Irelia's Curious Thoughts

"I—hey?? O...okay."

Irelia sat dazed in the carriage, staring blankly at Li Ke, who had pulled her aboard.

By all rights, she should have screamed for help. But the moment she saw Li Ke, she felt she could trust him—and she felt something else, too. Something strange.

She couldn't put it into words. She just felt a little shy, and somehow familiar with him, as if she had finally found something she'd lost long ago.

She didn't understand what she was feeling, but her heart was beating so fast it felt like it might leap out of her chest.

And so, in a daze, she agreed and obediently climbed into the speeding carriage.

Then she watched her father, standing there dumbfounded, flash past her and disappear far behind them.

Just like she should have in theory, she ought to have shouted to her father for help. But for some reason, being taken away from him by this strange man gave her an inexplicable feeling. A feeling of...

Excitement?

Irelia didn't understand why she felt this way. She had always been so well-behaved. How could she possibly feel like this?

She wondered if she'd been enchanted, but the protective charm on her gave no warning. She also couldn't feel anything interfering with or twisting her mind, so...

Why was she being so obedient to a man she'd only just met?

Could love at first sight really exist?

Lito stared at the whole scene in astonishment. What had he just seen?

His daughter had made breakfast that morning, and he'd happily eaten it. He'd been chewing on a fried dough stick, planning to watch his daughter dance for a while, beat his good-for-nothing son, have a few drinks and brag with some old friends, and teach a few foolish bandits a lesson.

And then?

He'd been eating his dough stick and humming when, out of nowhere, his daughter was kidnapped!

"I (Ionian curse)!!"

Lito's blood pressure shot up. He coughed twice, then rushed into his house and grabbed his sword.

Their family had been renowned for sword dancing for generations, but Irelia was so talented that he and her mother had kept it from each other and let her study only dance.

So when they faced opponents who weren't particularly strong, they used ordinary swords.

They used the family's sword dance only as a last resort.

After all, the family sword dance was too powerful. It defied the natural order, and one little mistake could kill both the person they were protecting and their enemy. Or they'd get carried away and kill everyone, even when they'd only meant to negotiate.

There was no helping it. When you were too powerful, you tended to have no friends.

So Lito mounted his beloved steed, took up his beloved sword, and charged out of his home after Li Ke.

Meanwhile, in the carriage, Shen looked apologetically at Li Ke, who was driving. He felt partly responsible for failing to stop Li Ke and letting him do something so foolish.

"...Sorry, Irelia. Li Ke can be a little crazy."

Irelia was still confused. It wasn't until Shen called her by name that she came back to her senses.

"Ah, oh, um, it's fine, Shen. I just wanted to know why you brought me along."

Irelia knew Shen, too. The children of Ionia's top warriors all knew one another, so their descendants wouldn't get into conflicts that would be difficult to resolve.

"Well, Li Ke said he sensed a group of Noxians oppressing civilians, so he might need you to show us the way..."

Shen felt awkward saying this, but before Irelia could ask anything, Li Ke spoke up.

"I need your help finding somewhere for the villagers who've lost their homes to live. I figured your father, Lito, would be responsible for something like that."

Irelia nodded. Her father, Lito, did have a duty to take care of the villagers under his jurisdiction when they suffered disasters and other misfortunes.

But she was still puzzled.

"I can understand that there wasn't time and you had to grab me, but why didn't you ask my father?"

She was confused about that. She was just a frail girl with no real strength, no knowledge of swordsmanship, and nothing special about her. She was only an ordinary dancer.

Her father was different. He was a renowned swordsmanship master. Wouldn't asking him have solved the problem more quickly?

How can I tell her I was afraid her father would cut me down before I got two words out?

Thinking about what he'd done in the simulator, and about how Irelia's father, Lito, had acted and what he'd thought of him there, Li Ke figured that if this Lito shared the simulator Lito's opinion of him, then...

He was dead for sure!

He'd peeked at the man's daughter while she was bathing, then threatened her with her own clothes and played the part of a gigolo to get the job done.

Even if they'd both been willing, Li Ke figured that if someone did that to his own daughter, he'd at least be facing a suspended death sentence for killing in the heat of passion.

Then there was the time he'd gone out for no reason and stolen the man's daughter's heart. If Li Ke were in Lito's shoes, he'd at least give him three years for causing serious injury.

Sure, it was possible that Lito had inherited those favorable feelings, too. But that was a risk, wasn't it?

Even if Lito didn't cut him down, how much could Li Ke trust him when the man was in a bad mood?

This way was perfect. His daughter had been kidnapped, so Lito was bound to follow them. Once they reached the village they were headed for, there wouldn't be any trouble.

Still, the journey would be terribly dull if he just sat there.

"Because I couldn't get your father to trust me, I had no choice but to resort to this."

Li Ke gave Irelia a warm, considerate smile. He often used it to get shopkeeper aunties in the village to give him a discount, so he'd gotten very good at this friendly smile.

That was right. Li Ke had trained his warm smile like this. Practicing a kind smile to seduce people for discounts because he was broke was shameful, but you had to admit, a friendly smile trained that way...

Really packed a punch.

Irelia blushed. She'd already felt a little strange about Li Ke, and his heartwarming smile only made her more flustered. Her heartbeat grew louder and louder in her ears.

For a moment, she even found herself thinking of names for her future children...

But strangely, when she thought about her future children's names, she felt a little sad.

That sadness vanished as soon as she looked at Li Ke.

In its place came that strange, blissful feeling of having found something she'd lost.

This left her utterly confused.