The Alpha’s Dark Desires - Chapter 3

If one were asked to choose the most well-regarded young woman in the village of Ragusa, Ella would undoubtedly be the first to come to mind.

Of course, at first, there had been some who looked at her with disdain because she was an outsider. Some also felt uneasy about the fact that she had drifted into the village after losing her memories in an accident.

But after Ella settled into the village under the guidance of the church’s head priest and adjusted to life there, those voices gradually died down as well.

“Ella! Would you believe my husband came home with an injured hand? Could you bring me some ointment from the hospital?”

“Of course, Missus.”

“Ah, Miss Ella. My son says he gets terribly nervous during Mass. Could you stay by his side?”

“I will. Don’t worry.”

Kind Ella.

It was the nickname given to Ella, who never refused no matter what favor someone asked of her.

But whenever someone called her that, Ella would wave her hands in denial.

“You give me too much credit. It’s only natural.”

This was a village that had taken in a woman who did not know her own identity and had nothing to her name.

So Ella was always grateful to the people of Ragusa and wanted to help them in any way she could. The head priest of the church had told her the same.

“We must always live with a heart of service.”

Head Priest Samael was the one who had cared for Ella after finding her collapsed in front of the church.

It was Samael who had begun calling her Ella when she could not even remember her own name, and it was also Samael who had let her work at the church hospital after she recovered.

So it was only natural for Ella to follow his words.

“Ella.”

That day was no different from any other.

Helping with work at the hospital, granting people’s requests.

The person who patted Ella on the arm as she bustled around diligently was an old woman who had just finished her examination.

“I heard. Things didn’t work out with Mincheva’s son.”

“Ahaha. It’s alright, Missus.”

“I just feel bad about it.”

It seemed to be weighing on her mind because the meeting she had personally arranged had fallen through.

Ella smiled and assured her again that it was fine, but the old woman did not seem reassured at all and repeatedly clicked her tongue.

“After using you every chance she got whenever she needed something, she says she doesn’t want to give you her son. What a nasty disposition.”

The old woman’s gaze fell to Ella’s feet.

The one flaw of this beautiful and sweet young woman was that she could not run quickly.

“You don’t even limp anymore. Tsk. Only now do I realize what a spiteful woman Mincheva is.”

“She runs a ranch, after all. It’s only natural that someone slow like me wouldn’t be to her liking.”

“No, I introduced her to a daughter-in-law. Did I shove a collie at her and tell her to raise it? She hires people to do the ranch work anyway.”

The old woman smacked her lips with another tsk before cautiously making a suggestion.

“Well, forget Mincheva’s family and try meeting someone else. There’s a man named Robigo, and he’s such a devoted son. It’s been quite some time since he started living alone with his mother…”

Ella, who had been answering her pleasantly, hesitated for the first time.

‘I have absolutely no intention of seeing anyone.’

She saw Mister Robigo every weekend at his mother’s request, but that was only because she helped keep him from getting nervous during Mass. Neither of them had any feelings for the other.

She did not think anything would suddenly change now even if they met privately.

‘Would it be alright to tell the Missus that…?’

This old woman, Missus Basti, lived next door to Ella with only a wall separating their homes.

She cared for Ella as if she were her own daughter, so Ella had simply been unable to refuse whenever she introduced someone to her. In truth, Ella had no intention whatsoever of starting a family with anyone.

‘How could I carelessly form a bond with someone when I don’t even know what kind of person I was before I lost my memories?’

But this was already the third person. Even so, Missus Basti had not given up. She seemed determined not to stop until Ella actually got married.