It was strange for Elise to wrap her mind that all this time, she had not been living like a normal human she thought she was. Things had begun to change and it moved in an unprecedented speed. Ian who sat beside her raised his hand to the head maid behind Elise, waving his hand, "You are dismissed."

Without a word, Mila only shared on last glance with Elise and she bowed with her hands stick remain on her back before she retreated.

Cynthia begin to say, "Welstone claimed to be fishing during the time you were playing near the river. At the time Mr. and Mrs. Scott was with you. When he had finished collecting the fishes he needed, he heard a sharp scream and saw you fainted on Mr. Scott's hand. There was blood all over your body, a lot of blood that almost colored the river according to his statement."

Elise drew her brows altogether, not expecting the story. 

"Hm, that reminds me very much of the incident in Saltige," Ian remarked when the thought passed by her mind. "Didn't you came back with your clothes stained with blood and fainted?"

Elise nodded to confirm, she looked at Ian and her brows furrowed deeper, "But I never remember this. My parents never told me I loss conscious with blood all over me." Why did they hid this from us? For all Elise knew the Scott's had always been open and transparent to her.

"Apparently, Welstone questioned Mr. and Mrs. Scott what happened to Elise, and they said it was nosebleed, a sudden nosebleed which Welstone didn't believed because of the amount of blood. I also find this strange," Cynthia continued her gloss, "It's not something usual for a child to have nosebleed that is a lot. Have that ever happened to you before?"

"No," Elise said only to took a pause on her explanation and her eyes moved to Ian, "No, it did happen."

"In the forest, yesterday," Ian followed her assumption, "Which mean you used your power, but why?" 

Cynthia had heard about everything as news about Elise had been relied between her, Austin, and Maroon. However, she still couldn't wrap her mind in the idea, and said, "The river was used by humans and I have went there. It was quite long and wide, but it wasn't deep nor the current was too rapid. Why would Elly use her power there?"

"Do you think you can remember anything?" Ian asked and Elise tried to pull and weave her memories, trying to find out what happened but she can't remember anything.

"It's strange, but only that part in my memories that I can't remember," replied Elise, she could not find delve any deeper to her memory after visiting the river. "I only remembered that I played there and went home. My parents don't show any sign of lying either. William wasn't there so I didn't know if he knows it."

Ian looked at her, his eyes turned darker, "Which means someone erased your memories again. The person in question who had erased your memory during the death of your friend back in Saltige, must have been the one who erased your memory again."

"That would mean my father and mother know who had erased my mind," Elise whispered to Ian, seeing him in a solemn thought with his brows furrowed. "Cynthia, what else have you found about the incident?"

"Unfortunately nothing, Milord. All I found is the man, Welstone, as the rest of the town people has gone," Cynthia ended her report. When she left, Elise was still in her thought. Would that mean the entire time, her parents know something about her and the power she had?

"To tell you the truth," Ian spoke beside her, gathering her attention and her lashes blinked away the confusion when she looked at him, "I was the one who had chosen The Scott to adopt you."

Elise wind her head to the left where he was at. "You did? But I thought Kyle was the one who arranged that."

Ian pushed the finger to the pages, flipping it aimlessly with his eyes reading at particularly nothing, "He did by giving me the list of adoptive family that would want to take you in and I chose them based on their clean records. Who know they are actually sly enough to keep lies," meeting Elise's eyes, Ian curved his smile, "I am not shading your beloved parents, just giving some light."

"I know," Elise replied, she had gotten used and was aware of Ian's sarcasm and didn't take it as offensive, "But if you had the choice to chose which family to take me in, why didn't you chose a noble?" Was it not on the list? Elise wondered with curiosity.

"Oh I wasn't aware you love money, my dear bride. Fortunately I am rich, or maybe you would have casted me away?" Ian feigned a sullen look on his face, looking at his hand with great disappointment, and he said with a sing-song voice, "Thankfully my mother was so pretty that I was blessed with my handsome face. If I am not maybe I would become penniless peasant with ugly face like my father. Oh wait, I inherited everything by myself which mean I would just become an ugly beast with some wealth. I'm afraid if that is the case I won't be able to make your heartbeat drumming or tug your heart string. Oh no, oh no."

Elise blinked at Ian's one-man theater, "That won't happen," she wondered how did the conversation drifted to this, "I don't love you only because of your face."

Ian who had settled one hand on his forehead turned his face slightly, his brows subtly raised, "So I am indeed ugly?"

"You are not!" Elise strongly objected his words, only understanding how she had been lured and played to his trap again. 

Ian wasn't going to let go of her after such a light teasing, his lips curled which he hid by covering his hand over it, "I am not what?" 

Elise didn't miss his smile as Ian didn't bother himself hiding it. He knew that she won't be able to play with the tune of his humor. Unlike him, she was much more serious when it comes to loving him. Feeling annoyed by his teasing, Elise pushed himself from her chair.

Ian pushed his hand away, wondering if he had finally irked his bride which wasn't what he intended to do but also something he would like to see as Elise had been only tamed and demure.

Expecting her to leave, instead, Elise walked to stand before him. Her shadow casted before Ian and for once, Elise could see the crown of his head, where she could never see before as he had been a taller man then her. Reaching out her hand, she then placed her palms besides his cheeks.

Her blue eyes stared deeply toward his red ones, the color of her eyes glistened and she spoke, "You are handsome. Very. So much that it often worry me as you effortlessly capture other's attention forever without it disappear from their mind. But how you look isn't the only reason why I love you. I won't lie that being one of the reason but I think of it as a blessing. There are many reasons for me to love you but one of it that I think changed my whole life is you, your entire being. There is no question what part of you that I love; I just know I love you, your entire self. And-"

Elise haven't finished her words when Ian had pulled her by her waist, with one effortlessly move he picked up her legs and placed it beside his. She was taken aback by the sudden kiss but then let herself surrender to the kiss that gradually begin from a tamed one to a wilder one.

Ian bit her upper lips, pushing his tongue and brought her out to nibbled at it. When he parted his lips, he admired Elise's features and stared at her eyes that were teary but clear as the surface of a beautiful lake, "I don't expect my teasing to get your love confession again." He brought her hand, pulling her hand from his shoulders to his chest, "Look what you do to me. You make me feel excited again," he whispered, his lips brushing her ears that had Elise to curl her toes from his legs.

"You are bad and mean," Elise remarked, not letting go the fact that he had teased her.

"I am, so what would you do?" Ian bring the same hand from his chest to his face, leaning on it, "Punish me?" 

His words were no less than a maddening temptation, and Elise felt air knocked out from her body with her heart thundering against her ears. With her cheeks red, she looked at Ian, feeling dizzy and asked herself how could there be such a man that could emanate such enormous allure, like he did. With a little grudge that was as harmless as a cat's light paw, Elise muttered, "You are not playing fair."

She looked at his eyes that were soft. If one compared Ian to how he was before he met Elise's there could be myriad of people agreeing how much he had changed. So much that it would have given many angels up in Heaven heart attacks.

"What can I say, not playing fair is my expertise. You can always enjoy it by falling to my rabbit hole of trap. You will enjoy it," Ian planted a kiss on her palm. Leaning forward he caught her by her lips again.

Above on the blue sky, the black crow watch from afar, its golden eyes glistened while watching Elise and Ian's interaction. With his lips set on a thin line, Leviathan departed, stopping what he had intended to do which was to take Ian's life for today.