

Oh, how they loved Oeil at that time! They would certainly have kissed her feet and blew her a kiss if it were possible.

But Inara was shaking with rage. So much so that Kaden noticed.

He spared her a glance, his eyebrows arched in an inquiring manner. "Are you okay?"

Inara's mouth parted, then closed again as Oeil shouted inside her mind once more. It took her so much self-control not to curse that it weighed heavily on her soul.

But the monsters were relentless.

Kaden only watched, seemingly understanding it was something related to her monsters. He wondered if it felt the same as Reditha and Blanche speaking inside his head.

Those two didn't seem to like each other, strangely. Well, it was mostly Reditha.

Kaden's case was indeed similar to Inara's. Yet far worse.

In the end, after the relentless efforts of Oeil, Inara succumbed to her words. She cursed under her breath, vowing to teach all of them a lesson later.

She looked at Kaden with a low smile, suddenly feeling shy. "One last place to visit?"

Kaden cocked his head. "Where?"

"To where everything began," Inara whispered.

Kaden stood there, confused. He looked at the nighttime sky, hesitating a little, but finally…he nodded.

"I am right behind you."

Inara grinned, grabbed his hand, pivoted, and burst through the streets of Waverith.

Soon, they were out of the stronghold, heading toward the forest just beside Waverith.

Where everything began.

At least, for Inara.

…

They walked. Around them, trees jolted upwards, threatening to touch the dark sky. Soft whispers and the movement of small beasts could be heard as the two walked through the forest.

The atmosphere was damp, but cool on the skin. Breathing became easier, and the trees around them gave a refreshing freshness.

Their steps on the wooded ground were silent, as though the world itself didn't recognize their presence.

Inara didn't know how long they walked. And she didn't know how many times she doubted her sudden, reckless action.

It was weird, she noticed, how every time she was with Kaden she was no longer who she had learned to be now.

She became that same little girl who was crying in front of wolves. That snake princess who wished for strength to make her mother proud, but found herself utterly lacking.

All that began on that one day.

That day, a being other than her mother had stretched out a hand towards her. A simple act. Yet its meaning was one few could comprehend.

Kaden didn't smile at her. He didn't comfort her. He only told a fundamental truth about the world and went on his way.

Clearly, he didn't seek anything from her, and that was still true even now, when she was a special being.

Doubtlessly, all he had done was only an act of goodwill.

Ah!!

Inara exclaimed suddenly, heart slamming against her chest like a beast seeking escape, as she finally stopped in her tracks.

Her steps halted exactly where Kaden had saved her. On that very same spot.

And Kaden was aware of that fact. At that instant, he was not a fool; he understood what was going on.

He smiled wryly, a feeling of anxiety blooming inside him.

Love.

'Love…' Inara echoed inside her heart.

She was standing in front of Kaden, giving him her back.

Kaden fell silent.

Love was such a chore. Such a damn bitch, as Inara would say.

Yet love was such a beautiful thing.

One would believe that loving someone was a difficult endeavor. But one would be wrong.

Love was the easiest thing when it happened by accident.

Inara could be the proof of that claim.

And how could she not?

When she was drowning, Kaden didn't teach her how to swim. He first gave her a hand, helping her out of the turbulent waters, and etched an advice into her mind.

As a young little princess, how could she remain indifferent facing such a thing?

Kaden became her reason to walk forwards, the voice that whispered inside her head when things got uncertainly dark.

Then her feelings blossomed, and love crept into her heart.

It had been for a long while.

But love never gets real until one does it on purpose.

So on that day, when they had the right to be nothing but children, Inara decided to make it real.

It was a scary thing. But it was even scarier to ponder about "what could have been" once the opportunity had already expired.

The regret would eat her alive before her enemies could.

So she gathered her courage and parted her lips.

"You remember that day?" Inara asked, her voice like a whisper.

"It's not easy to forget, crybaby," Kaden answered with a smile.

Inara chuckled. "Right?"

"I don't know how to explain to you what I want to explain. I might have been a princess, and still am, but I have nothing of their innate subtlety and cuteness."

"But…" Inara raised her head to the sky, and for some strange reason…

There were stars shining there now.

Instantly, something flashed inside her mind. It was a story her mother once told her, one she liked to listen to before sleeping. A love story.

In that story, neither the man nor the woman declared their love. Yet they ended up together. Inara had wondered why.

Medusa had smiled back then. 'I love you? Aye, daughter, that's such a crude thing for an educated princess to say. In this story, they indeed said "I love you," but they said it differently.'

'How?' Inara had asked.

'Can you not read? The prince told the princess that he would only look at the starry night through the reflection of her eyes.'

'Tell me, Inara, is that not a declaration of love?'

'What? Hell no! It's damn cringe, mother!'

'Your tongue, Inara!'

Her mother had slapped her silly after that.

Inara, obviously, did not agree at that time.

But now, as she stared at the night overhead, her lips curled into a wide smile.

Kaden's eyes widened slightly at the honesty and beauty behind that smile.

Then Inara's voice boomed all around, as if helped by the forest itself,

"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?"

Kaden fell silent, understanding for some reason the meaning behind those random words.

He faintly shook his head in amusement, yet there was an edge of sadness in his eyes.

Still,

"Yes." Kaden nodded, looking at the moon above.

"It is."

—End of Chapter 366—

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