Chapter 103 - THE GREEN GEM

"...the stone must have been given to her by someone. The person must be influential enough to get their hands on this. Who do you think it could be?" 

Arthur shook his head. "I'm not familiar with the people she is associated with. I barely know her. Why are you so curious about her stone?"

The leader of the desert tribe smirked. "Aren't you curious why you could not recognize a magical stone yourself?"

Arthur agreed, "I am curious. The knowledge I have about the magical power controlling stone is that it is a red stone. The stone isn't shiny. It looks dull and is oddly shaped. It is hardly available due to its scarcity. Her green-colored stone was different. I thought it was some kind of expensive decorative stone. It didn't give off any magical vibe whatsoever. I'm surprised that I didn't notice it until now."

His foster father stated, "There are two power-controlling stones in this world. It was supposed to be only one stone but an accident occurred and the corner of the stone was broken. Somehow, the small part ended up in her hands."

"Then, what about the big part of that stone, where is it?" Arthur inquired.

The leader of the desert tribe stole a glance at him and then turned around to leave the room leisurely. Before leaving, he said, "You better pray for her. She is barely hanging in there." After that, he was gone.

"That sly old fart," Arthur mumbled. He was dying in curiosity but there wasn't a way to quench his thirst for knowledge at least for now.

He took a deep breath and released it slowly. Then, his eyes landed on Veronica. Her face was still pale. He recalled what he said to his foster mother about her. He strongly denied that he ever liked her. His heart shook with uncontrollable emotions. 

He reached out his hand and touched her cold face. His thumb stroked her cheek in small circles. 

'Weren't you hurt when I spoke about you like that? Did you not feel bad? Why did you heal me after that? You could just let me suffer and slowly heal myself. Why did you push yourself to the point of falling into a vegetative state like this? Even knowing I may not return your feelings, you went ahead and saved me. Was your life not important to you? Do you not love yourself?'

His sorrowful gaze brushed over her face. Later, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her cold, lifeless lips. 

'Do you not wish to see the world? Wake up soon.'

'I will show you the world.'

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Veronica opened her eyes. The light was too bright. She squinted her eyes, letting them steadily get adjusted to the light. An unknown ceiling came into her view as soon as her vision got cleared. She slowly blinked several times. 

It took her quite some time to take a trip down the memory lane and a thought flashed through her mind, 'Did I die? I'm not supposed to be alive after what happened.'

The pain she felt before she lost consciousness was so unbearable. She only fainted before she felt her body was being torn apart by itself. She thought someone was cutting her skin with a rough knife. She felt every cut before she fainted.

Right now, there was no pain. Only a serene feeling enveloped her heart, making her feel like she was in the afterworld. '...I won't be able to see him anymore, right? I wish I could stay by his side a little longer.  Too bad…' she smiled slightly as she recalled Arthur's face.

"You are awake!"

"!!!" Hearing a familiar voice, her body froze immediately. She was unable to move. 'What was that?'

Arthur's face came into her line of sight as her heart shook. 'Why is he here? Did he also die with me? Did my healing power not work? I'm so useless. I killed him instead,' she wept in her heart, unable to bear the truth.

"Nica, why are you crying? Are you in pain?" Arthur seemed concerned. He wiped away her tears. He was wearing a purple robe. Whenever the clothes parted, his chest became visible.

'Warmth… I feel his warmth…' she spoke in her mind. The next moment the question hit her, 'Why am I feeling his warmth? A dead person is supposed to be cold. Not warm. Then… I…' Her lips slightly parted. She had a hard time believing that she was still alive.

"Nica, are you okay? Do you need water?" Arthur didn't stop after asking. He brought a glass of water. Afterward, he lifted her slightly by holding her shoulders with one hand and helped her to drink with the other. Then, he gently wiped her mouth and laid her down.

"You have been sleeping for a month. Aren't you hungry? I've cooked meat stew for you. Don't you like meat?" Arthur's voice was unusually gentle as though honey was mixed with his words.

Veronica raised her hand and her fingers touched his face. "...How are you feeling?" she asked him in a weak voice. She needed to know if he was healed properly.

Arthur let out a helpless smile. "You are the one who is in bed for a month and you are asking about my health? If you didn't heal me, do you think you would be in this state?"

'Oh, thank goodness! He is alive! He is alive!' as she was talking to herself, tears brimmed in her eyes. 

Seeing her tears, Arthur's chest tightened with unspeakable emotions. "It looks like you are healthy enough to cry like this. I will bring you food. Wait for a while."

Afterward, he brought the meat stew he cooked earlier. He didn't make it spicy knowing she couldn't stand too much spicy food. Also, her stomach was empty. He blew over the stew to cool it off and then fed her spoon by spoon.

When he was done, he wiped her mouth and then assisted her to drink water slowly. Later, he questioned her, "Do you want to sleep more?"