My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 140
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 140
I know who it is at once.
Lancer...?
It's impossible for me not to recognise him, we've known each other almost all our lives.
Why is he out here at this time of night?
It's a winter night, and it's barely started to snow. The sun has long since gone to bed, and the air outside must be as cold as ice. So why is he outside?
Impatiently, I gather my new clothes and put them on. I make my way down to the garden, my footsteps quiet, lest I wake up Phoebe.
"Skyla?" Before I can call out to him, Lancer notices me. The pure white snowflakes on his brilliant blonde hair looks like finely ground diamond dust, the sparkle brilliant. "Why are you here?" He asks, smiling like an angel in the pale moonlight.
"I ask the same for you, why are you awake and out here at this unearthly hour?" I shiver and pull my hat tighter around my head.
Seeing me, Lancer tilts his head. "Are you cold?"
"It's snowing, of course I am."
"Come here." He strides next to me, holding out his hand. His hand is bare, not even a glove worn, but it's not frozen at all. "Can you please take off your glove?"
Without protest, I take off my left glove. When I put my hands together with Lancer's, I immediately begin to feel warm. It's as if I've soaked it in hot water.
"Wow." Impressed, I marvel at the great magic. "You should have done this earlier, I was so cold when I got out of the carriage."
"I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were cold," he says, squeezing my hand tighter. The warmth radiating from our skin melts my heart.
Feeling warmer, I turn my head to look at my surroundings. It had only just begun to snow, and the garden was yet to be covered in a blanket of ice.
The remaining stems of the flowers, which had turned beneath the soil to hide for the winter, were half-buried in the snow. A tall sculpture of an owl was topped with a furry hat made of pure white snow. There was no sound. Everything was gripped by silence.
Everything was so different from my time in the capital.
At the Kaerun residence, the knights on duty moved about throughout the night, and the sounds of servants could be heard in the distance. But here, it was like a space made of silence. The only sound was Lancer's even breathing beside me.
It's only now I realise how close we are, alone together at night when no one else is around.
"What are we doing out here, anyway?"
"It's the first snowfall."
"So?"
"They say if you make a wish during the first snowfall, it comes true." Lancer smiles down at me. Bathed in moonlight, holding my hand, he looks happier than anyone else in the world.
"What did you wish for?" I ask, looking up at him.
And Lancer tells me, in all his honesty. "I wished that I could make you the happiest woman in the world."
Hearing that simple, heartfelt confession, my cheeks instantly flush red. My heart pounds inside. It wants to leap like a bud beginning to sprout for spring.
"...Don't make such a wish. I'm already happy." I deliberately raise my voice to hide my embarrassment.
"It would be nice to be happier."
"I'm already happy enough. How much happier do you want to make me?" I ask back through gritted teeth.
Instead of answering, he leans in toward me. I instinctively close my eyes, feeling his breath against me. But, contrary to my expectations, his lips graze my eyes before moving away.
When I blink and stare up at him, he mumbles, "Some snow was stuck on your eyelashes."
"Does that matter now?" I ask, disdainful of him for getting my hopes up. Slightly weakened, I squeeze his hand. It doesn't hurt him or me. His magic only makes me warmer.
He glances at me. "What did you want me to do?"
He asks, looking at me as if he's looking at the loveliest thing in the world. His eyes reflect me standing in the middle of the frozen garden.
After wracking my brain, I avoid his gaze. "...I have snow on my lips."
I regret the words as soon as they come out of my mouth. I wonder if it's too obvious. But he doesn't tease me or laugh at me. With our hands still clasped together, he leans into me once more.
The kiss is slow at first, hovering around the edges, then deepening without warning. In an instant, our lips locked, and a gentle warmth filled me.
"I love you, Skyla," Lancer whisper when our lips part.
"I know."
"Can't you just tell me you love me too?"
"Why say the obvious?"
"Skyla...." He narrows his eyes. A part of me leaps again at the impatient look on his face. I'm tempted to tease him further, to make him cling to me even more, but there's something else I wanted to say right now.
"I love you, too, Lancer."
Those words bring a smile to his face.
I wrap my arms around his shoulders. Naturally, one of his hands found its way to the nape of my neck.
And just like that, we're out in the garden, in the middle of nowhere, under the first snowfall.
"...Kayla?"
I hear a voice calling for me from the entrance of the garden. It belongs to the last person I want to hear at this moment.
I turn, flinching at the arm I unconsciously wrapped around Lancer. "....Your Highness?"
Standing at the entrance was the Crown Prince. His body, bundled up in a thick coat like mine, is one of bewilderment. A chill runs down my spine as if I've been stabbed with thousands of needles. This situation seems so unreal.
Had the Crown Prince caught me and Lancer in the act?
"...What are you two doing right now?" He finally asks, his voice quiet, still not moving a step from where he is.
"...." I can't answer him. Not because I don't know what to say, but because I can already see how anything I say will infuriate him.
"How cunning." When he only receives silence in response, the Crown Prince speaks up again, glaring at Lancer. The memories of the last two days laughing and chatting with Lancer crumble. "Lord Lancer, you really have no morals. Do you think it's okay to take someone else's woman like this?"
I'm dumbfounded.
Excuse me, Crown Prince, since when did I become yours?
"You're interfering with the relationship between lovers," he says.
Taking his words as a provocation, Lancer turns to face him as he grabs my hand. It's enough to get on the Crown Prince's nerves.
"Lovers? Did I not surely tell you on the way here that Kayla is the woman who is to be my fiancée?"
Had such a conversation passed between them? It was a good thing there hadn't been a big fight between them on the way here.
"I've been so confident that I could never lose Kayla to the likes of you, but perhaps I was mistaken."
"I too had hoped that the Crown Prince would soon come to his senses. You're not as good at reading atmospheres as I thought."
Ah…. As I watch the argument between them unfold, I can see why a fight hasn't broken out before. These two are filled with a confidence that's almost arrogant.
The Crown Prince believes that although I have been distracted by Lancer, he will soon be able to win my heart. Lancer, on the other hand, firmly believed that I would never give my heart to anyone else when he was with me.
In conclusion, the former was with no evidence, the latter was established.
"Are you truly unaware, Your Highness, of how many engagements between royalty and nobility are made without love? Please don't force your feelings on Skyla."
"Force? I would never do such a barbaric thing. You're backed into a corner, so you attack me with such unbelievable accusations."
"I didn't attack you, I told you the truth."
"You have a horrible way with words."
Look, you two, don't fight over me! Stop fighting!
I watch, helpless, as the Crown Prince and Lancer engage in a battle of wits. I stand frozen, not knowing how the f*ck to fix this situation.
"Shut up!" Someone shouts as a window on the left end of the mansion flings open.