Chapter 35

Loa's festival was quite well known within the surrounding area.

Known as the Loasis Festival, the event was named after the purple flowers that bloomed throughout the village during the time of year the festival was held.

Although the village itself was small, it was surrounded by a combination of land and water. Beautiful bodies of water, rugged mountains and lush expanses of fields coexisted in perfect harmony and blended together to paint many scenic views. Thus, Loa's yearly festival gained quite a traction with nearby major cities.

The festival's namesake, a purple flower resembling a small bell, blanketed the northern fields and at night, made for a magnificent sight when illuminated by the fireflies that flew over the field. This, in particular, drew many tourists to visit the village during the festival.

A paradise of Loasis1.

The village where fairies live.

A place where the sea, mountains and plains met.

This was Loa.

In fact, the northern field was usually fenced off because it was near the Fairy Forest. However, it is specifically opened to the public during the festival under the careful watch and protection of the village garrison.

Even today, the town was crowded with tourists eager to see the town's landmark, the signature picturesque field. Peddlers lined the streets, hoping to make a profit from the bustling crowds.

Humming cheered, seeing the crowds filled from the stone walls of the square to the stone walls bordering the entrance to the northern field.

"Wow, I must get the frozen ground apple popsicle and try it with syrup. It looks so delicious! There's also strawberries and kiwi flavoured ones. Kalia, how many should I get? Let's buy some?" Humming was overcome with excitement and stomped her feet, pointing to a nearby dessert stall.

There were many people lined up in front of the stall; clearly business was booming. The snack must have been quite delicious.

Kalia handed Humming her wallet without question. The moment it was in her hands, Humming ran over. Kalia looked at her departing back with delight.

Soon, Humming returned with a variety of fruit-flavoured popsicles, her face beaming with pride.

Kalia grabbed one and handed it to Allen. "For Allen, the town's favourite. This is especially sweet."

At her words, Allen looked awkward and blushed, his face reddening to a hue similar to the peach-flavoured popsicle she was trying to hand over. Hesitating, he coughed and picked up the peach she had given him to try.

"What the…" He wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"Humming told me that you bring back a gift from the ladies everyday and that you're so popular that you even have an Allen fan club2 in town."

"What?" Allen darted an incredulous glance at Humming but she just carelessly flicked about the popsicle stick in her hand.

"You didn't just say that, did you? Your. Fan. Club! Ugh, if it weren't for the fact that they think I'm your cousin, I'd have long been dragged into your fanclub by them, Kalia!"

"Humming, will you stop overreacting?"

"Oh, what a scary look your eyes have, Mr. Oh-So-Popular. Humming is terrified, Kalia!" 3

Humming waved her arms around dramatically, and hobbled to hide behind Kalia.

She peeked her head out behind one shoulder. "What shocking charisma! A truly sensitive and delicately sculptured handsome man!"

Humming smirked at Allen who was staring at her dumbfounded but her attention was soon caught by a particularly noisy crowd and ran there to take a look.

"Oh, look! Kalia! Allen! Come on, come on! It's a circus!" Excited, she stamped her feet in place, gesturing at them to come quickly.

Humming, unable to rush Kalia with her bulging belly, ran back to them and pushed Allen forward, hurrying him along impatiently.

"We have to be fast to get a good seat, Allen! Hurry! Speaking of, it's been awhile since I've been to a festival like this, almost five years. It's the first time since all my family members died."

Kalia looked at Humming, who had just casually brought up her tragic past. At Kalia's gaze, Humming smiled brighter and replied to Kalia's silent inquiry asking if she was okay.

"To be honest, I like this a lot. Kalia, you said you've been all over the country so you must have seen a lot of festivals like this, right?"

"No, actually. I haven't been to many either. Even if there were any festivals, we couldn't visit them because we had to fight."

Come to think of it, it was the height of the war when Kalia was travelling around the country back then. So truthfully, this was the first festival she's officially been to.

Humming's eyes that watched Kalia nod calmly grew saddened.

In a way, she was worse off than me.

How hard it must have been for an orphan to reach her current position. It was not just a noble position she gained from climbing the ranks, but a revered name she had made for herself from amassing numerous achievements with her awe-inspiring skill. A woman who has won as many victories as possible with the least amount of killing.

Humming admired and adored Kalia because of such. But, at the same time, she also felt sorry for her. Even now, she was preparing to give birth alone in this faraway land!

Humming snatched Kalia's hand.

"Kalia, let's have a blast! We can/will watch, play, eat and rest and then come out and play again!"

"Hmmm?"

"I'll use it all this time! Actually, I've saved a lot of money! I'll buy you something delicious today too! So let's make a lot of memories at this festival! Look, there's enough money in my wallet…? Huh? Where's my wallet?"

Humming's complexion turned pale in an instant. Her lips trembled and her face turned red as embarrassment washed over her.

"Oh my God. I must have left it behind," she mumbled, her voice as slow as a crawl.

Her eyes reddened to match her blushing cheeks. She couldn't even raise her head as she fiddled with the pocket where her wallet would have been.

Suddenly, a hand stuck an old leather wallet in front of Humming's face. The letters A.M were engraved on the wallet in a familiar, scrawled handwriting.

"Enjoy it with mine today. You can feed me tomorrow." Allen spoke aloofly yet kindly held his wallet out to Humming. 4

"Allen…" Humming looked up at Allen, moved.

"If you're impressed, don't ever say 'Allen's fan club' again."

"All right, I'll never say Allen's fan club. Promise!"

With a groan from Allen (because she had said it again), Humming quickly grabbed the wallet from his hands and shouted, "I'll just join Allen's fan club, starting today!"

"Let's just get into Allen's death squad from today!"

"Ugh, Humming. Please."

Humming was running away while Allen trudged along, holding his head. Kalia, who held her belly, walked behind the two slowly. A soft smile hung over Kalia's face as she looked at them. In that moment, smiling at her friends, surrounded by strangers in a strange city in strange circumstances, unexpectedly made Kalia's heart flutter.

Kalia looked up at the sky with a strange look, stroking her round stomach. A feeling of happiness and fullness enveloped her but somehow – just somehow – she still felt empty.

Like she had left something behind in her mansion in the Capital. 5

Her thoughts kept returning to the Capital; it was like her heart was still there.

"Kalia, come here! There's roasted buttered corn!" Humming's exclamation from up ahead broke her from her stupor.

Kalia shook her head to shake off the strange feeling and walked toward Humming. She didn't have much in the first place so she couldn't have left anything behind in the Capital. Quietly trying to soothe the sudden melancholic feeling of emptiness, she followed Humming and Allen into the festival.

***

In a quiet darkness.

Delicate eyes, framed by long eyelashes, were closed peacefully.

However, after a wince, they slowly opened.

Fluffy eyelashes trembled as he blinked.

Luminous golden eyes glowed softly in the dark.

Helplessly opening his eyes, he lowered his painful eyes and stared blankly into space for a long time.

Sigh.

His sigh, so small and soft, escaped from between his trembling lips.

Glittering silver hair was messily spread out on the bed beneath his head.

Simon tossed and turned, before raising his hands to cover his face. Even though he had long awoken from his dream, his face still burned hotly. Rubbing his face with dry hands, he muttered Kalia's name in the silence.

"Kalia… Kalia…"

Just saying her name spread heat through his body.

The lingering dream weighed heavily on him. Simon groaned in agony and crumbled into a ball. Even after waking up from the dream, it felt like she was still in his arms.

The weight of her warmth wrapped in his arms was so vivid. The heat from her that penetrated deep into his bones was all too vivid. The smooth skin against the palm of his hand and Kalia's silhouette against the hazy backdrop. The touch of her lips that brushed gently against his own.

Everything. All of it. Her.

Even though it was a dream, how realistic it was drove Simon crazy.

He let out another hot sign and attempted to stabilize himself but to no avail. He stayed curled up with a red face for a long time. Very unlike himself. He struggled to hold onto the pieces of his dream, fearing that the warmth that still seemed to envelop his body and the images of her circulating in his head would disappear if he moved even a bit from his bed.

Simon was so desperate for Kalia.

"...damn it, where are you, Kalia."

Come back please.

His throbbing heart tightened and Simon closed his eyes again. He endured through each uncharacteristically dull day, only hoping to see her again in his dreams.

If we meet again, I should cut off our hands and feet and tie them to each other. 6 This is destroying my mind. Can't someone just put a curse to me and me to her side? If I say I'm about to die, will you come back? But…what if you don't come back even after I say that?

Just thinking about this made his heart feel as if it was being torn to shreds.

The misery of being abandoned weighed heavily on him… even though he knew she only regarded him as family. It occurred to him that their relationship was thinner than paper.

Yes, the relationship between them was nothing.

It was just a futile relationship that would end when she turned away; he couldn't blame her for throwing it away.

'...firmer. I need to make it a more solid relationship.'

Simon didn't need the title of Archmage nor did he need to be revered as a genius. His Duke of Mado title was, in fact, only obtained to be with Kalia.

There was no joy, no happiness, without her. From the moment his life was saved by her, Simon belonged to Kalia. It's just that she didn't know.

Kalia, why did you abandon me?

Why did she abandon me?

He thought that, even though they didn't have that sort of relationship, he wouldn't be apart from her if he stayed by her side in the name of friendship.

"…..Kalia," he whispered and Simon's heart sped up once again.

A terrible day went by just like that again.