Chapter 206 - Kinue and Chloe's Love for Nathan

  Chloe Evenhart:

  “Of course! I would, too… if I could take a certain someone,” Kinue said, a sparkle in her eyes.

  Oh, so Kinue also has someone she’s ied in.

  I felt proud of her.

  "But I'll get my ce soon enough. Pink Chocote Day is ing, and I finally make a move…" Kinue tinued.

  "Pink Chocote Day? What's that?" I asked, curious.

  Kinue gnced around to make sure no one was nearby, then leaned in close.

  "It's a special day when girls give a treat to a friend... or to someohey like. It’s a city tradition, and it’s ing up soon. Then, on Blue Chocote Day, it’s their turn to give chocotes."

  I had no idea.

  "So, who’s the guy you like?" I teased, and Kiurned bright red.

  "If you tell me who you like, I’ll tell you who mine is," she replied, sounding nervous.

  "What?!" I excimed, blushing.

  I’m not ready to reveal this to anyone else… It was incredibly hard just to tell Aunt Katie.

  "See! You’re nervous too," she said, ughing.

  "Of course! Talking about these things makes me embarrassed," I admitted.

  We stared at each other and burst into ughter.

  "Alright, I won’t push. How about you just tell me the first letter of the name of the guy you like?" I suggested.

  "I’ll do it, but only if we say it together," Kinue replied.

  I thought for a moment.

  "Let’s say it at the same time,"

  "Okay," she agreed.

  We looked at each other, taking a deep breath, ready to reveal our secrets.

  "The first letter of the name of the guy I like is…"

  "N," we both said in unison.

  When we looked at each other, our smiles froze. Our mouths hung open for a moment, speechless. Then, our smiles faded as we stared at each other, bewildered.

  "The guy you like… what’s he like?" Kinue asked, breaking the silence.

  "You first… tell me about yours," I replied, trying tain some posure.

  Kinue blushed, looking down. "He’s really kind and always there for me when I need him," she said softly.

  "So is mine…" I murmured, looking down as well.

  "Your turn," she said, her tone filled with anticipation.

  "The guy I like is a bit clumsy when it es to romand doesn’t realize when someone likes him…" I fessed.

  "Mioo…" Kinue sighed.

  I swallowed, trying to process everything.

  "Your turn…" I managed, struggling to keep calm.

  "The guy I like does little things that warm my heart… but he doesn’t realize it," Kinue expined.

  "So does mine…" I agreed.

  We looked at each other, the fusion clear in our expressions.

  "He was my first friend…" I said, feeling a pang of nostalgia.

  "So was mine…" Kinue replied, with the same emotion.

  Silence fell between us, her of us sure what to say .

  "Kinue…" I began.

  "Chloe…" she replied.

  "Could it be that we like the same person…?"

  We stared at each other, stunned by the thought.

  “Hey, girls! Finally, I made it in time for lunch," Nathan said, sitting down beside us.

  "KYA!" we screamed in unison, startled, actally flinging our food onto him.

  Nathan Evenhart:

  “What did I d?” I muttered, staring at my refle in the mirror.

  As soon as I’d sat down at the table with Chloe and Kihey’d screamed and thrown food at me. Now, I was stuck ing my uniform ihroom.

  "Serves yht! No oold you to be an idiot!" Cyl’s voice echoed from the floor, her eyes locked on me.

  “Still mad about my family’s decision?”

  She nodded firmly.

  “I thought you uood our pn.”

  “You already know who it was. Just let me go! I want to kill everyone involved!” she spat, clearly irritated.

  Last weekend, my family and I had gathered to discuss our steps. Our first option was to pursue diplomacy to gain the kingdom’s permission to eliminate Nikous Wolves and the nobles in his fa.

  The problem was, at this point, all we had were dedus pointing to Nikous Wolves and his fa attempting to orchestrate my death. That wasn’t enough evideo present a valid accusation to the kingdom. We o wait and see what the third assassin would do. If he came after me, our pn was to capture him. He was the only assassin who khe identity of the t and could provide proof that Nikous Wolves was the mastermind. With this evidence, we could gain the kingdom’s authorization to retaliate and eliminate Nikous.

  In the meantime, we had to bide our time and see if the assassin would make a move. After losing his two partners, he might be more cautious. Regardless, he had two options: e after me to plete the tract or back out, which would mean Nikous losing his only shot at eliminating me. After all, we’d found out that only these three assassins on the ti had accepted the tract. They’d spent two years iigating me, pnning my assassination for when I arrived at Apsalon.

  There was also the possibility that the third assassin would abandon his tract after losing his two partners. In that case, we wouldn’t have direct proof that Nikous Wolves was behind the plot against my life.

  Either way, Nikous Wolves was doomed. We’d either kill him legally, with the kingdom’s permission, or my aunt would ha, making his death look like an “act.” He’d trapped himself by publicly presenting himself as a strong ally to our family in the kingdom over the years, giving us a perfect ce to a secret. Just as no one would suspect him of my assassination, no one would suspect my aunt of killing a powerful ally from a rival fa. In the end, he’d dug his own grave.

  If we ha covertly, however, only Nikous Wolves would die, si’d be suspicious if several nobles suddenly suffered “acts.” Even then, I’d feel relieved knowing he was go was he who’d wanted me dead from the time I was five years old.

  The old Emperor Icarus in me would’ve wreaked havoc just hearing that an i mortal dared to sider harming me…

  Meanwhile, I looked down at the moody cat gring up at me, clearly waiting for a response.

  “What I do to improve your mood?” I asked, giving her feline nose a light squeeze.

  “I want revenge! I want to go there and kill every one of them right now. I want to devour them alive, watch as they scream in terror and burn!”

  I chuckled inwardly at her thoughts.

  Where is that wise woman who once gave me advi that ?

  I let out another quiet ugh. firming that no one was around, I replied calmly, “This matter is out of my trol, and you know that. My family has a pn, and I have to follow it. It’s the best way to resolve things. We ’t cause chaos.”

  “Then I’ll stay angry,” she huffed.

  I tio ponder my steps.

  I really o start edug this dragon girl better. We both o trol this bloodthirsty side of ourselves.