Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Meanwhile, in Solara, where the Rosaria Villa stood with its usual grandeur, Atlas could be seen sitting inside Seraphiel’s bedroom while she remained asleep on her bed. After everything that had happened, including having her soul taken out of her body and Orivian holding it by her neck, she had already gone through more than enough.

Going as far as shifting her soul into a completely different reality just to counter Atlas’s ability had exhausted her so much that she had immediately fallen asleep after Atlas brought her out of that Realm through the portal.

Atlas had already gone back and taken her from that Realm after discussing with the four unfamiliar individuals he had encountered there. They had informed him that a meeting would be held in three days and that he was expected to participate in it, and Atlas had agreed without giving it much thought.

After what Eliomor had announced about a disaster that would occur after two months, he was somewhat curious about what exactly that disaster was going to be. However, for the moment, his priority was finding the answer to the question that had been bothering him about Seraphiel.

He sat on a chair beside her bed while remaining silent, thinking about the same question he intended to ask her after she woke up.

’It feels like that question is more important than even the revenge I just took on those Nobles...’ As he thought about it, he suddenly remembered Solaris’s words from earlier, when she had reluctantly ’allowed’ him to enter Seraphiel’s room.

”You are to remain respectful and appreciate anything she says, is that clear? Hmph, such a clueless boy...”

Atlas had not minded her words because Solaris had shown no signs of hostility toward him. He had simply walked past her as if he could not be bothered by even a ruler, and if she had not been Seraphiel’s best friend, he would not have cared about what she thought of him.

In fact, if someone else had spoken to him in the same manner while showing clear disrespect toward him, Atlas would have killed them without hesitation.

Yes...he would have killed her, he had become that ruthless toward anyone who dared disrespect him or spoke to him in the same manner people had once treated him when he was a child.

He had already experienced enough of that kind of treatment, and now that he knew he possessed power greater than even the strongest Individuals, there was no reason for him to tolerate such behavior anymore.

Atlas shook his head and dismissed those thoughts for the moment before shifting his attention back toward Seraphiel’s peaceful sleeping face. Just as he did, he noticed her eyes twitch slightly before they slowly opened. Her vision was blurry at first as she muttered, ”Where am I?” but as her vision gradually cleared, she finally noticed Atlas sitting beside her and looking at her calmly.

”Atlas...?” she asked as she slowly sat up. Her body suddenly seemed to ache from everything she had gone through, but she managed to sit up without much trouble as her body’s innate regeneration began working, her mind snapping back as she remembered what had happened after Atlas was gone through the portal, ’I must have collapsed because of the exhaustion..’

Atlas immediately noticed the discomfort on her face, and with a snap of his fingers, he altered the logic of her pain as the symbol inside his eyes appeared for a brief moment before disappearing again.

Seraphiel raised an eyebrow when she realized that the pain had suddenly vanished, but what caught her attention even more was what she had seen in his eyes.

”Wh-What are those letters in your eyes?” she asked in shock. She knew that she possessed special eyes and had seen many others with unique symbols etched into theirs, but she had never seen actual letters appearing inside someone’s eyes before.

”Don’t worry about that, those are one of my Unique Abilities. That’s not important right now, first I want to know...” Atlas paused for a moment before finally asking the question that had been occupying his mind. ”Why, why is it that you love me?”

Seraphiel remained stunned by the question as she lowered her head and looked at her own hands for a moment. She remained silent for a while as she tried to find an answer that could properly explain the feelings she herself did not fully understand, ”The truth is, I do not exactly know the reason either. I just feel my heart racing whenever you come close to me, I feel worried whenever you go into a ruin, I...feel like I can’t live if you were to die the next moment.”

Atlas frowned at first, but his expression changed slightly when he heard the last part of her words. Seraphiel lowered her gaze as she continued, ”I can’t bring out the ’reason’ why I love you. It is not a matter of some Logic used in business. Even someone like me, who was taught to learn trading with merchants and business since childhood, could not avoid falling in love.”

”Maybe it is because I did not learn what these emotions are? Maybe it is because you are handsome? But that cannot be it either because I have seen handsome people all around the world many times...” She continued speaking while Atlas remained still and listened to her weak voice. She was clearly trying to find the right words, but the more she searched for an explanation, the harder it became for her to describe what she actually felt.

”Maybe it is because these are the first emotions I have ever felt toward someone, so I want to hold onto them by keeping you as my ’Loved one’? Maybe...it is just my personal subconscious ’greed’ that wants to keep you beside me? I truly do not know...”

Her voice became quieter as she spoke, and a drop of tear finally escaped from her eye. She clenched her hands around the sheet covering her body as she struggled to control herself. For the first time in her life, she was feeling something that she could not understand through knowledge or experience, and that inability to explain it was making her even more afraid that she might somehow lose Atlas.

An overwhelming surge of emotion had taken over her.

Even when Dravenson had wanted to kill Atlas, she had felt the same fear and desperation, but what she felt now was far stronger. It was as if something deep inside her was warning her that if she said something wrong, she would lose Atlas forever, and if she failed to explain these feelings properly, then she would somehow fail to keep him beside her.

She could not even properly understand why she was thinking that way, but just then, she remembered something her mother had told her when she was still a child. ”It is good to be ’greedy’ and ’selfish’ sometimes, my little girl.”

Her sniffing stopped for a moment as the words returned to her mind, and she immediately turned toward Atlas. The moment she looked at him, her eyes widened because Atlas was staring at her with his own eyes slightly widened, while drops of tears were escaping from his right eye.

Atlas himself did not seem to realize that he was crying. The sight of Seraphiel crying had caused something deep inside him to react before his mind could understand it, and the memory of her throwing herself in front of him suddenly returned to his mind with unusual clarity.

He remembered what she had done for him, and without understanding why, the thought of seeing her suffer again made something inside his chest tighten, ”D-Don’t cry...” Atlas muttered subconsciously in the lowest voice possible.

Seraphiel widened her eyes as she heard those words. She had been struggling to explain why she loved him, but seeing Atlas react like this made something inside her become clearer than any explanation she had tried to give.

She slowly moved closer to him, her wings folding behind her as she stepped away from the bed, while Atlas remained still and watched her approach without understanding what she intended to do.

Seraphiel stopped directly in front of him and looked into his eyes. Her own eyes were still wet with tears, but there was now a small smile on her face as she quietly whispered, ”Maybe...this is also why I love you?”

Before Atlas could respond, Seraphiel leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against his. Atlas’s eyes widened in surprise as he completely froze, unable to immediately understand what had just happened.