The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

AT Ellis' not so unexpected question, Astrid was momentarily silenced. Mostly because he didn't really know how to answer. As he was pondering over what to say, a certain memory suddenly flashed in his mind. It was something that happened three days ago. Not the lunch he had with Snow and Kiran, but the thing that happened after that.

His mind quickly traveled right at that time.

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Astrid glanced at Wulfric, who was currently very focused on driving. Flying cars like this usually only needed an address to be inputted in the GPS system and it would fly its passengers to their desired destination. It's rare for people to actually drive on their own.

Wulfric driving like this only meant that he wanted to get to his destination as fast as he could. There's only one reason, really. Because of the little 'promise' Astrid made earlier. That he would hug the other as soon as they arrived at their apartment building.

Thinking that Wulfric was acting like this because of that, Astrid couldn't help but smile helplessly inside. Just by this, he could easily feel the other's pure and unadulterated affection for him.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at their apartment building. Wulfric parked his car on the rooftop. Since he now owned the building, he could now freely parked his car here.

Wulfric quickly got out of the car and opened the door of the passenger seat for Astrid. As soon as Astrid climbed down of the car and raised his head, he saw Wulfric standing just a few steps away from him with an expectant expression on his face.

The other spread his arms, as if silently telling him, 'come and hug me'. With such action, one would think any form of shyness had already left his body. But the reddening of his cheeks completely betrayed that.

Wulfric's bold action, completely opposite of his blushing face, made Astrid laughed. Of course, without any malice. All he thought right now was how adorable the other was. So, he quickly took a large step forward and hugged the other's waist.

He felt his body stiffened for a moment, and then he relaxed and hugged him back. Wulfric's arms tightened around him, as if he wanted to melt his whole body into his.

Being surrounded by the other's warmth, Astrid felt joy and confusion at the same time. It was a complicated feeling. He couldn't even explain it properly. It's like basking under the sun, enjoying its warmth, and then suddenly feeling drops of rain falling on one's face. The sun was still shining brightly, but the rain continued to fall. It was that kind of feeling.

This hug was vastly different from that sudden hug Wulfric gave him when he returned to the capital. That one was mostly done out of impulse. But this one, this one was completely different.

Because now, they were both aware of Wulfric's feelings for him. So, it put a different kind of meaning to this hug.

As he was pondering over that, he felt something hard pressing against his upper thigh. It took a second for him to realize what it was. But before he could react, Wulfric suddenly jumped back, like a puppy whose tail had been stepped on.

Astrid stared at the other. Wulfric's face was even redder than it was before. If he looked like a ripe tomato earlier, then now, he's like a juicy, red apple.

"I- I think I need to take a cold shower," - was the first thing that came out of Wulfric's mouth.

Astrid blinked when he heard that, and then he outright laughed out loud.

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Astrid chuckled when he remembered that. When he saw Ellis raised an eyebrow at him, he apologized. "Sorry, I just thought of something."

"I guess it's related to the prince."

"It was, in fact," Astrid readily admitted. "And as for Sister Ellis' question, I do have feelings for Wulf. But as of this moment, it's still not on the same level as what he feels for me. If we put it in numbers, it would be like this. His is 100 and mine is, well, let's just say, about 70."

"That's already quite a high number," Ellis commented.

Which meant that there was a chance, a pretty high one at that, that Astrid would return the prince's feelings. Maybe not today, but definitely someday. She should probably prepare now for that time. Because once it was revealed that the two were in a relationship, it would be one of the worst PR nightmare in the history of the entertainment world.

As a competent agent, she should be ready once that happened.

"Yes. It is, isn't it?"

Astrid was actually quite surprised, because he only realized that now. If not for what happened three days ago, he probably wouldn't even be able to give an accurate 'number' just like how he did now.

"Just give me a heads up once, you know, you finally agreed to have that kind of relationship with the prince," Ellis said in a rather helpless tone, as if she had already realized persuading him to do otherwise would not really change much.

Astrid chuckled. "Don't worry, Sister Ellis, it would take quite a while for that to happen."

"But it will happen," Ellis said, not a question but a statement.

"Well, it will all depend on Wulf's performance," Astrid said with a smile. "After all, it's him who needed to work hard to make me fall for him."

Ellis shook her head. She still couldn't believe that they were actually having this conversation about the prince right now. But the fact that Astrid could even speak like this about that prince, the same prince who was thought of by many as crazy and unhinged, was even more amazing.

"I don't know if I should commend you for your bravery, or simply be worried about the future," she could only say.

"I shall appreciate a compliment," Astrid responded with a playful grin.

Right now, one thing was for certain, though. That his feelings for Wulfric were actually slowly, but surely, catching up with the other.