Chapter 53 - 2.14

A protective instinct immediately surged inside Zenith's mind, and he approached her with kind intentions since she was sleeping in an uncomfortable position.

He lurked, trying to keep his movements as quiet as possible. Alas, the rustles and creaks of the wooden carriage still caused Xu Jiaqi to wake up and open her eyes.

The man's blurred silhouette was planted into her eyes.

"Mmn...? Zenith? Is there anything you need?" Xu Jiaqi mumbled, her drowsy eyes looking towards Zenith with a glazed front.

Although her body was smaller than normal, her beauty couldn't be ignored. It was as if the word Saintess was purposely defined to look like her. She was the embodiment of an angelic presence. An ethereal being that the world couldn't touch.

She was broken and hurt so many times, but not once had she let her heart be tainted. This was the impression Zenith got from her.

Naturally, if the System heard this and he could speak out to Zenith, he would be complaining a thousand times over that Zenith's mindset was completely wrong, and that he was fooled by his own Host.

Of course, this was not possible.

Zenith struggled to contain his mind in a stable state. He continued to go back and forth between wanting to be angry at the girl, feeling pity for her, and debating on whether or not she should trust this eccentric lady who offered him power in exchange for loyalty when she didn't have anything to guarantee her victory.

However, something about her truly made him shake. A boundless trust that was starting to sprout in him, motivated by nothing but his feelings.

It wasn't love, nor did it have any ties to romantic sensations. It was akin to finding a similar person like yourself, and finding a resonation occur. Harsh conditions, from where the two of them came out bloodily from, wanting to touch the heavens but couldn't.

They had ambitions, for power, for wealth, for glory. But it was so far away, not able to be climbed.

He was wrapped in his own thoughts, not realizing that he had left his lady without an answer went on his own little mind journey.

"Zen..?"

"Zen.. Lady Ariel, are you referring to me?"

"Of course this lady is. Who else is here in this carriage besides you and me? What a foolish question you are asking... This lady fell asleep, how much time has passed?"

"..Less than half an hour, Lady. I was trying to reposition you to a better position since you were slouching over the door.. and you might hurt yourself if I let it slide." Zenith explained himself.

"Hmm? Ah, this lady gets what you mean. Thank you.. you cared about my wellbeing." Xu Jiaqi smiled as she looked towards the window, looking at the scenery past the glass.

"Come to think of it, this is my first time in years that this lady is going out of the Duchy. Isn't it strange? There is no excitement or good feelings residing in my heart.. Nothing at all. But there is anger. An uncontrollable frustration."

"Lady Ariel.." Zenith couldn't find any words to reply her with.

"Is it fine if this lady calls you Zen? Perhaps that would familiarize us better with each other. This lady won't oppose if you wanted to call me by my first name. This lady.." Xu Jiaqi stopped in the middle of her words, her brows furrowing as she thought. "Well, I suppose I can't call myself a lady anymore, can I? I shall drop the term. I have been thrown out of the Dukedom. My name will definitely be scratched out of the documents."

"Lady Ariel, please do not say such things. Is it not you who said that you would bring me to soar to the heavens? In the future, you will be a proper lady, one that surpasses your own family." Zenith assured.

He himself did not know why he began to say such things, when he didn't even believe her words. He just didn't want her, who shone a cold light in the middle of the darkness that she was showered with dim down.

"Family? I have no such thing. All that I have is myself. All these years, I still had hope.. A lingering hope that I myself don't even know where it came from. No one has ever treated me right, so why would I still hope for them to change their attitudes towards me? It is impossible.. The only thing that is possible is for me to change. To take control of everything myself. Do you think that it's wrong for me to think this way?" Xu Jiaqi pondered on.

"...No, Lady Ariel." Zenith shook his head. "You are just trying to protect yourself. It is completely understandable."

"Is that right? I have never met someone who trusted my words other than Lily, but that girl also wishes for me to stay low to keep my life. I wonder how she is doing now? How far do you think we are to the destination? Lily told me.. we have to stop in an inn or camp in the woods at night, correct? Then, I shall not sleep now. Lest, I will not be able to sleep later." Xu Jiaqi laid back on the chair and raised her feet, placing the slender limbs on top of Zenith's lap.

The action made him blush. His heart beat faster as he looked up to find Xu Jiaqi's playful eyes.

"I want to hear stories. Talks, rumors, anything that would give me a clearer picture of the world. The maids never talk to me, and I can rarely leave my room if I don't want to get into trouble. I am quite clueless of the world.. It's an unexpected predicament." Xu Jiaqi spoke.

The day was starting to darken, and Xu Jiaqi's bright features, especially her eyes, seemed to shine like diamonds. Glowing in the dark.

"Entertain me.. my knight, Zenith Ahgren.." Her voice rang like bells, tickling Zenith's ears.