"His magic!" The elf couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain in her heart. "It's like how Fyyian cares about 'his music'." Yilinrui had imagined countless scenarios of how things would unfold when Lynch saw through her. But she had never expected to face the current situation.

"Hello, Lynch." Yilinrui's voice was extraordinarily gentle, and she said, "I'm really sorry for sneaking onto 'your' flying castle."

"No, of course, I'm very glad to have you here." Lynch was somewhat at a loss, then noticed how "Cerinsan" addressed him. The mage quickly said, "It seems you've already learned my true name. In the Heather Holy Land, I had to use a false name... I didn't mean to deceive you—how should I put it?—Other than my name, I never lied to you about anything."

Yilinrui nodded, her light blue eyes sparkled with tiny silvery starlight beneath her golden curled lashes. The sadness in her eyes was heart-wrenching, making Lynch feel very uncomfortable, and an inexplicable sense of guilt suddenly emerged from a corner of his heart. The elf then said, "Actually, I also deceived you. My name is not Cerinsan, but Yilinrui."

"Ah? That can't be right!" Lynch took half a step back, frowning as he scrutinized her. Deluo saw the actions of the two in front of him; these two old acquaintances had essentially ignored his presence. The warrior gently slipped the fresh flowers back into his pocket, planning to use them later. So he quietly slipped away after leaving a note saying, "I'll go check the kitchen myself."

Lynch simply nodded mechanically, not really hearing what Deluo had said. He felt the situation was becoming very tricky. First, the princess he had in his mind had changed appearance—seeing her dwarf disguise, Lynch believed she was indeed Yilinrui, but was not certain which face was the elf's true visage. At the same time, as the elf princess, why would she hide in his high tower and travel around? And it had been a long time since the high tower left the Elf Kingdom. Why hadn't the Queen Hernfurry sent any word?

Despite the numerous questions, Lynch was most eager to ask just one. "Since the battle with the Undead Army ended, I haven't seen you again. Your mother always said you were doing fine. I heard about those things with Fyyian. Are you okay?"

Yilinrui didn't respond at all, just stood still in front of the mage. Her gaze was only on the ground, but her pupils didn't reflect the shadow of the ground.

"You can stay in the tower for as long as you like." Lynch didn't really know what to say at this point. Indeed, the fleeting glimpse in the Residual Star Swamp had left an impact on Lynch that lingered to this day. And when combining the shadow, the elf princess, and Cerinsan into one identity, Lynch was unsure how to confront it.

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable." Lynch said as he stood next to her. He reached out his hand in a gesture of invitation: "At least, let me play the part of a good host and arrange the best room for you."

Yilinrui did not look up, so she couldn't see Lynch's current expression. But she could sense that beneath the red hood, a pair of clear black eyes were shining.

"No," Yilinrui turned her face away. Although she wished for her feelings of helplessness and confusion to vanish, fatigue and a sense of helplessness quietly broke through, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Please leave." She closed her eyes.

The elf didn't hear the expected sound of footsteps, nor did she feel the gentle brush of a soft mage robe against her side, nor the sensation of it grazing her hand. Instead, there was a warm hand, stopped beside her cheek. From that hand came heat, traversing the insignificant inches between them, causing her cheek to warm slightly, with something warm and humid sliding down.

Lynch never let his slightly trembling hand touch her skin, he just lightly blew a breath, mixed with body heat and the rich smell of magic materials, blowing away the unnoticed droplets on Yilinrui's face.

Time seemed to stand still.

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