"Ah—my body aches so much, and yet he hasn't unleashed all his power."
I groaned in pain, thinking about my meeting with Silas.
"I need to get stronger quickly. Who knows when Nikolai will change his mind and turn me into a tool to do whatever he wants. I hate that I'm even saying this, but my only hope is to keep a good relationship with Elena. Surely Nikolai won't harm me in front of his granddaughter"
I took off my clothes and went into the bathroom , a bath will make feel good
'Who would've imagined that the day would come when I'd willingly be with a noble? My old self would refuse to believe such a thing.' I smiled mockingly as I sank into the bathtub and rested my back. A little water splashed as my body went in.
'But the problem is I don't know why I feel strange around Elena. Don't get me wrong — don't think I'm falling in love with her and refusing to admit it; that's ridiculous. But…'
'Could this feeling be because of the Shard? No. I can't feel the shard's emotions unless I connect to it, so it's impossible for it to affect me. Also, there's no reason for a Darkness Shard to react just because she has a Light Shard. I mean, Nikolai has one too, and even considering he's an old man, it's not logical to feel love toward him. At the very least it should have reacted in some way.' I thought, feeling disgusted at the idea of falling in love with that old man because of shard feelings.
'I'd rather die — I mean, I've died twice, but you get my point.' I shook my head and refocused on the main issue.
"After all, it seems Elena has a attribute that influences others. But how can I find out what her attribute is? Do I go straight up and say… 'Hi Elena, may I know your attribute?'"
I made a sarcastic imitation to figure out Elena's secret.
'That won't work. Maybe that girl is a little dumb, but she wouldn't just reveal something like that so simply, would she? Even if she were stupid and told me, I'd be in trouble if Nikolai found out. I mean, he help me because she threatened him by revealing her attribute— that shows how important her attribute is. Maybe she affects people around her. After all Light is a symbol of hope; it would make sense if her attribute were like that.'
"It would be a disaster if the nobles found out that the beloved daughter of WhiteHaven influences people's minds. They would try to kill her for fear she would become adored by the whole world and gain overwhelming influence. Some might try to control her and turn her into a puppet to dominate others." I felt fear thinking about that possibility.
For some reason, a puppet theater appeared in my mind showing a hand pulling black strings attached to a doll that looked like Elena, radiating a light that makes others decide to follow her.
"That's terrifying on every level. I hope that never happens."
I left the bath, dried off, and put on short shorts and a loose white shirt — comfortable home clothes.
"Now, should I try what Silas said about darkness consuming things?" I looked around for something to test my ability on.
"This trash will do."
I decided to use a banana peel from the trash can — I had eaten it yesterday
I focused my consciousness on the Darkness Shard and created a connection with it. This time it was faster; I was used to it. I sent my intent to it and ordered it to come out and devour the peel.
A sphere of darkness manifested before me and moved toward the banana peel. The ball changed shape and became like a sheet folded over the peel.
To my astonishment, the darkness element contracted until it swallowed the peel in a second, as if it had never existed.
" amazing, it turns out that bastard's words were true. But where do things that are devoured go? Is there another use for swallowing things?" I wondered about my shard's power and its nature.
'It would be great to gain such a wonderful ability. The Darkness Shard is indeed powerful.'
I felt feelings of happy and pride coming from the shard.
"Yeah, yeah , you're amazing."
I shook my head mockingly at the shard's childish behavior.
Before I could try anything else, a knocking sound at the door interrupted me.
'Who is it?'
I hurried to stand, canceled the darkness summoning, and went to the door. I turned the knob slowly and opened it.
A bright white hair and silver eyes shimmering in the dark came into view — the knocker was Elena herself.
She wore a white dress that revealed her slender arms; the hem of the dress was blue with a simple design, the dress looked incredibly on her. No — she was the one who made a simple dress look beautiful like that. I thought about her beauty as my gaze shifted to her eyes.
"Why are you here?" I asked her about the reason made her come to my place
'She could definitely spot my apartment easily .'I thought quietly while looking at her.
"Umm, may I come in please? There's something I want to discuss with you," she said shyly, twisting her hair with her hand.
'Oh my god, is she trying to kill someone with that cute look? Someone should make a spell to hide her beauty. Wait — a girl is entering my room!' I thought as I looked at my simple clothes.
"Nox, may I come in?"
She looked at me with shy red cheeks ,and eyes, trembling anxiously at the thought of being refused.
"Uh — I mean, you can come in, but the place is small."
I said quickly and made way for her to pass.
"Thank you."
She smiled brightly as she came inside.
'Wait, what am I doing, by the gods.'
I froze in place and remembered the ridiculous scene that had just happened. Why did it feel like a cheesy romance novel?
I sighed, closed the door, and followed Elena into the room.
"Do you want something to drink? I mean i don't have anything but—"
I stopped talking when I saw her sit on my bed.
"Wh-why are you sitting here?!!"
I said in a panic.
'I admit I became addicted to novels for a while, so scenes like this set off alarm bells inside me. Just imagine: you live nineteen years without knowing a girl, and then suddenly a girl even The gods envy her beauty. sits gently on your bed. This bed deserves to be put in a museum. Wait, why am I thinking like a pervy nerd?'
"I mean, you don't have chairs or anything, so i sat here," Elena replied innocently as if she didn't realize the disaster she had caused.
"Mm, you're right."
Those damned people — why make the room so small? At least put a small table.
"What are you waiting for? Come sit."
Elena patted the bed, waiting for me to sit with her.
'Seriously, I can't handle this — an invitation to the bed from a girl. Ugh. Why am I still thinking pervy thoughts?' I shook my head and then sat near Elena.
"Ahem, so what did you want to tell me?"
I turned toward her, trying to get straight to the point in hopes of getting rid of the awkward atmosphere.
"Okay, the thing is…."