Taming the Dark Lord - Chapter 87

Chapter 87 – I’ve Already Seen It (1)

Behind Amelia a series of footsteps came from the wide-open door.

Amelia looked at where the sound came from and saw the dark elf standing there. Tall and slender against light, with an unreadable expression etched on his face.

He stared at her with his scarlet eyes. “How did you get here?” He asked, wiping the blood and dirt on his hand with a piece of cloth.

“I…” Amelia pursed her lips. She did not know what to say.

Just as she was about to place the black book down, a sharp pain on her shoulder numbed her senses, like a huge needle piercing through her skin down to her bones. The suddenness of the pain made her loosen her hold as the book dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, casting dust around them.

Amelia bit her lip and placed a hand on her shoulder, beads of sweat smearing her temples at the excruciating pain.

She knew then that the plague was already spreading like wildfire, the itch turning into an agonizing ache and it was only a matter of time until the maggots would emerge on her skin.

Alfonso frowned and quickly situated himself behind her. He held her waist tightly to prevent her from plummeting to the ground. “What’s wrong with your shoulder?” He asked, concern evident in his voice. He tugged her shirt to the side despite her adamant refusal, seeing her smooth and white shoulders with ferocious black spots eating her skin away.

His hands stilled. Amelia turned to look at him and saw his face sink. Her own face was already white as a sheet of paper. He looked at the black spots with eyes so fierce it’s intimidating. Anyone else who sees such a sight would have sunk to their knees immediately, with goosebumps lining up their skins.

Even with how rigid he was, the fingers on Amelia’s shoulders were light and soft, contradicting the stony expression the elf exhibited. There was a tenderness to his touch, like snow perched on the branches of plum blossoms in a stormy winter.

“What happened?” The dark elf asked.

Despite being in immeasurable pain, the corner of Amelia’s mouth turned upwards as she gritted, “Do you remember the necromancer? This is his doing. His curse.” She said in bated breath.

She craned her neck to look at her shoulder and saw his hand touching the black spot directly. His fingers were long and slender, manly with joints that still had a bit of blood in them. His hands were beautiful and delicate, almost inhuman.

Under his palm, the disgusting-looking black spots squirmed wildly like flustered bedbugs, trembling like it had been invaded by unwarranted visitors.

The gods were its’ inherent enemies.

What the black book had said was true. Alfonso really was her only chance to survive.

Amelia should’ve felt happy learning this since she didn’t have to worry about it anymore. She peeked at where the black spots were embedded on her skin. Even though it was hidden beneath her clothes, she could still feel its lingering presence like an echo.

Perhaps being covered like this, out of anyone’s sight, gave them a sense of security.

“Wait, wait!” Amelia groaned when Alfonso’s fingers slid down her arm. He glared at her apparent uneasiness. She was fazed by his disturbingly cold touch, feeling the temperature drop to several degrees.

“Wait for what?” Alfonso asked impatiently.

The power the elf possessed now was much stronger than before, and if Amelia somehow met him with such strength in the very beginning, she would probably cower in fear. Treating him so rashly was out of the question.

“Can’t you just wait for it to detach itself?” Amelia suggested as she held Alfonso’s wrist, stopping it from moving any further.

“No.” He shrugged her hand off like it was nothing but a mere fly and proceeded to touch her where he needed to. His hand reached her spine going downwards her waist. The straightforwardness of his action jolted Amelia out of her stupor as she screeched, “I’m a woman! What do you think you’re doing?!”

The elf looked at her curiously. “What does being a woman have to do with anything?”

A brief second passed between them. Amelia stared at Alfonso and based on his genuinely puzzled expression, it seemed like he really was unaware of the gravity of his actions, that he did not see anything wrong with it. His fingers were still resting on her waist.

“People of the opposite sex aren’t supposed to look at each other’s bodies, especially those that are covered with clothes, much less touching them so brazenly.” Amelia couldn’t believe that she needed to explain this to the elf, thinking that common sense wasn’t that common after all.

Even with how firm she sounded, her blue eyes wandered sideways in an unconscious attempt to avoid his eyes. She didn’t want him to see how nervous she felt. The pain she felt from the black spots slipped from her mind as her focus was on in his palm that were still, frustratingly, holding onto her waist, inches away from her buttocks.

His hands were so cold against her skin, and it felt like she was a hot iron reacting violently from his touch. Being this close proximity with the elf had her mind short-circuiting, the grasp he had on her waist flowing all over her limbs like a current.

The air between them was too tense, too heavy for one to ignore. She was so flustered that she couldn’t form any coherent words.

“I’ve already seen it.” The elf grumbled, interrupting her thoughts.