Bab 5: Making her heart race
"Catch this, you overgrown baby!" She lobbed the fireball toward her brother. Eli's eyes glimmered with red-hot anger, and a frown replaced her wide smirk. 'Let me tear him apart! I will destroy him!'
Her inner self was practically shouting inside her head.
The flaming ball rushed towards James, and he attempted to get away, but his reflexes didn't match the speed of the attack, and he could not avoid it.
"Gaaaaahhhh!!" A loud shriek reverberated down the hallway as flames engulfed his body.
Eli's expression shifted from a scowl to a look of sorrow. "Oh no, what have I done?!" she exclaimed, shocked at the realization that her actions had hurt others. 'I never meant to hurt anyone...' she thought sadly.
The fire surrounding James slowly disappeared, leaving him on the floor, gasping for air. His skin was scorched and charred, the blisters and burns making his face unrecognizable. His eyes opened, revealing a combination of terror, bewilderment, and agony.
"Y-You bitch..." he stammered.
Eli felt remorse for hurting her brother. But she didn't have the strength to battle her inner self. 'Kill him!' it ordered. She took a few deep breaths, and the voice inside her head quieted. She had a sudden urge to call for help from a doctor.
Eli walked slowly toward James until their mother walked in. She lifted her hand and James' shirt. Her hands released a green glow, and his skin began to tighten and smooth as the bright light covered his skin. The scent of burning flesh lifted from the burned parts of his torso, and the smell of herbs filled the air as his burns healed.
"What is going on?" Eleonora demanded. "My poor baby!"
The burns were so severe, though, that Eleonora's healing magic couldn't fix them. Instead, it only managed to reduce James's pain.
"M-Mom." He said while lying down on the ground. His neck was swollen, his skin was peeling, and his hair was falling out. His body was covered in burns and blisters all over.
"W-Who did this to you?!" Eleonora screamed in rage.
James looked at his mother with tears in his eyes, "E-Eli..."
Eleonora was stunned into stillness until the gravity of James' words sunk in. "Eli?" She questioned, her eyebrows drawing together with confusion.
She gazed at Eli, who was standing still and staring at them. Eleonora stood up and walked closer to Eli. Her legs were stiff but sure, a tiger ready to pounce. "How did you do that?" She asked and raised her hand to slap Eli.
'A B-rank adventurer would be much harder to deal with, but not impossible.' Eli's inner thoughts assured her. Preparing Eli to rebel against her mother.
Eleonora tried slapping Eli, but she caught the hand. "Are you sure about this?" Rage blazed in Eli's eyes. She wouldn't accept this kind of treatment when it was James's fault.
"You... You have mana?" suddenly, Elenora's anger dissipated as she beheld the strong mana emanating from her daughter. "When did that happen?" she slowly retracted her arm, conveying no desire to hit Eli.
"T-Today..." Eli answered, still cautious of her mother.
"Oh..." Eleonora felt relieved. "That's amazing! Your mana capacity is much larger than James's!" she exclaimed, leaving James speechless.
"H-Huh?!" Eli was shocked by her mother's statement. 'Whoa. If I am stronger than him, doesn't that make me a new successor to the Silver family?' she thought excitedly.
Eleonora looked at her son with a serious expression. "James, I hope you learned a lesson about the consequences of bullying?" she asked.
"M-Mom, call the doctor!" James screamed, tears in his eyes.
Eleonora looked at James with an annoyed look. However, looking at James's wounds, she agreed."Fine. I'll ask Dr. Franko to come over to examine you." she gazed at Eli and commanded, "You go to your room, ask Lara to keep you company if you want."
"Huh?" for a moment, Eli gazed in disbelief 'This is not a punishment! This is a reward!' she thought to herself. Then she bowed slightly and said, "Yes, mother."
A smile crept onto her face as she strolled to her room. It was almost unbelievable how differently she was being treated now compared to before. Found out Eli had mana and could use magic.
When she entered her room, she found Lara cleaning the windows. The sun did not reach far into the cottage's interior and did not kill the dust. Lara turned and caught sight of Eli and bowed her head.
"Welcome back, miss. I am about to finish cleaning."
"Thanks, Lara," Eli replied. "I appreciate."
Lara nodded, then put away the broom and was about to leave the room when Eli stopped her. "Would you like to spend some time with me?" she asked, pointing at the couch.
"Y-Yes! Of course!" Lara smiled widely, her eyes crinkling with delight. But her face quickly fell, and her forehead creased in worry as she stared at the two enormous wooden doors in front of them. "B-But did Misstress Eleonora allow me to stay with you?"
Eli quickly nodded. "Yeah. Please, she allowed!" she smirked.
"Yay!" Lara exclaimed. "It's been days since we spent time, just the two of us!"
"Yes, now we could continue where we left off!" Eli smiled. She gazed at the doors and asked, "Could you lock the doors, please?"
Lara's face was the shade of bright pink roses, the color deepening as she blushed. She nodded and quickly went to lock the doors. Her cheeks were burning with excitement, and she could barely look at Eli. In a soft, nervous voice, she asked, "Are you sure?" she fixed her maid's outfit and smoothed out her rumpled sleeves.
"Yes." Eli's voice was sharp, but she continued in a softer tone, "I am sure."
Lara's face flushed redder, and she nodded.
"Come here," Eli commanded.
"Y-Yes!" Lara answered but did not approach.
Eli reached out toward her, but Lara flinched away, her gaze bewildered.
Eli looked at her coldly but with a hint of warmth in her eyes. "Lara..." she said softly, "you don't have to be afraid of me."
Lara's expression softened, her worries and anxieties fading, replaced with hope and trust. Lara outstretched her hand, and Eli grabbed it, pulling her in close. She felt her knees buckle as she stumbled forward and fell into Eli's lap. The warmth of his body radiated through her, making her heart race.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone