Chapter 308 - 291: Confession 2

Chapter 308: Chapter 291: Confession 2

At the sight of Zelir, Bev’s brilliant blue eyes first lit up, then dimmed again.

"It’s you... Zelir." Her voice was somewhat hoarse.

"I’m sorry, Bev... I shouldn’t have left without a word last night."

Zelir was the first to speak, his tone sincere and filled with guilt.

"I didn’t mean to do it... I know it was rude."

"But I’d had too much to drink, and my head wasn’t very clear."

"And on top of that, being alone together in that setting... I was afraid... I was afraid I might do something irrational..."

"You could have."

A strange impulse welled up in Bev, compelling her to cut Zelir off.

Zelir froze for a moment.

"What...?"

"I said... it would have been okay. You could have done anything you wanted to me. I wouldn’t have minded."

Bev stared into Zelir’s eyes and said earnestly.

"Besides, I was also hoping something would happen between us."

"Bev..." Zelir no longer knew what to say.

"Zelir, are you dense? Can you really not see how I feel about you...?"

Bev’s voice took on a plaintive tone, and the rims of her eyes began to redden.

"Do you know, last night I had so many things I wanted to tell you."

"I wanted to open my heart to you, to tell you how I feel, to talk about everything we’ve been through... But you didn’t show up."

"I love you, Zelir..."

This was, in Zelir’s memory, Bev’s second confession.

It was a far cry from the hazy, ambiguous confession in his vision—the one made amidst roses, fragrance, and alcohol.

This confession, made in the cold wind under the setting sun, held less tender flirtation and far more raw sincerity.

Watching the girl before him—so clearly hurt, yet still struggling to speak her heart—Zelir felt his own heart clench as if squeezed by a powerful hand.

It was a heavy feeling.

’Even though it was only a vision, he had truly seen a beautiful future, a future with Bev...’

In that ending, he and Bev had spent so much happy time together.

The feel of her touch, the memories, the tender details.

It was as if Zelir had truly lived through it all.

Her warmth, her scent, her touch.

He could forget none of it.

"Bev... I know, but I can’t..."

"Why...?"

Bev’s voice trembled.

"Don’t you love me? Or am I not good enough in some way?"

"That’s not it."

Zelir answered earnestly, "I love you too, Bev."

Hearing those words, tears of happiness welled up in Bev’s eyes, threatening to spill over.

"If we love each other, then isn’t that enough? What else could possibly stand in our way?"

"But in the future, some very, very bad things are going to happen," Zelir said in a low voice.

"How bad?"

"Extremely bad. So bad you can’t even imagine."

Zelir shook his head lightly. "So bad that I can’t just stand by and do nothing."

Silence fell between them once more. Even the setting sun seemed to be in retreat, its light slowly slipping away from the Lake Heart Pavilion.

"So... you’re going to deal with these very bad things?"

"Yes."

"Can’t you leave it to Instructor Manlin, Instructor Marvin, or Instructor Lena?"

"I can’t."

Zelir shook his head, slowly and firmly.

"When faced with something that terrible, Upper Level Mages will be of no use... Even those of a higher Level might not be enough."

It sounded like utter nonsense.

A problem that even Upper Level Mages couldn’t solve was now the burden of a Junior Mage like Zelir.

If anyone else had heard him say that, they would have only laughed in ridicule.

But Bev didn’t doubt him for a second.

"So that’s how it is..."

Bev let out a soft sigh.

She raised a hand to straighten his collar, which had been ruffled by the evening wind. Her voice was gentle. "I believe you, Zelir."

"So, Bev... I can’t always be by your side. Do you understand? I have to..."

"So you’ll go back to how you were before."

Instead of pulling her hand back, Bev let it slide down to grasp his, her eyes meeting his. "You’re still going to go out on adventures, right?"

"Yes..."

Zelir managed a difficult nod.

"I don’t want to do that... To accept your love, only to be away for long periods of time and make you wait for nothing. Wouldn’t that be irresponsible...?"

"Why are you thinking about it so much?"

Bev shook her head gently, cutting him off.

"None of that matters."

"When you’re not with me, I’ll worry about you, pray for you, and long for your safe return... It’ll be hard, I know, but that’s also a part of love, isn’t it?"

"Even though I don’t want you to go on adventures, I will respect and understand what you have to do."

Bev’s palm slid down, her fingers intertwining with Zelir’s.

"As long as our hearts are connected... As long as we can be sure of our feelings for each other, that’s all that matters."

Zelir stared blankly at Bev.

"And you know, Zelir, I had a dream last night."

"You and I were in it. We were together, we had a son and a daughter, and we were so happy."

Bev was describing the very scene that was so familiar to Zelir.

"That happiness... it was greater than anything I’ve ever experienced. I didn’t even want to wake up from that dream."

"I believe we can have that ending, Zelir. You and I."

By the end, Bev’s voice had dropped to a murmur.

"I love you, Zelir, so I will accept everything about you..."

The conversation could go no further.

All his reservations, all the dark premonitions, turned to ash in the face of those three words: "I love you."

"Bev..."

Zelir could no longer suppress the emotions surging in his chest.