Chapter 37
Merlin's small hands trembled with fury as she grabbed Oliver by the collar.
"How dare you throw accusations at Lugh…" she glared.
Lisa looked confused. Sreya was angry too, though she struggled to hold it in. Riley watched silently, expression unreadable.
Oliver raised his hands in disbelief.
"Why don't you believe me, Merlin? We've traveled together. You know me."
"It's his word against Lugh's," she snapped back.
Lisa spoke softly.
"Merlin… I think he's telling the truth."
Merlin stiffened.
"Lisa?"
Lisa lowered her gaze.
"If you put it that way… Lugh hasn't denied anything."
Merlin's eyes widened. She turned toward Lugh. He stood silent, staring at the floor.
Lisa stepped forward, her voice calmer.
"But I know you. You don't act without a reason. You're the most calculating person I've seen…"
Lugh finally spoke, voice low.
"It was after the Day of Sacrifice. That's when I heard about the mass kidnapping of the nobles' children. At first, I was shocked. Why would a simple bandit clan target trained knights?"
Realization struck Lisa like lightning.
Merlin frowned.
"What are you trying to say?"
Riley stepped in.
"He means: how could ordinary bandits overpower elite knight escorts?"
Lugh's voice hardened.
"The Church needed someone strong enough to do their dirty work. That's where the White Elf clan came in—their old allies."
Merlin's breath hitched.
"No… no, that can't be…"
Riley looked directly at her.
"Merlin, it was those elves who attacked your convoy. They caused everything that happened to you, Lisa, and Sreya."
Sreya stared, horrified.
"Merlin… you too? This doesn't make any sense."
Lisa turned toward Merlin, confused and worried.
Merlin swallowed hard.
"I remember… we were kept in a place surrounded by red walls. There was no hope—until the fire came. It burned everything. Freeing us."
Her voice shook.
"If not for that masked man, none of us would've survived."
Lisa opened her mouth to ask questions, but Lugh continued before she could.
"I discovered the Church–elf connection after destroying several of their bases. I tracked down almost all the kidnapping locations."
He flexed his knuckles, jaw tight.
"I destroyed those bases one by one and freed the children. I traveled across the White Continent until I realized their main base wasn't there."
Everyone listened—Lisa frozen, Merlin speechless, Sreya pale, Riley observing.
Lugh's tone darkened.
"I eventually reached the Red Continent. I'd seen the White Elves' cruelty before, but this… this was worse."
His eyes dimmed.
"Male elves assaulting females. Females cannibalizing males. Children attacking adults for sport. They were creatures without morality or sanity."
The girls instinctively looked at Oliver in disgust.
Lugh continued.
"So I burned the entire continent. Every village, every forest—until nothing remained but an island of ash. The captives survived the elves cruelty only because they were considered Church property."
Lisa's voice was small.
"Then… how many did you save?"
Lugh hesitated.
"I traveled across kingdoms. I saved all the kidnapped children shortly after their disappearance… except one group."
Lisa's eyes widened. Fury erupted in her like a storm. She seized his collar and slammed him back into his chair.
"WHY!? WHY WAS I THE ONLY ONE YOU DIDN'T SAVE!?"
Her voice cracked.
Her anger trembled against his calm, shameful silence.
Riley watched them, expression unreadable.
(She doesn't understand… he's ashamed. She was probably held in Silla. They must've moved her right before he arrived. After she was sold… Lugh might be strong, but he's no hero.)
A soft voice cut through the tension.
"Riley?"
He turned to see Aria standing behind him.
"Oh—Aria. Been a while."
She started to answer—
"I'm fin—"
—but stopped when she saw Lisa practically leaning into Lugh, one knee between his legs.
Lugh blinked in surprise at her sudden appearance.
Lisa realized the compromising position and jumped back, face crimson.
"I–IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! I'M NOT DOING ANY SHENANIGANS!"
Merlin buried her face in her hands.
"Lisa… you're making it worse."
Lugh stood.
"Aria, what are you doing he—"
He froze as he noticed the Hero's party behind her.
Aria answered with an unusually dull tone,
"We came to eat. I liked the food here."
Her voice sounded strangely… disappointed.
Lugh narrowed his eyes and stepped toward the Hero.
"When we fight, don't hold back."
The Hero smirked.
"Of course I won't."
(He's weakened. It'll be like punching a child.)
Lisa walked up to Aria, concerned.
"I don't know why but… you look upset. I'm sorry if I did anything to offend you."
Aria stared expressionlessly.
"I'm not hurt. But why give clarification?"
Lisa blinked.
"Because I don't want your impression of me dropping. We… got our magic in a similar way."
Aria calmly replied,
"If that's the reason, don't worry. My impression of you won't drop."
Lisa frowned.
"…What does that mean?"
Aria smiled sweetly—but her eyes didn't smile at all.
"You need a good impression for it to drop. And I didn't think very highly of you to begin with."
A vein popped on Lisa's forehead.
(THIS BIIIII—!)
Aria chuckled.
"Oh my, I can almost hear you calling me the B-word."
Lisa trembled with barely contained fury. Her mana crackled around her. Aria stood there, unfazed.
Sreya whispered to Riley,
"Brother… what's going on?"
Riley sighed.
"She's Lugh's fiancée."
Sreya blinked.
"Ehhh?"
Merlin added,
"Their families were close. They were engaged since childhood."
Riley continued,
"There are even rumors—that Aria Dragonhart rejected the Hero because of her fiancé."
Sreya struggled to process.
" didn't he vanish for years. But she still loves him?"
Riley nodded.
"When he was eight, he met someone unbelievably strong. It made him realize how weak he was. So he left everything behind to train. After the Day of Sacrifice, he returned and wiped out the White Elves."
Sreya finally pieced everything together.
Riley added,
"As for his feelings? He left his prestigious family for her and went into exile. He cares for Aria deeply."
Sreya glanced at Lugh and Aria from across the room—Lugh glancing her way, clearly irritated at the Hero standing near her.
Riley smirked.
"That's Lugh being jealous."
Sreya and Merlin froze.
"J–Jealous?!"
Riley nodded.
"The Hero has a crush on Aria. Asked her out too. She rejected him on the spot."
Sreya watched the two silently, her eyes softening.
Their bond was stronger than she had imagined.
.
.
.
.
.
As it all took place. A book lied on the table near them flipped its pages as the wind blew— wind stops so does the pages. The page revealed a chapter titled "Under the tree" it was the story about a black prince that stood beneath the sky filled with white–blue azure shooting star falling touching the ground. He gazed upwards to realized it wasn't the sky that he stood beneath. They weren't stars falling but a large tree that imitated a mystical sky and its leaves falling as if stars. He grabbed a leaf. His eyes burned red as he said "I wish I was the wind that brushed your hair. I Envy the sun that touches your skin. How am I to tolerate that you weren't supposed to be mine" The old man smiled.