04 Probing

(Ella's Pov)

The rain fell for an entire night.

I barely slept.

The dark elf was settled by me in the storage room behind the pharmacy. That place normally stores herbs and old furniture, has no windows, and isn't easy for people to discover.

When dawn was approaching, I went in once to check.

He still hadn't woken up.

Yet even while unconscious, he still carried a sense of danger. Black hair scattered on the wooden bed, pale hands hanging at the bedside, his chest slowly rising and falling with his breathing. Those pointed ears were hidden in the shadows, making me unable to help but keep looking.

And that mark.

A mark identical to Wayne's.

I sat behind the counter, staring blankly at the prescription book. After writing "Clotweed" as "Starrift" for the sixth time, I finally gave up.

Good lord.

I really brought back a huge headache.

I thought I should go check if this headache had woken up yet. He still hadn't had breakfast.

I carried vegetable soup and bread over. This was Wayne's favorite breakfast.

The dark elf was lying on the bed, tied up with ropes by me. I hoped this wouldn't hurt him.

As it turns out, I was really quite naive. The dark elf moved slightly and those ropes fell apart completely. Good heavens, what kind of person did I bring home...

The next second, he grabbed my wrist and pressed me against the wall. Before I could react, a cold shadow had already fallen over me.

The dark elf looked down at me.

He said his name was Kyle, but from that momentary hesitation of his, I thought this wasn't necessarily his real name. That's fine, I'll find out his name sooner or later.

Those deep emerald eyes were right in front of me, like some kind of dangerous beast locking onto its prey. I could smell the faint scent of blood on him, along with the bitter lingering smell of last night's potion.

"From now on, I only want to hear the truth. If you deceive me, I'll eat you." He gently bit my neck, and I held my breath.

"What are you trying to do?" I asked, trying hard to stay calm.

He stared into my eyes: "That's the question I should be asking you."

His voice was low and hoarse, still somewhat weak, yet still carried a sense of pressure.

"Why didn't you hand me over to the knight order?"

I didn't say anything for a moment.

Because he was too close.

Close enough that I could feel his breath falling on the side of my face as he spoke.

And also...

I looked down briefly.

This dangerous Mr. Dark Elf was bare from the waist up.

The clothes torn apart by me last night were completely unwearable. The black trousers were also tattered, with bandages I had wrapped for him wound around his waist and abdomen. I had to admit, his physique was indeed very good. With each breath, I could see the muscle lines on his abdomen rise and fall slightly, along with those striking veins... really quite something.

It was probably because my gaze lingered too long.

He suddenly narrowed his eyes.

"Quite a view, isn't it?"

"..."

I snapped back to my senses, my ears suddenly burning hot.

"You, you shouldn't get so close all of a sudden!"

But he didn't step back. Instead he raised his hand and propped it against the wall beside my ear.

I was trapped between the door and him, with no way to escape.

"Answer me."

I had no choice but to look away and say quietly: "Because thirteen years ago... a dark elf saved me."

The movement of him speaking suddenly stopped.

I continued: "So I want to repay the kindness."

I deliberately emphasized "thirteen years ago," but he had no reaction whatsoever. Well, I thought he at least knew Wayne, after all they both had that unique mark.

His brows slowly furrowed: "Impossible."

"What's impossible?"

"Thirteen years ago, it would have been impossible for a dark elf to escape from the Elven Kingdom."

I immediately asked: "How would you know?"

He was silent for a moment, then slightly curled the corner of his mouth.

"Last night," he looked down at me, "how did you knock me out?"

Talking about this, I suddenly felt a bit guilty.

"It was just ordinary Knockout Agent, you know, I'm a pharmacist, I always have some things on hand. You startled me so I just used it on you... I'm sorry."

Kyle let out a scoffing laugh: "Ordinary knockout agent couldn't possibly be effective on me."

"Oh, that must be because you were too weak." I answered quickly, afraid he'd keep asking.

In fact, that wasn't ordinary Knockout Agent. I had modified that formula, adding a bit of toad mucus. I enjoy creative experimentation. Of course there was no need to tell the honorable Mr. Dark Elf about this.

The dark elf stared at me, seemingly not entirely convinced.

But before I could continue making excuses, he suddenly lifted my hand.

I was startled.

"What are you doing?"

His fingers were ice cold, gently stroking over the wound on my palm.

The wound had been treated with medicine and had already scabbed over.

Kyle's gaze shifted from my palm to my face: "Last night, you forced me to establish a contract with you."

"...Huh?" I looked up blankly, "What did you say?"

"Dark elves cannot obtain magic power from The Tree of Life. If they want to survive, they must obtain magic power through other means." Kyle's nose tip touched my nose tip. He lifted my chin, stared into my eyes, and said word by word: "Since becoming a dark elf, I haven't absorbed any magic power. And you, last night, willingly offered your blood to me."

"Me? That was because..." I wanted to explain, but he pressed his finger against my lips.

He wrapped one hand around my neck: "The reason doesn't matter. What matters is the present—I fed on your blood, and you've already become my magic power source."

I opened my eyes wide. Something like this actually exists?!

"Without your blood, I will die."

When he said this, his gaze stayed on my face the entire time.

The distance was too close.

Close enough that I could even make out the shadow cast by his eyelashes.

"So—" he slowly lowered his head, "you have to take responsibility."

My heart suddenly gave a hard thump.

Although I was working hard to maintain composure on the surface.

In reality, I wanted to sprint eight hundred laps around Mount Thorn!

This is wonderful!

I had been thinking about how to keep the dark elf around, and now he was actually taking the initiative to stay by my side!

As long as he stayed here, I could continue investigating that mark.

Wayne's origins, his identity, and why he suddenly disappeared...

Perhaps all of it could find an answer.

I quietly cleared my throat.

"So... what do you want to do?"

Kyle suddenly shrugged his shoulders, looking somewhat pitiful: "I'm homeless... as my contractor, you have to take care of me."

"..." Fine, what he said was true, but wasn't this a bit too easy to say out loud?

"You can stay here." I tried hard to keep myself calm, "But you have to help too."

"Such as?"

"Veiled Gorge hasn't been very safe recently. The goblins said a lot of herbs have been destroyed. I'm running short on someone to collect herbs."

"That works. What else?"

"Protect my safety."

He lightly raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you quite bold? Not even afraid of a wanted criminal."

"That's different." I muttered quietly, "It's not that I'm not afraid of wanted criminals, it's that I'm not afraid of you..."

Kyle gave a light laugh, crossed his arms and looked at me: "Is that so. Then you'd better be careful. I'm not a good person."

You are too, you must be a good person.

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly came from outside the house.

"Ella, are you there?"

The moment I heard it I knew who was looking for me.

"Not good." I quickly pushed away the dark elf in front of me.

"Don't come out yet!"

With that, I hurried out.

Standing outside the courtyard was a tall young boy.

His short black hair was neat yet slightly tousled, set against those equally deep black eyes, looking mysterious and handsome. When he broke into that signature smile of his, his whole presence instantly brightened.

Forever bright eyes, that was Finn's one-of-a-kind calling card.

Finn is a werewolf, lives right in town, and we used to be neighbors.

Now he frequently visits my potion shop to purchase potions to suppress transformation.

Finn is only 17 this year, still a young wolf. He sometimes can't control himself, so he needs to keep suppression potions on hand.

"Good morning, Ella." Finn smiled the moment he saw me, showing his little pointed teeth.

"Why are you here so early today?" I asked.

"I almost transformed again last night." Finn scratched his hair in frustration, "The suppression potion is almost gone."

I nodded: "Your potion does need to be renewed."

"So when do you have time?" Finn asked me, "Please make me some more medicine."

I thought about it and agreed: "Three days from now. I'm a bit busy these two days."

"Great!" Finn immediately cheered up, "Then I'll come find you in three days."

After saying that, he suddenly leaned in.

His nose tip moved slightly.

"Ella."

"Hmm?"

"Have you had... any visitors at your place recently?"

My back instantly stiffened.

A werewolf's sense of smell is just too terrifying!

I let out a dry laugh: "There may have been a few more customers than usual these past two days."

Finn tilted his head in puzzlement.

But was quickly distracted by something else, waved his hand and ran off.

I finally let out a sigh of relief.

When I returned inside, Kyle was sitting leaning against the bedside.

He had somehow dug out the old cloak Wayne left behind, and was casually draping it over his shoulders.

My steps suddenly stopped, and my breathing slowed half a beat.

Too similar.

Really too similar.

Their appearances were completely different. Yet that gesture of lowering his head to straighten his cuffs, and the way he sat by the window with the old cloak draped around him, made me momentarily drift back to many years ago.

That traveling bard who always liked to smile and call me "little pharmacist" had once sat in my shop just like this.

I stood where I was, my eyes suddenly burning hot.

Kyle noticed my gaze and looked up at me.

"What's wrong?"

I quickly lowered my head.

"...Nothing."

But the tears fell anyway.