Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Lucy Philias

— Whom did you kill?
Lucy smiled slyly and brought the pipe to her mouth.
— Mmm, it would be truly wonderful if one could know even such convenient things, darling. If these young ones had come seeking advice, this girl could have helped them.
Lucy tapped her cigarette so the ash fell into the ashtray.
— However, I do know the name of the person you killed recently.
Lucy snapped her fingers.
Ttaak—!
Then, one of the pillars wrapped in multiple layers of vines covering the garden moved toward the pavilion.
When it was close enough to Lucy, the vines gently unrolled.
One could tell it was not a simple pillar.
It was a crystal.
Like a mosquito trapped in amber, a woman lay inside the transparent crystal.
— Darling, do you know the name of that girl?
It was a truly simple question.
— Echidna Philias.
It was Echidna.
She had a serene face, as if she had been placed in an open coffin before a funeral.
— The rune you made turned that girl into this.
Lucy said, pointing her finger.
— If you have something to say, try saying it.
A hint to choose words carefully hung in the air.
Ferda observed the scene and asked.
— Did she pass without pain?
A tone completely devoid of concern.
— Aha.
Lucy’s laughter echoed throughout the pavilion.
— Hehehehehe…
The witches grew tense at that laughter.
A malicious energy spread.
It stimulated the entire body enough to rival Dragon Fear.
— Darling, truly, truly shameless.
Lucy stood up from her seat and walked down the stairs.
— You killed a daughter of Philias, and the words that come out of your mouth are to ask if she died without pain?
She stood before Ferda.
From afar it was not clear, but now it was certain.
She was shorter than Ruri.
— A witch’s resentment is like frost falling for a hundred years. It doesn’t simply mean that only you will die painfully.
Mana dwelt in her voice.
It touched Ferda’s five senses.
Not merely threatening, but as if showing him the future he would face.
— I will slowly destroy everything around you, prevent you from even choosing suicide, and utterly collapse you, leaving nothing behind, until the very, very end.
In reality, many lived and died so miserably.
It remained in records too, but Ferda didn’t care.
Ferda already knew.
That she was bluffing.
— Shamelessness goes both ways, doesn’t it, Pavilion Master?
— What?
One of Lucy’s eyebrows raised.
Ferda gestured with his chin toward the crystal where Echidna was preserved.
— Lying that a living person is dead and trapping her in a crystal… if that isn’t shamelessness, what is?
At Ferda’s words, the situation changed.
The malicious energy with which Lucy had been threatening lessened.
And as if nothing had happened, anger vanished from her voice.
— How did you know that?
— Didn’t you say it yourself? A witch’s resentment is like a hundred years of frost, cursing through generations.
Ferda turned his head toward the crystal.
He saw Echidna’s serene-looking face.
— If the purpose were truly to die because of me and curse me, I don’t think you would leave her with such a serene face and make her face me.
— Hoho, it seems you know witches well.
Lucy lifted her body into the air with an air of satisfaction.
Fluttering her clothes, she flew toward the crystal where Echidna was.
— Echidna, this pitiful thing. I told her so many times that loving a man brings nothing but tragedy, but she only insisted on her stubbornness.
— The one who exiled her pities her?
— She simply didn’t fit the name Philias. This girl’s affection for this child has not changed.
Words unfitting for the leader of witches who hate all men.
Lucy looked at the crystal for a moment and said this.
— Darling, since she died due to your mistake, this girl will take her back.
At the unilateral notice, Ferda replied immediately.
— I refuse.
Then, this time, malicious energy welled up from the witches’ side as if they were disgusted.
— Funny. Do you think you’re in a position to refuse?
— Since I’m treating you leniently, it seems you’re trying to take advantage of me. Should I show you a bitter taste?
Shrill laughs echoed ceaselessly, yet within them disgust and anger were felt.
— Silence.
It vanished with just those two syllables from Lucy.
Seeing her suppress those clusters of malice, one could tell how firmly the Eldest Sister controlled the witches.
— Don’t worry. This girl is not so stupid as to not distinguish public matters from private ones. If something is lost, something must be gained.
Mmm…
While exhaling so shamelessly and smoking, Lucy opened her mouth.
— How about this?
A spark leapt from her small index finger.
A red spark, to be exact.
“Reverse Sky-Defying Lightning.”
Lucy Philias casually emitted pure power that—unless channeled through a medium—was impossible to wield.
— You are a mage, and you seem to have a talent for lightning as well, so I think you would catch on quickly if you learned a little. How about it? This girl will teach you specially.
How about it?
“An attractive offer.”
The Reverse Sky-Defying Lightning was still a legendary element of which Ferda had found no clue.
He had conducted countless studies using branches of the World Tree struck by the Reverse Sky-Defying Lightning that she brought down, but the current state was that he couldn’t even find a lead.
He had investigated through the crafted staff many times, to the point where there was no progress even across generations.
“If I possess that power…”
I will become stronger.
Like the days when I was an 8th Circle Archmage.
That was why Ferda replied.
— I refuse.
Lucy’s hand stopped.
Lucy, who thought it was an appropriate compensation, also seemed not to expect that offer to be rejected.
— Oh, darling. Is that girl so precious to you?
— She is important.
— More than the Reverse Sky-Defying Lightning?
The best magical element for Ferda to become stronger.
Ferda always needed to become stronger.
— She is important.
But for Ferda right now, becoming stronger was a secondary issue.
— There is someone I need to experience happiness.
For Ferda, Valdrova was always the number one priority.
— For that person to be happy, Echidna’s ability is needed.
— So you’re saying you will use her, darling. As Eldest Sister, as Pavilion Master, I am not so foolish as to let those words slide.
— Humans simply use each other anyway, don’t they? Just as that girl uses me, I simply use that girl.
Although Ferda uses the naive Echidna, that didn’t mean Echidna was being deceived with open eyes.
Jed and Mori could be called as witnesses.
— True, that is society.
Lucy exhaled smoke like a sigh.
She snapped her fingers.
Ttaak—!
At that moment, the transparent crystal began to melt into water.
The watching witches asked in surprise.
— Oh, are you going to release her?
— I thought it was an attractive offer, but if you don’t need it, what can I do?
It was a strange thing, not clinging like the witches.
Lucy looked only at Ferda.
Beneath the black cloth, her slightly visible lower jaw showed that she could not hide her interest.
Soon, the crystal melted completely, even waking whatever was inside.
She seemed unconscious, but miraculously stood on her feet.
Echidna’s eyebrows, which had been resting peacefully, twitched.
— Huh? What on earth…?
She rubbed her head with both hands and looked around.
The first thing she caught was Ferda.
Perhaps because she had received so many looks of hatred and disgust, his grim laugh felt like that of a fairy.
— Oh, my Regent-nim. You are handsome today too. Hehe…….
Rolling her eyes like that, she scanned the surroundings.
— Huh? This seems like a place I know…… but why does it feel similar to the Rose Pavilion…….
Those words were cut off precisely when she saw the Eldest Sister, Lucy, standing beside her.
— Hii, hieek?! E-E-E-Eldest Sister?!
Echidna was completely startled.
So scared that she bit her tongue.
It was a reaction that didn’t differ from rudeness, but Lucy accepted it as if she didn’t care.
— It’s been a while, child. Have you been well?
— Y-yes! O-of course! I have been well!
— I excommunicated you, but didn’t I definitely tell you to contact me regularly? You didn’t listen.
— T-that is…… communication doesn’t work inside the castle…….
— Oh, my, then does that mean it’s the Regent’s fault? Should I hit that guy?
— What?! No! It’s not that!
Echidna turned her head sharply to look at Ferda and said.
— I absolutely didn’t mean that!
Be that as it may.
— Of course it might be uncomfortable. But even so, we are no different from family sharing the same blood, shouldn’t we at least hear our voices?
— Un-uncomfortable?! Never, not even once, have I had such a thought!
She spoke with a forced smile, but there wasn’t a shred of persuasion.
Other witches observed that and let out laughs, each chiming in with a word.
— Oh, my? That’s a lie.
— A lie? Unnies, I didn’t think that…….
— Child, just say it honestly.
— You’re already excommunicated, what’s the problem? Even if she’s the Eldest Sister, she can’t do anything.
— Besides, from an outsider’s perspective, assessing how it looks is also important, right?
Chattering sounds next to Echidna.
Ferda saw through their intentions.
They were trying to corner Echidna like bewitched prey.
— Uh…….
Echidna, shrinking like a scared turtle, looked around and opened her mouth.
— T-that…… a bit uncomfortable, I guess?
The hand holding the pipe tightened.
— T-truthfully, every time you call yourself a child despite living longer than my grandmother, I find it uncomfortable…….
— Pfft…….
— Heeheehee…….
The witches who egged her on desperately held back the laughter about to burst.
Lucy’s reaction was truly simple.
Ttaak—!
She snapped her fingers, and the roots that had moved the crystal bound Echidna’s entire body.
— Echidna, our pitiful Echidna.
A voice mixed with anger.
Clearly different from the performance she showed Ferda.
— Since you weren’t beaten by unnie, you’re blabbing ‘words not in your heart’ again. You shouldn’t say frivolous things in front of others.
— Aaack! My arm is coming off! Arm, arm!
— Don’t worry. If your arm comes off, I’ll tear off your leg too so it won’t be lonely, and decorate it.
— I’m sorry! Unnie is not small! You are a very small child! A very beautiful childdd!!
Witches bursting into shrill laughter while watching Echidna be tortured.
Only after violently harassing her with thorny vines did they finally let her go.
Echidna, with disheveled hair and red, trembling eyes, crawled toward Ferda.
— Uwaaah, Regent-nim. My arms and legs hurt so much. It hurts, so a hug, a hug is nece—pueok!
— Get lost.
Ferda pushed her head away.
The witches burst into laughter.
Echidna, with nowhere to go, whimpered and looked down at the ground.
— Do you really intend to take that deficient thing with you?
Now a question containing words as if she were worried about him.
— If that were a defect, I wouldn’t have brought her in the first place.
— If that is your intention, then I understand.
Lucy giving up so easily.
It was ending suspiciously easily.
What scheme could there be?
Ferda did not lower his guard until the end.
— Return, Echidna. At least once a week, you must contact me without fail.
— Yes, I will. Regent-nim, shall we return?
As she tried to extend her hand, Lucy forced it down.
— The Regent will stay with me a little longer.
— What? Here alone?
It was a bewildering story for Echidna.
This was the nest of witches that treats men as playthings.
Ferda was no different from defenseless prey.
Lucy cast a pitiful glance.
— I’ve already walked to the very center—whether you are here or not, what does it matter?
— Ah, that’s true, but…….
Echidna, restless like a prairie dog watching an approaching storm, looked at Ferda.
Ferda read that expression and replied.
— There is no need to worry. Return and deliver a message to Ruri.
— W-what message should I give?
— Tell her I will return soon. That is enough.
— Y-yes! Of course…….
At Lucy’s gesture, Echidna’s body disintegrated and vanished.
She would have returned to the study where she originally was.
Lucy observed that and said to Ferda.
— Let’s walk a bit. I want this conversation to be just between the two of us.
Leaving the witches sitting in silence, she walked ahead.
Thus, they left the Rose Pavilion and walked through the garden.
Nature did not exist there—it was a place purely created by Lucy’s will.
That was why the colors and shapes differed from what one felt in nature.
The leaves were sky blue, the sky was purple.
— It is a truly pretty garden, isn’t it?
Lucy asked.
— It’s strange.
— Then that is a relief.
She brought the pipe to her mouth.
— It means you haven’t gone completely crazy yet.
Those words containing a smile made Ferda tense.
It was when he tried to read the meaning of the smile.
He felt a presence from the side of the rose vine.
Ferda pulled his own head away with the Shadow Hand hidden in his clothes.
Where his head had been, something flew past.
Huuung!
A giant’s cavalry lance.
No, a rose thorn so gigantic that it wouldn’t be strange at that scale.
Ferda quickly created distance.
— ……What is this?
— There is no need to think deeply. It is exactly what you see. I attacked you.
— Why?
— Since provocation or superficial conversation won’t do, getting straight to the point by attacking you directly is better, isn’t it?
Which meant she was inducing a fight.
As she said, Ferda did not get entangled in that provocation.
Getting entangled is madness.
Although there were days as an Archmage, right now he is a 4th Circle Mage.
The opponent is the leader of the witches whom not even 8th Circle mages can handle.
And simultaneously, it is her home ground.
“And Lucy is not a human so battle-crazed as to make this kind of provocation.”
There was definitely a reason for her provocation.
What scheme?
— Curious about my intentions?
Lucy is a mage who has lived for eons.
Reading Ferda’s thoughts was child’s play.
— Instead of letting you know that, I will give you a reason why you won’t be able to avoid moving.
She waved her pipe as if pointing.
The vines of the rose garden squirmed like thorny worms.
— If you don’t come at me, I will erase your existence from that poor lizard’s life.
A fishy smile.
That too was a provocation with a transparent intention.
Light erupted from Ferda’s eyes.
He could not back down.