Ryan had left, and now she was alone in the room, holding an egg and feeling bored out of her mind.
Her fingertips traced the eggshell—its patterns were delicate, and if she pressed her hand against it and focused, she could faintly sense a slight movement from inside.
"Is the baby cold?"
"It's okay, Mom will warm you up right away."
Celia hugged the egg a little tighter to her chest, curled her legs up, and gently rested her chin on top of it. She curled up into a shape like a large shrimp, holding that small thing tightly in her arms.
"Now you shouldn't be cold anymore..." she murmured to herself.
The thought of being able to go home tomorrow and show her mother and the others the egg—her baby—filled Celia's heart with warmth.
Once, Celia had always thought Ryan was a cold man who only saw her as an object. But now, she was his wife, and he was even allowing her to go back...
Click.
Suddenly, the door opened.
Ryan was dressed in an elegant outfit of black and red, with a white apron tied around his waist. He carried a tray in one hand as he walked in, glanced at Celia on the bed, and then sat down on the edge of the mattress.
Soon, the room was filled with a fragrant aroma.
"What is this, Lord Ryan?" Celia peeked at the tray secretly, swallowing hard as she asked, even though she already had a hunch. Giving birth to the baby in the early hours of the morning had drained a lot of her energy, and now she was extremely hungry—hungrier than she'd ever been after going three days without food.
Ryan placed the tray on the nightstand. Then he picked up a small bowl in his left hand and a spoon in his right, and turned his body toward Celia.
"Come over here quickly. I'll feed you."
"Oh..." Celia felt a surge of quiet excitement at his words. It really was for her to eat.
She held the egg carefully in her arms, and as she moved, her legs couldn't help but tremble—but she still shifted over to Ryan's side and knelt down.
From this angle, she could just barely see what was in the bowl, and her eyes were immediately fixed on it. It was porridge. Judging by the fragrance, it seemed to have been infused with natural magic.
If that was the case, this was her favorite food. Unfortunately, natural magic in the surrounding area was hard to absorb, so she rarely got to eat it. Her mother only had the chance to make it for her once a month.
She never expected Ryan would know how to make it—and even make it so quickly.
Ryan scooped up a spoonful of the porridge and brought it to Celia's lips, which were curved with joy.
"Eat."
Celia looked at the wisp of steam rising from the porridge; tiny bubbles were still gently popping on the surface. She pressed her lips into a thin line, hesitated for a moment, and then said softly, "Lord Ryan, it seems a little hot..."
Ryan's movements paused for half a second, the iron spoon hovering in mid-air. He said nothing, just pulled the spoon back, brought it to his own lips, and blew on it gently for a while.
When he held it out to her again, there was still some steam from the porridge, but much less than before.
"Can you eat it now?"
"Mm... yes..." Celia looked at the man's serious expression, and a faint blush couldn't help but spread across her cheeks. Having someone feed her at her age made her feel a little embarrassed.
But then she thought—she still had to hold the egg and focus on hatching the baby, so she really didn't have a free hand. She could have blown on the porridge herself, but he'd taken the spoon away so quickly that she hadn't had time.
"If you can eat it, hurry up. It won't be good if it spills on the eggshell later," Ryan urged, holding the spoon steady.
"Mm," Celia replied. She slowly opened her mouth, leaned forward, and took the spoon into her mouth.
In an instant, a sweet warmth spread across her tongue, mixed with the unique scent of natural magic. Just one small sip made her body feel much lighter and more energetic. The tearing pain she'd felt below after giving birth also eased significantly.
In fact, as an elf, she had a natural connection to natural magic. Her healing ability was far faster than that of humans—otherwise, she would still be lying in bed unable to move. After all, the egg had been so big...
She swallowed the porridge, savored the taste for a moment, and then looked up at the man in front of her with eager eyes. This porridge, she thought, was even better than her mother's.
"Is it good?" Ryan asked.
"Yes, Lord Ryan..." Celia replied. "But... how did you make it? Isn't this porridge supposed to be left in the cabinet to absorb magic for a long time before it's ready?" She couldn't help but voice the question that had been on her mind.
She remembered that when she was a child, in the days before the porridge was ready, she would open the cabinet several times a day to check on it.
"You don't need to worry about that. Just focus on eating," Ryan said, scooping up another spoonful. His voice was gentle as he added, "While you're hatching the egg, you can have as much of this porridge as you want."
"Ah, really?" Celia's heart skipped a beat. "Can I have it at night too?"
"Yes, as long as you don't get tired of it."
This one promise quietly raised Ryan's status in Celia's heart. What she didn't know was that the reason the Spirit-Absorbing Porridge had been ready so quickly was mainly due to the crystal ball the clan leader had given him. The clan leader had held it for hundreds of years without figuring out a good way to use it, but as soon as it was in Ryan's hands, he'd discovered several uses for it in just one day.
One of them was that it could greatly absorb the surrounding natural magic. At first, he couldn't control it, but with his extraordinary understanding, he had fully mastered how to control it in just a few hours.
"Aaah~" The man blew on the porridge to cool it, then pressed the second spoonful to her lips.
Without hesitation, Celia took a bite. The taste was indescribable—all she knew was that she had never grown tired of it. If she could eat it every day, she planned to have Spirit-Absorbing Porridge for every meal until she got tired of it.
Time passed little by little. He fed her a spoonful, and she ate it obediently. As she ate, the slight awkwardness she'd felt about being fed gradually faded away. Before long, she got used to it, and even began to faintly enjoy the feeling of being fed by Ryan.
Before she knew it, the bowl of porridge was completely empty.
Celia still wanted more, so she tried asking for another bowl—but Ryan refused, explaining that she couldn't eat too much within an hour, as her body wouldn't be able to absorb all that natural magic. Three bowls a day would be just enough to provide the baby with perfect nutrition, making it the best nutritional supplement.
After that, the man only fed her some ordinary food. Once she'd finished eating, he said he was going to practice channeling natural magic, then turned and left the room.
She was alone again.
Celia lay on her side on the bed, holding the warm egg in her arms, and stared blankly at the painting on the wall. Staying alone in the bedroom was really boring.
She vaguely remembered that in her previous life, during times like this, she would take out a mobile phone to pass the time. It was a pity she couldn't bring it here.
When she was still a boy, she would spend her days practicing magic by the Eternal Tree within the clan's borders, dueling with some elders, or going with her brother to pick fruits and flowers on the mountain to eat—there was always so much to do. She rarely stayed alone in her bedroom unless she was sick.
As she thought, the warm magic flowing in her stomach spread completely through her body. Celia's eyelids grew heavy, and then she slowly closed her eyes, hugging the egg tightly as she fell asleep.