Chapter 89: Silent Embrace

Natasha was startled by his question, and for several seconds, she remained completely still, seemingly unaware of how she was supposed to respond.

Her golden eyes trembled as she looked at Elias, and eventually, she lowered her head and raised the quill with unsteady fingers.

She wrote slowly, each movement of the quill betraying the emotions she was desperately trying to keep hidden beneath her usually impassive expression. Once she finished, she turned the notebook toward him with trembling hands.

Please, do not lie to me.

Elias stared at the sentence for several seconds before his expression softened.

He immediately understood what she meant.

Natasha had once been a candidate for the next saintess of the Sun Church, which meant she must have spent years surrounded by people who praised her beauty and treated her appearance as one of her greatest virtues. Yet after the ritual failed and left the burn marks across her body, everything had changed.

She was no longer a candidate for the position, and the people who had once hidden their displeasure behind polite smiles and respectful words would have had little reason to continue doing so.

The priests, deacons, nobles, and even commoners who had once praised her could have easily turned their admiration into disgust.

Elias had no proof that was exactly what had happened, but considering the prejudice he had experienced from his own family, he could easily imagine what strangers might have done to Natasha once she had lost everything that had made her valuable in their eyes.

He looked into her golden eyes before answering through Mental Whisper.

[I am not lying.]

Elias slowly raised his arms and wrapped them around her waist, although he deliberately stopped before allowing his hands to touch her. He had no intention of forcing himself upon her, especially after seeing how strongly she had reacted when he tried to touch her scars.

Natasha’s eyes trembled as she stared at him, but she was too overwhelmed by his words to pay much attention to the arms surrounding her.

She had not called herself ugly without reason.

She had seen disgust on the faces of priests and deacons, and even from ordinary people who had once looked at her with admiration.

After the ritual had failed, the same faces that had once held admiration for her twisted in her presence as though her scars had somehow changed the person she was.

Natasha had once been proud of the beauty she had been born with, only for that very beauty to be taken from her in a single moment.

Elias slowly moved his arms, and when she did not resist, his arms finally came into contact with her body and wrapped firmly around her waist.

Natasha blinked as she looked down in surprise, but before she could react, Elias pulled her closer until their bodies touched, his left hand resting gently against her back while his right remained around her waist.

She stared at him in confusion.

[You are not ugly, my lady,] Elias sent through Mental Whisper.

[You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and if you think I am lying, then I am ready to swear my sword on it.]

Natasha’s eyes trembled violently.

For a swordsman, swearing an oath upon their sword was no different from swearing upon their own life.

Elias tightened his embrace slightly and gently rubbed her back as he continued with a faint smile.

[The word ugly should be the last thing near you. No matter what anyone says, to me, you are beautiful. Too beautiful, in fact.]

Natasha lowered her head.

For several seconds, she remained completely still, but then her forehead slowly came to rest against his chest.

Her trembling arms rose hesitantly and wrapped around his waist.

Elias felt her embrace tighten, and his expression softened as he looked down at her.

[Are you in pain?] he asked worriedly.

Natasha shook her head.

Instead of answering, she dug her face deeper into his chest, as though she wanted to hide herself from the entire world within his embrace.

Elias felt the warmth of her body against his, and for a moment, he simply stood there while holding her.

Then, without thinking about it, he lowered his head and gently kissed the top of her hair.

A peaceful smile appeared on his face.

[No matter what happens, I will always stay by your side. Believe me.]

Natasha’s body suddenly trembled.

Elias could feel her heartbeat quickening against his chest, and her arms tightened around his waist as though she were afraid that if she loosened her grip, he might disappear.

Then an orange screen flickered before Elias’s eyes.

[Ding!]

[The Affection Rate is increasing!]

Elias stared at the message for a moment before a thought crossed his mind.

[Natasha Sephila’s Affection Rate: 17]

The two continued to hold each other for a while, then Elias moved his hands to her shoulders and said, [We shall get ready for the day.]

A frown appeared on her face before she reluctantly nodded and very slowly moved her arms away from him.

He chuckled upon seeing that and said, [At this rate, this alone would take us hours.]

To his surprise, a faint smile appeared on her face, and she looked at his face as she continued moving her arms away at the same pace.

[I wanted to tell you something.]

She furrowed her brows.

[Strange things are happening across the city, so we may not be able to leave the city.]

He had expected her expression to twist darkly, but to his confusion, she seemed peaceful knowing that they might not be able to leave the west for the east.

[Have you been to the east?]

She nodded, and her arms finally moved away as she wrote something.

I am from the east.

’Huh?’

[Were you not from the capital?]

She shook her head and answered by writing.

No, I was born in the east. The church had located me and taken me to Ruler’s Cradle after that.

[I see...]

With that, the two stepped away and looked at each other’s faces before walking away to prepare for the day.

After about fifteen minutes, Elias sat in the bath preparing to clean himself, but just as he took off his dark tunic, a knock resounded on the door.