Do It Again. (2)
Do It Again. (2)
Ruben Hasla clutched his shoulder.
No, he buried his face in the floor, unable to even think about fleeing from the spot where he'd pissed himself.
If only he could have just fainted from the pain-.
"... Heu-, keueueueueueueuk-!"
Whenever he was about to faint from the pain, the dagger would pierce his body again.
He kept waking up from his faint due to the pain.
"... Heo-k-, heo-k-, heo-k-."
Ruben didn't even dare to think about looking into Laika's eyes.
In front of the office door, which was covered in tears and filth.
He was just wriggling like a live fish.
He had to say he was wrong.
He had to apologize.
Realizing this, Ruben moved his unmoving hand to strike his leg.
He forced his leg, which was twitching as if it would never bend again while stretched out, to fold and knelt down.
"I, I, was wro...."
The moment Ruben tried to speak.
Laika looked down at him and brought her long, slender index finger to her lips.
"... Shh."
No need to apologize.
Just pay the price for insulting and hurting Kael.
That's all that needs to happen.
"If you just die, it'll all be over."
The moment Laika's lips parted, Ruben's breathing stopped completely.
Her green hair fluttered in the wind.
A green glint shone through her hair.
"... W, what, i, is this.... I, I will apologize.... P, please.... K, killing a n, noble of the E, Empire...."
Ruben stuttered repeatedly as he spoke to Laika, but to her, these were just words that held no meaning.
It was just that a piece of trash who had treated Kael like a discarded child despite having insulted him was sitting right in front of her.
"I told you to shut up, hmm?"
Laika walked over with a heavy thud.
As if swimming through the air, the dagger was naturally held in the elf's long fingertips.
Ruben pissed himself again, and out of sheer terror, he curled up on the floor, clutching his head.
Come to think of it, weren't parents supposed to be able to do anything for their children?
Tears blurred his vision, and he realized the fact that he had made a slip of the tongue in front of a hero.
'H, he's going to kill, m, me, he's going to k, kill me...!'
Jeobeok-.
With every footstep, his heart sank.
Siiing-.
The moment the moonlight-infused dagger touched his neck.
Tears flowed at the cold, biting sensation the metal brought.
In the end, Ruben could not overcome his fear.
"Heu, heuaaa, heuaaaaaaaaak-!"
He screamed.
The moment the desperate scream filled the office, Ruben, trembling, gritted his teeth, stood up, and pulled on the doorknob repeatedly.
Cheolkeok-, cheolkeok-, cheolkeok-!
Pushing the door that he should have been pulling to open because he wanted to escape.
At the same time, the lights that had been off in the Count's mansion began to turn on one by one.
The guards heard the head of the family's scream and began to grab their weapons and head up to the office, and the sleeping family members also realized something was wrong with the head of the family and began to rush out of their bedrooms.
"... Honey!"
"Father!"
The voices of his family could be heard from afar, and the urgency of the Hasla family guards running toward the office with heavy thuds crashed in from beyond the door.
Tears, snot, drool flowing from the intense pain, knees that had been forced to kneel, and the pungent smell of urine stinging his nose.
Laika frowned and roughly grabbed Ruben by the hair.
She whispered coldly in his ear.
"Your daughter. Your wife. Your son. Everyone who protects your family. If the office door opens, they all die."
And then she let him go.
Even placing Ruben's hand on the doorknob as if she wanted him to open it.
No, as if she actually hoped he would open it.
Kung-, kung-, kung-, kung-.
The sound of the Hasla family's mages and knights storming the mansion could be heard.
It seemed like his son, wife, and daughter were coming up too.
The moment the sound of footsteps arrived in time with his heartbeat.
"... Honey? Is something wrong?"
"Dad, w, what's going on?"
"Father!"
Voices confirming this came from beyond the closed door.
Only then did his mind, clouded by fear and pain, return a little.
Just like Laika, Ruben was a parent too.
Even if it was a family formed by a political marriage, he couldn't bear to see his children die right in front of his eyes.
"E, everyone.... G, go back. I, it's just that I was stressed about something."
Ruben barely managed to move his body and slammed the office door shut just as it was about to open.
However, that was all.
The position of the head of the family within the household is significant.
A person in a position where they must control not only crying but even laughing had screamed.
Naturally, his eldest son, wife, and....
"Brother, let's open it."
Rone's voice wouldn't disappear.
Hwi-i-ik-.
The wind seeped in from behind his back again.
The sound of a dagger floating in the air reached his ears.
Just as the doorknob was about to turn with a click after hearing Rone's words-.
Kwang-, kwang-, kwang-!
Instead of his paralyzed limbs, Ruben smashed his forehead against the door like a madman and screamed as if spitting blood.
"Didn't I tell you to go back! Fuck, go back! I told you to go back!"
"H, honey...! I, if you're s, sick...."
"Do you find my words funny! Get lost, you fuck! I told you to get lost-!"
Rough, dull sounds that had never been heard in the Hasla family were heard one after another.
Rough breathing sounds of "Heo-k-" spread out.
The sound of footsteps of some people leaving the office could be heard.
Silence flowed.
The ticking of the clock filled the office.
Outside, the eldest son and wife, who couldn't leave because they were worried about their father.
And the daughter's whispering passed by faintly.
"I'll have to kill them all."
The moment Laika took a step with the dagger in her hand, Ruben buried his head in the door again.
"I've read the forbidden book, so go back.... Please, I'm telling you to go back."
Silence flowed once again.
Now, only complete, quiet stillness filled the office.
Ruben knelt as he was, bowing his head and clasping his hands together.
"P, please, j, just my life...."
He couldn't even look at Laika.
She had performed terrible torture, talked about making his daughter an orphan, and really acted like she would kill his whole family, but there was nothing he could do.
Because the 'hero', the elf, was too scary and terrifying.
"... You see, I think kids can make mistakes. It's fucking annoying enough.... and I felt like killing them right there in the banquet hall, but I understand. They're kids. Right?"
Laika dragged Ruben by the hair and shoved him onto the edge of the office desk.
When Ruben, who had hit his head, wriggled, she held the dagger in her hand-.
Puk-!
"... Keueueueueuk-!"
She stabbed him while covering his mouth.
One of the arms that had been writhing in pain went limp as if it could no longer move.
"... But you're not that. You're a noble. You're a parent. If a brat spits out fucking words.... you have to teach them properly. You shouldn't be the one stepping up to spit out disgusting words saying Kael was in the wrong. Don't you think?"
Once again, no blood flowed.
It was just that the area around his shoulder where the dagger had gone in and out was filled with dark red bruises.
"... Kael is an orphan? He has no talent? Your daughter.... and Aria and Alicia. They insulted me. Right?"
The dagger was lifted into the sky again.
The dagger, shining blue as it caught the moonlight, was as beautiful as a meteor shower, but.
Puk-!
What it did was never beautiful.
This time, one of Ruben's legs went limp.
"... I'm different from Aria or Alicia. If I'm pissed off, I have to let it out. So, you try it yourself. If you can even hold the dagger, I'll spare you. If you fail.... you'll be making your daughter an orphan with your own hands. Right?"
Puk-!
One eye went blind-.
"It's not my fault, is it? If you fail, it's because your talent is shit, so it's your fault. Right?"
Puk-!
Half of his body went numb.
"Do it, you fucker."
Laika handed over the dagger that had pierced Ruben's body several times, and Ruben, shedding tears, reached out his left hand to grab it.
At that moment, the dagger bounced off to somewhere completely unexpected.
As if it were alive.
Only then did Ruben realize.
That Laika's dagger was something that ordinary people couldn't even hold in the first place.
That the repulsion was so strong that it couldn't be held without controlling it with mana.
That young Kael might perhaps be better at handling mana than himself.
"Couldn't catch it?"
Laika moved the floating dagger and held it in her hand.
"It's your fault."
She covered Ruben's mouth with her left hand, raised her right hand high, and stared at where the dagger would pierce.
Ruben struggled and tried to scream, but no sound could escape from the mouth the hero had blocked.
The moment Ruben struggled again, pissing himself and shedding tears.
The moment she was about to realize her words of making her an orphan.
'... Mom!'
For some reason, Kael's voice lingered in her ears like an auditory hallucination.
If Kael were told that his mother had committed murder for his sake, would he like it?
That couldn't be.
Because Kael is a child who cherishes us more terribly than himself.
Kadeudeuk-!
In the end, the dagger that had been aimed at his heart was stuck into the floor.
Since she had already destroyed half of his nerves, she knew he would break down and die on his own even if she didn't kill him directly....
'I'm sorry, Kael.... Still, I have to do this much.'
Laika didn't bother to finish Ruben off.
She just spoke as if to tell him to keep it in mind.
"... Restore Kael's reputation that your daughter ruined to its original state. And apologize sincerely."
As much as he had hurt Kael, he should apologize properly.
"After that, dump your daughter at some slum church."
Just like he had said Kael was a discarded child.
May your daughter be treated the same way.
"... Heu-, heugeueuk-."
How could he make his daughter an orphan?
Ruben sobbed, but he couldn't think of refusing or disobeying Laika's words.
It was because the things Laika might do if he refused immediately came to mind.
"I, I understand...."
When Ruben answered, Laika stood up immediately.
Standing in front of the window, she absorbed the moonlight.
Her expression couldn't be seen due to the backlight.
Shh.
It was clearly visible that Laika's long index finger was placed between her lips, as if telling him to keep today's events a secret.
Ruben nodded, and Laika left.
He couldn't even dream of revenge.
...
A night where the moonlight softly illuminates the world.
The green-haired elf plunged her body into the lake near the Mayhead mansion.
She didn't want Kael to smell Ruben's disgusting stench.
She washed her skin and repeatedly dipped her clothes in the lake and wrung them out.
Since elves are a race that reveres nature, she always felt a mysterious happiness when washing, but now, she was only filled with worry about what would happen if Kael found out.
Chalbak-, chalbak-.
Soaking in the lake, washing clothes in a hurry.
It was when Laika walked out of the lake, dried her clothes with magic, and put them back on.
"... What were you doing?"
Alicia walked out from behind a large old tree near the lake.
Aria was with her.
"... The usual."
"I mean, the usual. What is that?"
No answer came back, but the two seemed to have a vague idea.
They had been together for more than half their lives and had crossed many lines of death.
"You know even if I don't say it."
Even though Laika looked at Aria and Alicia, she just tried to pass by.
"Hey."
Alicia roughly grabbed Laika's wrist.
"You have to tell us. Where you were and what you were doing."
The tone was fierce.
Laika still hated the two for contributing to making Kael a laughingstock.
She shook off the hand Alicia had grabbed to ignore her and go in.
So, Alicia bit her lip and grabbed her hand roughly again.
"Kael cried. He cried because he thought you were having a hard time because he was inadequate!"
"Laika, tell us now. The reason you made Kael cry, left your spot, made him worry, and then returned late."
As Aria and Alicia snapped at her, the corners of Laika's mouth drooped.
She tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn't hold them back at all.
As if she had become a child, Laika shouted.
"Why, why are you only doing this to me-!"
There is no way to express how angry she is, how unfair she feels with her lacking eloquence.
Laika looked at the two, looked at the 'human' mothers who were different from her, and stomped her feet.
"They, those bastards, said Kael was an orphan picked up from the streets. We were the ones who didn't teach him because he was too outstanding, but they said he was an orphan. They cursed at him saying he had no talent! Kael should have been happy at the banquet hall, but he was insulted! And do you know what Kael did? He didn't even get angry and worried about me. He was afraid I'd be hurt, so he was crying and saying he was okay! And you're telling me to endure it? To just stay still!?"
Pushing Alicia away, Laika clenched her fists tightly with a flushed face.
Looking at her who had fallen, she trembled and continued speaking again.
"... Just watch? Should I praise Kael for enduring it well? I'm his mother, am I supposed to just leave the guys who call my son a cripple, a picked-up orphan, alone!"
"... If something like that happened, you should have told us. If we had known, we would have naturally...!"
The two spoke, but for Laika, it only brought a sense of betrayal.
Laika curled her body and screamed as if she were shrieking.
"You guys made Kael a laughingstock-!"
Laika, who looked at Alicia, who had closed her mouth, and Aria, wiped her tears and turned around.
"... Don't worry. Just as you thought, I won't let Kael learn magic, prayer, archery, or assassination techniques. I also want Kael not to get hurt. That won't happen. It's just that I hate him being treated like an orphan so much. I just coerced and threatened Count Hasla a bit. To tell him that Kael didn't not learn because he had no talent, and to divert their attention."
And then, she looked back at the two in front of the main gate and said.
There were still tears in the corners of Laika's eyes, who had tried to force a smile.
"I'm sorry for acting unilaterally. For still acting like an elf. For not being rational like you humans."
The moonlight was still shining down, illuminating them softly.