"How was your first gathering, Luana?"

Luana turned her head to check on the person who had greeted her kindly a few seconds ago.


A small cup of hot tea was still clutched tightly in her hands, as she was now in the garden not far from Der Beste's main building.

It was the day of her first gathering, which was also the weekend.

"Ah, Mr. Pedro," Luana greeted him kindly. "That's very kind of you. I adapted quickly, and Valerie helped a lot. Did you just arrive?"


Luana was still looking up when she let her beautiful eyes meet Pedro's dusky ones, who was looking dapper that afternoon in a light brown shirt with abstract accents.

The fighter gave a nod.


"Thankfully, I'm glad you're enjoying the club." Pedro unceremoniously took a seat next to Luana, placing his open beer can between them.

Luana did not shift position at all. Being next to Pedro and talking to him was certainly enjoyable.

After all, the first session of the meeting had really focused on him. He needed some fresh air right now, and chatting with a friend would probably complete his day.

"I had some things to take care of," Pedro said again. "So I came late. But the gathering went well even without me, right?"

"Of course." Luana took a sip of her tea at the corner of her lips. "These are the finest nobles in the city, and I feel truly honored to be among you."

There was a bitter tone that Luana tried to hide, but it was clearly audible to Pedro's ears. Glancing at her, Pedro twisted his beer can with his lips pursed.

His eyeballs watched, as if he was thinking silently.

"You're not with Rey? I didn't see him inside."

Luana looked away briefly before smiling faintly afterward. "Ah, yes. He said there was something urgent after the conference this afternoon, so he just dropped me off and will probably pick me up in a while."

Pedro seemed to nod his head, before raising a hand to take another swig of the cold beer on the windy afternoon.

Letting the cool air greet the two, as they gazed at the flowers and trees lining the road ahead.

"I have your number, Luana," Pedro said, breaking the silence. Inviting Luana's attention to turn back, he looked at her in a different way.

Luana's eyeballs rolled slowly. "Hmm?"

"I told you, I have your number," Pedro explained again. The man adjusted his body position to sit up straighter now.

Breathing slowly, Pedro looked half dreamy.

"Anytime if you need help, feel free to call my number." Pedro pulled the corners of his lips together to curve a smile, with a gaze that did not shift at all.

There was a different look in the man's eyes this afternoon, one that Luana was sure contained both compassion and empathy.

But empathy for what, Luana really didn't understand.

"But I...," Luana tried to keep up with their conversation that afternoon. "I don't have your number."

Pedro chuckled and reached into his pants pocket to pull out a flat, dark-colored object from inside.

Swiping the screen to activate, the man still hung his laughter.

"I don't have your number either," Pedro said with his fingers moving. "But since we're in the same club, I was able to track down your number from our group chat."

Luana blinked twice before realizing how Pedro had gotten her number.

Ah, the nobles' group!

She remembered that Valerie had added her number to the royals' chat group of nearly forty members, and of course Pedro and Valerie were there too.

Thinking that she was really behind the times for a few seconds, Luana's attention was distracted by the ringing of the cell phone that now sounded between them.

Realizing it was coming from her own device, Luana reached into the bag where the phone was.

"That's my number." Pedro picked up and shook his phone a few times. "Keep it, you might need my help someday."

Luana nodded when she saw the missed call on the screen, and saved the number as instructed by Pedro.

Although she didn't know when she might need help, she kept it anyway. At the very least, friends should keep each other's phone numbers, right?

"Okay," Luana said happily. "I've saved your number, Mr. Pedro."

"Pedro only, please." The man smiled briefly. "Call me Pedro, like you call Valerie and the others. Okay?"

Luana couldn't help but smile back at Pedro, because he really seemed so friendly and kind.

It was like making a new friend, especially now that they had exchanged numbers. Pedro's was Luana's third contact, after Valerie and Rey who had been saved first.

"Okay, Pedro," Luana greeted him half-heartedly. "That's very kind of you, even though I left you for dead on our first meeting."

Luana's words successfully brought them back to Heidelberg, the place where they first met when Luana had just become Rey Lueic's wife.

And that wasn't the last time they met, because that's where they are now. Although no longer in Heidelberg, in fact the universe even united the two of them in the same association.

"I'm so glad to know you, Luana," Pedro said sincerely. The man turned his head briefly, looking at Luana's beautiful face that shone even without excessive makeup.

"You've caught my attention from the start," he continued. "If you had met me first, do you think things would have been different?"

Luana was silent, confused.

What kind of question was that?

Mrs. Lueic was still trying to formulate a response, but an exclamation in the background broke their reverie.

"Luana!"

It was Rey's voice.

Suddenly, Luana looked back to find her husband rattling his waist right beside the man's car.

"Rey has arrived," Luana said stuttered. Rising from her seat, she reached for the bag she was going to hold later. "I have to go, Tu-Pedro."

Pedro hardened his jaw followed by an audible sigh, then also rose to stand up straight now.

Rey looked at them from a distance with a squinting bead, without the slightest smile on her face. Her expression was clearly one of displeasure, as she muttered under her breath. "Why is that Viscout still in Munich? Shouldn't he be returning to Heidelberg?"

"Very well," Pedro responded quickly. "Come back safely, and don't forget to call me if you need anything. Aren't we friends now?"

Luana nodded quickly, managing a smile before she stepped over to her husband.

Waving briefly, she was now completely gone from the fighter's presence.

Pedro's eyes were still deeply fixed, even when Luana got into the car and drove out of the parking lot of Der Beste's building not long after.

The wheels had taken Rey and Luana further away, leaving Pedro back in his seat with a beer in hand.

The man's gaze was straight ahead, with his mind drifting somewhere.

"If she does come back, how will you deal with her, Rey?" the man muttered absentmindedly. "How will you treat her, and what will you do with her castle then?"