The moment Delores let go of Ace’s arms so he could catch the rifle, he took full advantage of the opening. Without missing a beat, he subtly retrieved his smartphone, finally getting the chance to say what Delores had been preventing him from saying.
"You can keep the core. I want five Sky-tier innate curse tools in exchange for my share."
Ace’s smartphone’s mechanical voice relayed his demand as he locked eyes with Elinor’s father. Then, glancing sideways at a visibly stunned Delores, he quickly typed another message.
"Delores, stop spacing out and wasting time. Take me down there before it’s too late."
Elinor’s father wasn’t amused. Not one bit. But he was taken aback by Ace’s sheer audacity. Where did this kid’s confidence come from? And why was Delores, of all people, treating him with such care and friendliness? As if he was her child.
He studied Ace for a moment, trying to piece things together, guess Ace’s identity and status before reacting.
"Elinor is with Janice."
Delores informed Elinor’s father of the latter’s whereabouts. Then, without another word, she made a swift exit on her board, heading straight for the site of the incident. She didn’t look back. She didn’t bother explaining herself and certainly didn’t try to smooth things over with the second prince of the McSuile family, knowing it would not help.
What was done was done. She just needed to get out before Ace made things even worse.
Elinor’s father watched them disappear into the city skyline with an unreadable expression. Before, silently, he followed them. Only he knew what he was thinking.
Ace had piqued Elinor’s father’s curiosity enough to gain his attention. After all, his niece didn’t just lend Delores out to any of her customers—so what made Ace different? And more importantly, what did he mean when he said he risked his life to help Elinor infect the Curseling with her curse?
’What the…’ Elinor’s father was caught off guard. Delores and the boy were rushing—actually rushing—to save a bunch of mortals who had been unlucky enough to get caught in the curse incident. That alone was strange enough, but what truly shocked him was Delores’ involvement.
The Delores he knew wouldn’t have spared a second glance at these people—not unless his father ordered her to. Stay connected through Freewebnovel
His interest in Ace deepened. The more he watched, the more it became clear—Delores wasn’t just helping the boy; she was practically waiting on him. Ace healed the injured mortals using peculiar consumable curse tools, and Delores followed his lead without question.
Not even Janice or Jason could force Delores to do something she didn’t want to. But this kid? After his father, it seemed Ace was the only one who had managed to tame that wild mare, which even he had failed to achieve, despite numerous attempts.
Ace, meanwhile, was still focused on the task at hand. As he pressed another recovery talisman onto a wounded man’s chest, he glanced at Delores, confirming, "Are you sure these guys won’t remember any of this in the morning?"
He was concerned as Delores had stopped him from using an invisibility talisman on them.
Delores let out an exasperated sigh before assuring him, "Yes, I’m sure. If you ask me again, I swear I’ll slap you."
She was clearly still pissed about his reckless stunt earlier, but even so, she put her anger aside. Right now, keeping him safe was her priority.
"If it’s you, I don’t mind a little S&M, but damn, you’re too rough—fuck! No, I’m sorry, I was just joking!" Ace blurted out, grinning as he bent down to press a recovery talisman onto a security guard’s abdomen after carefully removing a shard of glass.
However, the moment he felt Delores’ shadow looming over him—growing larger by the second—his confidence wavered.
He spun around too fast, lost his balance, and stumbled backward, landing hard on his ass. Panic set in as Delores floated toward him, her expression dark and unreadable. Desperate, he scrambled away, dragging himself across the pavement. He pleaded and apologized to her.
Delores hovered over him, eyes narrowed. "Lighten my mood? I have half a mind to beat you into a coma…"
She let the words hang, but the longer she stared at him flailing on the ground, the harder it became to stay mad. Against her will, the corners of her lips twitched. Getting annoyed at something was second nature to her, but somehow, she found that it was hard for her to stay annoyed at him. He always managed to slip past her defenses.
Ace noticed the subtle smile and took that as a victory. Quickly getting to his feet, he dusted himself off, satisfied that his antics had worked.
"How many more?" Delores asked impatiently as Ace circled the building, searching for more wounded.
"Two dozen," he answered, repeating what Dame Wasp had informed him.
Delores groaned loudly. She didn’t bother hiding her impatience or annoyance, even though part of her still wanted to shield Ace’s more innocent side from the reality of things.
Ace, unfazed, pulled out a handful of recovery talismans and held them out to her, saying, "It’ll go faster if you help."
Delores eyed the talismans, then scoffed, shaking her head, "I’d rather wait."
"It’s getting late. Just help me out—you know how to use them."
Ace placed the talismans on her board and moved on to the next victim, trusting that Delores would step in. And he was right.
With an irritated sigh, she picked up the talismans and started searching for more wounded mortals, helping them as quickly as possible. She wasn’t doing this out of kindness—she just wanted to get it over with. The sooner they finished, the sooner she could drag Ace somewhere private and start getting some damn answers.
Because a lot of things about him during this incident didn’t add up.
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And before she took any necessary action, she needed confirmation—straight from him.
First off, how the hell did he get his hands on a mutant rust worm carrying Elinor’s curse when they had both watched Elinor leave the city?