Chapter 56: The Weight Of One’s Life

The elves blinked, surprised and a few of them even nodded in agreement.

“That…makes sense.” Said one older elf hesitantly. “Since Julius said his side, we should hear yours too.”

Another chimed in. “I agree. I want to know what really happened.”

“We want to hear your truth too, Luca.” Luna raised her hand, her voice clear. “We want to hear your side.”

“Me too! Me too!” Lulu shouted, waving her arms. “I don’t believe you’re a bad person, Luca! So, tell us everything!”

Luca chuckled softly, bowing his head slightly.

“Thank you.” He said sincerely. “Thank you all for giving me the chance to speak.”

Julius’s smile faltered. Something about that tone sent a chill down his spine.

Luca looked around the crowd. “But this time.” He said. “I won’t just talk. Words can be twisted, as we’ve all seen just now.” He smiled faintly at Julius. “So instead of explaining everything myself, I’ll need a few volunteers to help me show it.”

“Show it?” One elf repeated in confusion. “But how? We weren’t there when all that happened.”

Leona and Nyx exchanged glances, curious.

“You don’t need to have been there.” Luca raised a hand. “I’ll simply recreate certain situations—simple ones, to help you understand what it was like. Think of it as a small demonstration.”

The elves around them murmured in interest. Some even smiled.

“That sounds…interesting.” One said. “I want to see this.”

“Me too.” Another added.

“Perfect!” Said Luca, clapping his hands together cheerfully. “Now, where do we start?”

He looked around, grinning. “Let’s go through this one by one. Which question do you want me to answer first?”

The elves hesitated until one finally spoke up.

“The numbers.” She said firmly. “We want to know why you killed so many people. Why so many had to die. Was it truly justified?”

Luca nodded approvingly. “Ah, good question! We’ll start with that, then.”

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “But to talk about that properly, I’ll need a volunteer. Someone with children of their own.”

There was a brief silence as everyone exchanged looks. Then, from among the crowd, a beautiful elf woman stepped forward.

Her figure was mature, graceful—her face radiated warmth and quiet confidence.

“I’ll do it.” She said gently. “I have a daughter of my own. If it’ll help you explain, I’ll help.”

She was someone who was smarter then the other elves and could see through Julius’s tricks, so she wanted to help Luca out.

Luca showed a appreciate gaze. “Wonderful.” He said warmly. “May I ask—how old is your daughter?”

“She’s sixteen.” The woman replied with a proud smile, then chuckled lightly. “But in human years…I suppose she’d be about five or six.”

“Ah.” Luca said with a small laugh. “So she’s still a little one.”

“Yes, she’s quite small.”

Luca smiled kindly at her before saying, in a light, almost teasing tone.

“Then I can say with certainty that when she grows up in a few years, or rather in lot of human years—she’s going to be utterly gorgeous. I can already tell.”

The woman blinked, startled by the sudden compliment, before saying teasingly,

“Oh? And how would you know that? Don’t tell me you came from the future and saw her already?”

Some of the elves laughed lightly. The mood that had been tense moments ago now began to ease.

“Not at all.” Luca grinned and shook his head before looking at her tenderly and saying, “But I can tell. After all, if her mother is already this stunning, then of course the daughter will be just as beautiful.”

“…It’s only natural, right?”

The woman’s ears flushed pink as she blinked in surprise, caught off guard by the smooth remark.

The other elves chuckled, and the once-heavy air softened further.

The playful, easygoing human they had met yesterday was back again, teasing and charming as always.

But while the crowd was beginning to warm up to Luca again, Julius’s smile stiffened.

He could feel the atmosphere shifting back toward the man he’d tried to vilify.

But the one who was most irritated wasn’t Julius—it was one of the male elves in the crowd. His face darkened, and he suddenly shouted,

“Elsa! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Blushing and flirting like a little girl—right in front of your husband!”

But even though the man, who was actually her husband shouted with malice, Elsa did not flinch.

Instead, the warmth that had been on her face just a moment ago vanished, replaced by an icy calm as she turned to look at him.

“I have no husband anymore.” She said flatly, her tone slicing through the silence. “The only husband I ever had died the moment he betrayed this clan to crawl at the feet of humans.”

“So don’t talk to me about marriage, or loyalty, or shame. You forfeited all of that the day you abandoned us. I’ve buried that nonsense long ago.”

The words struck like arrows and the man’s expression twisted, his face contorting in fury.

It wasn’t just the sting of her words—it was the humiliation, the reminder that everyone here knew the truth.

She didn’t care about him. Not anymore.

And she had every right not to. He had betrayed her, abandoned her and their child, and tried to justify it by claiming he had ’found peace’ among humans.

To Elsa, that man was dead.

But he didn’t see it way and his fists clenched, his body trembling with anger.

“You little bitch…” He snarled, stepping forward, eyes burning as if he was about to strike her.

But before he could take another step—

Luca turned.

The playful glint in his eyes vanished.

In its place was something darker but calm, like the stillness before a storm.

His voice, when it came, was low and cold.

“A moment ago.” He said. “I allowed your leader to speak openly. I didn’t interrupt him once. I didn’t even dare to breath to loudly so that I didn’t disturb whatever he was saying.”

The man froze, his fury faltering under Luca’s unwavering stare.

“So…” Luca continued, taking a single slow step toward him. “I’d appreciate it if you extended the same courtesy to me while I speak. Otherwise…”

His tone sharpened like rusty sword.

“…I’ll make sure none of you can speak ever again.”

The silence that followed was absolute. The man staggered back, his legs almost giving out beneath him as he retreated into the crowd.

No one dared to move or breathe too loudly.

Even Julius tensed up slightly, realizing that beneath the easy charm, there was something far more dangerous inside Luca—something he could not manipulate or control.

Elsa, on the other hand, felt her heart flutter strangely. The same was true for several of the other female elves.

Despite being strong and proud warriors themselves, seeing him stand so firmly, so effortlessly in her defense, stirred something deep and warm inside them.

For the first time, they felt safe around him.

The fear that had tainted their image of him was fading away, replaced by admiration and trust.

Luna and Lulu exchanged small smiles.

Leona narrowed her eyes and Nyx, arms crossed, gave a single approving nod.

But Julius—Julius was fuming inside. He could feel the tide shifting again.

Luca, on the other hand, simply smiled again, the darkness gone as quickly as it had come. He turned back to Elsa, his tone warm once more.

“Now then.” He said smoothly. “Coming back to what we were discussing…”

He clasped his hands behind his back and looked at her kindly.

“Let’s imagine a little scenario. Just you and your daughter.”

“Imagine this. A hundred humans are coming toward you. Not to capture you—not even to enslave you. They’re coming to tear you apart. To cut you into pieces.”

A shiver ran through the crowd.

“And before that.” He continued calmly. “They’ll take their time with you…and with your daughter. They’ll violate, torture, and break you both in ways that are unspeakable. They won’t feel remorse. They won’t feel guilt. They’ll enjoy every second of it.”

The elves shifted uneasily, disgust and fear visible in their eyes.

“But…” Luca raised a finger. “There’s one thing in front of you—a button. If you press it, all of them die. Instantly. One push, and a hundred monsters disappear, never to hurt anyone again.”

He looked straight at Elsa before saying,

“What would you do?”

There was no hesitation.

“I’d kill them all.” She said firmly. “Every last one of them.”

Her voice was sharp and unwavering. “Anyone who tries to hurt my daughter dies. I don’t care who they are. I’ll press that button a hundred times if I have to.”

Her conviction made several elves nod instinctively.

One of them muttered, “Of course she would.”

Another said, “She’s right. No one would just let that happen.”

Everyone agreed silently. They all knew the answer already.

They also expected Luca to agree and say that she had told the right answer since it was so obvious.

But to their shock, he instead revealed a mischievous grin and said,

“Congratulations, then.”

“You’ve officially become a mass murdering maniac.”

The words hit like thunder.

“What?!” Elsa exclaimed, her eyes wide. “How am I a mass murderer? I just…protected myself! My daughter!”

Luca tilted his head slightly, his expression calm.

“Oh, but you killed a hundred people, didn’t you?”

“That’s not the same!” She snapped.

“Really?” Luca asked. “Let’s look at the numbers.”

He raised his hand and extended two fingers.

“You and your daughter…Two lives.”

Then he opened his hand fully.

“But those humans on the other hand…One hundred lives.”

“And don’t even start saying whether they were evil or not, they’re still people. Still souls.” He added before Elsa could protest. “So tell me—whose lives weigh heavier? Two…or a hundred?”

Elsa faltered, then reluctantly murmured,

“…A hundred.”

“Exactly.” Luca said with approval. “Then doesn’t that make you a murderer? A mass killer? Someone who caused a genocide, perhaps?”

He took a slow step toward her, his tone gentle but sharp.

“Just think about it. Those men you killed might have had families too. Wives waiting for them. Children. Friends. You killed all of them for your own reasons. Doesn’t that make you selfish? Cruel?”

“…A monster perhaps?”

Elsa froze. The words stung, even though she knew what he was doing.

But before she could respond, others in the crowd spoke up.

“No!” One shouted. “She only defended herself!”

“She did what anyone would do!” Another argued.

“She’s not a murderer—she protected her child!”

Luna nodded firmly. “Exactly! You’re twisting the truth, Luca. She didn’t do anything wrong!”

Lulu added. “Yeah! Those men were evil! They deserved it!”

The crowd murmured in agreement.

Luca smiled knowingly. ’Got them.’

He let their voices rise before speaking to Elsa again, his tone light but precise. “I see. So you’re saying…what you did was justified?”

“Yes.” Elsa said, regaining her courage after hearing the support from others. “I only did what any mother would do. I protected my child.”

“And that those who were killed deserved to die?”

“Yes. They definitely deserved death and something even worse for coming after my daughter.”

She said again, her tone unwavering and Luca nodded thoughtfully.

“Then…” His eyes swept across the crowd. “…Why would any of you consider me a murderer?”

The words struck like lightning.

The clearing went dead silent.

Julius’s face stiffened, while Luca continued with the tone of someone preaching the truth.

“The situation I described just now—it’s exactly the same as mine. The only difference is scale.”

“Those humans you spoke of? Replace them with the nobles, the warlords, the merchants, and soldiers I killed. They were the ones who wanted to enslave all of you, to tear your homes apart, to destroy everything you love.”

“They were the monsters at your door.”

He looked directly at Elsa.

“You pressed a button to protect your daughter. I pressed one to protect thousands of daughters. Thousands of mothers. Thousands of homes.”

He spread his hands slowly.

“So tell me—if you’re not a murderer, then why am I?”

A ripple of realization spread through the elves.

Eyes widened. Murmurs filled the air.

“That’s the same thing…” One whispered.

“He killed to protect us…” Another murmured.

Elsa too looked at him for a long moment before finally nodding slowly.

“You’re right.” She said softly. “What you said makes sense. If I were in your place, I would’ve done the same. Even if the world called me a murderer, I’d protect my people.”

One by one, the elves began nodding too.

“So would I.”

“I’d do it for my daughter!”

“I’d kill anyone who threatened my family!”

“I’d murder thousands for my mother!”

The murmurs spread quickly.

Nods of agreement rippled through the crowd.

Luna and Lulu both looked visibly relieved, their faith in Luca restored.

Leona looked surprised at how easily he turned the tables, while Nyx couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief and think,

’Thank the Goddess for sending someone who knows how to use his words and brains to sort out a issue. Rather then someone who’s all brawn and muscle and has to punch someone to settle something.’

’Mother…She truly has a eye for people.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep