The Heartbeat of the Cruel Elves

"Okay, this time your story is convincing enough, I won't bother with you for now." Her face was cold, "What about the last time, when you used charm on me in the tavern?"

Li Yin lowered his head, not daring to look her in the eye, his face slightly red, his voice trembling:

"Last time, I admit that I was wrong."

"However, that was not Princess Cassia's instruction. It was just my own decision. And I did it not because I wanted to hurt you, but... just..."

"Just what?" Du Feiya asked bluntly.

"I just want to find a savior for myself..."

"You... you know, as a human slave, my living conditions in this city are not optimistic. If I want to survive in peace and security, it would be best if I could get the protection of some big shots."

"Coincidentally, at that time, you demonstrated outstanding knife throwing skills in the Night's Edge Hall. One of Princess Cassia's followers teased your skills, saying that you... were obsessed with playing with things and did not focus on the right path - the practice of a priest. So I think you are a very good target."

"However," he raised his head, "after my contact with you, I found that you were different from other dark elves. I realized that it was wrong to do so, so I lifted the spell."

"Still lying!" Du Feiya, who had regained her composure, suddenly showed unexpected anger, as if she had been insulted in some way.

"I repeat, I am the daughter of Nevuvel's chief wizard Lucien Denitia, a dignified fourth-ring wizard. I do not need a human slave like you to have a change of heart. I discovered and lifted your evil spell on my own!"

"Yes, yes!" Li Yin agreed repeatedly. If Du Feiya's dagger hadn't been pressed against his neck, he would have nodded vigorously subconsciously. With his neck stiff, he hurriedly added, "I have no doubt that you can remove this spell by yourself, and you did it."

"But I swear, my guilt and my attempt to remove the spell really happened. It's just that..." He continued to add with a strong desire to survive, "In front of your wisdom and intelligence, it seems superfluous."

"Of course," he paused, lowered his head, and whispered, "My doing this does not mean that I have completely washed away my sins. You treat me as a friend, but I--"

"I never considered you a friend!" Du Feiya said harshly.

Li Yin suddenly felt the blade on his neck become tighter.

"It's that evil spell of yours—"

"Yes, yes, yes!" He said hastily, his soul trembling, "It was my evil spell. Sorry, I mis-worded it."

"Anyway, ever since that day, I've been very sorry for what happened between us."

"I've always wanted to apologize to you, but I never knew how to start." He whispered.

He was silent for a while, lowered his head, and sunk into deep guilt.

He should have confessed earlier, not now...

After all, he reflected deeply that the matter had dragged on until now because his determination to repent was not thorough enough and his guilt towards Cassia was not strong enough. It was all his own fault that he had ended up like this.

However - in the midst of heavy self-examination and remorse, he suddenly realized something.

"For deceiving you and using magic to influence you—" He raised his head and looked at Du Feiya again, his eyes sincere and full of guilt, "I am really sorry."

"But I swear, from beginning to end, I really didn't have the slightest intention of hurting you."

"If you don't believe it--" he said hurriedly before Du Feiya could attack, and at the same time he struggled to straighten his chest that was bound by the spider web.

"You once gave me a communication stone and asked me to contact you."

"It's still sitting in my inside jacket pocket."

"Think about it, if I was really sent by Princess Cassia to deliberately deceive your trust and favor. Then, why haven't I used it to contact you and deepen...our feelings these days?"

Du Feiya's eyes flashed and she fell into deep thought.

This matter was indeed a point of doubt for her.

Originally, she did not take the initiative to attack after discovering the truth, and this was also the reason. Since the other party took the initiative to approach her, after the signs were good, there would definitely be further actions. She accidentally gave Li Yin a communication stone to establish contact - this was simply too convenient. Therefore, she only needed to wait quietly for them to take the initiative.

However, she had waited for so many days, but had not received any information from Li Yin. Instead, in this intricate maze, this mysterious human male showed up unexpectedly.

"Then why haven't you contacted me? On the other hand, if you really treat me as a friend, instead of just using and deceiving me." She pursed her lips and said dissatisfiedly.

"Because..." Li Yin's voice gradually faded, "I feel guilty about using charm to influence you."

"I thought I would be honest with you the next time we meet, but because of this, I didn't know how to explain this to you, so I subconsciously avoided contacting you again..."

Du Feiya silently stared at Li Yin, who had his eyes lowered, with an uncertain look in his eyes.

This explanation...seems quite reasonable.

"And..." Li Yin sorted out his thoughts and said, "About the charm technique."

"Even if I didn't break the spell—"

Du Feiya immediately showed an extremely angry expression on her face. Li Yin immediately changed his words upon seeing this: "No, I should say that even if you didn't discover and remove the spell."

Du Feiya's expression eased a little, but it was still visibly serious.

"It's just a hypothesis..." Li Yin continued to add. It seems that the princess is very confident in her magic ability and will not tolerate any provocation.

"Anyway, since you are a very skilled wizard, you should be well aware that the duration of the charm spell cannot reach this long from the last time we met until now."

"If I was sent by Princess Cassia, or if I had some intention to harm you, I should have tried to contact you again and seduce you again. Why did I wait until now?"

This explanation... is not problematic at all. It is a further extension of what he said before about contacting through the communication stone, and it is also the action that Du Feiya expected him to take.

She looked at Li Yin in surprise and doubt, not knowing for a moment whether she should believe what he said or take more severe measures to force a confession.

At the same time, she couldn't help but recall the scene she saw with the crystal ball after she realized she was under the charm.

She saw that after parting with her, Li Yin followed her instructions and took a detour to the alley, and handed over the money she gave him to Balikle. If... he really had ulterior motives for approaching her, then he shouldn't have been so faithful in carrying out her commission. A more common-sense approach would be to embezzle the silver coins, right?

Even... She then recalled another scene in the crystal ball at that time - after walking a distance, the human male suddenly turned around, took out another silver coin from his pocket, and gave it to Balikre. Du Feiya was very clear about the number of silver coins she gave him, which was the same as the number he gave to Balikre the first time. In other words, the silver coin at the back was his own silver coin - this was also what Du Feiya had always found incredible. At this moment, after his own narration, the mystery was revealed. Based on this point alone, Du Feiya felt that she should not continue to doubt him.

But, what if this is also part of the plan?

The other party knew very well that her father was Lucien Denitia, the chief wizard of Nevre, so it was impossible to charm her for a long time without being discovered. Therefore, they first deliberately used charm to create a short-term contact, and then deliberately used the flaws in the spell to make themselves aware. Then, according to the surveillance actions they expected to take, they performed a series of seemingly plausible "good deeds" without paying attention to others, deliberately creating a good impression in front of themselves.

In this way, even if they no longer use charm on me in the future, I, whose eyes are blinded by false reality, will sincerely regard the human male in front of me as a friend.

This kind of "illusion" that transcends magic and utilizes "reality" is the most brilliant "illusion"!

The thought made her feel cold.

However, she was by no means overly cautious in thinking this way.

She knew her compatriots very well. They believed in the goddess of conspiracy and deceit. When they were plotting to murder others, their scheming was so deep and their thinking was so meticulous that it was far beyond her imagination. No caution was too much!

She couldn't trust the man in front of her so easily.

But... there is one more way, one last way. Maybe, if this way works -

Du Feiya hesitated for a moment and looked at the man in front of him again.

"Can I really trust you? Is everything you say completely true?" She looked into Li Yin's eyes and said so. Her words were no longer cold and harsh, but were filled with a hint of tenderness and worry.

"Of course!" Li Yin said without hesitation.

"In that case," Du Feiya paused and pursed her lips, as if she was making a very difficult decision that would require considerable sacrifice, "On the other hand, are you willing to believe me?"

"Yeah," Li Yin saw this, and a glimmer of hope flashed in his two eyes, one golden and one green.

With great difficulty, he finally regained a little trust from the suspicious dark elf princess. Now, he would never allow this trust to slip away from him again.

"Then look at me, Li Yin." Du Feiya said immediately. Her bright violet eyes stared at Li Yin and she whispered, "Don't move your eyes away."

"Next, I need you to relax your mind and trust me completely. Don't feel any pressure or tension, and don't be defensive or resentful towards me. Can you do this?"

"Yeah," Li Yin responded instinctively at first, then suddenly realized something was wrong, his face suddenly changed, and he became very alert: "What do you want to do?"

"It seems like it's no use?" Du Feiya suddenly put away the gentleness that had just appeared on her face, and became cold and stern again.

"No, no!" Li Yin saw this and hurriedly tried to correct him.

"If you really didn't lie to me and you really consider me a friend, then you should trust me and believe that I will never hurt you." Du Feiya's expression eased a little, and she spoke in a gentle voice with a hint of severity.

"Of course!" Li Yin responded immediately, "I trust you absolutely. What I said just now was just out of habit, not doubt."

How dare you not trust me... Feeling the sharp blade still on his neck, he added silently in his heart.

"Okay, let's do it again." Du Feiya looked at Li Yin and smiled.

Li Yin followed his instructions and looked at Du Feiya's face again. Her bright violet eyes and long-lost smile like a spring breeze made his heart beat slightly faster.

"Relax," Du Feiya said softly, pressing one hand gently on his chest. "I can feel that you are still very nervous, and you are still on guard against me. This is not what a truly kind person should show in front of his friends. You should open your heart to me completely, right?"

Li Yin was stunned at first. I was not prepared?

She reacted immediately and her cheeks turned slightly red. It wasn't because she was on guard at all!

But he had no way to explain, so he could only cough and said, "Sorry, please give me a little more time."

"And," he blinked and rolled his eyes downward, indicating the dagger still on his neck.

With this thing around, no matter how good the friends are, even if they are friends for life and death, they probably can't completely let down their guard and have no grudges, right?

"Sorry!" Du Feiya came to his senses, looked a little confused, and hurriedly took back the dagger.

"Let's continue." She put the knife back into the sheath, then adjusted her color and looked at Li Yin again.

Li Yin nodded, and then asked for confirmation: "As long as I can prove that I am completely relaxed in front of you, will you believe what I say?"

"Yeah." Du Feiya smiled sweetly.

Chapter 2: Treat others the way they do ()

So Li Yin smiled back and looked into Du Feiya's eyes again, and at the same time said, "Okay, I will try my best, but please give me a little more patience and time."

"Yeah," Du Feiya responded softly again.

"Take a deep breath... Yes, relax, relax again..." She put her hand on Li Yin's chest again, and her violet eyes stared deeply into Li Yin's eyes without blinking. That deep and clear gaze seemed to penetrate into his soul.

Li Yin stared into her eyes quietly, and his heart gradually calmed down as Du Feiya spoke softly. Gradually, all he could see were her deep eyes, straight nose, and long eyebrows... She was so beautiful, he thought, and at the same time, a more and more obvious smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Charm!" At this moment, Du Feiya's violet pupils suddenly flashed with silver light!

Li Yin's face froze at first, and he looked dazed. Then, his already hazy eyes softened a little, the smile on the corners of his mouth became brighter, and two blushes suddenly appeared on both sides of his fair cheeks - although Du Feiya was puzzled as to why he blushed, this series of obvious reactions told her that her magic was successful!

There was no possibility of disguise - this spell was cast instantly with the help of the precious magic ring on the finger of her left hand. It did not require chanting any spells or making any gestures. There was no sign in advance, and it was impossible for the opponent to be prepared in advance.

Li Yin's reaction at this moment was his most real reaction. This instantaneous natural reaction could not be faked - even if he was immune to his own magic and was preparing to disguise himself, then this series of changes in thinking before he really started to disguise himself would be reflected on his face due to his instinctive reaction at the first moment.

However, Du Feiya, who had been paying close attention to his facial expression, did not notice any signs of this.

So, she smiled and stretched out a hand, pinched his cheek, and asked, "Li Yin, tell me, do you like me?"

Li Yin's eyes widened instantly, as if he was surprised by this sudden question. But then he subconsciously lowered his eyes, his gaze became a little evasive and timid. At the same time, the blush on both sides of his fair face became more intense. "I like... I like it."

Du Feiya cleared his throat twice with a proud smile on his face, and continued to persuade her:

"Then, as my most loyal partner, tell me, why did Princess Cassia send you to seduce me in the tavern? What was her purpose?"

Li Yin's eyes widened instantly, and his embarrassed voice sounded like a child's:

"I have clearly told you, Your Highness. I was not ordered by Princess Cassia. Why... do you refuse to believe me?"

"Just call me 'you'." Du Feiya keenly noticed that even under the influence of the charm, Li Yin showed a slight resistance when calling her 'you'.

What an ignorant little slave, she thought happily.

However, because of this, it also proved that his charm was working, and the other party was not pretending. If it was a deliberate disguise, it would not leave such an obvious flaw in the address. Li Yin's action only proved that although he had a good impression of him, it was just a pure friendship of equal treatment, not the flattery of a slave to a master or a subordinate to a superior.

"It's not that I don't believe you," she smiled gently and explained comfortingly, "but just to be on the safe side, I want to confirm it again."

"You know my situation..."

Li Yin nodded immediately, a relieved smile on his face: "I see, then just confirm it."

"It's great that you understand," Du Feiya smiled with relief. "Then, first question: among all the things you just said to me, was there any lie?"

"You know, friends should be honest with each other. I don't want us to have any secrets between each other. If there was any before," she paused, smiling, "I hope you can tell me now. As long as you tell me now, I promise to write it off and not hold it against you."

Li Yin shook his head without any hesitation or delay.

Seeing this, Du Feiya felt relieved.

"However," after she breathed a sigh of relief, she asked the last question hidden in her heart, "I am curious about this matter. Could you explain it to me?"

"You said before that you made the decision to use charm on me in order to find another patron."

"But, before me, didn't you already have a patron? Didn't your master, Princess Cassia, treat you very well?"

"Why do you even bother?"

Li Yin was stunned for a moment, and then his originally clear eyes began to sparkle again.

"Well...well," he stammered, "My favor to Princess Cassia is not stable."

"Because she's not like you—"