Caesar laid down on the gra.s.sy plain and put his arms behind his head, he gazed upon the cloudless blue sky."The happiness which I felt that I could never grasp… Has it been here all along?" Caesar thought to himself quietly while staring at the endless sky.
Caesar slowly stood up from the ground and patted the gra.s.s off his bottom, the radiance from his red eyes were glowing brighter than ever before.
"I shouldn"t be getting too soft yet, the cold CEO is still needed" Caesar whispered under his breath and walked over to Ahri that was currently feasting on a slice of Favin boar.
Once Caesar got close to her, Ahri stopped eating the boar and looked up at Caesar curiously. "Are you not going to eat?" she asked bewildered.
"I detest eating my own cooking, always have and always will" Caesar smiled gently and responded to her.
Ahri tilted her head in confusion, "why do you dislike your own cooking? It"s delicious" Ahri could not comprehend Caesar"s reasoning.
"It"s not about the flavor, it"s about the memories" Caesar explained calmly.
Ahri snorted and continued eating, "I feel as though you know everything about me, my family, my tendencies, my habits, and probably even my favorite food… But you are like a locked book and you are not willing to unlock it for me" Ahri protested loudly while chewing on her food.
"It"s not as though I don"t want to tell you, it"s probably because I am afraid you will not accept what I truly am" Caesar retorted.
Ahri stood up and lightly punched Caesar in the stomach, of course, Caesar could have evaded it, but he didn"t.
"I would not let a man I didn"t love sleep with me, I do not care about who you once were but who you currently are… My feelings are not so shallow that I would dislike you for your past" Ahri said angrily and marched towards the carriage.
*slam*
The carriage door slammed leaving Caesar there standing alone while Joe looked at Caesar"s expression with wonder.
The breeze caused Caesar"s hair to flutter resulting in his expression being temporarily cloaked… But If one were to see his current expression they would see a smile silently forming on his lips.
"Oi, is this a lovers quarrel?" Joe asked loudly breaking Caesar from his thoughts.
Caesar slicked his long hair white back with his slender fingers and looked westward, the tips of a few large mountains were currently visible.
"You had said that you wanted to explore a few mountains for… magical gems?" Caesar looked at Joe inquiringly and expertly changed the subject.
"Yes, yes, deep inside mountains and normally in the harshest of climate are where mana gems are produced" Joe corrected Caesar and explained with a longing look.
"They"re called mana gems? I see, we should be able to reach those mountains by tonight... " Caesar spoke with certainty.
Joe nodded his head energetically and ran towards the carriage, he hopped on front and winked at Caesar playfully.
"I"ll drive the carriage, go patch things up with your girl!" Joe spoke as if he was the greatest wingman to have ever lived.
Caesar just shook his head with a wry smile, he went over towards the large tree the horses were tied up to and untied them. Once he was finished he did as Joe suggested and walked inside the carriage.
Edward was currently sleeping soundly and Ahri was in the furthest back pouting with her arms crossed. She ignored Caesar"s presence and just kept looking out the carriage window.
Caesar stepped over the sleeping Edward and sat down next to Ahri, he sighed loudly and looked up at the ceiling.
"When I was very young, my mother would cook for me… She made the best food I had ever tasted, one day because of my father"s past demons she was suddenly taken away from me… Every single day I took care of my brother, I would try to recreate my mothers cooking… After many years of practicing, I finally was able to accomplish it. However, when I ever I tasted my food I would just feel discomfort. I cooked for myself many times and after a while, I grew tired of the taste and began hating it." Caesar spoke softly and he could see Ahri"s ears twitching.
"Aren"t you a dukes son though? Why didn"t you have a chef do it for you?" Ahri couldn"t help but ask after a few seconds of silence
"Haha, that is enough storytelling for now… I will tell you more about me later" Caesar chucked softly and pulled Ahri into his embrace.
Ahri was still slightly angry at Caesar, "you said you were afraid that I wouldn"t accept you for who you were, why is that?" Ahri asked while nestling her head in Caesar"s st.u.r.dy chest.
"On my path to the top I had destroyed many careers, lives, dreams, and I even lost myself while climbing the ladder… I controlled people with fear and by manipulating their self-interest, I am not a good man" Caesar said with a self-deprecating smile.
Ahri raised her head and studied the insides of Caesar"s eyes deeply, "Even I have killed many people, there is no such thing as a good-man anymore… as long as you don"t betray me and continue to love me, It doesn"t matter what you did" Ahri said soothingly.
Caesar pecked Ahri"s lips, "you are truly a great woman" Caesar complimented with a sly smile.
Ahri nestled closer to Caesar and sat down on his lap, she rested her head on his shoulders and smiled comfortably.
"No great man has walked a clean path, and besides, every emperor needs a empress" Ahri smiled and whispered into Caesar"s ear.
Caesar leaned down and whispered back into Ahri"s ears, "are you sure? Emperors tend to have tons of concubines" Caesar said teasingly.
"Hmph, only women that sell themselves short would allow their husbands more women, and besides, I hate those fickle men that consider themselves worthy of many different women… it"s clear that they just don"t respect their first wife enough" Ahri spoke coldly.
"Does that mean you won"t allow me to have an imperial harem?" Caesar laughed loudly and continued to tease.
Ahri rolled her eyes, "Sure you can have an imperial harem, you just won"t have your "spear" to do anything to them" she spoke coldly and glanced at his groin.
Sweat formed on Caesar"s forehead as he examined her very serious expression… "you don"t have to worry darling, I prefer prideful women anyway" Caesar soothed the raging inferno by his side and smiled comfortingly.
"Haha, I know, I was just messing with you" Ahri laughed merrily and kissed Caesar"s cheek.
Seeing that Ahri was no longer mad Caesar wrapped his arms around Ahri and put his arms around her waist, "I"m quite hungry" he whispered seductively.
Ahri flinched slightly and glanced at Caesar, "y-you can have some of my blood, but you can"t do anything else… Edward is sleeping right there" She hesitated for a second but relented in the end.
"You didn"t seem to mind Edward"s presence last time, you even moved your hips yoursel-" Caesar"s words were soon cut off by an elbow striking him in the gut.
"S-s-shut up you rogue!" Ahri protested.
Caesar smiled wryly and stopped teasing her, he moved his fangs closer to her neck.
*puch*
Caesar penetrated her neck with his fangs and softly sucked out some of her mana, the taste of her mana was delicious, probably the best thing Caesar had ever tasted.
This continued for about a minute before Caesar finally parted from her neck, her body went limp in his embrace and her breathing was heavy.
"I-I don"t think I can ever get used to that feeling" Ahri complained quietly.
"I"m sure one day it will come naturally" Caesar made a satisfied smile and gentled rubbed Ahri"s hair.
They stayed in this comfortable position for the entire morning and noon, Joe at the front of the carriage rushed the horses as fast he could… He looked at the mountains eagerly.
"I might be able to make a magic accessory soon!" Joe muttered to himself happily and urged the horses to run faster.
Inside the carriage, both Caesar and Ahri fell into a deep sleep. The sound of their rhythmic breathing echoed out inside the carriage.