The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 205

The delighted nymph flew off running toward the west gate. Polyxene , who had instantly become like a dog chasing chickens, considered pursuing her but stamped her foot hard instead. The several satisfying scenes she had imagined while planning what would happen felt like paint dripping off a ruined painting.

‘Ugh! What is all this? I was thinking of going to Macriss to give Nike a good scolding, but she had to return today of all days? Without any notice? Wait a moment. Then there’s no reason for me to go to Macriss either…’

This crisis where nothing would work and everything would be ruined could not be overlooked. At least one thing had to succeed! Unwilling to back down, Polyxene ran with all her might, caught up from behind, and smacked the nymph’s back.

“You!”

“Kyaak!”

The nymph, who had been running headlong while only looking ahead, couldn’t overcome her momentum and stumbled, then fell and rolled on the road. Polyxene was momentarily flustered. She hadn’t intended to make things this disastrous, but having gone this far, there was no choice. She forcibly grabbed the arm of the groaning, fallen nymph and pulled her up.

“What’s with you? This is what happens when you go around without being careful, isn’t it? Can’t be helped. You… you’re staying in the Hall of Glory, right? I’ll take you there, so…”

“What kind of behavior is this? Why did you push down a girl who was walking perfectly fine?”

“What, what did you say?!”

Patz, the guard who had come running after hearing the loud sound of Evelyn falling, raised his voice.

“Don’t think of making excuses. Polyxene , I saw everything—you secretly running up and pushing her from behind.”

“That’s not true!”

No matter what Polyxene said, the guard’s expression remained coldly hardened as he planted the solid blade of his halberd on the ground. He knocked away Polyxene ‘s hand that was gripping the nymph’s slender wrist and became angry.

“How long has it been since His Majesty gave a speech telling people not to do such things, and you brazenly violate that policy? Ah… that’s right. You weren’t there for that. Even so, you can’t openly bully others in such a petty way. I saw it clearly with my own two eyes.”

Polyxene felt wronged. Moreover, Patz before her—this guard had once harbored unrequited love for her and had been busy frequently gifting her letters with trivial content and flowers, though of course she had never responded to such devotion since he wasn’t to her liking. At some point he had grown distant, and the day finally came when they both consistently pretended not to know each other, but she hadn’t felt sorry about it. There were plenty of men who fell for her just by looking at her face.

How dare you interrogate me? How can you treat me like this? If you hurried your steps after seeing the nymph, you obviously would have seen me too. But you didn’t even acknowledge me…!

Her emotions running high, Polyxene roughly grabbed and shook the nymph’s arm that she had released. The body that dangled like a rag doll with each shake fanned the flames of her ominous feelings. She lost her composure and made her argue viciously. Like a barbarian.

“No, it’s not true, so stop it. Hey! You get up and tell him. Did I hit you?! I didn’t. Hurry up and say so. Say it…!”

She was trying to get angry while panting, when all the scenes that had been drawn before her eyes blurred momentarily and then returned clearly.

‘Huh…?!’

Polyxene, who had suddenly come to her senses, clenched both fists tightly. Cold sweat was seeping into her tightly curled palms. Perhaps because the weather was muggy for early summer, she seemed to have seen, heard, and felt illusions.

Around her, no one was there and it was quiet. The nymph she thought she had pushed was running far away, becoming a dot in the distance, and the guard with the halberd was humming as he walked along the path. The disaster she had just imagined had been nothing more than a product of her delusions.

Had she done well… or had she blown the golden opportunity to catch that nymph and set foot in the Hall of Glory? Polyxene gently touched her coldly cooled cheek with fingers that weren’t covered in sweat and let out a thin sigh.

‘It’s fortunate that I didn’t cause an incident, but… I don’t know myself. Why am I so anxious?’

The desire to run over right now and throw open the door to that second-floor room the nymph had claimed and confirm what was inside kept clashing with the rational understanding that clumsy excuses would be hard to make work if she did so.

Actually, this wasn’t the time to hesitate and waste time here. Important information had come in, hadn’t it?

Her reality stood at a crossroads being sent to Macriss where Nike wasn’t even present to waste time, being sent back to the terrible thorn forest, or departing far away to some third remote region. It was also a bit too late to run over there and catch that nymph for some petty squabble.

Because her sensitive ears could hear the sound of Nike’s two wings fluttering as they collided. The two would have already met, and the shrewd Nike wouldn’t let things go as Polyxene had schemed. Nike was, after all, considered much stronger than most ordinary elves.

‘Sigh, today is just a day when nothing works out. I should have just gone home when I was humiliated by Cassis. At least I could have rested peacefully for a few more days…’

Having missed two opportunities in succession, Polyxene reluctantly gave up her regrets and turned around. Even so, she kept wondering what would have happened if she had actually pushed the nymph violently as she had imagined. Lya had failed, but since that one already had a weakened body from being seriously injured once, what would happen if her head got hurt…