NOVEL WEB Chapter 117 - Side Story: Martinelshiela (Part 2)
Side Story: Martinelshiela (Part 2)
The newborn baby… to be honest, at first, I thought she was dead. Because she wasn’t crying, wasn’t moving, wasn’t even twitching, just lying there.
But after confirming that she was breathing, we finally understood, that the curse was real.
—Children born between High Elves and those of other races are not given a soul—
“I won’t give up. Even if she has no soul, maybe she’ll be able to feel something, someday.”
“But Yennaliearl, you…”
“I know. I’ll do my best, until my very last breath. That’s all I can do, as a mother.”
The baby, who wouldn’t cry, wouldn’t laugh, who wouldn’t even react, wasn’t exactly what you’d call… adorable.
We fed her milk, put her to sleep, and exercised her, all on a strict schedule. And one day, out of the blue, she’d develop a high fever or start vomiting. She was weaker than the average child. And since she couldn’t even cry to indicate her discomfort, we couldn’t leave her side. If we looked away for even a moment, her life could vanish.
But Yennaliearl always had a smile on her face, showering her with love, always whispering words of affection. And as I helped with the child-rearing, I started to care about her too. I started to believe that maybe, one day, just as Yennaliearl had said, this child would show us her will. I was able to have that faint hope.
There was a silver lining to Meg being a child who wouldn’t cry or laugh. It was easy to deceive Schelmelhorn, who’d occasionally visit.
Fearing that he might kill her if he found out, we kept Meg’s existence a secret from everyone in the village. Thankfully, she was living with Yennaliearl in a secluded area, and no one else even noticed her.
But Schelmelhorn was different. Every time he returned, he’d come to see how Yennaliearl was doing. During those times, I’d hide Meg.
And so, for twenty years, Meg’s existence remained a secret. But then, that day came.
“…There’s another High Elf here, isn’t there?”
Meg’s body was growing, and we could no longer conceal her presence. Schelmelhorn had finally noticed her.
“Just what is the meaning of this!? This… filthy child of those insects…!”
“This child might be the child of another race, but she’s definitely a High Elf! You can tell too, can’t you!? This is proof that even a child of another race can be born as a High Elf!”
“Hmph, if it has the blood of insects, it’s no different from an insect. A soulless vessel, it doesn’t even have value as a living being.”
“Wh…”
Even Yennaliearl was about to snap at his words, how he wouldn’t even recognize her as a living being. But then, Schelmelhorn noticed something.
“Hmm, wait. …I see, so the father of this vessel is the Demon King? Hmm, now that’s interesting. It’s not bad, for an insect. I’ll put this vessel to good use. Give it to me.”
Schelmelhorn has the ability to read minds. We were always on guard, to prevent him from reading ours, but it seemed that he’d exploited a moment of weakness, when Yennaliearl had let her emotions get the better of her. She blamed herself for it for the rest of her life.
“Never! I won’t let you…!”
“You’re a troublesome girl. But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re my property. And I’m not a demon. I’ll give you time. Hand her over to me tonight. Understand? This is a patriarch’s order.”
“…!”
A patriarch’s order. One of the curses deeply etched into High Elf blood. An order that could never be disobeyed. Tears of regret streamed down Yennaliearl’s face as she glared at Schelmelhorn, who then left.
“It’s time for me to use my ability. For you, and your child. Make a wish.”
After he’d left, I said this to her. My ability was to grant any one wish, one wish for one person. Of course, there were exceptions, things like immortality and resurrection.
Everyone in the village had already used their wish, but she’d known, through her precognitive abilities, that she shouldn’t ask yet. But now was the time. It seemed she’d been right. She looked at me and said:
“To a safe place, for this child.”
“…Just the child?”
“Yes. But if I said me too, it would become her wish, right? I want her wish to be granted.”
Take Meg somewhere safe. That was her wish. If she was included in that, it would be counted as two wishes. She said that she had no intention of letting Meg use the blessing that she can only receive once in her lifetime to fulfill her wish.
“But this child…”
“She has no soul. But sometimes… I sense something like a will. I’m sure she’ll develop her own desires. I want to use it to grant those desires.”
“I see. Alright. Then let’s change it up a bit. Yennaliearl, give me the child’s earrings.”
I figured she must have foreseen something if she was willing to go that far, so I didn’t question her further. And then, I had her give me the earrings we’d given Meg when she was born. I’d imbue them with power, so they could grant her wish, automatically, whenever she wished for something.
“You’re imbuing these… with your ability?”
“That’s right. I might never see her again. So it’s best to make it so my ability can be activated anytime, right? So that it can be activated whenever she strongly wishes for something.”
“Thank you… Mara-oba-sama.”
“Fufu, it’s been a while since I’ve been called that. …We don’t know what she’ll wish for, you know? Maybe she’ll just wish for a feast to appear before her.”
“I don’t mind. It’s her wish. But I believe she’ll wish for something far more important.”
“Precognition?”
“Yes, and in the not-so-distant future. But it’s just a prediction. The future, after all, is always changing, little by little.”
And so, I enchanted the earrings and put them back on Meg’s ears. And then, it was time to grant Yennaliearl’s wish. I didn’t know where this “safe place” was. And if I did, it could lead to Schelmelhorn finding out.
Fortunately, all he’d said was to “hand it over.” What that means is up to us.
Yennaliearl poured all her remaining power into the earrings before using the magic to send Meg to a safe place. To protect her from harm, whatever it might be. Powerful, absolute protective magic. And she imbued them with the wish that Meg would encounter someone trustworthy who would protect her. A part of her had hoped it would be the Demon King, or one of her traveling companions, but she’d decided against it. Well, it was dangerous, after all.
And so, the magic that granted Yennaliearl’s wish was activated, and Meg was safely transported somewhere. As she said her final farewell, she spoke to you about something… I’m sure you don’t remember it. It can’t be helped, but I think it’s a little sad.
And then, shortly after that, Yennaliearl ended her life. …She fell asleep with a peaceful look on her face.