Hellbents
Chapter 79: Obsession

Ava half-heartedly nodded in understanding. Whatever happens, he has passed the honesty test. Relieved, he removed the purple ring from his ring finger.

But before he said his farewell once more, the door of the room was knocked, then the grizzled waiter came in while pushing a trolley filled with tea paraphernalia and a sandwich.

The time is right, almost makes Ava sure that this coincidence is intentional.

"Excuse me, Mr and Miss." Based on his decades of experience as a servant, Tuug presents treats skillfully. The tea he poured was also as fragrant as a soothing sweet aroma.

Lavenders.

"Good fun." He disappeared again. Tuug freely went in and out of the room that now felt stifling, Ava to envy.

Ellijah picked up her teacup elegantly, like a noble. As a sign of courtesy, Ava imitated him, but he only pretended to straighten the contents in the cup. He still did not know the extent to which the man before him acted only to keep Ava in the room.

But the fake manners got there.

"You're free to eat the sandwich on the plate, don't bother."

"No, Mister. There is only one sandwich, it is better for the host to eat it. Anyway, I have to get back to the inn."

Ellijah.

Ava took her silence as a sign of agreement, so she got up from the big chair she was sitting in, but suddenly her legs were limp, not powered.

The girl blinked confusedly.

What's the matter?

Not only there, now all his limbs paralyzed can not be moved. His eyelids suddenly felt heavy, his consciousness quickly eroded.

But Ava did not eat or drink anything that was served, how could she be poisoned?

Oho!

"I guess you forgot, the one who taught me to make dope that can be spread out of the air is you, Eve."

Ah, crap!

Ava should have been suspicious when she smelled lavender earlier.

Black levender, one of the main ingredients when he made the anesthetic powder. Although barely visible, the smell of the fragrant flowers will not disappear.

If his doppelganger had dared to give a book full of elixir recipes to a stranger who was identical to him, one or two herbs he would have already shared with his own fiance.

But Ava was powerless to protest, the darkness had taken away her consciousness. She's fainted.

Ellijah watched quietly. After the girl in front of him was breathing quietly without moving, he stepped closer.

It can't be wrong for people.

Born the heir to the Frost Dukedom, Ellijah has known Eve the Princess of Edodale since they were able to walk.

Her large, cold hands gently stroked the unconscious woman's cheeks, removing the bangs that hid the eyes with plump, closed fur.

Eve's appearance did change a little, but she sure will get used to it in a quick time.

Four months of searching drove him crazy.

There's no way Ellijah will take off her hunt that easily.

No, there's no way he'll let Eve go, ever.

Perhaps when they return to Edodale, Ellijah will immediately ask the royal family to marry them off.

True, that way they will be bound by the thread of destiny, the blessing of gods, and the way of law.

There will be no more that can separate them.

It'd be better if Eve couldn't get anywhere.

Did he have to break both his fiancee's arms and legs?

... No, he doesn't want to be hated by Eve. After all, the royal family would be furious if he harmed the genius alchemist they were proud of. A valuable asset that should not be damaged, they said.

***

River had been pacing back and forth in his inn room nonstop, his heart was unsettled, worried, and the fact that Rina still had not come home made his anxiety double.

He fully knew that the girl had a habit of hunting at night in the forest, many times he nagged Rina to change her schedule because the forest at night would be much more dangerous than the morning, but his advice was only taken without really being considered. So he gave up.

But for tonight, a bad taste burst from his heart. Tonight was different from the worries that had become his routine. River was really worried.

The man finally descended hastily from the floor of the room, intending to look for Rina alone in the forest. He would not be quiet before he saw the girl was fine.

"Oh, hello, Brother River!" Lorah greeted as she passed through the lobby. Although his face was bent in worry, he took the time to smile and approach the little girl. "Hey, Lorah. Did you see Rina's sister after the duel this morning?"

Sensing that something was wrong, Lorah followed in a serious frown, "No. I've been playing with the other kids in the inn's backyard since noon." The obvious disappointment in River's look made the little girl crazily exclaim, "I'll ask my brother and his mercenary friends right away!"

"Ask what?" Luckily, Dom appears behind them along with five other beastmen.

"Sister, did Brother see Brother Rina after the duel this morning?"

With one eyebrow raised, the man with the tattooed arm replied, "I don't think so. Isn't it just like these hours that Rina still hunts in the woods?"

"Oh, if you're talking about the human girl you used to be with, I saw her at the market this afternoon," one of Dom's acquaintances spoke up.

"Ah, before there's a roadblock?" others argue.

"Road blocking?" River doesn't know anything about this.

"True, this afternoon one of the deserted roads leading to the market was blocked with a great many hired soldiers of a noble, he said from a powerful kingdom. There was an attempted murder there. Perhaps it was because it was a deserted road, hence not many knew of the incident unless one saw it head-on."

River's worry grew more and more unsettled, his heart pounding nervously and his breathing began to disorganize.

Dom glanced beside him, River looking about to collapse with just a single fist at this moment. He clucked, the man had already defeated him in the duel this morning, but why could it seem so weak just because of the invisible Rina for a few hours

But then he looked at Lorah, his sister whose black-bottled tail stiffened uncomfortably. He also imagined that Lorah was missing.

... He will react the same. Well, maybe he'll be more aggressive than River.

Plus Rina and River are two humans who .. okay-okay, Dom won't mind if they accompany him and Lorah for longer.

"If you're that hot, I'll help you find Rina in the woods. Lorah who will be guarding the inn, just the time Rina came home while we were still deep in the forest."

River is grateful for the good gesture that Dom rarely shows. So with the help of Dom and his pet monster, Lig, River tracks down Rina's whereabouts with a smell typical of the woman.

However, their search must come to a halt as the trail of the girl disappears inside the market street that still has the "No Cross" sign".

The blocked road.