"Release them," he said, gently patting Lily's head to soothe her after the emotional shock.
However, since he slept for millennia, he underestimated the toll time left on her. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the short girl jumped to hug him. An unsightly display of public affection unbefitting his rank stunned the spectators as the girl cried in her master's arms.
"S-sorry if Lily made a mistake. Don't leave her behind, please," she sobbed, her voice cracking in sadness. She dreaded being abandoned by Selene and refused to free him from her embrace.
With a sigh, the elf grabbed and lifted her before gently placing Lily on his shoulders to calm her. "You are a troublesome child, you know that?" He chuckled, shaking his head as he extended a hand to help the boy up.
After carefully dusting his leather armor, he said after noticing the kid's narrowed eyes, "Don't glare at me like that. I did nothing to you."
Then, he asked Lily to unbind everyone again before walking towards Adam. "I'm sorry you had to kneel. It was a mistake. I'm Selene, and I hope we can ally," he said, filling his promise entirely. He also gave weight to the mysterious man's words, securing the ghost's friendship just in case he really turned out to be the one he waited for.
"No," Adam answered, rising to his feet with the most ugly grimace he ever wore on his face. "Julius, Elysia, let's leave," he added, unwilling to spend a second after the humiliation. 'No matter what, I'll make you both kneel in the future,' he vowed, his eyes narrowed into slits.
"Don't ignore my master!" Lily yelled reproachfully, bending forward above Selene's head to halt Adam. Yet, a hand swiftly put her back on his shoulders.
"I'm afraid you won't be able to since an adept is scurrying the underground to find you," he explained patiently before grabbing his grimoire. "Take it," he said, extending the priceless item to Julius before adding, "We have much to discuss, but I understand you might need time to appease yourself."
Upon seeing the boy unharmed and the coveted grimoire in his hands, Adam's anger receded a little. "Humph. I'm not someone you can buy with benefits!" He said, his lips subtly curling into a smile.
The silent Julius facepalmed in response, thinking, 'Stop smiling, then! You are definitely happy and try to get more!' He screamed inwardly, shame coloring his face red.
"Hum. You are hard to deal with," Selene said, rolling his eyes. "I'll deal with the brat outside. Stay for the night to discuss potential cooperation. Trust me, you won't regret accepting," he added, his tone shifting to one of sly persuasion as he tempted the greedy ghost with benefits. Truthfully, he felt like he was dealing with a kid acting like an adult, his predictable reactions amusing him.
"I agree. But only because you are forcing my hand!" Adam said, nodding in satisfaction before smiling at Julius. His proud expression and raised thumb caused the boy to hide his head between his hands.
'Don't look at me! I'm embarrassed enough already just hearing you,' he thought, moving behind Elysia to show he had nothing to do with the eager ghost.
"Are you fine?" The teacher whispered, her green eyes scanning the boy in relief.
"Yes. I don't know what happened, though," responded Julus, his mind filled with confusion as he frowned at the ghostly elf.
"Follow me and explain why your brother is chasing you," Selene said, walking past the group to exit the room with a displeased expression after Lily retrieved the gems encased in the altar. Somehow, he felt rotten vibes coming from Eldarion, not to mention he clutched his precious sword.
The granduncle took the lead, explaining Eldarion's past actions and the menace he became for their youths. As they navigated the corridors unhurriedly, Selene snickered. "I went to war against the royals because they abused their authority. I can't imagine one of my descendants is doing the same in my house."
Fury flashed in his sun-like eyes before he thought, 'I'll recycle this worthless animal into something useful.' Even if Eldarion's blood looked dirty, he shared his to some extent, making them compatible.
Despite his arrogance, Selene was a kind elf. That's why, despite suffering humiliation, he went along with the mysterious man, realising their mindsets matched. 'Except for his weird reactions,' he thought, smiling wryly. Then, a sudden question popped into his mind, causing him to remember he forgot to ask about the copy's tier.
'I'll ask him tomorrow,' he thought, narrowing his eyes at the green-haired man blocking the path.
"Finally found you, my dear, dear Elysia," said Eldarion, a bright smile broadening on his blood-stained face. Despite spending a few minutes playing with the old traitors, he rapidly understood something. No one could beat his sister. She was by far the best toy he ever played with!
He trembled in delight as he imagined how much love he would show her after resolving this fiasco. At least he cleared his ranks of rebellious seeds. So, the situation wasn't that bad.
However, a handsome ghost suddenly cut him from his reverie. "Remove your hand from Anorvalë and kne... stand back," Selene warned, correcting his order mid-sentence and deciding to ban that word from his vocabulary for at least half a century.
"Humph. She grew so desperate that she actually brought a ghost to retrieve the grimoire. Guess what, Elysia? Everything was a lie! There are almost no records about Selene. Even the royals either burned them because they were fake or never had any in the first place.
That's what a legend is, a fictional myth meant to inspire youths!" Said Eldarion, grinning frantically and anticipating to witness despair paint his sister's face. As for the ghost? He didn't care about him or his demand at all, since he had no clue what Anorvalë was.
Upon hearing his declaration, everyone's eyes slipped to gaze at Selene. Bitting their lips to hold their laughter, they eagerly awaited to see how the fictional powerhouse would deal with the sadist.