Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 94 - 93- An unexpected step

Adrian sat in his room, quietly flipping through the notes he had compiled after leaving the Time Chamber.

Today, he’d spent a full eight hours inside—and not a second had gone to waste. No distractions. No thoughts outside the page. Just study.

He had eight days left now.

And he was on the third step. Just one more phase before he could finally move on to experimentation.

His plan was precise: dedicate at least four full days to using the Third Thread on the training doll and polish his Runesmithing until even the gods would nod in approval.

He couldn’t afford to slack. Not now. Not when the cross-dimensional group chat was at stake.

He gritted his teeth and focused harder.

Click.

The sound of the doorknob turning interrupted his concentration.

He didn’t lift his gaze. "Knocking doesn’t exist in your dictionary, does it?"

A teasing voice responded, "I know you’re not having an affair in school, so why should I bother knocking?" said the headmistress.

Adrian stayed silent and kept reading. He had only a few more hours before he needed to sleep, and every minute mattered.

Or so he thought.

Suddenly, the notes were snatched right out of his hands.

"What are you doing?!" he exclaimed, eyes wide with frustration.

But Ariana had already made herself comfortable in the chair across from him, flipping through the pages like she owned them.

"Before you kill yourself from overstudying," she said, giving him a look, "spend a few minutes with me."

Adrian let out a low grumble and sat back down. There was no winning an argument with her, not when she was in the mood to talk. And maybe... maybe he could use a short break too.

"Haah, alright," he sighed, reaching for the pitcher and pouring himself some water. "Go ahead. What’s on your mind?"

Ariana gave a small shrug. "Nothing special. Just felt like it’s been a while since we talked... without any real reason."

He nodded, leaning back. "Yeah... things have been crazy lately. First the contest, then that ambush... and you’ve had your hands full too."

Ariana blew out a long breath, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Honestly? The ambush didn’t drain me nearly as much as the talk that came after."

Adrian chuckled softly. That sounded just like her. Ariana had always hated long meetings—the kind where everyone sat still, talked in circles, and nothing ever really got done. For her, staying seated and upright was more exhausting than chasing down Acolytes in the field.

"So," he said, his brow lifting with curiosity, "about the royals... you and Prince Edward were in the same batch, weren’t you?"

Her face froze for a second—just a flicker—but he caught it. Then she gave a slow nod.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "We were close back then. Sparred together all the time. Talked about building a better world... the kind of peaceful future we both believed in."

Adrian didn’t press further. He had gone to a different Academy, so he never saw those years firsthand. But Ariana had mentioned the Prince a few times in passing—usually during vacation breaks when they’d catch up. Just enough for him to know that those memories ran deeper than she let on.

Adrian hummed quietly. "Then... what happened between you two? You looked kind of tense when you saw him again."

"Did I?" Ariana gave a short, dry laugh, pulling a cigarette from her pocket and lighting it. The tiny flame flickered briefly before fading, leaving only the soft glow at the tip.

"I didn’t want to bring back old memories," she said as she took a slow drag. "But I guess... I did anyway."

She exhaled a small cloud of smoke, eyes distant.

"Our friendship got awkward... because feelings got involved. From his side."

Another pause. Another drag. The silence stretched, soft and heavy.

"He confessed to me on graduation day," she finally said, voice quieter now. "After that... things just weren’t the same. We stopped talking. It felt... bitter."

Adrian watched her for a moment. "You turned him down?"

She nodded, almost casually. "Of course I did. I never saw him that way."

She still regretted getting that close to Edward. Maybe he saw signs in her that she never meant to show.

To her, they were just good friends, like comrades. But maybe... she should have been more careful with how she treated him.

Then, without a word, Adrian moved in front of her. Before she could react, he took the cigarette from her hand.

"You only smoke when you’re stressed," he said quietly. "So... does that mean rejecting him still bothers you?"

Ariana looked up, caught off guard.

The way he was looking at her—it wasn’t like usual. His expression was calm, but there was something heavy behind it. Something intense. He rarely smiled like that. And this one... it wasn’t playful. It felt serious, warm, and strangely seductive all at once.

"Of course not," she replied quickly, glancing away. "I just felt like smoking one."

She didn’t regret her choice. She was sure of that. It was just... the memories. The mood.

Adrian looked at the half-burnt cigarette in his hand, then said, almost to himself, "I’ve always wondered what it tastes like... the thing you can’t seem to give up."

Ariana blinked, surprised. "Go ahead. Try a drag," she said with a soft shrug.

But instead of putting it to his lips, Adrian suddenly leaned forward.

Her breath caught.

Before she could even process what was happening, she felt the soft pressure of his lips on hers.

It wasn’t rough. It wasn’t rushed. But it was close. Deep. Direct.

She froze.

Her fingers gripped the armrest, and her thoughts scattered like ashes in the wind. Her heart thudded in her chest, and warmth rushed to her face. Her lips tingled under his.

Adrian didn’t close his eyes. He was watching her, watching her every reaction. And for some reason... that made it harder to breathe.

She felt shy. Why? Why wasn’t she pushing him away?

Why did this feel... right?

Her chest rose and fell with uneven breaths. Slowly, almost helplessly, she let her eyes flutter shut and leaned back in her seat.

And Adrian followed, gently holding her face in his hands, deepening the kiss—slowly, deliberately—as if he wasn’t just stealing her breath, but her thoughts too.

His hands were warm against her skin, steady and sure as they held her face like something fragile... something he didn’t want to break.

Their lips stayed pressed together—not in some wild rush, but in a way that felt more like a promise. Gentle. Unspoken. Real.

Ariana’s heart beat so loudly in her chest she was sure he could hear it. Her whole body felt warm, like his touch had melted away the edges of her usual calm.

The kiss wasn’t deep, but it lingered.

It was the kind that made time feel slower.

Made the world around them disappear.

After half a minute, he finally parted away.

She was breathlessly looking at him, her eyes unlike the lioness who appears before everyone.

Adrian licked his lips as he said, "Don’t know why, but it tasted sweet. I might get addicted to it."

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Eheh~ drop a comment.