Lux held Aurora, only loosening his grip when her body stopped shaking.
His clothes were wet with her tears, but the Half-Elf didn't mind it one bit.
What concerned him the most was Aurora's current situation. Although he wouldn't go as far as to call her too skinny, compared to his lovers, the young lady was quite a bit thinner than most of the ladies he had seen.
Of course, he had a feeling that this was due to her entrapment inside the Dark Prison, where she was unable to get something to eat.
But if that were the case, how did she manage to survive after so many years of confinement?
'I'll just ask her about that later,' Lux thought as he patted Aurora's head, while holding her body in a gentle embrace.
Several minutes later, the young lady in his arms stopped moving, and the Half-Elf thought that she had finally calmed down.
However, a moment later, he heard her soft breathing, which was similar to the breathing of someone who was sleeping.
In order to confirm his guess, he gently pulled back and glanced at the sleeping beauty in his arms.
Aurora had indeed fallen asleep, and tears were still falling from her eyes.
She looked so pitiful that just looking at her made him feel as if his heart was breaking.
After pondering for a bit, Lux summoned the portable tent that was given to him by the Rowan Tribe.
He intended to let Aurora get some proper sleep in a comfortable bed. Of course, it would be better for him to carry her out of the Prison, but the two Little Skeletons told him that Aurora was unable to leave for some reason.
They already tried to escort her to leave this dark place, but whenever they were about to walk past the exit, an invisible wall would appear and block their path.
The two Little Skeletons, Zane and Zeke, could easily pass through this wall, but Aurora was unable to do so. Because of this, they inferred that there must be a restriction placed on her, preventing her from leaving.
Since that was the case, Lux decided to let Aurora have some rest first and deal with the issue once she had woken up.
As Lux gently laid Aurora on the bed, Zane and Zeke climbed on it and hugged Aurora on her left and right sides, sleeping beside her.
The Half-Elf smiled as he watched this scene and sat on a chair not far from the bed. He also notified his comrades, who were waiting for him at the entrance of the Inner Sanctum, and told them about their situation.
'Understood,' Lilian said. 'How long do you think you will be staying down there?'
'I don't know,' Lux replied. 'But there is a possibility that I'll be down here for a day or two. How about you guys? Anything interesting happening up there?'
'Nothing much,' Lilian answered. 'The person who has been following us is observing us from a safe distance. Do you want me to eliminate her?"
'No. We don't want unnecessary trouble with the locals.'
'Suit yourself, but don't take too long. It seems that their king is planning something big, and I don't want to get caught up in it.'
'I know. Draven told me something similar.'
When they arrived in the City of Exile, Lux and Lilian had sent their scouts to gather information inside the city.
This was how they managed to gather some interesting news, which prompted them to leave the city the next day.
A few hours later, Aurora let out a soft sigh, alerting Lux that she was about to wake up.
In order to avoid scaring her, he remained where he was sitting and simply observed her from a distance.
It didn't take long before Aurora opened her eyes. She slowly propped herself up on the bed and then sleepily glanced at her surroundings as she rubbed her eyes.
Lux found her actions quite cute, causing him to uncontrollably smile.
Finally, when the last dregs of sleep left her body, she realized that she was sitting on a soft bed, with Zane and Zeke beside her.
It was at that moment when she felt a gaze coming from her right side, making her body stiffen.
Slowly but surely, she turned her head to look in the direction where she felt the stare was coming from and saw the handsome Half-Elf looking at her with a smile on his face.
"Good afternoon, Aurora," Lux said. "I hope you slept well."
"G-Good afternoon," Aurora stuttered. "How long was I asleep?"
"Just a few hours."
"I see…"
The pink-haired beauty then lightly patted the head of the two Little Skeletons, who had also propped themselves into a sitting position.
Aurora fidgeted for a bit before looking at the red-headed teenager with a bashful expression.
"Thank you for coming to see me, Lux," Aurora said. "I want to let you know that I really appreciate you coming all this way to meet me."
"You're welcome," Lux replied. "But I didn't just come here to meet you. I came here to free you."
When Lux said that he had come to free her, a smile appeared on Aurora's face. A second later, she lowered her gaze and looked at something, which made the Half-Elf blink his eyes in confusion.
Due to his curiosity, he followed Aurora's gaze to see what she was looking at.
A few seconds later, the Half-Elf's body stiffened before shifting his gaze to the young beauty, whose cheeks were flushed red.
"I'm sorry," Aurora said in an embarrassed tone. "Zane and Zeke told me that those who look at, or talk to me, who have that part of their body standing up can't be trusted. Since yours isn't standing up, it means that you are a person that I can trust.
"I know that you are a trustworthy person, Lux, but I still had to check. Sorry for doubting you!"
Aurora then pressed her palms together and bowed her head, making an apologetic gesture.
The corner of the Half-Elf's lips twitched as he looked down on his little brother before shifting his gaze at the two Little Skeletons who were sitting beside Aurora.
Noticing that he was staring at them, the two Skeletons raised their thumbs at him, making Lux facepalm.
Because he was covering his eyes, he didn't notice the sweet smile that appeared on Aurora's face, who was looking at him with a tender gaze.
Author's Note: Very soon, I will be making consecutive arcs that will break your hearts.
Some of you will hate me, curse me, and wish that you could strangle me alive. Those who know me understand that this will be a very painful journey.
But, to those of you who are able to survive until the end, I promise you that it will be worth it.
Everyone, brace yourselves. We are in the End Game now.
P.S Don't worry, this friendly message will not make you spend an extra coin. Kekeke.
