Races: Online - Chapter 353: The Truth of The Situation

In a few notable situations, there were situations in her life that changed her outlook for good. Perhaps not everyone was out to get her and there were truly people out there with a good heart that were willing to reach out and accept her without any judgement.

That had been a lofty dream once upon a time.

People were always bound to make assumptions, judgement and assessments on every single individual they meet and also make stories about themselves to fulfill their need to give meaning to things.

… So that was why, Ellynn never actually considered that Han was someone planted by her father to watch over her. Maybe it was genuine though?

No, Ellynn couldn’t think that. She tried to unwittingly convince herself that there were no wrong precursors in Han wanting to befriend her, but the more she thought about it, the deeper into a hole she fell into.

What did her father exchange with the guy?

Most of the people were ingrained to think of Elves as nothing more than the powerful conquestors in the past and hated their guts, but it didn’t mean that there were no humans that betrayed their own kind.

In exchange for riches, influence and power far beyond their current ability, many had forsaken others to move up in life. Ellynn thought that maybe… that was where Han lay?

Not in the prejudicial fear of what a Half Elf meant, but her as a golden opportunity and ticket to get to a better place in life. Was that wrong?

As far as Ellynn knew, Han was an ordinary orphan, probably orphaned due to the war in the past… mostly the Beastkin, but still orphaned nonetheless. For a young man who had nothing, meeting an Elf in the middle of the woods and who promised something in exchange for allegiance was staggering.

Even a Wood Elf could provide his own gifts and blessings.

So if that was the case… then it meant Han approaching her was nothing more than a substantial gain on his side and she was the same?

Ellynn pushed her salad back and forth around its bowl and tried to come in terms with it. She wasn’t that young to be this grieved or naive to consider it as generosity in the first place.

But the Half Elf latched onto his presence too much. She depended and sought him out far too much when she should have been independent and capable of being by herself.

“Ellynn!”

The Half Elf froze at the sound of his voice and she then tried to continue eating without giving him a look. It was hard to glance in his direction and think that they were going on with this as merely some charade.

Surely she wasn’t as important to him as he was to hers.

“I’m uh, going to take a seat for a moment.” Han made his way to the other side of the table and sat down. He did his best of resting both elbows on the table and leaning forward slightly. “So a magical salad, eh? You always get that for lunch… then again, it’s a diet implemented.”

Now finally Ellynn knew where this enthusiasm came from. How much did he get paid for? What did Han get in exchange? Needless to say, Ellynn knew exactly what he got as payment.

Her father never once let her use a wand, telling and reminding that it was an unnecessary tool and that she herself was the greatest conduit for magic than anything else—but during the lessons with Professor Carnus, Han pulled out a majestic piece of wood.

…A wand.

It seemed simple enough to fool people into thinking that he got it from somewhere cheap or he made it himself, but Ellynn could tell that it had her father written all over it.

Han stuck around her because of what she could do and offer.

What her father could provide.

“Have I done anything wrong to you, Ellynn?” Han sighed and decided to just come out with it. He looked at her deeply with his green eyes and with a slightly bothered grin. “It’s usually not that hard to tell that I messed up, but figuring out the exact reasons is hard.”

Going around in circles was never exactly Han style and she appreciated it for him. He was like a refreshing gust of wind, moving steadily in one direction without a care about the world.

Could she be as honest as him?

“No. You didn’t do anything.” Ellynn met his gaze once and returned his grin with a forced smile of her own before she looked down at her meal. “I just have a lot of things on my mind.”

She brought the forkful of greens to her mouth and started to eat. Ellynn never paid much attention to what she was intaking so long as it wasn’t poisoned and that applied in her relationships too. As long as it wasn’t exceedingly harmful, the Half Elf was willing to bear it.

How could she hold a sense of betrayal for someone who must not have a lot of options?

“Seems hard to believe when you’re not even looking at me.” Han pointed out. “You’re upset with me, aren’t you?”

Frustrated, Ellynn quickly looked back up. “Then it’s my problem to deal with and not yours!”

The moment she raised her voice, that was the end of the game because it turned a tiny bit wobbly at the end. That small crack in her tone was an evidence of weakness along with the pinpricks of stinging in her eyes.

He didn’t know what to do.

Ellynn harshly rubbed the back of her hand at the corner of her eyes, willing it to dry up and not showcase this to the person who was undoubtedly going to report it to her father.

That was at the exact same time that two more people popped up at their table. While it seemed that way to her, they approached the table with their own agendas in mind which had everything to  do with Han.

“Han, we heard that you upsetted Sybeth yesterday and she declined making your weapons. I put in a good word for you!” Theodore frowned. “What exactly did you do?”