The Virtuous Dark Witch

Chapter 10

"Ah… It hurts!" The woman could no longer struggle. Her body began to twitch unnaturally, her pupils dilating as the redness in her eyes faded rapidly.

Elara licked her lips, still a little disbelieving, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it. The Andros was dying. She hurried forward: "Hold her down. If she attacks me again, I don't care who turned her—I won't hold back." At the same time, she unceremoniously snatched the glazed card from Alexander Stirling's hand.

Alexander Stirling looked at his empty hand and couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. He then grabbed the woman's jaw without mercy, his eyes narrowing slightly. The woman's sharp fangs retracted immediately.

"Go ahead. She can't bite you anymore."

Hearing this, Elara squatted down and examined the smoking wound on the woman's chest. She had been too nervous earlier to notice exactly where she had driven the two silver needles. It took her a while to locate them based on the smoke. She stretched out her small, fair right hand and hovered it directly above the needles.

"Olifrita," she whispered, her hand glowing with a pale, moonlight-like fluorescence. Something began to stir beneath the smoking chest. The woman, who had been on the verge of death, suddenly convulsed violently as if experiencing a last burst of energy. She opened her bloodstained mouth in agony and roared: "Ah…"

Even so, Alexander Stirling's hand remained tightly clamped on her jaw.

"Olifrita," Elara's small face was serious. These silver needles weren't dark weapons infused with Dark Witch Power, so they weren't controlled by her Witch Power. Now, to take them out without disemboweling the woman, she had to channel her Witch Power into the Andros' body and slowly move them out bit by bit.

"Ah…" The redness returned to her eyes as the woman's hands grabbed at the weeds on the ground. Her sharp fangs slowly extended again.

"Olifrita," Elara was unaffected. Her eyes fixed on the churning wound. Something was about to emerge. She continued to channel her Witch Power, pushing outward. Soon, two bloodstained needle tips poked out. She easily pulled them out with her small hand.

"Ah…" The Andros' back arched, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Elara, still squatting, didn't know what to say. She took out the handkerchief she had used to wipe her neck and carefully cleaned the two silver needles: "What did you see in her?" Were you turning a blind eye?"

Earlier, outside the jewelry shop, hadn't those Rozin women said that Alexander Stirling had come to Anastas City for more than just congratulating Rocky Anastas on his newborn son? Now, seeing this newly turned woman, she understood.

Alexander Stirling let go of the woman's jaw, then took the handkerchief from Elara's hand and wiped his own. His bright red eyes were calm, but the slight curve of his lips revealed a playful smirk: "Do you Dessey Witches sell regret medicine? I'm willing to pay a high price for it."

Regret medicine? Elara pouted and stood up, smoothing out her wide, fluffy skirt: "Are all Andros this unrealistic?" One wanted to drink her blood, the other wanted to buy regret medicine—why didn't they just fish for the moon?

"Then why did you ask what I saw in her?" Alexander Stirling glanced at the little girl, then looked at the woman lying on the ground again. The redness in his eyes deepened.

After checking, he found that the woman's body had stopped decaying once the two needles were removed. But perhaps because she had just been turned, her healing ability was not as good as that of ordinary Andros.

Elara looked up at the full moon hanging high in the sky. She had been out for a long time—had her mother noticed she was missing?

She took off the small tiara from her head and held it in her right hand, lifting her skirt with her left. Just as she was about to leave, she remembered something. She turned back to Alexander Stirling: "Since we're destined, let me give you a friendly reminder—don't let her hunt recklessly anymore."

The woman was seriously injured and probably wouldn't recover anytime soon. She was really worried that she would harm innocent Rozin people: "For her first hunt, she picked me of all people. Her luck must be terrible. Maybe next time she'll run into someone even stronger."

"You don't seem afraid of me at all?" Alexander Stirling picked up the woman and stood up. The moonlight was beautiful tonight, and the person in front of him was very interesting.

Hearing this, Elara began to look at the man seriously. She studied him for a long time before saying: "You don't look scary." Before leaving, her grandmother had hidden eighty-eight Crow Spirit Star-Moon Darts in her skirt—each coated with poison. She really wasn't an ordinary child.

Alexander Stirling laughed. A gust of wind blew, and his expression changed slightly: "Little Dessey, we'll take our leave first." As soon as he finished speaking, white mist surged. The desolate wilderness was left with only Elara.

Looking around at the desolate area with no villages or shops in sight, Elara suddenly felt angry. She cursed loudly in Chinese to the air: "You brought me out of the city, but you didn't take me with you when you left!" You have no humanity at all, even though I took so much effort to pull the needles out of your woman!"

"Aren't you supposed to be powerful? Then why can't you understand what I'm saying?" Elara took a breath. "I curse you to step on dog poop when you go out, choke on whatever you drink, only turn idiots, and have sons who… forget it, that's too mean."

After venting her anger, she still had to find her way back. She lifted her feet and walked with the wind, reaching a hundred meters away in the blink of an eye. Just then, Merlyn and Thea arrived. Seeing the little girl safe and sound, they finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Elara, where is that thing?"

"Her master took her away," Elara pouted, still angry.

"Her master?" Merlyn and Thea exchanged glances.

Elara nodded: "Yes. She was a newly turned Andros. When I was dealing with her, her master showed up." She took out the red glazed card Alexander Stirling had given her. "Look, I made money."

"Blood Rose?" Merlyn frowned, took the card from Elara's hand, confirmed the pattern on it, and returned it to her daughter. "Stirling." There was no mistake—the Blood Rose was the clan emblem of the Stirling family. "Did he do anything to you?"

"No," Elara put away the card, her eyes wandering between her mother and aunt. She hadn't forgotten what had happened earlier: "When did you notice I was missing?" In fact, she just wanted to ask if they had paid for the small tiara in her right hand.

Thea blinked: "Of course, we chased after you as soon as we realized you were gone." As she said this, she realized she and her sister had forgotten something.

The three fell silent for a long time before Elara had to accept the reality: "So… you ran away without paying for the small tiara." Did they have to go back? "Our carriage is still in the city."

"Let's go back," Merlyn finally spoke, taking Elara's small hand and walking forward. "I haven't finished negotiating with the shopkeeper."

Thea rolled her eyes rudely: "Sister, are you sure that shopkeeper will hire you for a thousand gold coins? What do you think he'll hire you to do?"

Rozin People who ran businesses like this in the city usually had patrons behind them. If they had any trouble, they would go directly to their patrons. How could they possibly hire a witch? Even if they did, they probably wouldn't consider the Dessey family.

"What hire?" Elara heard something interesting. "I thought you stayed to pay. How did it turn into a hire?" She looked up at her mother, who didn't look embarrassed at all. So this powerful Dark Witch planned to force a transaction?

Merlyn had her own reasoning: "Businessmen like them must often encounter problems they can't solve." She was here to solve those problems. "Even if they don't have any now, they will in the future. My price is very reasonable."

Not only did she plan to force a transaction, but she also wanted to advance her remuneration? Elara felt a little sad: "Mother, can I not have this small tiara?"

"This is a birthday gift from my mother," Merlyn smiled. "Tomorrow we're going to the Lord's Mansion—you'll wear it." Whatever others had, her little Elara must have too.

Elara was almost moved: "Mother, I'm only ten years old." She really didn't need to rush to compete in beauty. "Alexander Stirling has bad taste—he definitely won't notice how beautiful I am."

"Haha," Thea laughed. "Darling, Alexander Stirling wouldn't dare to covet someone from our Dessey family."

Although the West Sea Witch Ancestor had been gone for ten thousand years, her ancient tomb still existed, and her Demon-Hiding Snake Staff was still buried deep in the West Sea Forest. How could the Andros dare to turn their descendants?

Of course, there were Witches who had secretly tried to get close to the Andros. But unfortunately, once a Witch was turned, they would lose their ability to communicate with nature, and their Witch Power would dissipate immediately. So a strong alliance was almost impossible—except for one special Andros: Austin Corell.

Progenitor Austin Corell could withstand the scorching sun just like humans. So there had always been a controversy on Mal Continent: was Austin Corell a human or an Andros? Some even speculated that humans could bear children for Austin Corell without being turned.

From what she knew, the Light Witches had secretly sent holy witches to Corell Manor. But unfortunately, none of them had managed to get into Austin Corell's bed. So, until Austin Corell disappeared, this had never been confirmed.

Seeing that her persuasion was useless, Elara gave up. They returned to Anastas City and the jewelry shop. Their carriage was still parked safely by the road not far from the shop. The white-bearded clerk was stunned for a moment when he saw them, but quickly approached.

Before he could speak, Elara immediately took out the Blood Rose card Alexander Stirling had given her, frowned, and said pitifully: "Grandpa, we didn't mean to run out on the bill. I don't even know how much this card is worth…"

"That's enough."

"Please let me explain," Elara thought the other party wasn't giving her a chance to make amends and hurried to say: "When Alexander Stirling gave me this card, he didn't say how much money was on it. I don't know how much I can exchange it for at the Moscow Bank, but…"

"No, no, no, noble lady, you misunderstood. What I mean is that this Blood Rose is more than enough to pay for your Black Onyx Tiara."

"What?" Elara saw that the white-bearded clerk wasn't joking. Her eyes immediately fell on the glazed card. Should she tell the white-bearded clerk the truth?

After all, she had only pulled out two needles. If Alexander Stirling wasn't stupid, he would definitely not pay an amount equivalent to a small tiara. She raised her right hand, looked closely at the small tiara again, and looked at the white-bearded clerk with a complicated expression: "You're making a loss on this deal."

Merlyn couldn't bear to look at her daughter and turned her head away: "Give him the glazed card. He won't regret it."

The white-bearded clerk knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and raised his hands high: "Noble lady, you and your family can also take any other piece of jewelry from the shop as you wish."

WHAT?

Elara seemed to hear the sound of her worldview crumbling: "Can I ask you a question?" She placed the glazed card in the white-bearded clerk's hand. "How much is this card worth?"