Chapter 101: Hazy Mind And Lap Pillow

"Riftstone..." Monica mumbled, her eyes narrowing as she considered Elias’s suggestion. "If it is Grade Two or above and has been completely refined, then it might be possible, but creating something as complex as the Auracle would still take years, if not decades."

"We do not need to create a perfect imitation," Elias said immediately.

"We only need to take a part of its structure and make it function according to what we need. It does not have to be as compact as the Auracle either. We can make it cover the entire body instead of restricting it to a single ring."

Monica listened quietly, then nodded as she closed her eyes.

She tried to reconstruct the inner layer of Stella’s Auracle inside her mind, but the image that appeared was extremely flawed and barely resembled the structure she had seen.

However, she was not attempting to recreate it perfectly yet; instead, she wanted to look at the Auracle from a completely different perspective and understand what its structure was actually trying to accomplish.

’Looks like my previous conclusion was false...’

She carefully examined the mental image again, comparing it with what she had witnessed inside Stella’s body.

’It is not imitating an Aura Core. It is imitating the whole body.’

The thought left her even more confused.

’What the hell is this thing? And how can those mountain monks create something like this?’

The more she thought about it, the more questions appeared, but then another possibility crossed her mind.

’Perhaps... it can help me as well.’

Monica opened her eyes, and for an instant, a faint golden ring appeared within her blue irises before disappearing.

"It will take time," she said. "I need to understand at least twenty hundredths of that Auracle before I can even attempt to imitate it."

Elias clenched his fists slightly and asked, "How long would that take?"

"If we do it every day, it should take me at least a few weeks," Monica answered. "It will take longer if we do not."

He nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer, but Monica continued staring at him with a curious expression.

"Why are you doing this anyway?" she asked.

"There is a Pathless runesmith in the city."

"Ah!"

Realization struck Monica almost immediately, and an amused smile spread across her face.

"You want to patch him up so he can draw the runes on my carriage?" she asked, her amusement growing.

"Haha, are you really going through all of this just for that? Why not simply try learning runes yourself?"

She stared at him as though she found his entire plan ridiculous.

"I do not know..." Elias mumbled.

Monica’s brows furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

Elias raised a hand and held his head, his expression becoming troubled as his eyes trembled slightly.

"Whenever I think about runes, a haze appears around my mind, as though something or someone is trying to stop me from thinking about them," he answered.

Monica’s expression immediately became serious.

’Could it be the violent energy that I saw?’

The strange purple and red energies surrounding Elias had already been occupying a corner of her thoughts, and now she could not help but wonder whether they were somehow connected to his inability to think about runes.

Elias himself believed that the problem was caused by the seal placed upon his physique, but even he was not entirely certain.

"Why do you not try learning one and see what happens?" Monica asked.

Elias shook his head as he stepped closer to her.

"Not yet. I do not want to take needless risks as long as we are in this city."

"Do whatever you wish," Monica said, accepting his decision without further argument.

Elias then moved one hand beneath her legs and the other behind her back before lifting her effortlessly from the bed.

An amused expression appeared on Monica’s face as she looked up at him.

"Guess you wish to touch me instead," she whispered teasingly.

"I am simply doing my duty as a husband," Elias said as he began walking toward the bathroom.

"Is that so?" Monica smiled mischievously. "I hope you do not barge into my room one night and ask me to do my duty as a wife."

"I would never do that," Elias scoffed.

Monica laughed.

Three hours later, Elias stood beside Monica’s bed, staring down at her peaceful face.

"Two hours..." he muttered, clicking his tongue. "I massaged her for two damn hours."

Despite his complaint, a faint smile appeared on his lips as he turned around, quietly left the room, and locked the door behind him.

He walked back to his own room, where he found Natasha sitting on the bed while Stella lay sprawled across it, completely asleep.

’Guess the poison did manage to tire her out,’ Elias remarked inwardly as he glanced at Stella.

’I want some rest as well,’ he mumbled inwardly, his tiredness finally catching up to him.

Natasha noticed his exhausted expression almost immediately, and after watching him for a moment, she gently gestured for him to come closer.

Elias blinked.

[You want me to come to you?]

He asked, and Natasha nodded.

He walked toward her, and she shifted to the side, giving him enough space to lie on the bed.

[Do you want me to sleep here?]

Natasha’s expression turned thoughtful before she shook her head and shifted once again; this time, her legs were where the pillows should be.

He tilted his head in confusion until she patted her lap.

[You want me to put my head on your lap?] He asked as his heart beat in anticipation.

Receiving a lap pillow from his wife? Only a fool would decline that.

Natasha nodded, and he quickly took off his boots and climbed onto the bed before placing his head on her lap.

The moment he did, he felt like his head was floating in the clouds, and as if that wasn’t enough, Natasha began to gently brush his hair and pat his chest.

He looked at her face, or at least tried to, but as usual, the mountains restricted his vision.

He just closed his eyes after sending a Mental Whisper to her.

[You are the best.]

She smiled.