Chapter 152

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Chapter 152

Xerath also realized that Sylas was talking to her, but she didn’t understand what she said… she awkwardly sat up and asked, "Um, could you please repeat that?"

Sylas suddenly woke up too, realizing she had been talking nonsense. She embarrassedly stuck out her tongue and said, "I mean… did you find anything in the manuscript you saw?"

"Yes, yes," she adjusted her slightly crooked vest, "this simple yet malicious spell appeared during the mid-Tsat period, as noted by a Lich who used to be a mage. However, it was later lost and another Lich discovered it during an ‘archaeological’ dig and managed to reconstruct it. But the details are not very clear, so we couldn’t gather further information. Right?"

"I understand. And the manuscript was completely destroyed, so there’s no way to study it. Teacher, are they more cautious around archmages?"

"Of course, they are. The manuscript was burned into ashes right in front of us. I memorized the relevant content and secretly wrote it down for research purposes, but it can’t be known by anyone, alright?"

"Of course! I won’t say anything! I promise to keep it a secret." She crossed her fingers in front of her mouth.

"Good child."

They fell into silence together. This sentence could bring back memories, back when Xerath used to carry her around and she could cuddle up in the archmage’s arms, instead of being thrown out like before school started.

Sylas sighed as she thought about things.

Xerath also sighed and walked back to sit on the chair next to her. "Would you like me to read something to you?"

"Um… I don’t have any preferences, anything will do. The book you have on hand is fine."

Xerath glanced at the book, "The Ring of Glosak the King. Have you read it?"

"I haven’t finished it yet. I planned to come back and read it. It’s an honor for you to read it to me."

"Don’t say that. I hope it won’t be too boring. What if you fall asleep in five minutes?"

"Why would you think that? I would love to listen for as long as possible."

"Well, I’ll start then." She cleared her throat. "Just like the blind poet told us, ‘Clever king Glosak has a ring that allows him to talk to birds, animals, reptiles, and fish.’ This text is perhaps the earliest text on biology…"

So, surprisingly, this book isn’t about how the king uses the ring to borrow the abilities of birds and animals to complete adventures. It’s actually a book that teaches us how to know more about things that others cannot see from plants and animals – such as climate, geology, scenery, and even the distribution of elemental tides. When it’s in written form, it’s beautifully written, but when Xerath turns it into sound, it becomes even more beautiful, like a solo performance.

Sylas raised her hand and turned water into ice. She filled a glass with the icy water and, with her skilled control, the cold glass flew to Xerath’s side. The archmage moistened her throat casually and continued reading.

When studying, she wore gold-rimmed glasses. Besides making her face look more delicate and elegant, they didn’t have any other purpose – they couldn’t block her sharp and wise gaze, nor Sylas’s fascinated gaze towards her.

She wanted to recite with a certain feeling, but felt it would be too exaggerated, as if disturbing the quietness of the room. So she didn’t show much expression or intonation, only subtle fluctuations and occasionally raising her eyebrows.

But even so, in Sylas’s eyes, she appeared too adorable. She didn’t need to do anything, just some small movements and people would scream and cheer for her. Sylas really wanted Luna and her Lily Knight Order to see what archmage Xerath truly looked like. She was definitely worth the emblem that was designed with such care.

She was both beautiful and aloof. When she stared at you, it felt as if her gaze could evaporate your whole being. She was definitely a hundred times better than the ideal male protagonists in books! Sylas really wanted to show everyone the real Xerath… No, she couldn’t. She didn’t want anyone else to share her.

However, Sylas’s gaze placed a burden on Xerath. She seemed particularly sensitive to the intense stare of the beast. After hesitating for a while and making several mistakes while reading, she finally mustered her courage to see where exactly Sylas was looking at her. But when she paused and looked up to meet that gaze, she realized the little girl was just daydreaming. Perhaps she was about to close her eyes and fall asleep.

She chuckled self-deprecatingly, and continued reading, not expecting to fall asleep first.

When she woke up again, everything in front of her was still blurry. There was something faintly moving her glasses, and instinctively, Xerath reached out to grab it. She heard the familiar voice of the teenage girl and gasped.

The moonlight reflected off the white sand shone through the window. It wasn’t bright, but it was enough to illuminate Sylas’s face clearly.

She moved closer, so close that it felt like their lips could touch with just one grain of sand remaining. Her eyes, shining like emeralds, had moonlight flowing through them as she softly called out, "Sylas…"

"Teacher, did I wake you up?"

Xerath tightly held the girl’s wrist and said, "Did I fall asleep first? I’m sorry, I got so bored reading."

"N-No, I also… I also fell asleep for a while. I just felt uncomfortable seeing you with your glasses pressed on, so… so I helped take them off." Her face flushed with embarrassment, still carrying the familiar shy expression that Xerath knew so well. She had never considered what lay hidden beneath it.

Sylas became even more uneasy and said, "I’m sorry…"

Xerath shook her head, letting Sylas take off the glasses that were only hanging on one earpiece, and gently pressed the bridge of her nose with her eyes closed as she wearily asked, "What time is it?"

Sylas spoke warmly, "It’s eleven o’clock… Maybe we should sleep here…" She almost wanted to say this. Caroline often stayed overnight in their dormitory, and Luna sometimes squeezed onto a bed with other girls. It was a very natural question, but she couldn’t say the same to Xerath.

They were not classmates, and this place belonged to Xerath. She had no reason to sleep in the owner’s room and squeeze onto a bed with her student.

More importantly, just the thought of saying this sentence out loud had already drained her of almost all her courage, let alone waiting for Xerath’s response.

Xerath was ready to get up. If she didn’t do something, she would really leave. So she quickly grabbed Xerath’s wrist.

A little… a little presumptuous. Xerath probably didn’t like it.

Xerath chuckled softly, "Have I not been with you long enough?"

Sylas immediately replied, "Not enough!" Then she realized she was being a bit too much.

"What else do you want?"

"… Can’t you…" Sylas sniffed and the little girl, who was almost as tall as her, lowered her head and said sadly, "Can’t you just hug me?" After saying this, she anxiously looked at the ground, hoping and disappointment alternating in her heart.

"… No." Xerath still firmly refused.

"What if I have a good reason?" The little girl persisted.

Xerath looked at her calmly, with a hint of a smile on her face. This gave Sylas a glimmer of hope, but her master said, "No, it’s not possible." Although she really wanted to hear Sylas’s reasons, but… no, it couldn’t be. She couldn’t give herself any more excuses, she couldn’t let the child manipulate her with her trust.

She took a deep breath and gently pushed Sylas’s shoulder, saying, "Lie back in bed, I also want… I also want to go back to sleep."

Sylas looked at her disappointedly, as if she had already lost her favor.

Her blood throbbed with her heartbeat, and she also wanted to embrace the girl, gently telling her that she had never lost her love, and that she could take anything she wanted from the King of Elements.

But she couldn’t, she couldn’t make this decision for Sylas, just as she couldn’t take away her freedom.

"Sylas."

In the darkness, Sylas sniffed again, unwillingly lying back in bed. Xerath sat by the bed, sighed, leaned over, and placed her hands beside her to bear the weight of her body.

Golden hair slid down from their necks, enveloping them in a strange and confined space. Starlight reflected off the white sand, penetrating through the archmage’s thin and fine hair. The shimmering light filled the space, and breaths stirred back and forth in this small enclosure, although low and gentle, she could smell…

Xerath was clearly stunned as well, never expecting that a forehead kiss could be more intimate than imagined, intimate enough to break through the boundaries that should exist, and she could already smell the warmth emanating from Sylas.

She got up in a disheveled manner and whispered, "Goodnight," before leaving and closing the door behind her.

But Sylas’s expected footsteps didn’t appear right away, which made her slightly nervous, and her imagination ran wild.

Her teacher… gloomy, intense gaze, burdened with worries, lonely and excluded…

The footsteps sounded, and Sylas sighed disappointingly, but she didn’t know why she felt disappointed.

Yet, the footsteps didn’t retreat. They were faint, but very noticeable in the silent tower. They were gentle, slow, coming and going.

Would her secluded and silent teacher burst in, tear open her pajamas, and force an unwanted kiss on her?

No, no, I’m willing. Sylas murmured, immediately realizing what she was doing, her face turning red, and she covered herself with the blanket.

Although the footsteps seemed to have moved away, they still lingered, as if echoing her imagination. Sometimes the footsteps seemed to grow louder, the doorknob as if being touched, as if someone really walked in, but there was no deep sigh, which had become Xerath’s trademark, no menacing approach, and not the person she imagined–

Her mind seemed unable to withstand such stimulation, she quickly fell into a deep sleep, slept exceptionally well, to the point where she was awakened not by the sound of a clock, but by a knocking on the door.

"Sylas？Sylas？"

It’s her–

Sylas suddenly woke up from her dream and replied, "I’m awake."