After a while, there was a sound of slight and slightly dragging footsteps inside the door, as if every step required a lot of effort. Then the door opened a crack inward.
A young female face appeared behind the door. She looked to be in her early twenties, with slightly pointed ears, and her long, silky red hair was tied loosely into a bun behind her head, with a few strands of hair hanging down beside her pale, almost transparent face.
Her facial features are delicate but lack color, and her skin is a kind of porcelain white caused by long-term illness, and even the light cyan blood vessels are vaguely visible. Those light brown eyes should have been bright and moving, but now they were covered with a layer of tired mist, with a bit of vigilance and an unconcealable weakness when meeting a stranger for the first time. The slender body is wrapped in a long home dress made of soft and thick material. The style is conservative and elegant. The shawl is carefully placed on the shoulders, as if it needs to resist the non-existent chill at any time.
"Who are you looking for?" Her voice was so soft that it was almost like a sigh, with a polite tone unique to elves, but it also revealed a faintness of breathlessness.
"I am here under the entrustment of Mage Bernier." Li Wen said calmly. She remembered that Fire Mage had tried to swear by the "Bernier" family, which might have been his own or his mentor's last name. Considering that he was a hybrid Sub-elf, there was obviously no one who could serve as a mentor.
Hearing the words "Bernier", the young woman's eyes instantly flashed with a trace of surprise and eagerness that could not be concealed, and her pale cheeks even had a faint and short-lived blush. She seemed to want to open the door eagerly, but her movements seemed a little slow due to weakness. She reluctantly pushed the door open completely, leaned slightly against the door frame and took a step back to make way for Li Wen. A faint gasp could be heard.
"Are you my brother's friend? Please come in!" she said urgently, with a hint of shortness of breath in her voice, "He... has he finally got any news? He hasn't sent me a letter for two or three months. I have been... always worried about him."
As she spoke, she subconsciously pressed her chest with her fingertips, as if she needed to breathe easier every time she spoke a word.
Li Wen stepped into the house, and the woman immediately closed the door, cutting off the outside world.
The furnishings inside are warm and comfortable, even overly pampering. The well-lit living room was covered with thick and soft carpets, and the fire burned vigorously in the fireplace, making the room warm and even sultry. In addition to the faint fragrance of flowers, there is also a faint scent of herbs in the air. Everything shows that the owner here lives a life that is carefully cared for but also trapped by weakness.
"Please take a seat." The woman pointed to a comfortable armchair covered with soft cushions by the fireplace. She held on to the back of the sofa with some difficulty to steady herself. "Do you need a cup of hot tea? I will let the servant prepare it..."
Her words were interrupted by a slight cough, and she quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief.
"No need, Miss Melina." Li Wen refused her kindness and said her name directly, "I am here just to hand over some things and will leave after finishing my work."
The woman known as Melina was stunned for a moment, her body relaxed slightly, and she leaned on the back of the sofa, and the last trace of alertness disappeared. She nodded, anticipation and unease mixed in her eyes. "Brother, is he... okay? I heard that he wanted to accompany the professor of the Arcane Academy to conduct a long and important confidential research, and asked me not to disturb him... Is his research at the Arcane Academy going well?"
There was obvious dependence and concern in the other party's questioning voice. But he obviously knew nothing about the world of extraordinary beings, and he even believed such a poor excuse.
"The research went very well." Li Wen's voice was calm, without any emotion. She had no intention of exposing that clumsy lie, nor did she intend to tell the other party the fact that Fire Mage was dead. After all, not all truths are comforting. "It's just that it has reached the most critical stage. Any form of communication may interfere with the experiment. So he entrusted me to hand over these things to you."
Li Wen took out the letter, the ring and the yellow Copper Key from the inner pocket of the coat, and placed them side by side on the coffee table next to the fireplace.
Melina's eyes were instantly attracted to the ring. Her breathing became rapid, her hands subconsciously clasped together tightly, and her knuckles became increasingly pale from the exertion. She walked slowly to the coffee table, shook her body slightly, and then carefully picked up the ring.
"It's him... it's really him..." She murmured to herself, her voice weak and trembling as if she was about to cry. Then she carefully picked up the envelope, and her fingertips weakly but gently brushed the seal, as if her brother's warmth still remained on it.
"He said... did he say anything else?" Melina raised his head and looked at Li Wen hopefully, his light brown eyes drooping due to weakness, "When will he come back?"
"He didn't say anything." Li Wen shook his head, "I'm only responsible for delivering the things. There should be something he wanted to say to you in the letter."
Melina nodded and stopped asking, as if he even needed to save energy to speak. She used a small silver letter opener to slowly and carefully open the paint, fearing to damage the envelope at all. She took out the letter, her hands trembling obviously weakly, and finally unfolded it.
Li Wen did not look away, she quietly observed every subtle change in Melina's expression. She saw that the woman's pale face first bloomed with a smile as hard as a fragile flower. It was a kind of joy that came from the heart but could not hide the exhaustion. But soon, the smile gradually solidified, and was replaced by a complex expression mixed with shock, confusion and worry. Her brows were furrowed tightly due to discomfort or confusion, her lips moved silently, and reading the words silently seemed to become a burden.
In the end, as if he had exhausted all his strength, Melina folded the letter paper carefully and stuffed it back into the envelope. The expression on his face was extremely complicated, and his thin body seemed to be even more difficult to bear the weight of the letter paper. Her movements were cautious, with the solemnity of a weak person. Finally, she held the ring and key tightly in her palm, and the cold metal touch seemed to temporarily support her slightly trembling fingers.
"I understand." She took a deep breath, but this simple action caused another slight cough. She turned to Li Wen, the confusion and worry on her face had been replaced by an almost stubborn and weak determination, "I will take good care of these things. Thank you very much for your willingness to send them. I have nothing to give, only some insignificant money. I hope you can accept it..."