Chapter 131: Dressing Up My Darling

After consulting with Natasha and giving her the wooden box, Elias returned to Monica’s room with several dresses that he had taken from her wardrobe before leaving.

With Natasha’s help, he had finally chosen the one he wanted Monica to wear, and now he stood beside her bed, looking down at the sleeping mage.

Monica usually wore nothing more than her black silky top and shorts, rarely bothering with anything else. Perhaps it was because she had spent so long isolated from everyone that dressing herself had gradually become meaningless, or perhaps she simply did not care about her appearance anymore.

However, Elias did.

Not because he wanted her to impress anyone, but because he wanted her to dress up for herself.

The dress he and Natasha had chosen was a violet dress decorated with delicate red cloud stitching, paired with an edged red border and intricate filigree.

Natasha had already explained how the pieces were supposed to be worn, so Elias carefully followed her instructions and finished dressing Monica within a few minutes.

He stepped backward and examined her from head to toe.

"Hmm..."

His eyes wandered around the room before he frowned slightly.

"The room is too dark," he mumbled.

He walked toward the windows and pulled the curtains apart.

Bright noon sunlight immediately streamed through the windows, filling the room with warm light and pushing away the shadows lingering across the walls.

Elias smiled in satisfaction before turning back toward Monica.

She remained peacefully asleep on the bed, her light-blue, shoulder-length hair still slightly messy from the bath. Elias ignored the untidy strands and focused on the dress.

It fit her far better than he had expected.

[Image]

He tilted his head slightly.

"Now she truly looks like a doll..." he mumbled, although he wasn’t entirely sure whether that was supposed to be a good thing or bad.

"Whatever."

He shrugged and walked back toward the bed.

When he reached her side, Elias lowered his head until his face was beside hers. His gaze fell upon her light-blue eyelashes, and his heart suddenly began beating faster.

’Should I do it?’

He had already decided that he needed to become more proactive.

And, after thinking about it for some time, he had come up with what he considered a brilliant idea.

If he wanted his wives to fall in love with him, then perhaps he needed to fall in love with them first.

...Yes.

That was his grand plan.

It sounded simple enough in his head.

After all, all three of his wives undoubtedly checked every box when it came to his preferences.

The problem was actually acting differently.

Suddenly trying to become more romantic was difficult.

Still, Elias took a deep breath and gathered his courage.

Then he leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss against Monica’s cheek.

His heart immediately began pounding harder.

Before he could overthink what he had just done, Elias straightened and turned toward the door.

"Have a good rest," he mumbled, his voice slightly awkward.

Then he quickly left the room.

It seemed Monica would not be able to examine Stella’s Auracle today.

That was unfortunate, especially considering how important her research was, but there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Elias locked the door behind himself and began walking toward the building where the supplies had been stored.

However, when he arrived, he immediately noticed Benjamin standing nervously outside.

The old butler paced near the entrance, repeatedly glancing toward the building as though something inside might suddenly disappear.

Elias furrowed his brows.

"What are you doing, Benjamin?"

Benjamin immediately noticed him and straightened before bowing.

"My Lord."

"Stand," Elias said.

Benjamin obeyed, although his worried expression remained.

"I am just worried about the resources," he explained after straightening himself.

Elias nodded.

His concerns were not entirely baseless.

The supplies contained food and other goods that could spoil if they were left unattended for too long, and Elias had no intention of allowing hundreds of gold coins’ worth of resources to go to waste.

He extended his hand.

"Give me the key."

Benjamin blinked.

"My Lord?"

Elias looked at him with a faint frown.

"Did you not hear me?"

"O-Of course, I did," Benjamin muttered.

He quickly reached into his clothes and placed the key into Elias’s waiting hand.

Elias closed his fingers around it before giving the old butler another instruction.

"Go inside and take care of your usual duties. Whenever the supplies are needed, come to me, and I will provide them. Understood?"

Benjamin nodded, although confusion remained visible in his eyes.

"Yes, My Lord."

"Leave."

"Yes, My Lord."

Benjamin bowed once more before turning around and walking away.

However, he repeatedly glanced over his shoulder as he went, clearly confused.

Elias waited until the old butler disappeared before turning toward the building.

He unlocked the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him.

Rows of wooden boxes filled much of the room, containing the vegetables, fruits, condiments, bathing supplies, cleaning products, and countless other necessities Olide had delivered.

Elias walked toward the nearest stack and placed one hand against the top of a wooden box.

"Store," he mumbled.

The box vanished instantly, prompting a grin to appear on Elias’s face.

He reached for another.

"Store."

That box disappeared as well, then another, and another.

For nearly ten minutes, Elias moved from box to box, storing every single supply inside his Inventory until the room gradually became empty.

Finally, he looked around.

Not a single wooden box remained.

"Now they will not go bad unless I take them out," he said with satisfaction.

He dusted his hands together and nodded.

There was no need to worry about spoilage anymore, and since his Inventory could preserve stored objects perfectly, he could simply retrieve whatever the household required.

Elias walked toward the windows and pulled the curtains shut, leaving the building dark and empty once again.

Satisfied, he left the room and locked the door behind him.

He then turned toward the manor.

His thoughts briefly returned to Monica, who was still sleeping peacefully in the dress he had chosen for her.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

’Now...’

He began walking back toward his room.

’Let’s see how Stella and Natasha are doing.’

With that thought, Elias continued through the manor until he finally reached the room where Stella and Natasha were waiting.