For a while, both Alex and Zahara simply stood there, surrounded by the music and light. Zahara rested her head against Alex’s shoulder, closing her eyes as the symphony slowly faded, leaving only the calls of the forest and the lapping of water.

The fireflies began to drift apart, their light dimming as they disappeared into the night, leaving behind a silence that felt almost sacred.

Alex turned his head, pressing his temple against Zahara’s. “Come on,” he whispered. “We should head back before it gets too late.”

Zahara, however, sighed, reluctant to leave. “Do we have to?”

In response, Alex just chuckled softly. “Not yet. But soon.”

She smiled at his words, turning back to look at the lake, the image of the glowing stag, the fireflies, and the forest’s song forever etched in her mind.

In that moment, surrounded by the beauty of nature and the warmth of Alex’s presence, she felt whole. And she knew, deep down, that this was a memory she would cherish forever.

Looking at how Zahara wanted to stay here for longer, wanting to enjoy the scenery, Alex smiled thoughtfully before he tapped his feet twice again, and the moment he did, to Zahara’s surprise, the same sacred-looking stag from before walked out from behind the trees.

Its eyes locked on Alex as it stepped forward with cautious yet reverent steps.

“Her name’s Elaria,” Alex spoke as the stag neared them, its majesty and gentleness palpable from this close, and Zahara, awed by its appearance, just nodded her head dumbly.

“What can I do for you, sire?” It was then that a voice—soft and melodic, as if the gentle nature itself was speaking—left the stag’s soft maw, making Zahara almost jump back in shock.

“I-It can speak?!” Her eyes widened. She had seen the stag from a distance, and although it looked equally enchanting right now, seeing it from this close and seeing it speak was not something she had expected.

“She, not it. And yes, she can speak.” Alex chucked at how Zahara was getting shocked about a thing as minor as this after the whole scene he had orchestrated, but he could get where she was coming from, after all…

“Doesn’t that mean that it—she is a star connection realm beast?!” Zahara looked between Elaria, a stag that looked so gentle yet had the power to kill both of them and Alex, who, even with such an entity in front of him, was calm.

After all, only beasts that had reached the star connection realm could speak, and someone with that much power could easily kill them if they wanted to.

“Yes, but don’t worry,” Alex smiled, knowing full well what she was thinking, and extended his hand toward Elaria, who, without a second’s thought, lowered her head, and much to Zahara’s surprise, Elaria tilted her head, enjoying Alex’s caressing.

“She isn’t harmful.” With those words, Alex held Zahara’s hand, smiling at her before he took her hand and placed it between Elaria’s antlers, making Zahara relax.

The moment Zahara touched the stag, she could feel herself calming. It was as if she didn’t even have to worry about anything and just let herself be in front of this particular stag.

“Elaria, can you please help us create two chairs and a temporary shelter?” It was only when Alex saw Zahara relaxing that he made his request because he knew that she was perfect for this work with her set of abilities.

“As you wish,” Elaria, with a nod, moved back, leaving Zahara leaning on Alex as she watched in amazement how a small shelter covered them, appearing out of nowhere in that clearing, made out of green veins and leaves, and soon two chair-like structures appeared behind them.

“Thank you,” spoke Alex, smiling at Elaria, who just bowed her head in response.

“It is an honor.” With those words, before Zahara could even say something, she left the area, walking back into the tree, leaving them alone in the clearing along with the calming silence.

Some fireflies were still there, dimly lighting the area, and some insects were calling out to each other, reminding Zahara of the spectacle she had seen, making her sigh in amazement.

“You are amazing…” She muttered as they sat on the seats attached to each other like a bench, her head resting on Alex’s shoulder as she found it more comforting than anything. She couldn’t believe how amazing Alex was to be able to make things like this possible.

“Hardly,” Alex chuckled. “This is the least I could do for a girl who could do so much as even change her image and personality, just so that she could speak to me.”

His words made Zahara close her eyes with a smile, wondering if she should repeat the same things she did before. Maybe she’ll get to experience it all again? After all, this was the best thing that had happened to her.

For a while, nothing but silence remained between them.

“Hm~! Hm~! Hm~!”

And soon Zahara started humming the same melody played by the beasts and the insects a while ago, and Alex, smiling a bit, was reminded of the efforts he had to put up in training them.

It took him five days to get them all to do it perfectly, even with his ability to speak with beasts and his bloodline ability to command fear in them.

Yes, he had a bloodline, which he had got the first year he arrived here. It was something he knew would be here from the novel’s plot. Due to that bloodline, he gained an ability called ‘Emperor of the Beasts’.

This ability lets him command any and every beast around the world, but they needed to be complete beasts and not demis or mixes. That was solely the reason for him being able to command the beasts to work for him.

That ability took a considerable toll on his mind, but it somehow worked.

So, looking at the smile that didn’t even leave Zahara’s face, Alex felt satisfied—like his efforts had paid off.

“Alex,” Zahara called out suddenly, sitting straight, looking deep into Alex’s eyes, who raised a brow at this sudden sincerity in her eyes. “I love you.”

It was only when he heard her next set of words that he realized why she was this serious, making his gaze soften.

Zahara kept looking in his eyes, her fingers clenched tightly around his palm, and although she tried to hide it from Alex, her quivering eyes gave her nervousness away.

She was anxious—rightfully so. She had proposed to him two times before, only to be shot down both of the time, and although she knew that it might be different this time, one couldn’t blame her for being scared.

But the moment she felt Alex’s palm on her cheeks, their foreheads touching and his eyes staring into hers with equal sincerity, all of Zahara’s worries went away with a puff. The only thing that remained in her eyes was love, and this time, Alex knew that it wasn’t illusionary, nor was it a mere infatuation.

Yet, when he tried to say the words Zahara wanted to hear, he couldn’t.

‘I love you too.’ He could say it fine on the inside, but he just couldn’t voice it out.

Zahara, on the other hand, felt her chest tighten the moment she saw the hesitation in Alex’s eyes.

‘A-Am I going to be rejected again?’ Such a thought flashed past her mind, making her tremble in despair, but before she could tear up and get absorbed in that despair, she felt a warm feeling on her lips, only to have her eyes widen when she saw Alex kissing her.

“Hm!” She was a bit surprised, trying to pull away, but in just a second, she realized that this might be the last time she was kissing her, so her arms, which had tried to pull away, clasped behind his neck, pulling him tight before she reciprocated the kiss with equal intensity.

None of them were aware that a pair of golden eyes, which belonged to the same stag they had seen before, was staring at them from within the bushes with a strange light flashing past them.

They were too busy feeling each other’s bodies and kissing each other.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep