Chapter 119: Punishment (4)

I couldn’t help but be surprised as I watched Arwen kneel and bow her head, begging for forgiveness. As a queen, it was a very humiliating position, not to mention as an individual.

Honestly, just by bowing her head, her sincerity would have been enough to convey to me. However, seeing her apologize to such an extent made me realize how significant Rain was to her.

“I will not ask for forgiveness. But I want to say that not all Elves and Dark Elves are like this.”

“... ...”

Arwen had been quietly speaking while lying flat on the ground. Her beautiful silver hair was scattered on the ground, and her lowered head made it impossible to see her expression.

It was clear that she was repenting for her wrongdoing, whether through her atmosphere or her voice. The problem was that Arwen didn’t need to bow her head.

Arwen was responsible for her actions, but fundamentally, Rain was the one who committed the crime. So it meant that Rain should be the one to bow down, not Arwen.

With that in mind, I shifted my gaze away from Arwen’s back of the head to look at Rain. She was looking at Arwen with trembling eyes, probably experiencing emotions similar to when a young child’s parents apologize on their behalf.

For a young child to realize their wrongdoing, it is crucial that no one but their parents play the role. Therefore, Rain, who receives Arwen’s guardianship, would also take a significant impact.

I quietly waited to see what kind of reaction Rain would show next.

“Y-Your Majesty...”

“... ...”

“Sob... Sniff...”

Tears began to well up in Rain’s eyes as she looked at Arwen with a mournful gaze. Siris, who was beside her, couldn’t bear to watch this scene and closed her eyes.

What kind of reaction will Rain show next? Will he roar at me, or will he beg for forgiveness like Arwen?

Whatever she chooses, Rain will not escape punishment. She may have already tasted the bitter consequences, but with a clear punishment added here, its effect will be doubled.

As I was contemplating what kind of punishment to give Rain in my mind, she closed her eyes tightly and quickly approached Arwen. And in less than a second, she fell to the ground, just like Arwen, lying flat on the ground.

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”

“... ...”

“I was wrong! I was wrong, so please...”

As I watched the two elves lying on the ground, I glanced at Siris. It was a strange situation, and I was trying to be aware of what was happening, but she seemed to have taken it differently.

When she briefly opened her eyes and met my gaze, she nodded and slowly walked towards me. Finally, she stood next to Arwen and slowly lay down with a soft and graceful movement.

“I’m sorry.”

“... ...”

“For not stopping Rain when I could have. I’m really sorry.”

No. What do I do if you apologize too? But why is this person lying down again? What did this person do wrong? It’s embarrassing to see all this happening, especially with the strange picture-like situation.

All three of them were beautiful elves, and Arwen was even the queen of a country. It made my heart itch like the last time, but I tried to endure it.

“Phew...”

I sighed as I looked at the three people lying down and not planning to get up. It seemed better to stand them up than leave them like this.

“First of all, all three of you should get up. I can understand Rain, but the other two don’t need to act like this. It’s a bit surprising.”

“I wanted to convey my true feelings to you.”

Arwen replied as she stood up with a gloomy expression. I noticed her knees were dirty from lying on the ground, and her dress, which was close to white, had more noticeable stains.

As she got up, Rain and Siris also stood up one after the other. Rain was crying and sobbing, while Cyrus was expressionless but had a somewhat sad look in her eyes.

I looked at the three people waiting for my answer while rubbing the back of my neck and glanced at the adjacent Cecily. She had a watchful expression, trying to stick to the perspective of a third party.

It seemed that she wanted to leave the final decision to me. Then it would be better to resolve it as quickly as possible.

So I brought up the fact that I knew to the three people in front of me.

“I heard from Cecily earlier. The Dark Elves themselves decided on Rain’s sentence. She will be in prison for 500 years.”

“That’s right.”

“500 years... that’s certainly not a short period of time for an elf, right? After all, that’s half a lifetime spent in prison.”

Even mountains change in 10 years, and the world changes so much in 500 years that even words fall short to describe it. The reason why people who have been imprisoned for a long time cannot adapt to society even after their release is because of the vastly changed world and society.

Therefore, even if Rain is released from prison after 500 years, there is a high possibility that she will not be able to adapt at all. It’s too cruel of a fate for a young child who is just forming her personality.

However, stealing the manuscript was clearly wrong, and she even invaded my mansion. No matter how immature the child may be, these are unforgivable acts.

‘But putting her in prison for the rest of her life is also a problem...’

It should be okay for the next 500 years. If I enjoy a long life and die, I can leave the future to Cecily.

However, this alone cannot be a fundamental solution. It is a gamble what kind of monster will be born when she comes out of prison 500 years later.

In the worst case, she might even harm my descendants while avoiding Cecily’s eyes. While in prison, she will harbor all sorts of negative emotions, so it is not an impossible story.

So, we need to come up with a punishment for Rain that is not excessive but reasonable enough for everyone to understand.

Oh, of course, the same goes for Arwen and Siris. They are in a position where they need to take responsibility rather than face direct punishment, so it is embarrassing to call it punishment.

After organizing my thoughts as much as possible, I suddenly had a good idea and looked at Cecily, and she tilted her head.

“Noona.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“You said you could do anything for me, right?”

“That’s right. But why do you ask? Is it related to these people?”

As expected, she caught on quickly. Instead of answering, I gave her an ambiguous smile.

Cecily looked at my smile and couldn’t hold back, speaking quietly.

“Okay, I understand. So what are you planning to do?”

“Suspended sentence.”

“Suspended sentence?”

“Yeah.”

Cecily looked doubtful, as did the three people in front of us. In this world, there isn’t even a word for probation, let alone suspended sentence. There is only the saying that if someone commits a crime, they will be sentenced to a few years in prison, but even the law is not systematically organized.

I thought deeply about how the suspension of sentence is structured and began to explain it step by step.

“As everyone knows, I’m human. Compared to demons or elves, humans have a short lifespan. It’s natural that we can’t even live 100 years, let alone 500 years.”

“......”

“So, the management of Rain will be entirely up to Cecily. However, considering Rain’s sincere reflection and young age, I will give her some reduction. Maybe about 300 years, not 500?”

“I hate to say this, but you are guilty, not innocent. You will live under Cecily’s supervision for 300 years, and if you commit a crime during that time, you may receive a more severe punishment of 500 years. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind! I will carry it in my heart even after you die!”

“Your phrasing is a bit strange... Anyway, I understand.”

“...May I ask a question?”

As the situation was coming to a close, Siris asked me a question in a low voice, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

Siris maintained her sharp expression even as the attention was focused on her. Curious about what she wanted to ask, I cleared my throat.

“Please speak.”

“When is the period of the messenger?”

“Oh, I haven’t been thinking about that. Should we do it until I die? It’ll be a short period for you anyway, since I’m human.”

It was a joke meant to lighten the mood. But then again, she was an elf.

“Then, about 80 years... Alright, I’ll accept it.”

“...Will you really accept it?”

“I think that’s an appropriate amount of time.”

Siris accepted it straightforwardly without any objection. Seeing her face, I could tell that she had already accepted it, which made me all the more surprised.

It felt like I had just gained a slave for life. I scratched my head in confusion and looked at Arwen.

“I, I also request that you do me a favor until you return to the embrace of the gods. Anyway, since I haven’t even read all the books in the sanctuary, 80 years will feel very short.”

“... ...”

Let’s just move on. It’s a gain, not a loss. Even though it’s burdensome, they accepted it without any problem, so I’ll accept it too.

Anyway, everything was resolved after I received the manuscript back from Rain, and I checked to see if it was genuine and if there were any damaged parts. Fortunately, I had kept it well-preserved, and there was no damage anywhere. As I was scanning through the clean manuscript, I suddenly thought of something and looked at the three people in front of me before asking a question.

“Hmm... Oh, by the way, I have a question. How did you invade the mansion? There were knights dispatched from the palace on guard duty, and it seemed a little odd. Are Dark Elves that strong?”

“It’s not that they’re strong, but their abilities are exotic. It’s very difficult to detect them unless there is a wizard present.”

Answered Arwen, I turned to her and spoke.

“My father said that the knights dispatched from the palace were incredibly strong, but there’s no way they could be weak, right?”

“They might be able to see their silhouette, but it’s difficult to detect covert operations. That’s why reinforcement detection magic is installed in estates above the rank of a viscount by human standards. Below that, only detection magic that catches petty thieves is installed.”

So no matter how much a knight runs and crawls, they can’t beat a single dark elf. An observer(mage) must be a must. Listening to the explanation, the dark eves seemed to be a race specialized in ‘invisibility,’ as seen in various media of their past lives. They would be very suited for the profession of a rogue.

‘If even dark elves participated in the race war...

They would have been cutting the necks of human leaders in places unseen, and we would have had a 100% chance of losing. Elves always preferred open battles to backstabbing (assassination).

However, when the situation turned unfavorable, one elf warrior orchestrated a scheme to turn the tide and ended up tarnishing the honor of the elves, resulting in his arrest. Even though the warrior was the first to realize the decisive way to win the war.

If the elves had realized this fact a little earlier, wouldn’t the elf warrior have been revered as a hero? As I thought about that elf warrior, I happened to see Arwen in front of me and decided to ask about what happened to him.

The book only records that he was imprisoned, but there was nothing written about what happened to him after the war.

“Arwen, can I ask you one more thing? It’s about the elf warrior who was imprisoned for breaking the law during the racial war.”

“That warrior has been released and is currently residing in his mansion, probably because he was betrayed by Alvenheim and suffered greatly.”

“... ...”

“Alvenheim has lost a patriot and a great warrior, so it is a great loss. I even requested his return, but it was easily dismissed.”

Certainly, the pain of a soldier betrayed by his own country is indescribable. And if he had come to realize that his choice was the right one, the resentment would have been even deeper.

In fact, in Xenon’s Biography, the elf in charge of “pride” is also experiencing a similar pain. He was enraged by the vile reality of Alvenheim and turned himself into a devil.

‘Still, thanks to this, I can weave a good story.’

It is a foregone conclusion that Alvenheim will be destroyed by the hands of devils, but it is natural for a hero to emerge in the process that follows.

For a moment, I loosely constructed a story in my head and then looked around at the three of them, who were still waiting with tense expressions for my next words.

Smiling wryly, I spoke nonchalantly.

“It’s over now, so there’s no need to look so serious. I don’t have anything else to say, really.”

“Is it really over?”

Rain asked in a trembling voice, full of anxiety. Without thinking, I nodded my head.

“Yeah...”

Thud!

Maybe the release of tension caused it. As soon as Rain saw me nod, the strength seemed to leave her legs, and she fell to the ground.

With Siris’s urgent support, she managed to stand up, but her legs were trembling like a newborn fawn’s.

For a moment, I looked at the two dark elves, then met eyes with Arwen. There was a subtle mixture of emotions in her silver-gray irises.

It was definitely a friendly feeling, but I wasn’t sure if I should be grateful or merciful. Nevertheless, I was more concerned about her dirty knees. I was already uncomfortable with her apologizing while lying down, and now her dirty knees were making me even more uncomfortable.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Y-You? What are you doing now?”

Tap-tap-

I slightly bent over and brushed off her dirty knees with my hand, whether Arwen was embarrassed or not. It was a white or silver-grey dress that was almost pure white, so it needed to be washed, but for now, brushing off dirt and dust would do.

Fortunately, it seemed like it was treated with magic or made of good material because it became much cleaner just by brushing it with my hands than before. Although there were stains, it seemed like it would be enough to wash them off with water.

“Even so, it was a bit much for the Queen of Albenheim to kneel down. You may not think so, but I felt a little uncomfortable.”

“...”

“Although the situation has become a bit awkward, let’s try to get along as we did during the festival. Alright?”

After brushing off Arwen’s knees, I straightened up my previously bent waist. Arwen blushed slightly at my words, then lowered her head and answered softly.

“...I understand.”

“Now that everything is over...”

The result of the long and arduous theft case was that we were letting Rain off on probation.

“Let’s go now.”

Translators note:

Rain got a slap on a wrist, but I guess from a modern persons perspective(Isaac’s) he wouldn’t really want to punish a 10 year old. If it comforts you, Rain rarely appears later.