Chapter 118: Colorless Symbol

The thing floating at the center of Monica’s Mental Library was a colorless symbol whose border faintly glowed white, and the moment she saw it clearly, her brows knit.

It resembled the mark that appeared on her forehead when her Heavenly Arcane Comprehension talent reached its full potential.

Although there was one obvious difference: the mark of her talent had three diamonds arranged above a crescent, whereas this symbol possessed five.

She stared at it for several seconds before narrowing her eyes.

"What are you?" she mumbled.

She directed her consciousness toward the symbol, carefully examining every portion of it in an attempt to understand its structure, but nothing happened.

There was no information.

Her expression became increasingly serious as she reached toward it with one finger, but the moment her finger touched the symbol, it passed straight through.

Her eyes widened slightly.

She tried again, moving her finger through the center of the symbol and then along its glowing border, but the result remained the same.

She furrowed her brows.

It was as though the symbol existed within her Mental Library and yet did not exist at the same time.

"What the hell did that lizard do..." she mumbled with a deep frown before shaking her head.

There was nothing more she could learn here.

She closed her Mind’s Eye, and her consciousness began withdrawing from her spiritual self before returning to her physical body.

Her blue eyes opened.

The first thing she saw was Elias.

He had finally awakened and was gazing at her, his crimson hair falling messily along the side of his face while his black eyes remained heavy with sleep.

When their eyes met, his lips curved into a faint smile.

"You are finally awake..." he mumbled.

Monica stared at him for a moment.

She wondered whether she should tell him what had happened, particularly the fact that she had somehow entered his strange inner world and encountered an enormous dragon, but the more she thought about it, the more she decided against it.

Elias already had enough strange problems surrounding him.

She didn’t need to add another one.

Besides...

A rather perverse thought suddenly appeared in her mind.

’Is he not supposed to enter me instead of me entering him?’

The corners of Monica’s lips trembled as she desperately held back a laugh.

She couldn’t let herself laugh now.

"Yeah... I am awake." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and asked, "What are you doing in my room so early?"

Her eyes narrowed even further.

"You did not come here to do something to me while I was sleeping, right?"

Elias furrowed his brows, and the remaining traces of sleep immediately vanished from his eyes at the strange accusation.

"Of course not."

"Tch." Monica clicked her tongue before asking, "Why did you come then?"

"I wanted to be with you," he said earnestly.

Monica’s chest warmed at his answer, although she carefully kept the emotion from appearing on her face.

’Shameless man!’

Her expression became amused instead.

"Why?"

"I did not want you to feel lonely," he said, his voice becoming slightly lower.

Monica’s smile disappeared for a moment before returning, and she chuckled softly.

"Lonely? Who? You do not think me, do you? I have the arcane and this stupid poison accompanying me all the time. I am the last person who is lonely."

Elias’s expression became complicated.

Hearing those words did not reassure him. Instead, it only strengthened the conclusion he had already reached.

She was lonely, so much so that she had begun to think of things that were not truly alive as beings accompanying her.

Elias rose from his chair, and her eyes trembled as she watched him.

’Is he leaving?’

A faint sadness settled in her chest, but she did not try to stop him.

However, she had misunderstood his intention.

He stepped closer and slipped his arms beneath her legs and behind her back before carefully lifting her into a sitting position. He then hugged her tightly, with Masterful Hands active, hoping she would somehow feel the warmth of his entire body.

"I am sorry..." he whispered beside her ear.

Her eyes trembled.

Tears gathered at their edges as she felt his hands against the back of her head and the side of her waist, and although Masterful Hands allowed her to perceive his touch and warmth, she could only feel his hands.

Slowly, she rested her head against his shoulder.

"What are you sorry for? It is not your fault that I am like this..." she whispered, her voice becoming quieter. "If I had not gone to that godforsaken hidden dungeon, I would still be the untouchable prodigy of the Mage Tower."

Elias tightened his embrace.

"You are still a brilliant mage," he said softly.

Monica smiled, and the tears that had been threatening to fall finally slipped down her cheeks as she nodded while sniffling.

"Y-Yeah..." she whispered. "I am..."

Elias gently patted her head and then her back before speaking near her ear.

"I will always be with you, Lady Monica... so you do not have to feel lonely anymore."

"Sniff... I said..." Monica sniffed again, "sniff... I am not lonely."

Elias chuckled softly.

"Yes, yes."

"Do not make fun of me," she said, her voice carrying faint embarrassment.

He was almost certain that she was pouting, and he suddenly wanted to see her expression, so he gently raised her face.

The moment he saw her, however, his heart skipped a beat.

Tears gathered at the edges of her eyes like tiny diamonds before falling down her cheeks, while her blue eyes appeared slightly drowsy, and her expression was softer and more vulnerable than he had ever seen it.

"What is wrong...?" Monica asked, confused by his sudden silence.

He did not answer.

Instead, he leaned forward as though something had taken control of his body, slowly bringing his face closer to hers.

Monica’s eyes widened, and her cheeks immediately turned red as she understood what was happening.

’No way!’

She quickly shut her eyes.

Elias continued moving closer, and her faint breaths brushed against his nose as the distance between them gradually disappeared.

Finally, their lips were about to meet.

Knock! Knock!

"My lord! Lord Olide is here with his carriages!"

Benjamin’s voice came from the other side of the door.

Elias instantly turned his head toward the door.

Monica, who had been waiting patiently with her eyes closed, slowly opened them and stared toward the door, fury burning in her eyes.

’This motherfu—’

She took a breath.

’Huff... calm down.’

Elias looked back at her with an apologetic expression.

"I have to go."

Monica furrowed her brows and immediately turned her head away.

"Do whatever you want."

Elias gave her a wry smile before releasing her, carefully lowering her back onto the bed, and standing up.

He then walked toward the door and left the room.

When the door opened, Benjamin stood outside.

However, the butler barely had time to look toward his master before his eyes met Monica’s.

She was staring at him as though he were her worst enemy.