Episode 65 – Arrest
by Afuhfuihgs
*
Jennifer, with a groan leaking through her tightly clenched teeth, raised her head and looked around.
Enduring the mind-numbing pain, she rolled her eyes around and finally spotted an elf seemingly floating in the middle of the blacksmith’s tall chimney far away at the end of the alley.
No, it was a distance where it was difficult to even properly discern whether she was an elf or if it was really Lara.
But Jennifer, without making a sound, was certain that she was Lara, judging by the skill with which she had pierced her shoulder.
If there were many with such skill, elves, not humans, would be ruling the world.
Jennifer staggered to her feet, glaring and staring intently at the chimney where Lara was.
Lara stood straight, only with her heels hooked on a ladder attached to the chimney that seemed too shallow to even fit half of her foot, not even holding on with her hands, looking towards Jennifer.
The sight was physically impossible and unbelievable, even bizarre to look at.
It gave the impression that she was using levitation magic.
Noticing that she was being watched, Lara jumped straight down and disappeared from sight again.
“Am I seeing things…?”
Lara…
Why did she, who had disappeared about ten years ago, suddenly appear and attack her?
Jennifer’s head was filled with questions rising through the pain.
Jennifer picked up the staff she had dropped in shock with trembling hands and covered her shoulder with wax created by magic.
Since healing was in the realm of divine power, there was magic to enhance people, but no magic to heal.
It was because it contradicted the nature of magic power.
However, this wax magic, used to repair walls, could be used as a hemostatic agent to stop bleeding with application.
Groaning at the pain of the hot wax filling the gaping skin, Jennifer slowly got up.
Fortunately, Deborah was still trapped.
However, she didn’t have the time or mental capacity to chant a spell to kill her right now.
Since Lara might snipe her from anywhere at any time, Jennifer decided that escaping was the priority and cast an invisibility spell on herself once again.
However, the magic didn’t activate.
“Fucking hell… what is it…?”
At that moment, an arrow flew from somewhere with a *sswaeaeek* sound and shattered the amber cocoon imprisoning Deborah with a *jjaenggeurang*.
Although significantly slower than Lara’s arrows, it was still an arrow with considerable power, judging by the fact that it broke the cocoon of binding.
Jennifer glared at the back of Deborah, where the arrow had come from.
An elf who looked exactly like Lara from 20 years ago was standing with a bow, and behind her, a woman with brilliant white hair was running breathlessly.
“Huff, huff… My Navi, it prevents… hiding appearances… Ha, ago, I’m out of breath. How does everyone move so fast?”
“…Uh, are you okay?”
“No, just a moment. Huff- hyuyu- ueeeck,”
“Your Highness, I told you to get some training.”
“Huff, huff- If I get it from Teacher, huff- I’ll die.”
Jennifer twitched her eyebrows, furrowed her brow, and growled.
“…Princess… I see, Deborah Leclaire… The Princess-nim was watching over you…”
“No, I’ve been watching over Her Highness since way back.”
Deborah shook off the amber sap that was stuck to her body and hardened, and knocked off the clumps that wouldn’t fall with the hilt of her sword.
Deborah cleared her throat, stepping on the pieces that fell around her with her iron boots, crushing them once more.
“Yeah, I definitely let my guard down a bit. I thought I had been a scholar who only researches at a desk for a long time, but I admit that I was too rash in front of a legendary party member.”
“…Eudeuk,”
“But it’s over now.”
“…Looks like it,”
Jennifer stuck her staff into her neck and chanted a spell for an explosion.
“Oh no!”
Even though magic was said to be insufficient in power to directly shoot and hit people, it was a different story for Jennifer.
And even if the power was weak, if she brought the staff directly to her neck and shot, she could inflict a wound sufficient to cause death.
If she was arrested, it was over.
Perhaps her future would be living like a dog in prison, then being dragged out with an iron chain around her neck and executed on the gallows, with all her charges read out one by one.
If not Robin’s soldiers, but the Imperial soldiers found that secret room, everything would be over, and since the Princess-nim had found out, it seemed like only a matter of time.
Even Villard wouldn’t try to save a criminal of this size.
And Robin, who had found out about her affair, would cut her off like a tail rather than protect her.
Ha, shit, to have this body that I’m so proud of and not be able to get a single trustworthy man even at this age.
Jennifer tried to end her life rather than experience the miserable future ahead.
Tuk.
But before the magic could be fired, the staff broke absurdly.
Jennifer looked at her broken staff with a blank expression.
The remaining piece of the staff, broken in two, was stuck in the wall with an arrow.
Another silent arrow.
It was Lara.
Deborah, with a smile, removed her bewildered expression and said.
“A last struggle… The attempt was good, but it’s just suicide. The great mage of the Hero Party-nim has very modest thoughts.”
“…Haha,”
“Yes, that face of giving up is very nice to see. Countess.”
Deborah, pointing a sharp sword at Jennifer, spoke, and Ellie, who had slowly caught her breath behind her, stepped forward and opened her mouth.
“Jennifer Boldiras. I arrest you in the name of the Princess-nim of the Sionisia Empire for murder, kidnapping, imprisonment, unauthorized use of unapproved magical tools, heretical acts and black magic prohibited by imperial law. In addition to failure to comply with arrest, and the crime of injuring soldiers of the Empire with magic.”
“…Ha, damn it…”
“Betrayal and deception too.”
Jennifer slowly turned around at the cold voice from behind.
Even though her face was darkened by the sun behind her, a short-haired elf with pale ashen flames flickering in her gray eyes was looking down at her.
Jennifer said with a hollow smile.
“You cut your hair. Lara.”
“…”
“Yeah, then the one who looks just like you must be Lily.”
“…”
“…Betrayal and deception… Yeah, you figured it all out… Well- yeah, I expected that. What other reason would you have to suddenly disappear?”
“…Why did you do it.”
“Are you wronged?”
“…”
Lily looked at Lara’s face.
Even though the dark skin unique to desert elves always seemed warm and full of passion, Lara’s face was a cold, expressionless face that seemed to scatter chilling air.
Only her eyes, which didn’t even blink, were flickering with gray ashes of burning anger.
If she agitated her, wouldn’t she lose her mind and kill her?
Jennifer said, twisting her lips.
“Why are you looking at me like that? What are you wronged about?”
“…”
“Did Robin force himself on you? Did I tell you to marry Robin? Why are you so wronged that you’re staring with your eyes wide open like that?”
“…Why did you do it?”
“Because Edgar is a pain in the ass?”
“…What did Edgar do wrong.”
“He’s been a pain in the ass since the way he looks…”
“Shut up.”
“Mom, no!!”
Lara pulled back the bowstring without hesitation and fired it at Jennifer right in front of her.
Ellie and Deborah were flustered and froze for a moment, and only Lily, who was watching Lara’s eyes, shouted to stop her, but it was already too late.
Jennifer, smiling with the corners of her mouth raised, lost consciousness as the last thing she witnessed was a flying object heading towards her vision.
Kwang!
At the same time as the sound of something like a large hammer colliding, a large cloud of dust rose in the alley where everyone was.
“Goodness, Lara-nim!”
“…Mom…”
“What is this? Archer!”
Deborah roughly grabbed Lara’s arm holding the bow.
Lara didn’t even give Deborah a glance and hung the bow on her back as she said.
“Don’t make a fuss.”
“What?”
“Let go.”
Lara shook off Deborah’s hand holding her wrist and brushed back her hair.
“Lara-nim… You need to explain what this is.”
“It’s a stun arrow, you idiot.”
“Yes?”
Lara took out an arrow from the quiver attached to her lower back and threw it to Ellie.
It was a blunt arrow with the end made of cork material instead of a blade.
Certainly, you couldn’t kill someone with this, but judging by the loud noise heard a moment ago, it was worrying that Jennifer’s head might have been smashed like a watermelon thrown on the floor.
Ellie shouted.
“Even if it’s a stun arrow, shooting it at close range with this power will kill someone!”
“…No, she’ll be okay.”
“Lily-ssi?”
“Unless Mom was angry and lost her mind and shot to kill, Mom is right. Mom has never been wrong about bows.”
“…Ha, what if something happens, even if it’s just in case? We can’t even see where Jennifer went right now.”
“…If you wait a little until the dust settles…”
A few seconds later, when the dust that filled the alley settled, Deborah was able to find Jennifer lying on the floor.
Jennifer was scraped and bruised all over, having been pushed and rolled far away from where she was standing at first, and at the same time, her face was covered with a large, dark bruise, and her cheekbones and nose bones were all broken and collapsed.
But even in that hideous state, she was still alive.
“Yeah, she’s definitely stunned,”
“You really… surprised me!”
“…”
Lara looked up at the sky without saying a word.
Her eyes were covered by her bangs, so it was impossible to know what expression she was making, but it seemed that her face was still shadowed even though she was looking up at the sky towards the sun.
Lily carefully spoke to Lara.
“Uh, Mom, are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“…Why did you suddenly shoot?”
“I felt like I would have really killed her if I heard one more word.”
“Ah…”
“There would never have been a real killing.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. Because revenge is not mine.”
“…That’s right.”
“My role is not revenge, but to be helpful to Ed. Don’t worry. Lily.”
As Deborah carried Jennifer, who was lying on the floor, out of the alley, Ellie approached Lara with quick steps.
Lara turned her head and looked at Ellie.
“…Huff, still, Lara-nim, thank you. You endured it well. Lily-ssi, you worked hard too.”
“Yeah.”
“I wasn’t very helpful.”
“One of the reasons Jennifer gave up resisting so quickly was because she lost her will after seeing the number of people here. Originally, just being there is enough to do your part. Besides, if it wasn’t for Lily-ssi, something might have happened to Teacher who was trapped in that strange tree.”
“…Is that so? Hehe,”
“Of course. Ask Ed to praise you later.”
“Yes… Yes?”
“I’m going to do it too. Hehe,”
“Ah… that,”
“…”
Lily looked back and forth between Ellie and Lara with anxious eyes.
Lara stood still without any reaction.
Ellie stuck out her tongue and ran away.
“Lara-nim, ask Ed to praise you too.”
Lily looked at Lara, who wasn’t moving.
Lara’s straight body slowly collapsed as everyone except Lily disappeared, and soon she knelt down and fell.
“Mom… are you okay?”
“…Euek, heueu,”
‘Are you wronged?’
‘What are you wronged about?’
‘Because Edgar is a pain in the ass?’
Lara recalled Jennifer’s words and cried for a long time, collapsed on the spot.
In fact, she wanted to kill her.
She wanted to kill her so much that she wanted to kill her again and again.
Lara screamed and cried, hitting the dirt floor until her fists bled.
Lily slowly approached her and gently hugged her.
“Mom… it’s okay. Mom didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not Mom’s fault.”
“Eueuk, keu. Heuaaaaak!”
At Lily’s words, Lara made an even more beast-like sound and buried her face in Lily’s shoulder.
Lily felt her shoulder getting wet.
The mother in her arms looked so weak and pathetic, and Lily felt so sorry for her that she gently stroked Lara’s head, who she was hugging.
Lily felt so sorry for Lara’s life that she was deeply saddened that there was nothing she could do but hug her warmly.
‘Should I kill Lily, Robin’s daughter?’
But at the same time, Lily shuddered slightly as she recalled Lara’s words from a few hours ago, possessed by madness.
.
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