Chapter 43: Bond
—ARIA—
"She slept like a pig," Ren muttered quietly beneath his breath.
Unfortunately for him, I heard it perfectly.
Instead of taking offense, I imdiately pointed toward him while keeping my attention firmly fixed on Aelith.
"Yes," I agreed enthusiastically. "What he said."
Ren closed his eyes briefly.
"My lady..."
anwhile, Aelith looked genuinely thoughtful rather than judgntal. He sat down calmly across from while beginning to remove his gloves one finger at a ti with elegance.
Even taking off gloves looked graceful when elves did it.
"I see," Aelith murmured at last.
After setting the gloves neatly beside his dical case, he lifted his gaze toward again. The earlier amusent in his expression had softened considerably, replaced now with a more observant gaze.
"With regard to your physical condition, Lady Aria," he began smoothly, "your body itself appears healthy. Your pulse is stable, your breathing has normalized, and your mana channels show no sign of external corruption."
I relaxed slightly.
Okay.
Good.
But then Aelith continued.
"However," he said carefully, "I can also sense your mana weakening."
My smile faded faintly.
The atmosphere inside the room shifted almost imdiately after those words left his mouth.
Even Ren straightened beside .
Aelith folded his hands loosely together while studying quietly for a mont before continuing.
"If you rember your foundational magical studies, then you already understand how deeply mana is tied to human life itself."
I did rember.
Unfortunately.
The terrifying exploding conversation from Libracia flashed briefly through my head.
I imdiately sat up straighter.
"...Should I be worried?"
Aelith gave a very physician-like answer.
"That depends."
I stared at him flatly.
"That is a terrible response."
"It is an honest one."
Honestly, fair.
Still, the tension inside my chest returned slowly while I watched his expression beco more serious.
Aelith leaned back slightly in his chair before explaining further.
"Mana is not simply power," he said calmly. "For most living beings, it is intertwined with emotion, consciousness, and vitality itself. Humans can survive temporary exhaustion of mana, yes, but prolonged instability gradually affects both the body and mind."
I blinked slowly.
"...You are saying my stress is magically killing ?"
Aelith looked genuinely impressed.
"That is actually a surprisingly accurate simplification."
Ren imdiately looked toward .
"My lady has been under unusual distress recently. She locked herself in this room for a week." he admitted quietly.
I looked at him in betrayal.
"Wow. You exposed instantly."
"Hm."
I sighed dramatically before slumping slightly deeper into my chair.
Honestly, this world was exhausting.
Aelith’s expression softened faintly afterward.
"I see," he said at last, closing his dical case with a quiet click. "Then I will continue observing your condition from now on."
His tone was calm, but there was a firmness beneath it, which ant he did not leave much room for refusal.
He rose from his seat in a smooth motion, as though standing required no effort at all. I found myself watching him before I even realized I had stood up as well.
Ren shifted imdiately beside .
"My lady," he said quietly, as if unsure whether I had fully registered what was being agreed upon, "that ans regular check-ups."
"I understood that part," I replied, though my eyes were still on Aelith.
Aelith, anwhile, glanced between us as if quietly amused by the exchange, though he did not interrupt.
"You are free to decline," he added politely, adjusting the strap of his dical case over his shoulder. "However, given what I have observed today, I would strongly recomnd you do not."
I hesitated for a mont.
The mory of the nightmare returned again, uninvited. The feeling of choking, the helplessness, the certainty that sothing inside had been unraveling without my control. I did not like the idea of being monitored, but I liked even less the idea of collapsing again without warning.
"...I have no problem," I said at last.
Aelith blinked once, then smiled faintly.
"Very well, my lady."
Ren exhaled softly, though I could not tell whether it ca from relief or resignation.
Aelith turned slightly toward the door, but paused before leaving, as though sothing had just occurred to him. His movents slowed, then he looked back at with a more focused, thoughtful expression than before.
"Lady Aria," he said, voice lower than earlier, "may I speak with you in private?"
The change in tone was imdiate.
Ren reacted before I did.
He flinched sharply, stepping forward with visible protectiveness as his voice rose.
"How dare you request such impertinence—!"
"Ren."
My interruption was quiet, but firm enough to cut through his words instantly.
He froze.
Aelith remained still, watching without panic or offense, only patience. If this had been anything dangerous or disrespectful, he would not have looked like that.
I exhaled slowly.
"Leave the room," I told Ren.
His head snapped toward imdiately.
"My lady–"
"I will call for you when I am done."
The silence that followed felt heavier than expected.
Ren’s eyes widened slightly at my tone. For a mont, I thought he would argue anyway.
He did not.
Instead, his shoulders lowered slightly, tension leaving him in a reluctant exhale. Still, as he turned away, his gaze lingered on Aelith for a fraction longer than necessary before he finally stepped out and closed the door behind him.
The sound of the latch clicking shut felt louder than it should have.
Only then did I look back at Aelith.
"Tell ," I said simply.
Aelith studied for a brief mont, as though confirming sothing he had already suspected. Then he spoke, his tone calm but far more serious than before.
"My lady, your mana did not weaken from stress alone," he said. "There is sothing else inside it."
My body went still.
The air in the room seed to tighten.
"...Sothing else?" I repeated slowly.
Aelith nodded once.
"A disturbance," he continued. "A resonance. As though your mana reacted to a mory that does not belong entirely to you."
I swallowed.
My fingers curled faintly at my sides without my permission.
The words were too close.
Too accurate.
For a mont, I almost laughed, but nothing ca out.
"...What does that an?" I asked carefully.
Aelith did not answer imdiately. Instead, he took a small step closer, his gaze steady and unwavering. Not invasive, but observant which made it impossible to hide from.
Then he asked quietly, "Tell , my lady. What are you hiding?"
The question struck harder than I expected.
My breath caught.
I felt dangerously exposed, like soone had placed a hand over sothing I had not even realized I was protecting.
I stiffened.
"Aelith," I said firmly.
He watched closely, and sothing in his expression shifted. Likean understanding qas forming from fragnts he had not fully nad yet.
Then he sighed softly.
"I see," he said at last.
That single phrase made my chest tighten.
Not because it confird anything.
But because it sounded like he believed he already knew enough.
Aelith lowered his gaze briefly, then reached into his coat. When his hand erged again, he held sothing small between his fingers.
A bracelet.
Thin, elegant, and woven delicately. The surface had a faint green shimr.
"This is a bond bracelet," he said calmly.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
He continued, "It is made from the vines of an ancient elven tree. It is ant to be given to one’s eternal partner among our kind."
I blinked once.
"...Excuse ?"
Aelith gave a faint, almost self-aware smile, as though he already understood how that sounded.
"In normal circumstances, it is a symbol of a lifelong bond," he clarified. "But in your case, I am repurposing it."
That did not make it better.
He stepped closer and gently took my hand before I could fully process what was happening. His touch was careful, professional, but steady enough that I did not imdiately pull away.
"This bracelet allows to sense fluctuations in your mana," he explained. "If sothing goes wrong again, I will know imdiately."
I stared at him.
Then at the bracelet.
Then back at him again.
"...You are very casually skipping over the entire ’eternal partner’ implication," I said slowly.
Aelith paused for half a second.
Then, without hesitation, he replied, "Yes."
He then lifted my hand slightly.
"May I?" he asked again, as if this was still a normal dical procedure and not emotionally charged elven symbolism disguised as safety equipnt.
I stared at him for another long mont then exhaled.
And for reasons I did not fully understand, I did not refuse.
User Comments
0 comments from readers