Chapter 162: William’s Story [Part 1]
The slos.h.i.+ng of water could be heard as William swam in the lake. The water was so clear, and clean, that William could see the colorful glowing crystals lying at its bottom. Although the water was slightly cold, Willliam didn’t mind it.
He needed to cooldown because the thoughts whirling inside his head were giving him a headache. After swimming freely for fifteen minutes, he relaxed his body and allowed himself to float on the water’s surface.
This was the first time he had felt so relaxed and at peace after he entered the h.e.l.lan Royal Academy. The red-headed boy felt so comfortable that he fell asleep while floating on the water.
Wendy, who was looking at him from the Lake sh.o.r.e, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this development. She brought William to her “secret place” so that she could spend quality time with him. However, the boy was more interested in swimming in the water than talking to a pretty girl, such as herself.
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone sleep while floating on a lake,” Wendy muttered in disbelief. ‘Oh, no! He might accidentally drown if I don’t do something!’
Wendy was torn. On one hand, she didn’t want to disturb William’s sleep, on the other, she was worried that her idol might drown if she let things continue as they were.
In the end, she gritted her teeth and decided to use her second ability.
Wendy lightly waved her hand, and the water around William rippled. Soon, the Half-Elf was slowly, but surely, being dragged to sh.o.r.e. Wendy was a dual affinity magician. Her strongest forte was the manipulation of metal, and the other was the control over wind.
Ironically, her Wind Affinity only allowed her to use Magic up to the First Circle. The most she could do was create wind blades and manipulate the wind to do simple tasks… like bringing a handsome Half-Elf, who was half naked, back to the sh.o.r.e.
William’s body was quite lean and toned for his age. He didn’t have any ripped muscles, but his body excluded strength and power. One could even see the outline of his abs as he floated a meter away from Wendy.
Fortunately, the boy was still wearing pants, or else, Wendy might have fainted due to embarra.s.sment. Seeing that her idol was out of harm’s way, Wendy decided to place a blanket where she sat and waited for William to wake up from his slumber.
An hour pa.s.sed, and soon, William finally opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was a slight ache on his left shoulder. When he turned his head to the side to see what was causing the discomfort, the first thing he saw was a patch of blonde hair.
He was still half-asleep, so it took him some time to realize what it was. Wendy laid beside him and her hands were clinging onto his arm. She was sleeping soundly and a smile hung on her sleeping face.
William’s body immediately stiffened when he saw this scene. All his drowsiness was swept away by dread as he hurriedly inspected his body.
‘My pants are still on,’ William thought as he looked at his body. He then looked at Wendy. ‘She still has her clothes on. Which means that nothing has happened.’
The red-headed boy patted his chest with his right hand in relief. The last thing he remembered was swimming on the lake and feeling comfortable and at peace. He also remembered that he felt drowsy while he was floating on the water.
The shepherd didn’t remember anything past that point, so he a.s.sumed that Wendy decided to bring him back to sh.o.r.e for his own safety.
‘I was careless,’ William thought as he looked at the defenseless lady by his side.
Wendy was only fifteen-years-old, and yet, her body was developing in the right places. If not for the fact that William had been around his beautiful Master, Celine, for four years, he might have already ogled the sleeping beauty beside him.
William sighed as he nagged at Wendy inside his heart. The girl was so trusting of other people that he worried about her safety. If it were other boys, instead of William, Wendy might have already suffered losses due to her carelessness.
‘I better remind her not to be so trusting of people, especially those of the opposite s.e.x,’ William thought as he shook his head helplessly. He then gently pried the soft hands that were holding his arm away, so that he could wear some appropriate clothes.
Wendy frowned, the moment she lost contact with William’s arm, but her eyes remained closed and her breathing steady.
Right at the moment when William finished putting on his clothes, Wendy started to stir.
The pretty blonde girl raised her head and looked around her in a daze. William smiled and crouched down to look her in the eye.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty.”
“Good morning, Sir William.”
Wendy yawned then raised her hands to do some light stretches. She was in the middle of stretching when she realized something important.
“H-Head Prefect!” Wendy stuttered as she hurried to stand up. Due to her actions, her legs gave way and it made her fall backwards.
Fortunately, William was a step faster and supported her body to keep it from falling.
“Sorry, my bad.” William apologized. “Did I scare you?”
“N-No. I was just surprised, Sir William,” Wendy replied as she placed a hand over her chest in an attempt to calm the heart that was beating wildly within her body.
“Can you stand?” William inquired.
“N-No,” Wendy answered. “My legs still feel weak and shaky.”
“It can’t be helped. Let’s sit down first.”
“Okay.”
When both of them were properly seated, William properly thanked Wendy for bringing him back to sh.o.r.e. He also admitted that he did something stupid and praised her for being quick-witted.
Wendy listened to Williams’ grat.i.tude and praise with a smile on her face. She had managed to calm down and decided to use this opportunity to get to know this mysterious Half-Elf who made her heart skip a beat.
“Sir William, can you tell me more about yourself?” Wendy asked. “Are you really a shepherd? What is the name of your hometown? Do you have brothers and sisters? Do you already have a lover?”
Wendy asked a barrage of questions. She even added the question that she was most curious about at the end.
William organized his thoughts, as he prepared his answers to Wendy’s inquiry. He had already noticed that Wendy was quite different from her Big Brother, Spencer.
Spencer was someone who was calm and collected, and most of his thoughts lay buried inside his chest. He would often show a face of calmness and only react when he was dealing with Drake or anything related to his twin sister.
Wendy, on the other hand, was a very straightforward person. She wore her emotions on her face and it was very easy to read what she was thinking. Even so, William didn’t dislike this kind of person. He looked at her bright blue eyes that were filled with antic.i.p.ation and a tinge of anxiety.
Instead of answering her question, William began to tell her about his hometown, Lont.
“I grew up in the town of Lont which is located at the farthest edge of the Western Part of the h.e.l.lan Kingdom,” William said with a smile. “The life there is crude which is very typical for those who live in the countryside. Even so, it is a place that is very dear in my heart.”
William paused as he looked at the aurora that was dancing on top of the lake.
“Throughout my childhood, I was always under the care of my Mama Ella, Aunt Anna, Uncle Mordred, Grandpa James, and Auntie Helen. My father is… well, it’s complicated, and my mother is in a far away place.”
William didn’t know why he was telling Wendy these things. It was as if he was venting and letting the feelings, that had been bottling inside his chest, rise up to the surface.
“When I was a year old, my Grandpa James wrote a letter to his friend and decided to play matchmaker,” William said in a helpless tone. “Surprisingly, his friend agreed to his proposal and betrothed his granddaughter, who is a year older, to me.”
Wendy felt a sudden ache in her chest as her hands unconsciously clenched into fists. William didn’t see this, because he didn’t need to see it. The young lady sitting beside him was a straightforward person who wore her feelings on her face.
William was a hopeless romantic in his past life. He didn’t take any chances, and had the courage to pursue his love until it was too late. Because of this, he was sensitive to the feelings of others to a certain extent when it came to love.
It was quite easy for him to notice that the young girl seemed to have developed a crush on him, but William was someone who had lived two lifetimes. He still hadn’t gotten over his first love, Belle, and the feelings of guilt towards his Master were preventing him from taking Wendy’s feelings for him seriously.