Am I just naturally born with bad luck?
Damn it. Was it really that difficult to give me some good luck? It's not as if I'm going to rob all the good luck in the whole fucking universe. I glanced at the boy struggling underneath me, rolling my eyes heavenwards.
30 minutes ago...
It's finally the d-day!
The day where I would finally take up one of my most-awaited lessons—archery. Excitement and anticipation flared up within me since last night that I barely got a wink of sleep. I even woke up earlier than I used to and headed first to the training grounds.
I skipped on my steps, humming a happy tune while doing so. I stopped in my tracks and glanced at the black hair sticking out in the trees. 'Hm? His face is unfamiliar. Is he perhaps a new recruit? But he doesn't have our insignia though..."
My eyes went wide. I didn't know if this was considered a natural occurrence or my luck was just that rotten, but I unfortunately encountered 'someone' brave enough to loiter and do suspicious things around our freaking training grounds.
Without thinking it through, I dashed towards the boy and pounced on him. We fell on the ground with a thud. "What...?" He let out a groan, his eyes widening when it fell on me. "Alyn?"
I glared at him, trying to look tough despite the turmoil in my head. "Who are you? Don't you know it's rude to call a lady by her nickname, especially when they're not even acquaintances?"
"What are you talking about, Alyn? It's me, El."
I furrowed my brows as I searched through Amarizi's memories, but there were no accounts of the name 'El'. 'Damn it. Why is her memory so damn limited?'
"El? I don't know anyone named El."
"What...? It's me, Elderon!"
Elderon? That Elderon who was one of the capture targets in the game? "Elderon...Goniuva?"
"Yes!" I let out a scoff, making him look at me quizzically. "Aren't you a brave one? i never met an intruder who's brave enough to claim he's the son of a Duke."
"But I'm really the son of a Duke! Ah, is it because of my black hair and eyes? Wait, let me change ba—"
He tried to reach for the necklace on his neck but before he could do so, I grabbed his hands and pinned it above his head. "Don't you dare do any funny business."
A blush crept on his cheeks as he stammered out words from his mouth. "Wha, w-what do you think you're doing?! G-get off me! You're heavy!"
I felt a tick of annoyance bubbling up inside me as I flashed him an irked smile. "If you're really Elderon, then why don't you try pushing me off of you? If you're truly of the Goniuva bloodline, it wouldn't be a difficult task for you to do so."
"I don't want to!"
"Why not?"
"That's...uh..." I raised a brow. "That's what? Cat got your tongue?"
He shot me glare before averting his eyes. "I don't want to take responsibility for someone as weak as you! It would be annoying if you suddenly cry!"
An amused smile made its way on my lips. "Are you worried that you'll hurt me?" The blush on his cheeks intensified. "W-what?! Who worried about who? Stop putting words into my mouth!"
"Haa...you would be much cuter if you're words were not too harsh." His brows drew together, his face resembling that of a ripe tomato. "Shut up! Get off me already."
Our bickering continued to ensue. Both of us refusing to back down, leading us to the current situation we're in.
"Hey, I said get off me! You're heavy!"
He tried to push himself up again, only to fail miserably once more. This little shit! I put more weight on my body, an annoyed grin plastered on my face. "Heavy? I think you're just too weak to handle me, intruder."
He hissed loudly, face still flushed in crimson red. "Is your memory rusty?! I already told you numerous times that I'm not an intruder! I'm the son of a duke!"
I rolled my eyes heavenwards. "Yeah, yeah. I heard you, little prince. What's next? Are you going to claim again that you're Duke Goniuva's heir?"
"Yes!" He yelled, his voice a pitch higher and his once weary eyes turned bright as if he finally found hope amidst the predicament that he was currently in. I let out a snort. This guy is really something.
"Aren't you tired of it already? Because I really do. Are you perhaps not sound of mind or something?"
"You...! Are you telling me I'm crazy?!" I tilted my head to the side and fake-gasped. "You're not?" I felt his body tremble underneath me. "You don't believe me?"
"Do I look like someone you could easily fool?" He shot me an blank look as if telling me why I am asking the obvious. The already dormant embers of fury inside me flared up again as I shot him a fiery glare.
He averted his gaze and slowly moved his hand to grasp his necklace again. I grabbed his hand and put it back to his side. "Didn't I already told you not to do any funny busi—"
The sound of hasty footsteps coming nearer towards our location rang out in the training grounds. I turned towards the source of the noise and waited for the owner of the footsteps to reveal themselves.
Father, along with an unfamiliar man and some knights, ran towards us. "Alyn!" I beamed at him and waved my hand. "Dad! I caught someone snooping around the training grounds." I moved away from him to let them see while grabbing his shoulders to make sure he won't suddenly run away.
"What? Alyn, that's..."
A burst of laughter rang out of the unfamiliar man's mouth. "Hahaha! Son, did you got beaten up by the young lady again?"
He averted his gaze and clicked his tongue. "You're wrong! I decided to just let her be since it would be annoying to deal with!" Another laugh came out of his mouth. "What did I tell you? You should not have wore a disguise."
I looked at the both of them back and forth, confusion written on my face. Wait...don't tell me...
As if confirming my suspicions, the boy reached for his necklace and his once black hair and eyes turned green like the color of spring. Green eyes...green hair...fuck.
"So you're really Elderon?"
"Yes. I told you numerous times already." This... Why...why didn't father tell me that he would be here?! My eyes sparkled as I leaned in close to him, causing him to fall backwards. "What...what are you doing?"
Oh my fucking gosh. Holy shit. I finally met him. I finally met the breathing and talking Elderon in the flesh. Thank you, Aphrodite!
"Can I hug you?"
"What...?"
"Can I hug you?"
"Wha?! Why should I?!" I let out a pout, casting my gaze to the ground. "I want to hug you as a form of apology." Well, it's not completely a lie...
His lips formed a thin line, eyes flicking back and forth from me and to the ground. "If it's for apology, then do it quick." He rested his arms on his sides, his head facing the side while glancing at me at his peripheral vision. I let out a bright smile. He averted his gaze, his ears turning bright red. "Just do it already, how annoying!"
I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry."
"Whatever." A wide grin formed on my lips. I couldn't let go of the opportunity of hugging my favored capture target. Out of all the capture targets that I managed to conquer in the otome game, excluding the hidden ones, Elderon was the most decent out of all of them. His route is the only one where the villainess, Amarizi, didn't die.
Amarizi only end up being banished from the kingdom or to the monastery, which I think is actually pretty reasonable compared to the other capture targets' routes. Elderon was also the only one who didn't accuse her immediately when all the people pointed their fingers at her. He even confronted her about the truth instead of believing what the people are saying.
He was also the only one who mourned for the death of her family. Truly, he was a good guy among the 4 main capture targets. That's why I really like him and I guess Amarizi being his childhood friend contributed to that too.
I snapped back to reality when I heard a cough from behind. I hastily let go of him as I let out an awkward laugh. I glanced at the two men behind us, only to see my father with a displeased look while Elderon's father had an amused grin.
"Don't you think they look good together?" Father shot him a glare. "My daughter has a fiancé."
"But I heard that your daughter was only a fiancée candidate so doesn't that basically mean that she isn't really engaged to the crown prince?"
Father closed his mouth shut and glared at him. Elderon's father is not really wrong there. Being a fiancée candidate was as good as saying that I didn't have a fiancée. He turned towards me with a grin and knelt down to my level.
"How about it, Alyn? Why don't you consider getting engaged to my son? Isn't he a better choice than that dubious crown prince?"
"You could get charged for slandering the royal family, your grace." He laughed loudly. "I'd like to see them try." A malicious smirk made its way onto his lips, eyes glowing dangerously as if a predator that is thirsty for some blood.
His eyes soon turned back to its normal state, a smile replacing his previous expression. He patted my head gently. "Well, it's up to you kiddo."
He walked towards the center of the training grounds, unbuttoning his suit jacket. "Then, shall we start our lesson now?"
A/N: Guess who had time to update a chapter 👀 Thank you everyone for supporting this story ❤️ Seeing you vote and comment on each chapter makes me really happy. Ily 💖 Thank you for the 15k reads! ✨