Chapter 255: A Doll
Leonard's mood was in turmoil when he realized how much the people around him refused to let him rest easily.
"How do I know if you're a beauty or not?" He snorted and decided to tease her back. With a blindfold covering her eyes and some of the features, it was hard to know her overall features.
Needless to say, anyone would agree she was indeed a great beauty based on her physique.
It was just a shame that he wasn't some horny or lustful man who could only use his lower part to think.
"You can remove my blindfold once we're inside your room. You can admire me all you want by then, and possibly even do some physical activity." Eleanor giggled sweetly.
"..."
At this moment, Leonard came to realize one thing. When men become shameless, it is just cringe. But when women become shameless, that was a whole disaster awaiting those whom they chose as targets.
"We'll head inside my room, but stop with your flirtatious remark. When overboard, I'll really eat you inside out." Leonard hissed and warned.
"Eat me inside out? I'm excited." She clasped her hands in joy.
Poor Leonard could only roll his eyes at her shameless behavior. He realized that someone like her would never lose out on a verbal banter.
Sometime later, the two of them entered the room, with Eleanor seemingly maneuvering her wheelchair to a specific spot.
"You really haven't changed anything since then." She murmured, her hand touching softly on a doll. This doll held special meaning because it was something she cherished and gave to him.
"What did you just say?" Leonard turned around and noticed her touching a doll that was placed on a cabinet. He didn't know what the doll was, nor did he have any recollection of it from the old Leonard's memories.
Either way, he heard her muttering something and was curious.
"Do you remember this doll?" Eleanor asked softly.
"It's been there for as long as I can remember." He scratched his head and answered without much thought. The doll could be said to be the most ordinary item in his room.
There was no mana residue or even a hidden mechanism behind it.
Little did Leonard know his answer had caused Eleanor's internal emotion to drop slightly.
'Forget it, I cannot blame him.' She thought to herself. Just the fact that the doll remained in perfect condition was enough.
She caressed the doll a few more times before requesting her wheelchair to be pushed toward the windows.
Leonard could only resign his fate and gently moved her to the window area.
"Do you see that?" Eleanor suddenly asked and pointed outside.
Her actions made it hard for anyone to believe she was really blind.
Still, Leonard no longer had the mood to taunt her when it was just the two of them alone. No spies or others would care if he tried to treat her badly in their current settings.
Instead, he shifted his attention to the situation outside.
"Hah, you've really guessed it well." He twitched his brows and let out a small, sarcastic laugh.
Outside was indeed being disturbed by a few people, or more specifically, the injured Jasper and his father, Norman.
Needless to say, there were also Imperial Guards accompanying them. It was definitely for show, though, given that they didn't dare to treat Norman harshly.
"Are you mad?"
"Huh?"
Leonard was a bit startled by her sudden question.
Why would he be mad all of a sudden?
"You don't understand the implication?" Eleanor chuckled in amusement.
"At a glance, it seems like your father is giving you authority to handle the incident. Unfortunately, the reality is that this is a lose-lose situation. If you punish Norman, then you will officially become a thorn in the Mage Association. But if you don't punish him, then you will become a puppet Crown Prince."
"Then, Miss Strategist, what do you think I should do?"
"Let me hold your hands for a few seconds, and I'll tell you." She extended her slender and smooth hands while requesting a shameless demand.
Needless to say, Leonard wasn't even surprised by what this female rogue was up to.
He was too used to her antics by now and simply let her hold his hand.
'Is she trying to check on my mana?' He wondered silently. He tried to discreetly test her power, but with his skills, it was naturally found out almost immediately.
"Checking on me discreetly constitutes creep or pervert behavior, Leon." Eleanor teased sweetly.
"But I forgive you since it's you. Next time, you can just ask me, and I'll tell you. I'm quite sensitive to people checking on me without telling me in advance." She continued, subtly advising him to be careful next time.
She wasn't angry at him. But she still wanted to let him know that the last time someone did that to her, they had departed from this world forever. Her tolerance and patience were very limited.
No, it was more correct to say that her heart only had a small amount of space.
And it was already occupied by someone, who still remained a dork and unaware of it.
'Can't he just lower his guard slightly and be honest with me?' She pondered this question. But then again, she soon realized the problem stemmed from her natural aloofness honed by circumstances.
How long has it been?
Too long for her to remember to actually feel genuine concern and emotion toward another.
She shook her head and began to inspect the mana within Leonard through his palm. Although she enjoyed holding his hand, she wouldn't forget the important task.
'His mana control has vastly improved. It seems like it was indeed right to orchestrate Mirelle to be by his side.' Eleanor was somewhat pleased with his improvement in mana.
A few minutes later, she finally released his hand. She held a gentle smile and commented.
"Your mana control has improved to an adequate level. If you want, I can help you compress and condense them properly."