Arel sat by the fireplace, carefully brewing a dreamless potion. Unfortunately, This potion can only put Keira to sleep without drawing her into the dream but wouldn't cut the seal on Keira's body. As for cutting the seal, he had to find the person who had sealed the tracking seal on her.
He had assumed that it might be the same person he had suspected, but the fact that that person had the Primordial golden pearl made him hesitate that it might be a different person. since this pearl, only the Golden Dragon family could possess.
As he pondered for a while, he decided that he should contact his old friend at Nesneirhiel continent to inquire about this pearl. Perhaps his friend might know the reason why the pearl suddenly appeared in Keira's dream.
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Arel finished making the potion, he waited for it to cool and brought it to Keira, who was busy practicing her sewing.
He smiled kindly when he saw his mate meticulously sewing after she learned from him. Usually, the females have little to no interest in work and if they feel that the chores in the house were getting bigger they will just look for more mates. But as for Keira, she chose to learn and manage on her own which made him even more appreciative.
"Keira, The potion is ready" Arel put the wooden cup on the table.
She put away the sewing kit and hesitantly glanced at the dark liquid, hoping it wasn't too bitter..
With Keira's expression, Arel let out a low chuckle and shook his head at his picky wife "I've added sweet amber"
That made her suddenly beam "You know me the best" She rushed, wrapping on Arel's neck, and kissed him happily. She thought she would have to endure the bitter decoction, luckily Arel had put the sweet amber. In fact, she could drink the liquid even if it was bitter, but since she had been drinking it so often lately when her bad luck never ceased, she could only rely on cheats just to feel slightly better.
She sighed and drank it all 'This was clearly torture.. eighty-percents of my body must definitely made of decoction'
"You'll feel sleepy after this" He informed, leaning Keira gently on the bed "I'm going out hunting Let you sleep first"
Keira pulled his hand "Please be careful.. Don't go too far, I'm worried" The scene where Arel lay unconsciously in the forest still made Keira feel afraid that something else would happen to him.
"It's fine..you don't have to worry" He gently stroked her head lulling her to sleep.
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Arel came out of the tree house, straight into the forest, and whistled a signal.
Soon a bluebird fluttered its tiny wings and landed on a branch opposite where Arel was standing.
"Go find Rune, he is probably still at Nesneirhiel. Tell him to contact me urgently" He ordered in a stern voice, startling the bird that had just arrived.
"M-master, the King actually called you again as there seems to be an urgent matter And you haven't been back for a long time, many elders are starting to suspicious" The Bluebird stuttered. Although he was afraid of his master, he was responsible for his duty as a good communication bird.
That caused Arel to spread vengeful pressure upon hearing this "You know I don't care, right?" He approached the bluebird "Go tell them I'm hibernating"
The bluebird was startled, it hurriedly blinked and fluttered away in fear.
Arel sighed in frustration as he wouldn't leave Keira here alone. And if he took her with him, it would be even more dangerous for her. Even if the elders weren't his opponents, they would definitely target Keira when they knew that she's his mate. Therefore, he should make a plan before returning to finish this mess.
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Keira had fallen asleep from the effects of the potion and was no longer drawn to torture in the dream.
"Huh, it seems that you really have knowledge of an unusual potion" Suddenly, a mysterious voice sounded in Keira's head.
That startled her, she tried to open her eyes, but found only darkness and emptiness 'What is this?'
"Such a pity, this decoction can only keep you from being drawn into the dream, but not your mind," the mysterious voice mocked.
"You again!?" She groaned in annoyance 'Even after taking a decoction, this bastard can still follow. He is really clinging'
"Is this how you thank me after I helped you.. ha?" he asked with slight anger.
"So what! do you think it's appropriate for you to torture me ha?" she replied fearlessly as it's pointless to speak kindly to a psychopath.
"Ha.." He laughed at Keira's stubbornness "So what do you want to make it appropriate?"
"Stop harassing me! Because of you, I have experienced constant troubles all because of you!" She pursed her lips in frustration
"I can't do that"
"Why?" Keira asked though she knew she shouldn't expect any good reason from a psychopath.
"You've got the pearl, so you've accepted the deal. This is something you have to pay for"
"Bullshit! you are obviously tying me down. well, yes I appreciate that you helped me, It doesn't mean I'll forgive all the pain and suffering you've done to me!" Keira shouted angrily "The pain was real.. The feeling of being tortured was all real.." Her voice trembled as her tears slowly rolled down her cheeks when she thought of those moments it almost drive her crazy.
"..." The voice was silent as he saw Keira cry pitifully. That made him confused as to what he had done wrong, why it made her that sad.
"Don't cry.." He didn't know how to console her, didn't know what he should do to stop Her from crying, and had never known what it was to comfort people. When every time he saw her cry, it made him unable to understand what he has mistaken. As for those dreams, he was simply trying to do what he was used to, 'Torture to get what he wanted'. Although he didn't like to see her being tortured, that was the only method he knew.
For a moment, Keira felt like someone was hugging and stroking her head, but when she looked around, there was only emptiness. "What are you doing?" she using her bloodshot eyes to scan the surrounding, finding that person's identity.
"I just want you to stop crying" the voice replied in a rather gentle tone.
That made Keira even more confused 'Is this psychopath lost his mind? Why suddenly tell her to stop crying?' she thought as she stepped backward "Are you comforting me?" she was in disbelief.
"..." It was a space of silence before he blurted out "If you're better, let's make a deal"
"What's the deal?"
"I will stop harassing you if you agree to obey me"
"You think I'm going to agree?" she was now full of doubt. How could she believe him and what will happen if he's faithless?
"So what other reasons are not agreeable to?" the voice said craftily.
"I need guarantee, contracts or anything that won't let you take advantage of me in the future" said Keira, 'I will never be at a disadvantage at any rate'
"Hmm.. I already gave you the pearl, didn't I? don't you know how precious it is?"
"What do you mean?"
"Isn't the primordial golden soul pearl not enough as a guarantee? There are only a few of them in this world and only the extinct golden dragon tribe possessed them" He explained the pricelessness of what he had given her.
"The golden dragon.. extinct?" Keira repeated. 'Did he mean the tribe of Arel? But why say it's extinct when Arel is still alive? Or it could be another tribe'
"Yes, no one has seen the golden dragon reveal itself for thousands of years oh.. and the last golden dragon I saw was just an incomplete body that won't live long"
His answer made Keira frown in suspicion, but she shouldn't say anything about Arel to him. She knew that Arel had left the tribe a long time ago, so she should have directly asked Arel about this rather than asking this bastard.
And since she had used that gold pearl, she had no excuse or chance to return it back to him made she sighed wearily as there was no other option "Fine, I accept the deal"
After Keira replied, she was immediately punched out of her mind and sent back into slumber.
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