Osha’s hands resting on her knees slowly relaxed.
Her tense shoulders softened as well.
A blush spread across her face, and the anxiety lingering in her eyes completely vanished.
She smiled freely and looked straight into Zhe Zilin’s eyes.
Those sincere eyes contained no trace of lies. So she laughed even more unrestrainedly.
“Ed, you always say such cheesy things.”
The cold wind of the Northern Territory continued to howl outside, yet the atmosphere inside the room was no longer as heavy and oppressive as before. It gradually became warm and relaxed.
Osha curved her lips. Her eyes were full of anticipation. “Ed, can you tell me more about your travels around the world?”
Zhe Zilin frowned slightly. “The food did not suit your taste?”
Osha looked surprised and shook her head lightly. “It was delicious. Why are you suddenly asking this?”
The corners of Zhe Zilin’s mouth lifted.
“You said that if the food tasted bad, then I would have to tell you stories. But now you personally admitted that the dishes were delicious. So I do not need to tell stories anymore.”
Osha gave a light snort, her tone somewhat resentful.
“Ed is a stingy person.”
She puffed out her cheeks slightly.
The corners of her eyes drooped a little, like a child who could not get candy.
She looked aggrieved yet stubborn.
“When did I become stingy?” He lowered his eyes and looked at her, smiling faintly. “You were the one who set the rules. If the food is delicious, then the stories are exempted. Now you are turning around and blaming me instead.”
“Rules are dead. People are alive.”
Osha immediately raised her voice to retort. She leaned forward slightly, her gaze locked tightly on him, refusing to yield even an inch.
“In the past, you always went along with everything I said. Now you are even unwilling to tell one small story. If this is not being stingy, then what is it?”
After a moment of silence, Zhe Zilin helplessly shook his head.
His tone carried a hint of indulgent compromise.
“But I do not have any good stories right now. How about I tell you once I remember them?”
“Besides, it is not bedtime yet. Telling stories now would not be appropriate.”
Osha crossed her arms and tilted her head, glancing at him sideways.
“Then the bedtime story tonight, I want to hear about your travels around the world.”
Zhe Zilin’s cheerful expression faded. He fell silent with a blank face.
Tonight, he had other plans.
He lifted his eyes and gazed at the flickering candle flame. Slowly, he spoke.
“I am sorry. Not tonight.”
Osha keenly sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere.
She let go of her arms and rested them on the table, thinking.
“Are you going to deal with the matter concerning the fake Leon?”
Zhe Zilin did not speak. Only after a long while did he nod.
“What do you plan to do?”
Osha felt that her question was inappropriate and asked again. “Can I go?”
“You want to go?”
Zhe Zilin’s gaze darkened slightly. He gently shook his head. His tone was calm yet carried an unyielding resolve. “No.”
Although Osha possessed great strength and would make a rare and valuable helper, allowing him to act more boldly, the actions he planned to take tonight went against Osha’s identity and position. It would create unnecessary trouble.
Zhe Zilin wanted to find the half-orcs before the fake Leon did.
Or perhaps, kill everyone who knew about his relationship with Ailia.
This was currently the simplest method he could think of. Only the dead would not reveal secrets.
There was actually another, more risky approach — confessing everything to Osha.
That he had only regained his memories a few days ago, that he remembered nothing before that, and that he and Ailia were innocent.
Would Osha believe him?
Zhe Zilin tried putting himself in Osha’s perspective.
Her fiancé had mysteriously disappeared, only to appear in the Northern Territory Witch’s castle.
And now he suddenly told her he had lost his memory, and that both he and the Witch were innocent.
The saying “put yourself in another’s shoes and your heart will be broader” did not apply here.
Zhe Zilin felt that if he confessed directly, the entire North City would immediately be reduced to ashes.
He swallowed. Still, he insisted on buying time.
He had to find those five half-orcs before the fake Leon did.
Either make them flee the Northern Territory, or kill them all.
“Why not?” Osha’s tone was almost interrogative. There was now a hint of stubbornness in her eyes.
“I will just follow you. I will do whatever you tell me to do. I will not ask or do anything extra.”
Zhe Zilin kept his tone gentle, trying to soothe her tense emotions.
“The night in the Northern Territory is freezing cold. The wind cuts like a knife against exposed skin. There is no need for you to suffer alongside me. I promise you, I will return by dawn.”
Osha’s brows furrowed slightly. She refused to budge.
“I already told you, Ed. I will not let you leave my sight.”
Seeing her resolute attitude, Zhe Zilin spoke directly. “If I encounter the fake Leon on this trip, I will most likely kill him.”
“You are a princess of the kingdom. If the Northern Territory learns that you participated in killing the future King of the North, the country will fall into chaos.”
“Are you considering my position?” Osha’s voice was firm and powerful. Her expression was incredibly resolute.
“You are my position!”
Zhe Zilin’s heart trembled slightly.
This was the Osha he feared the most.
Usually gentle and lovable, but once separation, concealment, or distance was involved, she would instantly shed all softness and become impossibly stubborn.
“What are you afraid of?”
Osha asked softly, her voice carrying a trace of fragile trembling.
“Afraid of what I might see? Or afraid of what I might find out?”
Zhe Zilin’s Adam’s apple rolled slightly. Calculations and struggles surged endlessly in his heart.
Osha spoke again. “Ed, I only want to follow you every step of the way.”
“The feeling of letting you leave my side… I do not want to experience it a second time. Never!”
Zhe Zilin stood up and secured the Dragon Slayer at his waist.
“Do not ask too many questions. Do not do too much. Just listen to me.”
Osha’s tightly wound nerves gradually relaxed. She stood up, pressed her lips together, and nodded.
“I will listen to you.”
Zhe Zilin looked over Osha’s outfit. “Change your clothes. We are leaving immediately. Remember to make the royal guards think you are still in the room.”
Osha nodded heavily and gave a soft hum.
“I will wait for you beneath the room window.”
The night was very quiet.
Zhe Zilin activated the skill [Disguise] once more and took Osha out of the castle.
“Ed, can I ask one question?”
“Mm. Go ahead.”
“Where are we going?”
Zhe Zilin fell silent.
“I do not know.”