Chapter 95 Three Choices [Mera's Perspective]...
How did they discover that Lex was acting strangely?
It's probably because no matter how much you tease him, he won't get angry and turn cold anymore; he'll just show a helpless expression.
Mela lay on the table, thoughtfully recalling Lex's strange behavior over the past few weeks.
Lex might think he'd hidden his feelings well, that no matter how Mela tried to probe him, he could answer flawlessly—but Mela had known since she was very young that if someone could tolerate all your flaws, it must be because they love you very much.
Just as Wipdo might think that Mela doesn't have many friends because she prefers to be alone rather than run around town like other children.
But Mrs. Jensen, who lived next door, would secretly tell people that Mela couldn't make friends because she was aloof and cold, and nobody wanted to get close to her.
In short, Lex's attitude toward Mela suddenly and subtly changed at some point.
As for the reason for the change, Mela wasn't some clueless, naive girl who couldn't see Lex's affection for her.
After all, back in White Pine Town, Mela had suitors who could line up all around the town.
However, after carefully recalling the appearances of all the suitors, Mela still felt that Lex was superior.
At fourteen, a time when one is like a flower bud just beginning to bloom, Lex's face became increasingly deep-set, his profile developed distinct angles, and his long, slender fingers held an undeniable strength when he gripped someone's hand.
More importantly, Lex has grown to be as tall as Mela now. He's no longer the boy who only reached Mela's waist.
It's easy to imagine that Lex will grow even taller in the near future, and Mela might have to stand on tiptoe to pat him on the shoulder.
Lost in thought, Mela suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder.
Mela looked up in surprise, only to see that Lex had draped a shawl over her.
"Sorry, I thought you were asleep." Lex met Mela's gaze and immediately realized he had misunderstood.
From his perspective, Mela had been lying on the table for quite some time without moving, her long hair loosely draped over her shoulders, covering most of her already delicate and petite face.
Lex naturally assumed that Mela had accidentally fallen asleep while lying face down.
"What's there to apologize for? You're showing concern for me. Do I look like the kind of person who's ungrateful?" Mela smiled and pulled the part of her shawl down to her knees so she wouldn't accidentally knock it off if she moved.
Even if Lex gets it off, he'll pick it up for her and put it back on, but Mela wouldn't deliberately bother Lex with such trivial matters.
She's really wicked.
However, Mela blinked. "Lex, I suddenly have a craving for walnuts."
Two days ago, Hall delivered a truckload of food, including a whole sack of walnuts. He said he bought them from a villager who was particularly good at growing walnuts, and that his walnuts tasted especially delicious.
However, Mela thought the walnuts were too dry, so she asked Lex to temporarily put the bag of walnuts in a corner.
Right now, she suddenly felt like eating walnuts, but Lex had to go through the trouble of shelling them for her.
Lex agreed.
Soon, the sound of cracking walnuts could be heard continuously coming from inside the house.
Mela moved a chair from the dining table and sat down, watching Lex first crack open the hard shells of the walnuts before picking them up one by one, peeling out the kernels, and putting them into an empty bowl.
However, as soon as Lex put the walnuts in the bowl, Mela immediately put them in her mouth.
She chewed it and found that Hall was right; this walnut tasted especially delicious.
For a while, the bowl of walnuts never quite filled up completely, because Mela kept eating them non-stop.
"Alright, that'll be enough once you've finished peeling these." Mela suddenly picked out a small piece of the walnuts that had fallen to the ground, and put the rest back into the sack.
"Is peeling just this much enough?" Lex hesitated for a moment.
He didn't seem to realize he had peeled many walnuts.
But Mela knew his hands should be sore from peeling so many walnuts, but he wouldn't stop until she told him to.
Like a fool.
*
Mela brought back a bouquet of flowers, which was quite unusual for her.
She happened to see clusters of small white flowers growing under the tree and thought they were particularly cute, so she picked them and brought them home.
However, there were no vases in the cabin, so Mela had to take out several empty jars and stuff all the flowers into them. She then placed one on her table, another on the cabinet against the wall, and finally, after looking around the cabin, she put the remaining jar where Lex would sleep that night.
That way, Lex can simply spread out the blanket, lie down, and turn his head to smell the fragrance of flowers.
When Lex returned from outside, he was clearly taken aback when he saw the pot of flowers, but he didn't say anything.
Mela hadn't paid much attention to this until she noticed that all the other flowers had withered, but the pot of flowers she had left for Lex was still alive and well, except for being a little wilted.
It looks like it has been taken very seriously.
So Mela asked Lex if he really liked these small, white flowers with a light fragrance.
Upon hearing this, Lex gave a faint "hmm," and said, "I do like it."
Oh, I see.
Mela looked thoughtfully at the pot of flowers. Since Lex liked them so much, she could go and pick some more.
Even though Lex tried his best to prolong the lives of these flowers, the passing of time inevitably caused their white petals to curl, turn yellow, and eventually wither away petal by petal.
But after observing carefully, Mela discovered that Lex didn't seem to really like these flowers. At least, he hadn't taken good care of the flowers in the other jars, letting them wither away quickly.
The only thing he cared about from beginning to end was the jar of flowers that Mela had initially given him.
Mela lowered her eyes, pretending not to know anything about it, but didn't bring up the small white flower again.
Summer has passed, and its flowering season has ended.
*
Although Mela had deliberately avoided revealing the truth over the years, she chose to give Lex a chance on the eve of his departure from the Dark Forest.
Okay, Mela admits, she was somewhat smitten with Lex.
So, it wouldn't be a bad idea to give Lex a little something.
But when Mela closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, feeling Lex's breath getting closer and closer, finally stopping just an inch away, Mela suddenly couldn't describe how she felt.
Therefore, when Lex's warm breath suddenly disappeared, Mela felt a sense of relief.
Although she immediately opened her eyes and told Lex with a smile that the perfect opportunity she had saved for him was gone.
But a voice inside Mela told her that if Lex really kissed her recklessly, even if it was just a light, fleeting kiss, or perhaps just a polite touch on the forehead or cheek, she would think Lex was nothing special.
He was just an ordinary man.
However, Lex restrained himself.
Regardless of his true intentions, he successfully piqued Mela's genuine interest.
She wanted to give Lex another chance, but not now.
Perhaps in the near future, Lex will return to the Dark Forest, or perhaps she will leave the Dark Forest for some reason and reunite with him. In any case, when that time comes, Mela will remember today's decision.
Of course, it's also possible that neither of the above scenarios occurred, and Lex left and never returned, leaving her there to live a peaceful life undisturbed by anyone.
"It's all up to fate," Mela thought.
For some reason, she even harbored a faint sense of anticipation.
Even though she could have gotten the answer she wanted by asking the stars, Mela didn't do it because she was looking forward to the answer Lex would give.
*
They did meet again.
But the timing of their reunion at Furhorst Manor was not ideal.
Although Mela didn't know Lex's specific plans, she knew that her relationship with Lex shouldn't go beyond that of a normal man and woman.
In particular, her witch identity was no secret to the two owners of the manor.
Perhaps in the end, Fernandez and Mrs. Jones will think that she actually secretly gave Lex some kind of mind-altering potion to deceive his feelings.
Thinking of this, Mela couldn't help but chuckle, which drew a puzzled look from Yuriel.
They were now sitting in a carriage leaving Furhorst Manor.
The vast estate was quickly left behind them.
The brief reunion was fleeting, and Mela focused most of her attention on the journey, only occasionally thinking of Lex, wondering if he was still at Furhorst Manor and what he was doing.
Later, during their reunion in the royal city, Mela learned that Lex had been preparing to reclaim the throne.
However, because his preparations were so meticulous, everything seemed too easy, as if he had casually overwhelmed Elijah's power and easily resolved the conspiracy against his life.
But Lex was too busy to come see her, making Mela realize that wasn't the case. If this were a war, then Lex had only temporarily gained the upper hand, and with Elijah's support, the Siviri side could launch a counterattack at any time.
So, Mela hesitated once again.
She didn't know whether she should respond to Lex.
Because she was destined not to accept staying in the royal city forever for Lex's sake, living in that magnificent but utterly unfree palace.
It would be better to let Lex be disappointed again and again until his feelings for her are completely extinguished.
Even so, Mela was still unable to make a final decision.
She lay in bed, eyes open, gazing at the delicate lace on the canopy. Her mind drifted between Lex in the cabin and Lex at Furhorst Manor. Finally, Mela seemed to see Lex in the church.
Someone's blood accidentally splattered on his face, but Mela, as if possessed, reached out and wiped away the smudge that shouldn't have been there for Lex.
Even if a little blood were left, it wouldn't matter. A touch of crimson seemed to give Lex's already handsome features an unusually eerie charm.
Like a large black wolf that was so docile in front of her that it didn't seem like a wolf at all, it bared its fangs and revealed its inherent cruelty.
Therefore, Mela hesitated and was reluctant to give up.
Later, Silas's unintentional words struck Mela's heart like a hammer blow, completely changing her mind.
So, after unexpectedly bumping into Lex in the hallway, Mela, initially surprised, deliberately offered to make up for Lex's regret and then gave him a third chance.
This time, Mela is leaving the choice to Lex, to see if he will choose the future they will have together.
Fortunately, Lex made the choice Mela had hoped for.
He appeared before Mela on horseback.
He took the crown and swore an oath to her.
They will never betray each other, never abandon each other; only death can separate them.
Perhaps Lex thought it was his vow that moved Mela.
But the moment he actually appeared, Mela had already nodded in her heart.
However, Mela still had to ask one more question.
"Even if I can't leave here with you and go to the palace to become a qualified queen, do you still insist on giving me this crown?"
Mela actually knew how Lex would answer that question.
But she still couldn't help asking.
Let's just assume she's being coquettish. Mela thought to herself.
Since the passing of Wipdo and Elvie, Mela has not been able to act coquettishly with another person for a long time.
This person was neither her father nor her mother, but the husband with whom she would spend the rest of her life.
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Author's Note: I'm a little late, but it's okay, right? [Please][Please]
I plan to update the extra chapters every other day, so let me take a little break for now [kiss][kiss]
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