“I want to marry His Highness and have a few kids with him.”
“I love you, Your Highness. I truly love you…”
“Again… Your Highness… Let’s do it again… in my wedding dress…”
I could still remember Lucia’s smile. I could remember all of the different smiles she wore. I could remember the lazy sunlight up in the sky when we went outside to play together. I could still remember the salty and bitter kiss we had in the shrubs. I could still remember her shy yet blissful smile on her face when she was in her white wedding dress. I could still remember the countless days we spent together. I could still remember the gentle way she comforted me, and her skin that was extremely soft.
I love her. I love Lucia. She was the first girl to love me, and she was the girl I trust more than anybody. Nier and I felt reluctant to part with each other, but Lucia always waited for my return with a smile. We knew each other better than words could do justice. We knew that we would never betray each other. She waited for me at home, and I would definitely return.
Lucia is my wife. Without Nier, and if I didn’t succeed Troy’s body, Troy would be living a happy and blissful life with Lucia, raising their child together. If I didn’t exist, Nier wouldn’t be around her. She would be with Troy forever.’
That was how it was supposed to be. Lucia was always smiling. Lucia always wore a smile. Lucia should live a blissful and happy life. She suffered through so much. She gave up her life for her love and gave up her dream for her family. She should be allowed to live a blissful and safe life.
Lucia waited for me to return with a smile when I left. She’d wrap her arm around me and gently breathe as though she was hugging her precious baby. Now, however, she was an unmoving Lucia before me.
I stood next to the bed with a blank look. Lucia looked up at the ceiling with a lifeless gaze. She looked at the ceiling in a daze with her mouth slightly open. She had been pregnant for only five months, yet her belly was abnormally large. It looked as if there was a mountain was on her petite body. Lucia was a very small elf, but she now resembled a large water tank.
“Aaahh!!!”
I let out a cry of pain. I staggered over to the edge of the bed and knelt down in front of Lucia. I held her hand tightly. Her warm and gentle hand was now cold and weak. They were similar to a water balloon. Her white and firm skin now took a long time to rebound back up after pressing it down.
Vyvyan walked up to my trembling body and softly said, “She’s in this state, because of the child. Lucia is still alive, but her child is overwhelmingly frightening, to be honest. Her child has absorbed too much of her mana. It’s as though her child is trying to suck her dry. Your child has a very good lineage. Your child has inherited your mana, that’s why Lucia is in this state. But don’t worry. Lucia won’t die. As long as I’m alive, Lucia won’t die. Lucia is currently relying on the pure mana of the elven spring water, so she will be all right.”
Kneeling in front of Lucia, I held her hand so tightly my entire body quivered. I let out muffled sobs. I couldn’t hear a single word. I was just sobbing and fighting to stop myself from crying out loud. I held her hand tightly feeling despair and eagerness. Lucia could sit up to welcome me with a smile, “Welcome back, Your Highness,” but Lucia’s hand just rested in mine lifelessly.
My tears trickled onto the bed sheet. My vision became blurry. It was the first time I realised I could shed a torrent of tears. I couldn’t control my tears. My heart felt as though it was being dug out when I looked at Lucia’s expression of pain. It was as though my heart was replaced with a gallbladder all of a sudden, causing the disgusting bitter juices to swim around in my body several laps.
“Son, Son, don’t do this. Mommy’s heart aches when Mommy sees you, like this… Mommy can’t help it, though… Lucia has to go through this. She has to. Lucia is giving it her all for your child’s sake. Believe in her, Son, and believe in me. She will be all right. Lucia will be all right. I will definitely return Lucia to you in one piece!”
I then felt a warm sensation from behind. Vyvyan knelt down and hugged me from behind. Her voice sounded slightly hoarse. She stroked my head gently while hugging me tightly.
“M-… Mom…”
I barely made out a word as I trembled. I wiped my tears, but then, the next wave blurred my vision again. I kept wiping my tears, but another layer would form every time, blurring my vision again, so I couldn’t get a clear view of Lucia’s face despite really wanting to see her face.
“This is why I said that trash with inferior lineages cannot give birth to a Galadriel tribe member with superior lineage.”
Despite Lucia’s predicament, the voice behind me still irritated my ears. Mommy Vyvyan hugged my body so tightly that I couldn’t budge.
I then heard the sound of a walking stick from behind. He walked up to Lucia’s side and snickered. “Are these lowly elves trying to marry into the Galadriel tribe to raise their status? That’s impossible. What makes our Galadriel tribe noble and of high status is our lineage and mana purity, not giving birth to a few kids. Grandson, Lucia is not a qualified wife. She can’t even get pregnant with our descendant. What right does such an elf h-”
He couldn’t finish, because I had strangled his neck and pressed him up firmly against the wall.
He never expected I would get physical. He probably never imagined I would get violent with him.
He looked very imposing and gave the impression he was an elder, but he didn’t deserve the respect and wisdom of an elder. He was so short and light. When I grabbed his neck, I had him pressed firmly up to the wall right away.
*Cough!! Cough!!*
“You! You!! You!”
He looked at my eyes with terror. He trembled while he hit me with his walking stick, but it didn’t even tickle. Perhaps my anger had overridden any pain sensations I might’ve felt.
“Troy?!”
Vyvyan exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. I completely ignored her and tightened my grip that was the same grip used to grab a chicken’s neck, instead. I raised my head to look at his squirming eyes and took in a deep breath. I did my absolute best to speak calmly, “I will not allow you to speak ill of my wife. She is my wife. This is my child. I will not allow you to say that about my wife. Lucia has done very well. If you dare to disrespect my wife in my presence again, I will make you pay the price regardless of who you are. You did not raise me, so I have no feelings for you. We merely share the Galadriel surname. But if you disrespect my most beloved Lucia, I will not hesitate to snap your neck.”
I released him. Zelal slid down onto the ground. I walked back to the bed and took a tight hold of Lucia’s hand. With my back facing Vyvyan, I said, “Mom, take him out. I want to stay with Lucia for a while. I want to stay by her side.”
“When do you want you want to stay by her side till?”
“Until Lucia wakes up.”
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