I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

Chapter 1326: Hopeless Unromantic

Roma was busy sifting through the crowd—despite their vote against the match, every noble held a glass of wine and spoke to each other with shameless laughter, as if they wouldn’t do all within their damned power to stop this if they were allowed to.

She dodged a maid carrying a tray, though her dodge seemed to put the poor woman in an even worse position. The lady stumbled, silverware rattling, and Roma winced. That near-collision was entirely her fault.

She glanced around and finally caught him at the balcony.

’The man of the day, stealing his time away.’

Roma hurried toward the window, her dark blue gown trailing behind her like something alive. She entered the balcony section gently, like a composed lady—if only she knew Northern had been tracking her since the moment she started looking for him.

She crept up behind him, cupped her hands around her mouth, and made a sound that was supposed to be frightening.

Northern let out an exasperated sigh.

Roma’s shoulders dropped. ”Was it that bad?”

He still leaned over the terrace railing, overlooking the colorful lights of the city. The mountain settlement was even more vivid now as darkness settled, lanterns blooming like scattered embers against the dusk.

”No. It’s not you, it’s me...” He paused. ”I have a very good sense of perception.”

Roma chuckled lightly.

”That’s one way to put it. Or you could just say spatial awareness.” She moved to stand beside him, resting her forearms on the railing. ”How wide is it, by the way? The whole palace?”

Northern looked at her and shook his head.

Roma narrowed her eyes, genuinely interested now.

”Then all the way to the port?”

Northern glanced downward, at the port thrown far below the palace, perched at the edge of the mountain’s downward slope. He shook his head again.

A small frown appeared on Roma’s face.

”The forests?”

Northern shook his head. Her frown deepened.

”The whole mountain?” Her voice pitched upward, as if the words themselves were too large to fit comfortably in her mouth.

But even at that, Northern shook his head. Then he said:

”I am currently aware of everything happening within three hundred kilometers in diameter, with this point at the center.”

Roma’s eyes widened. She stepped back without meaning to.

”You can’t be serious...” Her voice came out strange, almost breathless. ”What are you, some son of the sky?”

Northern tilted his head. ”Come to think of it, I did fall from the sky.” He glanced at her with a small smile. ”Not in that sense of the word, though.”

Roma’s eyes were still wide, her face gone pale. One could think she’d contracted a sudden headache.

”Stop looking like that...” Northern turned back to the city lights. ”You look like you saw a Titan drop from the sky.”

Just after saying this, Northern himself wondered what he would feel seeing a Titan drop from the sky. He had never even seen one aside from the dead one in the memory the void had shown him. Without doubt, he would also be shocked.

’It would be a sight for sore eyes.’

Roma’s expression shifted. What had been terrified shock was now something closer to irritation—that particular face she made when she couldn’t fit something into her understanding and resented the thing for it. The same expression that had always annoyed the hell out of Northern.

Who would’ve thought he would actually miss such a thing.

”You’re not messing with me, are you?”

Northern scoffed. ”Why would I? You asked and I answered.”

Roma went silent for a while. She was probably learning to believe the things Northern said, even when the scale was impossible for any human—even when she could not fit the concept of such possibility into her mind. She had no choice but to.

She hesitated, looking down at the colorful town. Then she asked:

”Were you this powerful back then?”

Northern’s expression flickered, something like irritation at the memory of the ’him’ back then. Granted, back then was just last month.

”No? I’ve grown quite strong...”

All in one month.

’Come to think of it, that means... Burning Storm just died.’

And yet all these events were arranged in his mind enough to fit into a long year. But it had just been a month.

So much had happened in one month.

’What a way to end a year.’

”Even stronger than then?”

Northern suppressed a chuckle, reducing it to a simple smile.

”I was a Sage back then. Right now I’m a Paragon.”

’Plus, I was still human back then. Right now, I’m pretty much some daemon.’

Even though Northern didn’t know what a daemon really was, he at least understood that he had stopped being human. But there was no need for Roma to know any of that.

The Princess looked genuinely baffled. Northern finally let that laugh out.

It was short—but like the sound of a star glittering after a long silence. Roma looked up. Whatever she had been considering was utterly interrupted by that pearl of a sound.

She hadn’t heard a heartfelt laugh from Northern before. In fact, this might be the first time she had ever heard him laugh at all.

Not that she had known him that long. But it was a normal thing for people to laugh. She just hadn’t noticed that he didn’t—until now, when he did.

Roma’s expression settled into something warm. She tilted her head toward him, amber eyes catching the lantern light.

”You have a beautiful laugh.”

Northern paused.

He looked at her strangely, his expression caught in deep confusion. He knew what a compliment was. He just didn’t know what to do with it—how to hold it, where to put it down.

Roma burst out laughing.

”Goodness, you can just say thank you. Why do you look like I asked you to kill someone?”

Northern frowned.

”That would’ve been relatively easy.”

Roma paused, giving him a dubious look. ”So... killing someone is easier than taking a compliment?”

Northern’s gaze fell for a moment as he considered it. Then he returned to her with more assurance.

”Depending on who I’m killing, yes.”

Roma stared... dumbfounded.

’I better not fall in love with this guy.’

It just might be too late for that.

’But we still have time. I mean, we’re only seventeen. He’ll get better over the years.’

She convinced herself. Whatever made her sleep at night.