Tangled By Fate

When her expression became timid, Arthur's temper was gone. He softened his tone as he said, "Are you still hoping to find him? Forget about him. He is long gone."

Veronica panicked. "Then what should I do now? I need to find that person at any cost!"

"Too late," saying that he turned around and began to walk away.

Veronica was in a dilemma. She needed to go after that person and at the same time, she couldn't do anything since she wasn't wearing anything appropriate. When she thought of walking in the street dressed like this, her head hung in shame.

She looked around and realized that she was in an unknown place. Her palms began to sweat. She saw Arthur going further away and quickly followed after him. She inquired, "You said it was a man. How did you know it was a man and not a woman?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow and asked her in return, "When did I say he was a man?"

Veronica noticed his teasing tone. She couldn't let him tease her like that. It was a serious matter. She pointed it out, "You said, 'are you still hoping to find him?' You mentioned 'him'."

"You are smarter than I expected," Arthur acknowledged.

They walked in the street and turned to the left. The lane got narrower. There was hardly any light to see anything. Arthur lit a torch so that they could see the path in front.

However, Veronica had no time to notice anything. She felt proud when he complimented her. She was hardly praised in the temple no matter how good she was at study or work. She boasted about herself, "Excuse me? I'm the top student in my class."

"Heh," Arthur chuckled. "For someone who doesn't know the way of the world can't be too knowledgeable."

In his eyes, she was a young miss from the aristocrat faction. She has manners and is docile. She spoke well. It meant that she had a good education in manners. Only aristocrats had enough money to spend on that kind of thing.

Veronica couldn't be prouder. She stated, "I know the history of the origin of our world and all the countries that are included in the map. I also know of the Great War of First Age."

Arthur ceased walking and turned to look at her, "You know about the Great War of First Age?"

The Great War of the First Age was the cruelest part of history. Academies don't usually teach students the whole part of history. Not just anyone can handle this kind of cruel truth. Many students became insane after reading the history of the Great War. That's why, books were modified for the students so that they could handle it. In case something went wrong, the academies didn't want to take risks and completely banned history books regarding the Great War.

If Veronica read the history of the Great War, she must have studied in a well known academy where books covering the topic existed – that's what he concluded.

Veronica was feeling smug. She reminded him, "Yes, I told you I'm the top of my class."

They reached the end of the alley. She saw the three storied building. There was a red colored wooden door and a torch above the door. Arthur opened the door and told her, "Please come in."

Veronica entered the house and said, "Sorry to intrude." She saw a dining room and an attached kitchen. Everything was neat and clean. It was the first time she was in someone else's house. She curiously looked around.

The room wasn't too spacious nor small. The wall was dyed in burgundy color. The floor was mosaiced with white stone. White curtains were covering the windows. The windows were tightly shut. There was a wooden dining table with ten chairs. There was a wooden water gallon in the corner. The walls were decorated with paintings. 'So pretty,' she complimented the decoration in her mind.

Arthur walked toward the kitchen and said, "Make yourself at home. Would you like some tea?"

"Tea?" Veronica asked in confusion. "What's a tea?"

"What? You don't know what tea is?" Arthur was surprised. The thought of her being an aristocrat completely wiped off from his mind.

Veronica shook her head. "I don't. So, what is it?" She wondered what it was.

Arthur explained, "It's a warm drink that makes people feel refreshed."

Veronica seemed like she had mastered another knowledge. "So, this isn't like booze that makes people feel weird."

"Booze?" Arthur gave her a weird look. "You mean beer and wine?"

Veronica quickly nodded, "Yes, that makes people turn crazy and make them act weird." 𝘧𝑟𝘦𝒆w𝚎𝙗nov𝘦𝗹.𝐜o𝓶

"I won't use the word crazy but drunk people do act crazy." Arthur pulled a wooden chair and told her to sit.

"Yes, it's horrible. Even I…" Veronica couldn't finish her words. Her pale cheeks blushed. She quickly sat on the chair.

"You mean last night?" Arthur snickered. "That's an entirely different thing. Something else was mixed with the red wine you had drunk last night. That was aphrodisiac."

"Aphrodisiac?" She was puzzled. Right after meeting him, she got to learn many new words from him. Since she was eager to learn more, she liked talking to him.

Arthur narrated in detail, "Yes, it also has another name. Love juice. If someone drank this, they would react like you did last night. So, whatever you did under that drug's influence wasn't your fault. You have no personality problem."

"So, that's how it is…" Veronica's racing heart stopped pounding hard. She didn't look like she was embarrassed anymore.

'I quite liked her shy expression. Too bad,' Arthur thought. He ignited the stove and warmed up the water to make some tea.

The two of them became quiet. While Arthur was making tea, Veronica watched him. Many thoughts swirled in her mind. Finally, the silence was broken by her.

"I had a question." Without giving him any opportunity, she asked him, "How did you know that person was a man? Do you know him?"