Magic's Return: I Can See The Spirits
chapter-121

"You… love me?"

Elara brought her red face dangerously close to Vaan, so close that even Vaan raised his eyebrow in surprise, after all, this was the first time Elara had made the move, not that she was in any condition to think straight. Heck, it would be a surprise if she even realized what she was doing.

If she somehow looks at the current scene when she is sober, she would probably blush deeply and run out of the room. It was so strange that even little Flamey and Splashy were flying around and looking at Elara's drunk face with curious looks on their faces.

Of course, Elara had no clue about it, even if she could see Flamey and Splashy, she was in no condition to care about them,

For now, she just looked at Vaan's face, his words echoing inside her mind,

"Young Master Vaan loves me…?"

She questioned as she cutely tilted her head.

"Is it that surprising? I thought I was being quite open about it." Vaan replied.

Then, he pulled Elara even close to him, her nose touching his, and,

"Why do you think I have been calling you my fiancé? That's because I want you to know that you are stuck with me and that soon, the fiancé is going to be replaced by the word wife.

I do all this because I have fallen in love with you, Elara Flameheart."

"You love me…?"

"How many times do I have to say it?"

"But what if you are lying…?" Elara questioned.

"…" This time, Vaan turned silent.

"And what about that bad woman?"

"Bad woman?" Vaan frowned.

"That Seraphina. Isn't she the one you actually love? She is the one who you favor. She is the reason everything started. Young Master started pushing me away after meeting her. You even took money from me to then spend it on her." Elara then narrowed her eyes and,

"The relations between the two of you have soured, is that the reason why you are coming to me? Are you trying to use me to get her?"

She spoke.

Elara couldn't be blamed either, ever since Seraphina came into his life, the previous Vaan never approached Elara without having selfish intentions. Every time Elara smiles brightly wondering why Vaan was here, she would only be disappointed when she finds out why.

This went on for such a long time that Elara was now scared of smiling.

She felt like the moment she smiled and was genuinely happing about something, real intentions would be revealed and her happiness would turn into sadness.

Even now, as Elara spent these blissful days with Vaan, inwardly, she trembled in fear, she was smiling too much, therefore, she felt like something much worse was going to happen to her.

Something she might never recover from.

The normal Elara wouldn't address this matter, however, the drunk Elara was different. She created some distance between the two of them,

Then, she looked into Vaan's eyes, and,

"Young Master Vaan, if you are trying to use me to make Seraphina jealous and eventually win her over, you can be honest with me, I promise to follow through with your plans and…

And it would hurt less that way…"

Elara spoke, her eyes glistened.

"…"

Vaan's expression changed.

This was not what he had in his mind when he planned to get Elara drunk, however, he was glad this was happening. He was glad that Elara was finally opening up to him. Her worries, her insecurities, he was glad that she was sharing everything with him.

And now, it was his turn to step up and assure her. He needed to make his stance clear.

"Do you hate Seraphina?"

He questioned.

Surprised by the sudden question, Elara didn't know how to react, On one hand, she wanted to say yes almost instantaneously, but on the other hand, knowing that Young Master Vaan liked Seraphina, she didn't wish to offend him by doing that.

Yes, even when she was in a drunk state where she could barely think straight, Elara was still thinking about Vaan. That was how much of a fool she was.

"I…" This was the first time where the drunk Elara had no answer.

But then,

"I hate her."

Vaan spoke.

"Huh?" Elara looked at Vaan with a confused look on her face and then,

"I was a fool and Seraphina successfully fooled me.

I hate Seraphina for understanding how much of a fool I was and using that to her advantage. I hate how she manipulated my actions, I hate how she used me to get Magic resources for her family, I hate how she pushed me away from Elara, however, more than her,

I hate myself.

I hate my previous self.

I hate that foolish bastard who went after stones even though the diamond was right next to him.

And truthfully,

I am glad that the previous Vaan is dead."

Vaan spoke, then, he gently held Elara's hand and,

"The new Vaan is different, Elara.

I am not playing any games here,

Seraphina doesn't matter anymore,

Everything revolved around you and me now,

I genuinely love you with all my heart, Elara and I want you to stay together with me for the rest of my life."

"…"

Elara turned silent, her face turning even redder than it already was. Then suddenly, Elara freed her hands from Vaan's grip, Vaan frowned, but then, Elara quickly grabbed the bottle of alcohol, poured it into her glass, and,

*Gulp*

She gulped it down in one go.

Vaan blinked a few times.

Elara, on the other hand, stared at Vaan for a second, then, she filled her glass again and,

*Gulp*

She emptied another glass.

Then another, then another, and within a matter of minutes, the entire bottle was emptied.

"You should slow dow-"

"D-Don't say those things out loud!"

Suddenly, Elara shouted.

The strong scent of alcohol coming out of her mouth felt strange, especially considering that this was the mouth of the same woman who would barely speak her mind and was too innocent to even curse properly.

"W-What?" Vaan was clearly taken aback.

"Embarrassing things like that! Saying you l-love me out loud, w-what if someone hears you?" Elara questioned.

"So what?"

"Y-You don't understand! Just don't say those things in front of everyone!"

Elara shouted. Not wanting to discuss this any further.

"Can I say it in private then?"

Vaan questioned with a playful smile on his face.

"Y-You can do that…" Elara's voice was barely audible as she said those words and lowered her head.

"Got it. Then I will say it every day just so you don't forget about it and realize that you are stuck with me."

"Don't do it every day…"

"Then I should just stay silent and not say it?"

"Y-You can do it every once in a w-while. I won't mind that." Elara spoke, Vaan's smile widened and,

"Then I will do it just as you instructed," Vaan spoke, then, he placed Elara's head on his chest.

Elara's head was already heavy because of the heavy dose of alcohol she had consumed, so the moment she placed her head on Vaan's chest, the sense of comfort made her close her eyes, her breathing stabilized, and both she and Vaan could tell that she was about to pass out, but,

"Also…"

Elara spoke up in a weak voice, her eyes still closed.

"Hmm?"

"I am glad that the foolish Vaan is dead…"

"What…?" Vaan was taken aback.

"The new Vaan is good…"

Elara completed.

A small smile appeared on his face as he started gently patting Elara's head,

"Alright alright, you have drunk enough, today's training is over,

Go sleep."

Vaan spoke.

He didn't achieve his goal, however, he achieved something much more valuable today.

He was satisfied.

But,

"I won't sleep!"

Elara shot up.

"What happened?"

"Talk to me. I don't want to sleep!"

"Elara, you should sle-"

"Talk to me!" Elara didn't want this to end just like this.

In the end, Vaan just sighed,

"Alright, what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know!"

"If you don't know then just sle-"

"I won't talk to you if you don't talk to me." Elara threatened.

The alcohol really was doing its work. Vaan couldn't believe this was the same innocent Elara. However, now that he was threatened, he had no choice but to give in, after all, the threat was just too strong, after all. How was he supposed to live without his fiancé talking to him?

Not to mention Vaan just came up with a great plan.

"Then let us talk about that Elric."

"Senior Elric…?" Elara tilted her head in confusion.

"Yes, him. Why was he trying to talk with you today?" Vaan questioned.

Then suddenly, a playful smile appeared on Elara's face, and,

"Are you jealous?"

"Huh?"

"Is another man approaching me making you jealous?" Elara questioned, her smile couldn't be any wider.

Vaan, on the other hand,

"E-Elara?"

He just couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Elara was… acting smug…?