Chapter 262 - URULAS BEFORE VERONICA
Veronica's eyes reflexively swept over the army and landed on Urulas's face. With a pause, she recalled the pool of blood with dead bodies here and there.
Her pupils shook and she stated, "You.. I know you."
Urulas stared at her face. He had seen her from far away.
She had a lean body. He felt like if he poked her, her body would crumble.
Her silver hair was shining in the sunlight. The soft breeze brushed over her body. Her silver hair lightly danced while her white clothes gently moved.
She looked like a great spirit of light in the midst of the sturdy soldiers.
He now realized that he had been longing to see her face – the unique girl who once saved him despite him being the bad guy.
After he noted her expression, his heart sank. Her expression didn't seem welcoming when her eyes landed on him. Her kind, soft, concerned expression was nowhere to be found.
He recalled what his eldest brother told him – she came here for revenge for her people who died by his men's hands.
As he anxiously mulled over it, he heard her saying, "You.. I know you."
Urulas stepped forward and knelt. "Milady, this is Urulas from the Imperial Village. I'm pleased to be your acquaintance, the blessed child of the Great Dragon."
Since their leader knelt on the ground, the soldiers knelt before her as well.
However, it didn't amaze her. "Your name is Urulas..?" Her tone was interrogative as though she couldn't believe it was his name.
Urulas bowed and respectfully answered, "Yes, it is. I've heard you were looking for me and my people. As requested, I've brought them with me."
"Do you know why I asked you to come?"
"Yes, I've heard you have come here to ask something from me."
"Do you know why?"
"No, milady."
"Do you remember the time you killed dozens of innocent people whom you couldn't sell off to rich families?"
".." Urulas didn't reply.
Veronica's expression hardened. "I want an answer – yes or no."
"..Yes, milady."
"Do you know it is a heinous crime to kill people especially if they are innocent?"
Urulas tried to reason with her, "We kill people we need to, milady. Please try to understand our reasons.."
"You need to take the lives of innocent children for a reason?" Veronica's face became ugly. "It's better be a good reason."
Urulas's heart tightened after noticing her expression.
"They could have known our existence. That's why we had to eliminate them before they could speak of us. After all, elves are nothing but a myth in the human realm."
Veronica found his reasons were hilarious. They were so illogical that she took them as lame excuses.
"If you know elves are only myth in the human realm, what were you doing in the human realm? Why did you not take an honest job but turn into a criminal?
"And you say – they could have known – haha, you don't even know if they know about elves or not, but you just killed them thinking they are a nuisance."
Her biting remark was so true that Urulas could only choke. He couldn't utter a single word. He stayed silent and listened to what she had to say.
Veronica stated, "There was a kid among them who wasn't in the age of speaking or walking properly."
Her voice was trembling as she kept going on and on.
Even Urulas could tell that she was furious. He lowered his head and pleaded, "Milady, please quell your anger. No matter what you do, those people wouldn't come back to life."
Veronica's eyes reddened. Even so, she held back her tears.
historical
"They won't come back to life, but they will come to my dream every night and remind me to seek justice for them. They will keep trying to remind me about the bloodshed I want to forget.
"Every night, I hear innocent cries. Every night, I see innocent mouths speak of vengeance.
"Sometimes, I wonder why I am even alive. It would be great if I was the one who died back then. At least, I wouldn't seek revenge.
"Yes, they won't come back. Nonetheless, because of your crime, the innocent me is thinking of justice, the forgiving me thinking of vengeance, the happy-go-lucky me thinking of dead bodies, the idle me cannot sleep because of nightmares.
"I'm here to seek justice. They are dead. So, you will pay the price of the dead. Tell me, how should I punish you?"
Dastan quietly watched the show from the corner. Up until now, he said nothing.
This time he suggested, "Why don't you choose how to punish them? How do you want it – an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?"
Veronica raised her chin slightly. "What's the point of taking their lives? Are they even worthy?"
Her words were too scornful. Urulas gritted his teeth. His nails dug on his palms.
He finally raised his head and stood up. "My team and I didn't do anything wrong. We did what we thought was right. You cannot punish us because I won't accept it."
"..Is that so?" Veronica slowly uttered.
Before they knew it, the atmosphere around them changed. The sun was suddenly covered with dark clouds. The wind abruptly stopped blowing and then all of a sudden, a gust of wind blew.
The elves seemed confused at the sudden change in the weather. They looked around with a stupefied expression.
Elves had a keen connection with nature. If nature's mood changed, they could understand the very moment. It's part of their instinct.
However, at this moment, they couldn't understand nature's behavior. They realized that nature was angry, but they weren't sure why. They didn't know what nature's next move was.
They were looking around when Dastan and Urulas's eyes landed on Veronica.
Surprisingly, she didn't seem nervous. She wasn't looking anywhere but at Urulas.
She seemed calm from the outside, but she was actually seething in anger. A strong wave of emotions was blowing inside her heart.
She didn't stop it. She couldn't stop it.
She couldn't understand the audacity of the criminal who slashed a toddler's throat.
'They need to be punished.. They have to be punished.'