Chapter 46 – Beautiful

The same pair of eyes—unchanged in color, shape, and every minute detail—yet they became entirely different once infused with that spark of life.

Whether in the tales passed down across the continent or the songs of the bards in the Magic World, the eyes—they are as important as the soul.

“If you wish to understand a person, you must first gaze into their eyes,” so goes the Empire’s proverb.

No doubt, before this, these eyes were beautiful, yet not so striking as to draw too much attention—so much so that the most vivid impression people would retain at a glance was the flawless features.

But when these eyes truly opened, allowing one to feel their gaze and vitality, the facial features became less important.

An ice sculpture was endowed with a soul, and in that moment, the face, expression, and demeanor came alive, complementing one another, leaving behind a complete impression.

This impression began to gradually overlap with the figure from a past life, yet with subtle differences—even the peak of a cold, snowy mountain would have sunlight falling upon it. His expression, though still frosty, was no longer the icy coldness faced toward an enemy but carried a hint of an indescribable softness.

This is how it should be… Lin Wei thought to himself—facing a friend with whom he had lived, studied, sparred, and traveled together for an entire year, this was the expression he should have!

Since Duan Yu had regained all his senses and remained conscious, there was no need to hold his hand to signify his presence, so Lin Wei withdrew his left hand.

Perhaps because they had been holding hands for too long and had grown accustomed to it, the moment they separated, there was a slight sense of emptiness.

Lin Wei waved his hand in front of Duan Yu’s face and asked, “How do you feel?”

Duan Yu ignored the hand, his gaze sweeping over Lin Wei’s figure as if trying to connect the sight before him with the sensations he had felt before.

His eyes finally returned to Lin Wei’s face, and after a moment of thought, he said, “It’s strange…”

“Of course,” Lin Wei blinked, “this isn’t like those floating elemental light orbs.”

As he spoke, Lin Wei summoned a small water-element magical beast, creating a crystal-clear water mirror in mid-air. He lay back on the bed, positioning the mirror to face both of them.

“Why don’t you take a look at yourself first,” he suggested.

The water mirror clearly reflected their images—the mage with long dark-gold hair and the summoner lying side by side on the white fur. The summoner had black hair and deep violet eyes.

The Duchess had beautiful black hair and elegant, mysterious violet eyes, and the eldest son had inherited both of these traits perfectly, much to the Duke’s delight—he had no daughters, so he couldn’t see his beloved wife’s bloodline reincarnated in a lovely young Duchess, which was a great regret. Fortunately, the eldest son happened to have such an appearance, making up for the Duke’s disappointment—the fact that the eldest son didn’t possess the strong, robust physique common among the men of the Tidis family could also be forgiven.

“Hmph, you wretched boy… You should be thankful you chose to take after your mother’s appearance when you were born, or I would have long since punished you severely!” This was what the Duke would say whenever young Lin Wei pulled some prank that greatly angered him.

At such times, Lin Wei would hide behind his mother and make faces at him. At that age, his young face hadn’t yet developed the boldness of a boy, so it appeared delicate and pretty—the resemblance between mother and son would always soften the Duke’s anger, and he would shake his head helplessly, planning to deal with the hateful boy once his wife wasn’t around…

“My mother is very beautiful. Next time we go to the Imperial Capital, I’ll take you to see her,” Lin Wei said, a slight smile appearing on his face as he looked at his reflection in the mirror, reminded of the Duchess far away in the Imperial Capital. “If she were twenty years younger—Lady Lavis wouldn’t stand a chance.”

The Duchess’s origins were not illustrious; she was the daughter of a minor noble family from the north. Duke Tidis met her on his way to the northern border and, upon parting, gave her a bouquet of violets: “If you would accept—accept being my…”

Well, this stern, composed, and meticulous Grand Duke found himself tongue-tied for the first time in his life, unable to finish a single sentence.

Lin Wei enthusiastically recounted the story of his parents’ early days: “Father was nervous and awkward when proposing, like a love-struck boy. That’s what Mother told me… But my father didn’t tell the truth. He proudly boasted to me, ‘Your mother fell in love with me at first sight and followed me back to the Imperial Capital without hesitation—the men of the Tidis family are not only invincible on the battlefield but also in love!’ I’ve been kind enough not to expose this lie so far…”

With that, the Young Duke sighed softly. It seemed the miraculous traits of the Tidis bloodline hadn’t manifested in him—he hadn’t gained the upper hand on the battlefield, and in matters of love, there was nothing to speak of—utterly empty. After the war began, the only woman who had accompanied him… was perhaps the female dragon Sandra, if she could even be called a “woman”!

Lin Wei imagined himself courting a dragon, presenting flowers—it was a terrifying thought.

He looked at the reflection of the person who had caused him to suffer defeat on the battlefield in his past life and left him with no success in love, his teeth grinding slightly.

Duan Yu, however, didn’t notice this subtle action. He looked at Lin Wei in the mirror and said, “You resemble your mother?”

“Perhaps,” Lin Wei replied. “They say I looked very much like my mother when I was young, but now it’s not so obvious… After all, I’m my mother’s son, not her daughter.”

“Even if you don’t resemble her, you seem quite beautiful…” Duan Yu didn’t hold back his praise.

“Your judgment is spot on! Although you’ve only just gained the ability to see and don’t have the appearances of others for comparison, I must say, the word ‘beautiful’ isn’t quite fitting to describe someone like me…”

Before Lin Wei could finish, Duan Yu, expressionless, met the gaze of Jerald, who had flown up to him, and completed the sentence Lin Wei had interrupted earlier: “…compared to it.”

Lin Wei: “…”

“Humans and elemental spirits shouldn’t be compared,” Lin Wei said seriously, summoning the water mirror to lower to a position where it could be touched with an outstretched hand. “Let’s not pay attention to that ugly little thing. Now, I’ll teach you how to evaluate a person’s appearance.”

His finger traced Duan Yu’s eyebrows and eyes on the mirror’s surface: “This is what we call ‘beautiful.'”

Then he moved his finger to his own face: “This is described with words like ‘handsome,’ ‘dashing,’ ‘dignified…'”

“This doesn’t match…” Duan Yu’s brows furrowed slightly, but before he could finish, Lin Wei rolled over with an air of mischief, half his body pressing down on Duan Yu, pointing at his own face and enunciating each word: “Handsome.”

Duan Yu had no choice but to comply: “Handsome.”

Then, Lin Wei turned to Duan Yu’s face and said in the same tone: “Beautiful.”

Duan Yu repeated: “Beautiful.”

“This isn’t right…” Lin Wei thought for a moment, then realized the problem. He quickly pulled over a piece of snow wolf fur to cover Duan Yu’s eyes: “Don’t look at me when you say it!”

When he lifted the white fur again, Lin Wei noticed a rare hint of a smile at the corner of Duan Yu’s eyes, making it hard to look away. He pounced on him fiercely: “Still won’t admit it—look at the mirror yourself!”

Perhaps because Duan Yu’s eyes had finally recovered, both of them were in a lighter mood. The time spent in this underground palace in the swamp was even more carefree and enjoyable than their days on Siren Island.

After they had fooled around enough, Lin Wei lay back in his original spot, calming his slightly rapid breathing. Jerald, who had been observing everything from above, flew back to his side.

Lin Wei received a brief soul communication from the spirit.

“Jerald says it’s raining outside,” he told Duan Yu.

“Let’s go out and take a look,” Duan Yu replied.

“Alright.”

The tranquility of the underground palace was, after all, temporary—if they wanted to return to where they belonged, they would have to leave this place and once again set foot on the unknown paths of the Death Swamp.