Chapter Text
The thin mattress on the wooden platform had been hurting Lumine’s back ever since the act began, but she couldn’t whine about it when everything was already nearing the peak. The amber light coming from the lanterns hanging on the poles surrounding her was too bright. It wasn’t pleasant when she had to glance up at the sky and think about the next words to say, but after Dainsleif hovered over her and blocked the course with his broad shoulders, it became easier to keep her eyes open and watch the tension rise within him.
His right hand that lay on top of her left hand was a bit shaky, but nobody else should notice it but her. This was a rare occasion where he looked like he was about to lose his calm—from this proximity, she could see his wavering lips and sense his quickening breath. If she could place a hand on his chest without ruining the scene, she would be able to tell how hard his heart was pounding. She knew he was reluctant to continue, but they had signed a mutual agreement that left him with no other choice.
“It shouldn’t have gone this way,” he said. Their faces were only inches apart, so she could feel the warm puff of air against her nose every time he spoke. “My dear Princess, thank you for your sacrifice.”
She let out a bitter smile, touching the strands of hair falling on his forehead. “Don’t cry. I love you. Please remember me.”
“I won’t forget you. You’ll always have my heart.” He then stopped because he hesitated, but she subtly nodded a few times to encourage him to finish it up. “Princess, I love you too.”
“I love you—” She immediately turned her head aside when she realized that she had to pretend to be dead instead of answering him. It almost slipped out of her mouth, out of her control. She didn’t know what might have afflicted her mind, but it was her turn to get stiff after being the more professional one between the two of them. Thankfully, the crowd’s wild reaction saved her from any further humiliation and prevented him from discerning her uneasiness.
The rest of the performers joined the stage while Dainsleif offered his hand to help her stand up. Once everyone was lined up, they bowed toward the one hundred or so guests of tonight’s show before clapping alongside them. Lumine blushed when they loudly praised her and Dainsleif’s portrayals of the lead characters. They said they could feel the attraction and misery better than how it was with the previous actors. Although the appreciation made her happy, she wasn’t sure if it was okay to compare their skills when everyone knew what had happened.
It started two weeks ago when Lumine and Dainsleif had stayed in Konda Village for over a month. Every Saturday evening, teenagers and grown-ups would gather in the village chief’s backyard to enjoy a play. The story varied each season, but the performers were mostly the same. Everyone’s favorite lead actors were a pair of childhood friends. They were known as two lively young people who didn’t seem to have any unresolvable struggles, so no one would have expected them to leave a note saying that nothing could destroy their love and presumably flee the nation.
Their close friend said they had been in a relationship for years but had to keep it a secret because the woman’s parents didn’t like the man. There was no particular reason besides them wanting a more affluent husband for their daughter. Although the friend didn’t directly accuse the woman’s parents as the cause of their disappearance, people concluded that it was the case. Both families didn’t deny the rumor, so their silence was considered an affirmation.
“That sounds like a romance book. A princess who ran away with her knight,” Dainsleif had commented after hearing it for the first time from Lumine when they were heading to the morning market. Looking back to that day was quite ironic because not long after, the play arrangers were desperately searching for the replacement for the role of a beautiful, innocent princess and her equally charming knight.
Many pretty girls could take the role of the princess, but no guy was good enough to become the knight. Besides being naturally handsome, the knight must be tall and well-built so they could fit into the image of an excellent guardian. When Dainsleif walked past by the village chief’s house in the same afternoon he made the remark about the romance book, three elders dragged him inside. Lumine remembered cackling with laughter when Dainsleif’s nonchalant tone became pitchy once he reached that part of the story.
“And? What did you do?” she asked after she finished laughing. Her eyes were watery, and it wasn’t caused by a bowl of spicy beef noodles she had ordered for dinner. Obviously, it was hilarious to imagine Dainsleif helplessly standing in a room while being surrounded on all sides by those kind elders.
“I refused at first. It was a hassle because I must practice every day for at least two hours, but they begged me. I’m pretty sure one of the arrangers even cried. She’s probably above seventy years old. I couldn’t just leave her like that,” he explained before sighing and looking solemnly at the girl beside him. “The fee is good, so I agreed as long as the role of the princess is given to you.”
Lumine dropped her jaw in astonishment. It was fortunate of her that she didn’t have anything inside her mouth. She would have cried for real if she had choked on the hot broth. “What?” she snapped. “Dain, how could you? You should know that I can’t act!”
“Do you think I can?” he groaned back. “They’ll give us sixty thousand mora each. We can use that for a lot of things.”
Sixty thousand mora per person. A bowl of noodles cost a little over one thousand mora. Based on her own calculation, the show’s duration was about forty-five minutes. They would get sixty bowls of noodles for forty-five minutes of work, while usually, they would only earn three to five thousand mora for eradicating a group of monsters that took them at least an hour. It was a huge amount for an easy task. Even if they made several mistakes like forgetting their dialogues, most people would tolerate them as first-timers.
“Also, I only feel comfortable with you,” he continued. They were the best of friends. She had always noticed how he treated her kinder than others, yet she was still taken aback by his confession.
“Okay. All right. Let’s go to the village chief’s house after we eat,” she said, and things turned out better than she had expected.
The tale was a bit cliché, but it wasn’t bad. Once upon a time, there was a small kingdom blessed with the richest gold mines. A stronger nation wanted to conquer the land, so they attacked the kingdom, and war ensued. Since the kingdom’s military power was small, their citizens were either killed or enslaved. The King sent his only daughter to a faraway island with her most trusted personal knight. The princess and the knight had always been in love with one another, but they couldn't be together due to many political reasons.
But the princess’ heart was in turmoil. She knew her father wanted to ensure her safety, but she couldn’t live peacefully if her home was on the brink of destruction. She then realized that her blood could awaken a powerful underground monster that was devoted to the royal family and would obey anything they said. The knight was against her plan because she could die from internal bleeding, but she insisted on saving her kingdom. As royalty, she was born with a duty to protect her people.
There were a lot of sweet banters between them. If the previous actors were inseparable soulmates, they must have been able to depict the tenderness perfectly, but evidently, Lumine and Dainsleif weren’t less intimate than those who had grown up together for more than two decades. The arrangers and other performers couldn’t believe that they were no more than traveling partners who had only met a year ago. They would occasionally be teased about having an inexplicable connection during practices, but they never took the claims seriously.
After thanking the attendees one last time, the performers went inside the village chief’s house to change their clothes while some helpers came up to remove the mattress, unlit firewood, rocks, and other decorations to represent a cave off the stage. There was plenty of local food and beverages in the living room. The arrangers advised Lumine and Dainsleif to pack some of them because everyone knew about the two wanderers who always ate outside. The pair smiled at each other, which was a sign that they wouldn’t refuse the offer.
“Can you help again next week?” asked one arranger who stood nearby with a glass of white wine in her hand.
“I don’t mind,” Lumine decided, and it seemed to surprise Dainsleif. “However, depending on the role, we might demand a raise. Right, Dain?”
“Oh.” Dainsleif’s eyelids fluttered. “Sure.”
“Yes. Of course. Please meet me here at six tomorrow. I’ll explain everything,” the arranger said before wishing Lumine and Dainsleif a lovely night and heading back to her own group of friends.
Outside, three women were standing and giggling under a lantern pole. The moment they saw Dainsleif, they ran toward him and forced Lumine to step aside and give them some space. At first, they gushed about his performance, but it didn’t take long for them to become more aggressive. One of them dared to stroke Dainsleif’s upper arm as if she deliberately wanted to feel what under his long sleeves, and another one was shameless enough to whisper a dinner invitation at her place sometime soon. They altered their voices to be higher and cuter, and Lumine had to roll her eyes.
“I must refuse for now, but thank you for the offer. It’s getting very late. I’m sorry, but I must head back. Good evening, ladies. Please take care on your way home,” Dainsleif said. Ignoring the whines, he nodded his chin toward Lumine to have her leave the place with him.
The moon was hanging low, and the wheat plants taking over most of the village grounds were swaying in the mild summer wind. One of the most mesmerizing things about living in Konda Village was the strong zesty scent from the gardenia shrubs growing in front of almost every house and corner of the unpaved roads. On the first day they got here, Dainsleif had stated that if he had the chance to settle down somewhere and purchase his own house, he would love to fill his garden with these flowers. Lumine smiled and said that she would look forward to it.
Their inn was situated near the north gate while the village chief’s house was in the southwest. It would take them about fifteen minutes of walking to reach their place, and the solitude made Lumine think more about the man next to her. They had shared their respective backgrounds before deciding to form this fellowship. He didn’t reveal much, but he mentioned having a typical happy family with two parents and a brother three years younger than him and that he wasn’t in a relationship.
Lumine chuckled at the last thing and told him that it was unnecessary. His marital status didn’t cross her mind—perhaps because she had had a strong feeling that he was unwed—but if he hadn’t said it back then, she would have gotten curious now but too embarrassed to ask. He wasn’t in a relationship, but was he in love? Did he have to leave the love of his life behind? Khaenri’ah was a kingdom with princes and princesses. She wanted to know if, just like the play, he had also fallen for someone he had to protect.
“I wonder what they would say if you told them you were a Khaenri’ahn royal guard once. You were a real-life knight.” Her words cut through the tranquility. Something tickled her tongue and asked her to stop, but she might not be able to rest well tonight if she didn’t receive a satisfying answer.
“They would be terrified,” he replied.
“You’re right, but that brings me to something else.” She clasped her hands behind her back. “Tell me, Dain. Did you happen to fall in love with one of your princesses?”
“What?” He shot a glare at her and frowned when their eyes met. “Where did that come from?”
“I’m just wondering!” she lightly sang her response, but his sour look pricked her heart. It seemed like she had hit a nerve, presumably a painful memory that he wanted to bury forever. Wasn’t this a confirmation that he did have an affair with a princess? It had only been a while since he left his hometown. Was he still thinking about her? A princess must have been graceful and soft-spoken, way different than a sword-wielder who didn’t care about overeating or styling her hair.
“I was the King’s royal guard. He only had one son. Well, his cousins and nieces are considered as princesses—no.” He heaved a sigh. “Just no, Lumine. The answer is no. I never fell in love with any of them.”
She tried to keep a straight face but failed to do so when she grinned. She would like it more if she could look away and talk about something else, but she was suddenly lost in his teal eyes. They were striking, just like the shape of his nose, lips, and everything else on his face. She didn’t want anyone else to have him—not those women who adored his acting skills or the girls from the past who could emerge from out of nowhere. He should belong to her. Only her.
“What’s the matter, Lumine? Are you worried?” he asked, tugging her back to reality.
She raised her brows. “Worried about?”
“If my heart doesn’t entirely belong to you?”
She stopped walking, eyes widened as she dumbfoundedly watched him bite his lower lip to suppress his laughter. “What?” Her voice was low because half of her energy seemed to have vanished. In return, her heart erupted with sheer joy. There was confusion and fear there, but it wasn’t as overwhelming.
“I’m sorry.” He covered his mouth with one hand, looking disappointed in himself. “That was too much—”
She was speechless, but her body could still move. She didn’t know how she gathered the courage to hold his hand and drag him into running toward the inn. As soon as they arrived, she pulled him into his room, locked the door behind her, and hugged him from the front. This was bold and uncharacteristic of her. She had never done this before, but she couldn’t hide it anymore. When he reciprocated her feelings by putting his arms around her shoulders and rested his chin on the top of her head, she was sure that nothing could go wrong between them.
“Do you love me?” she asked, slightly muffled by his chest.
“Yes.” There was no uncertainty in his declaration. “I’m sorry. I should have been more of a man and taken the lead—”
“Dain, is this real?” she continued, hushing him down. “It’s just—I thought you only saw me as a friend. I suppose it isn’t strange since it isn’t easy to read you. I’ve been feeling this way for a while now. Dain, please tell me this is real.”
“This is real, Lumine,” he kindly said. “Please don’t worry. We have plenty of time to talk about everything. We aren’t going anywhere.”
“You’re right.” She tightened her embrace around him. It happened too fast and too soon. They would need a while to process the new chapter of their relationship, but her heart was beating loudly, and she could hear it from his side too. No one could force the two similar sounds that seemed like they were chasing one another, so she knew they were telling the truth.