NTR SAGAS

Meanwhile, Lucas was feeling worried after hearing the news that Celia got in trouble with her family for speaking up against her fiance in public.

Her fiance was, of course, the senior disciple who bullied him, the young master of the Yu Family, Jiang Yu.

The Yu Family had strong military power, especially since Jiang's father Linaro was the Prime General of the kingdom and someone Lucas resented for capturing him and his mother.

They wanted to form an alliance with Celia's family, the Lan Family, due to their influence in the business of pills and weapons. If Linaro's military was to get privileged access to powerful pills and weapons, wouldn't he be able to further his status even more?

As for the Lan Family, they wanted to join hands with the Yu Family to gain some muscle that could protect their goods while expanding their business to other regions. It was always risky to do their business far from their homes, and most of the time, bandits might steal their goods.

That was why they felt that with the help of the Yu Family protecting their business, they could grow their business without any worries.

So how could they not resist using their daughter for a marriage of convenience? Her parents didn't care what she wanted or even if she disliked Jiang. She definitely had to marry him no matter what.

They even made Jiang her fiance without even asking her, and now talks of their marriage were going around.

This was making Lucas feel even more unsettled and angry, wondering whether he was having these feelings because Celia was his friend or something more.

Still, he was running around, looking to find her since he didn't see her in class this morning. He felt that she must not have come due to how upset she must be. He knew how much she hated Jiang and how she did not want to marry him.

He then thought of one place where she probably might be. A secluded place where the two usually spent time alone. It was actually one of the secret spots near the royal sect she had discovered in the past.

Lucas knew how important his class was, but he just couldn't leave Celia alone since she ended up in more trouble because of him.

If she hadn't protected him, maybe her family wouldn't have gone down so hard on her.

But he was grateful that she still saved him despite all these risks. So how could he not feel worried if she was alright or not?

He ran and ran despite having only healed from his injuries recently. He didn't care how tired he was getting as Celia's beautiful innocent smile kept flashing in his mind.

And soon enough, he reached a small garden where he saw a red bob-haired girl sitting on a bench and looking at the skies in a daze.

Her back was turned towards him as Lucas slowly walked towards her.

Lucas felt his chest ache when he saw Celia's face and eyes puffy, obvious signs that she was crying the entire time, even now.

"L-Lucas?? W-When did you get here??" Celia was startled as she suddenly noticed his presence and quickly looked away as she wiped away her tears, not wanting him to see such a poor side of her.

Lucas' chin trembled as he sat down beside her and bowed his head apologetically, "Celia…I am sorry…You ended up in trouble because of me…because of how weak I am…"

Lucas never hated himself more. He realized that the people he loved and cherished were getting into trouble because of him. First, it was Nadia, his mother, who could have run away on her own if not to protect him, and now his childhood friend, Celia, who could have ignored him but didn't so out of friendship.

He just couldn't understand why the heavens were punishing not only him but even the people closest to him. Were the heavens that unfair and cruel?

Celia's eyes began to tear up again upon hearing his words, and she immediately turned around as she made him sit straight, "Lucas, no…please don't apologize to me. You didn't do anything wrong. This is all my family and me. Even if I didn't help you that day, they were still planning to marry me off to him. So please…don't blame yourself…I would happily do the same thing again," Celia said with a longing smile as she looked at her childhood friend, who was the only one that cared about her.

Lucas felt even more guilty hearing her words, but at the same time, he felt a sense of warmth enveloping his heart.

And the moment her watery light green eyes were deeply gazing at him, Lucas felt a pulling force towards her. He felt like wanting to hold her and comfort her even more, but at the same time, his mother's face would flash in his head, stopping him from doing anything.

However, Celia felt as if her surroundings were slowing down in time as she stared into his glowing black eyes that seemed so pure, unlike the corrupted world around her.

Lucas was there for her every time she was feeling down, and his presence was the only thing that always gave her strength. How long more can she see him like this? Will this be one of the last few times she can see him?

All these thoughts unsettled her heart. She was unconsciously leaning forward towards his face, and before Lucas could react, her sweet pink lips pressed onto his lips as she closed her eyes.

"Mmh…" Lucas was shocked as his body completely froze, not knowing what to do since he didn't expect Celia to suddenly kiss him out of nowhere.

Still, the dewy fragrance of her body and the buttery taste of her sweet lips was making Lucas' heart beat faster as tingling sensations spread across his body.

Celia was simply pressing her lips against his without even moving them. This made Lucas realize that she didn't know how to kiss.

'This is wrong…I have Nadia…I can't…I should stop her…' Lucas felt guilty for developing these strange feelings towards Celia. He already loved his stepmother as a woman, so how could he have such thoughts towards another woman? He was about to stop her when he suddenly felt her tears brushing past his face.

This made his heart feel even heavier, and something came over him as he wrapped his arms around her slim voluptuous body before taking the lead to kissing her.