Chapter 97: Hard Slap
Elysia had declined the invitation very politely even though in her mind she was thinking of exploring the life energy for Vanessa. She did not expect that it would cause her to be pulled by her hair so painfully.
"Ah!" A scream of pain was followed by tears on the edge of Elysia"s eyes as her head was slightly pulled back.
Roughly pulling someone"s hair was an act of attack to injure. It was common during an argument or quarrel, especially between girls.
*Slap!*
Before Elysia did anything to the attacker, Evelyn quickly slapped Serena right in the face quite hard. It was left a red handprint right on Serena"s cheek.
Evelyn had paid enough attention, and she was a little suspicious of Serena"s unnatural behavior, also Elysia"s body language since two days ago. Something had happened, and she already a.s.sumed it unilaterally, even though her best friend didn"t say anything about it.
The incident this time really strengthened her a.s.sumption and brought her to a conclusion. Serena was jealous of Elysia for some reason, and the former tried to bully the latter! How could Evelyn let that befall her best friend!?
Serena immediately released the grip on Elysia"s long hair and took two steps back. The burning sensation on her cheek really made her want to cry. Whereas Evelyn immediately stood between Elysia and Serena with a furious expression.
"I"ve been watching you and my best friend for the last two days. I don"t know what you"re trying to achieve, and I don"t care about it! Once you hurt her, then you"ll deal with me too!" Evelyn showed her displeasure in a relatively high and irritated tone.
"I... I didn"t mean that. I just..." Serena stuttered with a slightly guilty expression, her mind somewhat clear now. She started to think about what she had just done. Not to mention, her interlocutor was a princess of the Northern Kingdom.
"Eve... Mmph!" Elysia was about to turn around, but she was hugged by Ella on the head, and her face buried in two soft cushions.
"Shaa!" Vanessa jumped out of her master"s arms and went in front of Evelyn to intimidate her master attacker.
"Does it hurt? Shoo... Shoo... Pain goes away." Ella comforted Elysia while stroking the back of Elysia"s head. Like what her mother did when she was injured or felt sick when she was young, this time without Healing Magic.
Elysia was not injured at all and only felt pain for a moment. Now she was silenced in an embrace that reminded her of the incident when she first met Elena in the Soul Realm. However, this time only with a gentle hug and light caress. She looked up from Ella"s embrace and saw Ella"s gentle smile.
"It"s nice, fufu... You should have given Serena girl a punishment after being hurt, but Evelyn has represented you instead. Right now, your face is buried in the soft cushions~ Heaven~" Elena chuckled when Elysia was a little absentminded. Then, she went back to watching Evelyn"s fury.
"I said I don"t care! Don"t make excuses. You"ve pulled Elysia"s long hair so cruelly. It"s making hair fall out, you know. Look at your hand. There"s a handful of hair there. Well, there"s no hair, but that doesn"t change the fact you"re trying to hurt Ely!"
Evelyn was a little confused when she saw that there was no hair from Serena"s grasp. But, that did not reduce her tantrum-like anger, not a single bit.
"We are all girls. Why have to play rough and hurt another for no reason. Apologize to Ely. You went too far by pulling her hair that hard." Ella turned to look at Serena with a smile of encouragement.
"I... I"m... Hmph!" Serena was unable to apologize. She just snorted and ran away as her pride refused to apologize to a commoner. Still, it might be different if she was rude or anything to Evelyn, and she had to apologize to her.
"Please forgive our master! P, please, punish us if necessary." Nico and Cora immediately bowed to apologize for what their master had done.
They were about to prevent emotional outbursts from their master, but it was too late. Apart from serving Serena, they could only advise and accompany their master without the power to directly interfere in her decisions. Now, they could only apologize on behalf of their master. So, the three girls in front of them didn"t hold grudges for revenge.
"No need, this is between Serena and me. You are just her two innocent servants. Now go after that rude girl. You are her servants, so tell her about things she should not do in the future." Evelyn brushed her hand with an irritated expression.
Nico and Cora bowed once more and then left from there to chase after their master. They needed to prepare their hearts and minds with what might await them at the mansion, and maybe that wasn"t light.
"Hmph! Disrespectful, rude, no brain. Even apologizing can"t be done. Her relationship with her two servants must be pretty bad with that personality." Evelyn snorted as she folded her arms.
She drew conclusions about the relationship between Serena and her two servants just from this exchange.
In the very front row, the white cat ran back to her master"s feet and stroked her body there. Evelyn turned around too, but her face turned sour all of a sudden.
What she felt now was the same as a prince who had just saved a princess, and only to find out about the princess he was protecting had been kidnapped by someone else.
Elysia was being hugged and caressed on the back of her head by Ella. It was as if Ella was relieving the pain Elysia was suffering in the head. Evelyn suddenly felt her best friend had been taken by someone they just met in a day. For some reason, she didn"t like this.
"Eve, just let it go. Miss Serena wouldn"t dare come face to face with us, all thanks to you." Elysia slowly broke away from Ella"s embrace to express her grat.i.tude.
If Evelyn didn"t act fast, it was inevitable... The one who would slap Serena would be Elysia herself at Elena"s encouragement.
"Huff... I don"t know, we"ll see about her behavior. Let"s go back to the dorm room." Evelyn shook her head to get rid of her negative thoughts.
They were just practicing swordsmanship, cooking, and chatting together happily a moment ago. The thought that crossed Evelyn"s mind couldn"t possibly happen, but only her imagination. Ella was a good girl, but sometimes she couldn"t put herself and Ella aside.
They just walked into their dormitory building. Strangely enough, in that brief argument, no one was watching because no one was around.
"Oh... So this is a dorm room... Comfortable and simple. The Academy really takes good care of its students." Ella roamed the room curiously for some time.
"This is my room, and this is Eve"s. Where are you going to sleep, Ella?" Elysia, as a guide, pointed to the two bedrooms.
"Want to sleep already? It"s only six o"clock." Evelyn looked at the clock in confusion. They usually go to bed at nine.
"Yes, I feel tired after a day of various events. Aren"t you tired, Ella, Eve? Not physically but mentally?" Elysia tried to put suggestions with subtle magic, then yawned as if she was sleepy.
"Fuah... Looks like you"re right, Ely. Ella, you can sleep in that room. Ely and I will sleep in my room." Evelyn yawned as she covered her mouth.
Elysia"s subtle magic and suggestion worked. Evelyn and Ella"s muscles and minds went into a relaxed state, followed by an urge to sleep.
"Um, sure. Looks like I need sleep too. We"re going to wake up early tomorrow for pizza!" Ella didn"t forget to remind them of that.
"Sure, good night." Elysia nodded, and then they went into their respective bedrooms.
She waited a moment until Evelyn fell asleep in an instant while hugging her body. She also checked Ella was fast asleep. After the two girls slept soundly, Elysia got out of bed. She quickly replaced what Evelyn was hugging with a fish cuddle doll named Lila.
"Vanessa, let"s go. We need to be sure about the life energy and lifespan that Grandpa said."
"Yes, master."
The white cat on the sofa immediately opened her eyes and jumped at her master. She knew about this plan since the explanation from the Pope. She was also somewhat curious about this.
After that, Elysia opened Evelyn"s bedroom window and then went out with Vanessa in a disguised and invisible state with magic. She locked the bedroom window with her magic before flying at low alt.i.tude, headed straight to the city gate with Vanessa in her arms.
As soon as Evelyn"s bedroom window closed and locked without a sound, Ella opened her eyes slightly and then closed them back in sleep. She took a little change in her sleeping position while hugging her fish cuddle doll named Sera. The smell of the bed"s fragrance was really soothing. She returned to her comfortable sleep.