Chapter 115: A Midnight Escape Under Starlight

As the bells chimed midnight, the day drew to a close.

Amidst a dazzling display of fireworks, the magician on stage concluded his final performance.

Applause and cheers erupted, and the stage curtain slowly descended.

“Haha, that was truly entertaining!”

Luluti clapped her hands with an infectious excitement, clearly still wanting more.

“Alright, let’s keep going then!”

Her energy seemed boundless. Yalin, with a hint of resignation, had to remind her, “Young miss, please observe your surroundings. It’s grown quite late.”

“Ah, has that much time passed?”

Luluti paused, stretching her neck to survey their surroundings. Only then did she notice the streets had significantly quieted compared to their earlier bustling state.

Most of the remaining crowd consisted of those who had just witnessed the magic performance. Beyond them, only a handful of scattered figures could be discerned.

The once vibrant street gradually settled into tranquility, as vendors packed away their stalls and pushed their carts homeward.

North Street, situated above them, was already plunged into complete darkness, a vast, inky expanse. Only the occasional patrol light pierced the gloom.

“So, it’s over then…”

Luluti felt a pang of realization. She had genuinely believed they still had ample time to explore many more sights.

Perhaps the magic performance had been so captivating that she had completely lost track of time.

“Then, let’s go back…”

Luluti let out a soft sigh. Though her voice still carried a hint of reluctance, she turned and started walking in the opposite direction.

“Don’t be too disheartened,” Yalin consoled. “The festival isn’t exclusively held during the Academy Festival. There will be many more opportunities in the future.”

“That’s true. Thank you.”

Luluti offered a smile in return, yet it differed from her usual cheerful expression, appearing somewhat forced.

Upon returning to the commercial district’s entrance, they found it practically deserted.

Luluti suddenly stopped.

“Hey, where’s the carriage?”

Standing on tiptoe, she scanned her surroundings, but the carriage was nowhere to be found.

“Strange, I clearly told Nomnom to tell the coachman to wait for us right here…”

After a brief pause, Luluti’s expression shifted, becoming rather peculiar. “That foolish cat, she couldn’t possibly have forgotten to relay the message, could she!”

Yalin surveyed the broad, empty street.

“It seems so.”

He nodded in agreement, a faint smile playing on his lips.

However, Yalin knew Nomnom’s true nature; she was far from the clumsy maid Luluti envisioned.

Was it merely a simple oversight, or perhaps… something more?

Yalin shook his head, choosing to set aside such convoluted thoughts for the moment.

Whoosh—

A cool breeze swept through, rustling the leaves and lending an even greater sense of desolate quiet to the already empty street.

Luluti glanced towards the shadowed end of the road, involuntarily swallowing hard, and instinctively clutched at Yalin’s sleeve.

“Hey, you! Don’t even think about abandoning me and running off alone. You’re responsible for seeing me safely home!”

Yalin observed her flustered, uneasy demeanor, finding it rather amusing.

This one truly is quite naive.

“I understand,” Yalin affirmed. “I will see you home, young miss.”

Only upon hearing his assurance did Luluti finally let out a small sigh of relief.

“Well, that’s more like it! Hmph, you do possess some good judgment after all. Excellent! I’ll ensure you get a raise when we return home!”

She tugged the hood further down over her head, concealing herself even more securely.

“Alright, let’s make haste while there are still a few people about!”

Luluti’s family mansion, though not excessively far from the commercial district, still lay a considerable distance away, requiring them to traverse a sprawling residential area.

As they ventured deeper, the number of pedestrians dwindled, until eventually, the entire alley was utterly deserted.

Initially, Luluti constantly darted fearful glances around, so much so that even a tiny kitten crossing their path nearly made her shriek.

However, once her eyes adapted to the pervasive darkness, her fear began to subside.

“The stars tonight are truly beautiful… It’s wonderful to be out.”

Raising her head, Luluti murmured, her gaze fixed on the brilliant, star-studded sky.

She stood lost in thought for a moment, then lowered her gaze to Yalin. Softly, she said, “Um, thank you for being willing to come out with me… You must think I’m incredibly willful, don’t you?”

Yalin lowered his head, a hint of surprise in his expression.

“I do, indeed,” Yalin admitted. “However, it’s quite an unexpected pleasure to hear such a sentiment from the young miss.”

“W-well, that’s because I also realize how truly willful this is,” Luluti stammered. “And if anything were to happen, it would only burden you with the responsibility…”

Luluti’s cheeks flushed a delicate pink, and she shyly turned her head away.

“Indeed, that’s true,” Yalin acknowledged, nodding thoughtfully. “But tell me, why did the young miss insist on secretly slipping away from home?”

“That’s because…”

Luluti pursed her lips, hesitating for a moment before she finally spoke. “Do you remember the story the bard recounted that day?”

“I remember, it was about a princess eloping from the castle and running away with a fruit-selling boy, wasn’t it?”

Yalin recounted the scene from that day, his voice suddenly halting.

“You didn’t go to all this trouble to slip away from home simply because of *that* story, did you?”

“W-what’s wrong with that? Is it not allowed?”

Luluti’s face flushed an even deeper crimson, her voice involuntarily rising several octaves before quickly subsiding once more.

“Every night, as I gaze at the moon through my window, that story comes to mind,” she confessed. “I imagine how wonderful it would be if I, too, possessed the same reckless courage as that princess, to abandon everything and wander the world with someone I love… things like that.”

“And so, you truly imitated that princess and actually ran away from home?”

“That’s right, exactly! So, what do you think? Aren’t I incredibly brave?”

Yalin pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a sigh. “Young miss, that’s merely a fairy tale. Reality is rarely so simple.”

“How can you be so certain it’s merely fabricated? If one doesn’t even try, how can one ever truly know?”

Luluti suddenly quickened her pace, then abruptly halted directly in front of Yalin.

The countless stars above cast their light upon her, etching a beautiful silhouette onto the ground beneath.

“Yalin,” she proposed, “why don’t you take me away right now? What if we went together to a place where no one else could find us?”

She turned, her long golden hair fluttering in the gentle breeze. Her emerald eyes, bright as precious jewels, sparkled as if mirroring the vast, starlit river above.

The air seemed to solidify in an instant. Yalin’s pupils widened almost imperceptibly, his gaze lingering on Luluti’s radiant smile.

“Young miss, that is hardly a humorous jest.”

After a brief silence, Yalin spoke in a hushed tone.

Luluti stared at him for a moment, then burst into a sudden peal of laughter.

“Pfft, haha! You truly are no fun at all. You could at least humor me a little!”

She then cast her gaze back towards the boundless expanse of the starry sky.

“Truthfully, I know it too; those are all just fairy tales.

Princesses do not escape from their castles, nor do they encounter fruit-selling boys.

And I, too, cannot simply abandon everything and selfishly flee to a place where no one can find me.

But still… before all that, just once, even if it’s only for a single time.

“Ultimately, I still long to cast everything aside and create a beautiful memory with a special someone in a place where we won’t be disturbed…”