“Aren’t you scared after everything that happened today? What if that guy really exposed you…”
Looking at Idledra’s gentle face, Hailey felt an inexplicable twinge of guilt and turned her face away.
Her small mouth continued to mutter something until Idledra forcibly turned her head back.
Despite the eye patch, a hint of her pink eyes could be seen, but looking closely, they were still shrouded in a thin layer of gray.
Even with Hailey standing right in front of her, all Idledra could see was a black-and-white silhouette.
Hailey actually felt quite guilty.
Initially, she had considered the idea of abandoning this girl and running away.
But when she remembered the way Idledra had clung to her arm when she was helpless, Hailey found she couldn’t leave her for some reason.
“Is Hailey worried about me? Or did you want to throw me away? I would be so pitiful if Hailey left me behind…”
Idledra gently took Hailey’s hand and pressed it against her own cheek to act spoiled.
Of course, she would not tell Hailey that she truly did have an impulse to bind herself to Hailey forever in that moment…
‘I’ve heard that if two people die together, they can become stars in the sky and stay together… If we really couldn’t escape, for some reason, I suddenly really wanted to die with Hailey, just dying in each other’s arms like that…’
“I say, why do I feel a chill on the back of my neck? Maybe we should switch spots…”
A chill came from somewhere.
Even though the sun shining on her was warm and cozy, Hailey shivered.
She tried to stand up to move elsewhere, but Idledra gently held her down.
It was just like what she had experienced before.
Her Mana would restore her consciousness, but her body was weak and limp, as if all the Mana had been drained from her.
She could only lie obediently on Idledra’s lap, at her mercy.
“There’s nothing there. It must be Hailey’s imagination, right? It’s so warm here, so Hailey should just enjoy it, my savior.”
Like anyone who enjoyed being praised, hearing the word “savior” caused Hailey’s complex emotions to turn into a strange sense of pride and shyness.
‘Savior… that actually sounds quite nice. After all, if I weren’t by her side, Idledra wouldn’t have been able to absorb Mana, and she wouldn’t have been able to clear herself of suspicion.’
*Ahem*, since the other girl acknowledged her so much, she felt truly ashamed for even having those earlier thoughts. Hailey suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and turned her face away again.
Sensing that Hailey’s anxiety was gradually dissipating, Idledra’s movements became bolder.
Her fingers gently toyed with the silver hair draped across her lap, bringing it to the tip of her nose to sniff.
The fresh scent of green grass mixed with morning dew, accompanied by the fragrance of the surrounding petals, and of course, a sweet aroma unique to Hailey.
“It was like — hmm… jam pudding?”
Whatever the scent was, as long as it was Hailey, it was bound to be delicious. It was an irresistible scent that made her want to take a bite…
“Wait… why did she feel a very strange gaze? It was as if the girl were hungry?”
“Hailey, when will my eyes get better… It’s so boring being unable to see anything.”
‘I want to see the expression on Hailey’s face when she’s annoyed with me. I want to see Hailey’s cute face when she’s eating heartily. I want to see that weak and resisting expression when Hailey is being eaten by me…’
Even though her body had already recovered over the past few days — and she could easily perceive Hailey’s every move despite her blindness — it was like the difference between a black-and-white sketch and a color painting.
She still preferred more vibrant colors.
“Let me think… Miss Fran mentioned that this temporary blindness would gradually recover with the nourishment of Mana. Let’s take off the eye patch.”
Although only a few days had passed, Idledra seemed perfectly healthy except for her eyes. Hailey also hoped to help her recover quickly.
Of course, it definitely wasn’t because she didn’t want to continue being ordered around or because the girl always liked to cling to her.
“Then, Hailey, help me.”
Idledra gently helped Hailey up, then slowly leaned her face close to Hailey’s.
She looked incredibly obedient and expectant. Hailey felt a bit helpless as she reached out to gently unfasten the eye patch.
Although the two of them had similar faces, while Hailey quietly admired Idledra’s features, she felt a strange emotion that was different from when she stared at herself in a mirror.
‘It feels like… she looks a bit better than me? Or maybe more gentle?’
It was as if the same outfit looked different on different people.
As Hailey looked at the girl with her eyes closed, her own cheeks began to flush slightly.
Long eyelashes brushed lightly against Hailey’s fingertips, but unfortunately, light did not return to those eyes.
“Um, it’s fine. You might just need to rest a bit longer. After all, they say it takes 100 days for bones and tendons to heal.”
Seeing Idledra’s expectant expression, Hailey couldn’t bear to discourage her.
She could only use a tone that made it sound like a trivial matter.
But soon, Idledra leaned her face even closer, as if she were acting spoiled or craving something.
“Didn’t you say that absorbing Mana would help me recover faster… Hailey, won’t you help me?”
“Help you… Ki — kissing is not okay! I’ve only just recovered a little bit…”
If they kissed again, she might truly be drained dry by this girl. She didn’t want to be stuck lying down forever.
After an internal struggle, Hailey summoned her courage and held out her arm, looking at her with a face of ultimate sacrifice.
“Fine, if you insist… just be gentle. Just one bite, don’t take too much.”
Idledra shook her head unhappily.
Hailey was always particularly dense when it came to these things; she always had to make it clear herself…
“The injury is in my eyes, so the place that needs Hailey’s kiss is only the eyes.”
She pointed to the corner of her eye, signaling for Hailey to kiss it. It seemed that only this could satisfy her desire.
‘Kissing her eyes? Since she isn’t the one initiating it, there shouldn’t be too much of a loss… Just once. I’ll just kiss her once.’
Hailey carefully held her face and left a light kiss on the corner of her eye.
But as the saying goes, if someone is kissed on the left, you should offer the right side to be kissed as well.
So, Idledra impatiently did exactly that.
It seemed this method truly was effective.
Idledra felt a warm current carefully nourishing her eyes, a very comfortable sensation.
“How is it? Do you feel any better? Look at me — how many fingers am I holding up?”
Watching the other girl’s expression, Hailey curiously waved her hand in front of her, until those eyes began to gaze greedily at her.
Those familiar pink eyes looked as if they wanted to swallow her whole, a gaze that seemed like it wanted to remain fixed on her forever…
“This is Hailey’s hand, this is Hailey’s soft face, and these are Hailey’s… soul-stealing eyes…”