Chapter 195: Outside

I reached out with my left hand and lightly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You’re welcome,”

She turned, her fingers tracing the frame of her door until her hand found the brass handle. She slipped into her room and closed the door with a quiet click.

I turned around, let out a slow breath, and walked back down the wooden staircase.

The rest of the afternoon was spent scrubbing the living room rug alongside a very tearful, very apologetic Leo. Aunt Elena sat behind her desk upstairs, while Raymond stood near the sofa supervising with a small, amused smile playing on his lips. By the time the glue was scraped away and the silver glitter was mostly vacuumed, the sun had long set below the dark tree line surrounding the villa.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Carmilla teased Leo relentlessly about his “blinding holy knight bear,” while Mia fell asleep right at the dining table with her face resting against her arm. Viora sat right next to me, wearing a soft lavender sweater and a small, satisfied smile.

At nine in the night, the entire house grew still.

Aunt Elena retreated into her study to review the final security protocols for the Director Summit. Raymond finished dimming the hallway lights and locking the main entrance gates before heading to his quarters on the ground floor. Carmilla tucked the kids into bed and went to her own room.

I stood by my bedroom window on the second floor, looking out into the dark night.

The silver crescent moon hung high in the sky, casting faint, pale light over the back garden and the dense pine forest beyond the perimeter walls. The air inside the room was quiet, cool, and peaceful.

I walked over, andlaid down on the edge of my bed, staring up at the dark ceiling.

‘Four days,’ I thought to myself. ‘Four days until Thursday.’

CREAK.

A tiny, almost imperceptible sound echoed from the hallway outside my door.

TAP. TAP.

Two soft knuckles knocked gently against the lower wood of my door.

I slid off the mattress, walked across the cool wooden floorboards without making a sound, and pulled the door open.

Viora was standing in the dark corridor. Her hands were tucked deep into her front hoodie pocket. She tilted her face up toward me.

“Woo Jin,” she whispered.

“Viora?” I asked softly, stepping slightly to the side. “Is something wrong?”

A faint, sweet smile touched her lips. She took one small step forward, her bare toes brushing against the edge of my feet.

“Mmm…” Viora murmured, her head angling slightly as her ears listened for any movement down the silent hall. “Aunt Elena and Raymond are both in their rooms. The whole house is asleep.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “It’s almost ten o’clock.”

Viora reached out with her right hand. Her delicate fingers brushed against the fabric of my black shirt, moving upward until her palm rested flat against my chest.

“Take me outside,” she whispered softly.

I looked down at her pale face. “Outside? Into the garden?”

“No,” Viora said, her thumb making a small, gentle circle against my chest. “Beyond the garden. Past the brick wall. I want to go into the forest.”

I stared at her for a moment, then let out a very quiet, amused breath.

“I wanted to walk with you,” Viora admitted, her voice carrying that quiet, absolute honesty she always had with me. “Just the two of us. No training, no kids, and nothing else.”

“All right,” I said. “Wait here.”

I stepped back into my room, grabbed a thin dark jacket from the chair, and slipped it on. I reached into my pocket, my fingers touching the cold, smooth metal of the Kingdom Key.

‘Open Spatial Gateway,’ I thought mentally. ‘Destination: Pine forest, fifty meters outside the rear boundary wall.’

HUMMMMMM.

A tiny ripple of golden light traced itself in the middle of my bedroom floor, opening into a small, shimmering ring of white energy just wide enough for two people to step through.

I reached out and took Viora’s hand, lacing my fingers tightly through hers.

“Ready?” I whispered.

“Always,” Viora replied.

We stepped into the golden ring together.

SWOOSH.

The warm scent of my bedroom vanished instantly.

The cool, sharp night air of the forest washed over us, rich with the smell of damp pine needles, dark soil, and wild night flowers. High above us, the dark green canopy of tall pine trees rustled gently in the night wind, filtering the pale silver moonlight onto the mossy ground below.

The spatial ring behind us folded inward and vanished without a sound.

We were standing on a soft bed of fallen pine needles, completely hidden deep within the shadows of the forest outside the villa’s high brick walls.

Viora took a deep, slow breath through her nose, letting out a long, contented sigh. She released my hand, turning her body slightly as her ears drank in the quiet sounds of the woods—the distant hoot of a night owl, the rustle of small leaves in the breeze.

She reached her hands out slightly to her sides, her bare feet pressing lightly into the soft, cool moss beneath her.

“It feels so vast out here,” Viora whispered, her voice full of quiet wonder.

“Don’t step too far to the right,” I warned gently, stepping up right behind her.

She turned around to face me, her hands reaching out smoothly until her palms found my waist. She stepped in close, pressing her forehead gently against my collarbone, resting her full weight against me in the quiet darkness of the woods.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her soft frame close against my chest. My hands rested comfortably on the small of her back under her oversized hoodie.

“Is the night air too cold for your feet?” I asked, keeping my voice low and steady.

“No,” Viora murmured into my shirt, her breath warm against my skin. “The moss is soft. It feels nice.”

We stood together under the towering pine trees for several minutes, listening to the gentle rhythm of the forest. The silver moonlight filtered down through the branches, painting soft lines of light across her pale cheeks and long purple hair.

Viora shifted slightly, lifting her head to look up at me. Her pale purple eyes held that quiet, intense focus that always made my chest feel warm.

“Woo Jin,” she called out softly.

“Yeah?” I replied, looking down into her eyes.

“Do you remember the day we first met?” she asked, her right hand lifting up to rest lightly against the side of my neck, her thumb brushing over my skin.

“Yeah,” I said.

“That was the exact moment I knew I wanted to stay beside you forever.” She said.

My heart gave a sudden, heavy thump against my ribs.

I looked at her calm face in the pale moonlight, feeling an overwhelming sense of quiet affection settle deep in my heart. I raised my hand, my fingers gently cupping her cheek, feeling the soft, smooth warmth of her skin under my palm.

“Show me the sky,” Viora whispered suddenly.

I looked up at the high pine canopy above us. The thick branches blocked out most of the open night sky, leaving only small patches of blue-black space visible between the dark needles.

Above us, the night sky was vast, clear, and breathtaking—filled with thousands of brilliant, twinkling stars surrounding the bright silver crescent moon.

She tilted her head up slightly. Her soft, delicate lips pressed gently against mine in the quiet darkness of the woods.

For some unknown reasons she was kissing me too much nowadays.

The kiss was slow, gentle, and full of a deep, quiet warmth that made the cool night air vanish completely. Her lips were soft, and her touch was steady, filling my mind with an unshakeable sense of peace. I closed my eyes, tightening my hold on her waist, returning her kiss with a quiet, fierce tenderness.

When she slowly pulled back, her breath was slightly uneven, her cheeks flushed with a beautiful pink glow under the silver moonlight. .

“We should go back before Raymond does his midnight check,” Viora whispered softly, a tiny, playful smirk returning to her lips.

“Yeah,” I said, a faint smile touching my own face.

I reached into my pocket with my left hand and touched the Kingdom Key.

‘Open Spatial Gateway,’ I thought mentally. ‘Destination: My bedroom.’

HUMMMMMM.

A small, shimmering golden archway opened silently on the moss in front of us.

I carried Viora smoothly through the golden light.

SWOOSH.

The cool forest breeze and the smell of pine vanished instantly. We stepped back onto the smooth wooden floorboards of my dark, quiet bedroom. The golden portal folded inward and disappeared without making a single sound.

I carefully set Viora down onto her feet beside my bed.

She stood close to me for a moment, her hands lingering on my waist before slowly sliding down to take my right hand in hers. She lifted my hand, pressing a soft, lingering kiss onto the back of my knuckles.

“Goodnight, my Young Master,” Viora whispered playfully into the dark room.

“Goodnight, Viora,” I replied softly, my thumb stroking the back of her hand.