“We have two other rooms. Tonight, my family will squeeze into this room. You can stay in the other two rooms. Ella, please take this guest to rest,” the farmer said.
Ella hurriedly drank the wine that was offered to her. The sweetness had just reached her taste buds when she saw her father's eyes. She could only lower her head and say to Eli, "Sir, please come with me."
Eli frowned, but followed Ella into the room next door. It seemed to be the little girl's and her sister's living quarters, and a faded pink dress was hanging on a wooden shelf.
The two beds were placed on either side against the wooden wall, and they were neat and clean.
“You and one of the gentlemen can rest here. My parents’ bedroom is next door, and the other two gentlemen are staying there,” Ella said.
“This isn’t appropriate. How can we let the two ladies squeeze into that room while we sleep in your beds?” Eli tried to refuse.
But Ella was shaking her head frantically. “No, no, no, sir, you’ve paid for this. We’d feel bad if you squeezed together again. My sister and I have always lived with our parents since we were little. It’s okay. You absolutely can’t refuse.”
She looked up at Eli, her face slightly flushed. "Thank you for the lilies."
"It's alright, I'll rest here then."
Eli couldn't refuse the girl's kindness.
Ella returned to the lively room and saw two more unfamiliar guests enter: a green-eyed gentleman and a lady.
"You were having a big meal here without inviting us. Luckily, Mr. Dwyer told us," Mrs. Dean said with a smile.
Mr. Allen neither confirmed nor denied it.
“Come on, let’s enjoy this together. If it’s not enough, I’ll get some from the carriage. After all, we’re travel companions.” Patrick chuckled.
Dinner didn't last long. Although Patrick brought out his treasured wines and treated them to their fill, they needed to rest early because they had to continue their journey the next day. Guided by the farmer and his wife, he and Patrick went to the leftmost house, while Ernest went to find Eli.
The fire was still burning brightly, but the lights had gone out. The village was extremely quiet in the dead of night. Phil Gray silenced the somewhat drunken and incessantly chattering Patrick and drifted off to sleep.
In the early morning, the moon shyly hid behind the clouds, and it was pitch black inside the house.
Eli was searching for his golden butterfly flower in his dream when he felt a pair of hands stroking his face, and warmth spreading to his neck.
He was speechless. "Your bed is over there! Which idiot is it?"
But the hands didn't stop; he even felt a warm, soft touch on his cheek.
A chill ran down his spine. He sensed something was wrong and sat up. His sleepy eyes snapped awake when he saw the person in front of him.
This is Ella!
The girl before him had affectionate eyes, her clothes half-undone, and looked at him shyly. The lily he had given her was still pinned in her slightly curly brown hair.
What's going on?
The girl's cheeks flushed slightly. She closed her eyes, intending to press her lips to Eli's face again, until Eli pushed her away.
The knight, who had been drinking, woke up at the sound and was incredulous at the scene before him.
A young girl was sitting on her companion's bed, her clothes half off, and she was sobbing softly.
Considering his companion's usual womanizing ways, he decided to wait and see how things went.
Eli was furious. Although he often said that "only flowers and beautiful women should not be wasted," he was not the kind of person who liked to sleep with beautiful women casually.
"What are you doing!" Eli stood up, looking at the still-crying girl with a chilling gaze.
It wasn't until a bright flame and a commotion suddenly erupted in the dark courtyard that they realized something was wrong.
Someone kicked open the door, and Eli quickly covered the girl's body with the blanket until he saw that the person who came in was the farmer who had warmly hosted him that day.
His eyes revealed anger, and then an elderly man with white hair walked out from behind him, leaning on a cane, looking equally angry.
“Village chief, I felt something was off tonight. He kept staring at my daughter with a lecherous look and even gave her flowers. Luckily, my younger daughter discovered them entering her sister’s room. Of course, I couldn’t fight off so many of them, so I came to see you, village chief,” the farmer said to the old man.
The old man's gaze lingered on the lilies in the girl's hair.
"It's absolutely ridiculous! She was the one who offered me the room, and she even tried to seduce me while I was asleep!" Eli wasn't angry anymore; he crossed his arms and watched the scene unfold with amusement.
He never imagined that the plot of this extremely absurd novel would one day happen to him. It's all because of his habit of giving flowers to others. He will never do it again!
“Although you don’t look like ordinary people, but noble lords, you can’t let this poor girl’s reputation be damaged. Either you marry Ella, or you give her some compensation.” The village chief pondered for a while, glanced at the farmer, and signaled him to stop while he was ahead. It seemed that the village chief had guessed the truth, but he still favored his own people.
“Oh?” Eli looked at the girl again, her eyes pleading.
"I am willing to marry you, and if you already have a wife, I am willing to be your mistress."
There was a lot of noise outside the door, it seemed that many villagers were outside, and some unpleasant discussions could also be heard coming in.
Ernest, on the other hand, remained silent and barely noticeable.
Eli could only say he misjudged this girl.
He said nothing; any further explanation would be useless. It was all a setup. But he didn't want these people's ridiculous scheme to succeed. He simply pushed aside the farmer blocking the doorway and planned to call the others and leave.
But then he heard a cry of alarm, a farmer's cries, and the sound of an old man angrily slamming his cane against the ground.
Turning around, I saw that the girl who had just been crying had turned bluish-green, thick blood was gushing from her mouth, and she had collapsed on the bed, lifeless.
"My daughter, how could you do this? You...it's all your fault that my daughter died."
The farmer collapsed at the bedside, staring in horror at his lifeless daughter, then pointed at Eli and roared.
Eli was also a little puzzled. Although he was angry, he did nothing. He was too lazy to argue with these ordinary people. What was going on?
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