Chapter 23

Son-con – Vol . 3 Ch . 23

October 5, 2017 by Wu Jizun

“Lucia, what do you like most?”

The young Lucia smiled and answered honestly: “Meat pies, berries and Troy’s mom!”

“Lucia, what do you like most?”

Lucia who was now old enough to get married squint her eyes and lazily answered: “Grilled meat, sunlight and Troy’s smile . ”

“Lucia, what do you like most?”

Lucia knelt down on one knee, raised her head and resolutely replied: “Her highness, our nation, and his highness . ”

I’ll never forget those three adults walking towards him with a prideful smile on their faces while holding ropes and rags . Their wretched and dirty smile sometimes makes his younger self cry in his dreams . I’ll never forget that small silhouette that charged at the three people over and over, falling over and over, getting up over and over as he shouted towards himself .

That was the worst beating I ever saw a prince receive, but at the same time, the bravest prince I’d ever seen . And after the event, I tightly hugged Troy by my side whenever I awoke from my nightmares . I realised that I had to protect his highness at the time .

I must protect his highness .

When I was tolerating the bugs biting me while crawling around in the grass…

I must protect his highness .

When I couldn’t move my body at night because of my bruises…

I must protect his highness .

When I fought off starvation and sleepiness while staggering through the heavy rain… .

That’s what I thought to myself at the time .

The night I went to seek the wind elves for their buffs, I got dragged around by a white deer for who knows how long . I tied my hands up to the shaft of the arrow that I shot into its body so that I wouldn’t let go if I passed out . The white deer ran like crazy while I was dragged along like a kite . I didn’t let go even when I coughed up blood from colliding with rocks, shrubs and trees, dislocated my arm and had a calf fracture .

I persisted because I was always thinking of his highness’s smile in my subconscious .

During my hazy moments of awakening, there seemed to be somebody asking me why I fought so hard . If I were after the buffs of the wind elves, I could’ve given up on that deer, returned home to recuperate and try again the next month . So why was I so desperate?

Yeah . Why?

I just needed to wait one month .

It must’ve been because I wouldn’t be able to face him if I failed . I must’ve been afraid of failure and letting all my efforts all those years go to waste .

I wanted to protect his highness, so I needed power . And I was willing to sell my soul if it meant that I could obtain power .

When I woke up again, I was already lying inside the divine temple of the wind elves while the white deer by my side had vanished . In exchange, I had a feeling I’d never felt before . It was the feeling of Mana flowing around my body . I waved my hand and air flowed . My eyes could see all the changes in the air .

I succeeded .

I finally won the right to be embraced by his highness . I finally won the right to stay by his highness’s side . I finally could protect his highness… .

“Lucia, let’s get engaged . ”

“Pffff!!”

“What?! I’m serious! I’m serious! I don’t know what getting married entails either, but… But I heard mom said we could be together forever if we got married . I did ask mom, but mom said we were too young though, so let’s get engaged first!”

That was my happiest moment .

“Alright, your highness!”

It was cloudy that day and the wind was like music . The warm sun outside made me sleepy . The chirping of the birds on the trees outside could be heard . The shade of the trees overhead cast a motley light . His highness gently held my hand which was placed on the lawn . My body felt as though it was complete . I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, and the warmth from his hands went straight to my heart .

“Your highness…”

When I turned my head around, I noticed his highness had gone pale . I grabbed hold of his frozen hands tightly . His highness sat against the cold stone wall silently as blood spilled forth from his chest like it was overflowing .

“YOUR HIGHNESS!!”

Lucia quickly stood up as the heavy rain continued to pour down on her . The immense cold almost prevented her from waking . She touched her arms and legs, and they were still there . She then struggled to grab her bow and arrows by her side and got up before shaking her head . She only intended to take a short breather, but she fell asleep underneath the tree . She was surrounded in darkness with only the sound of the downpour . Her frozen torso made it feel like she wasn’t alive . The only means of confirming she was still alive was the torture of her growling stomach .

How long had it been since she ate a proper meal?

Three days? Five days?

Grass is edible but elves don’t live off grass . It can only prevent death from starvation, but I myself am weak, so how am I going to pursue a white deer king?

Lucia shook her head and moved her hair stuck to her forehead aside . She then took out a raw and wet piece of meat from inside her shirt, took a bite and directly swallowed it . She then stamped her feet, wiped her eyes, squat down and meticulously searched for traces of the white deer king .

Before she left, she cast a spell on the cave where the prince was staying with her last ounce of mana . The buffs provided by the wind elves were her strongest source of mana . She needed to make another sacrifice once she ran out in order to replenish it . She used her last ounce of magic to gather the wind and seal the entrance to the cave . It could basically prevent people from entering . Even the assassins wouldn’t be able to enter unless they were at the level of a great priest .

She fed his highness meat, so he should be able to hang in there for two to three days . She believed she could successfully kill a white deer king in that time, take its horn and return .

Perfect .

Now that she’d lost her buffs provided by the wind elves, she was in the exact same situation as when she went to seek the wind elves that year . Starvation, fatigue, sleepiness, despair… But she was of the same mind as back then . She was determined to protect his highness .

Without the buffs from the wind elves, she couldn’t detect the conspiracy in the downpour . Without the buffs from the wind elves, she couldn’t catch a white deer king . She could only rely on her experience and wit to locate the white deer king, and she only had one chance . If she missed, his highness was doomed and she would suicide in that rock cave .

Would that be considered love or guilt?

Probably both .

The traces left behind by the white deer king got more and more prominent . In other words, it was close by . White deer king won’t move around in this downpour, while she could .

Lucia clenched her teeth and struggled to take her first step into the rain . Large raindrops dropped on her . She felt so heavy her legs went weak . They weren’t raindrops . It was practically a waterfall coming down on her . After it splashed on her it formed mist . Every step she took made her feel like her bones were being frozen . Every cell in her body was warning her that the ice-cold rain would take her life, but Lucia continued to stumble and stagger unwaveringly forward in a particular direction .

The white deer king raised its head and looked in a particular direction . It was slightly startled . It felt anxious as it took shelter under a tree . However, there was nothing in sight . It turned its head around, stamped on the ground and then lay back down .

Deer hunting festival . Deer hunting festival .

A festival where you kill the king of another tribe .

It looks like a king shall fall this time .