The Devil's Cursed Witch

"I'm holding my breath." By that time, Morpheus already reached the boundary of that field and plucked one flower. He brought it back to Ember.

"Why did you go there! Didn't you say even you are not spared—"

"Hey, look at me, I'm fine. I know what I'm doing. You said you want to touch it, right? Didn't I say I want you to enjoy your day? I am making good of my promise." Morpheus held out the flower in front of her. "You can touch it but not the petals. Hold it at stalk and don't try to smell it."

A smile even more beautiful than any flower blossomed on her face as she accepted that white flower from him.

Upon closer look, the flower was not fluffy-looking like a dandelion—it had five ethereal petals that looked almost like transparent glass except for its delicate white veins. How tempted she was to touch those delicate white petals, but in the end, she controlled herself.

As she studied the gorgeous flower, she could not stop being curious about its scent. What kind of scent must it have which causes one to lose their mind? Was it like a perfume? Or maybe like her mate's scent?

'Shall I just smell it? Morph will take care of me. I have strong willpower so I think I will only hallucinate for a few minutes.'

Just as the thought popped up in her mind, it burst as Morph held her hand, as if aware of what bad idea she cooked up in her pretty little head. "Do not even think about it. Be good and don't make me regret bringing you here."

She pouted as Morpheus took that flower from her. He used magic and that flower disappeared into nothingness.

"So cruel," she mumbled.

"I am saving you from trouble, you human," Morpheus said as he didn't give in to her pouting face, no matter how adorable she looked. His cold gaze, which he rarely showed to her, clearly told her 'no means no'.

After exploring the flower valley for a couple of hours, Ember started to feel a little tired. Her body was yet to fully recover, and with her earlier excitement fading, she was starting to feel the return of her muscle aches.

Morpheus had his eyes on Ember the entire time. Of course, he noticed her slowing down. "Do you want to rest?"

Seeing her nod, Morpheus  lifted her in his arms and she immediately held onto him.

"Let's stop by Baruel's place then."

"Are we going to fly towards their city?" she asked as Morpheus walked swiftly across the field.

"No, just heading over there."

Turning her head around, Ember saw a large thatched cottage at the outermost of the valley. It was surrounded by a wooden fence and there were a few more small cottages around it.

"Whoa, is that his home? It's nice to think that the moment he wakes up, he gets to see this view!"

"Not his home— think of it as his temporary abode. That bigger cottage is where he stays as he is the elder in charge of maintaining this medicinal valley and those small cottages belong to the field workers under him. Staying here makes it more convenient for them to keep watch of the plants because this valley is at the outskirts of Reif City."

"Oh!" was all she said as Morpheus carried her towards the row of cottages.

Many gazes were on them, especially on the human girl. The elves looked at them with curiosity, and those with keener eyes realized that the winged man was Divine Eagle Morpheus, while the woman in his arms was the King's mate.

Why was the human girl being carried by the Commander? Was she injured?

While there were various guesses, none of them openly voiced them out. Still, the younger female elves looked at Ember with admiration. If they were beastmen, maybe they would be envious.

The King is a Dragon, and the Commander a Divine Eagle. Two divine beasts—ahem, ahem!

Their thoughts could not help but go wild. A male and a female, acting this intimate in public, especially when one is a beastman…From what they know, beast males would only care this much for his mate or potential mate.

'Strong females are said to be able to survive having multiple mates to protect themselves. The elder said she's a special human. No wonder she would attract another strong male."

'Seems like after having His Majesty as her mate, this human is planning to have our commander as well.'

'How fortunate this girl is! Instead of receiving hate because she is human, she is being showered with affection from powerful beastmen! She must be truly special!'

As if Morpheus could sense their thoughts through their gazes, his gaze met theirs, causing everyone to lower their gazes and pretend to focus on what they were doing.

Morpheus took Ember to Baruel's cottage where he happily welcomed the couple. His wife and subordinates staying with him also received the couple with smiles, most of them throwing impressed gazes at Ember, thinking she was going to be their commander's mate as well or else there was no reason he would carry her intimately like this in front of the people.

These Valley Elves had somewhat forgotten that humans have low stamina and failed to imagine the real reason she was being carried.

Getting their thoughts in check, Baruel escorted the Commander and the King's mate towards the courtyard where they could rest with the view of the flower valley.

Morpheus made Ember sit on one of the chairs placed around the wooden table where several snacks and dishes were already prepared. The freshly brewed tea was personally made by Baruel's wife and its aroma could be smelled even from a distance.

'Good tea!'

It was neither sweet nor bitter, its taste light without an aftertaste. After having two cups, Ember happily munched on the snacks while Morpheus only had the tea.

As Ember was busy eating, filling up her comparably large stomach hidden inside that tiny body, Morpheus and Baruel had a pleasant talk about various things. Later on, when their conversation turned towards the issues with human territory, the two men decided to stroll while talking. Morpheus told Ember to wait for him, and she happily agreed, having no wish to use her legs for the meantime.

Just as she watched him walk away, Ember's ears caught something and her gaze followed the source of the voice.