A blood-curdling scream pierced the empty sea, nearly giving everyone on the ship a heart attack as they slept soundly.

"F*ck! What the hell have you done?!"

This time, it was Ed's turn to be scared. He hadn't expected that his simple prank, meant to teach her a lesson for reading his mind without permission, would cause this hot-headed idiot to lose control. Her calm, the very thing that ensured only he could see and hear her, shattered completely. Now, everyone on the ship had heard her terrifying scream.

He knew everyone had heard it because he saw the flower vase in his room crack like glass from her voice alone. Unless the whole crew was deaf, there was no way they'd missed it.

"Damn it, you idiot! Do you have any brain? Can't you sense your own mirror, the one you're always in? Get inside, now!" While scolding Lucilia, Ed first gave her a firm thump on the head, making her yelp in pain, before forcing the mirror into her hands and shoving her back inside.

Just as he expected, Andre and Vanessa rushed toward his room. Jason, whose room was next door, also stumbled out wearing nothing but shorts, his expression that of a man scared to death by a sudden woman's scream.

"What the hell is going on? Are we under attack?" Ed cut in before anyone else could speak, wearing a convincingly frightened expression.

"I don't know, but hearing a woman scream in the middle of the sea is never a good omen," Andre said, closely observing Ed and Jason. As a magic-user, his senses were far sharper than a normal person's. Although he couldn't pinpoint the exact origin, he was certain the scream had come from below deck, right where Ed and Jason's rooms were located.

"Quickly, spread out and check the ship. Don't leave a single corner unchecked. If you find anything out of place, no matter how small, report to me immediately." With that order, Andre and Vanessa hurried off to inspect the rest of the vessel.

Ed, committed to his role as the scared crewman, teamed up with Jason. They searched the entire ship with the others, a fruitless endeavor that lasted until early morning. With nothing unusual found, they could only give up helplessly and return to sleep.

"Phew, finally saved. I thought my second biggest secret was going to be exposed the very first day I learned about it," Ed muttered as he entered his room. He locked the door, scanned the area, and found the mirror lying on his bed.

As he approached, Lucilia flowed out of it, standing before him with an angry pout and tear-filled eyes. She was clearly furious, not only had he scared her by pretending to throw her mirror into the sea, but he'd also hit her hard, all while blaming her for the entire mess.

"What?! Are you angry with me?" Ed asked, pretending to be ignorant as he sat on the bed.

Lucilia didn't answer. She just stared at him, arms crossed over her slender waist, letting out an occasional forced "Hmph!" that made her ample breasts bounce dramatically, a sight that instantly stirred Ed.

"Sigh, I'm sorry, alright? I just wanted to play a prank because you're always reading my mind without my permission," After nearly ten minutes of a staring contest, and Ed fearing he might lose control and pounce on her, he finally gave in and apologized, even though it wasn't entirely his fault.

"Well, I am also at fault, so I'll accept your apology this time. But don't you dare do that again! Do you have any idea how scared I was when I thought you were throwing my mirror into the sea? It was my worst nightmare coming true," Lucilia finally smiled upon hearing Ed's apology and sat down beside him.

A moment of silence passed before she asked the question weighing on her heart. "So… we're together now?"

"What do you think? Do either of us have another option? Please take care of me from now on," Ed said with a smile, extending his hand for a handshake.

"Hehehe, deal. I'll take good care of you, don't worry," Lucilia giggled, shaking his hand. Her smile and laughter were so captivating that Ed felt a jolt of electricity run through his body.

The touch made Ed look up at her, and only then did he realize something important: he could actually feel her.

"Aren't you just a soul? How can I touch you?"

"I don't know either, but you're the only one who can."

As she spoke, Lucilia waved her hand near the bed. Her fingers passed right through the blankets and the bedside, only meeting solid resistance when they touched Ed.

"Then how are you sitting on the bed?"

"Who said I'm sitting on the bed?" Lucilia giggled again and slowly floated upward under Ed's amazed gaze.

Fck, doesn't this mean I've literally found the perfect partner? The exact look, figure, and race I've always dreamed of, and, most importantly, she can only be mine. No one else can ever touch her. I need to max out her favorability so we can have an… in-depth conversation as soon as possible.*

Fortunately, Lucilia couldn't read Ed's thoughts as she had in her dream. Otherwise, she might have grabbed her mirror and fled as far as possible from this beast whose greed for her body knew no bounds.

"The outside world is so wonderful."

Watching the captivating girl fly around the room, chattering excitedly, Ed could empathize a little. After all, she had been trapped in the Magic Mirror for countless years, forced to sleep to maintain her sanity.

If it were him, he'd have gone mad long ago. Although he felt sorry for her, his mind was already scheming how to further win her over.

"Sigh… I don't even know how many years I've been gone. I wonder if my friends are still around."

She rested her chin in her hands, gazing at the moonlight outside the window, and couldn't help but voice her thoughts.

Hearing this, Ed grew even more curious about Lucilia's origins. With her exquisite face and elfin ears, her background was definitely extraordinary. If I can find her homeland, maybe I'll meet more elven women? But strangely, he had never heard of the calendar she used.

Not only her calendar, but even Ed's own calendar and their current location were completely unfamiliar to Lucilia.

"Tomorrow, I'll show you a map. Let's see if there are any familiar places on the nautical chart."

Even if she didn't know the names, the topography might still ring a bell. After all, landscapes weren't so easily changed.

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