Hypocrisy and false authority crumbled. It became smaller than a pebble in the river and scattered like garbage. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAbgK4CdazLa
The chariots stopped, and people rushed out of the mansion, but no one cried out, "What is happening!" Such a reaction was embarrassing because the scene was so outrageous.110Please respect copyright.PENANA0W7ft6t4NC
The glorious gates of the esteemed Fey family were nowhere to be seen. The dust amid the debris made it difficult to guess what the original structure was.110Please respect copyright.PENANAxmN6hY5wOV
110Please respect copyright.PENANA2U2knlmWwb
A boy stood in the center of the rubble, sheathing his sword and smiling. Someone noticed the smile and shouted.110Please respect copyright.PENANAkNz12ie6aO
110Please respect copyright.PENANAjzYufN73KE
"It's him! Cursed bloodline! A descendant of Ygraine has defaced the gates of the glorious House of Fey!"110Please respect copyright.PENANAQ5BI4P0pOo
110Please respect copyright.PENANA6b3n9hvMOC
But not many people responded, and rightly so. The gates of the House of Fey had been cut to pieces with a few strokes of the sword. Thick marble had been piled high in arches, and molten iron had been used to decorate them. The strongest wood from the northern coniferous forests of the continent had been chosen for the door. How could a descendant of a witch who couldn't even use a spell cut it to pieces?110Please respect copyright.PENANAeMgAcPAzqm
110Please respect copyright.PENANAqczwdx2Kfo
The people murmured. They looked around to see if there was another cause. Some wondered if there had been a landslide.
Then Kishi shouted. "That's right, this bastard broke the gate, I saw it with my own two eyes!"110Please respect copyright.PENANAQvIeW9KCJX
110Please respect copyright.PENANAXkwr4ZGXXD
Hearing that, an old man with graying hair approached Edulis and asked. “Is it true what he says, that you broke down the gate?"110Please respect copyright.PENANAadrRxqJL1U
110Please respect copyright.PENANAiAt6dtHXOI
Edulis was nonchalant. He answered casually as if answering a question about what he had for lunch.110Please respect copyright.PENANAAwgUSycIH5
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"Yes, I did. I did."110Please respect copyright.PENANAsIcEjLjZeT
110Please respect copyright.PENANApvdcv6K3du
At that, the crowd was enraged. 110Please respect copyright.PENANALma5oaAWCK
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"Let's kill him! Let's hang him in the square!"110Please respect copyright.PENANA5r66vWxsCE
"Let's burn him! Let's chop up his charred body and use it as fertilizer!"110Please respect copyright.PENANAWGVvZgjYrM
"Let's cut off his limbs and put them in a cattle pen!"110Please respect copyright.PENANAJdeXU2CheO
110Please respect copyright.PENANAWzoZjUQOFk
For a moment, Edulis laughed. She remembered Ygraine's words. She could still hear his nagging voice in her head.110Please respect copyright.PENANAS6ShFezcQl
110Please respect copyright.PENANA0XCvAinS0a
- Captain Bosha always thinks two or three moves ahead, but that's it. He never looks four or five moves ahead. He doesn't look far enough, and that's what puts him in danger, isn't it?110Please respect copyright.PENANAD5DqoX1sJR
110Please respect copyright.PENANAzzac2utxIN
He wonders if Ygraine would have said the same thing if she were here, but even if she could see ten moves ahead, Edulis would have done the same thing.110Please respect copyright.PENANAVHiYCLVJKo
If he were to pass through the gates, he would break down the gates and throw himself to his death. That is the way of the Bosha. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAI9PaiNJDHg
110Please respect copyright.PENANA0T8TceHcvA
***110Please respect copyright.PENANAvI8I9qj3K8
110Please respect copyright.PENANA3QBjBoRp6a
Ygrainne always said. Love people. No matter who throws stones at you or runs at you with a knife, wrap your arms around them in love. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAwNiIVuRUBz
Bosha frowned every time she heard those words. Once, in a fit of rage, he snapped at Ygrainne.110Please respect copyright.PENANAYzWZYtGvev
110Please respect copyright.PENANAz4qmxcn3qQ
- Why don't you tell me to love the parents who threw me out?110Please respect copyright.PENANAOBKXZNYTk7
110Please respect copyright.PENANArEXj2UPWtS
- Yes, that's right, you should love them too. Ygrainne replied.110Please respect copyright.PENANAgxUvMqyaI6
- Ha! How lovely of them! Giving me every opportunity to become demon food! Who wouldn't want to grow up with that kind of opportunity, would they? 110Please respect copyright.PENANA3Iw76pzvPu
110Please respect copyright.PENANAx4S8j9nBIp
When Bosha scoffed, Ygraine ran her slender fingers through Bosha's hair. Then, as if soothing a young boy, he said, "Loving others is for Commander Borha himself. If you look at the world with hatred, Captain Bosha's heart will always be burned by the flames of hatred. The flames will consume his heart, and his soul, and eventually take control of his body."110Please respect copyright.PENANAUJ1cLANBrX
- Yes! That's me, red-haired Bosha! 110Please respect copyright.PENANATpPHmqdsXW
- No, Captain Bosha is not driven by hatred. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAtk8CxBMAil
- Is that right?! 110Please respect copyright.PENANAa8hSqCv9cT
- No, it's not. 110Please respect copyright.PENANA2133V1eEUI
110Please respect copyright.PENANA3sqtkbYt4b
Come to think of it, Ygraine was terribly stubborn; she had never once bent over when arguing with Bosha.110Please respect copyright.PENANASFvS0FHmZX
110Please respect copyright.PENANAbQCeZlJ3zW
-Only when you strip away the hatred and fill the void with love will Captain Bosha realize who he really is.110Please respect copyright.PENANAGtZ8qNk4xJ
110Please respect copyright.PENANATr4VRpxhO8
Edulis thought, remembering Ygraine's words.110Please respect copyright.PENANA9tEwiw0SiM
110Please respect copyright.PENANAg7wWhQajnG
'What is my true self? I still don't know.’110Please respect copyright.PENANAWhEF57qcLa
110Please respect copyright.PENANAaaD8xkROmu
Edulis was a sore sight for the eyes now. Whips tore at his flesh, and stones shattered his bones. His flesh was cut deeply in places, exposing her bones, and the ground was pooling with her blood. Edulis's body was like a rag.110Please respect copyright.PENANAr16smpr8KU
110Please respect copyright.PENANAp8zpDCMsh8
After Edulis tore down the gate, the Fey hammered pegs into his hands and feet and hung her on a crucifixion frame, which was then displayed in the center of the square. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAfr97NmMzKv
A normal cross would have allowed him to escape, but the one she was hanging from was special. A magic stone was embedded in the center of the frame. A magic stone is an ore that attracts magic and disrupts its flow. 110Please respect copyright.PENANA8WckzkJtgO
110Please respect copyright.PENANAIzNVYPY2s4
Edulis looked at the crowd surrounding him. They threw rocks at him, spat at him, swung whips and clubs at him. 110Please respect copyright.PENANASNW83XYVty
110Please respect copyright.PENANAuEg1AxO5AX
"Those eyes! Look at those burning eyes! Can those be the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy? They must be the embodiment of the witch Ygraine, and it is right that he should be burned at once!"110Please respect copyright.PENANA9Xht0KU9NP
"Right!"110Please respect copyright.PENANAWLlg7myYdN
110Please respect copyright.PENANAfKXCiglrun
As one of the excited men reached for a barrel of oil and a torch, the oldest of the group shouted. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAYvvy5AmqhK
110Please respect copyright.PENANAJDWzYE4sUX
"Stop!"110Please respect copyright.PENANA8E0SbcDICU
110Please respect copyright.PENANAfTPMAGkOb2
He shouted, and the man who was starting the fire stopped.110Please respect copyright.PENANAHVAiXkXpZT
110Please respect copyright.PENANA2Dq6J71LJH
"This bastard must be put to death! If he is the embodiment of a witch, it is only right that the people see him put to death! The descendants of witches must be put to death by the descendants of heroes!" 110Please respect copyright.PENANAnsvmEkOmIH
110Please respect copyright.PENANANSz583VG6f
Voices of agreement began to emanate from the crowd.110Please respect copyright.PENANAtGgeY0pMrj
110Please respect copyright.PENANA7ri00aZuA4
"Ah! You are right, we were short in our thinking!"110Please respect copyright.PENANAIbq5IUX5Pr
"It is only right that ten thousand people should see this bastard slain! That way, respect for the Fey family will soar to the heavens."110Please respect copyright.PENANAFdVYAojonh
110Please respect copyright.PENANAOBefKLPlB8
The older man spoke up.110Please respect copyright.PENANABnJrdZ6DFp
110Please respect copyright.PENANAc8Rb8wVt7c
"Bandage this cursed child, put some water-soaked bread in his mouth, and somehow keep him alive until the Day of the Saint!"110Please respect copyright.PENANA7gRBwVifxQ
110Please respect copyright.PENANACJD5gBPnzH
And the people did as they were told. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAm4WQiS9arU
110Please respect copyright.PENANAA4Ltr92vC5
Edulis watched and thought to himself. "What a bunch of idiots.110Please respect copyright.PENANAbBxq90fcRC
110Please respect copyright.PENANANG18XfNAkC
Do they know what they're doing, throwing stones at a twelve-year-old and whipping him? They claim to be the descendants of heroes...110Please respect copyright.PENANAfAZ6rF9XLj
Foolish and ugly. He wonders if Bosha looked just as foolish and ugly in Ygraine's eyes? Bosha was consumed with hatred before.110Please respect copyright.PENANAXMei4Seu6L
110Please respect copyright.PENANAxaO001E2DM
Edulis pondered this for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak, and shouted at the departing crowd.110Please respect copyright.PENANAZZWz2wt9it
110Please respect copyright.PENANAHNtyL5bv2q
"You all are swallowed up by lies, blinded by hatred."110Please respect copyright.PENANAE3zhy8ej96
110Please respect copyright.PENANAiNnhAjYD8A
The people stopped in their tracks and looked back at Edulis. Then they began to curse at him.110Please respect copyright.PENANARs0VV2vvJl
110Please respect copyright.PENANAwnSeRzNrHr
"Shut up, you cursed one!"110Please respect copyright.PENANAsWQ9wQFPoC
"The witch incarnate is about to curse us, plug his mouth!!"110Please respect copyright.PENANAfFMUctsA2E
110Please respect copyright.PENANAjnJwES1d2g
Edulis chuckled and opened his mouth again, though it wasn't a curse word that came out of it. Edulis said.110Please respect copyright.PENANAZqfyllxPNX
110Please respect copyright.PENANAXXBWdJchRF
"In the name of the goddess Lutea, I forgive you."110Please respect copyright.PENANAex03PqMjbM
110Please respect copyright.PENANAS4orXeaO1u
110Please respect copyright.PENANApUkI5VM9QX
110Please respect copyright.PENANAOOXEcikOtj
Ygraine had always smelled strange. After days and days on the battlefield in full military regalia, even the most beautiful people can smell rotten, but not Ygraine. Even after marching for three days without washing or sleeping, she still smelled good. It smelled like a spring breeze with flowers, like ripe fruit, like old wine.110Please respect copyright.PENANA6AvnFlH2zY
110Please respect copyright.PENANA0g2LkpZSd7
"Why doesn't she smell like sweat?110Please respect copyright.PENANATH4uOdgono
110Please respect copyright.PENANAzyrzWKzLNK
Funnily enough, that was the first thing that made Bosha suspect that Ygraine might not be human.110Please respect copyright.PENANAWmbYb3m2GZ
But now, somewhere, her scent was wafting through the air. So close. It was as strong as the scent Bosha had felt when Ygraine had embraced him.110Please respect copyright.PENANAVBD8e4R5VU
110Please respect copyright.PENANA6kLWcNMbGp
"Ygraine...?110Please respect copyright.PENANAJXeSqnfyM8
110Please respect copyright.PENANAkM2EpsUoEr
He wanted to call his name, but the words wouldn't come out. Edulis's vocal cords had been severed. By the enraged crowd.110Please respect copyright.PENANA0oxuzcEBlG
110Please respect copyright.PENANASbDol3WdrS
- To speak the name of a goddess with a filthy mouth!110Please respect copyright.PENANAZH7ziZREFw
110Please respect copyright.PENANAhOc38W32oT
After his vocal cords were cut, Edulis lost consciousness. He couldn't tell how much time had passed. It was hard to open his eyes. It was painful to feel the wind blowing across his wounds. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAanBW4FhA1M
But... something felt wrong.110Please respect copyright.PENANAOde6ay3vOw
110Please respect copyright.PENANAgXsc8YiZDF
"Is Ygraine... nearby?”110Please respect copyright.PENANAuxPjiDgcw7
110Please respect copyright.PENANA8eVsCzIywu
Ygraine used her magick in a very unusual way. When Ygraine's pure white magick flowed through someone's body, even large wounds would heal easily. While normal healing magic could only stop the bleeding at best, Ygrainne's magic could restore the body to a state of complete unscathedness. It was a magic that could not be duplicated.110Please respect copyright.PENANAerX8mUtgmD
110Please respect copyright.PENANAnbNuWEKhbn
People said that when Ygraine used her healing magic, it felt like being embraced by a mother. Bosha didn't know what a mother’s embrace felt like, but he guessed it was a very comfortable and warm place. When Ygraine's magick flowed through her, he felt so cozy that he could fall asleep.110Please respect copyright.PENANA2HbM9pYVPA
110Please respect copyright.PENANAQrDVzvxLEI
And right now, that's exactly what it was, enveloping Edulis. The pain slowly faded. He could feel the flesh tingling where the whip had exposed her bones. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAsns7TaUhOv
110Please respect copyright.PENANA4pWmjxuad7
"Ygraine!”110Please respect copyright.PENANAaf8MgF0o3r
110Please respect copyright.PENANAFA8czJrs3W
He said they would meet again and Ygraine doesn’t lie. She came to Edulis to fulfill a promise, to say what she hadn't said! 110Please respect copyright.PENANAy1VudFFvbF
110Please respect copyright.PENANADa8Z5OGsD6
Edulis's heart soared. The belief that somewhere in this world, Ygraine would be there—that was the driving force keeping him going in this shitty world.
Edulis concentrated all his strength on opening his heavy eyelid determined to see Ygraine once again.110Please respect copyright.PENANA0obtwrQsUE
110Please respect copyright.PENANAVJPxazkod2
Finally, the landscape came into view. The sun had long since set, and in the distance of the dimly lit square, Edulis could see the remains of the gate he had smashed. 110Please respect copyright.PENANANA3db3UL2f
110Please respect copyright.PENANAwuK0aWWQUS
Edulis looked around desperately for any sign of Ygraine. But there was no one. Not Ygraine, no anyone.110Please respect copyright.PENANArz75zylV5e
110Please respect copyright.PENANAOxFNghKtg7
It can't be! Surely this smell is Ygraine's.!110Please respect copyright.PENANA2J6w8pYXPp
110Please respect copyright.PENANAhcuXvrizwo
Then Edulis realized. The source of the scent. It was emanating from her own body. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAsYXrhmKnYE
110Please respect copyright.PENANATPbVEfR2AE
The pure white Magick, the Magick of Ygraine, who wouldn't budge no matter what he did, was circling his body. It did so of its own accord, regardless of Edulis' will. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAJw1OoiV9d4
While Edulis' magick was bound by the magic stone, Ygraine's magick was free to move. It didn't seem to be affected by the magic stone at all.110Please respect copyright.PENANAIDppXY09Nf
110Please respect copyright.PENANACA5yq4J6K4
'This is... what the hell....'110Please respect copyright.PENANAQkSfswxA7q
110Please respect copyright.PENANAiypmTxc08S
That’s when it happened. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAdYsPfYkepQ
Footsteps approached through the dark night. They were headed toward Edulis.110Please respect copyright.PENANAoep2hoQGru
110Please respect copyright.PENANAZDwqEuBzbS
“Kurzina, it's getting late."110Please respect copyright.PENANAzFxxskUxCn
110Please respect copyright.PENANAf33xLonZk2
Said the man who opened the chapel door. The girl he called Kurzina had her long black hair tied back, a shawl over it, and her hands clasped together in prayer.110Please respect copyright.PENANA7P0MpqFAr6
110Please respect copyright.PENANAXBiP94ivBM
"Is something troubling you? You've been praying a long time today."110Please respect copyright.PENANAyBpFih8zBv
"Father...."110Please respect copyright.PENANARhhzGcNQol
110Please respect copyright.PENANAG4A0yScQhK
Kurzina unclasped her hands and turned around. It was hard to believe that she was only thirteen years old, but her face showed deep concern. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAKyARgCGH5R
110Please respect copyright.PENANA1HVXv5YC3F
"I keep... I keep having doubts."110Please respect copyright.PENANAopZo0eqdRk
"What do you mean?"110Please respect copyright.PENANAzAXAzOm1Bd
110Please respect copyright.PENANAJGeGS0xLxu
The man was surprised. Kurjina is the most religious child in the Fey family. She prefers to read the Bible than socialize with her peers, prefers to lock herself in a chapel than take a walk in the fields, and admires the goddess Lutea more than anyone else. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAlXaJQ9AE4w
What could such a child possibly suspect?110Please respect copyright.PENANAl0Afj726gO
110Please respect copyright.PENANAMbY6o75pbR
"The boy said earlier that he forgives us....... Forgiveness is the closest thing to a god. How can the scion of a witch speak of it?"
"That's why he's a witch. How wicked to try to deceive us by mimicking the words of a god."110Please respect copyright.PENANAGlQHCbj4VG
110Please respect copyright.PENANAHT5Vix2i2b
"But......."110Please respect copyright.PENANAWbu2ihlDKf
110Please respect copyright.PENANARRBPQcwMM2
Kurzina was not convinced by her father's words. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAfZU5CKI02O
110Please respect copyright.PENANAyTJApf0Nfh
"The goddess Luthea has spoken. To think only of love. To love your enemies, to embrace them. But we threw stones at the boy, whipped his body, and cut his vocal cords with a knife."
"Oh, Kurzina, my sweet daughter, the goddess Lutea would not forgive the descendants of the witch. The child is the embodiment of a witch, so it is only right that he should be punished. You must not feel sorry for him. Punishing the witch is the right thing to do as a descendant of the heroic Bosha, isn't it?"
Kurzina knew. Her father was right. The witch's offspring deserved to be punished. 110Please respect copyright.PENANABWXaOhbSRH
She knew it in her head, but it was hard to accept it in her heart. The sight of a boy covered in blood. Was that really what the goddess Lutea wanted? 110Please respect copyright.PENANA96Vt8qRoAL
Kurzina lay on the bed according to her father's instructions, but sleep did not come. The boy's face and his words kept echoing in her mind.110Please respect copyright.PENANA8Bv5VyNHhK
- "You are all swallowed by lies, blinded by hatred.110Please respect copyright.PENANAyvi0yIH5BP
- In the name of the goddess Lutea, I forgive you.110Please respect copyright.PENANApCnx9uKpTH
110Please respect copyright.PENANAQ7IKIWWb12
"Lutea, give me an answer to my foolish question.”.110Please respect copyright.PENANAzvIsYBYex0
110Please respect copyright.PENANAAlDpKhxkcJ
Unable to sleep into the night, Kurzina left the room. She decided to seek out the chapel once more, for it was there that she felt at peace. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAoh0Lh4QYBP
110Please respect copyright.PENANAh3UNnJ2Y3I
Kurzina crossed the hallway to the chapel. A cool night breeze blew through the hallway that led to the garden. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAXftTMPi0a4
And then it happened. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAeW8RMQ2eBD
Kurzina smelled it. A scent that mingled with the night air. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAet7Ok905DL
It was a scent she had never smelled before on the grounds of the Fey manor. 110Please respect copyright.PENANApJ5kq5UZia
110Please respect copyright.PENANAD0A0r617VR
It smelled like milk mixed with honey, like sun-dried wool, like her mother's flesh. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAz7AMOF35lZ
For a moment, Kurzina remembered something she had read in the Bible. 110Please respect copyright.PENANADuq80413CP
A thousand years ago, the saint Lutea had defeated the demon Ereshkigal. It was said that the goddess Lutea took on human form for a time, leaving behind the scent of the celestial flower Delua, and grass grew wherever she lay. 110Please respect copyright.PENANA0ufFiwosfN
110Please respect copyright.PENANALLfGFTlm4B
Kurzina had tried hard to imagine what scent Delua might have. Now, the scent carried by the wind felt exactly like the scent of Delua. Remembering the scripture's description of Delua's fragrance, Kurzina fervently imagined it. However, at this moment, the scent carried by the wind felt like exactly that of Delua. The fragrance that made one feel embraced by a mother, exactly as Kurzina had imagined it.110Please respect copyright.PENANA7CBIZEs36V
Instead of going to the chapel, Kurzina walked to the source of the smell. There was a sign that said no trespassing, but she ignored it.110Please respect copyright.PENANAWwxQY3xoWB
110Please respect copyright.PENANANl1ifMp4Qc
It wasn't hard to find the source of the smell, but it wasn't easy to accept the reality of it. The source of the smell was a bloody boy hanging in the square. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAxu4OfbzduS
Grassy vines grew from the base of the cross and wrapped around the frame. It was a stone floor where grass could not grow, but the flowers had sprouted from the cracks in the stone, where there was no daylight. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAKwFXcbF85g
110Please respect copyright.PENANAGqFg5KNdYi
Kurzina looked at Edulis. She stared for a long time, her mind racing, before finally opening her mouth.110Please respect copyright.PENANAixwpEtz4jk
110Please respect copyright.PENANAHcllZtzBxy
"...Is this a miracle of yours?"110Please respect copyright.PENANAwg0HaEhpbr
110Please respect copyright.PENANAPECO8IAyC8
Kurzina asked, pointing to the grass, and Edulis replied. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAb1ETa8N4Nm
110Please respect copyright.PENANA0JaKPS0oby
"A miracle? You see a blade of grass grow and call it a miracle?"110Please respect copyright.PENANAd6viJOie9H
110Please respect copyright.PENANAfePq38atm0
Kurzina opened her mouth in surprise. Edulis was talking straight. That, too, was a miracle. Edulis's throat showed no sign of having her vocal cords cut. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAQjGkrU31fF
Kurzina tried to contain her surprise. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAeul9o4g4Zn
110Please respect copyright.PENANAMlfHtrf6Kv
"What... what is a miracle, then?"110Please respect copyright.PENANA9bbltHxuBU
110Please respect copyright.PENANAp3XrFfcROX
At that moment, Edulis remembered a conversation he had once had with Ygraine. 110Please respect copyright.PENANAraHiCecT61
110Please respect copyright.PENANAOD2mI36kJF
- "Hey, saint. You're a saint, can't you perform a miracle? Let's cause a landslide and wipe out the enemy.110Please respect copyright.PENANAaoQFnhEdkt
- Captain Bosha, Captain Bosha, you call that a miracle?110Please respect copyright.PENANAhDha16s950
- What? What? A landslide is " merely" a mishap?110Please respect copyright.PENANAxZ6mv3mu5Q
- That's right. A miracle is...110Please respect copyright.PENANA7BY79tV6Bh
110Please respect copyright.PENANAsM93jX5RV2
Edulis spoke to Kurzina, paraphrasing the words he'd heard from Ygraine.110Please respect copyright.PENANAynm4b7XKDw
110Please respect copyright.PENANAFLN9oFCKT1
"Happiness shared with others, the ability to find joy together, that is a miracle. Being able to cry together with those who are sad, is a miracle. Forgiveness drives out hatred, and love takes its place, that is a miracle. O blinded child consumed by falsehood, a child who does not know miracles, do you see nothing but a mere blade of grass before your eyes?"
Upon hearing this, Kurzina's expression hardened.
Author's note:
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