Ch.118Punishment (3)

I stared silently at Arwen, who spoke weakly with a bitter smile. She wore a robe like last time, but with her hood completely removed, revealing her appearance fully.

Silver-gray hair and eyes that sparkled like the Milky Way. And a somewhat youthful appearance. She was definitely the Arwen I knew.

Then why was Arwen here? I couldn’t help but wonder, and I immediately looked beside her.

‘These people…’

Unlike Arwen with her snow-white skin, two women with noticeably tanned skin stood beside her. In the center was a girl with reddish wheat-colored hair and blue eyes, and next to her was a woman with white hair and golden eyes.

Both women wore masks, but even so, they couldn’t hide their striking beauty, and unlike Arwen, their ears were considerably shorter. Definitely not naturally short, but artificially cut.

Especially among them, my eyes were drawn to the woman exuding mature charm. While both Arwen and the girl wore robes, only the woman wore armor that looked like it would provide exceptional protection.

From what appeared to be firm thighs, to her cute navel, and clearly defined abs split into an 11-shape, she boldly displayed her feminine charms.

In fact, it was embarrassing to call it armor, and the exposure was so severe that she might as well have been wearing only underwear. Because of this, I couldn’t help but wonder rather than feel lustful.

‘Isn’t she cold like that?’

I took my eyes off the woman and looked at the three in front. Seeing them like this, the differences became even more apparent.

Combining all these characteristics, these people must be the Dark Elves I’d only heard about. Seeing them in person, they had many similarities to Elves, but also many differences.

Well, even humans have big differences between ethnicities, so it wouldn’t be different for Elves. After alternately looking at the two Dark Elves, I roughly figured out the situation and nodded.

The Dark Elf glaring at me with golden eyes identical to mine was one thing, but the girl in the center was hanging her head like a criminal. Judging by her position and the atmosphere, she was clearly the culprit who stole my manuscript.

As Cecilly had hinted before, in terms of my previous life, she was a young girl who looked like she had just entered middle school.

“…That child?”

I pointed at the girl in the center and asked Cecilly beside me. Cecilly, who had been watching the situation with interest while curling her lips, immediately gave an affirmative answer.

“Yes. That child in the center is the culprit who stole your manuscript. Rotten from the start.”

“Hmm…”

After hearing Cecilly’s answer, I fixed my gaze on the girl in the center. Setting aside that she’s a young teenager, I don’t understand why she stole my manuscript.

The value of the manuscript is undoubtedly extraordinary, a cultural treasure. Especially among demons, it’s treated almost like a holy relic.

But even so, that doesn’t explain why this Dark Elf girl stole the manuscript. There must be a purpose.

I silently looked at the Dark Elf girl who was hanging her head like a criminal, then shifted my gaze to Arwen. Arwen was looking at me with a complex expression.

‘Arwen must be directly or indirectly involved.’

Otherwise, there would be no reason for Arwen to be here. I’m also curious how she became acquainted with Dark Elves, who were supposedly banished from Alfheim long ago.

Considering the seemingly complicated circumstances, I first called Arwen’s name.

“Arwen.”

“Speak.”

Arwen still used an elegant yet solemn tone. Perhaps due to her appearance, there was a subtle disconnect.

I alternately looked at the tired-looking Arwen and the Dark Elf girl beside her, then spoke in a gruff voice.

“The situation seems complicated. Could you explain? About your relationship with this Dark Elf, and why this child stole the manuscript.”

“…Alright.”

Arwen glanced at the Dark Elf girl after my question, then exhaled deeply. Then, placing her hand on the center of her chest, she greeted me according to protocol.

“Let me introduce myself formally. My name is Arwen Elidia. I am the Queen of Alfheim, a country blessed by the gods.”

“Queen?”

I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide at her formal introduction.

From her solemn tone and the dignity that subtly flowed from her, I had predicted she was someone of high status, but I never imagined she would be a queen.

“I apologize for my rudeness. I never imagined you were the Queen of Alfheim.”

“It’s fine. And you may speak informally. You have the right to do so. Besides, in this situation, formality doesn’t matter much.”

When I apologized politely and used formal speech, Arwen shook her head and said it was okay.

She doesn’t use self-deprecating speech like “I” or “We” that royalty typically use, and considering her behavior during the festival, she seems to have a personality that doesn’t care about formalities.

Her seemingly condescending tone also felt somewhat awkward, probably because of this. Of course, given the situation, if Arwen ordered me to speak more formally, it would only disadvantage her side.

“Alright. Then let’s skip the greetings. As I asked earlier, I don’t understand what’s going on here. Can you explain in detail?”

“Yes. Rain.”

“… …”

Arwen spoke the name of what appeared to be the Dark Elf girl at my request. The Dark Elf girl’s body flinched, and she glanced at Arwen.

Then the girl slowly raised her head and looked directly at me. Her eyes trembled with fear, and she kept moistening her lips.

It’s an understandable reaction, given the 500-year sentence, which is enormous even for an Elf. If I received a 50-year sentence, I’d be dazed, and for that girl, it would be even worse.

‘She is a bit pitiful.’

Just as my heart was about to soften, Cecilly, perhaps noticing my expression, whispered in my ear.

[Aiyak. Just so you know, that child broke into your mansion while you were performing. And she tried to steal the manuscript again.]

I looked at Cecilly with an expression that said, “What are you talking about?” Once might be forgivable, but twice is unacceptable.

Cecilly saw my expression, smiled slightly, and gestured for me to lend her my ear. I lent her my ear with a questioning expression.

[According to that kid, she broke in just to confirm if you were Xenon, but who would believe that? Fortunately, Lord Balack stopped her and prevented it. Of course, she might really have had that intention, but breaking in itself is a problem. Please handle this wisely.]

So that’s when they found out that Dark Elf girl stole my manuscript. I looked at the Dark Elf girl after hearing Cecilly’s whisper.

Not once, but twice is problematic. It’s no wonder the Dark Elves imposed a 500-year sentence.

Meanwhile, the Dark Elf girl swallowed hard, bowed deeply, and quietly spoke in a trembling voice.

“H-hello. I’m R-Rain. Currently, I have the Queen as my guardian.”

“Guardian…”

A guardian is someone who looks after another, who acts on behalf of someone lacking or deficient in administrative ability. But that’s from my previous life; in this world, it’s similar to a teacher or parent.

As I mentioned before, the relationship between Elves and Dark Elves isn’t particularly good. However, seeing Rain, a Dark Elf, with Arwen as her guardian, I can roughly picture what’s happening.

There’s a high probability that they’re laying the groundwork to bring back Dark Elves who have been wandering to Alfheim. That groundwork is the relationship between Arwen and Rain.

I quietly observed Rain, who was looking at me with a tense expression, then asked in a monotone voice.

“I see. I think I understand what kind of relationship you and Arwen have. Let’s cut to the chase. Why did you steal my manuscript?”

“… …”

“Are Dark Elves taught that it’s okay to steal other people’s belongings and trespass into mansions as they please?”

“…No.”

When I scolded her sharply, Rain hung her head dejectedly and answered. She seemed to know she had done wrong, which made it even more vexing.

If you know something is wrong, you shouldn’t do it. This is basic common sense.

Although this world emulates a medieval fantasy setting, not stealing others’ belongings is a basic human conscience. What circumstances could have led her to sell her conscience and steal my manuscript?

“Then why did you steal it? And why did you secretly break into the mansion wanting to know if I was Xenon?”

“That’s…”

“Rain stole your manuscript to please me.”

Rain was about to speak. Arwen, who had been quietly observing the situation, stepped forward and defended Rain, but…

“Arwen. I’m sorry, but this isn’t the time for you to intervene. Let her speak for herself.”

“… …”

At my retort, which left her speechless, she pressed her lips together. However, her desire to protect Rain somehow was clearly visible on her face.

Since Arwen had also fallen silent, I waited patiently for Rain to speak for herself. Rain, realizing that Arwen was on her side, seemed slightly less tense and answered in a slightly louder voice than before.

“As the Queen said… I stole it to please the Queen…”

“To please Arwen?”

“Yes. Since the Queen also likes your books…”

After hearing Rain’s words, I turned to Arwen again. Come to think of it, Arwen had abandoned her royal duties to attend the exhibition.

Normally, she would have issued an official statement about her attendance, but perhaps due to internal controversy, she didn’t and instead enjoyed the performance in disguise.

‘That’s a childish thought.’

Rain probably tried to steal my manuscript to please Arwen with a child’s short-sighted thinking, but the result turned out to be the worst. It’s ambiguous whether to blame Arwen’s inadequate education or Rain’s lack of moral sense.

However, Rain had already committed a crime, and furthermore, she had broken into the mansion. This alone is problematic.

I massaged the back of my neck due to the complicated situation, then sighed deeply and spoke in a low voice.

“Arwen.”

“…You may speak.”

“Did you know what she did was wrong?”

“…I knew.”

“Then why didn’t you return the manuscript right away? It would have been fine just to return it to the publisher.”

Honestly, even if Rain had done something wrong, there wouldn’t have been a problem if Arwen had handled it well. There might have been some talk, but it would have been fine just to return the manuscript to the publisher.

However, for whatever reason, Arwen didn’t do that. As a result, this mess happened.

Arwen hesitated a bit after hearing my question, then apologized with a genuinely sorry expression.

“…That part was my misjudgment. I thought humans are so suspicious that they wouldn’t believe it was real even if I returned it right away.”

“Tsk…”

I’m at a loss for words. The race’s unique perspective and deeper thinking than others had dug its own trap. And quite a deep one at that.

But her educational method was very wrong. If a child lacking moral sense commits a crime, they should be scolded sharply, not coddled. That’s clearly why this happened.

Otherwise, Rain wouldn’t have broken into our mansion. I’m sorry to say this to Arwen, but she was very inadequate as a guardian.

“Arwen. Humans aren’t as suspicious as you think. If anything, Elves are more suspicious. As much as you have thicker minds and clearer beliefs than other races, you tend to reject things more strongly.”

“… …”

“Anyway, I understand that you also bear responsibility. Now for the second point. Breaking into our mansion and trying to steal the manuscript…”

“N-no, that’s absolutely not true! I really just wanted to confirm!”

Rain urgently shouted as I was speaking. Judging by her aggrieved expression, she really seemed to have only wanted to confirm, not steal the manuscript.

But breaking into the mansion also causes many problems. At that time, knights dispatched from the imperial palace were on guard duty at the mansion, meaning she broke through that strict security and entered my bedroom.

In other words, it means I and my family could have been threatened. Fortunately, we were watching the performance, so nothing happened, but who knows what might have happened otherwise.

“Even if what you say is true, breaking into the mansion itself is unforgivable. You could have had bad intentions and threatened our family as leverage? You could have threatened our family anywhere, anytime, asking for forgiveness for stealing the manuscript.”

“N-no. I…”

“Rain.”

Just as Rain was about to protest, the Dark Elf woman who had been standing silently beside her placed a hand on her shoulder. Rain met the woman’s golden eyes and then pressed her lips together.

She seems to have realized that making excuses would only disadvantage herself. I suddenly became curious about who that Dark Elf woman was and asked Arwen.

“Who is that person?”

“Cyris Lunatic. A person assigned by the Dark Elves as my guard.”

“I am Cyris Lunatic.”

A husky, low-toned, charming voice. Similar to Adelia’s, but Cyris’s voice is much lower and more profound.

I looked at the Dark Elf who introduced herself as Cyris, then shifted my gaze back to Rain. Rain was waiting for me to impose punishment.

Although the Dark Elves themselves had already imposed punishment, the final authority lies with me. Depending on what decision I make, the severity of the punishment could increase or decrease.

But first, I should hear their position. I looked at Arwen, not Rain, and asked a question.

“Arwen. From what I saw earlier, is the reason you’re trying to protect Rain because of cooperation with the Dark Elves? You said you’re her guardian.”

“Your words are correct. I am trying to bring Dark Elves who have been away from their homeland for a long time back to Alfheim. But as the grudges between us still haven’t been resolved, I am seeing if I can help them integrate well as Rain’s guardian.”

“What if I say to execute the sentence as it is?”

Honestly, whatever happens between Elves and Dark Elves has nothing to do with me. I’m just asking out of curiosity.

At this, Arwen flinched and then looked down with a gloomy expression.

“…The probability of failure would be high. Rain has done wrong, but as I am lacking as a guardian, the Dark Elves would find it hard to trust me.”

“Hmm…”

“It’s fine if you say to execute the sentence as it is. But I want to tell you this.”

Step- Step-

Arwen slowly raised her downcast eyes and exchanged glances with me. Then she slowly moved her feet and walked towards me.

As she walked towards me, Cecilly beside me stepped forward, but I raised my arm to stop her. I didn’t think Arwen would harm me, and I roughly anticipated what she was going to do.

Step-

Eventually, Arwen came right up to me. About 5 meters apart, we silently looked at each other. Her silver-gray eyes, shining like the Milky Way in the night sky, looked directly at me, and I looked back at her.

Then, with a slightly tense expression, she took a deep breath in and out, and moved her hands. Her hands moved to the front of her robe.

As if trying to undo the buttons that tied the robe, Arwen, who was fumbling with the front, slowly began to take off her robe. As she removed the robe that covered her body, a silver-gray dress was revealed.

Actually, it was closer to a tight one-piece than a dress, accentuating her figure. Unlike her childlike appearance, she had a beautiful body with curves in all the right places.

Especially the pelvic line extending from her slender waist down caught my eye. The line was prominent because the dress was so tight.

Thud-

When my gaze was momentarily captivated by the beautiful pelvic line, Arwen dropped her robe on the ground with a thud. With her removing the robe, I could finally look at her face.

She made an expression of determination, and slowly, gradually began to bend her knees. From behind, a panicked Rain urgently called out to Arwen, but Cyris immediately restrained her.

Eventually, Arwen, with both knees on the ground, bent her upper body as well and…

“I’m sorry.”

“… …”

“Due to my inadequacy as a guardian, Rain committed a wrong, and furthermore, I failed to resolve the situation. For this, I can only offer my apologies.”

She prostrated herself on the ground and apologized to me.