The Young Master in the Shadows

Chapter 417: Meril

Macil gasped for breath, sat up, and began to look around in panic as soon as he woke up.

Slowly. he started to recollect what happened. The last thing he remembered was that old man promising to help him then the world turned black.

Now, he was no longer in Sun Temple, not even in Border Town. It was night and he was lying next to a campfire in the middle of a desert near a large boulder.

”So you are awake at last!” someone said, making him look back. It was a handsome youth who had long ponytail-styled purple hair. In his hand, he had two bloody horned rabbits that he must have just hunted.

How dared he hunt noble creatures like elven rabbits? Damn it... Only noble elves could eat those!

”Who are you? And where is this?” Macil asked as checked his surroundings again.

”Just call me Victor” The young man said as he sat down beside the fire and began to clean the rabbits with some masterfully crafted silver knives. ”We are a few miles away from town.”

”... Why am I here? How long have I been unconscious?” Macil asked with a frown as he checked his body. Nothing seemed out of place. He heard that some perverts like to play with elves. Thankfully, this guy didnʼt seem to have that hobby.

”Oh, my master saved your life from the demons at the sun temple, but for some reason, you seemed to have passed out,” Victor said casually as he took out a ring and threw it at Macil, ”He said this is yours.” he added as he continued to professionally skin the rabbits.

”Thanks!” Macil said as he checked his ring. Thankfully, those at the temple didnʼt have a chance to check its content yet! Wait ”Demons at the temple?” Macil frowned and asked.

”Yes, My master is a true demon hunter you see!” Victor said with an excited voice taking his hands off the rabbits. ”According to him, some high leveled demons made their way inside the sun temple by possessing some priests who have very high statuses. He believes that they are using this kind of possession technique to take control of high-profile targets They torture them first to break their soul and then insert a demonʼs soul in its place or something like that I am not really sure,” he shrugged and resumed cleaning the rabbits.

”What?” Macil frowned. This was the first time he ever heard of such a thing, and it was a little absurd, but if what Victor said was true then a shiver ran through his back. ”Are you sure?”

”I am not, but if my master said it was true, then it is!” Victor said in a zealous tone.

”Does your master have proof?” Macil asked after some thinking. Such claims were very dangerous.

”He seems to be searching for one,” Victor explained. ”Thatʼs why he set a trap by putting some dragon bones on auction at the border town and waited to see how many demons would he be able to fish out!” he explained proudly!

”So all of that chaos there was his doing?” Macil asked, raising one eyebrow. That old man did say he was there for his dragon bone.

”EhWell Things might have gone a little out of hand Who would have expected that the auction house would let the entire world know about it, not just the local temple!” Victor chuckled drily as he finished the first rabbit and started with the second.

”I see” Macil said. ”Where is the dragon bone now?” he asked after a few minutes of watching Victor work. He was not a bad cook.

”With my master!” Victor replied without looking up. He just took a pan from his storage ring and after oiling it, he began marinating the rabbit with some kind of wine that had a unique sweet smell.

”Oh. And where is your master?” Macil asked as he began to look around again.

”He smelled the trace of another demon who got one of the dragon bones and left in a hurry to catch it” Victor said, making Macek sniff around unconsciously but only smell the sweet, sweet wine. ”He might return any moment now, but most likely, he will be gone for a week or so He always does!”

”Oh Did he say anything about me?” Macil asked. He wanted to leave this place as fast as possible, but he really needed that dragon bone!

”Ah yes He wanted to ask you a few questions as payment for saving you Well, to tell the truth, I was the one who wanted to ask,” Victor sighed as he turned the rabbit meat around to make it absorb the wine and seasoning thoroughly. ”My master was just helping me, or he would have saved you for free”

”Oh I canʼt promise to answer everything, but if I can help I will!” Macil said. Those guys didnʼt seem evil, and as a proud elf, he didnʼt like to owe anyone anything! Who knows, he might be able to get that dragon bone after all!

”Well” Victor sighed as he adjusted a stand over the campfire and put the pan over it. ”I hope you can keep what I am going to tell you a secret” he said, looking at Macil, his eyes reflecting a deep sense of worry and sorrow.

”Ok” Macil nodded.

”Well, you see I am not from this world!” Victor said in a low voice as he looked at the pan that began to sizzle. ”About 6 months ago, I just fell into a strange-looking golden gate inside a mine in my original world, and the next thing I knew I was here!” he sighed.

”Oh” Macilʼs eyes contracted. Could he be from her world? The story matched and that purple hair did resemble the hair of her aunt.

”At first I didnʼt know where I was I was in a strange forest full of dark soil and dry horrifying trees!” Victor continued his story as he looked at the flames and moved the pan a little, making the meat sizzle.

”The black forest?” Macil frowned. That place was scary even for the mightiest Elf warriors. IT was deep in the demon territory, far beyond any sane person would dare to go!

”Um” Victor nodded. As he adjusted the meat again making Macil swallow unconsciously. The sweet aroma made him feel the taste of the wine in the back of his throat. ”I didnʼt know what kind of place it was at that time, so I carelessly walked around while trying to contact my family It was a mistake as demons started attacking me out of nowhere At first, they were weak, but then stronger and stronger ones began appearing. It was as if something was playing with me!” he shivered as he said it.

”I heard of such demons” Macil nodded, some high-ranking demons liked to play with their food thatʼs why demonic encounters were very traumatizing!

”I was about to really die if my master didnʼt appear there at the last moment and started killing all of those demons with his giant matchet!” Victor said with sparkly eyes. ”He saved me from them after forcing that strange one-eyed demon who was their boss to escape after wetting himself!”

”Oh ” Macil nodded. Some demons have a foul liquid that they spray on their enemies before escaping. ”What does this have to do with me?” he asked with a frown as Victor flipped the rabbit meat a couple of times in the pan, making their delicious aroma fill the air.

”Ah Sorry I am burdening you with unnecessary details” Victor said. ”Well What I wanted to ask is about some other people from my world who should have come here before me about 20 or so years ago,” Victor explained. ”I have been asking around for them as I know they are alive, but I found no info until a week ago when my master found a sun elf slaver who confessed to meeting them!” He explained looking at Macil with expecting eyes.

”...” Macil sighed. ”Did she say where she met them?”

”Yes She told me that they were taken by the sun elves who used them as breeding material!” Victor spat hatefully as he squeezed his fist. ”Do you know anything about this?” he asked.

”... Yes But I was young back then, so I am not sure,” Macil said. ”I did hear that they managed to escape after fooling the guards though”

”I know that, and I am searching for them at the moment! What I really wanted to ask is about the baby girl they left behind That elf told me that she was taken by an elf prince as a plaything” he said looking straight into Macilʼs eyes.

”...She is lying,” Macil sighed. For some strange reason, he felt that he should tell Victor what he knew.

”What do you mean?” Victor asked.

”... I I want to ask you something first,” Macil said. ”What is your last name?”

”VON WEISE!” Victor said as he squinted his eyes.

”So it is How does that woman Rosette relate to you?” he asked again.

”She is my stepmother and the baby girl should be my half-sister!” Victor said in a sorrowful voice.

”Oh” Macil signed. Destiny was a strange thing. He went to get the dragon bone to help the girl, and just happened to meet her brother!

”Now tell me What happened to her!” Victor asked. Macil could see the worry in his eyes. Only if his family cared for him the same way.

”Her name is Meril Your half-Sister The prince who took her back then was meʼʼ Macil finally said after some thinking.

”WHAT!” Victor interrupted as he stood up, drew his sword, and pointed it at the elfʼs neck in one smooth motion. ”SO IT WAS YOU!”

”RELAX! Listen to me!” Macil said quickly as he backed away. ”I didnʼt take her as a toy! I saved her life!” he clarified.

”...What do you mean?” Victor asked hatefully while frowning.

”Withdraw your sword first!” Macil demanded. He could feel the swordʼs sharp edge scraping his noble elven neck.

”... Fine” Victor stepped back, but he still held his sword. ”Now speak?”

”At that time, that woman, Rosette, gave birth six months after they were captured,” Macil said. ”It was clear that the baby girl was not the child of any of the breeding steads we were using, so”

”Breeding steads? Werenʼt the elves the ones who were doing it?” Victor asked.

”Eu! NO WAY! Do you expect us to touch human women? Thatʼs disgusting!” Macil said with disgust on his face.

”What? Really? Moon elves didnʼt seem against such a thing?” Victor, who almost cut Macilʼs head for his last sentence, asked.

”Donʼt compare us to those barbarians!” Macil said. ”They kept fucking other races until their bloodline became paper thin! We would never do such a thing!”

”Oh Then why were you guys ʼbreedingʼ your captives?” Victor asked.

”...” Macil sighed. ”My father, the elven king wanted to create a bread of super slave soldiers to fight off the demons just in case, and the women just happened to be captured at that time! They had a rare dragon bloodline, so they were quickly sent to the pits where we kept the captured intruders who had superior bloodlines!”

”Oh” Victor frowned.

”Anyway, Merilʼs mother was spared because she was pregnant ” Macil explained. ”When Meril was born She was as pretty as an elf!”

”So you took her as your mistress” Victor frowned.

”NO WAY! A human is still a human no matter how pretty they are!” Macil quickly defended himself as if he were being accused of bestiality. ”I just felt pity for her as back then I overheard two of my sisters talking about what they were planning to do to her I canʼt even tell you what they said” he said in a hateful tone as he shook his head.

”So you took her?” Victor relaxed his grip on the sword a little.

”YES! I hurried before they could and asked my father for her telling him that I wanted to research humans so that he would agree!!”

”Oh So What did you do to her after that?” Victor asked with a deep frown.

”Nothing really, I raised her in my mansion I am a little ashamed to say such a thing, but I consider her my little sister!” he said. ”After her parents escaped though, my sisters wanted to take revenge on her, so I had to officially make her my personal attendant to protect her!” he sighed. Those nobles ridiculed him ever since for treating a human like an elf But he had to do it!

”Oh”

”Now, she is the leader of my guards. Or she was until five months ago” Macil sighed as he looked Victor in the eye.

”What happened to her?” Victor asked, frowning. ”Is she dead?”

”No But if I canʼt upgrade her bloodline before the end of the month she would be in a state worse than dead!!”

”What do you mean?” Victor asked, getting angry again.

”A while back I made a mistake it was a trap My sisters were planning to frame me with a crime to get rid of me Long story short, she took the blame for me and it was decided that she should be sent to the breeding pits as a punishment” he explained. His sisters had long seen him as the thorn in their elven back. Being the only male prince from the direct line, he was the first to the throne despite being the youngest!

”WHAT?!” Victor asked. Macil could feel some anger and sympathy in his voice.

”I managed to delay the punishment, claiming that I am doing a critical drug test on her and waiting for results I have until the end of the month to save her”

”By upgrading her bloodline?” Victor asked, squinting his eyes.

”YES! If I manage to upgrade her bloodline, Father will definitely spare her and let me continue with my fictional bloodline research!” Macil explained. ”At least long enough so that I would help her escape!”

”Oh” Victor finally withdrew his sword. Macil could feel the appreciation in his gaze. ”Wait Is that why you were after the dragon bone?”

”Yes I happened to find a book belonging to an old dragonkin warrior It mentioned a recipe about using a dragon bone with a few other ingredients and a blood-purifying pill that would allow someone who has a dragonish bloodline to upgrade it!” he said. ”Hopefully your master would agree to give me that bone which is the last ingredient I am missing I need to hurry and find an alchemist after that!”

”...” Victor sighed as he looked at him with a strange look.

”What?”

”I already have a pill to upgrade my familyʼs bloodline”

”WHAT?” Macil gasped as he watched Victor take out a bloody red pill from his ring. It looked like a blood-purifying pill, yet somehow different.

”Give it to me”

”No I donʼt trust you yet I need to go with you and see my sister by myself!” Victor said, putting the pill away.

”No way! Humans canʼt enter the elven sacred lands! Only pure-blood sun elves can!” Macil flared. ”Let alone the inner areas!”

”Sorry, I have to go no matter what” Victor shook his head. ”I will just disguise myself as a sun elf if needed!” Victor said, slightly pulling on his ear, making them grow larger like an elfʼs ears.

”WHAT! Do you have shape-shifting skills?” Macil asked with a frown.

”Something like that” Victor shrugged. ”My master gave it to me!” he added proudly.

”It wonʼt work! You need a valid soul-marked Token too!” Macil said, taking a strange-looking token from his ring. ”And even if you manage to get one, the Sun Guardians will discover you easily with their inspection amulets! I even heard that they memorized every elf and his habits to spot imposters!”

”Really?” Victor frowned. He didnʼt seem to believe him.

”Yes, We have one of the strongest security systems in the world! Only elves are allowed inside! Demons had been trying to invade us for ages and they never succeeded even once!”

”Oh ” Victor frowned. ”Would those restrictions also apply to animals?”

”Yes! Only noble animals can enter!”

”... Like Elven horses?” Victor asked with a frown.

”Yes Of course! Elven rabbits too!” Macil nodded. Elven horses were the noblest of animals! Their long pointy ears were the proof of the lordʼs blessing!

”... Then our problem is solved!” Victor said. ”Now letʼs eat I have a few things to inquire about as we do”