Chapter 236: Be My Date

Later in the day, while Madeline showed Inna around the house as well as the secret passage she discovered, Cassian was left to deal with Elian and Orson who kept touching whatever fascinated them in the house.

"Is this orb made out of magic dust? Isn’t it the same as those round balls that magicians use to tell the future?" Staring at the blue orb with intrigue, Orson wanted to grab it, but Cassian slapped his hands off before he could even touch it.

"Break anything and you’re paying for it."

"As long as they use our kind of money, I doubt it’s any big of a problem." Orson shrugged, basically proving money wouldn’t be a big deal if that happens to be the case.

"How’s things been? You know? With Madeline becoming a Fae and all that." Orson was still quite upset that Cassian never told him about this from the beginning, but again, he understood his best friend’s reason to know why he had kept it hidden.

"I don’t think the end of the world is far away anymore. There’s something I need to figure out first before that happens."

"Huh? I’m lost, can you give me the details?"

Elian, who barely paid any concentration to their conversation, was lost in his own world as he strolled around the house. He walked through the spacious hallway with his hands tucked in his trouser pocket, taking in the view.

He’s heard of Whitebridge, but he never knew the ones in charge could be so strict. Recalling how innocent Osvaldo acted in front of Madeline and Cassian, he wouldn’t believe someone so timid-looking was capable of sending him to his knees.

But then, Inna was no different.

Sighing to himself at how much she invaded his mind lately, he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he came across a table that was placed at the left side of the hallway.

"What’s this?"

Opening one of the cupboards, Elian randomly scanned through the objects that were placed inside, looking at the random books and unfamiliar artifacts kept inside. Unsure of what exactly he was looking for, he planned on closing it back, but halted when his eyes caught a glimpse of a brown wooden frame.

He brought out the photo frame and turned it to the front. Wiping off the dust that covered the surface, in the photo, a beautiful woman with the same hair color as Madeline, and the same lovely dark orbs was holding a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She had a gentle smile on her lips and was staring ahead, and the sight of the woman made Elian’s eyes widen slightly.

He could still picture the incident of that night, when he had reached for a little girl who was about to be crushed by the woods of the carriage, and the woman who was covered in blood, looked exactly like this woman.

"She’s Madeline’s mother." He uttered underneath his breath, and the whole situation that night made appropriate sense now.

"What are you doing in the hallway all by yourself?" Inna’s intrusive voice snapped him out of his daze, and she snatched the photo frame from his grip.

"Where did you learn to sneak up on people like that?" He asked, finding it surprising that he didn’t notice her footsteps approaching him.

"Shouldn’t you be with Maddie?"

"Who is she?" Inna dismissed his question, showing him the portrait he was staring at. "If I’m not mistaken, she must be one of Madeline’s relatives. The resemblance..."

"That’s Madeline’s mother." Elian cut her off, snatching the portrait back and returning it back to where he had taken it from. "We shouldn’t mess around with this type of thing."

"Madeline’s.... Mother?" Inna’s eyes widened instinctively, and she shoved Elian aside, opening the cupboard and taking out the photo frame. Indeed, she has never seen Madeline’s Mother’s picture before, but she really couldn’t deny the resemblance.

"She looks really beautiful." Uttered Inna, "is she the one on the carriage that night? When the mastermind made you watch the Carriages collide, was Maddie the one you saved?"

"The way you solve puzzles is starting to freak me out. No wonder Cassian hates having you around." Elian couldn’t refute her words, he wanted to snatch it back but Inna took a step back away from his reach.

"No, I’m sure Maddie doesn’t even know this picture is here. I’ll take it to her." She suggested, knowing it would lighten Maddie’s mood if she got to see this lovely picture of her Mother.

Seeing Inna smile to herself, she never looked more beautiful in his eyes.

"Later." Hugging the portrait against her chest, Inna turned around and started walking in the opposite direction, only to hear Elian say...

"Will you be my date for the choosing ceremony tonight?"

"Huh?" Dazed, Inna spun around to look at Elian who was now sitting with his back resting against the table.

"Me?" Inna pointed at herself, unable to hide her awed expression. She would have looked behind her but she knew no one else except the two of them occupied this hall.

"Don’t think too far, It’ll be like the time we had to couple up when we visited the palace."

"Well I’m sure there’ll be lots of beautiful ladies who would suit your taste at the choosing ceremony."

"I want you." He said, and for some reason, Inna could feel a faint pink hue warm up her cheeks, and she blinked in a daze.

"What?"

"Not like that." Elian immediately felt like cursing himself. "I want to be with someone I can tolerate."

"And what makes you think you can tolerate me?"

"I’ve been doing a pretty good job so far."

Inna wanted to frown at his retort, but then she couldn’t deny that she felt a little happy he considered asking her out to the choosing ceremony. But of course, she wasn’t going to let him know that.

"I’ll let you know before tonight." With her nose raised, she turned and continued her walk down the hallway.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read