༺ Eyes of a Dragon and the Human Heart (32) ༻
Elsie had been waiting for Ian for several days.
It had been tough during this period of time. Remembering the past days, Elsie’s eyes showed her exhaustion.
She was never one to fuss over her appearance, but recently, she had to go to all sorts of places under Lupine’s guidance.
These were shops she had never seen before.
Anyway, according to the academy’s internal rules, it was impossible to wear anything other than uniforms. So, Lupine focused on other aspects.
Like cosmetics, perfumes, and hair.
Honestly, even Elsie couldn’t tell how much she had changed in those few days. Absent-mindedly, she brought her hair to her nose and sniffed.
It smelled refreshing.
That change was clear enough even for Elsie to notice. She hoped that this change would have a positive impact.
I hope Master likes it, Elsie thought, feeling a little sullen.
She had known since she was young.
Elsie had an unusually petite physique compared to her peers. This has continued until her growth stopped, and her body showed no signs of growing since her adolescence.
That was why she was often bullied in the Rinella Household, known for their robust builds.
But what mattered to a mage was not physique but mana. That was why it hadn’t bothered her much since joining the academy.
She thought that all she had to do was put those in their place who belittled her as a ‘midget’. Whether tall or short, Elsie Rinella was Elsie Rinella.
However, first love could change everything, including a girl’s entire view on the world.
For the first time in a long while, Elsie really resented her petite figure.
As a woman, she had curves in her body. In fact, her curves were quite pronounced for her size.
For her size, that is.
In truth, she couldn’t possess curves like the Saintess or Delphine, who were often around Ian. Such figures, regardless of body type, would almost certainly raise suspicions of genetic manipulation.
Thinking this, Elsie grew anxious. Even as she chewed her lips and kicked the innocent ground, her mind wouldn’t settle.
After some time, startled by a sudden noise, Elsie looked up.
Ian was walking from afar.
It was his usual path. He used to practise in the secluded clearing in the forest. It was a fact Lupine had discovered by going even as far as to interrogate people.
She hadn’t seen his face for only a few days. However, Elsie couldn’t hide her joy like a puppy reuniting with her owner for the first time in years.
It didn’t even take a few seconds for her excitement to disappear, though.
Suddenly, a woman approached Ian, clinging to his arms as if to hang onto it.
She was a stunning beauty with bright blonde hair and blood-red eyes, which were almost bewitchingly seductive.
The attractive woman with a fair complexion was now pressing Ian’s arm against her chest.
It was such a natural approach, seamlessly executed, that Ian couldn’t bring himself to pull his arm away.
His surprised eyes turned to the woman. Then, the woman, Delphine Yurdina, greeted him with a faint smile.
“Master, shall we talk alone for a moment?”
Her tone implied she had something important to say. Ian tensed up for a moment, then sighed and scratched his head.
He looked resigned, as if he had no choice but to listen to her demands..
However, Elsie was not pleased with the sight of the two together.
As was already well-known, Elsie and Delphine were not on good terms.
They were famously known as rivals at the academy.
Even Elsie and Delphine themselves acknowledged this.
And now, right before her eyes, Elsie was about to watch her beloved master be taken away by her nemesis. It was bound to upset her.
“Wh-Who are you clinging to right now?! Just you wait, you… you slut!”
Elsie’s loud outcry was met with swift reactions.
First off, Ian looked at Elsie with a surprised expression. It seemed like he hadn’t expected her to be waiting here.
Delphine initially looked a bit startled. However, her eyes soon narrowed and a smile full of indiscernible meaning appeared on her lips.
Elsie walked over with a livid expression, glaring at Delphine.
She seemed so furious that one could almost seem to hear her growling.
“Hey, won’t you back off?! Can’t you see that Master is uncomfortable?”
It was a convenient excuse, but none was more effective than this.
Ian, as usual, had a troubled expression, which only seemed to validate Elsie’s claim.
Then, Delphine obediently let go of Ian’s arm.
It was an attitude that wasn’t consistent with Delphine. After all, it didn’t make sense that the very embodiment of competitiveness would back down just because of Elsie’s sharp remark.
Of course, Elsie continued to watch her warily. Regardless, Delphine, as if surrendering, waved her hands and spoke.
“You’re right, I was far too rude. A slave should know their place around their master…”
At that moment, seeing Delphine’s sly smile, Elsie felt a chill run down her spine.
Anyone could see that Delphine had the appearance of a woman harboring a scheme.
But before Elsie could say anything, Delphine was already on the move.
She knelt without hesitation, bowed her head, and kissed the dirt-covered tip of Ian’s shoe, speaking in a submissive tone,
“Master, please, punish this disrespectful slave…”
Elsie’s eyes widened in surprise at Delphine’s unexpected preemptive move.
Furthermore, Delphine even subtly squeezed her thighs while bowing. The curves of her butt, raised in the air, under her uniform skirt was emphasized.
Elsie inadvertently compared her slender figure to Delphine’s curvaceous figure brimming with allure.
As promised with Lupine originally, today, Elsie was supposed to approach the situation with more confidence. The plan was to be somewhat coy yet subtly open to Ian’s advances.
However, from the moment Delphine intervened, Elsie’s mind had gone blank.
She didn’t want to lose to Delphine. More importantly, she didn’t want to be abandoned by her master.
That desperate sentiment made Elsie command herself to cling to Ian.
Elsie decided to follow that instinct.
“What, what are you saying, you bitch! Subtly squeezing your thighs together and sticking out your butt like that?! You no-good big-assed wench really… Master! P-Please, ignore that freak and don’t just abandon Elsie… okay?”
Of course, Ian’s expression while watching this was full of discomfort.
Regardless, the verbal spat between Delphine and Elsie only escalated.
“What’s wrong, Rinella? Just like you said, I’m waiting for punishment for being disrespectful to Master… Looks like you still lack the awareness that you are nothing but Master’s property, don’t you?”
“…Wha-What?!”
Delphine’s provocation, thrown out while bowing her head, hit Elsie’s ears directly.
Caught off guard, Elsie jumped on the spot as if she had been stung.
In fact, Elsie’s feelings for Ian were of affection, admiration, and love, thus was not the same as Delphine’s.
However, Delphine’s intrusion caused a refraction in those feelings. Elsie naturally came to recognize Ian as her ‘master’.
After all, only then could she win in the competition against Delphine.
Though the standard of that ‘victory’ was peculiar, it was a crucial battle for Elsie. Her eyes, reminiscent of blue sapphires, sparkled with determination.
“That, that’s because I also belong to Master! Do you think I don’t know what you’re trying to do, sticking out your butt on purpose! You lewd wench, trying to satisfy your own greed by using the master…!”
“If you don’t like it, you can do it too, then.”
However, Delphine’s voice replying to Elsie was as calm as it could be.
Delphine’s blood-red eyes flickered towards Elsie as she bowed her head.
A sneer hung on her lips.
“I’m quite confident in my figure, you see, especially my hips. The feel is so good, I’m sure the master must be quite pleased with them. Ah, the last time was really…”
“…La-Last time?!”
Delphine’s voice grew increasingly sultry. Hearing this, Elsie gasped in shock, swallowing hard.
Soon, Elsie’s pitiful gaze turned towards Ian.
Her eyes begged him to deny it, but Ian, without a word, just turned his head away.
For a brief moment, he seemed deep in contemplation, his fingers twitching.
Elsie, not getting the response she hoped for, looked utterly devastated, almost on the verge of tears.
Delphine, smirking as if enjoying the situation, continued her story, often twitching and rubbing against her thigh.
“…..Really, it was delightful. If Master wishes, he can punish me as much as he wants. Ah, or maybe stomp on my head with his foot?”
At Delphine’s provoking tone, Elsie shuddered.
Who would have thought the heir of the Yurdina family could be such a lewd bitch with such perverse taste?
This was akin to a betrayal to the Imperial Family.
Until recently, Elsie had been bad-mouthing the princess for interfering with Ian, calling her ‘that wench’. But at this moment, she felt like the most loyal subject of the empire.
And more than that, her instinct as a woman to protect the man she loved from this seductress was overpowering.
Elsie with her fluttering eyelashes, finally opened her eyes as if she had made up her mind.
“Ma-Master! If you want to punish someone, punish me…!”
“Master, if you’re going to hit someone, wouldn’t it be better to have it be satisfying for your hands? Please show no mercy to this slave…”
Ian, who had been silently watching Delphine and Elsie for a while, eventually let out a deep sigh.
It seemed like he had made up his mind.
There was no way Elsie and Delphine didn’t know this.
As the two women waited anxiously for Ian’s decision, the moment arrived.
Ian’s hand, like a bolt of lightning, drew his hatchet.
Then before Delphine and Elsie could react…
The incandescent hatchet was lodged into the ground, exploding all the mana it had been holding within.
With a loud bang, a thick cloud of dust rose. The shockwave wasn’t big, but it was enough to stimulate Delphine and Elsie’s fear.
“Ky-Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“A-Ah, Kyaaaaaaah!”
Despite their mutual dislike, their screams were similar.
The two of them fell to the ground and started to shiver, clutching their heads. Their trembling eyes attested to the fact that the trauma in their hearts had not yet healed.
“I, I’m sorry… No-Not the hatchet… Please, just not the sword… I, I’ll give you everything… Ah, Ah…”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… E-Elsie will pee herself… P-Please, don’t abandon me! Please spare me…”
After witnessing this, Ian sighed wearily.
He placed a hand on his forehead and shook his head in dismay, then finally turned to Delphine.
“Senior Delphine, so what did you want to say?”
Delphine, with a trembling voice, stammered out her words.
“That, that is… I heard you were looking for a ‘tunnel’ a while ago, so I wanted to talk about that… H-Heuk…Please forgive me…”
Ian nodded as if that made sense. His gaze then turned to Elsie.
“What about you, Senior Elsie?”
“I… I haven’t seen Master lately, so… I didn’t want to be abandoned… Hick..hik…”
Upon hearing this, Ian’s expression turned slightly bitter. His golden eyes, filled with pity, looked down at Elsie.
But that was only for a moment.
Ian, having heard the entire matter, finally showed a satisfied smile.
As he raised his hand, the hatchet flew back to his grasp, whistling through the air. He then spoke to the two women who were still trembling in fear.
“Since it’s come to this, let’s all three of us have a discussion. I had something I wanted to share with both of you anyway…and we’ll talk about ‘rewards’ and ‘punishments’ later.
With that, Ian thought to himself.
I should have drawn my hatchet sooner.
It seemed that extreme measures were necessary whenever these two got into excessive arguments.
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