Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1454 Shall we get a good night's sleep?

As far as I can remember, this was the first time I had ever observed a young person's sleeping face so closely.
It used to be the other way around.

Like a scene from a fairy tale, the prince overcomes countless obstacles to finally see the beauty sleeping in the castle; or on a stormy night, a chivalrous thief, pursued by villains, accidentally stumbles into the princess's room, thus beginning a fantastical story. But Lin Ge is neither a prince wielding a sword, fearlessly challenging others and embarking on a journey to uphold justice, nor a chivalrous thief who can fly and escape, effortlessly outwitting villains. He is simply an ordinary, unassuming priest. Therefore, he always calmly enters the young girl's room, calmly waits for her to fall asleep, and then calmly departs.

In this process, he neither acted like a kind and upright prince, swayed by his inner emotions, impulsively kissing Sleeping Beauty's lips, attempting to awaken her with a sincere force; nor did he act like a dashing and witty rogue, using vivid and humorous language to bridge the distance with a pair of bewildered and timid eyes, thus sparking the naive princess's curiosity about the outside world for the first time. Sometimes he would read at the table, and sometimes he would go to the window to gaze at the night sky, seeing the moonlight running across the endless wilderness of the Cloud Whale Sky Island, the giant in the clouds dragging the sea of ​​mist, chasing the footsteps of flying birds, and between the surging tides, the sound of waves and heartbeats.

But O'Viola didn't want him to be a prince, a knight-errant, or some memorable character from a fairy tale; she only wanted him to be Ringer, an ordinary and unassuming priest. She knew that young men never turned the pages vigorously when reading, and she knew that he always suppressed his breathing when standing by the window, unwilling to wake a soul that had finally gained the right to sleep after a long period of solitude. Yet O'Viola could still hear, see, and even feel his breathing, his heartbeat, the touch of his fingers gently caressing the paper. She was so acutely aware that he was there, waiting for her in this cramped room, never leaving, as if they had been one person from the very beginning, two souls inseparable from the start.

Because he is not a fairy tale, but reality, I am now qualified to look at him.

This heart, weathered by storms and hardships, always bore the pressures of the world and the criticisms of others, yet it also grieved for the world's misfortunes. Until today, it finally found a brief respite. Its usually tense brows gradually relaxed, its breathing became steady and long, like a child finally relieved of a heavy burden. Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the porthole, casting dappled patterns on his cheeks, even tinging the tips of his eyelashes with a pale golden hue. An unprecedented tranquility enveloped him, one that seemed too precious to disturb.

Does Lin Ge feel the same way when he looks at his own sleeping face?

Ovira didn't know, because this was her first time experiencing it.

A strange attraction urged her on; was it a long-held desire, or a sudden, unnoticed sincerity? Looking at those slightly pursed, clearly defined lips, Ovira felt a sudden, indescribable surge of emotion. Her heartbeat quickened unconsciously, becoming exceptionally clear in the silent cabin.

As if drawn by some invisible force, her body involuntarily leaned forward slightly. In her vision, Ling's sleeping face slowly drew closer, its details becoming increasingly clear. She could feel her warm breath mingling with his gentle exhalations, a subtle and inexplicable atmosphere filling the air, both unsettling and stirring a desire to give everything to achieve it. Everything around her seemed to slow down; the subtle rustling of the moss in the corner, the faint sound of the wind in the distance, the low hum of the warship's metallic structure—all receded into the distant background.

Her shadow gently covered his face, the distance closing silently. She could smell his faint scent, a mixture of sunshine and dust, with a hint of the lingering sweetness of toast, mingled with the sour and bitter taste unique to the underground world. A hazy dizziness suddenly seized her, making her consciousness waver. Just a split second before the girl's lips were about to touch that warmth—

"Tattoo!"

Footsteps approached from afar, echoing down the corridor and shattering the dream.

Ovira awoke as if from a dream, her body jerking backward like a startled bird, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, almost bursting out of her throat. A surge of heat rushed to her cheeks and ears, leaving her flustered and helpless. She hurriedly sat up, instinctively raising her hand to tidy her not-so-disheveled skirt and hair, her eyes darting anxiously towards the door before quickly returning to Ling's face, afraid he had been startled awake.

Fortunately, Ling was still fast asleep and completely unaware of everything.

Ovira breathed a silent sigh of relief, but what reassured her wasn't that her impulsive actions had gone unnoticed, but rather that she didn't want the young man's hard-won peace to be interrupted by her momentary impulse. The world had been cruel enough to him; if even a good night's sleep wasn't allowed, Princess Beman would deeply resent her own coldness and ruthlessness.

Fortunately, this soul is sometimes treated kindly by fate, just like some people who stay by his side even after they have left.

Her tense shoulders relaxed, followed by a profound sense of shame and a faint, almost imperceptible, disappointment. She raised her hand and gently pressed it against her still-burning cheek, her gaze returning to Lin Ge's peaceful sleeping face, her expression complex and unreadable. She watched quietly for a while, then suddenly reached out again and very gently brushed a stray strand of hair, tinged with gold by the sunlight, from his forehead.

At the same time, two figures rushed into the control room, one after the other, and happened to witness this scene.

"Leticia, don't run so fast, be careful not to fall... Ouch!"

"You're just running too slowly... Hmm!"

The two froze, almost overwhelmed by the sunlight flooding the room, and stunned by the scene before them, wondering if they had appeared in the most inappropriate place at the most inappropriate time. Selena was the first to react, smoothly turning away from where she was stepping inside, and then awkwardly chuckled twice: "I...I'll be going now, so I won't bother you any longer, Miss Ovira. I'll keep my mouth shut, oh no, I mean, I didn't see anything, haha...ahahaha."

This perfectly illustrates what it means to do something superfluous.

After her initial surprise, the little bat regained her senses and looked suspiciously back and forth between the young man's sleeping face and Princess Beman's withdrawn fingers, as if trying to see through the truth hidden behind the scene: "What were you doing just now?"

"nothing."

Ovira withdrew her hand and said calmly, "Ling was asleep, and some dust just happened to fall on his face. I was just wiping it off for him."

"Really?"

"real."

Princess Beman's tone was sincere, her expression genuine, and what Little Bat had just witnessed indeed matched her account, so he believed her. But for some reason, he still felt uneasy, as if he had overlooked something important. This anger had nowhere to go but towards the sleeping young man. He didn't know when it started, but Leticia had made Linger her punching bag; anything that upset her was always his fault: "Hmph!"

She snorted loudly, "Sleeping in the middle of the day, what a lazybones!"

“You can’t say that,” Ovira smiled. “Ling hasn’t had a proper rest these past few days, let him sleep for a while.” “Really?” Leticia scratched her cheek and muttered, “I think he’s been sleeping quite well, especially since we went underground. He sleeps soundly every night, even better than Grandma… Could it be…”

She then cast a suspicious glance at Ovira, who felt a chill run down her spine but maintained a nonchalant expression: "Maybe he wasn't under much pressure back then. Who knows? By the way, speaking of Miss Neville, she's resting in the next room. Would you like to go check on her?"

“That’s true. Then let’s go visit Miss Neville, Leticia!”

The little bat mumbled something, as if trying to say something, but Serena stopped her. The latter frantically winked and gestured, trying to signal her intentions, and it took some effort to pull her away. Leticia was perceptive in everything, except when it came to interpersonal relationships; her experience was practically nonexistent. Serena, however, had long understood Ovira's unspoken meaning, knowing she just wanted an excuse to get the two away. Although she didn't understand Ovira's intentions, she chose to cooperate.

If only Leticia were this sensible.

Ovira sighed inwardly. As for whether the Countess in the next room really needed someone to visit her, she probably did. After all, Leticia was her beloved granddaughter. If her granddaughter came to visit her when she was injured, a lonely old woman like the Countess would definitely be very happy.

Princess Beman chose to selectively ignore the fact that the two were quite boisterous. In fact, there was no need to observe them, since they started arguing as soon as they stepped out of the central control room, and their conversation could be faintly heard through the walls.

"Why are you suddenly pulling me away? I still have so many things to ask Ovira!"

"You can ask anytime, but not now!"

"Why!?"

"Just because... sigh, Leticia, you... didn't you say you were all grown up? How come you're acting like a child again now?"

"How is it similar?"

"It looks the same everywhere... Never mind, why don't you go and get some rest too? I remember you haven't been sleeping much these past few days, have you?"

"I'm a vampire, why should I be sleeping!"

"Vampires are just a nocturnal race, not an all-nighter. Of course they should sleep when they need to. I'm a werewolf, and I need to sleep too."

"whispering sound!"

The sound gradually faded away and could no longer be heard. It seemed that they had entered the room where Countess Neville was. This warship, made of dragon blood and mixed with many rare minerals, had excellent soundproofing between its walls, so no matter what they did, it would not be heard by those nearby.

Ovira silently picked up the Ark Key and used her authority to close the door to the central control room, ensuring that no one would disturb her afterward.

However, after the two of them made such a fuss, Ovira lost all interest in continuing what she hadn't finished. Although that feeling lingered in her heart, like an itch that was hard to suppress, the princess kept convincing herself: now is not the time, there are more important things to do, things that must be done.

She approached the long table in the center of the control room, which faced a porthole that filled an entire wall, offering a panoramic view of the sky, the earth, and the distant stars. The table had previously been cluttered with various items: chess pieces, paper and pens, books about the stars, ancient spellbooks, and a massive star map encompassing the entire outer space, filled with marching routes. It seemed the dictator warlord's ambition to conquer the stars wasn't a figment of his imagination, but rather a long-planned scheme. However, all wild fantasies eventually fade with time, and now seemed utterly insignificant. So, without hesitation, Ovira swept all the clutter away, letting it fall into the decaying dust—the sound of ambition shattering.

Ovira casually placed the scepter-like key on the table, and with a flick of her wrist, summoned her royal authority, named the "Library of Truth." Shaped like a solemn and weighty ancient book, it contained all the wisdom that could be summarized in words and writing since the beginning of the universe, the awakening of life, and the birth of civilization. When it landed on the table, it made a dull thud, as if proclaiming the immense weight of the knowledge it contained.

Just as Ovira was about to open the book, she suddenly remembered something, and her hand, already resting on the cover, paused, then slowly withdrew. She reached into her wide sleeve, rummaged around for a moment, and when she pulled it out again, she held a clear glass bottle in her hand. She gently pinched the bottle between her slender index and middle fingers, held it up, and examined it closely in the sunlight. The glass refracted colorful light, which, falling into the girl's eyes, was like a beam of light passing through crystal—slightly dazzling, yet dreamlike and beautiful.

The bottle was empty, with only traces of evaporated liquid stubbornly clinging to the glass wall, extending into strange geometric shapes, like the traces of melted snow beneath the ice in spring.

Only Ovira knew what was originally inside that small glass bottle.

That was something she had specifically asked Rorona for before entering the abyss.

It is a very special drug.

After drinking it, one can fall asleep peacefully and have a good dream.

In other words, it's... sleeping pills.

Give me some cats