Thank you Gofa and RS_Vaesen for the kofis!!
Aoibhinn was a witch. A seductress, a warrior.
She was a barbarian princess of one of the numerous isles. She was Graham’s— She was Dimitris’s everything.
In times of old, the Vesparian Empire had advanced on the Britian Isles. Their legions razed the ground and conquered land after land. But Aoibhinn was a storm, a force of nature who did not tremble or bow. She alone wiped out an entire centuria, eighty men strong.
That day lingered in his memories, a bright and undying flame even with the passing of ages. Her strawberry blond hair billowed in the wind, a wild look was upon her eyes, bright and predatory. Blood marred her emerald dress but she maintained her regal air, bearing down upon him as though he were but an ant beneath her heel.
“Boy,” her silky voice drew out, leveled with embers of rage. “Tell me, who is it that stands before you?”
Dimitris was barely out of his teenage years, and bad with words. But his declaration was one of passion, without a single breath of hesitation. “A goddess. A goddess stands before me.”
Mirth twinkled in her eyes. And perhaps it was those words alone that inspired her to spare him. Of Dimitris’s entire centuria, he was the only one left alive.
“My name is Aoibhinn, and from today onward, you are mine and mine alone.”
“Aoibhinn,” he called out to her.
But Aoibhinn did not respond. The dream dissipated.
Graham slowly peeled his eyes open. An empty pillow rested beside him. The bedding was cold beneath his palm. His extended arm was clasping wrinkled bed sheets and there was no one to share the bed with him. Though the lighting was still rather dim, nighttime had passed. Wind howled, making the cabin creak.
With a groggy groan, Graham rolled over on his back, his arm drawing over his eyes.
Why was he alone?
Graham grimaced, feeling exceptionally disgruntled. He needed to pull himself together. But never was a morning a good one when he woke up from lingering memories. They haunted him like an eternal ghost and refused to rest.
Graham took a deep breath and peeled his eyelids open.
“Wake up,” Han Ruyan had told him numerous times. “You cannot dream for an eternity.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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…
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Rba fnfc j rlcuif klcx.
Pa kjr fjgis lc atf wbgclcu ktfc Xgjtjw olcjiis ujnf tlw fcbeut gbbw ab kluuif tlr kjs bea bo atja lgbc ugjrq.
Lf wjcjufv ab rilq jkjs jcv oifv vbkcrajlgr. Dea Vlwbcf tjv jigfjvs ajxfc atf mbemt, ifjnlcu bcis atf jgwmtjlg obg Ljc Ol ab megi eq lc jcv qgjs obg rbwf obgw bo qfjmf bo wlcv.
But yeah no, he didn’t sleep. All he ended up getting was a festering annoyance and an awful kink in his neck. The wolves were singing the entire night and soon, the wind joined them as well.
“What are you doing here?” Simone’s cracky voice interrupted the one moment he almost actually fell asleep.
Han Li growled at her like some sort of scorned animal before trying to curl up on the tiny armchair.
“What the heck?” she grumbled.
Even though Han Li was awake, he kept his eyes decidedly shut, praying that if he pretended enough, he might actually fall asleep. However, the ‘fake it till you make it’ method didn’t seem to have an effect on insomnia.
He could hear shuffling, the sound of Simone’s feet on the ground and fabric being pushed around. “Stop being weird and…just take the couch.”
“…” he stubbornly remained quiet, listening to her move around the room. She had gone into the kitchen. But after a while, he heard the sound of clothes being shrugged on and then boots. Soon, the front door opened. A powerful gust of winter’s chill assaulted the cabin. Then the door was shut.
Silence filled the room.
Han Li begrudgingly rose from the armchair. The now-free couch was being sinfully tempting, with a blanket pushed aside and all.
Oh fuck it, if Simone didn’t want it then Han Li should be free to take advantage. Like a groggy gremlin, he crept over to the couch and was finally after to stretch out his legs. With a long sigh, he sank into the surprisingly comfy cushions, ready to lull into the sweet, sweet land of dreams.
If only things had been so simple. While Han Li was trying his best to commit to dreamland, the roaring winds continued to haunt his ears. Despite the absence of twilight, the living room was still rather dark. It was then that things clicked in his sleep-addled mind.
Han Li blinked, eyes wide. He frowned as he sat up and turned his gaze to the windows.
Something told him that they weren’t going skiing after all. May or may not be due to the flurry of white that churned outside.
Speaking of which, didn’t Simone go outside?
He frowned, feeling that it was a bit weird for the girl to just shrug on her winter jacket and step outside in the middle of a snowstorm. It wasn’t as if she smoked and even if she did, it was odd.
Feeling disconcerted, Han Li hopped to his feet. He quickly slipped into his boots and winter jacket before pulling open the front door.
The wind was violent, tugging and pushing against his strength and it was hard to even see past the thick flacks of snow and the whizzing wind.
“Simone?” His voice was drowned out by the snowstorm.
“Simone!?” he shouted, in hopes that she might hear him. But there was no response. Where could she have possibly gone? And why?
Carried by the howling wind were the songs of wolves. Why were they still singing out in the storm? Or was it some strange form of auditory hallucination?
“Simone! Where the heck did you go?”
Again, nothing but wind and howling.
Han Li was starting to feel antsy. Why was there a sudden storm? But he didn’t feel like there was anything particularly supernatural going on, or at least it wasn’t detectable from where he stood.
“…” With a click of the tongue, he closed the door behind him. He still had another way of searching for Simone…
It…might not be a good idea. But he was quite certain that he didn’t just imagine the girl stepping out into the storm. She obviously hadn’t been in the living room or kitchen when he left.
Han Li reached up and felt the cold ring that hung around his neck. The artifact emitted a constant low thrum of power.
Oh, fuck it.
He could do this, Han Li decided. He slid the necklace off and tucked it away in his pocket. Instantly, a fire came alive in his veins and he was fighting to quell it. His demonic powers swelled in his heart and he fanned the flames, urging them forward.
There were no dense clouds of miasma nearby and Han Li felt a deep pang of hunger. He wanted anger. He wanted blood. He wanted a soul so black, it would leave him feeling stuffed and full.
Han Li gulped, closing his eyes. The wind whipped his hair and clothes but the cold did not bother him. His hunger did.
But despite the bottomless pit that seemed to have replaced his belly, Han Li continued to tap into his demonic powers. He tugged and pulled until he could sort out the bits and pieces between all the terrible noise. He did not need the fangs or the claws. He didn’t need the superior smell either or hearing either. All he wanted was…
Slowly, the skin on his forehead began to shift. A vertical slit appeared before they parted to reveal a blackened eye. And suddenly, Han Li could see things that should not be seen; like spiritual particles and lines of fate that hung like wisps in the air.
They were faint, blurry, and indescribable things, little floating dots of light that formed streams in the atmosphere all around him. But he did not call forth his demonic powers just to marvel at the oddities of the spiritual world.
No, Han Li needed to find a living person. But luckily his third eye was able to discern auras even through the thick fog of wind and snow. A vibrant bluish glow invaded his vision. Han Li moved in that direction.
He couldn’t help but feel like it was rather large, and oddly shaped for a human being.
Wait no, there wasn’t just one lesser being, but two. Han Li halted before he got too close. He was quiet and reached into his pocket, finding that magical artifact once more. This time, it burned to touch but Han Li picked it up anyway.
Past the wind, he could hear Simone’s voice. “Come here… … … it’s cold… with me…”
He has no idea who or what she was speaking to, but it sounded like she was but a few feet away, separating only by a thin veil of the snowstorm.
Han Li closed his third eye and slid the silver chain back around his neck.
He instantly felt nauseous and dizzy and knew that his demonic nature wouldn’t quell completely. But, he was quite confident that he at least appeared human.
That was why he stepped forward. “Simone!”
“H-huh?” her voice pitched, surprised at his sudden presence. She was much closer than he expected. And Han Li almost tripped right over her.
Simone was hunched, her silk cap almost completely white from the fallen snow. She had her jacket pulled over something and Han Li thought for a moment that it was a large boulder of snow. Why the heck would Simone be hugging a snowman out in this weather?
Except it wasn’t snow, because it had two blue eyes and a maw full of teeth. It growled angrily at Han Li, trembling in Simone’s arms.
“The heck is that!?” Han Li exclaimed.
Instead of answering, Simone yelled back, “What are you doing out here!?”
Author: Reporting in, author is showing signs of life…maybe!?!?! This is my last week before the holidays ughh just let me be free already T_T
Hehehehe I’m here!
Does Simone also have a secret?? 😯
BAFFLING WHY!?!?!? u__u you have so many things to dooooo!!!!!!!!! RE EEE EEEEEE
U-UM…… o w o;
I’m quite a bit curious about the time line of Graham’s past. Was his meeting with Han Ruyan, before or after he lost his wife? Grams met his wife in his teens, when he met Han Ruyan, Graham was already an adult. So did him wanting Han Ruyan to enchant the amulet have something to do with his wife? And since the she-Prince knew about Aoibinn, who was a witch… and Graham hates the Prince so much… oooh I have a theory, but I need some more info to perfect it a bit.
Thank you for the chapter!!!
Ah! Good attention to detail!! Graham was, in fact, an adult by the time he met Han Ruyan. There are other clues as well, if you know a thing about world history! Although this world is a parody of the real world I still use a lot of inspiration from real settings and real historical events ; w ; not for everything…! But for some things…
Ahem, I spoke too much~
Thank you for reading!!
I got the history reference when you mentioned certain empire attacking certain island. As for saying too much… No you haven’t! You just made me even more curious!
Ooh something’s suspish 🤨
love us a little sus!!
Thanks for the chapter <3
thank you for reading~
Thanks for the wonderful chapter~~
Aww Simone darling what da hell u doing gurl.
thank you for reading!!
LOL who even knows….
Author, no more, my brain won’t be able to process everything…