Javier Sinclair placed his hand on her head, holding it still. "With me here," he said, "I could pull you back even if you met your maker."

"That was a pretty lame joke."

Celeste Grant moved her head a little, then reached out, grabbed his hand, and draped his arm over her own shoulder.

She looked up at the sky.

Here in Bloodfiend City, the Array covering the sky made the moon appear blood-red whenever it was out. When there was no moon, the sky itself was just a crimson expanse.

"There’s no moon tonight... Just the blood-red sky. And the wind’s picking up. Looks like it’s going to rain."

Javier Sinclair glanced up and said nonchalantly, "It already is."

The moment he finished speaking, sparse raindrops began to fall.

"It really is raining."

Seeing the rain, Celeste Grant held out her hand, and an oil-paper umbrella painted with a landscape appeared in it. She tried to hold it over him, but he was so tall that she had to stretch her arm up just to stand beside him.

"What’s the point of being so tall? Here, you hold it," she said, handing him the umbrella.

Javier Sinclair took the umbrella and looked down at her. "Am I to blame for you being short?"

’He’s just speaking the plain truth! But man, that stings!’

Celeste Grant glared at him. "Hey, Archfiend, did you hear something shatter?"

Javier Sinclair raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled.

"What?"

Celeste Grant let out a sinister chuckle. "That was the sound of my heart breaking."

Hearing this, he held a hand over her head, measuring her height. "You are a bit on the short side, but don’t worry. There’s an old saying: you are what you eat. Another day, I’ll go catch a long-legged Demonic Beast, roast it for you, and you can eat your fill."

’You are what you eat?’ Celeste Grant placed her hand lightly against his chest. "Don’t get too cocky, The Exalted One. Pick me up."

Javier Sinclair said, "Alright."

He wrapped an arm around her waist, bent down slightly, and lifted her with a single arm.

Now, Celeste Grant was taller than him. "See? I’m taller than you now. What’s there to be so smug about?"

Javier Sinclair paused for a moment, the corners of his lips turning up slightly.

"That’s true."

He could hold her as high as he wanted.

"But..."

He looked at the oil-paper umbrella in his hand.

"Why bother with an umbrella? We can just use Magic."

Celeste Grant pointed to the umbrella and the falling rain. "This is for the atmosphere. Don’t you think this is romantic?"

Javier Sinclair replied, "It’s alright, I guess."

"Then what about this?"

As she spoke, Celeste Grant cupped his face and lowered her head to press a kiss on his lips.

The gentle breeze, the curtain of rain, and Celeste Grant kissing him.

Javier Sinclair froze, his hand tightening on the umbrella. In that moment, everything felt so quiet. There was only the sound of their hearts beating in unison and the crisp PITTER-PATTER of rain on the oil-paper umbrella.

Javier Sinclair let go of the umbrella. It floated above their heads, mystical patterns of Magic swirling over its surface.

He wrapped his arms around Celeste Grant’s waist, and the two kissed in the rain...

When the kiss finally ended, he gave her neck a gentle bite.

Celeste Grant grabbed his neck. "Gently... or I might just murder my dear husband."

He held her, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"Celeste."

His voice was deep when he spoke.

’My name sounded so good coming from the Archfiend’s lips.’ At this thought, Celeste Grant looked at him and said, "It sounds nice when you call me that."

Lifting his head from her shoulder, Javier Sinclair stared at her and said in a low voice, "Then I’ll call you that from now on." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Celeste Grant twirled a lock of his hair around her finger. "Then what should I call you?"

Javier Sinclair said, "Call me ’husband.’"

Celeste Grant smiled faintly.

"Alright, husband."

’At that moment, a woman named Celeste Grant became rooted in his heart. She was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.’

’When did she become so special to him? It didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was that she was by his side.’

He placed a kiss on her forehead.

Then he looked at her and said,

"I like you."

Celeste Grant froze for a second.

Then she blushed a little.

’Whoa, whoa, whoa, the Archfiend is confessing to me! He’s confessing!’

Celeste Grant didn’t speak, just looked at him quietly. Seeing her lack of reaction, Javier Sinclair’s heart skipped a beat. ’Could it be that she doesn’t like me?’

He raised an eyebrow, staring into her eyes as his voice grew louder. "I said I like you. *I* like you. Did you hear me?"

’What does her silence mean?’

Seeing him get flustered, Celeste Grant laughed.

She stroked his face.

"I know. I like you too, Javier Sinclair."

Her words reached him, clear as day.

Celeste Grant looked at him and said, "I was just a little overwhelmed by your confession. It’s a rare sight, The Exalted One. For someone as proud as you to actually confess to me... Hehe, say it again so I can hear it."

Javier Sinclair put her down.

"I’ve already said it."

"Oh, come on. Just one more time. Say it a few more times, I love hearing it."

"Don’t push your luck. Impossible."

Javier Sinclair turned his back to her, blushing. In a flash, he teleported to a nearby corridor and waved his hand dismissively in a gesture of refusal.

"Hey, hey, don’t go!"

Recalling the umbrella, Celeste Grant flashed after him and grabbed his hand. "Don’t be shy, The Exalted One! Don’t be embarrassed! You have to tell me, ’Kissy kissy, I love you, I like you, you are my heart and my soul, my everything. I think of you when I open my eyes, I think of you when I close my eyes, you’re all I can see... How could I ever live without you?’"

Javier Sinclair: "..."

"Do I look like the kind of person who would say such things?"

"Hehe," she said with a smug little smile. "If it happened once, it can happen again. You used to say you weren’t interested in me, but didn’t that just come back to bite you?"

Javier Sinclair: "You..."

Javier Sinclair stopped, turned around, bent down, and hoisted her over his shoulder.

He gave her butt a smack.

"That’s enough out of you."

"Hey, hey! Put me down! No, wait... Javier Sinclair, you’re getting arrogant! Complacent! How dare you spank me..."

From a distance, some passersby saw this scene and gathered together, whispering amongst themselves.

"The Exalted One and his wife get along so well."

"Before, if you saw The Exalted One smile, it meant someone was about to die. Now when he smiles... he’s really just smiling."

On the corridor, Celeste Grant’s expression suddenly changed as she remembered something. "Wait, wait! Something terrible is happening!" she called out.

Javier Sinclair put her down, a puzzled look on his face. "What’s wrong?"

"Come on, follow me."

"Right now? It’s the middle of the night."

"We have to go now. I’m afraid it’ll be too late if we’re delayed."

Javier Sinclair placed his hand on her head. "Why don’t you tell me what we’re doing first?"

Celeste Grant said, "It’s like this. A couple of days ago, I had a really bad dream. You know that when I dream about bad things, they usually happen within a day or two. I saw countless people being sacrificed by Evil Cultivators. There were mountains of bones, and they were all crying out to me for help."

’I’ve been so busy trying to make money lately, I almost forgot about it.’

’The plot has reached another crucial point.’

’Even though the plot has gone completely off the rails, some of the original events from the book are bound to happen. That’s why I have to nip this in the bud.’