My Moonlit Declaration

Chapter 18: Wood Power

“Susanna is my wife. She is of pure Snow Moon Clan bloodline. She has now joined the Moon Ember Clan and has given birth to two very healthy children for me.” Erick gave Elara a leisurely glance. “Although Elara is a half-wolf hybrid, this is not Susanna’s fault.”

“I-I didn’t mean it that way.” Madame Melisie waved her hands, putting on an extremely sincere smile. “You’ve misunderstood me.”

“Please listen to me first,” Elara interrupted their conversation.

All eyes in the room instantly fell on her.

“What I want to say is — my witch power source is Wood Power, and it is extremely pure.” Elara’s gaze swept across everyone present. “That’s why I hope to attend school, strengthen my abilities, study potion-making, and become a pharmacist.”

Martin’s hand, which had been twirling the dagger, suddenly stopped. He looked at Elara again, his peacock-green eyes flashing briefly before dimming.

Madame Melisie’s smile completely disappeared. The expression on her face clearly showed she was calculating something — or perhaps re-evaluating Elara’s worth.

Wood Power usually only appeared in the descendants of the Holy Elder and the Great Elder. In the past two generations of the Moon Ember Clan’s Holy Elder’s descendants, not a single one possessed Wood Power, because their own Wood Power was not pure enough.

Greed and calculation began to show in everyone’s eyes.

Although Elara could never become the Holy Witch of the Moon Ember Clan, if the family had an outstanding pharmacist, it could bring endless wealth and power.

Elara watched their expressions change with cold eyes.

She was not surprised. These people had never valued her — only the benefits she could bring.

“You child, you’ve only just returned and you’re already so eager to go to school. Wouldn’t it be better to stay home and spend more time with your mother?” Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Susanna hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

“Susanna, that’s not right of you. Elara has already been delayed for eighteen years. She needs to go to school as soon as possible to learn how to become an outstanding pharmacist!” A strange glint flashed in Madame Melisie’s eyes.

“But… a half-wolf hybrid would damage the family’s reputation—” Erick hesitated for a moment. “If you insist on going to school, you cannot attend under the name of the Williams family, and you will need to alter your appearance.”

“No problem. These two requests are reasonable. I can agree to them. I can attend school under the name of a Snow Moon clansperson, but I don’t know how to perform appearance-altering magic, and I don’t want to wear a mask. I heard that Illusion Face Cream can change facial contours, but I haven’t…”

“Are you crazy?! The Illusion Face Cream specially made by our grandfather costs thirty Blood Agates per small jar on the market! You probably haven’t even touched a Blood Agate before! One Blood Agate can be exchanged for 1,000 Bone Gold Ingots. What a greedy country bumpkin!” Martin returned to his disdainful, punchable attitude.

“Even Bone Gold Ingots that can be exchanged for 1,000 Claw Silver Coins are not something a poor person like me can afford. Besides, I never have more than 100 Claw Silver Coins on me…” Elara deliberately showed weakness.

“I’ve lived alone for more than ten years. I never intended to come live with the Moon Ember Clan in the first place. I can just go back — I didn’t come here for money—” Before she could finish, her voice choked up. She blinked, and tears instantly rolled down her cheeks, making her look pitiful and helpless.

“How can a brother make his sister cry? Elara only returned yesterday. How could she possibly know that Father’s specially made Illusion Face Cream is crafted from the silver powder shed by Silver Powder Butterflies? It’s extremely precious. You were really too reckless.” Madame Melisie gently pulled Elara into her arms and pretended to scold her son.

“Tch, putting on an act! Half-wolf hybrid mongrel! …” Accompanied by muttered curses, Martin stormed out of the reception room.

Susanna felt greatly humiliated. She covered her face and began to cry.

Erick comforted his wife while glaring fiercely at his sister, signaling with his eyes for her to properly console Elara and absolutely prevent her from thinking about leaving the Moon Ember Clan again.

Melisie understood instantly and generously threw out, “Only a distinguished family like ours is worthy of sending our children to Mosshawk Academy. I’ll go see Father tomorrow and figure something out for Elara.”

“Good, let’s do that. Sorry to trouble you, Melisie. Also… about Father’s Illusion Face Cream…” Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Erick casually brought it up.

“It’s no trouble at all. I’m sure Father will be very willing.” She waved her hand, looking utterly sincere.

Then she turned to Elara and asked, “You said your witch power source is Wood Power? Who tested it for you?”

“Uncle Cole from the end of the street.” Elara understood exactly why she was asking this and raised her mental guard. She answered half-truthfully, “He is also from the wolf clan and a half-wolf hybrid. He took good care of me. When I was fifteen, he took me to the Witch Domain for testing.”

This was the story she and her teacher had agreed upon beforehand.

Elara deliberately lowered her head and said in a small, aggrieved voice, “At that time, Uncle Cole even said — what a pity. Such pure Wood Power, yet it belongs to a half-wolf hybrid. There must be something wrong.”

Madame Melisie and Erick exchanged a quick, short glance.

“You knew you had Wood Power, yet you didn’t go learn how to make potions—” Madame Melisie began.

“Melisie.” Unable to tolerate her rudeness any longer, Susanna interrupted her. “I see Bonnie seems a bit tired. Why don’t I take her to rest first?”

Sure enough, Bonnie’s face appeared even paler, but Susanna’s words made her suddenly blush.

“Yes, yes.” Erick also stood up. “You must be tired after sitting in the carriage all night. You children should go rest.”

Madame Melisie frowned, but a smile quickly returned to her face. “Go on, go on. My Bonnie has always had a weak constitution since she was little. I really don’t know what to do with her.”

“Huh?” Susanna was stunned. “No, she just looks a little thin. She seems quite healthy to me.”

“Tsk tsk, healthy? Hardly.” Madame Melisie curled her lips. “Look at you — you don’t have much meat on your bones either. When you gave birth to Nancy, you nearly lost your life.”

“Hehe, Bonnie should eat more and gain some weight.” Susanna smiled awkwardly and led the two girls away.

They hadn’t gone far when Arturo Williams, wearing a light gray robe, walked toward them. “Mother, Elara, Bonnie.”

Bonnie looked up and stared at Elara without blinking. “Cousin Arturo.”

Arturo took out a small round wooden box from his sleeve and handed it to Elara. “This is a welcome gift for you. If you need anything in the future, feel free to come to me.” With that, he quickly headed toward the reception room.

The box was not heavy and quite small. Its surface was polished smooth, without any patterns. Elara accepted it but did not open it.

“Melisie, why are you in such a hurry? Elara has only just arrived, and you’re already rushing to find marriage candidates for her? What if you scare her away? That would be troublesome.” Erick quietly scolded his sister.

“What’s the problem? It’s bound to happen sooner or later. Letting her know earlier is good — we can also see her reaction!” Melisie replied indifferently.

“Also, why did you probe her about her witch power source? We originally just wanted to use her for a marriage alliance to consolidate our power. Now that she has the talent to become a pharmacist, that’s an enormous blessing!”

“Oh, if everyone is like you — too afraid to ask anything, scared of this, scared of that — when will we ever figure out her true background? I asked on your behalf, and instead of thanking me, you act ungrateful. Being a good person is really hard.” Melisie rolled her eyes at him. “In my opinion, this little girl is quite opinionated. Don’t end up being led by the nose by her without even realizing it!”

“She’s just an eighteen-year-old girl who has never seen the world. How deep can her scheming be? Stop exaggerating.” Erick waved his hand, took a sip of tea, and continued, “Handle the matter of Mosshawk Academy and the Illusion Face Cream as quickly as possible. Since the school is currently on break, it’ll be easier to arrange. We need to move fast.”

“Understood. I’ll go see Father tomorrow. Aren’t you coming with me?” Melisie winked at Erick.

“I can already imagine that in a few years, she’ll earn us countless Blood Agates.” Erick’s calculations were crystal clear at this moment.

“More than ten years ago, you found yourself a Snow Moon Clan woman as a wife. Even though she was second-hand, Father praised you highly. Now you’ve brought another Snow Moon Clan woman back to the family. Father will definitely reward you generously! ”