Atticus [BL]
Chapter 35 Tootdodo

Chapter 35: 35 Tootdodo

"Elwin, what’s the problem? Why are you in a hurry? I was actually looking for you."

The Chthon ran into the hurrying freckled guy at the stairs. Elwin was rushing downstairs while he was going upstairs.

"Nerys!"

Elwin felt relieved to see the Chthon and rushed to him, prompting Nerys to be alarmed as he quickly ran to his aid.

"Be careful with your steps, Elwin, you might hurt yourself..."

"The Imp!" Elwin cried, clutching Nerys on his arm when he reached in front of him. "I forgot about the Imp... It’s missing!"

Nerys quickly caught Elwin, making sure he would not slip or fall.

"Is that why, you are running?"

"If others saw it, it might cause commotion. What if Brother Nathaniel went mad if he found out?!"

"Calm down," Nerys gently unclutched Elwin’s hand on his arms and held his hand, "The Imp is alive, I can feel its presence."

Relief surged through Elwin as he sighed, "That’s great! Come, let’s search for it before anyone can see it."

He immediately dragged Nerys upstairs, but then halted after one step, turning to look at Nerys.

"You can feel its presence, do you know where it is? Can you feel it?"

"Yes, in the library with Sir Nolan’s brother," Nerys said in a casual tone as he looked at Elwin.

But Elwin nearly froze in place upon hearing him. He was relieved that Nerys could sense the presence of his own kind, but he hadn’t expected him to recognize others as well—especially since Nathaniel was human.

"Why are they together...?"

Still holding Elwin’s hand, Nerys led him upstairs, "It’s better to go there and check,"

"...alright," Elwin muttered, allowing Nerys to lead him.

Suddenly, Elwin blushed. The memory from earlier resurfaced in his head and he felt a little nervous to meet Nathaniel. Nonetheless, he was glad that it was Nathaniel who found the Imp and not any of his servants. It would certainly cause a ruckus.

The Imp’s features were not normal for it to be regarded as a mere rodent trying to get into the manor.

*

They arrived at the library. Elwin knocked on the door, but after more than a minute, there was no response. Left with no choice, he decided to open it and was relieved to find it unlocked.

"Brother Nathaniel...?" he called out, carefully stepping inside while Nerys followed behind him.

"Elwin, is that you? I’m over here."

Nerys and Elwin exchanged a look before they proceeded to where Nathaniel’s voice came from.

There, at one of the tables, they saw the missing Imp lying on its stomach atop an open book, its hind legs swaying back and forth in the air. Sitting on the chair across from it was Nathaniel.

"Elwin, are you here for this little guy?" Nathaniel asked, gently patting the Imp’s head with his fingers.

The Imp nuzzled against his finger, enjoying the gentle touch.

Unsure of what to say, Elwin let out a slightly awkward laugh, his gaze shifting between Nathaniel and the Im.

"Brother Nathaniel, I see you’ve met Tootdodo already..."

"Tootdodo? Is that his name?" Nathaniel asked in a slight haze, glancing at Elwin and Nerys holding hands before shifting his gaze back to the Imp, which had sat upright, watching them exchange words.

Tootdodo? That was certainly a weird, and ugly name but cute nonetheless. Nathaniel thought.

"Squeak...?" Tootdodo muttered in confusion before glancing at Nathaniel.

Elwin quickly pulled his hand away from Nerys and stepped closer to the table, extending his palm toward the Imp. "Come here, Dodo..."

To his surprise, the Imp huffed and looked away, crossing its arms in defiance, refusing to step into Elwin’s hand.

"A-are you mad, because I accidentally threw you away last night with the laundry?"

"Squeaak...!"

While Elwin tried to soothe the upset Dodo, Nathaniel’s gaze casually drifted to Nerys, who stood motionless, watching the Imp and Elwin. Suddenly, Nerys noticed Nathaniel staring at him.

"Hello, sir. My name is Nerys," he said, realizing he had yet to introduce himself properly since their arrival.

Nathaniel offered a small smile, his blue eyes still studying the Chthon.

"My brother summoned you?" asked Nathaniel, his voice a little skeptical.

Nolan wasn’t just fascinated by diabolic rituals and summoning. Nathaniel knew how restless Nolan was in his pursuits. Perhaps that was why every time he attempted to summon an underworld being, it always turned out defective. Lacking the patience to properly learn the rituals, he would soon lose interest and move on to something else—ghost hunting, potion-making, or whatever new obsession caught his attention. The thrill never lasted long before he was chasing the next big thing.

Seeing Nerys with his own eyes and how the Chthon was not missing an eye or limbs, somehow, he felt proud of his little brother. For the first time, he had succeeded in summoning an underworld being.

Nerys nodded politely, "That’s right. He asked me to protect Elwin until the threat from the Sanction is over, my job is to protect sir Nolan’s friend."

The Sanction, who was now granted full authority to seek heretics, brought threats to both Nolan and Elwin’s life.

Nathaniel fell silent. This time, his eyes were examining the Chthon’s serious expression. Although naive and always confused, Nerys seemed to be reliable enough to entrust Elwin to him.

Elwin had always been part of the family without question. He was Nolan’s first friend, so it was no surprise that they treated him just as Nolan wished they would.

Nathaniel’s gaze then drifted to Nerys’s muscular frame.

The Chthon was tall, and his strong, well-built physique somewhat contradicted the gentle, innocent look on his face. Aside from his long, pointed ears—hidden beneath his earflap hat—he looked almost human.

"OUCH!"

The two men quickly went on alert when Elwin screamed in pain.

"What happened?"

"Elwin! Are you alright?"

Nerys was the first to come to Elwin’s rescue, despite Nathaniel being closer.

Elwin clutched his finger, hissing in pain—the Imp had accidentally bitten him when he tried to pick it up. Without hesitation, Nerys reached for Elwin’s hand and examined the wound.

The bite was small, but Tootdodo’s tiny fangs had left two red punctures, with a thin stream of blood trickling from them. The moment Nerys saw the blood, he swiftly lifted Elwin’s hand and brought the injured finger in his mouth, sucking on it.

Elwin froze, too stunned to react. His face turned crimson at the unexpected sensation of Nerys’s warm, wet tongue against his skin.

Nathaniel, who had risen from his chair, averted his gaze and looked down at Tootdodo instead.

"Tootdodo, did you bite him?" Nathaniel asked, looking at the tiny Imp.

"Squeaak...!"

Standing on its hind legs, the tiny Imp glanced at Nathaniel, then at Nerys, who was still sucking the blood from Elwin’s injured finger. Its expression turned remorseful as it fidgeted with its tiny paws, avoiding eye contact with both Elwin and Nathaniel.

"...Squeak."

"No, it was my fault...!" Elwin tried to defend Tootdodo when Nathaniel’s reprimanding voice somehow scared the Imp. "And Nerys...there’s no need to..."

When Nerys pulled Elwin’s finger from his mouth, the two small red marks from Tootdodo’s fangs had vanished—along with the pain!

"...It’s gone..." Elwin muttered, staring at his index finger that was wounded earlier but now was good as new as if it hadn’t been bitten.

"How does it feel? Are you still feeling pain?" Asked Nerys, holding Elwin’s hand and wiping off his saliva from his finger.

"I feel nothing...! How’d you do that? I didn’t know you could do that!" Elwin couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise and excitement. "I have to tell Nolan about this!"

"Sir Nolan don’t need to know about it..." Nerys said, a little embarrassed, and let go of Elwin’s hand.

"He’d be thrilled to know about it! Is it about your saliva? Your tongue?"

Elwin beamed, his eyes looking intently at Nerys’s mouth, if he could, he would love to open Nerys mouth and check the inside. This made Nerys feel a bit uncomfortable and shy as his cheeks turned red.

"Ahem," Nathaniel cleared his throat, "Elwin, you’re making Nerys uncomfortable."

Realizing his action, Elwin paused and once again blushed.

"I’m sorry...! I was just thrilled...it’s just impressive"

"Thank you, Elwin," Nerys said shyly and felt happy to see how impressed Elwin was.

Who knew that, a basic trait of their kind could be this incredible and astonishing in the human realm?

Nathaniel cleared his throat again.

"I think, someone wants to apologize."

The two quickly turned toward him. Tootdodo was perched in Nathaniel’s hand, its tiny paws grasping on his finger.

Immediately, Elwin turned to Nathaniel and took the Imp from his hand, "It’s alright, ’Dodo. It was my fault! Please forgive me..." and nuzzled Tootdodo on his cheek, "Were you afraid last night?"

"Squeakk!"

Tootdodo squeaked, trying to push Elwin away, but its tiny strength wasn’t enough, leaving it squished against Elwin’s soft cheek.

"I should get going," Nathaniel said, closing the book on the table and picking it up. "I’ll be in my office. Don’t hesitate to call for Arnold if you need anything."

With that, he bid them farewell before finally leaving them alone with Tootdodo.