TO BEFRIEND HER

Amber continued walking and paid no attention to the man who kept following them like a dog's tail.

Sanlie looked back multiple times only to find the handsome man walking leisurely behind them.

He was even humming a tune with his hands on his coat pocket.

He was blindingly dazzling - a stark contrast to Amber and the child.

About ten minutes later, they finally went out of the North Gate and continued walking until they reached the relatively safe forest with a small crystal clear river.

It was the only area that children could visit safely. Only small beasts occupied the territory like horned rabbits and mad squirrels. There were no large carnivores around.

"Are you going to catch fish with me today again?" Sanlie asked while taking out his makeshift fishing rod. "You don't really have to bother yourself with me," he added as he dug along the river bank to find some worms for bait.

"I have nothing else to do. I'm still waiting for Linares to find me a store location so, I might as well help you. Also, it's not safe for a lone child to visit a forest."

"But I have nothing to repay you."

"Who's asking for repayment? I'm here to have fun!"

Sanlie didn't know what else to do so Amber could leave him alone. He knew that she was kind and it was because of this kindness that he felt he was abusing her.

"Don't worry. I won't trouble you," Amber said and started rolling off the sleeves of her jacket up to her elbow. Then, she removed her sandals and rolled off her pants up to her knees.

"Ahh!! Stop that!"

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Both men screamed that startled her and almost causing her to fall into the water.

The fishing rod that Sanlie was holding earlier was now lying on the ground. He was covering his eyes with his hands and had turned around to avoid looking at her.

On the other hand, although he screamed at her as well, Regis didn't do anything else aside from pointing his fingers at her.

"What are you guys screaming at me for?"

Regis' mouth was gaping as if he didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only press his temple and close his eyes to calm himself.

"Only men do that."

Amber crossed her arms and asked, "why?"

"Because women shouldn't be exposing so much skin or else, it would be considered as you seducing men."

"But I'm not comfortable wearing those long gowns or dresses. They affect my movements," she retorted and started rolling down her pants. [Tsk! This kingdom should think about equality!]

"Did you say something?"

"Nope. Nothing. Why are you here anyway?" Amber questioned to divert the subject to himself. She was clearly annoyed by him. "Sansan, you can continue fishing now," she added after fixing her clothes.

Regis sat on a boulder and watched Amber as she sat on the river bank and dipped her legs on the clear water.

He had seen her fair skin earlier and now that she was playing with the water, her pinkish toes and heels seemed to sparkle whenever she raised her feet while kicking the water.

For some reason, his throat dried up.

Amber looked at him when she noticed his gaze and silence. "Hey! I'm asking you a question. Stop staring at me. I know I'm pretty but you don't have to drool over me."

Hearing her words, Regis chuckled softly while shaking his head. He was so interested in her.

"I'm Claude Navis Schaumacher. I'm visiting the kingdom with my relatives and I felt bored. I just came across you guys by accident and you seemed to be planning something interesting so, I followed."

"What do most nobles do during their free time?" Amber inquired, not the least bit affected with the obvious discrepancy in their status.

Regis/Claud Navis: "Ladies love hosting parties and have teas over chitchat while men play around, but I prefer to look around town and find something interesting."

Amber nodded her head but in truth, she only agreed with the first half of his statement.

After all, she came from the modern world and she had learn from different cultural histories what kind of past time nobles do.

"Since you want to find something interesting, have you tried fishing?"

"Nope."

"C'mon. I'll show you."

Regis raised his eyebrow but still jumped down from the boulder and walked to her.

Even his way of jumping looked so cool to her.

"Sansan, can I borrow your extra fishing rod? I'll make a new one for you if this gets destroyed."

"Okay," Sanlie answered without looking up. He still felt embarrassed after seeing Amber's smooth and white legs.

"So, this is how you do it. You put this here..."

Listening to her instruction and looking at her closely, Regis felt the sudden itch of his fangs.

This was the second time he felt like sinking his fangs into her fragile neck.

The first time happened last night in front of the pub when they first bump into each other.

He wanted to taste her warm blood that much, but he held on to his sanity.

A part of him whispered to never lay a hand on her; that he needed to ensure her safety instead.

[What's wrong with me?]