RE: LORD OF TIME

William looked at the familiar woman standing before him.

She had long black hair that flowed down to her waist, alluring crimson eyes that naturally drew people toward them, and a breathtakingly beautiful face that was enough to make even high-ranking noble ladies jealous.

The woman was quite tall, nearly one hundred and eighty centimeters in height and appeared to be around twenty years old.

Surprisingly, even though they were currently inside a mountain range, she was wearing a long black dress that resembled an elegant party gown rather than something suitable for traveling through the wilderness.

Moreover, unlike William, who looked worn out after walking for hours while cutting down weeds and bushes, the woman appeared completely relaxed, as though the harsh terrain around her didn’t affect her in the slightest.

’Damn it, what is Vivian doing here at this point in time?’ William couldn’t help but curse inwardly because in his current situation, she was one of the few people he absolutely did not want to meet.

There were many reasons for this, but the most important one was her trait.

’With that annoying trait of hers, it will be extremely difficult for me to hide anything from her.’

William’s mind raced at lightning speed as he thought about how he should handle the situation.

But obviously, Vivian had no idea what was going through William’s mind and calmly approached him.

The thing that puzzled her was that, for some reason, the instant the young man saw her, his heartbeat had increased violently.

Because of her powers, she was extremely sensitive to such things and it confused her because it seemed as though the young man was afraid of her.

Seeing Vivian coming closer and the curiosity in her eyes growing stronger with every step, William tried to calm himself and finally regained his composure.

”You seem to be afraid of me. I am certain this is the first time we have met, so...” She stopped only a meter away from him. ”Is there a special reason for your fear?”

’As expected, she sensed the fluctuations in my emotions earlier, and just like always, directly asked the question bothering her the most,’ William thought inwardly before replying in an awkward tone.

”I thought you were another monster. I heard that some high-level monsters can take human form and are extremely dangerous, so...”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but Vivian immediately understood what he meant and gave him a blank look.

”So you thought I was a monster disguised as a human?”

William laughed awkwardly on the surface, but inwardly, he was nodding repeatedly because she truly was a monster in human form.

Seeing him laugh awkwardly, Vivian’s eyes flashed slightly before a faint smile appeared on her lips.

”I thought you were afraid because I saw you kill a powerful monster so easily and by using a technique that most people can only use after reaching the Star Commander level.”

William remained silent after hearing Vivian’s words because, knowing about her trait, he understood that it was best not to tell too many lies in front of her, or he would end up in serious trouble.

Moreover, he was very familiar with her and knew that although she was surprised, she wouldn’t care too much about this matter.

Even if she were to discover that he possessed a high-level technique like the Supreme Star Scripture, she still wouldn’t care.

That was simply the kind of person Vivian was.

Seeing William remain silent, Vivian chuckled softly and waved her hand dismissively.

”You don’t need to worry. I am not like other nobles who try to pry into people’s secrets.”

Although he had expected such a response, William still sighed inwardly in relief after hearing Vivian’s words and bowed toward her.

”Thank you, my lady.”

Vivian’s words about being different from other nobles clearly indicated that she herself was also a noble.

As a common farmer who currently stood at the very bottom of society, it was necessary for William to show respect when meeting a noble individual.

If he failed to show proper respect, although Vivian personally wouldn’t care because of her personality, it would still make her suspicious because respecting nobles was something ingrained into commoners since childhood.

”There is no need for formalities. I hate these stiff formalities the most.”

William didn’t say anything in response to her remark and simply stood there silently.

Seeing this, Vivian shook her head helplessly before finally asking.

”What are you doing here? It doesn’t look like it has been long since you started creating your Aether Core. It’s not safe for someone like you to roam around a place like this, you know.”

William had already prepared an answer beforehand, so he replied without hesitation.

”I only recently started creating my Aether Core, but the process has been rather slow. I heard from some adventurers in my village that useful medicines and treasures that can accelerate the process of creating an Aether Core can sometimes be found in the mountains, so I came here looking for them.”

Vivian raised an eyebrow at William’s response and smiled sweetly.

”Oh really?”

”Yes,” William nodded. ”I just didn’t expect to encounter a monster here.”

Vivian looked at William with a smile lingering on her lips, a smile that for some reason, made William feel slightly nervous inwardly.

Suddenly, she took a step forward and moved closer to him.

She leaned forward until their faces were only a few centimeters apart and spoke in a calm yet strangely dangerous voice.

”You do know that lying to a noble is considered a crime, right?”

William immediately showed a panicked expression suitable for a sixteen-year-old boy upon hearing those words and hurriedly stepped back.

”My lady, I am not lying. I truly came here to search for something that could help me create my Aether Core faster.”

”Is that so...” Vivian revealed a knowing smile that caused a bad premonition to rise within William’s heart.

Suddenly, she looked into the distance and casually spoke words that caused William’s heart to race wildly once again.

”Then I suppose I was mistaken for thinking that you came here searching for that Astral Rift over there.”