Trapped in His Own Luna's Trap

Episode 8:

He didn’t ask anymore, but I spoke up on my own: “I came to the temple to seek shelter from the rain.”

He made a grunt of acknowledgment but didn’t respond further. I saw him turn around, holding something. After a while, I heard pages turning, and I suddenly felt uneasy. It seemed like he didn’t intend to talk to me, but I didn’t dare to go out alone. When there’s thunder, just having someone nearby would make me less afraid. I really didn’t dare to be alone.

Unconsciously leaning against the wall behind me, I touched the wound on my back, and the pain made me cry out immediately. But Gregory didn’t bother to turn his head or even look up. Frustrated, I deliberately screamed a few more times. Glancing over, I saw him still bowing his head, reading a book. After a moment of thought, I stood up, and I heard him coldly say, “The thunder’s over, go outside!”

I recoiled, softly saying, “It’s not over yet.”

The person behind the curtain fell silent.

I hesitated, trying to find something to say. Just as I was about to speak, I suddenly heard a “thud” like the sound of a book falling to the ground. I was startled, seeing the person inside coughing violently.

He bowed his body, his face obscured from my view, but I could vaguely see his long hair falling over his forehead.

As soon as he heard my footsteps, he became alert. “Huh huh, stay there!”

“I... I just...”

What did I want to do? I didn’t know.

He coughed violently, holding onto his painful chest. I seemed to see his pale, helpless face.

“I... I’ll go find help for you.” Maybe he was sick, but as soon as I said it, I regretted it. It was too late. Where could I find help now?

He remained silent. I spoke again, “Or should I go find the monk in the temple?”

Turning around, Gregory suddenly spoke up, “Huh... Aren’t you afraid of thunder and lightning anymore?”

“I am.” I blurted out, then remembered the continuous thunder outside. I wasn’t that kind-hearted; I only responded because he didn’t kick me out.

Turning around again, he said, “Don’t go outside!”

I don’t know why, but I seemed to hear a different meaning in his words.

Don’t go outside...

Staring at him, I felt like I couldn’t move. He said not to go out, and the power from before had dissipated like smoke. So, I became even more afraid to go out.

After a long time, the coughing behind the curtain gradually subsided, and I didn’t know when the thunder outside had stopped. I let go of my tense hands and stood up, not knowing what to do.

“What’s your name?” At this moment, Gregory asked me for the first time.

At first, I thought he was looking down on me, but when he asked, I felt happy in my heart. I said softly, “Amelia.”

“Martinez...” He repeated softly, then asked, “Which character?”

Although I didn’t know characters, I still knew my name. Hearing Gregory’s question, I felt proud. But immediately I felt uneasy; should I show off or act humble in front of him?

Gregory suddenly stood up, his voice cold as he said, “There’s paper and pen behind you.”

I turned around, surprised.

The paper was already spread out, carefully held down by a ruler, and the inkwell next to it seemed freshly polished recently. I turned around again in astonishment, looking at the person inside. Could it be that he hurriedly stepped behind the curtain because I suddenly rushed in?

I shook my head in incomprehension.

Slowly stepping forward, I raised my hand, but didn’t know how to hold the pen. Grasping the large pen handle, I put it down to write, and even though the paper was large, I only wrote one character.

The strokes were rough, the corners too sharp. Ha, my lips twitched slightly. Fortunately, reluctantly, I could still recognize the character “Amelia”.

After a moment of thought, I put down the pen and took the paper forward.

Gregory reached out through the curtain, his fingers long and beautiful. At that moment, when he took the paper, I could clearly see the lines of his fingers, even the veins on his fair palm.

Sighing softly, he said, “Nice name, but you... have never been educated, have you?”

“No.” I answered truthfully.

“Why?” He asked.

I thought for a moment, then reluctantly replied, “No one taught me. I didn’t want to learn before.”

“Before?” He could read the implication in my words.

I hesitated slightly, not avoiding it, and nodded. Thinking back, wasn’t he just reading a book earlier? At this moment, I didn’t hesitate to speak up. “Will you agree to teach me?”

He didn’t refuse immediately but asked, “Teach you what?”

“Everything.”

As the words came out, I realized it wasn’t right. I only knew he could read, but I didn’t ask if he knew other things.

I heard him rolling the paper. He chuckled softly and asked again, “Why do you want to learn now?”

Feeling dejected, I bowed my head in silence. No one valued me before; I had wasted twelve years. But now I understood that to live better, I had to become skilled and strong.

If living quietly in an ordinary family, perhaps being an untalented girl would be virtuous. But I wondered, did I want that? Was I content with that? No, I shook my head. Thinking of Chloe and Victoria, I definitely didn’t want that!

Perhaps seeing my silence, Gregory spoke again, “I won’t teach if I don’t know the simple reason.”

The implication was clear: if I didn’t speak up, he wouldn’t teach.

Looking up, still unable to clearly see his face, I gritted my teeth and finally spoke. “I don’t want to be looked down upon by others anymore!”

The phoenix’s destiny? I was also a daughter of the Martinez family!

But I didn’t voice this thought; I was afraid that if I did, Gregory wouldn’t consider me sane or would refrain from teaching me.

The person behind the curtain remained silent for a moment, then coughed softly, finally speaking in a gentle voice, “Alright.”