Chapter 104: 104 | Stop Looking at My Ears!

'No, this isn't the time to think about that! I need to find out what happened to my body!' Emma shook off the distracting thoughts and glared at Dante. "Take me to the mirror."

"Can't you walk there yourself?" Dante fought back a grin. "Want me to put you down?"

"No!" Emma grabbed his shirt the instant she felt his arms loosen. Her legs were still completely useless. "I... my body isn't listening to me yet."

She turned to Natasha with pleading eyes. "Master, please tell him."

Natasha had been watching the two of them in silence. Emma clinging to Dante's chest in a thin nightgown while he stood there smiling like an idiot was testing her nerves. As much as it annoyed her, her student could barely stand.

"Just take her." She said flatly.

Dante carried Emma over to the full-length mirror and shifted her in his arms so she could see herself clearly.

"Here."

Emma looked up at her reflection and the woman staring back at her looked like her but also didn't.

"What the hell..." She muttered, her voice trailing off.

She had been bracing herself for something monstrous but the changes were subtler than she expected. She still looked like herself but her skin was paler and her features were sharper, like someone had taken her face and refined every single detail by hand.

Her hair was the same color but it caught light differently now, almost glowing even though there was no source for it. And her eyes had deepened into a blue so vivid they didn't look real anymore.

Then she saw the ears. Long and pointed, sticking out through her hair.

Emma slowly raised her hand and touched the tip of one.

Strangely… nothing happened.

'Is it only sensitive when someone else touches it?' She had a thoughtful look for about half a second before the panic kicked in.

"I can't go outside like this!" Emma's eyes were filling with tears. "What about work? What about meetings? I can't show up looking like a fantasy character!"

"Emma, calm down—" Natasha tried to explain.

"How am I supposed to calm down?! I have ELF EARS, Master!" Two tears rolled down her cheeks as she gripped Dante's shirt even tighter.

'If he finds out that touching my ears makes me go weak...' A chill ran down her spine that made even an ice elf shiver. 'If he gets his hands on this weakness, I'm finished. Completely and utterly finished.'

'I can never let him find out. NEVER.'

'I need to find a way to hide these!' The thought snapped her back to reality and she finally stopped talking long enough to let Natasha speak.

Dante glanced down at Emma clinging to him and a thought crossed his mind. 'Does she really think I didn't notice her legs giving out?'

'I wonder what would happen if I used Golden Hands on those ears...' A smile that would make the devil uncomfortable crept into the corners of his mouth. 'Big Sis... I'm going to make you cry in ways you can't imagine.'

"I don't know what caused it..." Natasha stood beside them. "But your bloodline has evolved and awakened."

Dante and Emma both put on their best innocent faces, acting like they had no idea what she was talking about.

"Your bloodline evolved into one of the ancient elf races." She formed a small figure of an ice elf in her palm with ice, holding it up for Emma to see. "The pointed ears and the pale skin are traits that come with the bloodline."

"Then can I go back to my normal appearance, Master?" Emma asked, her voice dripping with hope.

Natasha wanted to mess with her and say no but she held herself back. "Yes. You can."

"Please help me, Master! Pleaseee!" Emma looked at her with the most pitiful expression she could make, straight up begging without a shred of dignity.

"I'm sorry. I really can't help you with this one." Natasha said with a helpless smile.

"But from what I know about bloodline transformations, you should be able to switch back and forth on your own."

Emma's face fell. 'Even Master can't do anything about it…'

Seeing the tears starting to form again, Natasha let out a sigh. "Don't give up before you even try. Close your eyes and focus. Try pulling it back in. Think of your ears returning to the way they were and let your body follow that image."

"Yeah, it's worth a try." Dante nodded with an encouraging smile.

"Okay..." Emma closed her eyes and focused with everything she had. Her face scrunched up and a vein popped on her forehead as she concentrated.

Her ears didn't shrink at all but they started twitching on their own instead. The left one flicked forward while the right one went back, then they swapped directions a second later like they were having a disagreement about which way to go.

Dante bit the inside of his cheek while Natasha's eyes immediately shot to the ceiling.

"I think something's happening! I can feel it!" Emma said with her eyes still shut, completely unaware of what her ears were actually doing.

'Don't look at me right now. I'm begging you, don't look at me.' Natasha's shoulders were already starting to shake.

Dante looked at her the very next second and their eyes met.

"Pfft, ahahaha!"

"Hahaha, I'm sorry, I can't hold it!"

Both of them completely lost it, laughing so hard that Natasha had to hold onto the wall and Dante nearly dropped Emma. Emma was trembling in his arms from the betrayal, before she opened her eyes with an aggrieved look.

"YOU MEANIES!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Natasha wiped her eyes and tried to put on a straight face but one look at Emma's ears, which were now both drooping down like a sad puppy, almost sent her into another round.

"Even your ears look upset." Dante said, looking down at her.

"STOP TALKING ABOUT MY EARS!"