Chapter 56: Full Bloom

All three of them walked to the Leonara kingdom’s camp and Andreus sent Laerain to her tent while Haden told him about everything that had happened.Haden told him about the purple fog, their ancestors, their duty and more which was a surprise to Andreus.

In return, Haden asked to end the war while promising him the thing Andreus sought the most.

Andreus listened to his reasoning and solutions and the bright moon announced the end of both the day and their negotiation.

After a month of continuous war, that night at the red and black mountains passed in peace.

***

The sun rose from the horizon and brightened the world in its warmth.

The soft sunlight touched both Haden and Laerain as he stood against a white wood tree and she sat at the edge of the cliff.

Laerain turned her head towards him and asked, "What did you both talk about?"

She could guess that it must’ve been related to the things that happened yesterday.

The horrified faces of the souls that had pleaded for help were still fresh in her mind, and so was the terror that had filled her.

She was no warrior, so such sorrow and fear were new to her, and because Haden was the one to save her from that armoured man, her father couldn’t just continue to fight his people for an item that they weren’t sure they could obtain, even if they used all of their strength.

At the same time, they had to get the item without fail, so they couldn’t just stop either.

The king had reasons for both stopping and continuing the war, so it was all up to Haden to somehow convince him to end the war.

Haden turned his head towards her and said, "I managed to convince him to stop."

She nodded and asked further, curiosity brimming in her gem-like eyes, "So what did you two decide on?"

"The army would return within the next week, and at the same time, we would bind our tribe and the kingdom together."

She stood up, took a step towards him and asked, "How would you bind the two together?"

He turned his head towards the sun and continued with a smile, "At first we thought about signing a treaty, but it didn’t fit our needs... so we decided upon a different, more effective and solid method."

"I see..." she asked, "What method?"

Haden’s eyes turned playful and he answered, "We decided to bind our tribe and the kingdom together by marrying two influential figures."

Laerain nodded and stepped further only to stop and blink a few times as the words seeped in. "Marriage...?"

Haden nodded and explained, "That marriage would hold both of our words together and will allow our tribe and kingdom to work towards the mutual goal of defeating the purple fog."

As she listened to him, a thought appeared in her mind, ’Can’t I marry him?’

She didn’t know how much influence Haden held within his tribe, but considering that he was the one to negotiate with the king, he must have a lot of power within the tribe.

The flowers of love that had begun to wither suddenly regained their liveliness and prepared themselves to bloom even further.

But Haden, who had already finished preparing a mischievous plan in his mind, said, "I’ll be in your care, Princess Laerain."

The image of her lovely family with Haden and their two children paled, and she asked while inwardly clutching at her heart, "What do you mean...?"

He furrowed his brows and answered, "Won’t I have to meet the influential figures of your kingdom for the marriage?"

Her expression darkened and she stammered, "Meet? Who? Why?"

He lowered the distance between them and explained, "I don’t know why you keep asking the same thing, but as for who? I think daughters of the dukes or marquises would suit me."

The ground beneath her suddenly vanished and her heart froze in a prison at bay as his words echoed in her head like thunder during the sunny day.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and asked with a worried face, "Princess Laerain are you all right? It’s fine if you don’t want Huh?!"

Thud!

However, before he could finish his words, she pushed him down.

She jumped on his abdomen with a mad look and asked while punching his chest — though her punches only tickled him.

"Dukes or Marquises’ daughters?! They are the ones that suit you, huh?! Why don’t you go to them instead of coming to me then?! Do you have no shame you womaniser?!"

Haden blinked a few times and began to laugh at her childish act, "Sah-hahahaha!"

Hearing him laugh after breaking her perfect vision of family, her fury stepped up a notch, and she punched him with all of her might.

Thwack!

Only to hurt herself.

"Ouch...uwah!"

Tears glistened at the edge of her eyes as she sniffled at both the physical and emotional pain.

He lifted his hand to touch her face but she pushed it away and mumbled in a low voice, "Don’t touch me..."

Haden smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"Eek?!" She let out a chirp at the sudden hug, before she could even comprehend what was happening, his lips took hold of hers and locked her into a passionate kiss.

Her heart and mind exploded into vibrant colours, and she returned the kiss with the same intensity.

***

The bright moon hid itself behind the thin veil of the clouds, and its cold light fell on Haden, who stood at his usual spot.

He let out a soft sigh and mumbled, "Sixty-seven zero..."

He turned towards his hut and his eyes pierced through everything before they stopped at Lara, who had finished reminiscing about her first meeting and kiss with Haden.

He shifted his gaze towards Rion who held a bright smile as he listened to the blooming of his parents’ love in a more appropriate version.

Haden’s lips curved up into a smile, he turned his head towards the purple fog forest and mumbled while tightening his grip around the shaft of his spear, "One day..."