After that, Nessa finally decided to help Arthur, since she was also curious to see what that liquid actually was.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Arthur had barely seen Nessa over the past three days. Whenever that girl focused on something, she became completely obsessed. Her eyes were fixed solely on that small vial of unknown liquid, to the point that she ignored Arthur most of the time.
It was only on the afternoon of the third day that Nessa appeared at his door, looking extremely excited.
"I know what it is now, Arthur!"
"You really figured it out?" Arthur was surprised. To be honest, after so many days, he had almost given up.
"Don't look so shocked. I'm a genius!" Nessa bragged proudly, then went on to explain the results of her analysis.
"So… this is dragon blood as well?" Arthur held the small vial in his hand, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Yes. There's no way I could be wrong. This is the essence of dragon blood," Nessa said, yawning lightly.
She had spent the last three full days analyzing that vial of dragon blood essence, trying to break down its components. In the end, she reached only one conclusion: it was dragon blood.
Nessa continued, "And judging by the final identification results, it's stronger than the black dragon essence we stole before—but it's also much more docile."
"On top of that, the essence has already been processed by someone, turning it into something that can be consumed directly." As she said this, Nessa leaned closer to Arthur, her eyes locked onto his intensely.
"Arthur, tell me the truth. Where did this come from?"
"I found it by chance." Arthur turned his face away, refusing to look at her.
"You know I hate it when you lie to me, right?" Nessa said, grabbing Arthur's cheeks and forcing him to look at her. "I'll give you one more chance. Tell me the truth!"
"I really did find it… I found it near the Bridge of Trials."
Arthur felt that he probably had some talent for lying; his expression and gaze looked extremely sincere at that moment.
"Nessa, don't you believe me?" Arthur looked at her earnestly.
Nessa blinked. "I don't believe that at all."
Arthur: "…"
Well, she wasn't a naive girl. She wouldn't fall for that kind of nonsense so easily.
In the end, Nessa failed to get any information from Arthur about the vial's origin.
"You're getting more and more disobedient. Sooner or later, I'll lock you in the basement and teach you a lesson," she said gloomily, though her eyes gleamed as she walked away, as if she were plotting something.
"Can I really drink this?" After returning to his room, Arthur stared at the small vial in his hand, feeling somewhat tempted.
Although he still didn't know what kind of dragon it came from, it was apparently stronger than a black dragon.
"I wonder where Morgan got her hands on such a creature…"
Holding the vial, Arthur hesitated for a moment, then finally clenched his teeth, opened it, and drank the liquid inside.
The instant he swallowed it, Arthur felt his heart constrict violently, followed by the return of that familiar sharp pain.
Having experienced this once before, he was noticeably calmer this time, even smiling. "Come on, I'm already used to this level of pain!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his expression grew increasingly ferocious.
Damn it, it hurts so much… Even trying to psych myself up doesn't help—it still hurts like hell.
Arthur felt everything in front of him become blurry, as if shrouded in a thin mist. He vaguely made out a purple figure. He lifted his head, trying to see who it was, but no matter how hard he tried to open his eyes, it was useless.
In the end, he simply closed them—only to feel his cheek being pressed against something soft.
It was very soft, and it smelled wonderful.
—xXx—
Arthur didn't know when he had passed out, but when he woke up, he immediately realized something was wrong.
First, judging by the layout of the room, it was obvious this wasn't his room. Then, when he tried to move his arm, he discovered he couldn't move it at all.
Arthur looked down and finally understood the problem.
His right hand was firmly held by a purple-haired girl, while his left hand was tied to the leg of a chair beside him with a strip of cloth. Nessa was sleeping soundly, a faint smile on her face, as if she were having a sweet dream.
She was wearing a thin, flowing white dress, and her figure was well-proportioned. Arthur didn't consider himself a saint, and it was hard for him to resist the temptation of Nessa's appearance.
He tried several times to touch Nessa to wake her up, but eventually gave up.
Calm down! Something's definitely wrong—something is very wrong! This girl isn't that naive or innocent. There's absolutely something suspicious going on!
If Nessa were really trying to seduce Arthur, he would have lost control a long time ago. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—Nessa was far too clumsy to seduce him with her body. She only wanted to tease him and see him blush, despite failing miserably most of the time.
Arthur forcibly looked away and slowly tried to pull his right hand free from Nessa's firm grip.
Good… just like this. I'll be free in a moment.
As he felt his arm gradually slipping loose, Arthur's face lit up with joy. But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Nessa reached out and hugged his arm again.
Then she went silent and continued sleeping.
"Nessa… I'm sure you've been awake for a long time," Arthur said softly.
Nessa's eyelids twitched slightly, but there was still no movement.
Arthur leaned in and whispered into her ear, "Nessa…"
Nessa suddenly opened her eyes, gradually becoming more alert, and stared at Arthur in horror. "Arthur, why are you in my room?"
"Huh?" Arthur was confused for a moment. "What makes you think you're not the one in my room?"
"No, it's you who's in mine," Nessa suddenly said in a low voice, a provocative glint in her eyes.
"What does that mean?!" Arthur was a little flustered. "Let me go, Nessa."
"Alright, alright," Nessa said as she got off the bed, untied the strip of cloth binding Arthur's left hand, pulled his arm toward her, and whispered, "Arthur, don't you want to do something?"
Arthur immediately shot Nessa a disdainful look. He didn't say anything, but everything was understood without a single word.
"Believe me, this time I won't resist at all," Nessa said seriously.
"Really?" Arthur asked, still somewhat skeptical.
"Yes, it's true." Nessa nodded solemnly.
"Then—"
Just as he was about to tease her, the moment his index finger touched her skin, a calm voice suddenly came from outside.
"There are more important matters to deal with before that, disciple."
Upon hearing that voice, Arthur's fingers snapped back as if he had been electrocuted. His expression froze instantly as he slowly turned to look.
—Scáthach.
(End of the chapter)