Chapter LXXXVII - Why I Never Found Love Before

Laying in bed with Irene resting on his shoulder, Arthur looked at the photo Max took, holding it for both to see. He couldn’t help but smile as his hand wrapped around her holding her tight.

“If I showed this to the people back in the old world, they would’ve called it sorcery.”

“A few centuries ago, you’d find yourself in trouble here too.”

“Trouble?” He looked at her confused.

“Witch hunts were a thing, and all those believed to have magic got lynched and burned at the stake. Though, now that I’ve met you, it’s got me thinking that maybe they weren’t wrong.”

“Weren’t wrong? Why would you or anyone agree to execute those with magic?”

“No, no. . . I meant that maybe they weren’t wrong about them having magic,” she tried raising her voice, but she could barely lift her head. “Sorry, I’m just tired.”

“Oh. . .”

“You don’t think I’d actually be down for killing people for having magic, do you?” She sighed. “I don’t know about you, but magic sounds awesome. It’s just that people are fearful of what they don’t understand.”

Irene closed her eyes, snuggling even closer while practically already being on top of him.

“Guess our worlds weren’t all that different back then, both bathed in blood.” Arthur sighed, lowering the photo before glancing back at Irene. “Sorry. It’s probably not what you wanted to talk about while we looked at our picture together.”

“It’s fine. You know you can talk to me about anything really.”

“Still, time and place. . . I’ll learn eventually.”

“You’re overthinking things.” She chuckled, tracing her finger across my chest. “Besides, I’m the one who mentioned witch hunts.”

“Yeah. . .” Arthur lowered his tone, caught thinking about his grandpa.

“Can’t stop thinking about your card getting declined, huh?” Irene asked, glancing at Arthur’s half-closed eyes.

“Look at you having me all figured out,” he said with a feeble smile.

“It’s easier than you think.” Irene leaned closer to his ear, whispering softly, “But I am your girlfriend, so it must be because I’m enthralled. It's hard for things to go unnoticed.” Despite being happy to hear her say that, she could still see he was distracted by worry. “If you want, we could go back tomorrow. Check up on things and come return here the day after.”

“Thanks, but isn’t that a bit much?”

“It’s nothing when you know it’ll bring you peace of mind,” she reassured him.

“Still, we’d need someone else to drive us back-”

“I’m certain Amelia wouldn’t mind. We could ask her in the morning.”

“No, that’s okay.” He sighed, grabbing hold of her hand. “Thanks, but I’ll be okay.”

“Fine. If you change your mind don’t hesitate to ask, okay?”

“I won’t, I promise.”

“Okay. . .” Irene yawned, burying her head deeper into him.

“You want to go to sleep?”

“Nah, just a few more minutes. . .”

Max’s birthday lasted a long time, exhausting most as everyone quickly fell asleep when midnight came around. Drinking as much as they did wasn’t helpful either.

“So. . . Don and Sophie winning in the end was unexpected,” Arthur said.

“Not really since Max let them win.”

“Yeah, but I’m glad he did. It’s really good to build up Don’s confidence. He made it convincing too.”

“You do know he didn’t let Don win, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“How dense can you be?” She gazed back into his eyes, baffled by how ignorant of all the signs he was.

“What do you mean?” He looked at her puzzled.

“You know what? If you can’t see it, maybe you shouldn’t know.” She giggled, cupping his cheek with her hand that touched his chest.

“Wait, what?”

“Nothing.”

“You can’t just say that and not explain.”

“Yes I can cuz it’s cute.”

“Irene. . .”

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s adorable when you’re clueless.”

“You’re really not gonna tell me?”

“Nope.” She chuckled again, closing her eyes. “Mind if I sleep on your shoulder?”

“Really? And since when do you ask?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Good point,” she mumbled. “Sweet dreams.”

Letting out a sigh, Arthur glanced up at the ceiling knowing she wasn’t going to tell him no matter what.

“You too. . .” he said, left to think about what she meant on his own before falling asleep eventually.

Sneaking into the room, Arthur laid back down next to Irene, wrapping his hand around her waist. He smiled before repeatedly kissing her cheek, slowly moving to the neck and shoulder. It didn’t take long for her to show signs of waking up.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered sweetly into her ear, planting one more kiss behind the ear.

“Morning,” she mumbled gruntingly, barely able to turn her head. “What time is it?”

“Around nine,” he whispered.

“I’m too tired. Let me sleep in today,” Irene mumbled, turning over to face him. However, she was surprised to find him fully clothed when she tried putting her arm around him. Especially because Arthur sleeps shirtless every night. “Why are you all dressed up?”

“Because I have a surprise for you, but you need to get up.”

“A surprise?” She peeked with her left eye after having her interest piqued. “What surprise?”

“Can’t tell you, but I can show you if you can get up.”

“It’s outside, isn’t it?” She sighed.

“That’s right, but I guess if you don’t want to, we don’t have to go see it.”

“I never said I didn’t want to.” Irene grabbed his shirt and tried pushing herself up, barely managing to sit up straight. “Just give me a second. . .”

“Sure. You’ll need a swimsuit though.”

“You’re gonna throw me into water this early in the morning?”

“Not unless you ask.” He chuckled, slowly getting up.

“Very funny. . .”

After waiting a few minutes for her to wake up properly and put some clothes on, the two tried sneaking out of the house; however, there was no need to be careful as the boys were still passed out in the living room, and the girls were in their rooms soundly asleep with the exception of Iseul who caught them on the deck while reading a book. Not wishing to interrupt them, she winked at Irene whispering to her to have fun.

“Where are we going?” Irene asked as they walked along the beach for a while.

“You’ll see. . . Gosh, I didn’t know you were that impatient.”

“I’m not,” she mumbled. “Just excited.”

“Don’t worry. We’re here.”

“Wait, is that. . .” She stopped, noticing a blanket spread out under the tree that the two embraced when he showed her his power. “Did you make us a picnic?”

“Surprise,” he said smilingly as he walked over to his backpack that leaned against the tree that had its bark damaged in a small radius after he infused Qi. “Hope you like it.”

“I love it,” she said, turning to him and giving him a hug. “But when did you find the time to do all this?”

“This morning.” He sat down, unzipping the backpack and taking out the food.

“You made all this?” She kept asking, touched by his effort. However, his lack of response made her smirk before sitting next to him. “Guess we have Iseul to thank once we get back, huh?”

“Hope that doesn’t ruin it for you.” He sighed.

“What? No, no. . .” Irene laughed joyously. “Why would it?”

“Well, I wanted to do it on my own, but she helped prepare the sweets and stuff.”

“I love it,” she reassured him, laying down on the blanket. “Does this mean we get to spend the whole day together?”

“Yeah, unless you get bored.”

“Stop being so pessimistic,” she said, shoving him gently.

“Sorry. It’s just my first time doing something like this and I don’t want to mess it up?”

“First time?” She looked confused, unsure what he meant by that.

“I’ve never taken someone out on a date, so this would be my first.”

“Art. . .” She melted, slowly sitting back up before snuggling closer to him. “I haven’t really thought about that since we’ve hung out together so many times already. Don’t worry, you’re killing it.”

“Despite accepting Iseul’s help?”

“Totally. Matter of fact, it makes it that much sweeter knowing you put so much effort into it that you even asked for help. I’d probably do it too if I’m being honest.”

“I’m glad.” He smiled, resting his head against her.

The two planned to spend the whole day at the beach uninterrupted. They enjoyed the delicious food, swam from time to time, and even took a light nap next to each other on the laid-out blanket while listening to chill beats using Irene’s phone. That was the first time in a while they truly hung out alone without the need to see anyone else.

Irene sat between Arthur’s legs, resting her head on his chest while he leaned against the tree. They looked toward the sea, watching the peaceful sunset.

“Today was perfect.” she smiled, holding his arm that rested on her stomach. “Hey. . .”

“Hmm?”

“Mind if I ask you something personal about your past?” She sounded hesitant.

“There’s no need to ask for permission,” he told her, leaning over her shoulder. “I’ll always answer your questions.”

“You sure?” She glanced back at him. “Time and place. Your words, not mine.”

“Well, maybe not when I’m in the bathroom, but even then. . .”

Irene couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re such a dork sometimes.”

“Hey, a man’s gotta have some boundaries.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, smiling from ear to ear.

“So. . . What did you want to ask me?”

“Right.” She settled down. “How come you’ve never been with anyone before? It’s hard to imagine someone heroic not having anyone interested in them. I’d understand if you lucked out once, but three times?”

“Oh, that? I thought you were going to ask me something worse,” he teased.

“I’m serious.” She nudged him.

“Want the short version?”

“I’d love to hear the long one, but whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Then let’s keep it somewhere in the middle,” he said, tilting his head back against the tree. “Hmm. . . It’s a bit more complicated than that. I’m sure some women were interested in being with me. Actually, I’m certain there were. . .”

“So why didn’t they?”

“Let’s start from the beginning. My first life was a complete mess. The shock of losing my family and being sent to war at a young age left little to no room for personal relationships. I was only focused on survival, and while I did meet interested women, I couldn’t bond with anyone as I was closed off from the world and things like that hadn’t interested me until I’d already gained a poor reputation for my behavior. There were still those interested, but I guess I just didn’t like them that much. It was right when I was about to die that I truly regretted not trying anything.”

“That’s one of my biggest fears. Regretting not trying something that I truly wanted,” Irene said, letting out a sigh while holding his hand tighter.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Just checking.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tear up like last time since I know you’re okay now. I hope. . .”

“Shall I continue then?”

“Yeah. . .”

“Okay, let’s see.” He took his time remembering. “When I was reborn for the first time, Tragedy stuck me again, but this time it was foretold. My family pretty much abandoned me when I was nearing the age of awakening, and the church used the opportunity to grab me.”

“Sounds like kidnapping. . .”

“It practically was. However, they promised to protect me and in exchange, I’d follow their rules. Little did I know that they would fail in the end and end up simply monopolizing my power to suit their needs. To avoid me being swayed by anyone else, they restricted my ability to speak with women, especially those of noble birth. There was even a king willing to marry her daughter to me, but the church rebuked him and the neighboring countries promised to go to war.”

“That’s horrible. . . They took away your freedom. Did you ever try breaking the rules?”

“I did, but even if we’re talking about just women, they were too afraid of the consequences. One did try, but she got caught before she had the chance to try anything. Apparently, they were observing me using divination magic.”

“Still, could they really stop you if you tried to fight back?”

“During my second life, yes. However, it would’ve cost them dearly. However, I felt a strange sense of loyalty and didn’t wish to go against them, so I just followed along, believing they’d at least keep their promise of protecting me by fighting alongside me.”

“What about your third life?”

“Similar thing happened. Tragic awakening and the church getting involved. However, this time I knew better and I told them that I wouldn’t help save the world if they tried putting any restrictions on me, and by then I was too powerful to control.”

“So what stopped you?”

“Well, I’ve spent so much time not talking to women that in the end, I found it hard to spark a conversation.”

“But you were great at it when we first met.”

“That’s because you approached me. Honestly, I complain sometimes about how unlucky I am, but I’ve been nothing but lucky ever since I reincarnated as Arthur. The friends I made, the family I have, and not to mention you by my side. . . How could I ever complain?” He smiled as the two gazed into each other’s eyes. She reached for his hair with her free hand, making him close his eyes instinctively while tilting his head slightly. “So yeah,” he whispered, opening his eyes again. “I was pretty incapable for a long time, but one day I met a noble lady who wanted nothing more than to join the army to defend her home. We ended up talking a lot and she helped me overcome my awkwardness.”

“Was she pretty?” She teased, but Arthur turned silent, hesitant to answer. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m the one who asked.”

“I know.”

“I’ll admit, I’m a tiny bit jealous that someone else got you enthralled to the point where you’d struggle to answer, but you don’t have to hold back.”

“You’re reading into it wrong. Sure, she was pretty, but we didn’t have a bond like that. It was more of a friendship that had a chance of becoming something if we both tried but never did.”

“Why not?” Irene asked, but as soon as he didn’t answer, she realized what had happened. “I’m sorry. . .”

“Don’t apologize. I told you that you could ask whatever you wanted and I meant it. Besides, while we were friends, it wasn’t as if we were as remotely close as I am with Sophie and you.”

“Do you ever wonder if-”

“No. . .” He cut her off. “I was frustrated that fate seemed to hate me and wanted me to suffer, but I haven’t once thought about ‘what if’ since it was a waste of time as a war waged on.”

“What about once you reincarnated as the current you?”

“I’ve been too engrossed to think about anything related to my past. Besides, why would I think about such things when I have you by my side almost from the very beginning.”

“Maybe I made it too easy for you. . .” She smirked, tugging his hair gently. “What do you say I make things harder.”

“Please don’t,” he pleaded, smiling at her charmingly.

She blushed while staring at each other. Slowly turning around, she sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Do you even realize how stunningly beautiful you are?” She whispered, kissing him on the forehead.

“Where did that come from?” Arthur said, flustered by the compliment.

“I say it as I see it.” She chuckled. “And you’re all mine.”

“No,” he said. “You’re mine.”

They smiled, pressing their foreheads against one another.

“Want to mark it?”

“How?”

Irene reached over for the keys he had in the backpack before looking back at the tree Arthur used to display his Qi. It took a bit of effort because it wasn’t a knife, but she managed to carve their initials with a heart around it.

“There,” she said, proudly smirking. “Now it’s official.”

“Guess so.” He chuckled. “Now anyone that passes through here will know.”

Irene closed her eyes, leaning in closer with arms wrapped around him again. Her warm embrace symbolized a new beginning, as he finally realized, with the sun slowly setting, that he was already in love.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.