Chapter 2: Encounter

"Ah, I can't move." -Elena groans in pain. She is in pain. But what was more painful was the treachery of her men. Power struggles between the heirs are nothing new for noble families like the Broyd house.

'But to join hands with those guys, what are those guys thinking?'

Someone has betrayed her. She didn't know who, she knew someone close to her did it.

Did those idiots think that by betraying her, they would be able to find benefits from her brother?

Do they think her brothers are stupid or something? No one will allow a snake to roam close to themselves.

She was furious. Just who do they think she is?

Though she was poisoned on the verge of death with broken bones and a wounded spirit, she still took out her assailant as she fled.

Elena wanted to curse. But first thing first, she has to take care of the poison. From what she understands, this is poison from Black Poison Mantis.

This poison is very rare and deadly. But it kills its victim very slowly. It takes a full day to kill. But it's a rather nasty poison.

As it causes damage to the spirit of its victim, making the victim suffer to his last breath. The last assassin used it on her when he knew he was about to die.

He just wanted Elena to suffer before her death. But that came as a blessing to her as she wouldn't have been able to live this long otherwise.

Black Poison Mantis may be rare and often not used as an assassination tool. So the antidote to such a thing isn't carried by most people. But fortunately for her, she has quite the background. Her family is filthy rich.

Being the heir of a noble house also has its perks. One such perk is having a lot of resources. And she has a lot of rare ones too.

And that is going to save her right now.

She took a black golden pill from her pocket and gulped it down.

It is a very precious pill that is said to cure a thousand rare poisons. It cost her a fortune to get her hand on it. But right now, it is really looking like a good investment.

"Why do all these pills taste so bitter?" she grumbles while holding her urge to vomit.

Elena could see black smoke starts to seep through her skin very quickly.

It is the sign of poison dissipating. The pill got the poison out of her system.

But the problem doesn't end there because the wound inflicted on the spirit by the poison still remains.

The wound of the spirit is a lot harder to heal. It's not something a pill could do instantly.

She took out another white pill. Though she didn't have enough to heal her spirit wound fully, it should stabilize her just a bit.

"Ah, I feel so tired" -She tries her best not to lose focus and faint. She must tend to her external wounds too. The bruises on her body are not as severe as Spirit wounds. But it still needs to be treated as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the more time passes, the worse it will get.

The problem was, after the excruciating pain from the poison subsided, everything around her was becoming blurry, and she was struggling to keep hold of her consciousness from the sheer amount of fatigue.

She was feeling a little muddle-headed.

'Hmm, someone's coming.' She sensed someone about a hundred meters away.

'Oh, I can't move well.

Have the pursuers found my trail already?

That shouldn't be. Tonton is still making fake trails.' -She can feel her partner running through the wood toward the portal.

While escaping, she jumped off from her partner into a river to cover her trail as her injuries. They were getting worse every minute. Her buddy kept going and making fake trails as a cover for her.

She can only hope that nothing happens to her best friend. Right now, There's little she could do about it.

Still, For some reason, she felt like she has betrayed her best friend. And now she is suffering for it.

Elena was having a hard time getting her head straight. She was thinking a lot of unnecessary things.

'Well, I should stay put and feign being unconscious. It should make the other party drop his guard down a bit. If it's an assassin, there may be a chance to give a fatal blow. Well, that's all I can do in this situation. I'll definitely not die alone.'

'Maybe, showing a bit of skin will help?' -Her dress was all torn up anyways.

While thinking about these, Elena was getting red. Her aunt told her seduction is just another card you could use anytime. But she could never master the art.

Though she came of age a while ago, she was so busy that she didn't have time to go on a date or find a boyfriend. And now she's regretting that.

'Well, that's a waste.' –she thought as she resolves herself for the last struggle. She opens up her dress a bit more to show off a bit more skin without making any obvious movements.

Even if it's an assassin, he should want to get a hold of world-class beauty like her one last time, right? She was hoping for the pursuer to be a bit lustful. So it can give her an opportunity.

Though she knows no skilled assassin would be foolish enough to make such a mistake. Still, that didn't stop to get her hopes up.

She doesn't have enough strength or a tool to make a ranged attack. So, her best option is for the target to be as close to her as possible.

She hated perverts. But now she was hoping for the person coming to be one.

'Hmm, too slow… and clumsy...' -she could feel the movements of said person to be very clumsy.

At that time came a boy.

'How old is he, thirteen, fourteen', Elena doesn't understand if this boy is an assassin or what? Is this a way of fooling his enemy?

'Well, his acting is top-notch. He's stopping and acting like he just noticed me.'

'He is acting like a naive boy. He can't fool me. What would a boy be doing in the woods at night?' Elena thought.

She closes her eyes, pretending to be faint. The boy comes close. His movement is too clumsy. A good assassin wouldn't come so close to a target without confirming first.

'Well, it might not be a pursuer after all.' -Elena thought. But she doesn't move and waits. She can kill the boy any time she wants. He was already in her range.

The boy comes nearer.

"Hello, hmm, is she alive?" the boy speaks. He comes closer and checks if she is breathing.

"Ok, she is alive. But she is out cold. Man, what do I do now? Do I leave her to get someone? But that would be dangerous. She might die in the meantime. Or some beast might attack her. If Jon were here, it would have been alright. But he went with father. What can I do now?" the boy kept mumbling.

He was trembling a bit but forced himself to stay composed.

"Well, pretty lady, you are bleeding. We have to stop your bleeding first." -Saying that, he went to the side, leaving her alone.

'Where is he going now?

Doesn't he know not to leave a wounded lady behind?

He doesn't look like a 'bad' person. He's just a kid anyway. But what's with the 'pretty lady' stuff?

Does he know I'm not unconscious?

Is he hitting on me?'-Elena started to have wild thoughts. But in the meantime, she took out another medicine before chucking it down. She then kept lying down the way she was. She was too tired to move and trying hard not to faint.

After a while, the boy brought some leaves and moss and water. He washed the wound with water. Then chewed the leaves and pressed them on her bleeding thigh, abdomen, and forearm. Then he pressed it down with moss. And lastly he tied it with some leaves.

'He seems to know what he's doing.' -Elena thought.

While thinking this, she noticed something… her clothes were in disarray. And it may make most men dive on her at first sight.

'How embarrassing?' she thought. How it looks from the outside… a half-naked young lady lying in front of a kid now…

'No, no, no, it's more like a wounded person is being treated by another... Yes, that's right. No need to be embarrassed.' -Even while consoling herself, she was getting red.

'I definitely can't open my eyes now. That would be too embarrassing.' -She thought she should directly stop resisting and feint. But in this situation, that would also be a wrong decision.

After the first aid, the boy tried to lift her. In the meantime, Elena used her spirit art to reduce her weight so it would be easier for the boy to carry her. She did it knowing the boy won't understand she was doing it as he didn't have any spirit energy emitting.

"Hmm, this pretty lady is so light. Hehe." -The boy chuckled as he put her on the back and carried her through the wood.

While moving, the boy kept his hand moving around Elena's buttocks and kept grinning. Elena doesn't have a big cup size that could be called big. But it is still of a size that she can be proud of. She was sure that the boy could feel them on his back.

Elena understood something was wrong. But she can't do anything. Saying it out loud felt more embarrassing to her. Yet, she can't let it slide. So she started removing the spirit art. As the buoyancy lessened, she was weighing more and more.

"Ha, ha." -before long, the boy was panting.

'That's what you deserve, you evil Brat.' Elena thought.

Thankfully they didn't encounter any danger. Any small snake or likes wouldn't approach them because Elena's presence scared them away. Even while injured, the pressure of a 'dark red spiritualist' is no joke. Low-rank spirit beasts would even keep clear of her dead body much less when she was alive.

It took about an hour for them to get out at their slow pace.

A girl in a maid's uniform could be heard calling for the boy. She was carrying a lantern in her hand. She seems to be looking for the boy for some time.

After finding them, she carried Elena back.

Getting out of the woods, there was a mansion right in their line of view. It wasn't big or anything. At most, it was a bit bigger than a commoner's home. At least that's what Elena thought.

'She doesn't have any malicious intent it seems. There shouldn't be any danger in a place like this.' -Thinking that Elena let go of her conscious.

Olen's POV:

Father took Jon and left in haste. I don't know what happened. But it was supposed to be our vacation. Though we rarely get one, he just went at the drop of the 'royalties' name. Though I knew it must be important, that doesn't make me less angry. At least he could stay the night.

I just wanted to get away. So I went to the woods at the back of our vacation home.

I didn't go too far in... or so I thought. I know these woods like the back of my hand. Jon and I always come here to play. So, it is fine, I guess.

But it was dark soon. And I've come farther than I thought. I got lost.

Jon isn't around. So, I have to get back alone. I have to get back quickly, otherwise Mom will worry.

I found a stream. These streams feed the river that runs through the side of our vacation house. So, I followed it.

"I'm a man. I can do it. No problem." I encouraged myself.

So far, there was no problem. Soon I found the large river coming from upstream inside the forest. I know the way from here.

"It's no problem." -I told myself.

But soon, however, I saw something white ahead.

'What is that?' –I was feeling a bit nervous. Something was lying on the ground. Even in this darkness, it glowed in a faint white color.

My heart is beating faster. I was getting goosebumps.

'I haven't run into something strange, did I?'

Jon taught me to follow the river if I got lost. But I don't want to face this weird thing. I stop moving. There's no movement from the white thing. So, I move closer slowly.

'If it moves, I'll run right away. I'll run right away.' -I thought.

I was on my nerves. I move very carefully, without making any noise. Bit by bit I get closer.

It looks more like a person. It's dark. So, I can't be sure. The glowing plants do little to illuminate. It can show the steam but nothing more. The moon's up. So, it's a bit better. I was a few feet away from the thing when I found it was a person. More accurately, a female person.

I still become very cautious. It can be an illusion. Jon told me some spirit beasts use illusions to fool their prey. But I can see the disheveled clothes and some wounds on her. So I go up cautiously.

"Hello, hmm, is she alive?" I spoke up, trying to get a response. 'If she is dead, will her ghost haunt me?' was what I was thinking. I checked her breathing.

She needs first aid quickly. There may be a beast nearby that hurt her. So I have to get her away from here quickly too.

"Well, pretty lady, you are bleeding. We have to stop your bleeding first." I called out anyway. I know there should be some Gasset plants near here. Jon told me that it makes the bleeding stop. He taught me to do it. He told me that I needed to know these if I ever wanted to go hunting with my father.

I found some moss on the riverbank. I don't know what they are called. But I know that it needs to be put on the wound 'topside down'. I also took a few long leaves. And used a pocket-shaped leaf to get water.

"Yes, I think that is all." I tried remembering what Jon said. He showed it to me once. I need to hurry.

I get back to the place where the petty lady was.

Oh, she looks very hurt. I washed the wound. It looks very bad.

I chewed the leaves. It doesn't taste like anything in particular. If I have to say, it tastes just like any other leaf. But there was a lingering bitter taste to it.

I can't say I like it. But the pretty lady is in bad shape. I have to do it.

I do as Jon taught me. I think I did pretty well. Now I have to get us out of here. I tried to pull her up.

"Hmm, this pretty lady is so light. Hehe." I thought it would be a struggle. I know I am strong. I train with Jon every day. I can even lift my mother. But I didn't expect it would be this easy. If this lady becomes my wife, it would be nice.

I feel like the stories told to me by my sister with knight and princess.

'Yes, I will take her as my wife. She looks cute and so light. I'll take her to the forest to play. I can lift her any way I want. I can also do the things my father does with my mother. Hehehe'

I asked Jon about it, but Jon told me it is something men and women do when they get married... and... and that I'm not yet old enough.

Anyway, I carried her as I was thinking. I'll have to inquire with Jon thoroughly about this next time I see him.

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