Taming the Dark Lord

Chapter 73 – Beautiful Creature In Cage

“Wow. His skin is whiter than snow.”

“He looks so good!”

“Should we all pool our funds together and buy him?”

The onlookers piped various exclaims of approval as they surrounded the cage housing the white elf, awestruck at the beautiful creature that was presented before them. Eyes filled with curiosity, admiration and even hate were boring straight at the white elf, and under the countless orbs that were intently staring at him, the white elf caught Amelia’s eyes and held her gaze with his own.

His body seemed to be glowing under the harsh stream of the midday sun, and even his long eyelashes looked white and milky just like the rest of him. His splendor was laid out for everyone to see like a cold jade on a mountaintop—beautiful and utterly unreachable.

With their gazes leveled with each other, the white elf seemed to be taken aback by the way his eyes wavered so slightly that Amelia almost missed it, and the corners of his mouth crept upwards as he plastered a faint smile on his face.

It was a tingling sight, like seeing the ice and snow crowning the hilltops melting to a steady stream of spring water.

Heat rose up to Amelia’s cheeks and she could feel her heart pounding at the latter’s firm gaze, suddenly reminded of the fierce elf she had back home.

While this elf’s appearance drew attention, Alfonso on the other hand instills fear at first sight, and people would surely cry for help upon being near his foreboding presence. And if he were in the white elf’s place locked up inside a cage for people to goggle on, no one would actually dare gather around to bid for him.

His ghastly appearance was enough to keep people at bay and even if he’s chained with iron shackles, his ferocity wouldn’t falter one bit and he would go on looking at the crowd like they were nothing but specks of dirt on his feet, all the while looking like he’s sitting on a throne.

Rita glanced and caught Amelia staring at the white elf. “Do you like it? Buy it then. You have room in your place anyway.”

Amelia shook her head aggressively at Rita’s suggestion. She wouldn’t dare, not when she already had a seething dark elf in her place. Bringing another one inside her home would only cause more trouble and Alfonso would undoubtedly lash out at her.

The blonde girl draped in a religious ensemble tore her eyes away from him and whispered something to the girl beside her, prompting the latter to smile as they left the place with their arms linked together.

The blonde’s figure turned smaller as they went further away, mingling amongst the masses and disappeared into the crowd.

The white elf in the iron cage averted his gaze before closing his eyes.

There seemed to be a rise of foreign merchants since the city was a lot bustling than usual, lining up every street with carriages filled with goods as they try to make a sale with their loud, scratchy voices. The locals flocked the plaza with keen interest as they neared the stalls that piqued their interest, bargaining endlessly with the shopkeepers.

The area was bursting with life in all corners, and Amelia and Rita’s golden skirts stood out greatly from the measly garbs of the masses, prompting the horde to immediately part to make way for them. It was a conscious effort, seeing that the marketplace was packed to the brim.

The ruckus dwindled down for a fraction of a volume, fixedly looking at the two Saints with clear interest.

Amelia had long been accustomed to being watched this unabashedly, and the attention somehow made her feel at ease. She passed by a small stall and picked up a kitten figurine that looked almost life-like, showing it to Rita with a smile on her face.

Rita, however, took no notice and asked, “Do you smell that?” She scrunched her nose in emphasis.

Amelia blinked and started sniffing the air to see if there’s anything strange, and she noted that the place really was smelly since commoners didn’t have the privilege to take baths as often as they would like, and the place was crowded too with the scent of perspiration lingering in the air. She could also make out hints of soiled garbage and unclean canals, but there’s a scent that stood out amongst the pungency of the marketplace, one that reeked so bad it’s almost vomit-inducing.

“I presume it’s something rotten?” Amelia said.

The two followed the rotten stench and they came across the corner of the street, where a pile of hundreds of dead mice was stacked to one another.

“What happened? Who did this?” Amelia pinched her nose.

The corners were filled with maggots, and yellow and green pus oozed out of the decaying bunch and stained the ground. Flies were hovering up in the air and an eagle flew above them, clearly waiting for a chance to hunt.

It was a perfect ground for evil spirits to breed on.