Chapter 36: Rising Hope

Dhein stared at Fiorelle for a second, The two of them stood alone in the dimly lit corridor in front of his room. Slowly, his fingertips slid off the metal doorknob and faced Fiorelle completely.

She mustn’t have found a chance to mention this during dinner, so she came to him at this time.

Indeed, she had told him earlier that she had something to report. He just wasn’t expecting it to be this.

After all, he had no idea what this mysterious purpose that he had invented to trick her really was. What could this possibly be about?

Dhein spoke, breaking the silence.

“Come inside.”

He then turned the knob and pushed the door open, revealing the tidy room prepared by the servants.

Fiorelle glanced inside the room. Then, her eyes rose to look at his.

“What?” she blurted.

“Come inside my room and tell me about it,” Dhein simply replied.

For some reason, Fiorelle’s face slowly turned red, her eyes widening.

“D—Dhein, are you…”

He raised a brow.

“What’s wrong?

As though words were stuck in her throat, the girl frantically tried to speak but no sounds were coming out. She eventually gave up.

“N—Never mind!” she yelled before running away.

Before making a turn in the corner of the corridor, she faced him and then said:

“Goodnight!”

With that, Fiorelle disappeared behind the corner’s walls.

Dhein was left in utter confusion.

Shrugging it off, he just entered his room and laid down on his bed. He stared at the mini chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

He tried closing his eyes but as expected, it wasn’t as easy to fall asleep as it was when he didn’t have a god inside him, listening to his every move.

Dhein had to satiate his curiosity somehow. Maybe that would help him fall asleep.

He blinked.

Cyreth’s bright yellow eyes widened from shock when the next thing he knew, he was lying on a soft bed inside the king’s castle.

’He switched?’ the god asked himself, sitting up from the bed.

“Hey, human. What do you think you’re doing?” intoned Cyreth towards the human’s consciousness inside.

’I’m just testing my ability to switch places with you,’ the human answered.

Cyreth lifted his vessel’s hand and looked at it. He then clenched it into a fist. The tranquil night, the moon’s soft glow through the window, it all felt foreign to the god of the crimson star.

His last living memory was being stabbed in the back with a holy sword and then falling to the mortal realm. And so, opening his eyes to a quiet bedroom felt pretty surreal.

’By the way,’ the human muttered.

’Do you have a name? Our gods have names.’

He scoffed.

“What do you think I am? Of course I have a name. I am Cyreth, the god of the crimson star.”

Speaking with the human’s soft but powerful and masculine voice felt strange as well. He didn’t know if he liked it or not, but he definitely preferred his own.

’I see. It makes sense that you’re the god of something that doesn’t exist. You lost the celestial war, after all.’

Cyreth gritted his teeth.

“Then maybe the god of your soul had lost the war as well, you bastard.”

’Hey, I wasn’t insulting you.’

The god ran his fingers through his hair to calm himself down.

To his dismay, the bastard was right. All the creations of the gods who had lost the war vanished from existence. Many things in this world would have been interesting if the outcome of that battle had been different.

With that said, if dragons still existed in this world, then at least one of their creators mustn’t have perished like he and the others did.

’But who could it be?’ he asked himself.

Out of the blue, the human spoke.

’Also, my name is Dheinyrus. I am the heir of Axerion Theocheirós, the leader of the Divinity Clan.’

He exhaled.

“Hm, I think I heard one of those demons say that surname.”

Dheinyrus let out a chuckle.

’With the basic introductions out of the way, let’s try to get along. Since it seems like we’re going to be stuck with each other for a while.’

Cyreth sighed.

“Indeed. Try not to be too annoying.”

’Try not to be nosy about my personal life.’

“As if I care what happens to you. All I want is to usurp your mortal body. Besides, I’m too preoccupied exploring that miniature world inside your head.”

After a second of silence, Dheinyrus asked:

’What does the miniature world look like? When I let you take over, I can see everything that’s happening through my eyes as a spectator. I don’t get contained in a liminal space in my consciousness and reality like you do.’

Cyreth pondered for a second about a fitting description for the place.

“It’s like an endless mountain. No matter how much I climbed, I could never reach the peak. But somehow, I can touch the sky and the stars. I have seen many things in that mist-laden slope, and so far, I am amused.”

Dheinyrus replied.

’That is interesting. Well, do keep on climbing and stop listening to what’s happening in the real world, please.’

Cyreth responded immediately.

“Strangely, I find the physical world to be boring compared to the one inside your head.”

’That works for me, then.’

After that, Dhein switched back to himself.

He took a deep breath and laid back down.

Now that he was certain no one was watching him all the time, he was able to fall asleep.

The next morning, Dhein woke up fresh and feeling good for some reason. As if the bright morning sun had given him hope and courage to go through the day. He had a strange sense of optimism that everything will be alright.

After washing his face and preparing himself for the day, Dhein exited his room and went down to the lounge area where Shina and Remi were preparing breakfast.

Upon seeing him, Shina’s face lit up.

“Good morning, Dheinyrus,” she greeted with a smile.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” he replied.

The girl paused from cooking and then looked at him, narrowing her eyes.

“Just call me by my name.”

Dhein sat on the chair beside Remi.

“Alright, Shina.”

She smiled and then proceeded to cook. Moments later, Fiorelle came down as well.

“Good morning,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes, before letting out a yawn.

’You’re really not a morning person, are you?’ Dhein thought.

When Fiorelle saw what Shina was doing, she was left in a stupor.

“Y—Your Majesty, why are you the one cooking? Are the servants still asleep?” she asked.

Shina briefly looked at her and then went back to the meal she was preparing.

“Ah, no. I told them I wanted to cook. I always cook my own meals even back in the palace. Also, just call me Shina, please.”

Fiorelle stared at her for a bit too long. Then, she looked at Dhein, her shoulders dropped and she went to sit down.

Without thinking about it, Dhein suddenly asked:

“Do you not know how to cook?”

When she saw Shina cooking, she almost looked like she was envying her — as if she wished to have that skill as well.

“I—I can, too!” she stammered.

Dhein leaned back.

“O…kay…”

Fiorelle was about to speak again when Shina arrived at the table with the food she had prepared.

The lounge area suddenly smelled warm and inviting, the aroma wafting through their noses almost made the two drool.

On a simple white plate sat a pile of golden dumplings. Some were smooth and plump, while others had crispy, browned bottoms. Tiny green chives and black sesame seeds sprinkled over them like confetti. A small bowl of dark dipping sauce waited nearby, ready for a taste.

It was soon followed by three cups of a unique green tea and three bowls of hot noodles. Shina sat with them once everything was served.

“W—Wow…” Fiorelle muttered in disbelief.

They looked at Shina when she spoke.

“This one was taught to me by my mother. It’s a local delicacy from Tianmin, where her hometown is at.”

Dhein took one dumpling with a fork and then dipped it in the sauce.

He took a bite, and the good mood that he already had just became even better.

“This is delicious…” he uttered.

“I didn’t know you were such a good cook.”

Shina’s eyes sparkled.

“I’m glad you liked it!”

He sipped the hot noodle soup and the flavors of the two dishes just harmonized beautifully on his taste buds. It was delightful.

Chuckling, Dhein looked at Shina and then said:

“Do you remember when we first spoke? You said you won’t cook for me.”

When he was saying this, Shina was currently sipping her tea. And when she heard those words, she got choked and coughed out the tea she was drinking.

She immediately wiped her mouth with a towel.

“Why would you bring that up now…” she said with a noticable blush on her cheeks.

Fiorelle watched them with a heavy heart and it confused her.

“Please forget about that…” Shina added.

They continue to share the meal like that while chatting over trivial matters that they found interesting.

Then, when they were done, the servants took the plates to clean them. And it was time for some serious talk once again.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep