Luna pursed her lips with a distressed look. She hadn't expected Merlin to return so suddenly.

Hadn't he promised yesterday that he would play with her?

Her sadness grew as tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly turned around and ran away.

"Luna!" Frederin called out loudly as he stood up.

Iris wanted to chase after her, but Merlin raised his left hand.

"It's okay, Auntie. Let me go after her. After all, it's my fault," Merlin said in a soothing tone.

"Hah…" Frederin let out a deep sigh and looked at Merlin with a guilty expression. "Please forgive Luna, Merlin. I hope you're not offended."

He didn't want Merlin to think badly of Luna.

After all, the future of the Tharot family depended entirely on this engagement.

Merlin had extraordinary talent. If he didn't die halfway, it wouldn't be impossible for him to become the most powerful figure on the continent.

There was no way he would let go of such a talented future son-in-law.

"Don't worry. Something like this won't make me angry." Merlin chuckled softly. He turned to James and said, "Wait a moment, Uncle."

"It's okay, young master. I'll wait."

Merlin turned and walked in the direction Luna had run off to.

***

Luna continued running down the mansion hallway. The servants and guards who were about to greet her were surprised to see her rush past like that.

"What happened? Why is Young Lady Luna running like that? And judging from her face, she seems to be… crying?" one of them asked hesitantly.

"I don't know either. Maybe there was a fight between father and daughter. After all, that was normal before Young Master Merlin arrived," another replied.

Meanwhile, Luna finally stopped running when she reached the mansion's back garden.

The garden was beautiful, filled with a sea of carefully planted flowers.

Her mother, Iris, loved flowers very much. That was why this area was used for planting them.

Luna walked to the center of the garden, where a lone tree stood.

Hanging from one of its branches was a swing—the swing she often used whenever she felt sad.

Luna sat on it and began to swing gently.

"Stupid Merlin… Stinky Merlin… You lied to me," she muttered hoarsely.

Tears flowed again as she thought about Merlin leaving later.

She didn't want to be angry with him, but she was very upset about his sudden departure.

There were still so many things she wanted to do with Merlin, but the boy had to leave her.

She didn't want to be alone again. It hurt too much.

As she continued to taunt Merlin, she suddenly sensed someone behind her.

Turning around, she was surprised to see Merlin standing there.

"Merlin? How did you get here?" Luna asked in shock. But a second later, she remembered her anger and quickly stood up.

"Wait!" Merlin hurriedly grabbed her right hand to stop her.

"Let go of me!" Luna tried to pull her hand away, but in terms of strength, she was clearly no match for him.

"Are you sure? If I let go, we'll never be able to meet again," Merlin said calmly.

Luna's movements stopped instantly. Tears flowed even harder as she turned around and hugged Merlin tightly.

"Wuuu! You're bad! You lied to me!"

She pounded Merlin's chest with her clenched fists.

Luckily, she didn't use her full strength. Otherwise, Merlin would've fainted on the spot.

After all, Luna carried the bloodline of the founder of the Tharot family, and her power had already reached the Eighth Spirit Core stage.

Merlin didn't get angry or push her away. He gently hugged her back while rubbing her back to calm her down.

'I didn't expect Luna to be this emotional,' he muttered with a small chuckle.

This was the second time he had seen this little girl cry. The first time was when he woke up after defeating Gabriel Solayne.

"[It's because she loves you, Master. Otherwise, do you think she'd cry over your departure?]" The system's playful voice echoed in his mind.

'You're right, System,' Merlin agreed.

In the databook, Luna was listed as one of the stubborn heroines who didn't cry easily.

But now she was crying uncontrollably, showing how much she liked and loved Merlin.

After a few minutes, her crying finally subsided, and Luna let go of her embrace.

"Are you feeling better?" Merlin asked as he wiped her tears.

"Um..." Luna nodded slightly. But her sadness hadn't disappeared at all.

Seeing this, Merlin smiled softly and gently sat her down on the swing.

"I know you're sad, but trust me, this is extremely important. The king himself summoned me, and I have to obey his call. If I don't, big problems could happen later—for me and my family, and for you and the Tharot family."

It wasn't a threat but a fact. The emperor's call was an absolute command that everyone in the kingdom had to obey, including noble families.

If someone ignored it without a proper reason, it would be the same as challenging the king and the royal family.

Luna certainly knew that, but her sadness had clouded her judgment.

"How about this—after I finish my business, we'll meet again? That should be fine, right?"

Luna stayed silent for a moment, then shook her head.

"No need."

"Eh?" Merlin froze, unable to believe her answer.

Before he could say anything, Luna continued, "The journey from here to the capital is very far. I don't want to make you go back and forth. It will only tire you out."

As much as she wanted to be with Merlin, she was not a selfish person.

It should be noted that the trip from the city of Dralmor to the city of Droswen alone took more than three days, sometimes even longer.

Going to the capital was even farther—a six-day journey.

If Merlin went and returned, it would take around twelve to eighteen days, counting the time he spent at the palace.

There was no way she could bear to let him exhaust himself like that.

Merlin was touched by her thoughtfulness. His effort to build a relationship with Luna over the past few days had not been in vain.

"How about we meet after we go to the academy?" Merlin suggested.

"The academy?" Luna was surprised and looked at him curiously.

"Yes, the academy." Merlin nodded and gently pushed the swing, making Luna's body move forward.

"Next month is the opening ceremony for new students at Saint Freya Academy. I'm sure you've heard of it, right?"

"Yes, I've heard of it," Luna replied calmly.

The opening of Saint Freya Academy's enrollment was a major event awaited by geniuses from across the continent, especially those from the three great powers: the Holy Kingdom of Aldoria, the Knight Kingdom of Baltrum, and the Magic Kingdom of Arcadia.

This was not surprising, considering that Saint Freya Academy was the largest and strongest institution on the continent.

"When registration opens, some genius students receive invitations directly from the academy without taking the entrance exam. Once that happens, I'm sure you'll receive one too," Merlin explained.

Previously, Luna didn't have the qualifications to enter.

Even if she could, the major she would take wouldn't be related to offensive fields like swordsmanship or magic, but rather an academic major.

Academic majors weren't useless, but they were often looked down on by other students because they focused more on theory than practice.

However, Luna was clearly different now. This little girl had awakened the bloodline of the founder of the Tharot family.

Naturally, she was very talented and would definitely be sought after by professors and academy officials in the future.

Luna fell silent after hearing his words. She indeed planned to enter Saint Freya Academy.

But she didn't know whether Merlin would enter as well.

And now that Merlin had mentioned the academy to her, she naturally agreed to his plan.

"Okay, let's meet at the academy later."

She raised her pinky finger. Merlin smiled and hooked his pinky with hers.

The two exchanged affectionate glances.

"By the way," Merlin said as he opened his left palm.

A white light suddenly appeared, and a golden scepter materialized. Several rings hung at the top, and beautiful carvings decorated the shaft.

"Take it. This is for you and the Tharot family," Merlin said, handing the royal scepter to Luna.

Luna was clearly surprised. The royal scepter was something Merlin had specifically requested as a gift from her ancestor, Crystal Tharot.

She hadn't expected Merlin to give it to her.

"No." Luna shook her head. "I can't accept it. It's yours."

It would be a lie to say she didn't want to accept it. After all, the scepter was a valuable treasure of the Tharot family.

But it was impossible for her to accept something that rightfully belonged to Merlin.

Merlin simply smiled, took her left hand, and placed the scepter on it.

"Don't refuse. Honestly, I asked for this scepter to be given to you," Merlin said. "I heard that the Tharot family lost their royal scepter, so I deliberately asked Queen Crystal for it."

Frankly, he was lying. He had asked for the royal scepter only because he remembered Abel doing the same thing in the novel.

At that moment in the story, Luna had been deeply moved—even devoting herself to him.

So Merlin wanted to try it and see if he could also raise Luna's affection to one hundred.

Seconds passed, but Luna remained silent, tightly clutching the scepter.

Merlin began to feel confused, wondering if he had done something wrong.

Suddenly…

"[Ding! The affection of the heroine Luna Tharot has increased by 0.2 points. Current affection: 100 (0)]"

"[Ding! Congratulations, Master. You have conquered the heroine Luna Tharot. Reward: 80,000 system points, 1× S-level Stamina Boosting Potion, and 2× Pandora's Boxes have been given!]"

Merlin:◝(ᵔᵕᵔ)◜

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