Don't Hold Me Back Anymore

Edward waved the princess's carriage off and turned back home. He locked the main door and activated the defensive magic array to its strongest state. This was the first time since the house was renovated and built that he'd turned it up this high, aside from the initial test.

Back in the living room, he hesitated. Should he clean up the mess of cups and plates scattered across the table, or first carry the beauty sleeping face-down on it back to her room? After a few seconds, he sighed, walked over to Monica, and tried to help her up.

Just then, the beauty who'd been "sleeping soundly" with her head on her arms curved her lips into a pretty smile. Suddenly she sat up, shouted "Wah!" at Edward, and then grinned at him:

"Didn't see that coming, did you? I didn't lose that drinking game!"

Edward was speechless. "Did you and that one who left never grow up? Acting like kids at your age."

With that, he turned to the table and started clearing the messy dishes. Monica swiveled her chair around, straddled it backward, leaned forward over the backrest, and quietly watched Edward clean up. It wasn't ladylike at all, but it was utterly adorable.

"Hey, aren't you going to ask where I've been the past few days?" Monica couldn't help speaking first.

"Where have you been the past few days?" Edward asked without any inflection.

"Tch, no sincerity at all. But since you asked, I'll kindly tell you. Ever heard of Transylvania?" Monica rolled her eyes in a way that was still pretty.

"You mean that place in central Middle Earth that's supposedly haunted by vampires?"

"This time it's not about vampires. It's already the core zone of a war between two armies. You know what I found there?"

Edward suddenly turned around and pulled a pocket watch from his chest. It was the alchemist's watch issued by the Alchemist Association to each Branch President. He'd only received it this morning.

Expressionless, he opened the back casing of the watch and held it up to Monica's eyes. On the back of the watch, besides the turning gears, there was a crimson gem inside, glowing with a faint light.

"Is this it?"

Monica suddenly looked up, staring at the alchemist in surprise. "You actually know?"

Edward replied in an icy voice: "War is a giant meat grinder. It grinds up not just lives, but blood and souls too. Those guys are just doing what they call 'recycling waste.'"

He paused, his voice dry as he continued: "This is a massive chain of interests. Even I don't know what kind of monster is hiding behind it all. Until you're strong enough to challenge them, you'd better not pry into anything. Otherwise, you won't even know how you died!"

With that, he put away the watch, turned back, and silently continued cleaning the messy table.

Monica felt heavy-hearted from his words, her eyelids drooping weakly. After a moment, she yawned and said, "You're really no fun. I'm going upstairs to wash up and sleep. Remember, don't come sneaking in at night."

With that, she got up lazily and walked back to her bedroom.

By the time Edward finished cleaning and restored the entire hall to its original state, the moon was already hanging in the sky. He went up to the second floor, heading for his own room. There was too much on his mind today, making his thoughts a mess. He still had plenty of questions he hadn't asked Monica, but the girl had already gone to bed. When he reached the door of the south guest room, he saw the light was still on inside. Just as he hesitated whether to knock, the door opened by itself.

The beauty stood there with her wet hair loose, wearing a pure white bathrobe, leaning slightly sideways against the door frame. She bit her finger at her lips and smiled charmingly: "Handsome guy, want to come in and sit a while?"

Edward felt his nose start to heat up again. And it wasn't just his nose. So he immediately turned to leave, to avoid embarrassing himself on the spot.

"Hey, hey—don't go. I'm done joking. There's still serious business I haven't finished."

Monica grabbed and pulled Edward into the room. Edward had no choice but to pretend he didn't care, stuffing his hands in his pockets and finding a chair to sit on.

"Alright, what else is there?"

Monica sat cross-legged on the bed across from Edward, her head lowered, her mood somewhat subdued. "Actually, running into you this time was just an accident. I originally planned to never contact you or those people from the Godfall Brotherhood again, so I wouldn't bring trouble down on you."

"I don't really care. And the Brotherhood guys are just ordinary people who've encountered the 'Oracle.' Whether or not they're connected to you, they're going to have endless trouble from now on."

"I know that. It's just that this time, I might be bringing you trouble again." Monica's voice was weak.

"What kind of trouble? You want me to go with you to the Rainforest Country to find that so-called temple?" Edward asked.

"No, that's not it. I don't think you can leave. The 'Hunters' might come after me at any moment."

Her tone carried some apology as she continued: "I heard at the port today that an 'Oracle' incident happened here too. I could sense that among the people there today, there were 'Baptizers.' When those guys track it down here, you're the only one who can handle them."

"So I have to cover your retreat again," Edward said with a bitter smile.

"I should have gone underground for a while longer, but this time is special... really special. It might be related to that 'secret.' So I can't stop. I'm sorry, Edward." Monica's voice grew even lower, her head drooping further.

"Monica, listen to me. You don't have to rush so much to chase that 'secret.'" Edward paused to think about his next words. "I've already crossed the hardest threshold. Look, I'm a formal professional now. Can you... can you stay? We can wait. Wait until we both have enough strength to uncover that 'secret' before we go..."

Before Edward could finish, Monica suddenly looked up, staring at him without blinking. Edward turned his head away uncomfortably, unable to meet her gaze. She asked: "Wait? Wait until when? Until you become a Great Magister and I become a Sword Saint? That's decades from now, you know?"

By now, her voice was choked with tears.

"Do you know how hard it was for me to leave you? Do you know how comfortable it is to be by your side? If I stayed and waited with you... I'd end up wanting to have a bunch of kids with you and live happily ever after. By the time I'm old, even if I became a Sword Saint, I wouldn't have the courage to leave you and the kids to find that 'secret'!"

By now, the beauty was sobbing uncontrollably...

Edward's mouth was filled with an indescribable bitterness, and it felt like a stone was lodged in his chest. His vision was blurring too. Slowly, he stood up and wrapped his arms around the weeping figure.

"Monica, why can't you just let it go?"

"Edward, there's only me left in this world—only me, do you understand? If I can't avenge them, I'm afraid... afraid I won't be able to close my eyes even when I die..."

The beauty murmured softly:

"Don't try to stop me anymore, Edward. I'd rather fall on the road searching for that 'secret' than live on in weakness..."

Monica cried and cried, until gradually her voice faded. The exhaustion of consecutive days, the day's drinking contest, and the violent swings of emotion finally lulled her into a deep sleep...

Edward gently laid her flat, covered her with a thin blanket, wiped the tear stains from the corners of her eyes, and quietly slipped out.