Aron stared at the innocent girl in front of him and suddenly wanted to let her remain in that bubble of hers. If she didn’t want to doubt the master, then so be it.
There was no need to shatter her illusions just yet. He had promised himself that he would protect her, and if that meant letting her remain ignorant for some time longer, then that was acceptable to him. He could bear that much for her.
"Okay, okay. Let’s not discuss this now," he said quietly. Then, after a brief pause, he added, "Has Master spoken to you regarding the future?"
Mira paused at that and nodded slowly, even as her gaze dropped to her hands and her fingers curled together. "Yes. He has."
"And are you agreeable to the arrangement?" Aron asked in a measured voice, his eyes fixed on her face.
This time, Mira did not answer at once. Instead, she remained silent, her eyes lowered. The silence stretched just long enough to make him uneasy.
He turned to her sharply then. "Are you not agreeable?" he asked directly and Mira shook her head in a small, uncertain movement as she admitted, "I... don’t know."
Aron let out a slow sigh. He moved closer to her then and turned her gently toward him as he placed his hands on her shoulders, "Do you trust me?" he asked quietly.
"More than myself," Mira answered at once, without hesitation.
He smiled at her then, and Mira smiled back. Because it was the truth. She knew all the things the outside world said about Aron. She knew how others feared him, how they whispered his name in the dark. But to her, he had always been the most trustworthy person in the world, the one constant she had never had reason to doubt.
Looking at her smiling face, he finally opened his palm and said, "Here. This is your gift."
Even as he revealed the ring, he did not give her time to truly observe it. Instead, he reached for her left hand and slipped the ring onto her finger with a smooth, deliberate motion, as if afraid that any hesitation might undo his resolve.
Mira looked down at the ring on her finger and gave him an even brighter smile, one she hoped would hide the slight confusion and an unknown panic stirring in her heart.
She hugged her hand close to herself, her gaze drawn to the black onyx stone set into the ring. At the sight of it, something in her seemed to settle. She brought her hand closer to her chest and slowly caressed the stone with her thumb. "Is this really your promise to me?" she asked softly.
Aron nodded. "Mira... you are one of the most important people to me."
He knew he did not need to say anything more. She would understand him in her own way, just as she always had.
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, as if sealing their promise. Then he stepped back and turned his face away, the faint smile he had been wearing slowly fading from his expression as something heavier settled in its place. After a brief pause, he said quietly, "I’ll go and talk to Master."
Mira nodded at his words, even though he could not see her face. She stood there for a moment, fingers curled around the ring on her hand, watching his retreating back. Just as he was about to walk away, she called out softly, "Aron."
He stopped at once and turned around, looking at her with a questioning gaze, his brows drawing together slightly.
"What about Shiqi?" Mira asked, her voice hesitant. "Don’t we need to explain anything to her?"
Aron frowned at that. "Explain?" he repeated, as if the idea itself made little sense to him. "What is there to explain, Mira? This matter has nothing to do with her."
Mira scowled, her brows knitting together in frustration. "But you-"
Aron let out a slow sigh, cutting her off gently but firmly. "Mira," he said, his tone steady, "this is about our future. Yours and mine."
He paused for a moment, as if weighing his words, then continued, "And in our future, Shiqi has no place. So I don’t see why I need to inform her of anything." His gaze hardened slightly. "But if you insist on telling her, then that is your choice. I have nothing to say."
With that, he did not wait for her reply. He turned away once more and walked off without looking back, leaving Mira standing where she was, her thoughts far away.
***
Shiqi stepped back into the shadows as she watched Aron walk away. Her legs gave way beneath her, and she almost sank to the floor, barely managing to steady herself against the tree... Her heart was pounding so hard that it hurt.
After hearing all those horrible things about Aron, she had rushed here, desperate to speak to him, desperate to clarify everything with him herself. She had told herself that there had to be some misunderstanding, that she would hear the truth from his own lips. Never had she imagined that she would stumble upon a scene like this.
A scene where he was proposing marriage to someone else. To Mira.
Her hands clenched tightly at her sides, her nails digging into her palms. Just that morning, she had gathered all her courage and confessed her feelings to him. She had stood before him, trembling yet hopeful, believing rather foolishly that he might finally accept her love.
Instead, he had rejected her coldly. He had looked at her as if she knew nothing at all, as if she were a naive child. He had spoken of the truth of who he was, almost mocking her for not understanding it.
And yet, for Mira, he had prepared a ring. For Mira, he had made a promise. While for her, he only had cold indifference.
Shiqi’s vision blurred as tears welled up in her eyes. She lifted a hand and wiped them away roughly, anger quickly overtaking the hurt. Her chest felt tight, her thoughts spiraling as the scene replayed itself over and over in her mind. She was unwilling to accept this!