Chapter 74: Bloodmend Phial (2)

“It will do more than that…” Melody spoke up, her tone serious yet carrying a gentleness that was unusual for her. She appeared to have recovered somewhat—highlighting her noble poise.

“It will probably remove your scarring for good,” she added solemnly.

At her words, Rudy’s eyes lit up—yet there was still a hint of hesitation.

Michael nodded, raising the phial. “So go on, take it and see the effects for yourself. Half of these belong to you anyway, remember?”

“R-right, because I won the bet…” he acknowledged, his tension easing slightly. He reached out and grabbed the phial, taking a closer look at it before removing the stopper.

Bringing it to his nose, he sniffed the sanguine contents before pulling a face. “It smells metallic, almost like blood.”

“Well it’s not surprising since it uses Tr—”

Michael’s hand flew up and covered Melody’s mouth in one fluid motion, cutting her off at the most crucial point.

“What does it use?” Rudy asked, his eyes narrowing.

“T-truly great ingredients…” Michael replied lamely, his act fooling no one.

“Ouch!” he let out a pained cry, tearing his hand away from Melody’s mouth who had just sunk her canines into it.

Melody sent Michael a glare, needing no words to relay her annoyance. She turned back to Rudy and continued, “Most healing medicine uses Troll’s blood—since it has natural regeneration properties.”

“Troll’s blood?” Rudy turned pale, eyeing the phial with renewed disgust.

“Don’t be so prudish,” she scoffed, “healing magic has been lost for centuries. It’s only in the last few decades that these types of medicine’s were created—and only after countless years of trial and error.”

“How many mages had died over the years because of this lost knowledge? How many had suffered with grievous wounds, unable to find relief?” she paused, yet her words spoke directly into the hearts of the two teens present.

Melody continued, “What you’re holding right there is the byproduct of the greatest minds in modern alchemy—a true breakthrough in the medical field. You should be treating it with respect and reverence, not turning your nose up at it.”

Rudy was taken aback, clearly not expecting the lecture. “I guess you’re right… If this can heal me, then why should I hesitate?”

Then, without another word he brought the end to his mouth and tilted his head back, downing the contents of the phial with a surprising dedication.

Michael could only watch the scene in disbelief, massaging his hand from where he’d been bitten. While he was aware of the state of medicine and the lost healing magic, he hadn’t expected Melody of all people to be so passionate about the subject.

The way she spoke about it was as if she truly cared.

“Argh…” Rudy let out a groan of pain, his body doubling over as a result. In a moment he fell to his hands and knees, unable to stand any longer.

Michael’s eyes moved to his back, seeing the medicine’s effects at work almost instantly. It looked as if something was crawling beneath the surface of his skin, stimulating the flesh marred by scars and wounds.

The sight was macabre to say the least—causing Michael’s stomach to feel a little queasy. Yet what was occurring was nothing short of a miracle.

The tens of unsightly scars began to warp, showing signs of breaking apart. Then one by one, they began to fall off, revealing glowing pink skin beneath—as if they never existed in the first place.

Michael then watched as the last few fresh wounds began to slowly close, forcing a cry of pain out of Rudy’s mouth once more.

“The pain won’t last much longer,” Melody said, her tone soothing. “Just hold on for a little while Rudy, it’ll all be over soon.”

As he watched Melody encourage Rudy, he was left speechless. Had he ever seen her like this before? Was she being sincere right now? Or were her words out of pity.

Michael didn’t know anymore. These past two days he’d seen more sides of Melody than he had in the three years at Winterborne manor.

Just when he was beginning to think that he knew this blue-haired ice queen, she had completely stunned him—more than once. It was to the point where Michael didn’t even know what to believe anymore.

As the final bit of skin regenerated on Rudy’s back, steam began to rise from his back—a sight that was as fascinating as it was worrying. If it wasn’t for the fresh pink glow of the newly formed skin, they might have thought something was wrong.

It was then that Michael felt a sharp nudge on his arm, getting his attention.

Melody stared at him, gesturing towards Rudy who was still on his hands and knees after the ordeal.

Ah, right…

“It’s over now, buddy.” Michael said, grabbing him by the arm, “let’s get you back on your feet.”

With some effort, he dragged Rudy upright and pat him on the back firmly—eliciting a yelp of surprise from the teen.

“Oops, too soon?” Michael said cheekily, flashing the guy a grin.

Rudy blinked a few times before tilting his head back and letting out a bright laughter. His joy was both innocent and yet carried a wistful undertone, leaving those who heard it with mixed feelings.

His laughter died down after a few moments, his lips wide with a smile. Yet tears ran down each of his eyes, wetting his cheeks.

“Thank you guys…” he said, his gaze moving between Michael and Melody. “With my scars gone, I won’t have to be reminded every day of what they did to me…”

The words caused the atmosphere to deflate as both Melody and Michael caught the heaviness of his statement. Though he was curious, Michael was not about to ask what he’d been through—especially after hearing this.

“Well, technically you earned those phial’s, so don’t thank us.” He replied with a forced smile. “Oh, and here is the rest of your share.” He added, handing Rudy the small bag of gold coins and another phial.”

While he wanted to hand over the whole wager, Michael knew that the guy wouldn’t take it. So rather than risk insulting him, he hoped the guy would at least take this much.

“Heh, my little brothers would have gone crazy seeing so much gold in one place,” Rudy stated, accepting the gold purse and feeling its weight in his hand.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep