—Phoenix Empire—
In his mansion, under a gentle breeze dancing through the open windows and dragging the scent of exotic flowers from the gardens, Matthew was coming out of the bathroom.
His hair still dripped some drops, charmingly messy in a natural way. A towel wrapped around his waist, his bare feet touching the heated floor.
Calmly, he walked to the closet, putting on a loose t-shirt and sweatpants.
When he grabbed his cell phone from the dresser, the screen immediately lit up with a cascade of notifications.
37 unread messages.
He sighed.
The first was from his cousin. A casual message with inside memes about diplomacy, and another about having been seduced by a "witch disguised as a journalist" — him and his romantic hyperboles.
Others were from his childhood friends, all minor nobles or sons of ministers.
Messages full of testosterone and boorishness:
@Mir: "Bro, the actress from that erotic series invited me to dinner... want me to see if she has a friend?"
Another friend, who had been trying to set women up with Matthew.
@lucas@: "My friends keep saying you are very polite... and hot. Come here for dinner one of these days, Matthew, before they invade the palace!"
Matthew read everything with the face of someone who wanted to be in a coma.
He slid his finger down. The official messages blinked. Invitations, notices, demands.
@PhoenixCouncil: "Summons for the opening ceremony of the International Solar Aviation Exhibition."
@PhoenixCouncil: "Your Highness will be the Crown's representative at the museum inauguration..."
@PhoenixCouncil: "Attention: your formal attire must follow the protocol of 134 heraldic seals..."
"Of course, because it is absolutely essential that my outfit has enough seals to summon an archangel..." murmured Matthew, already dragging the tab aside.
Then he saw her name.
"Luna Malroth."
And a small message preview: "Sent by mistake hehe."
Matthew froze.
His fingers hesitated before touching the notification.
Opening the conversation… Boom.
The selfie.
Luna in the gym mirror. A millimetrically casual pose, body sculpted by deities with free time, look of "ah, didn't even notice I'm hot." Slightly messy hair. Natural skin glow. Perfection summarized in megapixels.
Matthew stared at the photo for five long seconds.
His eyes widened. His cheeks got... warm? "What was that...?"
Another second passed.
He scrolled the message up, searching for context. Nothing.
Just that.
Just... "Sent by mistake hehe."
"She sent it on purpose." The thought hit him like lightning.
Matthew dropped the phone on the bed, ran his hand through his hair and... laughed.
He laughed as if something inside him, a sleeping piece, had received oxygen.
But the expression soon turned serious.
"Idiot..." — he murmured, looking at the ceiling. "Why does she affect me like this?"
Even with his heart beating fast and a ridiculous heat in his ears, he stood up, took the phone back and stared at the typing icon for a while.
He thought about replying something provocative. Thought about saying she looked beautiful. Thought about typing and deleting five times.
In the end... he wrote nothing.
But saved the photo. Discreetly. In a hidden folder with a generic name.
And then, with his heart still a bit fast, Matthew looked back at the official messages, but now... with a small smile at the corner of his mouth.
—New York—
The afternoon sun passed through the glass ceiling of the room, gilding every corner of the mansion as if the light itself knew Luna lived there.
Lying on one of the sofas with her legs crossed high, hugging a pillow and her face partially sunk in the cushion, Luna was… bored.
And worse, impatient.
On the phone screen, Twitch showed one of the most popular streamers in the world — a European influencer with a thick beard and retro cap — live streaming straight from the brutal forests of the Verdanis continent.
"And now we are approaching one of the most dangerous clearings in the reserve, known for..." said the streamer, the camera shaking as he climbed a hill, sweating like a pig.
Luna huffed. She was watching, yes. But not paying attention.
Her eyes, even pretending interest in the Verdanis fauna, slid to the top of the screen.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
"Matthew is typing..." No. "Matthew is online..." No. "Matthew saw your message..." Not even that.
Nothing.
"Ice block."
She muttered aloud, turning the phone sideways and tossing it on her chest.
The stream continued, now with the streamer showing tiger footprints, but what really mattered was the lack of response.
"I sent a selfie for FREE. A divine perfection of muscles, abs, sweaty hair, and post-workout body glow. And he..." Luna sighed, rolling her eyes dramatically "...nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Not even an emoji, not a 'really sent by mistake?' Not a damn 'lol'."
She grabbed the phone again. Opened the chat. Reread her own message. Smiled at her audacity. Then sighed again. With even more drama.
"Why do I still care about the opinion of a diplomatic iceberg with Turkish soap-opera looks and zero emotional initiative?" she murmured, throwing herself sideways.
On Twitch, the streamer shouted. "OH MY GOD, IT'S A GIANT LION!!!"
Luna didn't even blink.
She murmured. "If the lion eats this streamer, maybe I'll have a better distraction than waiting for a slow prince."
Sliding back to Matthew's chat, she typed for a second.
"Still alive?"
But deleted.
Then typed again.
"Did you like the photo or did your imperial soul freeze the phone?"
But deleted again.
"Ridiculous. Luna Malroth, stressed over an emoji that never came." She huffed, took an imported chocolate from the side table and put it in her mouth with the delicacy of someone planning the end of the world.
The phone vibrated.
Luna choked on the chocolate.
She grabbed the device in 0.3 seconds with the skill of a ninja assassin.
Notification: Matthew liked your photo.
Just that.
Silence.
Luna stared at the screen.
"LIKED!? JUST!?" she shouted, outraged, standing from the sofa like a goddess falling into the war arena.
But then, when her expression softened... a stubborn little smile appeared.
"Well... at least he saved it, right? I bet he put it in a folder called 'state documents.'"
She laughed softly, victorious. "Got you, ice block prince."
And with a snap of her fingers, she went to play League of Legends, because nothing better than beating some noobs after a camouflaged emotional victory.
The game's ambient music echoed in her headphones as she returned for another match. Her eyes half-closed still carried the silent satisfaction of having received a mere like that, for her, meant a victory worthy of an imperial declaration.
"Let's crush someone."
The match loading began.
Player icons appeared.
And then...
LIS4 – ADC / Aphelios. Luna's team.
"Oh?" murmured Luna, raising an eyebrow. "The goddess of botlane fell on my team again. What luck."
She was about to write something in the chat when the Discord call invitation popped up at the corner of the screen.
Invite from LIS4.
"But of course." said Luna, clicking with a little smile.
The connection stabilized and Lisa's soft, slightly shy voice sounded from the other side.
"Hi, is this Luna Malroth?"
"The one and only." replied Luna, resting her chin on her hand and adjusting the microphone like a diva preparing for an interview.
"Wow... I... well, I wanted to thank you. The donation you made helped me a lot. I bought a house for my parents... and they stopped fighting over money, you know?"
The sincerity in the girl's voice hit differently.
Luna smiled but disguised it with typical elegant irony. "I just wanted you not to abandon Aphelios in the middle of the match. It was an investment."
Lisa laughed, and the tension in the conversation broke like thin glass. "Well, I'll make it up with a win. Let's crush it."
The match started. Luna picked her prestige skin Lux with exclusive animation and positioned herself mid.
Lisa took the botlane as if she owned it.
And as always... led the calls with military mastery.
"Luna, watch the jungle. He's level 4 and will probably try to invade through the river."
"Copy that, commander." replied Luna, smiling, already retreating.
"Enemy toplaner missing for 10 seconds, might be coming your way too."
"I already placed a ward. Girl, you should give geopolitics classes with that mental map."
Lisa laughed but stayed focused.
Throughout the match, the two dominated the game.
Their synergy was absurd.
Lux flanked, Lisa finished. Lisa repositioned, Luna threw shields and crowd control on top.
Final score: Luna – 13/2/14 Lisa – 19/3/10
Crushing victory.
At the end, in the post-game lobby, Lisa spoke excitedly. "Ah! Before I forget... you're going to be in New York next week, right?"
"Maybe. Depends if my stock empire and ridiculous schedule allow it." replied Luna, theatrically.
Lisa laughed. "Well, my team, Galáctico Sports, is in the MSI final against the Koreans from Team Iridescent. The final will be at the New York stadium. I wanted to invite you. I can send you a VVIP ticket — backstage, box seat, everything included."
Luna raised an interested eyebrow. "Hm... considering you guys are killing it... maybe I'll go. But only if I have nothing better to do."
"It's a promise then!" said Lisa with a smile you could hear in her voice.
"Promises of Lux and Aphelios. What a pair, huh."
The call ended, and Luna stayed for a moment staring at the PC screen with a half-smile on her lips.
She grabbed her phone and typed in the girls' group:
@SmellOfEarthAfterRain: "Got an invite to the MSI final. Anyone want to watch young adults sweating playing LoL while we eat caviar in the box?"
Nikoly replied in 3 seconds:
@Nikoly: "If there's real food and a comfortable chair, I'm in."
Victória sent a queen-on-throne gif:
@Victória: "After all, someone needs to teach these pro players to dress decently."
Lumine just sent a check emoji with a wine glass.
Luna laughed alone and murmured. "This will be fun."