Chapter 5 The Mage and Her Jobless Husband

Aurel covers the distance to catch up to her stride. "But do I have to be the jobless one? I am a Dragon Lord! I have mastered seven schools of high dragon magic, and you reduce me to... to a trophy groom?!"

"A very handsome trophy groom," Thalassa corrects, casting a side-eye at his flustered face. "And look at that, your cheeks are glowing red. That's either the sunset, 'husband,' or you actually enjoy being called pretty."

Aurel stiffens. "I do not blush! Dragon Lords do not–"

An ethereal chime hums inside Thalassa’s head.

[HAVEN ARCANA: THE FAVOR COUNTER INITIALIZED]

Current Bond Level: Unwilling Companions (0/100 Heartstrings)

Feat Achieved: [Fluster the Dragon Lord]

Effect: Caused Lord Aurel’s pride to falter and brought a flush to his royal cheeks.

Reward: +5 Heartstring Tokens

[Merchant Ledger Notice]: Heartstring Tokens may be redeemed inside the Haven for Romance Enhancements, Domestic Comforts, and Affinity Charms.

"What are you smiling at?" Aurel growls, narrowing his eyes. "You are plotting something. I can see it in those wicked eyes of yours."

"I am contemplating how well you play your role, my dear," she purrs, leaning and sliding her hand into the crook of his elbow.

Aurel flinches. But despite his scowl, he doesn't pull his arm away.

[Chime!] +3 Heartstring Tokens

(Feat: Unsolicited Intimacy)

Keep it coming, big guy! Thalassa thinks, holding his arm tighter as they pass beneath the archway marking the entrance to Oakhaven village.

The village square is alive with evening activity. The air is filled with the scent of roasting vegetables, honey-cakes, and woodsmoke. Townspeople like elves, dwarves carrying bundles of timber, and human merchants hawking autumn squashes, hurry along the cobblestone streets before nightfall.

"Now remember," Thalassa whispers under her breath, squeezing his arm as a group of women stroll past, eyeing Aurel’s towering frame with appreciation. "You are simple-minded, madly in love with me, and completely mute because you get too flustered around your brilliant, talented wife."

Aurel’s grip on her hand tightens just enough to make her knuckles ache. A naughty smirk curves his lips as he leans down to whisper into her ear.

"Careful, little artisan. Play the adoring wife too well, and I might just insist on fulfilling our marital duties when we find that bed." His breath on her neck and the sultriness of his words reddened her cheeks.

[Chime!] -2 Heartstring Tokens

(Penalty: Dragon Counter-Flirt! The Artisan is Flustered!)

Thalassa’s jaw twitches. Hey! That's not fair!

Thalassa clears her throat, coughing to hide her burning cheeks, and forces her chin up. "Keep dreaming, 'husband.' Right now, we have a hearth to secure before sunset."

As they step deeper into the heart of Oakhaven, the atmosphere shifts from a pleasant evening bustle to a prickly tension. This isn't a sprawling imperial capital where strangers blend into the background; in a small, tight-knit border town like this, every single pair of eyes notices two newcomers within seconds.

"Who are they?"

"Look at his clothes—far too rich for a wanderer, but wearing a common cloth on his head?"

"Is that a mage traveling with a human?"

Aurel’s eyes narrow as they settle on a pair of local Elves carrying baskets of wheat. They pause, their long ears twitching, returning his piercing glare with mistrustful scowls.

After all, Dragons and Elves aren't exactly fond of one another. Centuries of blood feuds and broken treaties lie between their kinds, and seeing these pointy-eared commoners walking freely while he hides under a linen rag turns Aurel’s royal blood to pure ice.

"Elves! Tree-dwelling, arrogant leaf-eaters. My people have purged entire forests for less than the look that tailor just gave me."

"Keep your claws in, Lord Aurel," Thalassa mutters through a sugary smile, waving pleasantly at an elderly woman sweeping her porch. "You are supposed to be a harmless human, remember? Harmless humans do not threaten to incinerate the local tailor."

He hissed under his breath. "I am a Dragon Lord! To stand in the presence of these pointy-eared commoners without my guard, masked in cheap linen…"

Before Aurel can finish his grandiose complaint, a voice bellows.

"Hold right there, travelers!"

The gossiping townspeople quiet down, parting to make way. Walking toward them with a walking stick is an sharp-eyed elder Elf clad in an embroidered green tunic.

Two burly human guards flank him. News travels fast in a small town like Oakhaven, after all; two well-dressed strangers didn't even need ten minutes to summon the head of the village.

The man who is the Village Chief stops five paces away and eyes the pair with suspicion.

"Two strangers step through our gates at dusk, looking like royalty on the run, and the whole market is already buzzing. I am Chief Eldrin. State your name and your business in my town."

Aurel opens his mouth, eyes filled with an arrogance that threatens to ruin everything. "We do not owe an account of ourselves to a mere–"

Thalassa violently stomps her shoe down directly onto Aurel's leather boot.

Aurel lets out a muffled grunt of pain, freezing mid-sentence.

[Chime!] +5 Heartstring Tokens

(Feat: Domestic Violence/Stomp the Dragon Lord!)

Notice: Lord Aurel's pride was stomped alongside his toes.

"Forgive my sweet, simple husband, Chief Eldrin!" Thalassa gushes, stepping in front of Aurel and slapping a hand lovingly over his chest to keep him back. "He gets terribly flustered around authority! I am Thalassa, a traveling mage, and this is my husband, Aurel."

Chief Eldrin’s eyebrows raise high up his forehead as he looks between Thalassa’s innocent smile and Aurel’s murderous, vein-popping glare. "Husband? He looks like he wants to bite my head off, daughter."

"Oh, that's just his romantic face!" Thalassa chuckles nervously, pinching Aurel's waist hard enough to make him wince again. "He's... a man of very few words. And even fewer brain cells, bless his handsome heart. He relies entirely on me to run our lives."

Aurel’s jaw works silently, his chest heaving as he fights the urge to unleash a torrent of fiery dragon speech.

[Chime!] +3 Heartstring Tokens

(Feat: Public Humiliation of Royal Blood)

"We aren't looking for trouble or a tavern bed, Chief," Thalassa quickly continues, driving home her main goal before the sun dips below the horizon.

“We are looking to settle down! We need a vacant cottage or a dwelling to rent in Oakhaven. Tonight, if possible. Do you have a hearth for a young married couple looking to build a life?"

Chief Eldrin narrows his eyes, assessing the absurdity of a mage married to an overly-dressed giant. After a tense moment, the old Elf lets out a chuckling sigh.

"A hearth, you say?" Eldrin tilts his head toward the edge of the village. "There is the old Weaver's Cottage by the brook. Abandoned these last two years. Lacks a touch of care, but it has a sturdy roof, a stone fireplace, and a door that locks."

Thalassa's eyes light up. The task objective!

"We'll take it!" she says instantly.

"It won't be free," Eldrin warns, crossing his arms. "Oakhaven doesn't harbor freeloaders. If you want the keys, you'll owe the village a favor.”

A favor? That can't be good.