Stirred Hearts

The caravan, disguised as a merchant convoy, slowly came to a halt on a rural dirt road, the wheels crunching over gravel with a faint sound.

Their next stop for rest and supplies was a rather prosperous town in the south called Nitre Town.

Inside the spacious carriage, Celia, who had been buried in her books and immersed in the world of magic, stretched lazily and looked up at Ansu.

At this moment, only the two of them remained in the carriage.

“Where is your sister?”

“She probably found the carriage too stuffy and went out to play,” Ansu said.

For the past two days, he had been assigning simple patrol tasks to Vera and Altina. Right now, the two of them should be in the surrounding woods. Vera was likely enthusiastically dragging the elf along to hunt wild beasts...

“Oh.” Celia pouted, thinking that she finally had some peace.

The carriage was finally quiet.

She stretched out her body, resting her long legs on Ansu and using him as a human sofa.

Looking at the pair of fair, smooth legs before him, Ansu instinctively placed his hands on them and began to gently massage them.

Celia closed her eyes contentedly, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly as she enjoyed the sensation.

“Mmm~”

“Rub a little harder...”

“Sss...!” She suddenly opened her eyes.

Ansu looked innocent. “Didn't you tell me to use more force?”

Celia glared at him crossly. “You don't know your own strength! Hmph, no more touching for you!”

Seeing that she wanted to pull back, Ansu grasped her ankles, preventing her legs from leaving.

“Then I'll be gentler.”

Celia glanced at him and tried to pull her legs back again, but he held them firmly. She could only give up in resignation.

“Do you really like my legs that much?”

Ansu nodded honestly. “Yes!”

Celia pursed her lips, rested her chin on her hand, and turned to look out the window.

In the distance, the silhouettes of town buildings were already faintly visible.

“Nitre Town is just ahead. Are we going to enter the town before dark?”

“Sure.” Ansu nodded, his palms unconsciously sliding upward, stroking the snowy-white, delicate skin until they reached her slightly fleshy thighs.

“...” Celia pretended not to care, but a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

The atmosphere remained quiet for a moment.

Because they were alone, Celia suddenly wanted to ask a question.

“Ansu.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I want to ask you...” Her gaze was serious, but her tone held a hint of hesitation. “If I hadn't threatened you back then, if I hadn't used force to keep you by my side... would you still have fallen in love with me?”

“Huh?” Ansu was slightly stunned, and his hands stopped moving.

“Why the sudden question?”

Celia watched him silently, but the slight tremor in her gaze betrayed her nervousness.

Why did she actually ask that...

Celia suddenly felt a pang of regret, wishing she could take back her words.

“Of course I would!” Ansu sensed the subtle awkwardness and blinked, joking with a smile. “Who wouldn't want to follow a beautiful, wealthy boss who takes great care of her subordinates? Why has Miss Witch suddenly lost her confidence? Besides...”

His gaze slowly moved back to her beautiful legs as he continued to use humor to ease the tension.

“I'm a leg man! And a fan of white hair and red eyes! And I love monster girls most of all!”

Ansu let out a chuckle. “You perfectly match all my tastes and aesthetic preferences. Miss Witch is so charming that as long as we spend enough time together... no matter what, we would have ended up falling in love, right?”

“Oh... is that so?” Celia responded with a bitter smile, feeling that Ansu was exaggerating and being far too perfunctory...

Ansu wasn't speaking from the heart.

She gazed at Ansu resentfully but didn't press further. The smile on her lips slowly faded, and her mind became a mess of complicated thoughts.

Silence fell over the carriage once more.

Ansu didn't speak for a long time either, as his own mind was currently in turmoil...

In truth, he had noticed for a while that Celia had been acting a bit strange. She was sometimes anxious, sometimes dejected... as if she were hiding some unspeakable secret.

Now, he had a faint suspicion.

Back in the mine's treasure vault... had she really uncovered some truth through hypnosis?

If so, then...

Huh?

Various thoughts swirled in his head. Ansu stopped all movement, no longer even massaging her legs.

The two of them knew each other very well. Seeing that even her legs had lost their attraction to him, Celia's eyes dimmed, and she sighed inwardly.

I shouldn't have burst the bubble...

“What are you daydreaming about?” she asked with a bitter smile, trying to joke. “Keep rubbing.”

Ansu's mind was a mess. He instinctively glanced out the carriage window. “Never mind... Vera will be back soon.”

“So what?” Celia huffed softly. “If she comes back, then we'll just do it in front of her.”

“That... isn't very good.” Ansu looked helpless.

“What are you afraid of? What could she possibly do?” Celia couldn't help but chuckle. “Draw her wooden practice sword and give me a beating? Or cover her face and go cry somewhere about how her brother was stolen? Or maybe drag Freya or the new elf along to secretly ostracize me?”

Ansu: “...”

You certainly know her well.

Celia glared at him reproachfully. “That girl has been sticking to you like glue these past few days. It's irritating just to look at!”

Seeing that Ansu said nothing, she complained further:

“She's already grown up, so why does she still act like a little girl? And you too, Ansu! Vera needs to grow up eventually. You can't keep spoiling her like this!”

Ansu thought to himself that he really hadn't spent much time with Vera, so he considered this a way to fulfill his sister's little wish.

If it were before, he wouldn't have even had the chance to spoil her...

In the original timeline, he was already dead. After his passing, Vera Morris really was shrouded in a sense of desolation...

Celia didn't really want to talk about Vera and turned back to him with a serious expression.

“Ansu.”

She suddenly returned to the main topic.

“Is what you said true? That as long as we spend enough time together... no matter what, no matter what happened, we would eventually fall in love?”

Ansu nodded very seriously.

“Yes!”

Celia stared intently into his eyes and suddenly let out a cold laugh.

“Lies!”

“Huh?” Ansu paused.

“Hmph...” Celia's eyelids drooped, and her heart suddenly felt heavy.

The accumulated frustration and bitterness in her heart surged up. She simply couldn't let this matter go...

Celia's voice was very low, tinged with a hint of grievance: “Ansu...”

“What is it?”

“Kiss me.”

Ansu reached out to support her fair, slender calf, leaned down, and gently planted a kiss on it.

Celia froze instantly, and then her cheeks flushed bright red. She glared at him in a mix of embarrassment and anger. “Where are you kissing? I told you to kiss my mouth!”

Ansu: “Ah? Sorry, sorry. I didn't react in time; I just did it instinctively...”

He then hurriedly leaned forward, bringing his face close to her helpless, beautiful face.

Celia watched Ansu as he drew closer. Her eyes softened into a gentle curve, and she proactively reached out to hug him, letting him press her down.

Amidst the lingering kiss, she breathed with difficulty and murmured softly, “Ansu, we have to be together forever...”

“Mhm.”

“I can't be without you. I really can't... lose you.”

She hugged Ansu's waist tightly, her voice low and even a bit sorrowful.

Ansu felt increasingly helpless. “Why say such things all of a sudden? Celia... what's wrong?”

“I don't know... My mind is a mess. I'm just afraid I won't have the chance to say it later.”

“Don't let your imagination run wild!” Ansu glared at her gently. “How could that be possible?”

“Mhm...”

Just as the two were staring deeply at each other, Vera's clear and excited shout came from outside the carriage:

“Brother! I'm back! Come see what I caught!”

Ansu and Celia looked at each other.

Celia's expression was dejected. She closed her eyes to sense for a moment and said helplessly, “Your sister and Altina caught a really big bear...”

Ansu murmured, “Then that girl is actually quite impressive...”

A moment later, Vera excitedly pulled open the carriage door.

She then saw the two of them sitting with stiff formality in the spacious carriage, several thick magic books spread out on the table. The atmosphere was exceptionally solemn.

“Eh... why are you both so serious? Did you just have a fight?”

Vera asked curiously.

Ansu shook his head. “No, we were just researching an ancient and profound magic, and we haven't been able to figure it out yet.”

Vera realized what was happening and then excitedly pointed outside to show off. At this moment, the cult members were processing the hide and meat of a giant brown bear.

“Brother, look! This was only my third time hunting, and I caught such a big beast! Hehehe, we can have an extra dish for dinner tonight!”

“Didn't you only land the final blow?” Altina, standing behind her, said faintly. “I arranged all the traps and bait for the entire hunt. And the cult members provided a lot of help for the final surround...”

“But I helped a lot too!” Vera wasn't at all embarrassed by the elf raining on her parade. She giggled. “Besides, it's called teamwork. Miss Elf, didn't we have great chemistry when we were driving the brown bear?”

Altina sighed softly and looked into the carriage, her gaze slowly passing over Celia and Ansu.

She paused, feeling something inexplicably strange... but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was odd about the two of them.

However, Altina didn't pry. She was never one for many words or joining in on the excitement, so she spoke plainly: “You two talk. I'm going back to practice nature magic.”

Vera watched her back. “Eh? Don't go... aren't you going to eat the roasted bear meat?”

But the elf's figure slowly drifted away.

Vera muttered helplessly, “That elf seems friendly enough, but her personality is too solitary...”

“Oh, is that so?” Ansu said.

“Mhm...” Vera nodded. “I've never seen her look truly happy. She's always so distant... very detached. She only looked a bit different when we were visiting the lab at Lawrence Manor...”

“I see.” Ansu nodded thoughtfully.

Afterward, Vera began to chatter away, sharing interesting stories about the hunt and the battle.

But as Ansu listened, he suddenly went stiff, and a look of shock flashed in his eyes.

“What's wrong, Brother?” Vera looked at him strangely. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, nothing...” Ansu signaled for her to continue. Then, he quickly stole a glance at Celia, who was sitting across the table.

She seemed to be struggling to suppress a laugh, and while Vera wasn't looking, she shot him a secret wink.

On the surface, everything was calm.

But in reality, her little foot...

Was...

If Vera weren't here, Ansu really would have pinned them between his knees... to see how her mischievous foot could escape then!

Ansu quickly glanced at the floor again, saw the shoes she had taken off, and signaled with his eyes for her to put them back on quickly.

Vera finally sensed something was wrong between the two of them, and she suspiciously lowered her head.

Under the table, Celia's leather shoes had already been dragged back behind the curtain by a Mage's Hand.

“We're almost at Nitre Town...” Ansu turned to look out the window.

Celia struggled to suppress her laughter and also looked out the window with a straight face. “Mhm, we're almost at Nitre Town. Are we entering the city before nightfall?”

“Sure.”

Vera blinked her clear eyes and tilted her head slightly, her face full of confusion.

“Brother...?”

...