Chapter 21: Chapter 19: Pamper Or Being Pampered?

The sun was rising, and Amethely slowly opened her eyes. She had been snuggling close to Alum all night, discussing their date plan for today. This was also the first time they had spent the night together. 

Well, all they did was snuggle and sleep. She was happy to spend time like this with him and even started to consider moving into his room…. Maybe even get their own place and… move in together. 

Thinking along those lines, she felt her face getting hotter, and she snuggles closer to Alum. Amethely has been thinking about him so much the past weeks that she even felt scared of herself sometimes. 

(I… I’m not obsessed, am I?) She would occasionally think. 

Being close to her beloved and… covered in his scent, she felt right at home. Amethely never knew this side of her, but she found it very embarrassing that she might have a thing for his scent…. Even if she was a bit embarrassed, she would look at his sleeping face. 

She moved to his eye level, placed her hand on his forehead, and moved some of the hair covering his face. Amethely lovingly looked at her boyfriend's sleeping, innocent face and whispered into his ears. 

“It’s morning, you know?” 

Since he wasn’t waking up, she thought that she could play some tricks on him. Amethely playfully poked his cheeks and found this to be rather addictive. She wasn’t sure why, but Alum who usually seemed cold and distant could be so innocent looking in his sleep. 

She wasn’t sure what kind of past he had, and he hadn’t told her anything yet. She felt like he thought it wasn’t significant enough to tell her. But still, she wants to know all there is to know about him. 

Noel told her many stories about him and Alum and would brag about how close they were. She was, of course, a little jealous but still soaked in the information like a sponge. 

Noel told her that; one time, he and Alum went to a cafe, and the place got robbed while they were there. The robbers were armed, and people panicked. Alum just drank his coffee peacefully and would snack on the treats they ordered. 

Noel told her how shocked he was. Alum had suddenly splashed hot beverage on one robber who seemed agitated by the fact Alum was leisurely watching the chaos unfold.

With a knife pointing at them. Alum would look expressionlessly at the man, splashing his coffee onto his crouch. He then punched the criminal in the liver, knocking him onto the floor and disarming him while in pain. Alum pointed the knife at the robber who just a moment ago yelled at them. 

He looked at the other robbers and threatened them to put down their weapons, or their friend would be severely injured. The others seemed hesitant for a brief moment, only for them to look into Alum's cold, lifeless eyes. 

He told Amethely that the situation got resolved soon after the law enforcers arrived. And Alum was also told to not do anything risky again. 

Amethely had difficulty believing that her sweet, innocent-looking boyfriend would be so ruthless in action.

… Actually, she could also totally see him doing that…. She still loves him despite all that, and she doesn’t think badly of him. Besides, it wasn’t like he had done so out of malice. 

But because she was a saint, she felt like there could have been another way to resolve it. She knows that her way of thinking is not very practical, but she can’t help but want to think there are other ways to sort out a conflict that isn’t through violence. 

And, of course, that's not all that Noel has told her. He also said that Alum at the time was starting to soften up. One time when they were on their way home, some kids had lost their ball, and before Noel would act, Alum had already stepped in. 

After finding the ball, the kids invited them to join in, and they would play together. Since Alum didn’t know how to play, Noel and the kids had to teach him. Alum got the hang of it quickly, and they would tease Alum about how he was expressionless. 

They tried many methods to change his expression but were met with a stone face. They would gather and discuss with Noel. The ideas were as follows; tickling him or making funny faces until he laughed. But all that proved to be for naught.

Seemingly giving up, they tried coming up with a new plan. And one of them would see a faint smile on Alum’s face. He told everyone, and as they turned around. That was the case. Noel was sure Alum wasn’t aware of it, but he made some little girls fall for him, and the boys would get jealous. 

After hearing that, Amethely couldn’t blame them. When they met at the park, Alum seemed distant despite their proximity. He would tease her for an unknown reason, and she would feel strangely happy about it. 

He apologized, and they ate sweets together. Seeing him enjoy the treats made her heart flutter, and when he directed his smile at her, she felt it to be so precious and wanted to protect him at all cost. 

She felt strange when she met him but soon realized after that smile that she had fallen for him. Of course, she didn’t want to admit it since she didn’t want to seem easy, but what was wrong with that? 

Other guys have tried, and yet she felt nothing. Thinking along those lines, as she walked back to the dorm, she accepted that she had fallen in love with him.

By recalling these memories, Amethely’s body temperature drastically rises. Looking at Alum made her remember their first meeting and the stories about him that Noel had told her about. 

She gently stroked his soft hair and wanted to kiss him so badly, but she would feel guilty if she did that when he wasn’t awake. 

(Maybe it’s okay if it's his cheeks? Forehead…? He won’t mind, right?)

While she was in deep thought, Alum slowly opened his eyes. Their eyes met. In silence, the two gazed into each other's eyes. Alum gave her a faint smile, moved her bangs, and gave her a gentle kiss. Amethely was so happy she wanted to roll around. 

“Good morning Ame. Sorry to have kept you here all night…” Alum said apologetically. 

Amethely shook her head, embracing him and whispering in his ears. 

“No, don’t apologize. I’m happy we got to spend time like this.”

 “... Me too.” 

—::::—

After Alum woke up, Amethely headed back to her room, she was going to get changed, and they would go out on their date in town. She felt nervous about it since it was their second date, and she had been shopping for clothes with the girls when Alum was out of town. 

Surprisingly Princess Luna knew a lot about Alum’s taste and helped Amethely pick out things that suited her and, at the same time, fit his taste. Amethely felt grateful but also slightly jealous…. 

For today's date, Amethely wore a white blouse and a light blue knee-length skirt. She hoped Alum would compliment her and was looking forward to seeing his reaction. 

Thanking the girls in her mind, she went to see Alum. As she walked into the hall, many greeted her, complimented her, and wished her a wonderful time on her day off. 

She met Alum in the hall as he was walking toward her.

“Oh, I thought I’d pick you up this time…” he said while awkwardly scratching his cheek. 

Seeing him all shy like this made Amethely giggle a little as she took a closer look at him. He had brown pants, a white shirt, and a long dark coat. Amethely’s heart rate increased as she looked at her cool boyfriend. 

“You look really cool! Al, I-I love you!” 

She had said it shyly while looking straight into his eyes while being flustered. Amethely knew she said something very embarrassing in the hall, but since it was just the two of them, it should be fine, right? Besides, it’s Alum's fault for making her say all this. 

Looking at him, she could see that he had an awkward smile. He felt shy at the sudden declaration of love and wasn't sure how to respond. He grabbed Amethely's hand and intertwined their fingers. He then had a soft smile on his face. He turned away from her, and she saw that his ears were also slightly red.

“You look adorable,” he said and turned toward her. 

“I love you too, Ame.” And declared his love for her.  

She was overjoyed and latched onto him, clinging to his arm. Alum was turning even more red as they walked like this all the way out. 

—::::—

Amethely and Alum walked down the roads leading to the train station. Their destination on this date was Strana’s flower garden on the outskirt of the capital. It was named after the first hero. She was granted land and made a flower garden for everyone to visit. It is now a popular spot to bring family and lovers. 

Amethely clung to Alum as they walked, and people would stare at the two love birds. Although she was embarrassed, she was too happy and didn’t let it bother her. 

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“Hey, Ame…” 

Alum suddenly spoke up. She glanced at him as her eyes lit up.

“Al? What is it?” 

“It’s about our one month… how would you like to celebrate it?” 

She was so surprised that he asked her about it and was stunned for a brief moment. 

“... I’m happy you thought of that. I’d love another date!” 

“I see…. Then how about the tradition? Exchanging gems, I mean.” 

“Huh? You… knew about that?” 

“A shop owner told me. I also wanted to do something for you too….” 

“I see… Al, I will be happy about anything you give me,” she said and smiled. 

Amethely shyly pressed her chest against his arm. Alum could probably feel her heartbeat and as well the soft sensation. Amethely knew he liked it since he had told her on their last date. Although embarrassed, she wanted to do it because she liked being close and clingy. There was also the added bonus of him enjoying it. 

“I… I see, so um….” 

Seeing him so flustered made Amethely very happy. Alum wasn’t the type to show much of anything, and she’s been concerned for a while now. He hadn’t told her anything about his adventure or the upcoming one….

She also knew that he looked somewhat sad or even scared. She wasn’t sure why, but… this was their date, and she wanted him to only think about her. She wanted to relive some of his concerns and maybe tell her what’s been bothering him. 

After their back and forth, they arrived at the train station and took the sky train to their destination, which took them about 20 minutes. 

—::::— 

Laying down on Alum’s lap while being stroked, Amethely felt happy. They had bought some food and rented a picnic mat. And since they weren’t that hungry, they decided to rest a bit after the train ride. 

It was soothing when Alum patted her head and stroked her hair. Since she was a kid, she loved it when her grandmother stroked her hair and even more when she combed it. 

Her mother and father were rarely at home, and her big sister was trained by the sage. Thus leaving Amethely at home with the servants. Although she was with the servants, she felt some distance between them and was awfully lonely. 

Although she felt this way, she didn’t say anything to her parents or sister. She cherished the moments they were together and even more so now. 

Thus she wants to spend as much time like this with Alum as possible before he ventures out somewhere. She wants him to stay, but… she doesn’t want to shackle him to her. Her boyfriend is a curious person that wants to learn about the world. 

Amethely has known this for a while now, but he sometimes seemed so sheltered. He seemed to know very little about how to have fun. Even with Noel’s help, it still seemed like he was unsure how to enjoy himself.

Thinking about all this made Amethely motivated. She had no experience in romance but was willing to go through many great lengths to make him happy. She picked this place precisely because there are many couples here. She wanted to see how they interacted so that she could act accordingly. 

Looking around, she could see couples doing precisely what they were currently doing and also ones that fed each other… 

(...! Let’s try that.) Seeing them feed each other made Ametely also want to do it. 

“Al, are you hungry?” 

“A little,” he replied 

“I see, s-so… c-can I f-feed you!?” 

“... Okay.” 

Amethely got up and searched in the basket, and she found sandwiches and creampuffs. Of course, she went with the sandwiches. 

“T-then… say ahh~.”

“... Do I have to?” 

“Ahh~.” 

“... Ahh.” 

Alum took a bite, and she could see that he was bashful. Amethely felt a sense of accomplishment and watched him with a warm gaze. 

“Is it good?” she asked, tilting her head. 

“Yeah… then my turn, say ahh.” 

Alum picked up a sandwich from the basket and tried feeding it to Amethely. She was embarrassed and didn't think he would try to feed her too. Although she was the one who started it, she now knew how he felt when she fed him. Looking at his smug face made her puff her cheeks. 

“... Ahh~“

”…..”

”... Huh?!” 

Before she could take a bite, Alum had withdrawn the sandwich. Amethely looked at him dumbfounded and huffed. 

“Hmpf, fine, I won’t take a bite then!” 

“Okay, I won’t do it again, okay?” 

“... If you say so…. Ahh~.” 

“....” 

“....” 

“Pfff… hahaha.” 

“Al, you dummy!” 

—::::—