Chapter 22: Bardel knelt down.
Looking at Bardel’s dazed expression, Elrose sighed helplessly.
“Anyway, please stand up and talk to me.”
Saying this, Elrose reached out to help Bardel up.
At that moment, Bardel suddenly remembered something, his whole body shook, and he sprang up.
“I’m up, I’m up, please don’t touch me!” Bardel exclaimed.
Hearing this, Elrose became a bit unhappy, “Why are you reacting like this? Do I have poison on me?”
“No poison, no poison,” Bardel hurriedly replied, “But just don’t touch me.”
Cold sweat streamed down Bardel’s back.
The only thing that thing said to him was, “Don’t touch her.”
So he absolutely must not touch her again.
If he did, he could very well die.
No, death might actually be a light consequence.
Bardel had a premonition that if he truly angered that thing, he would experience something more terrifying than death.
However, Bardel never expected his words to anger Elrose.
“I feel like you’re insulting me,” Elrose pouted, her expression sulking.
“I’m not, I didn’t,” Bardel quickly denied.
“You did, you totally did,” Elrose retorted loudly.
Saying this, Elrose directly reached out her little hand towards Bardel.
“Ah!” This unexpected move frightened Bardel greatly. He yelled and hurriedly dodged.
“Are you really dodging?”
“Why shouldn’t I dodge?!”
“What are you dodging for?”
“What are you grabbing at?!”
“You let me grab once, and I won’t die, right?”
“It really will kill me!”
“That’s nonsense!”
“I’m not lying!”
“Ahhh!” Angered, Elrose lunged at Bardel, “Then let’s see you die!”
“Please don’t come over!”
“Don’t run! Stop!”
“Help!”
A male and female, one large and one small, were playing a game of cat and mouse in the Adventurer’s Guild’s Appraisal Room.
Bardel was running desperately in front, afraid of being caught by Elrose.
Elrose, meanwhile, was relentless in her pursuit, her face full of a little girl’s stubbornness.
You don’t let me touch you, I have to touch you.
Bardel wanted to run out, but he discovered the door was sealed with a magical lock. Only Adventurer’s Guild staff could open it.
“Celia, hurry and open the door! Someone will get hurt!” Bardel shouted as he rushed.
“Ah, this…” Celia stood still, saying, “Sir Bardel, why don’t you just let her touch you? It won’t be a big deal.”
“You don’t understand anything.” Bardel’s face was filled with despair, “Just open the door quickly! It will really kill me!”
Seeing Bardel’s terrible attitude while speaking, Celia frowned and coldly said, “Then go die and see.”
“Ahhh!”
Suddenly, Bardel tripped on a step, stumbling and falling to the ground.
Elrose quickly caught up, reaching out her little hand toward Bardel.
“Don’t!”
Bardel’s voice was pitiful, as if what was coming at him wasn’t a lovely girl but rather the Grim Reaper from hell.
On the side, Kendrick could no longer stand it. He found an opportunity and directly lifted Elrose up with one hand from behind her.
“Alright, alright, Elrose, stop messing around.”
“Kendrick, let go! I have to touch him today, I want to see if he will die!”
Elrose’s small feet were kicking the air as she struggled, her little hands waving around, looking like she wanted to devour Bardel whole.
Seeing this, Bardel’s face turned pale. He quickly dodged behind Celia.
“Hey, hey, hey, are you going to scare me like this? Do you not know what you’re afraid of? Elrose like this is actually quite cute!” Celia smiled and said, “Like a frizzy little kitten.”
“A frizzy little kitten?” Bardel sniffed as tears threatened to spill, thinking silently, “If only you could see the thing behind her, you’d probably be even more scared than I am.”
Kendrick sighed helplessly, “Sigh, Elrose, he’s the son of a count after all. Why don’t you give him some face and not touch him?”
“Count? Who’s that? I don’t know,” Elrose said fiercely.
“Um… well,” Kendrick paused, then continued, “Why don’t you do me a favor? I have some connections with this kid’s father. Just let it go today and don’t touch him.”
Elrose hesitated slightly.
Kendrick’s face…
To be honest, it’s worth giving.
After all, he was her lifesaver.
As for this kid…
Elrose glared fiercely at Bardel.
Damn, this kid truly deserves to be cursed.
When she didn’t let him touch her, he had to. Now that I come closer to let him touch me, he dodges me like I’m a plague.
What does that mean?
Do I not deserve any respect?
Elrose huffed, “I can not touch him, but he must apologize to me!”
Seeing that Elrose finally relented, Kendrick also breathed a sigh of relief. He gently set Elrose down and then glanced at Bardel, signaling him with his eyes.
Bardel, however, was still hiding behind Celia, looking somewhat hesitant.
Elrose frowned, saying sternly, “Are you going to apologize or not?”
“Apologize, apologize, I apologize.” Bardel jumped out from behind Celia in fright, bending frequently with deep sincerity, “Everything wrong today is my fault. I hope you, my lady, will be magnanimous and not hold it against me.”
“What did you even do wrong?” Elrose asked languidly.
“I was wrong for bothering you at the restaurant today, should never have used force against you,” Bardel confessed.
“And also that you’re an idiot,” Elrose added, “I’m clearly not carrying anything, yet you look at me like I’m a demon, which made me very embarrassed.”
“Yes, yes, yes, it’s all my fault for being an idiot,” Bardel nodded repeatedly, but looking at the shadow behind Elrose, he couldn’t help but mutter in his heart, “If you’re not a demon, then who is?”
“Then if I hit you today, will you accept it?” Elrose asked.
“I’ll accept, I’ll accept,” Bardel nodded rapidly.
“That’s better,” Elrose said, “Alright, then I’ll ask one last question…”
“You won’t cause me trouble because of today’s event, will you?” Elrose crossed her arms, her gaze icy.
At that moment, the shadow behind Elrose surged with power, and a terrifying darkness lunged directly at Bardel.
“Absolutely not! Never!!!!” Bardel screamed, frightened out of his wits.
At that moment, the darkness stopped just an inch from Bardel.
Gradually, the darkness dissipated, and even the shadow behind Elrose began to fade.
As the shadow faded completely, a voice so utterly terrifying filled Bardel’s head.
“Keep your promises, and also, don’t speak too much.”
Bardel swallowed hard.
At that moment, the shadow behind Elrose had disappeared, but Bardel was still extremely scared.
What on earth was that?
A spirit? A guardian deity? A stand user?
No matter what it was, one thing was certain.
It was an existence that surpassed human limits, extraordinarily remarkable.
Its power likely surpassed the Saint Tier.
Even a legendary hero might not be its match.
“Hey, hey, hey, what are you dazed about? I’m still talking to you.”
Elrose’s voice broke Bardel’s reverie. He suddenly raised his head, bewildered, “What did you just say? I didn’t hear it clearly.”
“Tsk.” Elrose clicked her tongue and repeated what she had just said, “I said you must not only not cause me trouble, but you also cannot cause trouble for Nightmoon Tavern, understood?”
“Understood, understood,” Bardel nodded repeatedly.
Getting Bardel’s affirmative response, Elrose then turned to Kendrick, “Kendrick, is this way of handling things acceptable?”
“Of course,” Kendrick glanced at Bardel and said, “So, Sir Bardel, do you have any other matters? If not, I’ll take Elrose and be on our way.”
“Okay, okay, let’s go, hurry back.” As soon as he heard that Elrose was going to leave, Bardel’s face broke into a smile.
Elrose pouted, “Why do I feel like you’re trying to rush me away?”
“I’m not, I’m not.” Bardel waved his hands repeatedly, “I meant you two take care and have a safe trip.”
“Hmph, that’s a bit more like it.”
Kendrick nodded at Celia, who smiled and opened the door to the Appraisal Room.
“Well then, Sir Bardel, let’s meet again by fate,” Kendrick said.
Elrose, however, left without looking back.
As Kendrick and Elrose left the Appraisal Room, Bardel’s body relaxed and he fell directly to the ground.
“Oh my God, they finally left.”
Celia walked gently up to Bardel, “I say, Sir Bardel, what are you so afraid of? Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost when facing Elrose?”
“She…” Bardel instinctively wanted to speak the truth, but he suddenly remembered the words of that shadow.
Don’t speak too much…
Bardel immediately swallowed the words that followed.
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask; it’s none of your business.” Bardel coldly replied.
“Fine, fine, fine, I won’t ask.” Celia huffed, “Really, I was just trying to be kind and got treated like this.”
“Hmph.” Bardel’s face hardened, showing a complete disregard.
This made Celia somewhat unhappy.
At that moment, Celia suddenly remembered something and a mysterious smile appeared on her face.
“Hey, Sir Bardel, can I ask you something?”
“Hmm? What is it? Go ahead.” Bardel said lightly.
“I heard that the Countess is looking for a daughter-in-law.”
“And I also heard that when the Countess looks for a daughter-in-law, she doesn’t care for looks, status, or wealth. She only wants someone with skills and determination, capable of managing her reckless son.” Celia smiled slightly and said, “Sir Bardel, is there any truth to this?”
Hearing this, Bardel’s expression changed, and a sense of foreboding arose in his heart, “What are you planning?”
“What do you think will happen if I write today’s events in a letter and send it to the Countess?” Celia said with a cheerful smile, “Do you think she would invite Elrose over to be her son’s potential daughter-in-law?”
Bardel trembled and stammered, “You, you, you, are you a devil?”
“What? You’re not happy?” Celia pretended not to understand, “Elrose is so beautiful, like an angel. How could you not be happy?”
“Eh? Actually, whether you’re happy or not doesn’t matter; as long as the Countess is happy, that’s enough.” Celia said, “She’s beautiful, has a sweet voice, and can help manage her son. Such a daughter-in-law, the Countess would definitely appreciate.”
Bardel’s face turned white in an instant, and he knelt down without saying a word.
“Aunt Celia!”
“I was wrong!”
“I was really wrong!!”
“Please let me go!!!”
