I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

Chapter 1327: Tamed Monster

”Do you want to go for a walk?!”

Northern turned his head away from the blossoming lights of the city to the radiant golden eyes of the young lady standing next to him. Below them, the sounds of the gala drifted up—laughter, the clink of glasses, music that never quite settled into silence.

He hesitated for a moment, then said:

”Yes... will I have something spicy to eat?”

Roma blinked. Of all the conditions she might have expected, this wasn’t one of them.

”Uhm... sure, I guess. We can walk along the street. I’m sure there’ll be lots of spicy muscovy from the vendors. They’re nice!”

Northern gave a slight nod, his gaze drifting back toward the city lights.

”I see... I guess that’ll suffice.”

”Why though?” Roma’s curiosity lasted exactly one second before winning its battle against restraint.

Northern looked at the sky. The smile that touched his face was different from his usual expressions—softer, edged with something distant.

”I have a vague memory where we used to celebrate dinners with really spicy food. I lived in a compact house with a family of four. We had the worst of light—it flickered out every other night on the street—and we were a noisy lot...” He paused, and the silence held a weight to it. ”But on the special nights, we celebrated with a food I can’t even remember. All I remember was that it was very spicy. So, I’ve been craving something spicy for a while.”

The words came out slowly, as if he were retrieving them from somewhere deep and rarely visited. Roma watched his profile against the glow of the city, and something in her chest tightened. This was Northern—who spoke in careful sentences, who revealed nothing he didn’t mean to—offering her a piece of himself.

He turned to look at her, and the smile was still there, though his eyes had returned to the present.

”So tonight especially, I wish to take something very spicy.”

The whole conversation was amusing to Roma. Perhaps this was the most that Northern had ever said to her. And certainly the most personal.

She flashed the brightest grin and gave him a thumbs up.

”You can count on me. I’ll give you something that’ll burn your tongue!”

Northern chuckled.

’I wonder if my tongue can actually get burned.’

[Technically...]

’I didn’t ask for your opinion, Aoi.’

[...]

[Alright now]

Northern squinted.

’You’re doing that thing again, aren’t you?’

The silence from Aoi was pointed. Northern let it go—he had more pressing matters after all.

”So! I have a great idea how we’ll take our stroll!” Roma pointed down toward the side gate of the palace that led to a forest behind the town. ”We go that route, then all the way to the city from there, and we’d branch down there.”

She was pointing to an especially loud and populated place now—streets lit with lanterns, crowds visible even from this height.

”And you’ll have roasted muscovy, roasted and peppered to great lengths.”

Northern looked along the route she’d traced. His attention snagged on something along the forest line—a presence, subtle enough that he might have missed it if he hadn’t been running a secondary process through the Omnisphere.

’Interesting...’

He would have eventually noticed when he returned full attention to that stream. But Roma pointing directly at it had brought it to the forefront. Now Northern was curious, so he subconsciously merged both streams of thought, albeit temporarily.

A smile crept onto his lips.

”This is a great route...”

Roma’s eyes widened, and sparkles danced in them at the compliment.

’He likes it!!!’

Northern, oblivious to her internal celebration, simply gestured for her to lead the way.

Roma belatedly came out of her daze.

”Oh! Yes! Yes... we have to leave.”

She immediately bent and took off her heels. Northern watched in silence. As she pulled off the second one, she was already moving toward the terrace railing, hiking up her dress and preparing to climb before Northern’s voice stopped her.

”What are you doing?” He sounded genuinely baffled.

Roma glanced back at him, one leg already over the railing.

”Leaving?” She studied Northern’s expression for a few seconds and her eyebrows rose. ”Wait, you actually don’t think we would leave through the front door?”

Northern glanced back at the ballroom doors. ”What’s wrong with that?”

She shook her head, the look on her face somewhere between reproach and disbelief.

”Everyone here is trying to get a piece of you, Rian. There’s no running away. The moment you step in there, it’ll be impossible to get out. So we must find a way to get down.” She patted the railing. ”And it’s easy.”

She studied his face again.

”Oh wait, are you worried about me?” She scoffed. ”This height is nothing. I once tried to escape from the Family quarters—I broke my leg, but that’s beside the point. I escaped through the forest even though I had to limp.”

Northern stared at her blankly. Then, a second later:

”Why do you have to run away from home?”

From what he’d observed, Roma’s parents seemed quite liberal with her.

Roma looked at him like he’d asked why water was wet.

”What do you mean, why do I have to run away? Have you tried being a Princess?” She stepped down from the railing, her gestures growing more animated with each word. ”Goodness! You can’t even breathe properly—it’s like they want to help you breathe. I can’t do anything on my own. It was war to learn how to cook. How come a Princess should never think of cooking?”

She was pacing now, her bare feet slapping against the terrace stones.

”It’s hard! I want to go out there and hunt my own meal and roast it in the embrace of the forest. My father and mother share stories of their younger days—where they camped for days in the rift, eating the meat of monsters they killed and spending every moment running away from death. Even my brothers had that!” Her voice cracked slightly. ”But me? All but me!!!”

She heaved after letting out one hell of a rant, her chest rising and falling with the force of it.

”I’m starting to think it wouldn’t have made much difference even if I was a Drifter. They were overprotective. So yes, for my freedom, I jumped a lot and broke my leg a lot.” She met his eyes. ”Even our last meeting was a result of me running again.”

Northern was silent for a moment. Then he nodded.

”I understand.”

Something in Roma’s expression softened. ”Thank you for understanding.”

She turned back to the terrace, gathering her dress and preparing to jump.

But Northern stepped closer.

”I have a better idea...”

She stopped, looking at him with sudden wariness. ”I’m not going back in there.”

Northern smiled.

”You don’t need to.”

Roma relaxed her stance, sitting on the railing and watching him with open curiosity.

”So what idea do you have?”

Northern stepped even closer. Without a word, he scooped her into his arms.

Roma went rigid with surprise—but only for a heartbeat. Then she settled against him, her body relaxing into his hold like something that had found its proper place. Her cheek flushed red, warm even in the cool night air.

”Oh...”

Northern looked down at her face, at the way the city lights caught in her golden eyes. The smile on his lips was small but genuine.

And then he stepped off the balcony, and they were flying.