Chapter 06

ELENA's POV

When I returned home from work, I almost couldn't believe my eyes at the sight that greeted me. The moment I opened the door, the state of my house differed completely from what I remembered this morning.

"Dear angels and all good deeds in this world, please give me the strength to continue my kindness. Or else I'll kick this so-called elf king out in the street to starve," I recited as I stomped off into the house, carefully stepping over the fragments of broken stuff on the floor in search of the one responsible for it. "Oswin Alvingham!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and stormed from one room to another simultaneously until I saw him coming out of the bedroom with his brows furrowed.

"How dare you call the king by his name? You—"

"Oh yeah, I DO DARE!" I interrupted him. My entire body quivered in anger, including the trembling finger I was pointing at him. "I not only dare to address you by the name; I even dare to hit you right now." As soon as I finished talking, I jumped on him with the urge to strangle this elf king until he begged for forgiveness.

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THIRD PERSON's POV

However, being the king of the elves was not all talk. Apart from wielding magic, Oswin had undergone strict martial arts training since childhood. Although he was born with a silver spoon, the royal upbringing was no joke. While most human or elf children were running around having fun, his schedule was always full. His days comprised studying and training.

He wasn't made the ruler of all elf realms for no reason.

So, it took him only one graceful step to move to the side and avoid her attack, causing the latter to lose balance and tumble on the ground. Thankfully, she didn't land on any glass shards, or the consequences would have been severe.

Nevertheless, the fall wasn't completely painless either.

"Ow..." she stroked her red-tinged nose as she lay prone on the floor.

"Pathetic," he said, a smirk plastered all over his face as he looked at the figure lying on the floor. "Never dare to dream of touching me, even a single strand of my hair, mortal."

The condescending tone ignited a fiery rage within her, sending a surge of adrenaline through her body. It gave her the strength to get up instantly; the pain from the fall was all forgotten.

"Oh, yeah?!" Rising to her feet, she brushed the dirt away from her clothes and glared at him as if she wanted to have roasted elf meat for dinner. If fire could be emitted from her eyes, Oswin would have been grilled on the spot. "Then somebody has a poor memory," she smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What?" His brows furrowed in confusion.

This time, it was her turn to celebrate victory.

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ELENA's POV

"Well, you said no one could lay a hand on you. Have you forgotten that this mortal," I paused and pointed at myself before continuing, "has touched you twice?"

He went quiet for several seconds as if trying to bring back those not-so-old memories to reference my words just now. And it didn't take long for him to recall, given a murderous intent emitted from his eyes as he landed his gaze on me. "What. Did. You. Just. Say?"

His question sounded threatening, sending chills to my bone. Not to mention his intimidating tall frame coming closer with each word he enunciated.

Uh-oh, what did I just do? I gulped, questioning my stupidity, wondering why I dug my own grave just now.

Swallowing hard at his approaching steps, I reflexively backed away, each step at a time. Like the mirror image of a game of chase, but in slow motion, I was stepping back, whereas he was advancing. We took one careful step at a time while maintaining eye contact, as if afraid that one could dissipate into thin air if left unwatched. Not long after, I bumped into something hard and cold that I registered as the wall.

For the first time in forever, I blamed my house for being small.

I tried to move away to the side, but he swiftly cut off any escape routes, using his broad frame to block my way. With both hands placed on either side of my head, he trapped me in the tight space he had intentionally created within the circle of his arms.

"Y-your M-majesty?" I asked, my voice came out trembling upon seeing his bad mood.

"I remember," he said in a deep voice that sent chills down my spine.

"O-okay, remember what?" I asked, pretending to have no clue when, in fact, I knew so well what he referred to.

"You know what." His stern voice was even scarier than his stony face that remained solemn. It looked like he could see through my act. It was as if my brain was made of a transparent shell. His stare was like layers of unbreakable, thick ice in winter.

Cold.

Emotionless.

And deadly.

I cringed under his cold expression, fearing today might be the day I would say goodbye to the living world.

"Forgive this human for having a poor memory, but I don't even remember what I said a few minutes ago. Haha." I faked a laugh, hoping to break the tension, but it died down when his face came close to mine.

Oswin leaned down until the tip of our noses lightly touched before moving his head to the side and whispering in my ear. "You said that you, a mortal, have touched me, the elf king, twice. Ring any bell yet?" he said in a voice that made me weak in the knees from a mixture of unknown feelings.

"Haha…really? Did I say that? Come on, Your Majesty. I ranted a lot of words back then. I can't recall any of them at all." I still feigned ignorance, ignoring the rapid pounding of my heart at our proximity.

"It's okay. Let me clarify," he said, his warm breath brushing against my ear, making my heart jump.

No, no need! I screamed inside my head, even though I knew my silent plea couldn't make him drop the topic.

"I recalled my memories just now." His voice dropped an octave lower. "About what you mentioned. Those two times that you touched me."

"H-haha... It's alright not to recall them, you know." I swallowed hard and faked a giggle, hoping he would take everything as a joke and let it go.

However, he brushed off my joke and continued in a thick voice, "The first time was the wrist. The second time was the cheek when you slapped me. How bold of you."

"I did that to save you!" I said in a hurry. "The slap, I mean."

"I didn't see how a slap would save me." He frowned, moving from the side of my face and repositioning himself to face me directly from the front.

"It was! You would have been called in for interrogation if I let you kill the big guy. I tried shouting at you to stop, but you didn't hear me. I had no other choice. I don't want you to become a criminal. A murder, on top of that," I explained, hoping it would rectify my actions back then.

"That guy deserved worse than death. Consider me kind enough to grant him quick suffering. If he were in Aldous, my guards would be happy taking time to play with him in the torture room before I let him take his last breath."

"It doesn't work that way here, okay? This is not Aldous. This is San Francisco! Here, we left those bad people to the police."

"Police?" He tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Yeah. Police are the civil force of a state, responsible for preventing and detecting crime and maintaining public order. In short, they deal with criminals," I explained, taking a mental note that he didn't know the law here.

"Hmm," he hummed, nodding slightly in understanding as if he was satisfied with learning the new word.

I breathed a sigh of relief after seeing a relaxed expression on his face, thinking it was over. Nevertheless, it was short-lived.

Instead of forgetting the situation, he leaned closer, making my body stiffen. My back was already pressed against the wall, leaving no more space to back away. I could not even sidestep from the current spot, given I was trapped in his arms. The only thing I could do now was to turn my head to the side to escape the approaching face. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my fists when I sensed the warm breath on the side of my neck.

Just then, I heard a sniffing sound.

"Err... what are you doing?" I asked, opening my eyes and turning in his direction. But the only sight I could see was his blonde hair.

"You smell... nice. I like it. I want to smell more," He responded, then resumed sniffing my neck.

"Oy, you perv. Get away from me!" I tried to shove the towering figure off me with both my hands, only to get backfired. My wrists were wrapped in a firm grip before being lifted and pinned to the wall above my head. The action gave me an uneasy feeling of what was to come now that his face and mine were right in front of each other. I could feel his breath fanning my cheekbones. "Oy, let me go." I tried to pull back my hands, but without a doubt, my strength was no match for the mighty elf king.

"Stop squirming. Do you even know how lucky you are?" he hissed, his breath grazing my skin once more.

I only know how UNLUCKY I am to get stuck with you! I screamed inside my head, keeping the thought to myself.

"Many elf women try so hard to get my attention," he said.

"Well, sorry to break it to you that I am a HUMAN! Not an elf woman. Also, rest assured. I belong to the few that don't want your attention," I rolled my eyes at the narcissistic elf king.

"It's strange," he murmured, ignoring my sarcasm.

"Huh?" I frowned, wondering what he was referring to.

"I have never felt this way toward any of those female elves, even after sharing the bed with them. What is it that I am feeling right now?" His brows furrowed as if he was deep in thought.

"Oswin! Stop saying weird things. You're creeping me out!" I wiggled, trying my luck again to escape his firm grip, but to no avail.

"Your smell seems to awaken something in me." His voice sounded weaker than before, as if he was talking to himself.

Suddenly, I felt something poking my lower abdomen. I already had a bad feeling about what it might be, but I couldn't resist the urge to look down and confirm.

"Oswin, are you... HARD?!" I asked, widening my eyes in shock.

"Don't look," he commanded in a hoarse voice. The tips of his ears turned red, and his once domineering bluish-grey irises turned doe-eyed.

He had a childish and funny countenance I had never seen before, which led me to laugh so hard that tears pricked the corner of my eyes.

"Don't laugh!" he glared at me.

Instead of feeling intimidated, the cute sight set my laughter out of control.

You! I told you to stop laughing!" he commanded in a more serious tone.

I tried to stop but was unable to.

In the blink of an eye, my laughter subsided when I found myself lying on the cold floor with Oswin hovering on top of me. "W-what are you doing?" I asked alarmingly.

"Punishment," he replied curtly.

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<TO BE CONTINUED>