"Lord Orion… may I ask you something?"
There was an unusual hesitation in her voice, a fragility he wasn't used to hearing from her.
Orion met her gaze, sharp and unyielding. "Go ahead."
Laura exhaled softly, her fingers absently brushing a flower's petals.
"First… we're friends, aren't we?"
His brow furrowed slightly. "it's look like?"
She let out a soft breath and looked up at him, her golden eyes filled with something uncertain. "Then… can you just call me Laura?"
Orion frowned slightly, there was something off about the way she was speaking.
"And…" she hesitated again; her voice softer. "Can I call you just… Orion?"
Her posture changed. For the first time since meeting her, Orion saw something fragile in her—an image that didn't fit with the confident, bold owner of the Iron Fang Armory. This… vulnerability.
Something about it put him on edge.
A strange feeling crept up his spine, as if something bad was about to happen.
But after a moment of thought, he dismissed it. It was just a name. A trivial thing.
"Alright."
The moment he said it, Laura's face lit up. A genuine, beaming smile spread across her lips, and for a fleeting second, she looked… truly happy.
But Orion sighed. "Now tell me the real reason you came."
Laura's smile faded slightly. She hesitated.
Then, finally, she spoke.
"Actually… I don't really know why? But I do want to tell you something. Will you listen?"
Orion's expression hardened slightly, but he gave a short nod. "Go on."
She took a deep breath.
"My mother died giving birth to me. My father passed away six months ago. The Iron Fang Armory was all I had left by father as his legacy, but my relatives tried to steal it from me."
A shadow passed over her golden eyes. "I had to fight for it. Hard. But as a woman, owning and running something like the Iron Fang Armory was never going to be easy."
Orion remained silent, listening.
"So, I adapted. I learned how to negotiate, how to impress customers, how to charm my way through deals. But in the process… many nobles began seeing me as nothing more than something to be possessed."
Disgust flickered across her face. "A piece of meat for them to devour.".
"But Iron Fang Armory isn't small. I gained enough power to chase them away. But I accept my fate like this." She paused, then looked at him directly.
Her expression shifted—disgust turned to something warm. "And then you appeared."
Orion's eyes darkened slightly. "And?"
Laura smiled wryly. "When I first saw you, I thought you were just like the rest. A typical noble—handsome, but ugly character."
Orion's lips curled slightly. "And now?"
Her golden eyes flickered with something unreadable.
"Now… I've never met a man as handsome as you."
She paused, then added softly. "But what charmed me most was your character. You're different."
Orion's muscles tensed. A familiar, unpleasant feeling crept into his chest.
"I tried to charm you, to tempt you," Laura continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "But you never wavered. Your blue eyes always carried that edge, as if you knew exactly what I was doing. As if you saw through everything."
Her gaze softened. "And somehow, that made me feel… safe."
Orion's heart clenched. A bad feeling. This was bad.
"You remind me of my father," she admitted. "You know, Orion… when a woman chooses a husband, she often looks for a man who reminds her—just a little—of her father – warmth's."
Orion's expression remained unreadable; But his body tensed.
The soft glow of sun reflected in Laura's golden eyes as she stood before Orion, her fingers gripping the hem of her dress—a rare show of vulnerability.
Her lips parted; her voice uncharacteristically nervous, uncertain, fragile.
"I don't know why…"
Her voice trembled. Orion's sharp blue eyes remained on her, unreadable.
"I… I don't know why. I don't know how. I just… I fell for you."
Her hand unconsciously pressed against her chest.
"But I know one thing—I want to be with you. I want to stand beside you, to be close to you… forever. I want to marry you, Orion."
The words hung in the air, fragile and unguarded.
Orion didn't react. Not a flicker of emotion frozen—stone-cold. But inside, his world cracked. His heart trembled violently.
Shia.
Her face flashed before his eyes—the way she once smiled at him, the way her lips once whispered his name. Then… the cold steel of her sword piercing his chest.
Pain. Betrayal. Death.
His heart clenched. His body felt like ice.
And then, his lips moved, his voice barely above a barely audible—
"Love…Is just a fragile emotion."
Laura's breath fastened when she saw how he not give any reaction on her proposal.
She then, saw something in his blue eyes— a pain, longing and other emotion which she doesn't understood why this emotion is in his eyes.
"Orion?" she whispered.
Nothing.
"Orion!"
His head snapped up, pulled from the abyss of his past. Laura stood in front of him, nervous yet hopeful, waiting.
Waiting for an answer.
But what she received—was a blade sharper than any sword.
His voice was cold, carrying an edge of anger, longing, and something bitter.
"Forget this, Laura."
His words struck like a hammer.
"I will never marry you. Not you. Not anyone."
Silence.
The air grew heavier.
Laura froze. Her golden eyes widened by his rejection her mind doesn't process what he said, but a single tear slipped from the corner of her eye. But she lowered her head, refusing to let him see it.
Why…?
Why is this happening?
Am I… not beautiful enough?
She bit her lip hard. Her hands clenched tightly around the fabric of her dress.
She had always believed in her beauty. If she ever chose to marry and announced it publicly, men would line up for miles.
And yet—he rejected her.
So easily.
So cruelly.
The first time in her life… someone had turned her away.
Orion saw her shoulders tremble and instantly regretted the harshness in his tone.
He had raised his voice.
He had let his pain from the past lash out at someone who didn't deserve it.
He believed in strength. But never in hurting others from his own wounds.
His voice softened, no longer harsh, but firm. "Laura, look at me."
But she didn't.
He exhaled. This time, gentler tone— "You're beautiful. You're smart. You're perfect."
A pause.
"But I don't have feelings for you. I don't love you. So, forget this… find someone else who is worthy of your love."
Laura lifted her head, golden eyes shimmering—not just with unshed tears, but something deeper.
She wiped the tear away with the back of her hand, her expression unreadable. Then, after a long silence, she asked—
"Why?"
Orion frowned. "Why?"
Her voice was quiet, yet firm.
"Why don't you want to love?"
A simple question.
But there was no simple answer.
Orion's expression hardened—guarded, unreadable.
His past was something he never spoke of. The pain. The betrayal. The lesson carved into his very soul.
Laura studied him carefully. "you said I should find someone worthy of my love… but you know if you aren't worthy for my love, then in all Eldora is not worthy for my love.
He opened his mouth—to argue, to end this conversation.
But before he could, Laura took a step closer. Her golden eyes burned with determination.
"Orion you know, what I want. I've always had way to get that thing."
Her voice was steady now, confident, fearless.
"This time, my heart wants you."
His breath hitched.
"Your affection," she continued, stepping even closer. "So, I will learn how to get your affection."
Orion exhaled sharply. "Laura—"
But she said, "which walls you create around your heart they won't stop me."
His gaze sharpened. She was serious.
A strange feeling stirred in his chest between Annoyance and Amusement.
"You're stubborn," he murmured.
Laura's lips curved into a small smile—one filled with both amusement and certainty.
"I was born stubborn."
His jaw clenched. "I will never fall for you."
She took another step forward, golden eyes filled with quiet defiance.
"Then let's make a bet."
Orion's brows furrowed slightly. "A bet?"
Laura nodded; her expression unwavering.
"If you fall for me within three months, you must fulfil my wish."
Orion's gaze darkened. "And if I don't?"
She smiled.
"Then I'll never bother you again."
The challenge hung in the air between them, heavy and unyielding.
Orion's mind raced.
Three months? Impossible.
Besides, in less than three weeks, he would leave for the Magic Academy. After that, they would have little to no contact.
She wouldn't win this bet.
His blue eyes locked onto hers.
"Fine."
A victorious glint sparkled in Laura's golden gaze.
She tilted her head, voice carrying a quiet confidence.
"Then just wait and watch, Orion Vale."
The orange hues of the setting sun framed her in an ethereal glow. For the first time, she looked like something he couldn't quite ignore.
But as the wind carried the soft scent of flowers between them, Orion pushed away the strange feeling lingering in his chest.
This was just a game.
And he wouldn't lose.
Just then, a voice called from the distance.
"Lord Orion, Lady Laura, dinner is ready."
Orion turned toward the sound and saw a maid stand few meters away from them. then realizing the sky had start darkened.
Evening had settled in, painting the horizon with strokes of burnt orange and fading lavender.
They had spent far more time talking than he'd realized.
Neither of them said a word as they began walking back to the mansion, side by side.
The garden's magic lingered behind them, but the silence between them was no longer awkward—it was heavy, charged with unsaid thoughts and tangled emotions.
Laura walked with a soft smile, her fingers brushing against the petals as they passed, while Orion kept his gaze ahead, deep in thought.
She had laid her heart bare.
And he had crushed it… yet somehow, she still smiled.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
The fading light wrapped around her like a halo, golden eyes glowing faintly, strands of her dark hair dancing with the breeze.
A beautiful illusion.
But illusions were dangerous.
He wouldn't fall for one again.