Chapter 167: The Villain’s Heartbeat
In a simple white dress, Charli came downstairs.
“Brother, I’m ready; let’s go.”
Yu Mo, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them and stood up from the sofa. “What were you doing to take so long?”
Charli glanced upstairs and quietly said, “It was Mother; she wanted to come to the temple with me.”
Her stepmother, Lady Cecil, had often pestered her about this.
Her stepmother, who was captivated by noble gatherings, was also very interested in the temple. She had repeatedly hinted at wanting to visit for prayers, but her brother had always refused.
Charli, who spent quite a bit of time with her stepmother, had constantly been hearing complaints ever since she became Cardinal Croft’s student. Her stepmother would often lament that, of the three family members, she was the only one who couldn’t frequently visit the temple.
She would plead with Charli to bring her along and even ask her to speak to her brother about it.
Today, Lady Cecil had brought it up again, and Charli had to deal with her for quite a while before she could get away.
“Tell her not to think of going to the temple without a reason,” Yu Mo replied.
“Alright, I will talk to Mother.” Charli didn’t want her stepmother going to the temple either, though her reasons differed from her brother’s.
Charli was certain that Lady Cecil didn’t want to go to the temple for any kind of faith; she just wanted excitement!
She remembered how Lady Cecil, after getting drunk at a banquet, rambled on about “tasting what the priests in the temple are like” and how “the holy knights there would be even better.”
Lady Cecil was simply too bold about these things, and Charli had overheard her clearly from where she was hiding.
With a serious expression, Charli thought that she definitely couldn’t let her stepmother go to the temple and stir up trouble.
“Brother, how are you feeling today?”
“I’m rested, all fine.”
“Brother, if Cardinal Peruth asks you this, you can’t answer like that!”
“Huh?”
“You should say you’re still not feeling well! That way, he’ll take good care of you, and you two will grow closer!” Charli did her best to use all the social skills she’d learned at banquets to advise her brother.
Yu Mo didn’t show any doubt or indifference to his sister’s series of “instructions,” listening attentively to her advice, much like he accepted the meals Charli prepared for him.
“I understand. But Charli, you don’t need to worry about me; just focus on learning magic.”
“No way!” Charli, completely unfazed by her brother’s distant tone, replied with a radiant smile, “Because you’ve always been worrying about me too, so I have to care even more about you!”
A considerate sister was indeed different from a younger brother. Resting his hand on his knee, Yu Mo softened his tone and, unusually, made a joke: “Well said, but don’t say that in front of Peruth.”
Charli responded, “I know, because His Excellency the Cardinal is so petty; he’d definitely give me a mountain of homework!”
Yu Mo chuckled.
In just two days, Charli and Peruth’s relationship seemed to have softened somewhat.
Today was also a day set aside for the busy Cardinal Peruth to continue teaching Charli, but the moment they met, Peruth looked directly at Yu Mo and asked, “Eloren, how are you feeling? Did you get enough rest?”
Charli showed a hint of smugness—she knew he would ask—and quickly nudged her brother’s arm.
Yu Mo shook his head helplessly and, after a pause, replied, “Not too well; I didn’t rest much.”
The cardinal’s smile instantly faded.
Eloren rarely spoke about his condition voluntarily. To have him mention any physical discomfort was as rare as the Pope leaving “that place.”
“Eloren, come.” Peruth extended a hand and led Yu Mo to sit on the sofa in the study, leaning on the sofa armrest as he said, “Wait here for me a moment.”
Then, he turned to Charli and said, “Follow me.”
Charli glanced at her brother on the sofa with some confusion but obediently followed the cardinal outside. He led her to another small tower with a pointed roof.
She realized that this was apparently her nominal teacher Cardinal Croft’s magic laboratory.
“Croft, I’ve brought your student over,” Peruth said.
Cardinal Croft didn’t look pleased; he seemed to have just emerged from a failed experiment, his grayish lab coat and overall exhausted, aged appearance contrasting sharply with the youthful and radiant Cardinal Peruth, who was smiling warmly.
“I told you I’ve been busy lately and that she should come later, didn’t I?” Cardinal Croft said unceremoniously.
“And that’s exactly why you need a student to help you, isn’t it? Trust me, Charli already has a solid foundation in magic; she can be of assistance to you.”
Peruth firmly placed Charli in front of Croft, his gloved hand resting on her shoulder with the demeanor of a caring guardian.
“You’ll like her—our Charli is a lovely, obedient, and intelligent child.”
Charli thought, although the cardinal was complimenting her, it was clear he was only sending her here to have time alone with her brother—much like how her stepmother would send her away when meeting a lover.
Despite her slight fear of the stern-looking Cardinal Croft, Charli recalled how much effort her brother had invested to secure her as Croft’s student. Summoning her courage, she smiled at her teacher.
Cardinal Croft frowned, glaring at both of them, but finally relented. “Come in!”
“If you can’t be of any help here and just get in the way, I’ll have that meddlesome Cardinal Peruth take you back and properly train you before you return.”
Peruth then went back to the study, where the person who had been resting on the sofa was now seated in his usual chair, reading a book on magic.
“Sent Charli over to Cardinal Croft?” Yu Mo asked while turning the pages, unsurprised by the cardinal’s sudden decision.
“Yes. Charli has a strong affinity for light magic, and I felt she should start studying under a ‘proper’ light magic teacher.”
Peruth walked to his side, his tall frame blocking the bright sunlight.
Yu Mo curled his lips, thinking that the cardinal’s tone of care was even more brotherly than his own.
“Would Eloren consider joining Charli for her lessons with Croft?” Peruth teased, taking the book from Yu Mo’s hand, closing it, and returning it to the shelf behind them.
Yu Mo made no move to resist and let him take the book.
When he looked up, he felt a touch on his cheek.
“Aren’t you the one who said you were feeling unwell? You should be resting, not reading a magic book.”
Yu Mo replied, “I thought you’d noticed—that was a lie.”
“I didn’t notice,” Peruth sighed, troubled. “I thought you’d used up all your magic again, either for your sister or someone or something else.”
As he spoke, his fingers rested on Yu Mo’s chest, sensing something. His eyes curved slightly. “Hmm, but now I see—your magic is still quite full.”
He only lightly touched the brooch on Yu Mo’s chest, his hand still gloved.
Yu Mo suddenly caught his hand, saying quietly, “Yes, right now my body is filled with your magic.”
Peruth: …
The cardinal’s gaze seemed to waver slightly at these words, though he smoothly changed the subject. “Charli reminded me yesterday that I should give you a gift to congratulate you on becoming a count.”
That slight unease was quickly hidden behind a smile as he turned Yu Mo’s hand over and, with a calm motion, took out a ring.
“This magic ring holds a reserve of magic. When you overdraw yourself, it can replenish your energy.”
With his gaze lowered, he gently slid the ring onto Yu Mo’s finger.
“Of course, I still hope you avoid overdrawing your magic—it would take a toll on your health.”
“And even though you have plenty of magic, I still think you should rest.”
Yu Mo looked down at his hand held in Peruth’s, like a gentleman holding a lady’s hand.
The silver ring on his finger gleamed faintly.
A magic ring that could store energy was rare in itself, and the magic stored within it would gradually fade over time, requiring periodic replenishment, even if unused.
Clearly, the active magic swirling around his finger had only recently been infused there.
“Eloren, do you like this gift?” Peruth held his hand, lifting it to his lips for a light, playful kiss.
“I’m curious.” Yu Mo, one hand held in Peruth’s, tapped his knee with the other. “You’ve had a strong liking for me from the moment we first met. Why?”
He looked into Peruth’s eyes, as if searching for some hidden truth buried deep in that amber gaze.
“I wish I knew why as well,” Peruth murmured, rubbing his fingers through the glove. “If no mysterious force is controlling me, then maybe I loved you in another world.”
While he thought his feelings for Eloren were quite evident, he didn’t want to delve into the strange emotions that seemed to surface from unknown depths within him.
Yu Mo didn’t fully understand, and it seemed Peruth himself couldn’t find an answer.
“Alright.” Yu Mo let the question drop. “Taking a break here sounds nice.”
“You mean, resting right here?” Peruth released his hand, patting the sofa’s backrest. “Come on. I could even make the sofa softer, like a bed of feathers, so you can rest here all day.”
Yu Mo undid the buttons and slipped off his stiff outer coat, glancing at Peruth. “Could I rest on you instead?”
For a moment, Peruth froze where he leaned against the sofa back.
Yu Mo had already set his coat aside and undone another button, asking again, “Not allowed?”
“Of course… you can.” Peruth shifted to one side of the sofa, exposing his lap with a welcoming gesture.
“You can rest on me.”
Yu Mo approached, unbuttoning his cuffs. “Then I’ll lie down.”
Peruth: …
“I meant lying on you, not just resting on your lap,” he said, as though his request was perfectly natural, his tone still calm, even slightly commanding.
“Alright, alright,” Peruth pinched the bridge of his nose, smiling wryly but complying.
Yu Mo finally got the soft, warm pillow he wanted, half-leaning against it. But his pillow was almost too quiet.
Lately, he’d been exhausted—too much to do.
Closing his eyes to rest, Yu Mo eventually shifted his head slightly; the heartbeat nearby was too loud.
“Are you testing me, Eloren?” Peruth asked softly.
Yu Mo acknowledged that everything he said had a hint of testing in it, but…
“Stop talking, it’s noisy.”
Surprisingly, it was quite comfortable resting here.
