Stelle recovered herself and stared at Max with anger in her eyes, making him confused.
"You don’t like compliments? Sure, I’ll call you ugly from next time," Max said, scratching his cheeks.
"You are too smooth with your words. Tell me honestly," she closed in on him and asked in a dangerous voice. "How many girls have you scammed with your sweet words? Were you planning to do the same with my sis?"
"Hey! What do you mean scammed?" Max seemed hurt by her words as he asked back.
Only then did they realize they were in the middle of a Market, and people were giving them odd looks.
Even though both of them had thick skin, it still made them embarrassed, so Max grabbed her hand and ran off while laughing loudly.
Even Stelle couldn’t keep her angry mood and began to laugh as they raced through the crowd of people.
They only stopped when they found a side alley where they hid and rested their backs on the wall.
"I like this," Stelle said after a while, voice quieter. "Being... normal. With you."
Max looked at her through the dim lights, the mask hiding his smile but not the warmth in his eyes.
"No elders. No guards. No rules. Just us. It is fun, Dummy!"
Max stepped forward, looked down at her, and said, "We can do this whenever you want."
"Are you sure? I’m quite handy and will annoy you a lot," Stelle asked, looking in his eyes.
For once, she didn’t have any thoughts about causing mischief or irritating others. She just wanted this moment to last for eternity.
While she felt sad that she couldn’t enjoy her first Birthday celebration with her sister, she had to acknowledge that she had enjoyed this short time with Max and had almost forgotten about everything else.
She wanted it to last longer, yet she was quite afraid to open up to Max.
Max just smiled at her questions and extended his hand, "Why don’t you ask me this question once our date is finished?"
"It’s not a date!" Stelle said, but there was no rejection in her voice.
"Haha! Sorry, sorry, I thought of buying a bouquet for you, but you don’t seem like a person who would enjoy flowers," Max said, as they walked out of the alley.
"I don’t! They’re too fragile, and most of them get destroyed too easily unless they have someone else’s protection," Stelle snorted and said.
She looked down and added, "The only type of flower I like is a lotus because it can grow in the worst conditions and thrives in a shit climate. Even after all of this, it remains so beautiful and resilient!"
Max sighed lightly, knowing very well that she was talking about Charlotte, who was so gentle yet had survived through the harsh atmosphere of the Sinclair Clan.
"There is a flower that I call the flower of the brave," Max said. "Edelweiss! They grow in rocky, dangerous cliffs, but they still bloom to become one of the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen. There are many flowers like them, all special in their own way."
"Edelweiss," Stelle muttered, feeling a strange heaviness in her heart.
"Anyways, let’s go check that play," Max said, as he dragged her inside the Moonlight Mirage Theatre.
It was an open-roof amphitheater where illusions and magic weave live stories into the night sky.
The audience sat on plush enchanted seats that adjusted to their comfort. The play itself was a classic fantasy romance about a knight who falls for a witch cursed to forget him with each sunrise.
Max had already booked tickets beforehand, so he was easily granted entry.
The lights dimmed, and the stage filled with soft glowing mist. Magic shimmered as the illusion took form—actors made of light and spell-threads dancing across the stage.
The first notes of music floated into the air like drifting petals.
Stelle leaned back in her seat, arms crossed over her chest, clearly trying to act unimpressed.
"This isn’t your kind of thing, is it?" Max asked softly, just loud enough to be heard over the rising melody.
She hesitated, "Not really... but it’s quiet. Kinda nice."
"I’ll take that as a compliment." He chuckled.
As the knight on stage confessed his love beneath a starlit sky, the mist above them shimmered—projecting stardust-like lights across the audience. It looked as if they were sitting in the middle of a galaxy.
Max looked at Stelle.
The soft blue light framed her features, the shadows of her mask unable to hide the way her eyes softened as she watched the story unfold.
Though, she caught him staring.
"What?"
"Nothing," he said, quickly looking back to the stage. "Just... figured you’d say something sarcastic by now."
"I was thinking," she replied quietly, voice slower than usual. "If I were cursed to forget everything... I think I’d still remember the way you annoy me."
"Wow! That’s the most romantic insult I’ve ever received," He smirked.
Stelle nudged his hand with hers—just lightly, her pinky brushing his.
And she didn’t move it away.
For the rest of the play, neither of them said a word. But the space between them had shrunk, their fingers crossed like it was the most natural thing in the world.
After the play, Stelle remained silent while trying to hide her face more by shifting her mask. But Max noticed it, because he was observing her since the start.
"I didn’t expect you to get emotional on romantic scenes," Max said, as they walked out of the theater hand in hand.
"Shut up!" Stelle whispered under her breath and refused to say anything more. Still, her hold on his hand tightened, and she moved closer.
Max chuckled softly, took his hand out of hers, and wrapped it around her shoulders, bringing her even closer to him.
He lightly kissed her head and said, "This isn’t a dream, and you won’t forget it in the next morning. I will always be there for you if you want more of these nights."
"Who said anything about forgetting it? And only weak people get emotional on fiction!" Stelle snorted and punched his chest lightly.
Still, she didn’t do anything to get away from him.
’Ah! This is so good!’ Max thought.
At first, he just genuinely loved these characters he had written, but the more he interacted with them, the more he realized they were people, just like him.
Of course, that made him love them even more. He was enjoying every second with Stelle and didn’t even want to consider the situation where she wouldn’t be with him.
’Man! This is so cringy!’
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