Chapter 348: Gifts and Reciprocation
Chapter 348: Gifts and Reciprocation
"Your handkerchief smells a bit." Leon's younger brother's muffled voice reminded him, and he suddenly remembered that his handkerchief had been used to wipe the "treasure" Melanie had found. He quickly put it away and vigorously rubbed William's face with his sleeve, chuckling awkwardly as he tried to cover it up.
"I might not have dampened it. I'll go and wash it... Emma, where's the water?"
"I'll do it."
Emma, having finished wiping her daughter's face, gave Leon a slightly annoyed look. Instead of exposing his handkerchief's secret, she waved at William and used the clean part of the handkerchief to wipe his face.
With the physical prowess of a Purifier, Emma's movements were gentle and slow, appearing to exert no force, but the dirt on William's face visibly disappeared before their eyes.
Seeing this, Melanie, who was painfully enduring her 'torture' nearby, couldn't help but protest again:
"Look, Anna, you can do it without using so much force. Let me..."
"Either you shut up and sit still, or I'll deduct your allowance for the next few weeks. Your choice!"
"Oh..."
As Anna brutally suppressed Melanie's rebellion, Ellie, who had transformed back into a porcelain doll, curiously approached Leon, studying the inexplicably endearing older... uncle.
"What's the matter?"
Although Leon knew that little Ellie wasn't a real child but an anomaly born from Emma's longing for her daughter, the sight of the shy girl wanting to get closer to him stirred a sense of affection in his heart.
He slightly crouched down to match Ellie's height and smiled as he asked:
"Do you have something you want to tell me?"
"Um..."
Still not used to communicating with someone older, Ellie blinked shyly and glanced back at Emma. With her mother's encouraging gaze, she gathered her courage and said:
"I... I drew a picture a few days ago. It's... it's of you. I want to give it to you..."
A picture of me? Leon was slightly taken aback by Ellie's words, and his heart warmed as he nodded and smiled, replying:
"Thank you... Where is the drawing?"
"It's in my room..."
Seeing that Leon didn't refuse, Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. Then, her small hands unconsciously tugged at her skirt, and she said with some embarrassment:
"If it doesn't look very good, will you still accept it?"
"Of course, I will."
Looking at Ellie, whose painting style was so different from Anna's, and who seemed so well-behaved it made his heart ache, Leon couldn't help but gently pat her head through the wide-brimmed soft hat. Then, he stood up, took her gloved hand, and smiled, gesturing for her to lead the way.
"The most adorable Miss Ellie, would you like to show me your masterpiece?"
"Yes!"
After receiving Leon's enthusiastic response, a broad smile appeared on Ellie's face. Then, under Emma's gentle gaze, she led Leon into the inner room and handed him a slightly crumpled drawing.
In the center of this crudely drawn picture was a large rectangular frame that resembled an overturned coffin. On top of it was a dark, gaping hole, and in front of the frame were various colors, like the waste from a paint factory dumped into a river.
Three long, stick-figure-like tentacle monsters were hovering over these colorful patches, surrounding a round object with flames rising from it, performing some sort of evil ritual.
So... where am I in this? Not wanting to admit that he didn't quite understand, Leon pointed to the only element he could recognize and asked, "Not bad. The use of colors is bold and avant-garde... What are those flames?"
"They're candles!"
They were candles!
Relieved to have received this clue, Leon secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued guessing based on this information.
The round object below, resembling a barrel filled with fuel, with horizontal stripes and flames rising from it—was it a birthday cake? Were the long, stick-figure-like tentacle monsters people holding hands? Were the colorful patches below their feet flowers? Was the overturned coffin the cottage? So, the true meaning of this painting was that these people were celebrating a birthday, holding hands and dancing around a birthday cake in a garden?
"It... it doesn't seem quite right... I'll fix it!"
Ellie looked up at Leon, then down at the stick-figure-like tentacle monsters in her drawing. Her face turned slightly red, and she quickly took the drawing back, dressed one of the monsters in a black coat, and drew two dots for eyes and a short, downward-curving arc for a mouth.
Chapter: The Secret of Ellie's Gift
After adjusting Lyon's appearance, Ellie went all out and, with a crayon in hand, drew a tree in the garden. On the tree, she added a tentacle monster reaching into a bird's nest, while at the base stood another tentacle monster, hands on hips, looking up angrily. On the other side of the tree, amidst the bushes, she drew half of another tentacle monster's body, its butt wiggling as it struggled within the foliage. It was a playful depiction of the monster family... the Lyon family.
With her secondary creation complete, Ellie finally breathed a sigh of relief. She blushed slightly and handed the highly abstract drawing to Lyon.
"This is for you, thank you for coming to celebrate my birthday."
"You're... you're welcome..." Lyon managed, his mouth twitching slightly. He took the drawing, a true piece of avant-garde art titled 'Tentacle Monster's Rampage in the Sewers', and carefully put it away. Then, crouching down, he smiled and said, "I really like your gift. And I also have a birthday present for you."
"Really?" Ellie's eyes lit up with excitement. "What is it?"
"Not just yet~" Lyon smiled mysteriously, but instead of presenting the fireworks and firecrackers he had ordered, he asked, "Ellie, before I give you my gift, can you take off your gloves and shake my hand?"
Shake hands? Ellie hesitated for a moment but then nodded shyly, removing the gloves she wore to block the sunlight and placing her tiny palm in Lyon's.
Name: Sorrow of Blossom (Soul, Life and Death, Reflection)
Appearance: A well-behaved girl who can grow normally but can only manifest her physical form near the Fleur Estate. Prolonged exposure to sunlight will temporarily make her transparent.
Abilities: Soul Stability (Limited), Resurrection (Limited), Wish Reflection (Area-Restricted)
Cost: None
File: After it became inevitable that the Fleur family would be executed, Emma Arman, in order to ensure her daughter's survival, offered the location of the Fleur family's secret vault to Leonard Kukopy in exchange for his protection of her daughter.
To obtain the Fleur family's accumulated wealth, Leonard agreed to the deal. But after confirming the vault's location, fearing the king's displeasure for sheltering the Fleur's remnant, he reneged on the agreement and personally drowned the infant Ellie Arman in a lake...
...
When Ellie returned to the mortal realm with her mother's spirit, lacking a physical body, Ellie was unable to resurrect and was on the verge of dissipation under the sunlight.
To keep her last family member by her side, Emma's strong desire led her to split a portion of the 'Sin of Treasure Flower' ability, combining it with the souls of numerous deceased relatives with similar bloodlines. Thus, she created this special anomaly, usable only within the Fleur Estate...
Evaluation: When coexisting with Emma Arman, the 'Sin of Treasure Flower,' she should have gained the ability to directly grow and complete her body after 666 physical deaths. However, due to the absence of her original body, this characteristic remains ineffective.
Immersion Value: 0.1
My initial guess was close, but this seems even better.
After reading Ellie's 'instruction manual,' Lyon smiled and the buttons on his cuffs gleamed. A small child's firework appeared in his hand.
He lit the firework, and a cluster of dazzling sparks burst forth.
"Wow!!"
"The real gift won't be ready until later, so here's a little something for now."
Holding Ellie's tiny hand, Lyon taught her how to use the firework to draw circles in the air. He looked at Ellie, her eyes sparkling with delight, and extended his thumb, saying, "If you help me with something, and when you blow out the candles on the cake later, make a wish for Emma to stay home with you all day tomorrow. If you do, I'll give you an even better gift. What do you say?"
(End of Chapter)
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