CHAPTER 158: TIME OFF 5

Sophie bounced on her heels at the base of the mountain, practically vibrating with energy.

"Come on, come on! We’re burning daylight!"

Aegis adjusted the pack on her shoulders, grinning.

"We have literally all day."

"Yeah, but the view is best in the morning!"

Lune walked up behind them, her own smaller pack slung over one shoulder. She looked at the mountain path, steep, rocky, winding up through trees, and her expression didn’t change, but Aegis caught the slight hesitation.

"You don’t have to come if you don’t want to," Aegis offered.

"I want to," Lune said immediately.

Sophie grabbed both their hands.

"Great! Let’s go!"

She dragged them toward the trail.

Aegis let herself be pulled along, her heart already racing with anticipation.

[Hiking. Actual hiking. I used to dream about doing this!]

The memory of her previous life, where she wasn’t able to, threatened to dampen her mood, but she shoved it aside.

[Not today. Today I’m climbing a mountain with my chaotic sister and my emotionally constipated roommate. Today is a good day.]

The trail started off easy. Packed dirt, gentle incline, surrounded by trees that provided shade from the morning sun. Sophie led the way, chattering about the last time she’d climbed this mountain. Something about racing a local kid and winning by a full five minutes.

Aegis listened, soaking in the fresh air and the sound of birds and the feeling of her legs working, muscles burning in that satisfying way that meant she was actually doing something.

Lune stayed quiet, but Aegis noticed her glancing around, taking in details. The way light filtered through leaves, the texture of bark, the color of wildflowers growing along the path.

[Probably storing it all for future paintings.]

The trail grew steeper.

Sophie didn’t slow down. If anything, she sped up, practically skipping over rocks and roots.

Aegis kept pace easily. Her Power stat might not be as high as Scarlett’s, but weeks of combat training and monster hunting had done wonders for her endurance.

Lune, however, was starting to lag.

"You good?" Aegis called back.

"I’m fine."

But her breathing was heavier. Her steps less sure.

They rounded a bend where the trail narrowed, hugging the mountainside.

Lune’s foot caught on a root.

She stumbled.

Aegis lunged forward, catching her by the waist before she could fall.

"Whoa. I got you."

Lune’s hands gripped Aegis’s arms, steadying herself. Their faces were inches apart.

Lune’s pink eyes met hers.

For a second, neither of them moved.

Then Lune’s gaze dropped, just for a moment, to Aegis’s lips.

[Wait.]

Lune pulled back, stepping away carefully.

"Thank you."

"Uh. Y-Yeah. No problem."

They stood there awkwardly for a beat.

Sophie appeared above them on the trail, hands on her hips.

"You two coming or what?"

Aegis blinked and started climbing again.

[First she hugs me back at the academy. Now she’s looking at my lips. Lune’s acting a little bit... well, gay, lately.]

She filed that thought away for later analysis.

They kept climbing.

The trees thinned as they gained elevation, the air growing cooler and cleaner. The path switched back and forth across the mountainside, each turn revealing more of the valley below.

Aegis’s thighs burned. Her lungs worked hard. Sweat dripped down her back.

It was perfect.

Sophie reached the summit first, throwing her arms up in victory.

"WE MADE IT!"

Aegis crested the peak a minute later, breathing hard but grinning.

The view was incredible.

The entire valley spread out below them. Fields of green and gold, the farm a tiny speck in the distance, the village barely visible. The sky was cloudless, blue stretching forever.

Lune arrived last, breathing heavily. She immediately pulled out her sketchbook.

"Give me a minute," she said, already drawing.

Sophie flopped onto a flat rock, stretching out like a cat in the sun.

"This is the best. No nobles, no politics, just vibes."

Aegis sat beside her, pulling out the food their mom had packed. Bread, cheese, dried meat, apples.

They ate while Lune sketched, the three of them quiet for once, just existing in the moment.

After a while, Sophie rolled onto her side, propping her head on her hand. She watched Lune work with obvious interest.

"Hey, Lune."

Lune didn’t look up.

"Yes?"

"Kiss me."

Lune’s pencil stopped mid-stroke.

Aegis choked on her apple.

"What?" Lune said.

"Come on. Kiss me. Right here. On top of a mountain. It’ll be romantic."

Lune’s ears turned red.

"That’s... We’re in public."

Sophie gestured around.

"There’s literally no one here."

"Aegis is here."

"She’s right, I am here."

"Aegis has seen us make out before."

"That was different."

"How?"

Lune opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again.

"It just was."

Sophie sat up, scooting closer.

"Come on. Just a little kiss. For science."

"That’s not how science works."

"Sure it is. I’m testing a hypothesis: that kissing on a mountaintop is objectively superior to kissing anywhere else."

Aegis watched this exchange, thoroughly entertained.

Lune looked genuinely flustered, or as flustered as someone with her emotional range could look. Her fingers tapped against her sketchbook, her eyes darting between Sophie and the view like she was trying to calculate an escape route.

"One kiss," Sophie said. "That’s all I’m asking."

"... Fine."

Sophie lit up.

She leaned in, cupping Lune’s face, and kissed her.

It was soft. Sweet. Completely at odds with the chaos that was Sophie Starcaller.

When they pulled apart, Lune’s face was definitely pinker than before.

"Well?" Sophie asked. "Verdict?"

"It was... adequate."

"Adequate? That’s the best you can do?"

"It was pleasant."

"Still not great."

Lune’s lips twitched.

"It was nice."

"There we go."

Sophie kissed her again, quick and playful, then pulled away before Lune could overthink it.

Aegis grinned, taking another bite of her apple.

"You two are ridiculous."

"You’re just jealous," Sophie said.

"Of what? Your terrible flirting?"

"My successful flirting, thank you very much. I," she grinned, "got Lune’s first kiss, after all~"

[She does have a point. Somehow, someway, Sophie was the first one to crack Lune’s icy shell.]

They bickered good-naturedly while Lune went back to sketching, her expression still slightly dazed.

Aegis lay back on the rock, hands behind her head, staring up at the sky.

[This is nice. Genuinely nice.]

No assassins. No schemes. No political maneuvering.

Just her, her sister, and Lune on top of a mountain.

For a moment, she let herself just... be.

The sun was setting by the time they made it back to the farm.

Aegis’s legs were sore, her clothes dusty, but she felt good. Accomplished.

Inside, Lisannia had dinner waiting—a massive spread of everything Aegis and Sophie had grown up eating.

They ate until they couldn’t move, laughing and talking, Lune contributing more to the conversation than she had the entire trip.

After dinner, they packed.

Aegis folded her clothes methodically while Sophie threw hers into her bag with no regard for organization.

Lisannia stood in the doorway, watching them with misty eyes.

"You’ll write, won’t you?"

"Of course, mom," Aegis said.

"And visit again soon?"

"When we can."

Lisannia pulled them both into a crushing hug.

"I’m so proud of you girls. Both of you."

Sophie sniffled.

"We’re just going back to school, not dying."

"I know. But a mother worries."

Aaron appeared behind her, pulling them into a group hug that nearly lifted Aegis off her feet.

"Take care of each other," he said gruffly. "And Aegis? Keep making us proud."

"I will."

They said their goodbyes, promises to write and visit, reminders to eat properly and not get into too much trouble.

Finally, they climbed into the carriage.

Aegis sat by the window. Sophie immediately claimed her lap. Lune sat across from them, already pulling out her sketchbook.

The carriage rolled forward.

Aegis watched the farm disappear behind them, her parents waving until they were out of sight.

Sophie nestled against her, head on Aegis’s shoulder. Within minutes, her breathing evened out into sleep.

Lune kept sketching for a while, but eventually her eyes drooped. Her head tilted, resting against the side of the carriage.

Then, slowly, she shifted, leaning until her head rested on Aegis’s other shoulder.

Aegis froze for a second.

[Okay. Both of them are using me as a pillow now. This is fine. This is normal.]

She settled back, careful not to wake either of them.

The carriage rumbled down the road.

Aegis stared out the window, watching the countryside pass.

Truth be told?

She was ready to get back to Rosevale.

The farm had been nice. Peaceful. A good break.

But Aegis wasn’t built for peaceful.

She needed the politics. The schemes. The constant motion of building her House, climbing the social ladder, outsmarting nobles who thought she didn’t belong.

She needed goals and plans and problems to solve.

[I’ve had enough of the "cozy" life for one lifetime.]

The hospital had been cozy. Safe. Quiet.

And it had nearly killed her—not physically (she actually had died in that sense, of course), but mentally, the slow suffocation of watching days pass with nothing to do, nowhere to go, no purpose.

She wouldn’t go back to that.

Not ever.

Sophie mumbled something in her sleep, drooling slightly on Aegis’s shoulder.

Lune shifted, her hand falling to rest on Aegis’s arm.

Aegis smiled despite herself.

[Alright. Back to Rosevale. Back to work. Back to turning House Starcaller into something that’ll make Duchess Stone shit herself when she realizes I’m going to marry her daughter.]

The carriage rolled on through the night, carrying them back toward chaos, schemes, and everything Aegis had been missing.

She couldn’t wait.