Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 183: Can’t you chat with girls?
Some people smile like the afternoon sunshine, warm and cheerful, and echoing in the wind under the forest, bringing refreshing coolness to the restless soul, such as Alice; some people smile like gentle flowing water, clear and shallow, even when it soaks into the heart, it is silent, but makes people feel very at ease, such as Saint Xia Liya; and the Princess of Beman is different from them. When she smiles, she is a flower, the kind of small white flower hidden behind the bushes, always hiding itself, for fear that others will see its blooming appearance.

The small white flowers are not bright enough in color and not fragrant enough, so they are always ignored. When passers-by look at the vibrant wilderness and wander in the fresh and beautiful morning light, they often ignore the elegant white flowers blooming in the branches and leaves of the bushes beside the road, as long as they are happy. Because whether it blooms or not is her own business and has nothing to do with outsiders.

The same is true of Ovilla's smile. Her laughter is so light that it is almost inaudible; the curve at the corners of her mouth is so shallow that even the dimples are not deep enough... This inconspicuous smile, like a small flower in the bushes by the roadside, is easily overlooked.

Perhaps this was a habit she had developed since childhood. When Lingge looked at her memories, he knew that Ovella had always been a very lonely person. From childhood to adulthood, her parents and relatives rarely took time to accompany her, and the maids and guards did not dare to approach her because of her status and curse. She even had few playmates of the same age.

Therefore, she had long been accustomed to living alone. Eating alone, reading alone, playing alone in the garden...even smiling alone.

If people smile to share happiness with others, then when they laugh, their laughter should be louder and more conspicuous, so as to attract the attention of people around them and share happiness with them. But those things did not exist for Olvera. No matter how happy or obvious her smile was, no one would come up to her and ask: Why are you so happy?

Then, I gradually got used to this slight, weak and inconspicuous smile. If I only smile for myself, the sound of the smile will be enough for me to hear; if I only smile for myself, the smile will be enough for me to see. Happiness and sadness, smiles and tears are all my own business.

Lingge looked at the smile on her face quietly.

"Ah, sorry!"

Aoweila, who was laughing, suddenly realized something and lowered her head quickly, not daring to look Lingge in the eye: "I didn't mean to laugh at you, it's just, because..."

The young man raised his head slightly and looked at the dome: "Smiling is one of the ways. People who learn to smile always live more easily than others. If you can't smile, you can take on other people's expectations, regard your life as a continuation of their lives, and work hard for their goals... maybe it can also help alleviate the problem. But that's too tiring, I don't recommend it."

This time, he laughed louder than before, which attracted the attention of other companions. Alice and Saint Xia Liya both looked at him curiously. The former was not afraid of getting involved and kept shouting, "Oh, Lingge, I caught you! You are bullying Olvera again, be careful or I will tell Metien!"

"Can't Mr. Ling help me judge?"

"Because she can make you laugh more happily." Ling Ge said expressionlessly.

"maybe."

Ling said: "Physical injuries will gradually heal, but psychological injuries often linger. Perhaps, past memories can prove that your mother really loved you deeply; however, is the birth of the phantom necessarily based on a mistake? At some point, didn't you have the thought she said, feeling that you had killed your loved ones and felt eternal guilt and pain because of it? Even if this feeling only lasted for a moment, it was real."

As Olvera listened, she buried her head deeper. The bottomless darkness made her feel a little breathless. Fortunately, through the gaps in her arms, she could still see some residual light from the fire, which eased her loss and silence: "...You sound very experienced, Mr. Ling."

"It's okay." Ling Ge retracted his gaze and looked directly at the source of the fire. Frost-like sparks floated across his golden eyes. "If you have time in the future, spend more time with Alice."

It’s just because I feel that Lingge is not good at talking to girls.

"puff!"

"Of course."

"Defeating the phantom only means that you have the courage to face the sad memories, but it does not mean that the scars in your heart have been completely healed. Maybe they are just hidden, or maybe they are just ignored... They are there, never leaving, but sometimes they are like surging pains, and sometimes they are like dull pains when you toss and turn at night and cannot sleep. When one day in the future you decide to leave this castle and have a new life, you should also think about how to heal these scars."

"No."

Olvera asked curiously, "Why?"

Which eye of yours could tell that I was bullying her?
Lingge was too lazy to pay attention to this guy. He glanced at Olvera, who still had her head buried in her knees and her shoulders shrugged slightly, and said, "I'm not kidding. You really should learn from Alice and smile more. The goddess once mentioned in Her grace that a smile is the best elixir to heal the world's wounds. I think the same is true for you."

It's surprising and funny.

Lingge remained noncommittal: "This is just some of my personal advice. The right to choose is in your hands, and whether to follow it should be decided by you personally."

It was clear that I could say something comforting or caring at this time, but he only replied indifferently: "Yeah."

Olvera couldn't help laughing again.

His words were so sharp that they ruthlessly exposed Olvera's disguise, causing the princess' body to tremble slightly, and she buried her head, unable to utter a word.

Olvera's shrugging shoulders slowly stopped. When Lingge couldn't see her, the smile on her face disappeared. A hint of confusion appeared in her eyes, and her voice became dull and lifeless: "Do you mean that I also need to heal my wounds, Mr. Lingge?"

"why?"

"The first is that my situation is different from yours and cannot be simply applied; the second is that I am unwilling to take responsibility."

"Eh?"

"Helping others requires taking responsibility." Ling Ge said calmly, "Irresponsible help is just a form of self-satisfaction. Unfortunately, many people cannot realize this. For me, giving you some advice because of empathy can only be regarded as verbal communication at most; once I help you make a judgment, it is equivalent to taking actual action and taking responsibility for future events. Obviously, I am not mentally prepared for that at the moment." Avella was speechless, chewing on the four words Ling Ge just said: "Empathy..."

Sure enough, he had experienced similar things.

What were his emotions at the time? Guilt? Self-blame? Regret? Sadness? Numbness? Where do the phantoms born from those emotions still exist today? If he were to play this game, I should be able to see his memories, right?
It was so unfair that only my memories were being watched by everyone, just like watching a play on stage. And I knew nothing about them - about the young people in front of me.

If one day, I could hear him tell the story behind it in person...

When Ovilla thought of this, she shook her head violently: She didn't even know whether she could leave the castle smoothly, but she was still thinking about such distant things. It was really a fantasy.

She let out a long breath, stood up from the ground, gently brushed off the dust on her skirt, and said to Lingge: "I understand, Mr. Lingge, I will seriously consider your suggestion."

"Yeah." Linger nodded gently: "Are you ready to go?"

"That's right, we have rested for too long, we must hurry up!"

For some reason, Olvera suddenly felt a strong motivation to move forward. She clenched her palms and a confident expression appeared on her face.

Recovering really quickly.

Ling Ge turned around: "I'll go inform them."

They included two playing girls and a useless lamb.

Looking at the young man's back as he left, Avella couldn't help but yelled, "Wait a minute, Mr. Ling."

The other person paused slightly and asked without turning back, "Anything else?"

"Well!"

The princess bit her lower lip gently, and after considering her tone and words countless times in her mind, she hesitated and said, "I want to ask, has anyone ever told you that... you really don't know how to talk to girls?"

If something like "favorability" really exists, nine out of ten sentences the young man just said would probably cause him to lose favorability.

Ling'er's back seemed to freeze for a moment, but soon returned to normal, and he walked forward unaffected. The burning sparks sprinkled slightly cold dust, interspersed with his calm reply: "No."

lie.

Olivia muttered to herself: At least Alice must have said that.

What should I do? I think I have made him angry.

That's true, this question is indeed impolite.

I should ask in a more polite way next time.

For example...what do you think of girls?
How many girls have you talked to so far?
Do you have a girl you like? Or have you ever had one?

Olvera fell into deep thought.

……

A minute later, the three people and the sheep, who had taken a break, said goodbye to the warm fire and set out on the road again. The princess used the key to open the door to the next floor and officially began her strategy for the corridor on the third floor.

By the way, after the chat, a few system prompts popped up as usual:

【After chatting, you feel that your relationship with your companions has deepened. 】

[The favorability with your companion Alice increases. 】

[The favorability with your companion Saint Shallia (and her sheep) increases. 】

[The favorability with companion Lingge has greatly increased. 】

Huh?
　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)