Alina may look have frail and slender, but she possessed hidden strength in her movements. Joseph had known this from they way they fought, but when they entangled in bed, everything took on a whole new meaning.

Over the thirty minutes that they were connected, Alina’s been in control this whole time right after Joseph got her fully aroused and activated. If anything, she knew exactly what she wanted, as Joseph soon became constantly pinned underneath her legs as she moved her hips freely.

“You are pretty…wild…” Joseph grunted as a wave of pressure slowly started to build up, sensing the tension all over his body, Alina then slowed down her advance, instead of leaning forward and biting onto Joseph’s chest.

“Is that the Varous way of talking dirty?” Alina giggled as Joseph surged up, finally throwing her underneath him for the first time since the beginning as he grabbed onto Alina’s long smooth legs and threw it to the side, instead coming in at a brand new angle that made Alina breath deeper than before.

“Consider this the real Varous way~”

At last, Joseph grabbed onto Alina’s shoulders as she latched onto him. Then, he released everything as Alina dug her nails into his muscular back. A surge of Wave exploded out from his body as the gust of air blew everything back in the room.

By the time Alina and Joseph finished, the interior of the tent had already been turned upside down. They didn’t stay on the sheet for long, as Alina dragged Joseph all around the tent before introducing him to positions he didn’t even knew existed. For what was supposed to be an exercise in destressing, Joseph ended up drenched in sweat as if he had done just done a workout or two.

“You…you let me…” Joseph’s heart was still racing when he looked down, but Alina smiled and shook her head.

“Don’t worry.” Alina said with a mixed expression on her face, “None of the Valkyries are able to give birth…regardless…”

“Alina…”

“Will…that be something you think about? Do you think this is just…” Alina asked when suddenly, her eyes became uncertain, and she looked away, “Forget…about that. What am I even saying…”

“Alina.” Joseph said firmly before he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

“I figured.” Alina said, her eyes now hidden under her long white hair as Joseph rolled to the side and lied next to her, “What now?”

“What else could we do…” Joseph postulated, “We…go our separate ways…and pretend this never happened? That's...the right thing to do, right?”

He swallowed hard, and he felt for his own heartbeat as Alina turned to look at him in the eye, and she saw through his uncertainty way before he ever did, “That’s what our duties entail. Regardless of our feelings, we must remain neutral…”

“That’s what we were trained to do, isn’t it?” Alina nodded before she reached for Joseph’s hands. She was afraid that he will move it away, but he simply stayed stiff as he bit onto his lips, “If you pretend nothing happened here…then so be it.”

She rolled off the bed and started dressing again as Joseph stared into her back, and he slowly moved his still aching body and started dressing up too. Then, they exited the tent together with stern looks on their faces as if nothing had happened.

All of those memories and all of those feelings were left behind in the tent and taken down as their joint missions concluded. Further reinforcements from each of the two kingdoms followed up after the efforts of the two generals before a full sweep of the forest was completed and any further hints of the Wave weed farm was destroyed.

Or rather, what remained were moved back into the domains of the Ethereal Realm, to the regions controlled by the Militar family, but that will be the story for another day.

Joseph returned to Varous and continued with his duties as the kingdom’s general, and Alina did the same. They reunited with one another in a handful of diplomatic meetings, though Alina had been angry and aggressive with Joseph’s for the first few times.

However, despite their personal feelings, they actually both worked behind the scenes to foster a strong and friendly relationship between the two Kingdoms, allowing the scholars and traders to freely travel in between them. Though unaware of each other’s direct roles, both had their suspicions for this turn in their kingdom’s relations.

Then, years passed until Joseph and Alina finally reunited at this year’s Summer Selections as there were no chances where both Talonia and Varous citizens were competing at the formal competition. By this time, Alina’s desire for Joseph simply surpassed whatever ounces of anger she had from the way their first relationship ended.

Now that the kingdoms are on good terms regardless, she thought that she should be able to pursue whatever she desired. That was when she invited Joseph to her room once again, and Joseph, much to her surprise, came without any hesitation.

That was when she understood his true feelings.

From then on, the two of them had been calling each other using a special communication Cast frequently. It wasn’t easy sneaking behind the back of Jolyne and the Valkyries, and honestly, Joseph felt far more stressed than if he was selling military secrets.

“We were supposed to call each other over the last few nights, but she had gone silent.” Joseph said, glancing to the room as Jolyne held her sleeves and listened with grave anticipation, “I did some digging, and it seemed like something’s changing within Talonia, and not for the better. The agents mentioned political shifts within the King’s cabinet and a shift in the Valkyrie’s systems.”

“What do you suggest?” The King asked, “We are not allowed to intervene in other kingdom’s internal politics, as much as I like Alina myself.”

“That’s why I knew it was a bad idea to get involved…” Joseph lowered his head as his words started tumbling into one another, “I…”

“We are not allowed to officially intervene.” The King repeated, “But that does not mean we cannot secretly intervene.”

“There were rumors of Fuel Rock experimentation along the borders of Talonia, near the mountain ranges of the Titan’s Spine.” Jolyne chimed in, "Thought...maybe just rumors."

“It will be an excuse internally for the movement. We are not so heartless that we will simply abandon our allies. We just need to be intelligent with how we intervene.” The King continued, “Wu, Lera, I do not mean to layer more burdens onto you, but…”

“We will go.” Wu said as Lera nodded behind him, “We have our friends in Talonia too. If what had happened in Varous is happening everywhere else in the world, we cannot…leave them alone. Plus, we are just citizens and used to wearing disguises, and you generals need to hold the fort here.”

“Thank you.” Joseph said as Jolyne walked over to comfort her big brother.

“I did not intend to throw you from one conflict to another, but perhaps…” The King smiled when Wu put his hand up and shook his head.

“It’s okay. We are used to it anyway.” Wu said, as Joseph reached into his pocket and took out a scroll.

“All of the information I had gathered about Talonia and her are here.” Joseph said, “Including where Alina was last located. Please use it to your advantage.”

“Will do.”

The rest of the dinner was drowned in the downer tone, and the sense of celebration was quickly replaced with the anticipation for a new mission. After the dinner, Wu and Lera walked away from the main palace when they spotted a group of young couples dancing to a slow tune right along the main street.

Lera immediately dragged Wu along, completely ignoring his protests about not being a good dancer. As the gentle tune transitioned into a cheery bridge as the newest couple joined the fray. Lera pinched onto Wu’s fingers, guiding him to the rhythm of the Varous style of dancing before they spun around, the images of the warmly lit streets turning into a blur, and Lera’s smile became the only focus in Wu’s world.

“I didn’t think Joseph had a love story like that…” Wu murmured, “That sounded…sweet and sad at the same time.”

“Everything will be okay…” Lera smiled, pulling Wu close briefly before guiding him away as the rest of the couples did the same. Then, they tapped their foot along to the drumbeat as Wu had finally started to pick up on the simple yet fun sequences of movements, “We will even have a big wedding for them between the Kingdoms! It will be way better than the arranged marriages in history.”

“Yeah…” Wu smiled and nodded. He had always wanted to explore the other Kingdoms of this world, and now, he finally has a chance to do so.

“Speaking of weddings, when are you going to propose to me properly?” Lera asked, catching Wu in the moment.

“Wh…what do you mean?”

“Don’t tell me you forget what you said…back then.”

“Of course not!” Wu hurried, nearly tripping himself, “I remember everything! I thought…I already did it properly?”

“I want a proper proposal!” Lera stood her ground, “Come on!!!”

“Fine.” Wu signed and dragged Lera out of the circle. Then, he grabbed her hands and started running alongside her, the sounds of their footsteps echoing in the streets until they climbed to the Pinnacle Research Institute monuments.

Then, he stopped right in front of the embarrassing statute showcasing Lera flying through the air to stop its activation.

Watching as the lights of Sonne city became stars far out in the distance under them, Wu slowly dropped to one knee and held onto Lera’s hands.

“Here’s the proposal, our way.” Wu said, his eyes glowing in the dark as Lera waited with anticipation, “Will you marry me, Lera Huten?”

“Finally!” Lera giggled and gave Wu a big smooch on the lips before jumping onto him. He caught her legs with his arms and swung her around.

“Did hearing Joseph’s story excite you that much?” Wu asked.

“Maybe~” Lera said, resting her chin on Wu’s shoulders, “It’s just…love can be so precious that if we don’t grasp it when we can…we might lose it forever…”

“Don’t you worry.” Wu said, “Honestly, things shouldn’t be getting more difficult than what we had last season... Right? Right…? I am sure everything’s fine in Talonia…I am sure…”

Then, the two of them both swallowed with a gulp, and they stared into each other’s eyes.

“Ok…a proper wedding after we finish this mission?”