Chapter 70
Elena took a deep breath as she entered the lab.
A few days ago, after waking up in the Archmage’s office, she was swamped with work.
It was because they had to clean up after the war.
As the Chief Researcher of the West Tower, she had a lot of work to do.
Fortunately, she was able to free herself from those grueling tasks today.
‘Now what should I do?’
In fact, Elena had been told by Jeremy that she could take a vacation after settling those urgent matters.
Unfortunately, she had always been engaged with work for the past several years, so she’s having trouble now with how to spend her vacation.
‘Shall I visit Lexion?’
She wanted to follow her heart, but Lexion should be very busy.
‘As much as I am, maybe busier than me….’
She didn’t want to postpone his work just because of her.
Elena sat down at the desk.
It was then that footsteps were heard.
“Elena.”
The voice from the portal was Lexion’s.
“Lexion.”
Startled, Elena hopped from her desk.
Lexion had also been busy, and his face had a bit of stubble.
Nevertheless, he approached Elena with a bright smile.
“What’s going on? Aren’t you busy?”
Elena asked as she stood before him.
Then he grinned.
“I’m busy, but I miss Elena more. After the war, I didn’t even get to see your face….”
Lexion immediately grabbed her hand.
“Ah, I see.”
Elena replied, blushing.
“So, why did everyone rush back home?”
He asked, placing Elena’s hand against his face.
“I don’t know exactly what you heard, but the Archmage ordered us to return.”
Elena smiled softly.
She didn’t notice that Lexion’s expression subtly hardened.
“What do you mean?”
“Ah. On the last day of the war, I fainted….”
At that moment, Lexion’s hold on Elena tightened unexpectedly.
“Lexion? What’s wrong?”
Surprised, Elena asked, but he didn’t respond.
He was busy examining every part of Elena’s body, his gaze anxious.
After confirming that there was nothing wrong with her body, he stared again at Elena.
“You fainted. Why did you tell such a concerning matter just now?”
Lexion’s eyes turned red.
Elena looked up at him and panicked.
“Well, it’s just that I’ve been busy these last few days.”
“You lost consciousness, but are still working?”
Lexion paled.
“Then what will you do if you collapsed again?”
Lexion tried to stay calm, but his hand was trembling.
“It’s okay now, Lexion. At that time, I was just overdoing it, but there was no harm to my body.”
“… Are you sure?”
“Yes! It’s true.”
Elena even ran from place to place to prove that she was healthy.
And she smiled towards Lexion.
However, Lexion’s expression did not ease immediately.
His eyes were moist and his lips were trembling slightly.
“Lexion…?”
Elena worriedly called him.
Lexion closed his eyes while still holding Elena’s hand.
His lips slowly opened.
“I feel so pathetic about myself.”
He couldn’t help but feel contempt.
He hated himself for not realizing that his lover was sick.
But at the same time, he was relieved to see her unharmed.
“You’re not pathetic, Lexion. Not at all.”
Elena gently stroked his cheek.
At that moment, tears began to flow from his eyes.
“Le-Lexion?”
Elena panicked at the sudden tears.
She hurriedly tried to give him a handkerchief.
However, Lexion held her hand, with no plans of letting go.
“… If something wrong happened…”
Despite the tears, he did not divert his gaze from Elena.
Something fiery flashed in his eyes.
“I, too, would have followed you.”
“Lexion….”
Elena pressed her lips.
Seeing him crying for her made her heart skip a beat.
If that wasn’t a desperate confession, she didn’t know what was.
The two looked at each other and did not speak for a while.
Immersed with each other as if time had stopped.
Lexion took her hand and said.
“… I love you, Elena.”
At one point, Elena could barely breathe.
Thump, Thump, Thump.
Her heart was pounding hard as if it was about to leap out of her chest.
The sound of her own heart beating reverberated in Elena’s ears.
She couldn’t say anything and just stared at Lexion with her eyes wide open.
Lexion continued to shed tears, but he was fervently staring at her.
“I love you enough to trade my life for.”
It felt like an alarm went off in her head.
If she didn’t push Lexion away now, she wouldn’t be able to resist him later.
Elena realized this fact instinctively.
But when Lexion held her in his arms.
Elena didn’t dare push him away.
****
It was after some time had passed before Lexion stopped crying.
The corners of his eyes were red as he sat quietly next to Elena, holding a warm teacup.
On the other hand, Elena took a sip of her tea while admiring Lexion’s profile.
‘A handsome man crying… This is driving me crazy.’
Besides, didn’t he even confess that he loved her?
Elena inwardly sighed.
Originally, she was going to end her relationship with Lexion within a few days.
Of course, it was hard to make up her mind since she was having a pleasant time with him so far.
She had decided it would be best for them to move on, but her resolve melted like snow when she saw the tears in this handsome man’s eyes.
“Lexion.”
Elena whispered.
Lexion turned his head toward her in response.
For a moment, she couldn’t speak.
‘You’re breathtakingly handsome….’
Even after crying, the flush at the corner of his eyes just only made him more captivating.
Elena calmed her trembling heart and opened her mouth.
“I have something to tell you.”
“Yes, Elena.”
Lexion patiently waited for her next words.
He looked cute as well.
Damn it.
Elena snorted inwardly.
“… Soon, our time as lovers will end.”
“Yes…”
Lexion answered, unable to hide his gloomy face.
He was also cute like that.
Elena struggled to hold back the desire to hold him in her arms at that moment.
“But because of this war, we missed a month’s-worth of being a couple, so why not continue it for one more month?”
Lexion’s expression brightened in an instant.
‘You look like a puppy, only missing the tail and ears.’
And it seemed to overlap with his childhood appearance.
When Elena subconsciously smiled, Lexion followed her and smiled.
“Thank you.”
Lexion took Elena’s hand as he bashfully answered.
*****
In the Soleth Empire and the Fortnen Kingdom, parties continued every day.
Everyone rejoiced at their victory.
However, the nobles, including Lexion, were very busy.
They had a lot of work to do. They couldn’t even go on a date, let alone attend a party.
On the other hand, the tower was quiet.
It was back to business as usual as if the war had never happened.
However, the Archmage felt different from usual.
‘Is it really okay like this?’
Although she was working in her office, Karen was unable to concentrate on her work.
The war was over, but there was no sense of peace.
‘I don’t think it’s over yet.’
What disturbed her heart was the energy she felt during the war.
‘Henus…’
The man who was her lover and the former spirit master.
She felt his aura, even only for a moment.
‘It can’t be. It must be a mistake.’
Karen struggled to deny it.
But the anxiety did not go away.
‘Henus is already dead.’
How could she feel the aura of the dead?
But at that moment, something occurred to her.
She had never seen this case before, but there was one possible theory.
‘Black magic…’
If one used black magic, one might be able to bring the dead back to life.
However, even if the dead were to be resurrected by black magic, their souls would be corrupted.
Furthermore, black magic of that caliber required a considerable amount of sacrifice, and above all, it would require the wielder a vast magical power like her, an archmage.
‘In other words, it’s close to impossible.’
Even knowing it was impossible, Karen’s hand trembled.
Additionally, before the war, the portal connected to the kingdom of the Black Continent was destroyed.
The royal family members of that kingdom were descendants of Henus.
‘No way….’
Karen’s eyes gleamed.
She immediately condensed her magic.
Her body vanished from her office in an instant.
Eventually, she appeared in the tower room of the East Tower.
“Ar-Archmage!”
Jacob – who was piled up with paperwork – was startled.
But Karen went up to him without hesitation.
“Jacob. I’m sorry. I know you’re busy, but there’s a place you need to go to.”
It was close to impossible, but it was better to check it to be certain.
