There wouldn't have been a better chance.
Ezrahl was called by his fellow knight and the two left. As soon as Aesther saw them disappear from the windows of the library, she jumped down and rushed towards the dormitories.
She had dealt with the gardens, and after those long tedious hours, it was the time of evening, and the evening martial classes.
This left most of the dormitory rooms empty.
Aesther had to be quick and so she used the window on the third story to enter Inez's room. Her feet staggered twice, the knee scrapped once, and when she finally reached there, Aesther staggered inside and fell first on her head.
As her stunned eyes watched the ceiling painted in astronomical constellations, Aesther realized how important and urgent it was to train her body.
Her mind was still used to the life and body of the future and she would often forget the delicateness of her body in the past.
It now felt like nothing more than a handicap.
Aesther brushed her robes and hurried over to Inez's bed.
Lifting the sheets revealed a trunk, if one were to open it they will find some seemingly old books that looked nothing out of ordinary but inside they carried some scandalous secrets.
Inez won't be upset when she learns about how Aesther used them and so the latter randomly picked a few of those books.
As Aesther strode back to the Mistfall Manor, she couldn't stop grinning.
There were about tens of thousands of books in the library, and if she places these novels on some of the very top shelves, who knows how long it would take for Ezrahl to discover that his precious collection was tempered with?
But that wasn't the only thing.
Ezrahl was known to be very selective with the people he socialized with, cold and unapproachable, this man was only impartial when someone asked to borrow books from him.
Aesther snickered as she thought about the look on a disciple's face when they found those forbidden books in Ezrahl's library.
She slowed down when she reached the gardens.
It was easy to see his study from this old bushy place, and Aesther peered secretly to make sure she won't be caught red-handed. Ezrahl had still not returned.
She hugged the books in glee but then she got a little curious.
Aesther had caught some glimpses of these books Inez loved so dearly in the past. Butcher had been too shy and young to bring herself to satisfy this curiosity of hers. She always blushed and became flustered.
This time, she had been through several phases of life and now something like erotica couldn't faze her mature mind.
Aesther randomly opened a page.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She skimmed past some textual pages and paused over another illustration.
It was of two men, one of them had a mischievous grin as his long blonde hair fell down his bare shoulders and the other man was kissing him…not on lips but in a place far intimate.
Ahzure called her, "What are you doing?"
Aesther slammed the book shut and suddenly it was too hot to breathe.
Noah accompanied the fae and grinned mischievously.
It was a little hard to shake off those images from her mind while simultaneously not letting her imagination run wild. But her face turned redder than a cherry.
"Rose!" Noah exclaimed and raised his hand that grabbed a paper bag, "We brought some snacks!"
He was his usual cheery self not caring about anything else as he leaned closer to read the titles of the book.
Startled, Aesther moved back and averted her gaze in a frantic hurry.
"Ah I um, I was just trimming the garden."
"With books…?"
Ahzure asked with a puzzled look.
"Of course not, ahem," Aesther cleared her throat, "Nevermind that, what are you doing here?"
"I got bored while hiding," Noah groaned.
"I was looking for you." Ahzure smiled sadly, "But then I heard about the um situation and we decided to drop by. Was Ezrahl too harsh? I can talk to him if that's the case."
He was a senior of Ezrahl in both age and title, as well as strength. Aesther remembered that the two of them have often been paired to go on missions together.
Ezrahl respected Ahzure.
Or so everyone believed.
Before the night of the massacre.
Aesther was not sure how to react. She forced a smile and led them towards a stone bench.
Noah sat beside him, Ahzure decided to remain standing for some reason, looking around at the large garden with unreadable expressions.
Noah excitedly exclaimed, "Let's dig in, Rose! I am sure you must be hungry after all the work. This garden is a real mess though. Did you really do anything?"
Aesther frowned, immediately defensive, but before she could say anything, Ahzure declared in a soft yet firm voice.
"We will help you with this."
Noah blinked his eyes in panic, "Wh-what we?!"
But Ahzure simply ignored his concerns.
Aesther smiled to herself. Even though she did not wish to bother Ahzure, Aesther felt too comfortable in his presence. No one knows how things will end in this lifetime, she wanted to treasure every moment she could.
But what surprised Aesther was Noah.
He was like a ball of sunshine, easily grinning and carrying that calming carefree aura. Quick to become sad, Noah easily turned delighted as too.
"Then I made this too!" he excitedly introduced the little dishes he had prepared after sneaking inside the kitchens, "This is the Bangers and Mash Dragon's Breath Spicy Meat Balls!"
Noah proudly presented a box filled with the saucy dish.
His voice was giddy, and he kept on talking about random things as the three of them shared this small meal.
Aesther often herself smiled when she noticed the slight crease appear upon Ahzure's face. He clearly disliked Noah's bright and overly joyous demeanour, and it was rare for him to dislike others.
They shared some random words but being the usually quiet person Aesther and Ahzure was, the conversation was basically led by Noah.
He would sometimes mention his hometown where everyone ate spicily. To Ahzure's frown, Noah also freely passed some derogatory remarks on the bland taste of the cooks at Alkazar.
Ahzure became more silent and thoughtful as Noah happily chatted on.
"And here is a special dish!" he exclaimed and presented another wooden box. There were small steaming dumplings resting inside.
"Woah," Aesther gasped, smitten by the exotic dish which was like a blue moon in Nesmeria, "Where did you find them?"
"I cooked them," Noah had a proud smug.
Aesther took a bite, it was not as good as what Inez made but they felt delicious because she had finally found someone who appreciated dumplings as much as her.
Oddly, Ahzure didn't appear appreciative of this rare talent of Noah.
"You like them?" Aesther asked the blond boy.
"Of course," he said, "I was born in Akamori you see. And it's my dream to try to travel the human realm and try different types of dumplings! They say the humans have made many even more varieties!"
"Amazing…"
"Elementary," Ahzure commented as he took a bite too.
It was a surprise to Aesther, Ahzure won't usually comment on other people like that. She glanced between him and Noah. Did something happen?
"I was wondering," Ahzure said nonchalantly, "Noah, why are you still in the castle? It's not safe for you. Outsiders aren't welcomed without invitation. Haven't I mentioned that?"
Something was definitely wrong.
"Oh that," Noah sighed dramatically, "The guards here are too strict. I got no chance to sneak out. Oh-oh! And you won't believe what happened!"
He threw up his hands in exasperation, "After you threw me in the barn―"
Aesther's eyes widened. "What?"
Noah cut in before Ahzure had the chance to explain, "Yeah really rude, right? He said I couldn't bring alcohol into the castle because it's forbidden."
"Well, yes. No one is allowed to do that…" Aesther murmured.
"Strange but it was for my uncle, I swear!" Noah complained, "And it was expensive you see. I can not just throw it away. So I just said I will drink it―"
"That's a bigger violation of the rules," Ahzure stated coldly.
"Come on, you can't raise your sword at me just because of that!"
"As an elder knight," Ahzure took a breath as if to contain his annoyance, "It's my duty to ensure you don't mock our laws and break them."
Aesther was slowly beginning to understand.
Indeed Ahzure was kind-hearted, he didn't care about the rules Aesther broke because they were already wrong in his eyes. He went out of his way to save Noah when he felt that there was an injustice.
But then Ahzure learned about Noah's theft, then his possession of alcohol, and then his disobedience of the rule. All those incidents must have amounted to and made him enforce his words strictly.
"Hehe," Noah foolishly grinned, "Then we fought and after half an hour, the esteemed knight made me sleep in the barn."
"Half an hour…?"
Now Aesther was more than just surprised. "How old are you?"
"Fifteen." Noah blinked in confusion.
Ahzure's frown deepened as he averted his gaze.
Noah had to be way too good with swords if he managed to continue a fight with Ahzure for half an hour. Any normal person would be defeated and apprehended within moments.
Perhaps it wasn't the mere rule-breaking that caused a change in Ahzure's view towards Noah. He had found a worthy opponent in someone who possesses all the qualities he dislikes.
Aesther felt a strange feeling inside.
Such a remarkable strength… was Noah someone she knew in her former life?
Aesther asked absentmindedly, "So what happened after you were locked in the barn?"
Noah dramatically sighed, his eyes turning solemn as he continued. "Someone came and I had to sneak away to avoid being discovered. They were preparing horses for your Alpha I think, and they took so long I fell asleep outside."
"In the cold." he mumbled.
"The woods are scary at night," he added in an even low voice.
Ahzure was a little taken aback. Even he saw that as being too harsh for Noah but his concern had barely flickered when Noah's eyes lit up and he looked at Aesther hopefully.
"I know! You can let me live with you―!"
Ahzure stuffed a dumpling in his mouth with visible annoyance, "Stay in your line."
Noah mumbled something incoherent before he gobbled down the dumpling and said in a clear voice.
"Eh but every other place can be discovered," he tried to reason, "There is one more day and then I will leave to catch the ship."
"The woods seem a little too much," Aesther scratched her head, "My room is bigger than usual too―"
Ahzure pinned Noah with a hard gaze, "You will sleep with me."
Noah's smile that had barely formed over Aesther's acceptance fell faster than one could blink. In the end, he just sighed and looked at Ahzure accusingly.
"But Rose is beautiful and you're rude, mister."
No one, literally no one had ever said those words to Ahzure. Aesther burst into laughing and Noah followed soon.
Ahzure simply sighed, his lips lifted into a smile when his eyes found Aesther's.
She was grateful for those small moments as short as they lasted, Aesther could have given anything to be like this again, to spend time with Ahzure, to be in a world yet untainted by the cruel wars.
To laugh… so freely.
The beautiful memories of her past lives were soon buried in the shadows of blood and death, but now she will make them again and not let anyone ruin this world of hers.
Her eyes were moist as she shook off those heavy thoughts but when she glanced at Noah again, her smile dimmed.
He had appeared familiar and only now did she realize the exact cause.
…Fuck.