Chapter 8: Philosophy
This “beautiful dream” was left unfinished by Airael.
Maybe it was because giving birth hurt too much; before she could even deliver the child, she woke up.
When Airael woke up, she felt a bit dazed.
She looked around and saw that she was still in the tent, with Arthur still asleep beside her.
This was a human military camp, not the Elven Royal Palace where she had been in her dreams.
She wasn’t lying on the soft big bed of the palace, but rather on a hard wooden bed with just a layer of quilt on top.
Although the current situation helped her confirm that she had indeed just been dreaming, Airael still hadn’t fully recovered.
The sensations from the dream were too real, especially the pain of childbirth—it felt as if she had really experienced it.
So eerie!
After a while, Airael finally murmured to herself as she collected her thoughts.
Then, she lay there, staring at the ceiling, pondering over her dream.
Even though it wasn’t dawn yet, she had lost the desire to sleep.
She had to delve into that bizarre dream of hers.
The scenario was quite simple; it revolved around her life of nurturing a baby after leaving Arthur’s side.
In other words, after returning to the Elven Kingdom, she never really took the throne.
But thinking about it, how could a pregnant queen govern while nurturing a child?
And in the midst of caring for the unborn, the person she thought about the most was someone right beside her.
Speaking of which, she and Arthur hadn’t spent much time together, but it felt like fate had played a trick on them, bringing them together like this.
Eh—!
Recalling this, Airael sighed.
This really wasn’t a story one could call romantic.
As time passed slowly, Airael lay there with her eyes wide open, lost in thought.
Or maybe she was already asleep, just with her eyes open.
When the sun finally rose outside, Arthur was jolted awake by his biological clock.
Thank goodness they hadn’t been too wild last night. If they had, he might not have woken up today.
Now that would have been quite the embarrassing situation, a really big one at that.
“You’re awake! Good morning!”
As Arthur blinked his eyes open, Airael turned to him and said.
“…”
Arthur hesitated for a moment before responding, “Good morning! Ailia.”
Then he noticed the dark circles under Airael’s eyes. They weren’t too prominent, but still noticeable.
Arthur immediately looked concerned and asked, “Ailia, did you not sleep well last night?”
After saying this, Arthur realized something was off.
He remembered Airael going to sleep last night in great spirits!
Logically, she shouldn’t have trouble sleeping.
“I had a not-so-good dream, and after I woke up, I couldn’t fall back asleep,” Airael replied casually.
“What kind of dream?”
Arthur pressed on.
“I can’t quite remember, but it definitely wasn’t a ‘good dream’!” Airael shook her head.
There was no way she could explain this to Arthur properly.
If she tried, she’d definitely have to lie, and a whopper at that.
So she figured it was better to feign ignorance.
Arthur let it go, realizing that some dreams really do fade away with time.
After all, they’re just dreams!
He wrapped his arms around Airael to comfort her, saying, “Ailia, since it was just a dream, don’t dwell on it too much. Dreams don’t count; we need to focus on reality.”
Seeing Arthur trying to be all philosophical, Airael chuckled, “Arthur, you don’t have to say so much; I understand. I won’t take the dream seriously.”
With that, she wriggled out of Arthur’s embrace and started to get up.
Seeing Airael’s smiling face, Arthur felt quite relieved.
But in a place where Arthur couldn’t see, Airael’s smile had faded.
Even though it was just a dream, the intensity of the experience made it genuinely frightening!
Especially with the conflicting feelings that dream stirred up within her.
These were things Airael couldn’t share with Arthur; she had to keep them hidden for his sake.
He still had to go to the battlefield today, and he had already lost some energy yesterday; if anything else distracted him today, the consequences would be truly unimaginable.
After Airael got up, Arthur too got out of bed and began getting dressed.
Outside Malong Fortress, the human army, having finished breakfast, was once again preparing for an attack.
Unlike yesterday, Airael and Arthur weren’t standing with Komit anymore but were instead among their own troops.
Today they would also head to the front lines.
As high-ranking forces in the army, they couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
Before the battle began, Arthur told Airael, “Ailia, you need to be careful. Remember, you’re a Mage and don’t need to charge in too close.”
“But I’m a Battle Mage.”
Arthur’s concern was warm, but Airael had her own plans.
She wasn’t going to live under Arthur’s protective wing.
“A Battle Mage is still a Mage!” Arthur said seriously.
This battle was unlike any they had fought before.
This was a large battlefield; unless one was at Mork’s level, anyone could die at any moment.
And even Mork shouldn’t get too careless; otherwise, death could also come for him.
This familiar warning left Airael momentarily speechless.
Then she looked at Arthur, whose expression didn’t allow for rejection. After thinking it over, she conceded, “Alright, I’ll be careful.”
Arthur was satisfied with her response.
But he still felt uneasy and turned to Celia and Aurora behind Airael, saying, “I might not be able to keep an eye on Ailia, so I’m leaving her in your hands. If she decides to charge ahead, you must stop her in time.”
“Please don’t worry, Mr. Axi. Protecting the lady is our responsibility,” Celia assured him.
With Celia’s reassurance, Arthur finally felt a bit at ease, focusing his attention on the orc city wall ahead.
After a day of battle yesterday, coupled with their previous failed war, the orc’s city wall was riddled with holes, and many places hadn’t even been repaired or maintained.
Yet even so, Malong Fortress remained a hard nut to crack.
Not only was it filled with countless orc soldiers, but the Beast King was also stationed there, not to mention their powerful Dark Elves assisting them.
