Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 953: Match Made In The Stars

The group of four friends continued talking with one another, their discussion flowing naturally from one topic to another, though the majority of it revolved around everything that had been happening within the Thalvorn Empire.

“Speaking of which, Arianna, do you plan to die single?” Maeve asked, her green eyes meeting Arianna’s amber-gold ones.

“This talk again?” Arianna rebutted with a click of her tongue, as this wasn’t the first time, nor the second, nor even the tenth time her best friends had brought up a topic like this, and every single time they did, she always shut it down. But giving up didn’t seem to exist in their dictionary.

“Yes, this talk again,” Clara replied without giving an inch.

Arianna met Clara’s blue eyes before asking, “And why must I find love? Must I be in a relationship or get married?” Her tone was completely flat.

Celeste sighed before replying, “It seems you really plan to die lonely, Arianna,” her tone soft and almost helpless.

Arianna rolled her eyes before replying, “How can I die lonely when I have the three of you? Besides, I have a thousand years or more to find love or whatever that is.”

Maeve remained silent for a moment before speaking with a sigh. “We might not always be here, Arianna. I, for one, plan to get married and settle down, have a wonderful family, and give birth to powerful children. I’ll be far too busy looking after my own family by then,” she said, her green eyes calm yet filled with an unmistakable longing, as though she wished she could begin building that family today if circumstances allowed it.

Arianna remained silent for a moment, saying nothing as she knew Maeve’s words carried nothing but the truth.

“Just take our advice, Arianna, and find yourself a handsome man. Though I’m guessing it’s because your standards are impossibly high that you haven’t found anyone you love,” Clara stated with an amused smile.

Arianna simply smiled before replying, “Says the one who has been in four relationships within the span of a single year.”

Clara froze where she sat before slowly shaking her head, utterly helpless because Arianna’s words were indeed true.

“But, Arianna,” Celeste spoke once again, “you can’t seriously tell me that with all the talented people gathered from across the planet, there isn’t a single person you’ve looked at twice, or at least someone you’ve felt something for or imagined yourself with?” she asked curiously.

Arianna rolled her eyes before replying, “Maybe the person I’m supposed to love hasn’t even been born yet,” her tone making it abundantly clear just how uninterested she was in matters concerning love and relationships.

Everyone fell silent for a brief moment as they stared at Arianna as though she were made out of solid stone.

“Okay, that’s it,” Maeve declared. “We’re finding a man for you, and you are going to speak to him, and you are going to at least go on a date with him, so all four of us can go on a quadruple date together,” she stated as though issuing an official order, having long grown tired of trying to convince and appease Arianna with words alone.

“Exactly! The standards are: tall, handsome, talented, rich, and someone with a good sense of style and fashion,” Clara began listing the prerequisites required for the fortunate man who would one day become Arianna’s partner.

“Wait,” Celeste suddenly interrupted, causing Clara to stop speaking and glance toward her. “I’ve found the perfect man,” she declared triumphantly.

“Who?” Maeve asked as she arched an eyebrow.

Celeste slowly grinned before replying, “the Tenth Sun… Asher Wargrave.”

The instant those words left her lips, both Maeve and Clara froze.

A moment later, realization dawned upon their faces as they couldn’t help but wonder how they had failed to consider such an obvious option from the very beginning.

He was tall. He was handsome. He was rich. He didn’t possess the ridiculous noble pride that so many aristocrats carried around with them, as they had personally witnessed him laughing, joking, and casually interacting with commoners like themselves just five days earlier during the award ceremony.

He was also every bit as powerful as Arianna, having even defeated her. And to top it all off, throughout their entire stay within the Thalvorn Empire, they hadn’t seen a single young man who was as handsome as Asher, just as they hadn’t seen a single young woman as beautiful as Arianna.

“This…” Maeve stammered as she struggled to form her next sentence.

“…is a fucking match made in the Stars,” Celeste finished without the slightest hesitation.

To the three girls, the Tenth Sun had instantly transformed into the image of the perfect dream husband.

Arianna could only sigh before speaking. “You three are definitely going crazy,” she said, shaking her head.

The three of them completely ignored Arianna, as they simply couldn’t be bothered with whatever objections she had.

“You should be grateful we’re even leaving him to you. If things don’t work out between the two of you, I’ll gladly step in,” Celeste declared with a mischievous smile.

Arianna laughed before replying, “I thought you were already in a relationship? I wonder what your boyfriend would have to say if he heard what you just said,” her tone filled with amusement.

Celeste merely shrugged. “A girl is allowed to dream, isn’t she?”

Maeve ignored Arianna entirely before saying, “We need to find a way to contact him.”

The moment those words left her mouth, her eyes slowly shifted toward Celeste and Clara, who both stared right back at her. The three of them didn’t utter another word, yet a single thought flashed through all three of their minds simultaneously, as though they shared one consciousness.

“Go!” Celeste suddenly shouted.

The very next instant, the three girls lunged toward Arianna at full speed.

Arianna sat there, completely stunned, wondering what these three love-crazed women were planning now.

A heartbeat later, Maeve and Clara reached Arianna first, grabbing hold of her before pinning her onto the bed while Arianna remained momentarily stunned. Her amber-gold eyes immediately tracked Celeste, who had already made a beeline toward the phone resting on the nearby table.

Reaching Arianna’s phone, Celeste immediately unlocked it, already knowing Arianna’s password by heart, before rapidly scrolling through her contact list while Maeve and Clara continued holding Arianna down.

“HAHAHAHAHA!!!” Celeste burst into laughter before triumphantly shouting, “She actually has the Tenth Sun’s contact number!”

The instant those words left Celeste’s mouth, it finally dawned on Arianna what her insane friends had been planning all along. She immediately frowned, effortlessly broke free from Maeve’s and Clara’s rather weak restraint, and rushed toward Celeste.

Unfortunately… by the time she snatched her phone back, Celeste had already pressed the send button.

And sadly for Arianna, this particular messaging app didn’t possess a ‘Delete for Everyone’ feature, nor was there any option to cancel a sent message.

The message had already been delivered.

“Mission accomplished,” Celeste proudly declared as she turned toward her partners in crime. The three girls immediately exchanged a triumphant high-five, broad smiles stretching across all of their faces.

Arianna slowly lowered her gaze toward the message Celeste had sent to Asher.

{You: Hey, I’m done with training and free at the moment. What about you?}

Staring at the message, she could only sigh. The damage had already been done. Her friends had forced her hand.

‘I shouldn’t have saved his number,’ she thought to herself, remembering that she had added his contact shortly before throwing herself into training.

She slowly turned toward Maeve, Celeste, and Clara before speaking.

“Aren’t you three taking this a little too far?” Her tone was filled with exasperation.

Celeste simply smiled before replying, “Don’t blame us. You refused to listen to reason.”

“Besides, we’re not saying you should go to his room and kiss him or sleep with him or anything like that. Just go out, have some fun, talk, walk around together, then come back. That’s all,” Maeve replied with a reassuring smile.

Clara nodded before adding, “You can’t possibly marry the three of us, or have the four of us marry each other, right? So go have some fun, Ari.”

The three of them wore nothing but genuine smiles on their faces.

Arianna silently stared at them for several long moments. Then, with a flick of her wrist, her phone disappeared into her space ring.

Without saying another word, she collapsed face-first onto her bed, completely defeated, as the entire situation had already spiraled far beyond anything she could possibly salvage.