The Sword and The Shadow

Eirinn had spent 18 long years waiting for that day. It was a really meaningful event for her as from then on, she would never ever be called ugly again and wouldn't have to endure the contemptuous gazes others so often shot her. She would become normal.

Even though the spell used was only a limited wishing spell that didn't require too much preparation, quite a number of people came over to witness it as it was a milestone for Eirinn, a turning point in her life.

Apart from the spell user, Annelotte, Leguna, Innilis, Marolyt and even Annelotte's maidservant, Alaine, were there.

"Long time no see, Mister Lecher!" Alaine said while shooting him a hateful look.

She had heard that her mistress risked her life to fight Saron to save Leguna. Why is he so weak and needs her to protect him? But then again, it's not surprising that my mistress is the strongest. It really is an honor to serve her!

"Oh, Sis Alaine, have you been doing well lately?" Leguna said in a mocking tone.

He knew that girl had always seen him in a different light and believed him to unfit for Annelotte. Now he had been rescued by her, he didn't doubt Alaine would chew him out over it.

However, he decided to be the bigger man and not agonize himself over it. And even though Alaine was harsh to him, he knew she was loyal and obedient to Annelotte. She was the one serving Annelotte her food all day long as the latter busied herself in the lab after all, so Leguna would tolerate it!

Seeing Leguna cave so easily, Alaine didn't bother to push it. She knew that no matter how badly she looked upon him, it didn't change how much her mistress cared for him. Since she already hurled her insults, she had better cool down lest she earned the ire of her mistress.

Eirinn stiffened at the sight of Annelotte approaching. Though they had gotten to know each other better lately, recovering her looks was something she was really tense about. She would be worried even if Leguna was the one dictating the spell!

"This is the concoction Innie synthesized. Drink it first."

Annelotte handed over a vial containing a golden liquid.

"Don't worry, Sis Eirinn. I made sure to pay close attention this time! It'll definitely work!"

Innilis also seemed just as nervous, but her eyes still showed how proud and excited she was. Finally, she was able to be of help to others!

"This concoction can activate the cells on your face and allow them to grow and perish at a quicker rate. That way, the limited wishing spell will have a higher chance of success."

Annelotte hesitated, then, "…but--"

"--But what?" Leguna asked nervously.

"The process will hurt. I hope you can endure it, Eirinn."

"I will. Thank you, Sis Annie, Innie, Big Brother."

She didn't care whether it worked or not and thanked them in advance. Then, she cast away her hesitation and drew breath before swallowing the contents in the vial in one gulp.

"Mmmph…" she groaned slightly with a pained look.

Her face began to shift oddly. Even though it was not obvious to the naked eye, one could easily see the effects upon closer inspection. However, the effect wasn't easily controllable, so Annelotte's limited wishing spell was required to guide it.

Clear words of the incantation came out of Annelotte's mouth one after another. She accurately recited each and every syllable and carefully controlled the path of the mana to ensure the effects of the spell were ideal.

Even though Eirinn was Annelotte's love rival in a sense, Annelotte wouldn't dare do anything to sabotage the process there.

The reason for that was she would no doubt earn Leguna's displeasure for it. Additionally, given her pride, she wouldn't stoop so low to do something like that. She would never truly win if she relied on tricks, and their competition ought to be settled fairly. Leguna, however, didn't even see a need for a fight…

The light from the magic formation glowed brighter and brighter. Annelotte stabilized the flow of mana through it and made her wish: to remove the scars on the half elf's face and let her look like her natural self.

As wishing spells carried with them strong uncertainty, one had to be very specific about the wish made. The slightest mistake could be interpreted by the spell to be something completely different from what was desired.

So, Annelotte had long prepared and considered which words to use to ensure no such mistake could occur.

The light gradually scattered and fell on Eirinn's face. Not only did that soothe the pain she was feeling, it also began recovering her looks.

The first parts to be restored were her brows. Back then, those were the parts of her face that remained relatively undamaged. The only part that was singed away in the fire was the end of her left brow, making them uneven in length. Her silver brows looked like crescent moons hanging in the sky.

After that came her eyes. Her left eyelid was mostly ruined thanks to the heat from the fire and barely covered her left eyeball. Even so, it still made her look terrifying. Ironically, the mere sight of her eyes could easily blind others to her innate kindness.

But now, nobody would ever come to fear them. Eirinn's eyes were slightly smaller than Annelotte and Innilis's, but that only added a seductive air to them. She looked as if she was born to attract men. Just like her body fragrance, her dark elf bloodline accentuated her beauty and seductive capabilities irrespective of her personality traits.

Next was the nose's turn. Her nose looked rather unsightly after the fire, with most of the flesh on her left nose ending up charred and causing her nostril to turn outwards. Her nasal cartilage was slightly visible from close up.

After the recovery, it looked small and refined as it should be and seemed rather cute from her profile.

And the last ones to morph were her chin and mouth. Not much could be said about them, save for how twisted and burned they looked back then. The recovery process helped make her skin baby smooth once more and her slightly puckering lips gave her a mischievous, yet innocent air.

It was worth mentioning that while her facial features were beautiful, it was their unique combination that gave her an enticing allure.

Everyone was stunned at the sight of her true looks. They knew that she would look good, given her dark elf heritage. While dark elves had a different skin tone from normal elves, they did possess a similar beauty.

Yet, none of them expected the extent to which she looked good. Her looks allowed her to stand on even footing to even Annelotte!

The pain vanished from her face. Eirinn looked around in a slight daze and saw everyone staring blankly at her.

She wore a perplexed expression that seemed to show surprise and strong disbelief. She stretched her hands out and wanted to feel her face, only to pull it back, but she mustered her courage when she saw the others' expressions.

She felt a smooth and supple sensation from her fingertips. Reaching to her nose, she could tell that both sides were complete and undamaged. That encouraged her to explore her face further by rubbing it with her palms.

"I've recovered!" she cried.

Unlike before, the expression she had on her face now would scare others off. But now, her flushed cheeks and bright eyes only charmed men evermore.

"Congratulations," Annelotte wished from the bottom of her heart with a slight smile.

"Eirinn…" Leguna stared at her blankly for a moment, then leapt at her and dragged her into a hug. "--Hahahaha! It worked! You're beautiful again! You look really good! I like it! This is great!"

Innilis was a little down despite her success. She quietly left the room quietly.

"Hahahaha! You're so pretty! That's how my Eirinn should look! Nobody will ever call you ugly again! Hahahaha! Come, give me a kiss!"

"No way!"

Eirinn half-shouted, but her eyes shot Leguna an enticing glance.

While Annelotte was a prime beauty, her face wasn't really expressive, so Leguna had few opportunities to see the expression beauties could make. Eirinn was now quickly making up for that, however.

"Hmph, as expected of a lecher!" Alaine barked.