"Sarah, I think I'm in love with you."
Sarah felt butterflies in her stomach and the next thing she knew, she was hugging him tightly.
Her face rested on his shoulder and she wrapped him like a kola.
Varian sighed in bliss.
"Not just think. From your heartbeat, you surely are." Sarah chuckled, her beautiful laughter ringing like nature's melody.
Varian looked at her smile and smiled back.
They held each other in silence for a long time. There were no talks. No movements. It was in moments like this Varian was reminded what he really wants and what was missing in his life.
A warm and loving family. And peace to keep a smile on their face.
He couldn't do it in the past, but now he had the capability.
'For my family…For me, for these two girls, I must…'
"Argh! I will go and wash my face." Sarah suddenly got up and rushed back into her room.
Varian was dumbfounded but before he could even say a word, she closed the door shut.
"Haa!"
"I…I did it." Sarah placed her hand on her chest and smiled.
Then she covered her cheeks and blushed furiously. "D-Did I just say all that? W-What was I thinking?"
Sarah drilled into her quilt and hid herself in the bed. "After doing all that, how I can see him?"
"Argh…" Sarah rolled on the bed as she hugged the quilt.
Her mind was hyperactive and she was thinking a million things. Most of them didn't make sense.
Thankfully, Varian didn't see her in this state or he might've wondered if she had problems.
Finally, Sarah paused and sighed deeply.
Her embarrassment wore off and after washing up, she went back into the living room.
"Huh? Did he leave already?" Sarah looked around but found no signs of the guy who just admitted his love.
"Ah! Brain, be back to normal already." Sarah patted her head and focused her body senses.
The next moment, she appeared in the dining hall.
Besides the usual large table, there was now a small round table with seating for two.
There were a couple of ordinary, but aromatic dishes on the table. Even from afar, Sarah could sniff the smell.
"What's this?" Sarah asked as she seated herself across Varian.
"You were trying cooking, didn't you?" Varian placed his chin on his hand and smirked.
"I…I failed. I totally suck at it." Sarah lowered her head and admitted in shame. In her defense, she didn't have much time to practice as she usually spent time on training.
And she wasn't Anna. The all-powerful maid.
"Hahaha. Don't worry about it." Varian laughed and served her the dishes.
Sarah didn't need to think to know—he made them.
Sarah didn't have a high expectation, but her opinion changed after the first bite.
It was a normal dish—there was no aura in it. Not even a level 1 beast's aura…yet, it was darn tasty.
Anna's cooking raised Sarah's standards. So while his cooking wasn't objectively better, Sarah found it to her liking.
The taste, the aroma…there was something magical in them she couldn't point out.
Their smalls talks continued during the meal as Varian informed Sarah about his plans.
Sarah wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked at Varian with curious eyes. "I liked it. Thank you."
"Hahaha. You don't need to try with level one meat. Even normal ingredients can be used to make great foods." Varian waved his hand. "Besides, it's a waste of time to learn something so hard."
"B-But didn't you like Anna's dishes? I wanted to do the same for you."
"Not because they're high-level ingredients. I just like the taste." Varian shrugged and admitted.
"T-Then m-me…" Sarah facepalmed.
"I like you the way you are. No need to go out of your way. Besides, if you still like it, I will teach you some normal dishes once I'm free." Varian waved his hand and said casually.
Sarah felt a strange sense of relief upon hearing his words. She was trying so hard, trying to be like Anna.
But now she realized she didn't need to be Anna to have him smile. She would do it in her own way.
Sarah smiled brightly and looked at his handsome face. "I didn't know you could cook."
"I couldn't. But Sia used to force me to cook as revenge sometimes…" Varian laughter trailed off and abruptly stopped.
The atmosphere suddenly cooled down. Even if it was a monkey, it'd know that something was off. Much less Varian. He already noticed the change.
Varian looked at Sarah's cold expression and his thoughts raced.
I didn't say anything wrong, so what happened to her?
Sia…Sia…they are best friends, so is Sarah getting worried about her?
Well, Sarah was indeed worried about Sia's safety. How could she not? But after Varian told her previously that she was in Shadow Guardians, and was protected by Enigma, she heaved a sigh of relief.
If Sia was captured, Sarah would've done everything at her disposal to protect her.
But after knowing that Sia was voluntarily workin in the Shadow Guardians, along with relief, Sarah also felt a faint resentment.
I was worried about you for so long, but you didn't even contact me. Is that how much our friendship worth?
As if that wasn't enough, Varian brought up Sia.
Somehow, Sarah felt a sense of frustration and anger.
The topic took a dangerous turn.
"So…Mr. Dreamer, you are joining the Shadow Guardians to find Sia?" Sarah asked with a natural expression.
"Uh-oh." Varian nodded. He explained his plans already as he didn't wish for her to be worried.
"Then what about me?" Sarah pointed to herself as she gritted her teeth.
"What about you?" Varian raised a brow. "You'll need to attend the academy. You want to graduate and enlist in the army, don't you?"
Sarah clenched her fists and looked at him before she let out a sigh like a deflated balloon.
Was Varian dense or was he pretending to be dense?
Sarah's eyes narrowed and she decided to check his feelings on Sia.