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In the lord\'s estate, Vaan was found fiddling with his spoils from his battle with the Assembly of Silent Night\'s forces.

A-rank Witch Hunters and S-rank Witch Hunters had a lot of good stuff. Their equipment and weapons were mostly Rank 4, but there were some Rank 5 exceptions.

Although Vaan couldn\'t tell if such high-quality gears were the norm outside the seven witch kingdoms, he could at least tell they had better standards than the Kingdom of Black Rose.

Nevertheless, he wouldn\'t learn much about the Assembly of Silent Night until Astarot extracted the information from the prisoners.

Vaan disassembled the equipment one by one and studied them, acquiring glimpses of forging knowledge used in their making.

"You did pretty well restraining yourself," Vaan casually commented after Aeliana returned to the lord\'s estate, fully aware of the situation outside with his Omni-Sense. "You didn\'t kill them."

"They have been the least involved in Sunpeak Town\'s matters as they have only arrived today. So killing them doesn\'t make any sense, my Lord. I am content with humbling them for disrespecting my mother," Aeliana calmly replied.

If she killed Beth and Annette for simply being disrespectful, she would have to kill every merchant.

After all, they were the ones that made things truly difficult for her mother and deserved to die more than anyone else.

Still, if her mother wanted Beth and Annette dead in the morning, she would kill them all the same.

Nevertheless, Vaan gave Aeliana a nod of approval.

She handled the matter well. Despite her extreme emotions, she did not lose her sense of reasoning and had it under control.

"My Lord, you should also get some rest," Aeliana thoughtfully suggested.

However, Vaan shook his head.

"You don\'t need to worry about that. At my level, sleep is only a choice and no longer a necessity," Vaan calmly stated before sending her off, "Go and rest. I am still expecting someone."

"Yes, my Lord," Aeliana obeyed with a bow.

Shortly after, she took her leave, heading for her sleeping quarters without trying to persuade Vaan further. Her lord had already spoken.

Vaan did not lie about sleep being a necessity for him.

At his level, his Peak-level Demigod-rank dragon soul gave him unprecedented control over his body. He could simulate the maintenance process of the mind on the body without actually sleeping.

At the same time, the natural recovery of his mental strength was higher than its consumption from simply being awake. Thus, unless he engaged in mentally-exhausting activities, he no longer needed to sleep.

Being a semi-divine being wasn\'t just for show.

"Will you not sleep as well, Headmaster Astoria?" Vaan casually asked, casting a glance at the person sitting in the corner of the room staring back at him.

"Do I even need to answer that question, Teacher Raphna?" Astoria replied, sitting in a curled-up position with her head resting on her knees. "I\'m sure you can already guess why I do not dare go to sleep."

Vaan did mention he was expecting someone.

"Well, it\'s not bad to have a companion to keep me company," Vaan calmly smiled before he suggested, "Why don\'t we chat a little, Headmaster Astoria?"

Astoria\'s heart suddenly skipped a beat before it started racing, causing a slight flush on her face. She glanced at Vaan nervously and recalled their last talk during the night on Ninth Peak.

"What do you want to talk about, Teacher Raphna?" Astoria asked apprehensively.

"Why don\'t we start by changing how we refer to each other?" Vaan casually suggested before saying, "Addressing each other by title seems so distant. Considering we are quite close now, why don\'t we use more intimate terms? Besides, I believe you also have feelings for—"

"Ahh!"

Before Vaan couldn\'t finish speaking, Astoria interrupted him with a panic scream.

"Is something wrong, Headmaster Astoria?"

"Ah? Nothing is wrong. What were you saying again, Teacher Raphna?"

"As I was saying, I believe you have feelings—"

"Ahh!"

Astoria interrupted Vaan again with another one of her panic screams. Her heart raced so nervously she could hear it beat like drums.

Her reaction amused Vaan.

Despite Astoria\'s age, she was quite innocent and pure in matters of the heart, like a young maiden from the old era. She appeared in denial and couldn\'t come to terms with her feelings—or rather, she vehemently rejected them.

Vaan sensed there was a special reason behind her rejection, and it was also the wall that prevented their relationship from progressing further.

After picking up his disassembled equipment, Vaan stood up and approached Astoria, startling her at the same time.

When he took a seat right beside her, basically touching shoulders, Astoria immediately turned to ice, becoming frozen stiff like a statue in order to hide her erratic breathing and loud beating heart.

"Why do you try so hard to reject your true feelings? Do you hate me that much?" Vaan asked with a seemingly calm yet sad tone, causing Astoria\'s heart to tremble.

"N-No, I don\'t!" she replied.

"Then why?" Vaan stared into her eyes seriously as if he was trying to peer into her soul just to understand her. Astoria wanted to get away, but he immediately grabbed her soft hand, forcing her to look at him. "Answer me."

Originally, Vaan intended to take things slow with Astoria. He figured she would be able to come to terms with her only feelings if he gave her time.

However, he understood she would never open up unless he acted more forcefully. Sometimes, a small push was necessary.

When Astoria was forced to stare into Vaan\'s serious eyes and saw his growing disappointment, her heart trembled with the illusion that she would lose him forever if she stubbornly kept her feelings to herself.

Astoria sighed, resigning herself to the situation as she peeled her gaze away from Vaan and stared at the ground with her head lowered.

"I don\'t hate you; I just hate the circumstances that lead to these feelings. It\'s far from my ideal first love…" Astoria spoke in a soft and tiny voice as if she had become a tiny person herself.

"I always dreamed of a pure love, untainted by worldly benefits… But I suppose it\'s not the same for everyone else, given the kind of world we live in now. All men desire my beauty and body, and you\'re no different."

"Hmm, is that so?"

Vaan hummed before leaning back, resting his head on his hands, and lazily peering up at the night sky through the opening in the lord\'s estate.

He finally understood Astoria.

She vehemently rejected her feelings because accepting them would mean shattering her dream of pure love and making her no different from everyone else who entered relationships purely for the benefits they provided.

After all, she did not start liking Vaan because he was just him but because he had peerless talent and knowledge—or so she believed.

"Perhaps, you\'re right," Vaan didn\'t deny Astoria\'s statement. But then, he added, "But if you ask me who I have the highest chance of falling in love with out of all the women I\'ve met, the answer would be you."

"Not Lady Eniwse?" Astoria was startled by Vaan\'s reply, but she figured it might just be him trying to sweet-talk her. Still, she couldn\'t help but ask in a small voice, "Can I ask why?"

"Curious?" Vaan smiled. He casually patted the spot beside him, urging her to lay down and stargaze with him before continuing, "Let me tell you a story…"