It was a clear summer night, the daily heat cooling to a bearable level while the sky was clear and filled with stars. If someone looked up, they could see them twinkling everywhere, as the two moons almost seemed to be about to touch... A rare sight, which was only possible during the st week of the middle month of summer. Looking at them, Aerthus was strolling through a field, filled with Night Lilies and dozens of other, smaller flowers, the kind that were only blooming when the moonlight shone on them... It was something that finally let his mind rex a little.

  It became his habit over the past few days, since conquering the kingdom whose nd he was now merging into his growing Empire. It was something he had been doing for the past decade, slowly uniting the hundreds of warring states, and by now, he was really fed up with the constant nagging of his generals, politicians, and advisors about the ongoing war of unification.

  Why can't everyone just see that the only way to advance is to stop the constant wars and bloodshed and unify as one?

  "No matter..." He shrugged, chasing the thoughts away. Tonight, it's not about the nd or the future... It's only about the now.

  Strolling through this magical field of flowers, inhaling their sweet scent, did let his mind wander, and finally, he could forget the world's problems and the difficulties of ruling over an already massive, yet still-growing territory. Yes, his Empire was still in its infancy, but he had already unified most of the South, slowly creeping upwards, year after year.

  As his thoughts somehow returned to the issue of his Empire, it was that moment when he heard a soft voice humming happily. Surprised, he couldn't help but focus, and as he followed it back to its source, he was mesmerized by what he saw. There was a beautiful woman dancing alone, humming a song, completely naked in a field of flowers, bathing in the starlight and moonlight, happily smiling with her eyes closed.

  Seeing her, he just stood there, admiring the view, right until the woman stopped, slowly opened her eyes, which shone in a beautiful emerald hue, and... she just looked back at him. At that moment, he expected a shriek or a cry for help, followed by panic as she frantically tried to cover herself, but... No. Nothing like that happened. The woman just chuckled, skipping forward towards him, letting her beautiful shapes follow the ws of physics.

  "I did not expect anyone to come here, ehehe~!" She spoke first, her voice like a sweet melody. "Oh well, what is done is done; you already saw everything, no?" She asked, stopping not far from him, "How long have you been standing here?" She asked while giggling, only her face revealing her shyness as it quickly turned crimson, but she did nothing to hide herself.

  "Ah, um… a few minutes?" Aerthus blinked his eyes, surprised by the unexpected reaction of hers.

  "Pervert~!" she stuck out her tongue. "Have you seen enough?"

  "Ah, um, sorry!" he stepped back, turning his head, but she just ughed softly once again.

  "Don't need to look away, not after all of it!" She ughed again, sighing, "It was me who stripped down, soooo, anyway!" She leaned forward, picking up her dress that was right next to him, hiding amongst the lilies. "You are going to be an Emperor, so nobody can compin against you. You are going to have the power to order me to strip down whenever!" she joked candidly, looking at him, checking out his features without shame.

  "You know me?" he turned his head back, eyebrows raised, surprised that the unknown woman was so knowledgeable.

  "Of course! Who wouldn't know you? You are Aerthus, coming from the South, born in the Sappara Kingdom, a small, backwater city-state..." She began listing, counting on her fingers, "Yet you unified the whole southern region. You already brought the other 11 kingdoms that were your neighbors under your rule, and then began your conquest towards the North. Those who welcomed you were given bread and wine as they joined your growing Empire; those who resisted were given swords and spears. Everybody knows the tale," she smiled, walking around him while she kept speaking. "You look more charming than in the drawings passed around the nobles."

  "T-thank you…" He answered with complete bewilderment, "You… are?"

  "Oh, pardon me~!" she curtsied towards him, using her long hair that reached down to her ankles as a dress. "My name is Lily, daughter of the ex-King of your test conquest of the Reliqua Kingdom. At your service, my lord."

  "I see." He mumbled, looking at her, unable to tear his eyes away, "I thought you would hate me, but you act friendlier than the other nobles I had a meeting with just today."

  "I have no grudge against you." She answered with a shrug, "They, on the other hand... Oh well. It is their problem! You see, I advised my father to accept the terms of surrender, but he refused to do so, still believing that the shallow coalition of the remaining Northern Six would help him out." She shook her head with a somewhat sad smile. "I already know they wouldn't. As, I am a woman, not to meddle in politics besides being married off."

  "And why is that?" he asked with a curious voice. "I mean… Why didn't they help you?"

  "You are on your way to be the first Emperor to unify the nd on this side of the Shert River..." She smiled softly, knowing that he already had the answer, and that he was just testing her. "You are stronger than any of the current heroes who try resisting you... and they can do so only because of the support from the others across the river."

  "Hmph..." Aerthus scoffed, a purple-eyed man's visage popping into his mind, "The Naulins keep interfering... I'm surprised they didn't try to oppose me here."

  "I made sure that my Father refused their offer." She said, making Aerthus look at her, his eyes fshing, "I knew that if he invited them in... He wouldn't survive to bow his head, even if he is defeated."

  "You were right..." He muttered, making the girl smile at him.

  "I know that there are more benefits in joining you willingly than in being conquered... But my Father... And the Six sees it differently. Especially the tter, they preferred if we weaken you while they bolster their troops with help from your rival... We were a necessary sacrifice to buy them time... So they fed my father their sweet lies that he was too afraid to notice. Yet he still agreed to it. And then... he ran." She shook her head with closed eyes. "I should have stopped him... As, I am just a woman, so I shouldn't meddle in politics besides marrying someone."

  "Why didn't you follow your father?"

  "And escape to the North to continue being a puppet or a bargaining chip in an already lost cause? No, thank you~!" She ughed in a sad voice, "I am fine like this. Now I am a free woman, not just in mind or spirit but in the body too. I can marry whoever I want this way, ehehe! So it's not all that bad."

  "You are pretty carefree, aren't you?" he chuckled, looking into her eyes that shone in a pure light, one that he had never seen before... not in anybody.

  "Of course! What is there to worry about in this world? That is for those who hold power in their hands. Like you. For me? I only need to worry about where to eat and sleep, and that is all."

  "You don't have a pce to stay?" Aerthus blinked his eyelids rapidly, looking over her again, surprised.

  "Well, you conquered our city, and my home got burnt to the ground. Now I am nobody, soooo, yeah..." she stuck her tongue out pyfully. "But sleeping out here is rexing; sometimes you should try it!"

  "S-sorry… it… I..." he stammered as he was oblivious to so many things. In his eyes, it was just another city, one that resisted any attempt at a peaceful solution. He arrived here only to oversee the abdication of the ruling caste after the city was conquered, to elect new leadership and enforce his own ws, integrating them into his budding Empire. They weren't strong enough to warrant his presence in the battle for the city itself...

  "Rex! It is how things should be. You can't rule if you leave potential danger behind; you would be constantly fighting house fires back home while attempting to bring in the rest to the fold." She smiled at him, suddenly reaching out and gently caressing his face, surprising him even further.

  “Oh… oh… you… You are something else…" Aerthus murmured, once again stunned by her act.

  "Ahahaha, thanks? Was it a compliment?"

  "100%"

  "You are weird…" Lily giggled, tilting her head, "Soooo, what now? You saw me naked, and we talked. What is going to happen next?"

  "Why not come back with me? It must be exhausting sleeping outside… also, it is not a pce for a dy to live!"

  "I like being here," she looked around with a peaceful look, "Especially at nights like this..." She muttered, looking up at the sky, "Isn't it beautiful? The flowers blooming here make it feel like we are standing in a sea of stars..." She ughed, stretching out her arms, spinning around, letting her hair follow her like a cape, "How wonderful it would be to fly up so high, you could touch the stars and dance around them! I always loved the idea of going up there and exploring the world behind what we can see from down here."

  "Up in the sky?" Aerthus asked in a bewildered state, following her gaze.

  "Yup! Going from the Rower, stepping out of his little dinghy, skipping towards the Archer, flicking her bowstring pyfully, before arriving next to the Wolf, howling towards the Moon with him!" she expined with great enthusiasm.

  "Wha… what are you talking about?" Aerthus asked, getting confused about what she was even speaking about.

  "Ahaha, you are thinking again that I am weird, aren't you?" she looked back down, right at him with a gentle smile before walking behind him, hugging his body softly, snuggling up to his back "Uuu… you are waaay taller than me... Sit!" she pulled him down and even though he was someone who had already ascended to a realm that few people could even dream about. Yet... he had no resistance against her and just plopped onto the grass as Lily stuck her head next to his, pressing against him with every fiber of her body. "Follow my pointing, and I'll show you those who live in the sky..." she whispered in his ear, her fingers pointing, her hand passing his face.

  Aerthus, at that moment, already knew. He met someone he never imagined would exist. Someone he wanted to be with... It was a feeling coming to him in an instant, the moment he id his eyes on her. There was no expnation, no logic, and no reason, only the pure, raw feeling; the sensation of... her... The one he always dreamt about.