Right now I was walking outside the house we were provided along with Angelica who said she wanted to ask me something.

As I stepped out through the door the sun was already about to vanish. It was evening. I had woken up from my hibernation somewhere in the afternoon and since then the day had been nothing short of a circus.

First we cleared the misunderstanding with Aria which made Angelica burst out laughing all over again. But Aria still looked traumatized. As if the image of my mighty beast was permanently burned into her memory from when we were sleeping under the same blanket on the same bed while she was naked and so was I.

I wanted to tease her about it so badly but the moment I opened my mouth an image appeared in my mind. Aria’s hand raised, dark energy swirling, beam aimed precisely at my dick.

I kept my mouth shut.

After that we had lunch with my team. Marie was doing perfectly fine and was constantly peeking at me, giving me small glances whenever she thought I wasn’t noticing. But I noticed every single one.

Then there was that bastard Tudar who had been cracking jokes and trying to make the silent environment lively. But whenever his eyes met mine it was nothing like Marie’s. It wasn’t respect or panic. It was pure vengeance burning behind that swollen, beaten up face of his. And I made sure to return the favor with expressions that told him I wasn’t done yet.

After our incredibly warm and deeply affectionate lunch with our oh-so-close teammates was finally over, I tagged along with Angelica as she had requested me to go somewhere for her doubts or whatever she wanted to discuss.

And thus here I was. But the moment we left the house, Mariam was standing right outside the door. Dorian’s daughter.

Angelica leaned toward my ear and whispered. "She was the one constantly bringing food to us. More than three times a day. And every single time she showed up she would ask about you. Whether you were awake. Whether you were doing fine."

She added. "Today when she brought lunch and we told her you were finally awake, she looked quite happy. She requested us to join their celebration and specifically asked to bring you along."

I said quietly. "So that’s why you insisted I come out? Is this related to the doubts you mentioned?"

Angelica looked deep in her thoughts for a moment then said. "No. I wanted some time alone with you. But it’s fine. We can talk about that later. Just handle this woman first, she is quite desperate about you."

Before I could reply Mariam was already walking toward me.

"Thank god you are finally awake." Her face was glowing with relief. "I am so glad seeing you looking fine."

She scanned me from head to toe then said with worried eyes. "Are you feeling alright? Is there something that..."

I said. "Relax. I am doing way better than before. And besides, why wouldn’t I be? I got a treatment that warriors would happily take a blow in war for, knowing what the reward looks like afterward."

Then I clenched my fist and muttered under my breath. "But still I could only imagine it. It would have been so much better if I had actually..."

Angelica cleared her throat loudly and whispered behind me. "I am going to repeat those exact words to Aria during the festival. Let’s see how the hero of the main event runs from the rage of a pissed off girl."

I was about to beg her for mercy but then something she said registered. "Hero? Wait what..."

Some time passed. We were walking toward the main market where the festival was being held and for the past fifteen minutes the journey had been filled with conversation.

Well, it was mostly between me and Mariam. Angelica was unusually quiet today. The mask of the imperial princess was gone completely. She was deep in her thoughts about something and I could tell it was eating at her.

Mariam spent half the walk telling me how grateful she was. How much she wanted to thank me for everything I had made possible. That portion was entirely thanksgiving that I endured with a smile. The other half was spent explaining about the festival which was apparently being held in my honor. Their hero. Their messiah.

If I wasn’t someone who would soon leave this world behind, I would have robbed this entire village as payment for my noble deeds. So in reality the hero treatment would only last a few moments for me.

Mariam explained the details. The celebration of the demon being taken down. A statue carved in honor. And she also mentioned her husband’s stall in the market where he would be selling his crafted weapons.

Then we finally reached the market.

It was the entire village gathered in one small place. A massive bonfire burned in the center and people were dancing around it, celebrating the fall of Dorian with drinks and laughter and music.

And off to the side stood a statue which they would bring down at the end to mark the victory over evil.

I said to Mariam. "Hey, don’t you feel bad about this? I mean they are celebrating the fall of your father. They will be cursing him and destroying his statue right in front of your eyes. And they don’t know the real story because you haven’t told them."

She sighed. "It’s really okay. It’s not like it would affect me because he was someone worthy of far more than just praises in my heart. We know the truth about how he was manipulated. And besides, he did kill people. Telling everyone about my connection to him wouldn’t end well. People lost their families. So we decided to keep it hidden."

Her sad expression shifted instantly to a giggle. "And by the way, that statue isn’t of my father."

She looked at me with an amused grin.

"It’s of the hero of our village. It’s yours."

My jaw dropped.

"Wait... no... that’s... you can’t be... what?"

My words were tripping over themselves falling out of my mouth in no particular order.

I looked at the statue properly and the horror set in.

"Which drunkard made me look like a demon?! I bet anyone who looks at that thing will think it was the demon who got slaughtered, not the hero who killed it!"

Mariam started laughing at my reaction but there was someone behind me who outmatched her completely.

Angelica was laughing so hard that it genuinely made me question whether she had been possessed by something during our walk here.

I clicked my tongue and turned to Mariam. "Where is your husband’s shop? I need a weapon to destroy that disturbing masterpiece before Aria sees it."

Time passed and we reached the climax of the event when they announced that the hero should take the stage for a solo dance.

This was already an embarrassing disaster from every angle. First they had humiliated me with that abomination of a statue which actually scared the children. I heard them gossiping right in front of me like. "Look, that’s the cruel hero." Whispering to each other while pointing at me and the statue interchangeably as if they couldn’t tell which one was scarier.

But that was fine. At least I didn’t have to deal with trouble making brats surrounding me.

Now these bastards wanted me to dance solo? Become the center of entertainment for every single person here? And to make it all worse Aria and the others had joined the festival by now. I could feel it from the grin on her face that she was enjoying every second of my suffering.

I didn’t know what to do. Just standing there frozen in front of a crowd waiting for me to perform.

That’s when Angelica stepped forward. She stood in front of me and extended her hand with the grace of someone who had done this a thousand times at royal balls.

"Would you grant me the honor of sharing this dance?"

I stood up, grabbed her hand and walked toward the center with her.

The cheers erupted along with the music and I was completely clueless. So I leaned in and said. "Hey, Princess. Thanks for saving my ass out there. But I have to tell you something. I don’t know how to dance. So save me just one more time."

She raised an eyebrow. "The real Deculein attracted women at every ball he attended. His every move would charm the noble ladies in attendance."

Her eyes locked onto mine.

"So you have failed to pretend as Deculein."

My blood went cold. I tried to pull my hand back instinctively but she tightened her grip before I could move an inch.

"Relax." Her voice was low enough for only me to hear. "I won’t tell anyone. In fact, I would have done it a long time ago if I wanted to."

She glanced around at the crowd watching us. "Now follow my lead before people start making assumptions about us."

I followed her steps. They were noble yet deliberately slow to make me comfortable. And she carried a smile throughout that was making things worse in my head because this woman had known about me. How long? How much did she know?

Then her hands guided mine. She placed them behind her back and slowly closed the distance between us until my chest was pressed against hers.

She whispered against my ear.

"Now tell me. Who are you? And what do you want?"