Chapter 26

"Why did you volunteer to be a test subject?"
He wasn't the least bit surprised, guessing that Alexander must have told her something. "It's easier to deal with just the Delin family than to be enemies with all human mages. After all, it's just taking some medicine, nothing too big."
"But, you could escape! The world is so big, there must be a place where you can hide. If you hide, no one will find you, and then... no one can bully you."
No one can bully you... What a nostalgic, gentle tone. He gazed at her sorrowful and compassionate eyes, so similar to those a few hundred years ago—restrained yet deeply affectionate. His chest felt as if it had been struck heavily, the pain piercing his heart.
He was truly bewitched. How many times had he seen her look at him with such tender eyes? She couldn't say it aloud, and he foolishly didn't realize it, forgetting her difficult situation, and stupidly believing only what he saw, ultimately driving her to a dead end. She perished in her prime, and he could only use his long, tiresome life to regret and miss her... Was he going to endure this heart-wrenching pain again? He cupped her soft cheek with one hand and said hoarsely, "The world is indeed large, but also small. It's not easy to hide and not be found; besides, I'm long tired of hiding. Living sneakily like this is really boring—" His chest suddenly tightened violently. He stopped talking and slowly leaned back against the chair.
She supported him, "What's wrong?"
"A bit dizzy." He had taken too much medication, and the anesthetic had long lost its pain-relieving effect, making him sluggish. The physical changes were happening faster and more intensely than he had anticipated. He had to carefully guard this secret, not letting these doctors and experiment maniacs find out.
"Are you in pain?"
He was surprised, "How did you know..." He stopped himself just in time. He was sure he hadn't shown any signs, so how did she notice?
Seeing her worried expression, he smiled faintly and cleverly changed his answer, "Just let me hold you, and it will feel a bit better." He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his embrace, deeply inhaling her faint fragrance. Although the pain kept intensifying, it became bearable.
She unusually didn't resist his open display of affection, leaning close to his ear and whispering, "Is this related to you stopping blood drinking?"
His lips curved up. If there weren't people around, he would have given her a passionate kiss! He kissed her earlobe happily, "Smart girl, no matter what you've guessed, don't say it out loud. This is a magical process that must be done secretly; if you say it, it won't work."
If successful, he could escape with her from these people. He disliked hiding and feared the loneliness of being alone, which nearly drove him mad; but with her by his side, he would even venture into hell.
He hugged her tighter, silently making a promise to himself and to her—regret, once is enough. He would never repeat the same mistake.
The night was deep. Ivy wandered alone on Pine Avenue, growing more worried the longer she waited.
Tonight, her aunt had brought people to attend a mysterious gathering here. She wasn't qualified to join, but secretly followed, just to see Sarah.
Something must have happened. Sister Sarah was always cautious and wouldn't have been gone for so many days without returning or contacting the family. She asked Johnson, who was equally clueless. When she inquired with her aunt, her aunt always evaded the question. Unable to hold back, she took the opportunity tonight to investigate.
She had peeked into the ballroom Emil owned several times, but it remained silent inside. The entire Pine Avenue was quiet, not a soul in sight all night, as if everyone had agreed to disappear together tonight.
She looked at her watch. It was already past midnight, and her aunt and the others should be coming out soon. She decided to check the ballroom once more. If she still couldn't find Sister Sarah, she would go back for now and return with Johnson in a couple of days to look for her.
She had just taken two steps towards the ballroom when she saw the door of the Fennel Pavilion open, and a figure walked out.
She thought it was Sarah but soon realized this person was taller than Sarah, and the slender figure in black was clearly a man.
He seemed drunk, his steps staggering and unsteady. He leaned against the door to steady himself, slowly turning his head. His misty green eyes saw the stunned Ivy.
Emil! Ivy had never seen him before, but those eerily green eyes were not something a human would have. She immediately took a few steps back, pulling a silver charm from her pocket and pointing it at him, shouting, "Where is Sister Sarah?"
Emil blinked, looking at the girl in the traditional red and white robe of the Delin family. "Are you her sister?"
"Answer my question! Where is Sister Sarah? What did you do to her?"
He looked amusingly at the vigilant girl. Her hand holding the charm was trembling badly, yet she still mustered the courage to shout at him. His bewitching eyes narrowed ambiguously, "I ate her."
"You killed her?" Ivy was both sorrowful and furious, about to throw the silver charm at him when she suddenly heard the voice she had been worrying about for days coming from inside the Fennel Pavilion—
"Why didn't you use the underground passage to go back?" Sarah stood by the door, trying to pull Emil back inside.
"I wanted to come out for some fresh air, to clear my head." He instead pulled her out, and took the opportunity to hold her soft body in his arms. "Walk with me."
"You can walk anytime, but the effects of the medicine haven't worn off yet. It's best to go back and rest." Her foster mother and the others left the venue at the same time as them, so they must still be nearby on Pine Avenue. If they encountered them, it would be very bad for him.
"Are you worried I'll run into your family's maidservants?"
She really disliked his overly sharp observation skills, gritting her teeth without denying it, "If you cherish your life, you should listen to me—"
"Sister?"
Sarah followed the voice and unexpectedly saw the stunned Ivy, "Ivy?"
Ivy stared blankly at the Delin family's sworn enemy clinging shamelessly to her cousin, and her most respected cousin looking awkward but not resisting. There was no hostile tension between them, even... a hint of sweet harmony.
What was going on? Ivy couldn't believe what she was seeing. The Sarah she knew would never get entangled with this man, unless... unless this man had grasped her sister's weakness and was forcing her to comply?
Yes, that must be it!
She was convinced of her own reasoning, clenching her fist and shouting to Sarah, "Sister, you don't have to be afraid of him! Aunt and the others are here, if we all work together to deal with him, you can come back with us—"