"So...are we still planning...on going to that date?"

I gave Ace a wide smile.

"Sure."

.

.

.

I took Ace's hand and we walked.

That was all it was.

A simple date, underneath the moonlight in the middle of the most random forest in the world.

At first, I was worried.

'What do regular people do on dates?'

'What did I need to wear?'

'Was there a specific way that I needed to act?'

I had stressed myself out so much that I had almost forgotten that...Ace wasn't the type to care at all.

All that we needed...was to be by each other's side.

I would even be completely satisfied if we could stay like this for the rest of our lives.

Grrrr...

I flinched.

Oh no.

I was so distracted that I didn't even care to look at my surroundings at all!

We were in the middle of a very dark forest...

Was there a monster nearby...?

But my fears washed away when I heard Ace give a low throaty chuckle as if he had seen the funniest thing in the world.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

Ace gave me a funny look.

"Are you hungry?" Ace asked with a small cock of his head.

Huh?

Grrrr...

It was at that moment I realized that the monster-like growl that I heard was actually the sound of my empty stomach roaring in protest.

"Oops...I guess I am," I chuckled awkwardly in slight embarrassment.

Ace gave another laugh and I weakly smacked him in the back in retaliation.

"Would you like to stop by the capital to get something to eat then?" Ace laughed as he grabbed the wrist of the hand that was smacking him and intertwined it in his.

"......yes.............please......." I answered in a very quiet voice below my breath.

"...What did you say? I couldn't hear you," Ace said with a cheery smirk.

What did he mean by he couldn't hear me?!?!

Didn't he have the sharpest sense of hearing in practically the whole world?!?!?!

He was definitely just trying to tease me!!!

"I said.........Yes. Please," I pouted as I gave him an upset glare.

Ace gave a chuckle and picked me up from the ground, letting me sit around his shoulders.

I widened my eyes as the scenery suddenly shifted from the blackness of the forest to the warm, golden light of the capital city at night.

It happened so smoothly and instantaneously that I almost didn't even notice the change.

We were standing in the middle of a long street filled with rows of food stands.

The smell of fried food, delicacies, tacos, pasta, seafood, spices, sweets, and other delicious aromas flooded my nose all at once and I began to drool in anticipation.

I was hungry!

"What would you like to eat first?" Ace asked as he watched my expression carefully as if though he were imprinting this moment into memory.

"Everything..." I breathed as I stretched my arms out greedily.

Ace gave a chuckle and nodded his head.

And with that, we spent the rest of the night running around the capital trying everything from fried gilded-boar meat to steamed silver fanged fish dumplings to cotton candy.

"The capital is the absolute best!" I cried in satisfaction.

Of course, if I wanted to, I could simply make food with my creation magic and call it a day but it wouldn't be the same.

After all, the only food I could make from my creation magic was food that I completely understood the taste of.

Which meant...I wouldn't have been able to experience so many different delicacies!!

"You have some cream on your face, Cordelia," Ace called out to me as I ran ahead of him.

"Huh? Where?" I asked as I slowed down.

I was in the middle of eating the best cream puff that I had ever eaten!

"There," Ace said as he pointed.

"Where?"

"There, on the side of your right cheek."

"Here?"

"No..." Ace said as he picked me up into a small bundle in his arms and licked the corner of my lips with a cheeky smile, "It was right here."

"I..." I stuttered as my face turned a bright shade of red.

How could I have almost forgotten that this was the world of an otome game!!

Of course, all handsome men would do something romantically cliche in the middle of the date here!!

"Oh...to be young and in love," an older woman chuckled as she walked by us.

I blushed even harder.

"Look at what you did," I whispered resentfully into Ace's ear, "People are staring at us now..."

"Let them look. I want them to see how cute you are," Ace said so casually that I almost couldn't believe my ears.

"What—" I gasped, "I am not— I am not c-c-cute!"

Ace cocked his head slightly to the side and then said, "But you are?"

"..."

I stared at Ace straight in the eye as if daring him to continue...

...but he took it as a sign to reach out his head and give me a small peck on the lips!!

I nearly poofed from the embarrassment!!!!

What in the world was he doing in public?!?!

"See? Cute," Ace commented as he chuckled at my reaction.

It seems...

It seems like Ace has become quite bold lately...

I couldn't tell if I wanted to squeal out loud in joy or dig a hole so I could bury myself in tears...

Whyyyyy...

.

.

.

When the sun began to rise, it was our cue to head home.

Although I would never admit it, a small part of me never wanted to leave.

Rather, if I could, I would have begged him to stay, so we could repeat it all over again.

"It's time for you to go to bed, Cordelia," Ace whispered to me as we silently re-entered the dukedom.

"What? But it's already morning..." I protested.

"That's why you need to go to bed. Now," Ace said a little bit strictly as if he would never accept it if I pulled a single all-nighter.

"But..."

"Do you need some help falling asleep?" Ace asked me as he reached his hand out to my face.

I could feel the familiar sense of the air shifting into a peaceful, sleep-inducing lullaby.

"No!" I shouted as I wrapped my arms tightly around Ace's neck and squeezed him tightly in a hug.

"Why not?" Ace asked.

"Because if I go to sleep, you're going to leave again," I frowned.

"Do you not want me to leave?" Ace asked as he widened his eyes slightly.

"...N-No..." I answered honestly as I shook my head.

Ace bit his lower lip slightly and gave me a warm smile.

"That...That makes me feel quite happy..." Ace grinned uncontrollably, "...but, unfortunately, I'm gonna still need you to sleep."

"...But what about you?" I asked.

"What about me?"

"Yeah...it's not fair that I'm the only one who ever needs to go to bed. Dragons need sleep too," I frowned.

"...Once you go to bed, I'll go to bed too," Ace said.

For some reason, I felt that he was hiding something from me...that he was lying...but I had no reason why.

"If that's the case, would you like to sleep with me?" I asked.

The words came out wrong.

"I m-meant sleep with me like we used to when I was little," I added to clarify with a slight stutter.

"No...I d-don't know if..."

"Please?" I asked as pitifully as I could.

I noticed that Ace seemed to have some sort of weakness when it came to me acting pitiful, similarly to an abandoned puppy in the rain.

Of course, I made sure to make use of this fact as much as I could.

"I...That's..." Ace muttered, seemingly getting closer to his breaking point.

"Oh..." I sighed as I lowered my head, tears threatening to fall out of my eyes.

In my opinion, I deserved an oscar for my superb acting abilities.

Ace, who watched my every move, finally let out a deep, heavy sigh in defeat.

I brightened my eyes.

"Fine..." Ace accepted but then his lips curved into a smirk, "...but I can't promise you'll be safe tonight."

"Huh?"

"It's nothing," Ace chuckled, "I'll do my best to keep my hands to myself so you won't have to worry."

I wonder what in the world Ace is talking about...

But anyway...

As soon as I hit the sheets of my bed, I realized that I had been much more exhausted than I thought.

Within moments, I could already feel myself drifting off to sleep.

"Seriously...how...she fell asleep...so fast...no sense...of danger...tch," was the last thing I heard before I completely lost consciousness.

.

.

.

It was strange.

I was sleeping quite soundly until a small noise and shake of the bed woke me up.

"Mmph," I heard a groan from beside me.

Ace...?

I peered open my eyes and was momentarily blinded by the bright light that shone through the windows.

"Ugh..."

But I quickly focused my vision as soon as I heard a cry of pain escape from Ace's lips.

"Ace?" I asked as I looked down at the sleeping man beside me.

What...

Ace's body was twisted in an uncomfortable position on the bed and his face was scrunched up in pure suffering.

"Ace?? Ace?!" I called out as I shook him.

He was hot.

And his skin was glazed in a thin layer of sweat.

"Ace!! Ace!!" I called out as I grew increasingly worried.

What was wrong?!

"Ace, please, wake up. Wake up. Wake up, please," I shouted as I shook as hard as I could.

Soon, Ace's eyes flickered open and I was momentarily stunned...

...by how strangely heartbreaking his bloody, ruby-colored eyes were.

"...cor...delia...?" Ace murmured, still half-asleep.

"Yes, Ace, it's me. Are you oka— AH!" I screamed as I was suddenly flipped down on the bed and pinned against the sheets against my will.

"..."

"Ace...?"

"Haha...I finally got you back," Ace said with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Huh...Ace...?"

"...mine...f-ck...you're f-cking mine..." Ace cursed a few times.

What in the world was going on?!?!

------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Whew- Sorry for the short chapter today guys!! It's exam season for me and, just this week, I had an AP world history exam, two 10-page research papers, and a math final exam!! I also got my vaccine yesterday (woohoo!), so I AM SORE. ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

Needless to say, I was wayyy too exhausted and overworked to write a proper 2000-3000 word chapter like I usually do this week...sorry! Hopefully, chapters will be longer again once summer starts~

Also, what do you guys think about this chapter~ Hehe~ It looks like Ace had another nightmare...and that his dragon-yandere tendencies are leaking out...Mwahahaha~ I wonder what will happen! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

*sigh*

I'm so tired that I can't even properly be evil. If I was in good condition, I wouldn't have included that romantic-gushy night date in this chapter at all!! EWWW!! SCREW ROMANCE!! This story needs more drama and suspense...

*sigh*

Anyway, thanks, again, to all of my readers/voters/commenters for all the support that you guys give me~ Wahhhh~ I LOVE YOU ALL!! You guys really make me feel better when I'm stressed!!

Stay safe, everyone~

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 1730