Chapter 34: Evangeline's POV

A beam of sunlight hit Evangeline's beautiful face early in the morning. She squinted her vampire-like eyes and tried to turn around to not be disturbed by the light. She wanted to sleep a bit more.

But as soon as she did that, she saw another person sleeping peacefully beside her.

He had a handsome face and jet-black hair and made next to no sound while sleeping.

Immediately a rush of memories flooded her mind and she was left dumbfounded.

She checked herself and Samuel to see if it really was true, and sure enough, they were both naked.

On top of that, her head was on Samuel's arm.

She remembered all of the things that she did last night. All of the sounds, the sensations, the conversations... all of it.

Her face became almost as red as her eyes.

But seeing Samuel sleeping peacefully, she calmed down a little.

For some reason, she was feeling happy.

'But... something doesn't add up... how was he so good?'

A sudden thought came to her mind.

'Maybe that wasn't his first time?!'

She didn't know why, but she didn't like that thought.

'Ugh! Whatever. I don't care...'

'... He's still so handsome, even when he's sleeping...', she thought as she stared at Samuel's face.

A sudden urge came up in her mind.

She bit her lips and attempted to close in on Samuel's face.

She then pressed her lips against Samuel's and kissed him.

'We kissed a lot yesterday, but this one feels special for some reason... is it because this time, it was me who initiated it?'

As she ended the kiss and pulled her head away, her soul almost escaped her body after seeing Samuel's infernal orange eyes staring directly at her.

Her face once again became red with embarrassment.

"... Good morning, Eve."

"...G-Good... morning..."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah..."

"Right. Can you take your head off my arm? It feels numb all over."

"Oh, right! Sorry..."

"Haha, it's fine."

A few minutes of awkward silence filled the room.

"Do you want to have breakfast here?", Samuel asked.

"... Su-sure..."

'How the hell is he so calm?! I can't even look at him straight!'

"Heh. Why are you stuttering, are you a child?"

'This jerk!'

"Sh-Shut up! Just order the food! I'm hungry!"

Samuel was amused by her reactions.

"... Eve."

"y-yes?"

"We agreed on forgetting what happened last night, right?", Samuel became very serious all of a sudden.

Hearing those words, Evangeline became shocked.

'... Why am I feeling like this...?'

She nodded silently.

"... I also want to tell you something. Don't get too attached to me. I can't promise you that I won't abandon you too. I'm sorry if that's disappointing, but it's the truth. I can't tell you it, but there is a very big reason for that..."

Evangeline's heart sank. The mere thought of Samuel leaving her was quite literally terrifying to her. Losing Samuel was the last thing she wanted.

"Wh-what... what are you saying...? You can't tell me the reason...?"

"You wouldn't understand it even if I do tell you."

'... why does this always happen to me?'

She didn't answer anything in return. She simply sat on the bed, silently.

'was this his plan from the start...? Did he just want to toy with me and use me, just like Sophia? am I really this unlucky...?'

"That said. I value you a lot. I won't leave you without saying goodbye first. I want to continue being friends, if you're okay with it, of course."

"... Continue being friends? Even though you just said that you might leave me any second...?"

"It happens, right? A friend leaving your side because they have to move away from the city or country..."

Suddenly, miraculously, all of the sorrow she was feeling, vanished.

'That's all it was?'

"Pfft... hehehe HAHAHAHA!!! So that's all it was! Hahahaha! Of course!", she laughed hysterically.

"What are you worrying about? We have the Skyrail! We can communicate whenever we want to!", she continued.

Samuel's face was expressionless though.

"The place where I will be going doesn't have any Skyrail. It has nothing connecting it to anything, actually. If I do go there, there is a very high chance that we will never meet again."

'What the hell is he talking about?'

"The point is, you have to learn how to be happy yourself. You won't always have another person there by your side, ready to help you out. I don't want to see you suffer, Eve. You've already suffered enough. You're strong. Both in terms of Magic Power and Mental strength. Use it for yourself and learn how you can entertain yourself.", Samuel said.

'So basically... he's telling me to be happy with myself...'

"Basically, I don't want you to depend on me, okay?", Samuel concluded.

She nodded in agreement. She hadn't thought of self-dependency. No one had told her to learn to be happy with herself.

"But... how can I do that?", she asked with scepticism.

"I dunno. You need to figure that out yourself. Each person is different. Each person has different preferences and dislikes. All you need to do is always remember that you are the most important entity in your life. Put yourself over all others. And think carefully about what makes you happy, or in other words, what gives you fun. In what kind of environment do you THRIVE... Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Evangeline thought about what Samuel just said for a good long while before responding.

She put a smile on her face and answered, "Yeah! I understand!"

'He's so amazing... Seriously... What would I have done if I hadn't met him?'

'Be happy with myself, huh? Okay... I'll try since you told me to... I'll give it my best shot! Just watch, Samuel! I'll become the happiest girl you will ever know!'

*Ding Dong!*

"The breakfast is here. I'll go get it, okay?"

"Yeah!"

'It's so strange... I'm already feeling so much more happier than I usually am... Samuel's words themselves are like magic!'