Chapter 41 [Killing Lex]
After the initial joy subsided, Gwentil looked at Mela's back in front of her and finally realized that something was wrong.
When she finally spotted a somewhat old wooden cabin in the distance, that feeling of unease reached its peak.
“Grund, don’t you think something’s strange?” To avoid Mela hearing their whispers, Gwentil leaned close to Grund’s ear and asked in a low voice.
"How could she have such a house in the Dark Forest?"
Grind looked at Gwentil with affection, thinking, "You've finally figured it out. The Dark Forest is infamous, and few dare to venture here, except for the rumor that witches live here."
These past few days, Mela has been visiting Gwentil alone, walking through the forest as if it were her own backyard, which is obviously strange to anyone with eyes to see. But Gwentil is a naive person; she believes everything Mela says and never suspects that Mela might be lying to her.
Although Grining had a vague idea of the truth, he couldn't figure out what Mela was thinking. If she really intended to hide her identity, why didn't she go out of her way to fabricate more realistic details?
Seeing that Gwentil and Mela were getting along well, Grind simply went out on his own to avoid giving Mela any clues that might ruin her relationship with Gwentil.
Sometimes, being honest and straightforward is indeed more suitable for getting along with people.
To be honest, if it weren't for his actions today, Mela probably wouldn't have wanted to reveal her identity to Gwentil.
Grind shook his head slightly and replied to Gwentil in a similarly breathy voice, "Perhaps something even more shocking will happen later."
Even more shocking? What is it? Gwentil was puzzled.
But as they got closer to the cabin, Gwentil had no choice but to swallow her doubts.
Mela nimbly flew up the steps like a bird and called into the house, "Silas, Lex, we have guests—"
"Guests? What guests?" Silas, who had nothing to do, was the first to come to the door to greet Mela. He peeked behind Mela and met Gwentil and Grind.
They were unfamiliar faces I had never seen before.
"They really are guests."
Silas muttered something, then, like a human gentleman, placed his wings on his chest, bowed slightly to the two of them, and said, "Welcome to the cabin. I am Silas, Mela's only pet."
It emphasizes the word "unique".
Unfortunately, Gwentil didn't understand its intention. Instead, she screamed at Silas and frantically shook Grind's arm, "Grind, did you see that? It's a talking raven!"
She emphasized the word "can speak".
Grining felt like Gwentil was about to scream her ears off.
He could only gesture for Gwentil to calm down, "It's no big deal, after all, it's a witch's pet..."
"What? A witch! Who is a witch?" Gwentil's voice grew louder, as if it reached the heavens.
"Of course it's me. Besides you and me, is there a third woman here?" Mela's voice drifted out from the room.
It was one thing for Gwentil and Grind to whisper to each other before, but now that she's speaking so loudly, it's really hard for Mela to pretend she can't hear her.
Overwhelmed by the shock, Gwendolyn's mind went blank, like a clock in dire need of repair. When she saw Lex with his blond hair and golden eyes appear, she was speechless.
Once Gwendi had calmed down, Mela had already asked Lex to bring her some hemostatic powder and clean gauze.
On the other side, Grining, who was sitting in a chair, saw Lex squat down in front of him and quickly stopped him from doing anything next. "How could I let His Highness apply medicine for me? I can do it myself."
Lex didn't say anything, but handed the powder to Grind, watching him deftly remove the grass leaves from his leg, apply a thick layer of hemostatic powder, and then wrap the wound with gauze again and again.
"How are you feeling? Are you feeling better?" Seeing this, Gwentil asked with concern.
"It's only been a short while, you should at least have time for the medicine to take effect," Mela interjected lazily.
Gwendi chuckled awkwardly. She didn't know what to say, so she decided to start with a less dangerous topic. This way, she wouldn't accidentally ask a death question, like why Meera was hiding her identity, or why a prince was hiding in her little cabin.
It was unbelievable that the Crown Prince, who had disappeared years ago and whose whereabouts had been searched for months without success, was standing right in front of her. Gwentil couldn't help but suspect that Mela might be behind it.
It is common knowledge that witches and royalty are irreconcilably at odds, and their feud can be traced back over a hundred years.
But judging from how obedient Lex is to Mela, he probably hasn't been living a particularly miserable life all these years.
Gwentil couldn't help but steal a glance at Lex's calm, expressionless face.
“But the powder I make is much more effective than what others make. Your bleeding should have stopped by now, right?” Mela glanced at Grining’s leg.
Indeed, Griningke looked at his own wound and noticed that the gauze was no longer showing any fresh red.
"My God, this powder is so effective! If you could sell it, you'd have a never-ending stream of gold coins flowing into your pockets for the rest of your life," Gwentil exclaimed.
As the son of a businessman, she certainly has that kind of foresight.
“Good idea. Well then, how about we get past the church?” Mela had, of course, considered a similar idea.
However, if such a potent medicine didn't come from the church, it would easily arouse suspicion of witches. Mela didn't want to drag others into this for no reason, so she simply gave up the idea of asking Ducwato to secretly trade the hemostatic powder she made.
“Yeah, right…” Gwentil realized she had almost forgotten about the church and felt she had said something really stupid.
Seeing that Gwentil was carefully keeping her mouth shut and not daring to say another word, Mela decided not to make things difficult for her and let's start eating.
Finally able to have a normal dinner, and with Lex's cooking skills as good as ever, Gwentil used a spoon to scrape the mashed potatoes off the plate clean, not having a chance to say a word the whole time.
Similarly, Griningke's plate was empty; he had even eaten the last bit of mushroom soup in his bowl with bread.
When it came time to assign sleeping places for the night, despite his injury, Grindman volunteered to sleep outside, giving the remaining space inside the room to Gwentil.
Fortunately, Mela said that no wild animals would dare to approach the cabin, and Gwentil would be fine even if she slept outside. Only then did she give up her idea of refusing.
Finally able to lie flat and fall asleep, Gwendi immediately lost consciousness and drifted off into a deep sleep.
Mela said goodnight to Silas and Lex respectively, and her breathing quickly calmed down.
The room fell silent, except for the moon outside, which gradually shifted position as night fell.
After an unknown amount of time, Grind, who should have been asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.
He estimated the time for a long time, and after confirming that there was only steady breathing in the house, he tiptoed around to the back of the house and climbed in through the window.
He could have just pushed the door open, but at night he had observed that even the slightest breeze would cause the cabin door to creak and groan. In order not to disturb the sleeping people in the cabin, he ultimately chose to climb through the window.
By the moonlight, Grind saw where Lex was lying, so he quietly passed by Mela and Gwendi, with one hand behind his back, and gradually approached the oblivious Lex.
With a dull thud, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground, Silas's voice rang out at the top of his lungs: "Murder! Murder!"
Silas was sleeping soundly when a bright light suddenly flashed before its eyes. It instinctively opened its eyes and found that it was the silver light of the dagger that Grind carried on his back, shining in the moonlight. It was so frightened that it fell off its perch.
Even so, it did not forget to make a sound to warn others.
Lex, who was pretending to be asleep: "..."
Mela, who was also pretending to be asleep: "..."
Now they had no choice but to open their eyes.
Seeing that his plan had been exposed, Grind knew that the opportunity was fleeting. Without hesitation, he lunged at Lex, still clutching the gleaming dagger tightly in his hand.
Mela showed no intention of getting up to help Lex. She watched with great interest as Lex quickly turned the tide, pinning Grind to the ground and rendering him unable to move. He even snatched the dagger from Grind's hand, holding it against Grind's neck.
At this level, he can probably only bully twelve-year-old Lex.
The thought that twelve-year-old Lex had been driven into the Dark Forest by such a man, along with several of his men, like a pack of stray dogs, made Mela want to shake her head.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?"
Gwentil, who had been completely asleep, finally woke up. She sat up blankly, rubbing her sleepy eyes, so much so that she didn't even notice Grind being pinned to the ground by Lex.
When she finally saw the situation inside the room, she was completely shocked. "What on earth happened?"
Gwendi vaguely recalled the voice that had just woken her up; it sounded like it was saying something about murder.
"Then why don't we ask Grinker to explain to us why he suddenly returned to the Dark Forest after five years, wanting to kill Lex?"
In response to Gwentil's question, Mela raised her chin and said slowly.
"When did you find out?" Grind raised his eyes and stared coldly at Mela.
Upon hearing Mela's words, Grining felt that his plan had already been exposed, but he couldn't figure out where he had slipped up.
He had been trying his best to avoid contact with Mela, and Mela had long since let her guard down around Gwentil.
As Gwentil's companion, Grining thought he had at least gained some of Mela's trust.
"Alright, it seems I should clear up your doubts first. Grinning, is that your real name? I don't know, but it doesn't matter. I just want to tell you that you've had many flaws from the very beginning."
Mela slowly straightened her wrinkled sleeves, rested her elbows on the armrest of the rocking chair, propped her slightly tilted head up, and smiled at Grining.
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