Quick Transmigration: Irresistible Beauty-Chapter 410: Substitute Bride of the Demon King (14)
Despite her efforts to move with care, Yue Ran still emerged with a multitude of scratches decorating the backs of her hands.
"Hiss..." she hissed whenever she got new wounds on her skin.
Silas simply watched from the open window as the thin and slender figure wandered back and forth, seemingly aimlessly, in the garden. The sunlight glinted off her dark hair that was tied up into a bun, while beads of sweat began to form on her forehead, making her appear even more fragile against the oppressive wildness surrounding her. The red marks blooming on her skin stood in stark contrast to her pale complexion, a visual reminder of her struggle against the harshness, merciless nature.
As he watched her, Silas remained impassive, an expressionless observer of her futile quest. After a long while, he broke the silence with a disdainful remark, muttering under his breath, "...Dumb as hell."
Was there really such a foolish individual in the world?
Silas did not believe that the woman could not see how he was mocking and trampling on her dignity. Even after learning about it, she still stubbornly persisted in searching for the wooden figurine in the bushes. What else could that be but stupidity? It was hard for him to interpret this behavior as anything but sheer stupidity.
If it were Ellie, not only would she not look for it, but she would also be angry with him. Perhaps, she would hold onto this grudge and never talk to him again in this life. Ellie was a very stubborn person who could not stand any grievances, and what attracted him to her the most was her uniqueness.
Silas originally thought that the two of them— Ellie and Leila— were similar people. But it seemed that this similarity was limited only to their appearance. The nobility and dignity, along with the superiority and inferiority in their bones, were very different. The two appeared to be polar opposites.
The man turned his eyes away from the dainty figure in the garden. She was boring and vulgar, ordinary and unremarkable. How could such a woman be compared with his Ellie? Even if they looked almost exactly the same, this woman was just a substitute, a fake.
Yue Ran meticulously scoured the expansive garden for two long hours. After what felt like an eternity, her persistence paid off when she found the wooden carving nestled in a muddy corner, partially obscured by a tangle of weeds and dirt. Upon seeing it, she hurried over, dug up the soil with her hands, and her face broke into a radiant smile that lit up her features, akin to the dawn piercing over a shadowy horizon.
"Husband, look here!" she called out with enthusiasm, her voice bubbling with joy. "I got it!" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Yue Ran raised the wooden figure high above her head and waved it at Silas; her eyes curved like two lovely crescent moons, and her face was filled with a mixture of triumph and delight. The gorgeous face was full of vitality, as if the person in the painting had walked out of the frame, her exuberance infusing life into the muted landscape.
The world was dark and colorless, and she was the only color.
Gorgeous and confusing.
Silas stood there, momentarily taken aback by the sheer brightness that seemed to emanate from her. Looking at that smile, he suddenly remembered the moment when he found the wooden carving at the foot of the mountain where Ellie had discarded it like trash. He remembered the warmth of joy that enveloped him then, feelings that mirrored the happiness radiating from Yue Ran now.
Silas honestly felt a little surprised that the woman had actually found it. But what should he do? Even if she had obtained something that did not belong to her within her grasp when she fulfilled the deal, he still did not want to give it to her.
Yes, the wooden carving, while now in her grasp, was something that had not originally belonged to her. It belonged to Ellie.
If he did not want to give it to Leila, then he should just destroy it.
Yue Ran held the palm-sized wooden carving with some dirt on her face, just like that of the wooden figure in her hand. She then carefully wiped the dirt off it and walked closer to Silas from the garden, looking up at him from the open window where he was situated inside the castle walls.
"Look, I found it," Yue Ran said. "I told you I could find it."
The young woman’s voice sounded crisp and gentle in the sunlight. Her cheeks glowed a vibrant red from hard work; there were beads of sweat glistening at the tip of her nose and forehead, catching the light like tiny jewels; the hem of her once-bright red dress was now smeared with mud and scattered with blades of grass; and her hair that was previously tied up in a bun was in n a delightful mess, framing her features with an untethered beauty that spoke of freedom and vitality.
But it was her smile, radiant and genuine, that truly captivated those who looked upon her. It illuminated her entire presence, casting a warm glow that contrasted with the dirt and chaos around her.
Yue Ran passed the intricately carved wooden figure over to the open window, which was not particularly high up, and Silas’s eyes slowly shifted from the wooden figure on the palm of her hand to her appearance.
The originally bright red dress was now very dirty, with mud and grass stains all over it. Looking closely at her face again, there were several red marks tattooed on both sides of her cheeks— signs of brushes against branches, perhaps, or the heat of exertion— and even the carefully styled bun on her head had loosened, strands of hair escaping to frame her face and giving her the whimsical appearance of a playful jester in a vibrant, mismatched world.
