Before Akira could respond, Astra suddenly popped right between them, hands clasped neatly behind her back, her face lit with irrepressible curiosity.
"what are you two whispering about?"
Both men jolted back a step.
"Where did you even come from?!" Daita blurted out, hand flying to his chest. "I thought you were a ghost!"
Astra burst out laughing. "What—His Highness is scared of ghosts?"
Daita straightened immediately, clearing his throat with dignity. "Who said I'm scared? I was merely… startled. Besides," he added, pointing, "you scared that guy too."
Astra turned to Akira, eyes sparkling. "Dan… Did I startle you too?"
Akira paused, then gave a simple nod.
She clasped her hands together. "Ah—sorry! I didn't mean to. I was just curious. You two were talking for so long." Then, tilting her head, she asked curiously, "What were you discussing with the Seventh Prince?"
Akira opened his mouth—
"It was nothing important," Daita cut in smoothly.
Astra let out a soft, unconvinced "Ohhh," but her attention drifted elsewhere. Her eyes suddenly locked onto the book in Daita's hand.
Her jaw dropped.
"WAIT—ISN'T THAT WHISPERS BENEATH THE PLUM MOON?!"
"Yes—wait." Daita stared at her. "You've read this?"
Before he could react, Astra snatched the book from his hands and hugged it. "Read it? I worshipped it! Day and night! This was my holy scripture!"
Daita blinked. Then gulped. Slowly, he turned to look at Akira, who had already turned his face away.
This was, after all, that book.
The banned one.
Once, its popularity had spiraled so wildly out of control that people gambled away houses, exchanged jewels, even came to blows over rare editions. The obsession grew so severe the upper court was forced to intervene, declaring the book forbidden. And yet despite the ban over a hundred illicit editions continued to circulate in shadows.
Astra flipped through the pages at alarming speed, her fingers trembling as she read line after line. Then she froze. "Wait—what? This—this—" Her voice rose an octave. "This is the first edition? Really? It is!" She nearly squealed. "Oh my heavens, Seventh Prince, do you have any idea how rare this is? There were only a handful of copies, all banned! It's harder than to find a sugar crystal in a basket of salt!"
Daita shrugged casually. "It's not that difficult for me." Then, under his breath, he muttered, "When it comes to books… anything can be found in that mule bag's Ancestral library."
Astra halted mid-page. Slowly, she looked up at him, blinking once… twice. "Your Highness," she asked cautiously, "have you… read this book?"
Daita's lips curved into a smug, effortless smile. "I happen to be quite fond of refined literary gems."
What followed was an avalanche. Questions poured out of Astra like a breached dam—favorite chapter, favorite metaphor, which edition captured the moonlight best, which confession was most tragic, which single line lingered longest after the page was turned. She barely paused for breath.
Daita opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. For the nth time that night, the Seventh Prince found himself rendered completely speechless.
When Astra finally stopped to inhale, she hugged the book to her chest, her expression glowing with unfiltered awe. "I can't believe it… my childhood dream." She turned slowly, taking in the moonlit waterfall, the drifting mist, and the lotus buds resting quietly on the water's surface. "To come here… and read the first edition, of all places." Her voice softened, almost reverent. "It's astonishing. The scenery is exactly like that chapter…just the way I imagined it in that one chapter."
"That chapter is my favorite."
The words slipped out before Akira could stop them.
Astra turned toward him, blinking once. "You've read it too?"
Akira hesitated for a brief moment, then gave a small nod.
That was a mistake.
What followed was another avalanche. Astra's eyes lit up as she leaned closer, questions tumbling out one after another—what drew him to that chapter, whether he preferred the lake scene or the pavilion scene, which line stayed with him the longest. Akira was clearly overwhelmed, answering what he could and missing half of the rest.
Watching the spectacle, Daita let out a long sigh. "Is she possessed by the spirit of the book or something? That's… honestly terrifying."
Astra heard him immediately. She stopped mid-question and turned toward him with a frown. "I'm not possessed, Your Highness. It's just that I was obsessed—"
"You are obsessed," Daita corrected flatly.
She waved a hand. "Whatever. It's that kind of art. Once you get pulled in, there's no escaping." Then she looked back at Akira. "Right, Dan?"
Akira nodded without hesitation.
Astra smiled triumphantly. "See? You can't blame us and call it terrifying." Her chest puffed slightly with pride. "There was a time when I memorized every chapter, every line. If anyone had held a competition for the number one fan, I would've taken first place without question." She crossed her arms. "Even if I'm eighty-nine years old, you could ask me anything from the book in my hands and I would still answer without missing a single chapter."
Daita watched her for a long moment, his gaze narrowing as something unreadable stirred behind his eyes and a faint, unpleasant sensation settled in Akira's stomach. He knew that kind of feeling. And he knew it never led anywhere good.
"Alright," Daita said at last, a mischievous glint surfacing in his eyes. "Then let's put that claim to the test and see whether you truly know everything in the book you're holding, or if you're merely exaggerating." His smile sharpened slightly. "But remember if you fail, you'll have to do whatever I say. Do you accept the challenge?"
Astra grinned without a hint of doubt. "Gladly."
Daita folded his arms, clearly enjoying this far too much. "If you're truly the number one fan, then tell me what happens in Chapter Eighty-Nine."
This is it. This is the bad feeling—oh no, you brat.
Akira choked, realization crashing down on him all at once. His breath hitched as he turned sharply toward Daita.
"Your Highness— that chapter is—"
"That chapter is full of chaos," Astra said at once, her confidence unshaken. "The villagers gather at night with torches raised and their fear twisted into cruelty. They call the mortal woman cursed, accuse her of stealing a god's gaze, say a lowly mortal had no right to invite such fate. Then they set her hut on fire while she's still inside—"
Daita raised his hand midway, stopping her cold.
"Wrong."
Astra froze. "What?"
"You're wrong," Daita said evenly, his tone unbothered. "You lost."
Astra stared at him as though reality itself had betrayed her. "That's impossible," she said flatly. "I've reread that chapter more times than I can count. I could quote it half-asleep."
"Then why don't you," Daita replied lightly, tilting his chin toward the book. "Check it yourself."
With a sharp huff, Astra flipped it open, fingers flying through the pages. The thin sheets whispered under the moonlight as she found the chapter, her brows knitting together. "See? I told you—"
And then she started to read.
At first, her voice was steady, almost victorious.
"Beneath the Great Tree of Dawnsong, its golden leaves trembling softly in the night wind, the air was alive with drifting blue wisps fire-sprites drawn to the god's presence. Between Roses, their fragrance thick enough to linger on the tongue…"
Daita stiffened and Akira's spine went rigid. While Astra kept going, still completely serious.
"The night was cold, yet the space between them grew warm. They stood close enough for their breaths to intertwine, shallow and unsteady, each exhale brushing against skin like warm sunlight striking bare flesh."
Daita coughed suddenly, stumbling a half-step back. Akira nearly tripped over his own feet, heat rushing unbidden to his face knowing what happens next. Astra, meanwhile, merely frowned at the page, completely absorbed.
"Their foreheads touched. Their minds were lost in one another's embrace, in those shared breaths that trembled between them, warmth blooming where skin brushed skin. Fingers lifted instinctively, lingering at shoulders, sliding into hair to curl gently between trembling hands, drawing them closer. Their lips hovered a breath apart, they started searching for one another's very essence through their lips intertwined. And finally, the desire in their hearts could no longer stand still and began pumping blood mixed with yearning through every part of them like living fire, awakening every sense. They could no longer hold back and reached out to undress them—"
"Enough," Akira said quickly, lunging forward to snatch the book from Astra's hands before it could go any further. He snapped it shut with finality. The silence that followed was deafening.
Daita slowly straightened, clearing his throat far more times than necessary. "…You," he said, pointing vaguely in her direction, "absolutely… lost."
"How is this possible?" Astra burst out, disbelief sharp in her voice. "I know what happens in that chapter. I knew every line of this book—every single one. How can I be wrong?"
Daita didn't answer immediately. Instead, he lifted a finger and pointed at the book in Akira's grip, his expression calm, almost indulgent. "That's because," he said at last, "you don't actually know everything in that book."
Astra laughed once, sharp and incredulous. "That's impossible," she snapped. "That would be like rain catching fire halfway down."
Akira frowned, considering it. "It's… not impossible," he muttered quietly.
Daita turned back to Astra, tone light but unmistakably firm. "You lost. So you should—"
"No," Astra cut in at once. "I won't. Something about this is unfair. I might forget names, faces, my memory might be no better than a goldfish—but I can never be wrong about this." She crossed her arms, chin lifting in stubborn defiance.
Daita chuckled softly. "There's nothing unfair here. We agreed on the bet. You claimed you knew every line. You couldn't prove it." His eyes gleamed faintly. "That means you lost."
Astra fell silent, clearly replaying the moment in her head. Seeing her troubled expression, Daita stepped aside with a satisfied smirk. "I'll give you some time to accept your defeat," he said easily. "I imagine it's difficult." He paused, glancing back. "While you do that, I'll think about what you should do next."
He moved a short distance away, hands clasped behind him, very obviously thinking.
Astra sank down onto a nearby rock, frustration weighing her shoulders. "How did this even happen?" she murmured. "I don't understand how it turned into this…"
Akira sighed and crouched beside her, shaking his head slightly. "Don't think about it too much."
She looked at him, eyes bright and unsettled. "How can I not? More importantly—how can I be wrong? And why have I never, ever read that part before?"
Akira's grip tightened on the book. "Because this copy," he said quietly, "is one of the first editions."
Astra frowned.
"The earliest editions were never edited," Akira continued. "Nothing removed. Nothing softened. Later copies the ones circulating now, the ones you read were revised. Entire sections altered or erased. That's why you didn't recognize it."
Realization hit her all at once. Her eyes widened, pupils shrinking. She sprang to her feet. "That's why!" she exclaimed. "I thought my memory was failing but it wasn't! It means this is cheating. It's unfair!"
Akira shook his head. "It isn't."
"Huh?"
Daita returned then, clearly having heard everything. "Because the bet," he said smoothly, "was about knowing every line in the book you were holding." He tilted his head. "You remember saying that, don't you?"
Astra faltered.
"You knew it was a first edition," he went on calmly. "You were thrilled because it was rare. It would only be unfair if you hadn't known from the start." His smile sharpened slightly. "But you did."
The truth settled heavily between them.
Astra opened her mouth then closed it again. She couldn't deny it. She had known. She had even said it herself. She'd simply been too excited, too confident, too certain of victory to notice the trap she'd walked into. And Daita, watching her realization dawn, smiled like someone who had planned this outcome all along.