After a nap, a person's mind was naturally a little sluggish, as though separated from the outside world by a layer of frosted glass, their perception blurred and slow.
He Xi had not fully woken up yet.
The moment he heard that name, before his mind could even react, he was engulfed by an uncontrollable surge of emotion.
That little elf he had parted from only recently, yet who already made him feel as if he had not seen her in ages.
The instant silver hair and violet eyes appeared in his mind—
"Beautiful."
The two words popped from his mouth, honest and unthinking.
Only after the words left his lips did He Xi realize that Isla was the one asking the question.
But why would Isla ask that?
He had hardly mentioned anything about Zoya. He had only said that she was an elf rogue.
He hurriedly looked toward the figure by the bed.
The sly smile at the corner of Isla's lips had long since vanished without a trace. Her long golden lashes drooped, casting a small shadow of loneliness.
"She looks very sad?"
"Why?"
Seeing how obviously dejected she was, an unfamiliar nervousness wrapped around He Xi.
No, even if I really do think Zoya is beautiful, I shouldn't have praised another girl like that in front of Isla.
He realized just how foolish a mistake he had made.
She's put in so much effort for my sake. I need to find a way to make it up—
He paused, slowing his speech as he painstakingly searched his mind for the right words.
"Zoya is an elf. Elves' looks—you know. It's hard for them not to be beautiful."
That truly was how he felt, and so his tone was especially sincere. "A lot of the time—it even