The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 96

A trial? More than that, to detain me as they please? How can this happen when the Aika Festival is right around the corner?

Cassis wasn’t someone who threw himself into the Aika Festival seeking pleasure, but he was certainly planning to attend the opening fireworks ceremony. Following the Guardian’s welcome ceremony, it was her hope to see the noble king up close, even if just for that moment, and to keep him in her sight—so this news came as a bolt from the blue.

Because that person is my true love.

Ah…

How many days have passed since then? Lya had no idea. This underground prison, true to its nature, barely allowed any light beyond the dim lanterns illuminating the walls. Due to her increasing anxiety, Lya lost the ability to distinguish between night and day in less than a day. Even if she had tried, she could have counted the times meals were brought—twice a day—but she had given up even that effort.

Just as she was about to drop her head in exhaustion, a faint sound accompanied by light seeped in from the other side. Evidence that someone had opened the door.

Quite startled, Lya looked with a puzzled expression at the tray left beside her. The bread she hadn’t taken a single bite of due to lack of appetite, the mushroom soup, the mushy fruit compote she didn’t particularly like, and the water bottle remained virtually untouched. Above all, the guard who brought this meal had never come for any other reason…

‘C-could it be that the trial is finally starting?’

Fear rushed in, causing severe trembling in her eyes and thin fingertips. Yet, despite her body’s reaction, Lya was filled with confidence that she wouldn’t lose when that moment came.

‘How could I not win against one arrogant nymph? That’s impossible! No matter what excuses are made, the sin of defiling the sacred grounds cannot be washed away. The guilt lies with them.’

By the way, that nymph—I wonder if they died. At first, when I was following them, I didn’t intend to kill them, but they fearlessly ran all the way to the sacred grounds and started snooping around, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. So I deliberately knocked them to the ground and struck with the intent to kill.

Lya felt no guilt about this incident, as if she had shot a lost rabbit or a fierce baby crocodile. Now, her ears were only open toward the direction where the outside light was flowing in.

She could hear it. The sound of shoes coming from far away, heading this way. Hmm… But, did the guards wear shoes that echoed like that? Lya tried to tilt her head in confusion, but even that caused a creaking sound, so she stopped. Since being confined here, she had completely forgotten to maintain her body like a proper Guardian, even with the dim lantern light to rely on.

Holding her breath and straining her ears, she heard a voice calling her.

“Lya, are you there?”

“Who… are you?”

The elves, famous as a race that had achieved eternal youth, rarely adopted an appearance beyond middle age, even if they were elders. Even so, the depth and dignity in one’s voice was etched more deeply with age, which often prevented younger elves from treating them carelessly.

But…

How should she define it? Judging by the manner of speech, the person seemed to be of elder rank, yet their voice conveyed none of that energy. That slightly androgynous voice was, at least within the castle, something incredibly foreign upon first hearing. Lya stared intently at the robed elf approaching her, but couldn’t recognize who it was.

“I am a hermit who cannot reveal my name.”

Was someone like that living nearby…?

Since Jupiter had such vast territory, there were quite a few elves who went into seclusion after living for considerable years, but they typically didn’t live near the castle. Such beings were often summoned only when needed, so most chose to leave for distant places or to hide. Therefore, one of the duties of a Guardian included traveling around the country to pay respects to these figures.

Having done this task quite extensively, Lya’s head tilted deeply to the right.

“May I ask what your name is?”

“No, I have ahem, decided not to make myself known to the outside.”

‘Did the speech pattern change midway?’

She felt something was strange, but there was no time to question it in detail. This was because the hermit, who had brought their lips close to the bars, whispered and scratched an itch she had been feeling.

“There are more than a few of our kind who click their tongues upon hearing your unfortunate story. For you, who vowed to serve Jupiter for life as a Guardian, to be locked up like this—it’s simply wrong.”

Hearing the words she had so desperately wanted to hear all this time, her entire body trembled and shuddered. This is it, this is right! Lya, who had been terribly lonely all this time, placed her hand on the cold bars and sobbed with heaving shoulders.

“Hic… Is that really true?”

“Of course it is.”

‘Yes. Those words are right. Leaving me here like this, when all I did was realize justice, is wrong. See, our people couldn’t stand by any longer and have stepped forward for me?’