Chapter 101: The masked figure

*Guess who's pov*

I watched as Aria and the others slowly fell asleep, I checked their breathing and lit an incense just to be safe.

Silently, I slipped away, my footsteps barely disturbing the forest floor. The stillness of the night wasn't creepy on the contrary, it was serene, peaceful even.

The whisper of leaves in the gentle breeze brought a strange comfort to me. Maybe it's because my bloodline makes me closer to nature?

"There you are. What took you so long?" The sharp, accusing voice came from a hooded figure as I approached.

Her emerald eyes glowed faintly, piercing through the shadows like twin jewels. "We were supposed to meet days ago. Don't tell me being with Aria again made you forget our plan?"

I walked towards her as I said. "Yeah, yeah. It's not easy trying to get away from them you know? I finally had time to meet up because Aria decided to cook, it was easier to add something in their food, especially since Aria was the one who was the most troublesome. By the way, Aria still cooks like a royal chef, if only we had some more ingredients then I could've snatched some to bring to you as well." I said as I noticed her walking towards me.

The hooded figure stepped forward, her posture relaxed but her gaze sharp. "Well, it's fine. I'll have my share soon enough when I meet Aria. I'll just eat then. You on the other hand, you didn't forget the rules did you?" She tilted her head, her eyebrows raised up.

"Of course not. I know okay? I'm not so stupid as to just confess my love out of nowhere. Besides you know how Aria is. Although I can't remember as much as you do since my core is a little broken, but I do remember that part about her."

"....Right~" She replied, her tone dragging as she said it.

"Well, Aria's feelings will change later on. That's already a fixed future."

So annoying, just because she knew everything she thinks she can act all she wants. Hmph.

"Oh? Why're you sulking now?" she teased further, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. "Fine, I believe you, okay? Well, mostly."

Yeah, right. As if I didn't see her eyes light up in the dark when I said that and her looking absentmindedly somewhere after it did.

"Hm~, what should I do to make you forgive me?" She said as she hugged me from behind, her body's weight falling on me.

"Forgive you? For what? For the fact you didn't trust me?" I said thinking of the kid I saw with Aria.

She paused for a bit as if wondering what I meant and then laughed when I said that. "That wasn't mine. I didn't even know about that kid until you told me. It seems like somebody out there is also lending us a helping hand~"

Huh? If it's not hers then who's? From what I can remember at this point in time other than us, who else did Aria meet? Is it because we've been changing the past?

"Don't worry about it too much," she said lightly, though her tone held an undercurrent of seriousness. "That one's not an enemy. Probably. I can't see anything that suggests otherwise, at least."

Her cryptic reassurance only unsettled me further.

"Fine," I conceded reluctantly. "So, What happened? You just called for a meet up. Don't tell me you just wanted to see Aria?" I asked. It's weird how this woman who's usually so, well herself, decided to stop by even though she said she wasn't going to be back until after a while.

She smirked, the playfulness returning. "Aw~ What if I did? Couldn't I just miss my wives so bad I went to visit them?"

"No," I deadpanned. "Spit it out. What's going on?"

She sighed before she looked me in the eyes, hers showing a bit of unease.

That's a first.

"Uh, You remember that laboratory Aria found at this time? Yeah, someone dropped by there about a week before Uno went there. That person was probably the one who knocked Uno out. I also found the dead body of Enrai, or well, atleast what was left of him with how mangled he looked and how painful his expression was when he died. "

I stiffened. "Enrai?"

"Yeah, you had a bone to pick with those goons right? Too bad I couldn't see it first hand. Anyway, I couldn't see who did it. Same with the one who put the kid there, I can't see who it was."

"And the kid? Is she harmless?"

"Yeah, completely harmless. But she's... strange. She looks like me but isn't related to me—neither my child nor my sister. If she were, I'd have known. Still, there's something familiar about her."

I stayed quiet, processing the information. It was really rare for her to admit that she wasn't sure about something, and that alone was making me think of the negatives.

"Ugh. It's at moments like this that I really wished that I returned back with my full memories." She added, a faint bitterness in her voice.

"It's fine," I replied. "If the kid's harmless, we don't need to worry for now."

We continued to talk more for a while, our conversation weaving between strategy and speculation to Leah's way of *seducing* Aria back at her house which clearly failed not surprisingly, before we decided to part ways again.

"Alright, time to move. Stay safe, okay? Just know that Aria will be fine since she's protected but you're not, so take good care of yourself. If possible be friends with Aria, that way the two of you can protect each other." She adviced me after which she kissed me, her lips were warm and soft just like she was. Her eyes were filled with so much love that I worried it might swallow her up later.

"I thought you said no touching until Aria and the others are ours? And, can you really expect me to JUST befriend Aria?" I asked, tasting what was left of her.

She smirked when I said that. "I would've if it weren't for the fact that you looked, a little bothered. Was it Aria? The look of our wife cooking reminded you of how she used to 'play' with you? As for your second question, even if you did that's fine."

I blushed at her comment, not wanting to admit anything as I punched her lightly to which she just laughed at.

Seriously.