Erina came to their rescue as she said, "You must have heard wrong because of how disoriented you were, Azu. The poison you were inflicted with could cause hallucinations or lucid dreams. Anyway...these two indeed worked together to help you. That's how they saved your life."
Azu slowly nodded though his expression seemed as if he wasn't entirely convinced. But then he thought that just like Erina said, all of this might have been his mind playing tricks since he remembered the strange things that happened while he was unconscious and even after waking up.
He now felt that he must have dreamed it all and was just his imagination in the end.
Erina didn't want to hide the truth, but she knew Eli or Tara wouldn't want Azu to know what they had done to save him and decided to respect their wishes.
"I...I have to go…" Tara quickly left, leaving Azu confused and surprised as he called out "Tara, wait!"
However, Tara was already out of the pavilion, making Azu wonder why she didn't want to stay. Inwardly he didn't want her to leave, especially after getting to see her again when he previously thought he was going to die.
Tara felt that she didn't have the right to stay near him any longer and also decided to leave so as to not make Azu think too much about what they did, to not make him worry.
Eli also seemed surprised to see Tara leave since she knew how badly Tara wanted to stay and look after Azu. But then she realized the reason why Tara left and said to Azu, "Azu, you have to clear up some things with her. She blames herself for what happened to you and did everything in her power to help you. Without her...I...I couldn't have saved you," Eli said with a low sigh while inwardly wondering why she was able to speak for Tara without feeling any negative feelings.
Usually, whenever she saw Tara near Azu, she would feel her heart getting colder but wouldn't do anything for Azu's sake.
But now, after going through everything with her to save Azu, she felt that Tara was not the kind of girl she expected.
Azu's brows pulled together hearing this as he never thought she would be feeling this much guilt for something she didn't even do. He immediately said before going after Tara, "I will be back!"
Eli nodded with a soft smile as she saw Azu going after Tara.
"You have really grown up, Eli. I never thought my little girl would become this mature one day. Are you really okay with Azu getting close to Tara? It seems like Azu would have a lot of good feelings for Tara after what happened today," Erina said as she looked at Eli to see what her granddaughter was thinking.
Eli smiled and said as she stared in the direction Azu went, "Tara is a nice girl, and it's fine if Azu wants to be her friend. I can't prevent them from meeting up after everything she did for him. In fact, I feel happy that Azu has someone else who cares about him as well. So...even if...I am not able to be there for him, there would be someone else…" As her words trailed off, Eli's expression became a bit down, thinking about what was going to happen to her because of what she did today.
Erina's eyes softened seeing her granddaughter being like this, seeing how protective of Azu she was, and she said as she caressed her head, "Don't worry, dear. I will convince your father to not punish you. Besides, he wouldn't make you undergo any cruel punishments because he loves you the most. You are his only daughter, and he is very protective of you, as you know."
Eli sighed as she shook her head, "I know. I love him the same as well. But because of me, he already hates Azu so much that I have to always meet Azu in hiding. And if he gets to know I stole 'it' for Azu, he might kill…" Eli was unable to finish her words as if she didn't want to say them aloud. But this thought was worrying her to the core of her soul, "Anyway...I can't let him know the true reason why I did it. Otherwise, I won't be the only one facing the consequences."
Erina sighed, knowing that Eli was right, and even she could not really imagine how Eli's father would react since what she stole was no simple thing but something that was considered sacred for countless generations and safeguarded by their ancestors to the point of even having to sacrifice their own lives to prevent it from falling into others' hands.
So one could imagine the gravity of what Eli and Tara had done though Eli could have it worse since she was the princess of her kingdom.
Even if her father didn't want to punish her, could he go against his ancestors or the elder vampires of the kingdom?
They obviously wouldn't sit still, nor would they show the slightest mercy about this matter even if their own family member was involved since bloodline and the rules that were tied to it were supreme to them.
"You know, in the past, many of our powerful ancestors tried to use or harness the boundless and mysterious in 'it', but all of them died trying. Azu is the only one who was able to harness its power though I have no idea how it would exactly affect him as time passes. We don't know 'its' true origin, but maybe your father knows since only kings are allowed to receive the bloodline memories of the previous kings. Maybe if he knows the truth, he might start looking at Azu in a new light since he achieved something impossible."
"That's why you don't have to worry too much about this. I will protect you both with everything I can. So don't beat yourself up thinking about it. Leave it to me," Erina said in a reassuring tone as Eli nodded with a smile and hugged her, feeling happy and grateful that she had such a loving grandmother.
Meanwhile, Azu caught up with Tara and saw her descending down the hill. She increased her pace when she saw Azu was behind her, making Azu shout, "Tara! Wait! Don't run!"
Azu became even more determined to catch up to her and was surprised that his running speed was too fast for him to control his own body, which still felt quite unfamiliar to him.
He only realized it too late as he lost his balance and stumbled before rolling down the hill, "Uff!"
"Azu!" Tara became worried seeing Azu fall down and immediately climbed up to catch him. But Azu suddenly dug his nails into the soil, stopping himself and letting him regain his balance as he slowly stood up.
Tara felt relieved, seeing that he was able to break his own fall, and realized that he was no longer the old Azu.
Azu was surprised that even after rolling down the hill like that, he sustained no injuries, and his skin was still as good as new. He didn't even feel any pain.
However, he didn't think about it for long since Tara was already standing before him and saw that she was about to run away from him again.
"Don't!" Azu immediately reached out his hand and grabbed her arm as he pulled her towards him, making her fall onto his bare chest since his loosely tied robes came undone when he came tumbling down.
Tara's cheek flushed in red since she was making direct contact with his well-sculpted body, which felt quite warm and strong, feeling the robust muscles underneath.
She never thought a man's body could feel so comfortable. But she immediately came out of her daze as she took a step back in embarrassment, letting go of his body.
If anybody else saw the famous Nightfall princess, known for her ferociousness and temper being so shy and nervous, they would think that they had gone mad enough to dream things like this.
However, Azu still didn't let go of her and held both her wrists as he said softly, "Please don't run from me.. I have something to tell you."
