Forevermore

As expected, the room of the Ling’s young miss was as gorgeous as the rest of the estate was, if not more. It could’ve matched a princess’ royal bedroom, Ye suspected as he observed the bedroom. The furniture was made of fine wood, and every fabric used—the cushions, the beddings, etc—was either silk or satin, sewed with complicated patterns of flowers or animals that were from the hands of a highly skilled craftsman, as was the furniture, which Ye noted after he could have a closer look on the near-invisible decorations on the wood while he walked further into the room.

The girl stopped by the table in the outer part of the bedroom. She bowed a little, very unwillingly, and gestured at the chair. ‘Please have a seat, sir. The young miss will come out shortly.’ Turning on her heels, she left for the inner part of the bedroom as soon as the words left her lips.

Ye had not sat down yet.

With brow furrowed together, the Dragon King of the East Sea surpassed the urge to slam his fist down on the wooden table, which the fragile creation might—would—shatter under his inhuman strength. The rudeness that young maid had displayed to him was an insult. Inexcusable. Not only was she a human, a mere mortal, she was also of a low rank, a servant, a maid. Even if he was a human, he was a guest and simply by his attire, one could tell he was of superior social status than the teen. How dare she treat him like that?

He took in a deep breath, calming his raging emotions successfully, and proceeded to sit on the chair in his usual charming self: a swift kick on his long clothes and positioned himself on the chair like a royalty—which he was indeed one in the Four Seas, and of the highest rank of all the Dragon Kings, no less. He decided to look around while waiting for the Ling’s young miss to arrive, probably putting on some makeup and whatnot.

‘Who are you?’

Ye snapped his head to the speaker in alarm. He had not noticed her presence, but perhaps he was only too focused on the vase that reminded him of an antique he saw many years ago, Ye convinced himself mentally.

He stood up from his seat and bowed with his hands against each other—the right one in fist and held his fan; the left hand was opened, fingers held together and the palm rested against his right knuckles—while lowering his head as a sign of respect and gazed on the flooring instead of her, waiting for her acknowledgement, an action he was not familiar with since he never had to do it at the Crystal Palace.

‘I am a contestant of competing to be your husband, young miss,’ he replied respectfully.

Ye could’ve sworn he heard a noise of disapproval, though it was most likely from the maid since he remembered the childish pitch of her voice, but he held his cool this time, still waiting for the young miss to say something, not someone he could care less about.

‘I am asking who you are as an individual, not your title in this…competition. Please, retake your seat. I do not wish for any pointless courtesy that is nothing more than a show.’ Her voice was as cold as winter’s frost, prickling Ye’s entire body as she spoke, as if he had fallen into a depthless pit of ice. Even winter at the Crystal Palace was like summer’s warmth compared to her tone. He wondered how many suitors had she scared away with just a few words.

‘Of course,’ he said, rising to his full height anew. ‘My name is…’

To be honest, Ye had been expecting to see another girl with a face akin to a baboon’s behind or like the princess he saw at the palace, so he was in for a shock when he saw the young miss. Was he stunned by her beauty as rumored? No, definitely not, he answered himself. He was taken aback by how she dressed. Unlike most girls he had seen, she wore a plain white dress. Though, as normal, of high quality material like the rest of her room was, with the long elegant dress and translucent shawl, but what stood out the most was the cloak she wore. It was white as china, like the rest of her clothing, yet she had put up the hood, blocking most of her face from view.

She walked—no, flowed, Ye corrected in his mind—with grace. Had it been another girl in the same outfit, she might have demonstrated this like a homeless ghost haunting the estate, yet with the young miss, she could present it in a celestial and heavenly manner that Ye thought it was impossible to be seen by the means of a mortal. So captivated he was, Ye had not realize he was standing like an idiot and statue and was staring at the young miss with unblinking eyes.

‘Is there something mattered?’

The basic question pulled back Ye to the present. He shook his head, but quickly saw that the young miss was drinking her tea calmly—which he had no idea when the maid had poured for her—and she wouldn’t have seen his wordless denial.

‘No, young miss, I was merely sidetracked. Forgive me for my rudeness. My name is Ao Ye.’ He sat down and drank the tea which had miraculously appeared in front of him. He let the hot liquid ran down his throat slowly as he observed the young miss’s appearance—or what he could’ve observed from her heavy clothing.

Her fingers, which held her cup of tea, were long and slim, and her skin was pale, nonetheless reasonably and humanly possible. It was probably due to lack of expose to sunlight, which could explain why no one had ever seen her true face, not that it would have made any difference if she wore a cloak regardless of the weather, such as now, in indoors where there was roof to shield one from direct sunlight.

He watched as she finished her tea, her rosy lips parted from the cup, and placed it gentle on the table. She finally raised her head high enough for Ye to look at her face clearly despite of the hood. His anticipation was crushed as soon as he saw another piece of accessory hiding her face from the world.

A mask.

It was moonlit white with silver curves, outlining a butterfly over the upper half of her face, resting on the bridge of her nose. The edges of the wings were saw-like with shark teeth patterns, although Ye wasn’t too sure since they were partly concealed by the hood, hugging the sides of her face and temples instead of flying over in the front; the lowest parts of the wings reached her cheek bones’ at the sides. The design was simple since it consisted only the basic four leaves of wings, yet complex as the arcs and bows within were overlapping but untangled, creating abstractly beautiful decorations that would go unnoticed unless under close or in depth inspections because of the similarities between the colors used.

Ye was more interested in her eyes, the only part that wasn’t white or pale. Like every other human, her eyes were black like midnight skies. However, he couldn’t see the light that was usually present in all the human girls he had come across. Be it a light of warmth, of pride, or of love, it was still a light, yet he could find none in the Ling’s young miss’ eyes. It was dulled into a lightless pearl or disappeared completely. The immortal did not understand how it was possible. It was not the first time he had seen such lifeless eyes, for he had lived for eons and more, but those eyes belonged to those who had either lost hope or seen the world at its worst. How was it possible for a mortal, not to mention one who was treated like a princess and had never leave her home, or even her quarters, to possess such daunting aura?

‘I never knew my cups are able to contain infinite amount of tea,’ the young miss said. Those words could be interpreted as either a humorous remark or a rude comment depending on the tone of voice. Ye could not make any assumption given that her voice was flat and monotone.

‘It’s rude to stare, sir,’ the teenage maid frowned at the Dragon King, displeased by his constant staring at her mistress. He could tell she wanted him to get out of their—specifically the young miss’—line of sight for the rest of their lives, adjudging from her hateful glares. ‘And that’s the second time already.’

‘I…I’m terribly sorry.’ Ye put down his long since emptied cup. He could not comprehend the reason for his abnormalities and defects in his polished attitude. The Ling’s young miss was certainly…unique, to say the least. Ye had never seen anyone, mortal and immortal alike, like show she acted. Not only she cared not for his divine looks, which would explained why her maid was immune to it too, and he, the Dragon King of the East Sea, was actually enchanted by her very presence, and she hadn’t even shown her face yet other than her pale skin and full lips. It should have been the other way around; she should have been awed by his presence, not awing him in turn.

‘You’re not the first one to act like this,’ the young miss said. Was she comforting him and asked him not to feel bad about it? Ye wondered, yet it was best not to assume anything when it came to her. She was so different from the rest of female population he had met, and it was starting to frustrate Ye. He could not understand her, not the slightest bit. ‘Is there anything you would like to ask?’

‘Is there anything that I’d like to ask?’ Ye echoed her words unconsciously, once more surprised by the young miss. Truly, she was not the same as anyone else. Perhaps he should call her ‘remarkable’. Still, he would give up on wooing her. It was like a whole new challenge he had never encountered before, and he intended to overcome it. It might prove to be one of the best challenges he had, and would, ever come across in his immortal life yet.

‘Yes.’ Ye ignored the maid’s annoyed face, listening attentively at the young miss explaining her reason. ‘I trust that you have a lot of questions about me, be it due to I might become your future wife, or mere human curiosity. I will try answer any question with the best of my abilities,’ the hooded maiden stared intensely at Ye. It would have frightened any mere man unto their very core, and truth to be told, it held the same effect to Ye, despite in a lesser degree. He noticed she used the word ‘human’ to describe the curiosity her suitors might own, as if she herself was not a human.

Nodding his head once, Ye paused to choose his questions carefully. He didn’t want to ask too much since that was something a nosy person would do, and he was undoubtedly not one. He also considered asking about why did she hide from the public and about her unusual choice of clothing, yet most others would have asked the same thing too since she pretty much said she would answer all things truthfully. On another note, it might be a trick to see if he respected her secret or not, not that he needed to since male was superior to females in that society. Even so, she was the judge of this round and he wanted to make he would triumph in that trial, declared as victorious and better than those contestant, including his new friend, Li Qing Yu.

Ye smiled as he made up his mind on what to ask the young miss. It was exclusive, yet basic and risky at the same time.

‘I only have one question,’ he announced after a minute’s pause. The young miss showed a little surprise, which Ye congratulated himself mentally for getting a rather humane reaction from her, but the look was quickly replaced by a mask of dignity as she nodded to grant permission.

‘May I inquire your name?’

A lady’s name was kept secret and it was not to be known by anyone else other than her family or husband, so Ye’s question was of utmost rudeness and disrespectful in a sense in spite of he was a possible husband of hers, but it was not confirmed yet. Ye sat still and paid the young maid no mind as she overreacted by gasping out loud in horror and shock, waiting for the young miss to answer his question. The girl in white closed her eyes, but otherwise showed no reaction, unlike her maid. She could have been enraged like the teen and was trying to keep her cool, or debating whether to answer honestly.

‘How dare you ask such a thing?’ The maid screeched, outraged by Ye’s boldness. The Dragon King in disguise was tempted to make the maid shut up personally, but he managed to hold the violent urge. She approached the seated man, glaring with so much hatred, glancing briefly to check on the young miss, yet the noble lady still had her eyes closed like in meditation. ‘Young miss, I’ll ask the servants to send him away immediately and make sure he’d never appear in this town! And—’

‘Dai Shuang,’ the young miss, Ling Dai Shuang, whispered in a soft voice, careful not to let anyone nearby to know her name, though there was nothing alive near her quarters, other than the animals in the gardens. Opening her eyes, she looked into Ye’s eyes, as if searching for the motive for his question. Ye returned her emotionless gaze with a firm look, telling her that he had no other dark causes for the question.

‘Young miss…’ the maid’s brow knitted together in bewilderment.

‘I have given my words to answer any question as best as I can, and I have given him permission, therefor I will give him the answer he desires,’ Dai Shuang gave her maid a steady gaze, opposite from the other’s emotion filled look. ‘Do not worry, Xiao Lan.’

The young girl, Xiao Lan, grimaced but squeezed a smile toward her mistress. Biting her lower lip, she took a step back and stood beside Dai Shuang. She bent down next to Dai Shuang’s ears, muttering the dreaded question. Although she kept her voice as quiet as possible, it could not escape Ye’s non-human hearing. ‘Young miss, the result would be…?’

Ye could hear that she was hoping for a negative answer from Ling Dai Shuang. He had not imagined the audience with the Ling’s young miss would end so quickly and abruptly. He had his suspicion that Xiao Lan had asked this question much earlier than intended. The young miss made no correction, approving silently of Xiao Lan’s action. However, it was all in his head, he knew.

Dai Shuang’s lips parted, replying Xiao Lan with the answer she feared, causing the young girl to narrow her eyes in anger. Ye smirked at her furious state, and then stood up from his seat, bowing in farewell before departing. He recognized the route back to the main hall and out of the Ling’s compound, so he did not require Xiao Lan’s assistance in leading him out. Besides, he believed she would rather stay away from him. Amused chuckles fled his lips as he could almost foresee her complaining to Dai Shuang that could’ve driven a sane person mad with her constant protests, while the young miss would pay her no mind and carried on with narrowing the numbering of her possible suitors.

Who knew a single word could trigger such an interesting reaction?

‘Stay.’