Chapter 94
"...In the past..." Her voice trembled a bit, showing courage, "There used to be...a goodnight kiss. But now it's gone, I want to know...what caused this change."
She lifted her head and quickly turned it to the side, "Did I do something wrong?"
Xerath realized that her deliberate distance had hurt their previous emotional connection. Kissing someone's forehead was not particularly "suggestive" or "prohibited" in customs. However, it was still an action that made her feel strange.
Perhaps after kissing her smooth forehead, she would want to kiss her straight nose, and then continue to kiss her lips.
"Sylas..."
The little girl lifted her head, her eyes filled with sadness.
No... Xerath unconsciously reached out and touched her face, but then she felt it wasn't appropriate. It would be best to run away now and not care about her. But her rationality told her she couldn't be so hasty. Everything needs to transition smoothly, and it's best not to let anyone notice the change in her mood.
Especially Sylas.
"You didn't do anything wrong. I was just thinking... this is something that only young children do, and since you're already grown up... I must gradually start treating you like an adult."
"But... but I don't mind how you treat me. I don't mind being treated like a child by you."
You can't say such things, you must not encourage me to abuse my advantage with your words...
Xerath took a step back, "But I do mind, in the end, we will be equal. You are a mage, and I am also a mage. My attitude towards you... should follow... the basic etiquette when interacting with mages."
"But I'm not a mage yet... I'm just an apprentice now."
This sentence also sounded like a tempting lure, gently scratching at the archmage's heart.
She's not a mage yet. It's not wrong for her to ask for a goodnight kiss. What's wrong is your overthinking. You should love and encourage her in the same way as before, and reflect on yourself and restrain yourself. Before, you wouldn't just continue kissing other places so casually, would you suddenly change today?
Xerath couldn't look into her eyes and deliberately avoided eye contact. She reached out her hand - not like usual, supporting Sylas's shoulder, but instead, as if by magic, she gently touched her face and cupped her increasingly beautiful cheek. She closed her eyes and lightly placed her hand on Sylas's forehead.
She really wanted to continue kissing. This thought became harder and harder to resist, and Xerath could even feel her own lips trembling, eager to move downward. Before this, she forced herself to leave Sylas, quickly said goodnight, and then walked out of the door.
Sylas looked lost in the direction of the door, and Leunen appeared, obsequiously asking, "Do you need me to turn off the light for you?"
Sylas shook her head and anxiously touched her own cheek. But she immediately heard Xerath leave and then return, and eagerly looked at the door, hoping it would be opened.
However, Xerath stopped at the door, sensing a slight disturbance. A trap had been set at the door, and this time the footsteps went farther away. Sylas waited for a long time, but it never appeared again.
"You should go to sleep, it's so late. If you don't sleep, you won't grow tall. How will you surpass the esteemed archmage?" Leunen darted from Sylas's left to right, and this line usually worked to make her sleep, but this time it failed. Sylas stayed still for a long time before sighing softly.
And this sigh felt like it took away everything that supported her body. The girl curled up on the bed and whispered, "No matter how hard I try, it feels like I can't make her be more affectionate towards me. Is this a bottleneck?"
"My dear, don't be disheartened. Your charm will soon be unstoppable as long as you continue to use your talents. Didn't you see a hint of it at school?"
"To be honest, I don't really care about what others think of me, whether it's positive or negative."
"You should go to sleep, so that you can enjoy every day with Archmage at home. Maybe she's just tired and couldn't pay attention to you. Now it's your turn to take care of her, so it's not good to stay awake, right?" The Water Lord, who knows how long it has been alive, floated over and tucked her in.
Sylas curled up in her blanket, only her eyes peeking out, and asked seriously, "Leunen, from your life experience, will it really be useful if I continue to work hard like this?"
"Of course! Money, beauty, status, they can all disappear, but knowledge and wisdom will never abandon you. Archmage is a wise person, unaffected by other things. She values only these things, believe me." It patted its chest, which trembled inside and out due to external force.
Sylas nodded, seeming to understand but not fully, turned to the side and curled up, falling asleep with confusion.
The next morning, she turned back into a lively little creature, wearing a neat outfit, sitting on the small sofa outside Xerath's door, waiting for her to come out.
This situation was rare, and Xerath was startled when she came out of the bedroom. "Sylas, what's wrong? Is there something urgent? Next time, you can just knock and call me if there's an emergency."
Archmage immediately thought of a few unpleasant possibilities and walked over to lean against the sofa, holding Sylas's outstretched hand.
Fortunately, there were no injuries, and the young girl seemed calm. It probably wasn't a very urgent matter. Archmage relaxed, but then felt that grabbing someone's hand casually wasn't appropriate. However, when she tried to retract her hand, Sylas held it back.
"I came up to check on you. You didn't seem well yesterday," she smiled, "I thought if you didn't come out soon, I would bring breakfast up for you."
"Thank you for thinking of me," Xerath started to laugh for some reason, "Let's go downstairs and eat, are you hungry?"
"I'm not, but Titus and Virgil might be getting impatient."
"Naughty children. What's the plan for later?"
"I'm going outside to water the flowers, would you like to come with me?"
"Sure, I helped you water them last month, and I even made a record of how each different variety wrinkled."
"Really?" Sylas looked at her joyfully, "You actually took the effort to make a record? You are so kind!"
"You're too kind, just a small favor," the archmage replied politely, but her expression indicated that she was joking, "Actually, I also made an unexpected discovery."
"What is it?"
The two of them entered the living room, where Titus stood by the food bowl, eagerly hopping from one foot to another, looking at Sylas and Xerath, waiting for Xerath's command to start eating.
But Xerath was busy talking to Sylas, so she just nodded at Virgil and picked up the knife and fork, but she didn't start cutting.
Virgil was getting anxious, but he didn't want to break table manners by crossing over Xerath to eat directly.
"Hmm... To document the wrinkle patterns, I divided the tower's surroundings into eight different areas. I plucked leaves from each type of plant in each area and tried to draw them as close to their original appearance as possible."
Everyone watched her, amazed that she could be so earnest even when planting a simple flower. Maybe even a gardener wouldn't do it that seriously.
Only Sylas had a look of admiration on her face.
But all this didn't help improve the puzzled and serious expression on the archmage's face. "After being left for a while, they almost all grew roots. Virgil, why aren't you eating? Aren't you impatiently waiting?"
"I'm waiting for you to finish!"
"Oh, no need. You go ahead and eat first. Sylas, I'll take you to see later. I put all these samples back in the sandy area, near the entrance."
"Great! And what about your notes?"
"I will bring it together."
"That's amazing!" As Sylas listened to her, she sliced the pancakes on her plate into small pieces and mixed them with the pork patties. She drizzled them with butter and honey, and just when everyone thought she was going to eat them, she switched her plate with the one in front of Xerath.
"Um... Why did I do this?" The archmage was a bit confused and asked very seriously.
Sylas expressed just as seriously, "Various evidence suggests that you have been a bit tired lately, so it's my turn to take care of you. I think it makes sense."
"It sounds reasonable, but it's not that I am weak..."
"It's just a symbolic gesture of taking care. Let's consider the symbolism greater than the practicality." Her emerald green eyes widened as she looked at her, calm and gentle.
It was beautiful, very beautiful, like seeing a lovely classical painting. Xerath stopped in front but when she realized this was a living human being, she rarely smiled shyly, and lowered her head saying, "I'm not used to being taken care of by someone younger than me, but thank you."
Sylas tried to be polite and reserved - just like her teacher - in accepting the gratitude, but she failed. She laughed happily, unable to hide her pride. In the silent time that followed while cutting the food, she kept reminiscing about Xerath's surprised and especially adorable smile.
Like Moose.
Virgil blinked and glanced around in a strange atmosphere, while Titus occasionally looked up at him.
After dinner, the archmage glanced at Sylas, who excitedly stood up. Xerath smiled and waved at her, and they both walked downstairs together.
Titus trotted behind, but the door closed in front of it, causing Titus to fall on its back. Virgil picked it up, opened the door, and muttered to Titus, "I think they have evolved to communicate directly through 'soul waves'."
"Soul waves" is an unverified concept. Some researchers believe that souls communicate directly through "soul waves" instead of sound or images, which is a more advanced form of communication, like a god giving divine revelations to a worshipper. However, others doubt this theory: all recorded instances of divine revelations have been received through "speech". If souls could communicate directly through "soul waves", why would they need to convert them into "speech"?
Without a doubt, the archmage belonged to the latter group. If she heard Virgil's words, she would surely criticize him from all angles. However, she was undoubtedly too busy at the moment.
