The Return of Lilietta - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 19

He led her toward the manor’s armory and asked.

“Do you like guns?”

“Yeah, they’re my main weapon that I handle best. Of course, I like them too.”

“Weapons… It’s unusual that guns are your main weapon rather than a hobby. Usually people only use them for hunting or self-defense, not as weapons.”

“What?”

Rita unconsciously raised her voice.

“You don’t use guns as weapons? Why?”

“They’re inconvenient and dangerous in many ways. Rapid fire is difficult, accuracy isn’t high, and they malfunction often. That’s why we usually use bows in actual combat. It’s easier to assist with wind magic that way. Bows can also be fired in arcs without interfering with knights or infantry fighting up front.”

Listening to his explanation, Rita recalled her childhood. Come to think of it, she had never seen the castle guard or the family knight order handle guns – they used swords or bows.

‘That’s right, firearms haven’t developed much in this world. To the point where they’re not even properly treated as weapons.’

She didn’t expect magic guns, the pinnacle of magical engineering, but it would be nice to have decent guns to use – though that seemed like too much to hope for.

Following Leonhardt into the armory with an ominous feeling, Rita looked at the firearms displayed in the showcase and sighed inwardly.

‘Good lord, muskets and old revolvers…’

Even by her standards, what was displayed looked more like antiques or art pieces than weapons. Judging by the various ornate decorations attached to the barrels, they really seemed to be hobby collectibles.

‘No wonder bows with magic assistance outperform these guns used without any magic.’

Leonhardt opened the showcase and said.

“If there’s anything you like, you can take it.”

Rita didn’t deliberate long. She didn’t even glance at the long, heavy muskets and instead picked up several small revolvers, choosing the lightest one.

Her recovered original body was too frail compared to ‘Rita Pascal’s’ body, so she probably couldn’t handle heavy guns properly anyway – there was no choice.

“I’ll take this one.”

“Then bullets and gunpowder—”

“That’s fine.”

Originally, the core of magic gunmanship was replacing bullets with self-generated magic bullets and firing with aura.

Though gunpowder and real bullets were often used as supplements, the items here weren’t made for magic gunmanship, so they wouldn’t be particularly helpful.

‘Still, it’s nice to have a gun. My goodness, how many days has it been since I held a gun?’

Leonhardt watched with a bitter expression as Rita visibly rejoiced while holding the empty revolver with no bullets or gunpowder, then asked gently.

“Lili, do you feel at ease now?”

“Yeah. Thank you, Leon oppa.”

He secretly swallowed a sigh.

It was upsetting that his youngest sister was happy holding a weapon, but by his standards, it was also upsetting that she considered such a small handgun, no different from a toy, as a weapon.

‘What kind of place was the world that child lived in that she considers that a weapon… Were there no knights who could use aura? Is that why she fought a difficult war against things called demons?’

He should find an opportunity to show her the power of knights and aura. So his pitiful sister could feel at ease without such things.

‘I should show her a knight order sparring match next time.’

Leonhardt made that resolution inwardly.

And Lillieta was making a different resolution.

‘By this world’s standards where they haven’t even discovered aura, magic gunmanship would be too powerful. There’s no bulletproof equipment and ordinary aura would just be pierced through… For safety, I should mainly use weaker magic bullets. If an emergency situation arises, it would be terrible if I killed someone while trying to subdue them.’

* * *

That very night.

Lillieta had an episode.

Whether it was because she held a gun for the first time in a while, or because of the anxiety and fear she felt during the day.

She dreamed of the moment she first shot and killed a person directly. That dream triggered the episode.

Winter of her 14th year.

Ear-splitting gunshots. Agonizing screams. Hot red blood splattering up. A different color from demons.

She hadn’t meant to shoot that person. She hadn’t meant to kill, just…

There was no way to take back a bullet already fired.

The man pierced by her magic bullet collapsed, and Gid Pascal, blood streaming from one eye, turned to look at her with a shocked face, then bang – a bomb exploded.

Flames shot up as screams and cries burst forth.

People rushing toward them. The elders who had been comrades until yesterday, no, until just moments ago. They raised weapons toward Gid and her.

“Damn it, those Pascal bastards aren’t children even when they look young!”

“Monster brats!”

Behind her comrade who was clutching his bleeding eye and shaking his shoulders, former allies raised their swords. They swung clubs toward her comrade’s head. They pulled triggers aimed at her comrade.

Rita reflexively moved her gun barrel.

She was faster than them. Gunshots like exploding bombs echoed.

An elder who had given her hoarded snacks saying growing children needed to eat a lot fell to her bullets. An elder who had taught her how to maintain magic guns had his head blown apart by her bullets.

She didn’t want to kill them. But if she didn’t.

A grenade thrown by someone rolled to her feet. Her comrade embraced her and rolled away.

Bang.

The explosion was terrifyingly loud. Hearing it right next to you could burst your eardrums.

It actually did burst. She could feel blood flowing from her ears.

“Let’s run, Rita. We need to escape from here right now.”

A desperate boy’s whisper, heard faintly through damaged ears.

Rita woke from the dream like lightning.

In the quiet room, she kept hearing bomb sounds. Sounds only she could hear.

Even knowing they were auditory hallucinations, they felt real. No, were they really hallucinations? Weren’t bombs exploding somewhere?

Wasn’t coming home the dream, and wasn’t she actually still on the battlefield?

Explosions continued and her ears rang. Her vision swayed and she couldn’t breathe well. Though it was clearly a spacious room, she had the illusion that the walls were shrinking and pressing in from all sides.

She had to run. She had to escape from here right now.

She crawled outside.

She threw open a corridor window. Facing the cool night breeze and looking down at the dark, peaceful garden, she came to her senses somewhat.

This isn’t that place. There’s no fire or screaming.

But she still kept hearing bomb sounds. Her breathing was labored and her heart was racing. Rita crouched in a corner of the corridor and covered her ears.

“Rita, do you hear explosions again?”

“Come here. I’ll turn on the music box.”

She recalled the old music box her comrade used to open while sitting shoulder to shoulder with her. It was something they had found together in the ruins.

The small angel doll that turned with creaking sounds and the broken mirror. The music box melody that spread quietly and low breathing. Wordless comfort from someone who shared the same memories.

Rita tried to calm down by recalling those things.

Her efforts paid off as her vision returned and her breathing settled, but faint explosions still echoed in her ears. Even knowing they were hallucinations, they wouldn’t disappear.

‘I need to… get a music box.’

She buried her head in her knees.

* * *

Richard returned to Birch Tree Castle late at night.

Having stayed out the previous night, he was completely unaware of the pillar of light that shot up from the forest lake or the fact that Lillieta had recovered her memories.

Upon returning, he was immediately caught by the butler and met with his older brother.

“Lili has recovered her childhood memories.”

He heard about what had happened in the meantime, how Lillieta had returned.

“Do you still think that child is fake?”

Richard couldn’t answer that question. He recalled the child he had faced directly.

‘She was so… so much like Lili that I couldn’t think of anything.’

Though he had been completely drunk, he clearly remembered the disgraceful behavior he had displayed. He had stayed out all night drinking continuously, wanting to forget how he had cried and begged for forgiveness in front of a sister who might have been fake.

‘But that child is real?’

The real Lillieta has returned?

Richard wandered around the castle in a dazed state. Joy and guilt, delight and self-loathing, relief and despair were all mixed together, making it impossible for him to come to his senses.

‘I’m trash.’

Even on the night Lillieta went missing, he had turned away from her, and when she miraculously returned after 10 years, he failed to recognize her and tried to intimidate her by calling her fake.

Unable to even distinguish between real and fake, he had only wallowed in guilt and whined recklessly in front of her.

Now that she’s real, he’s afraid.

He had so desperately wished for Lillieta to return alive, praying that he would do anything if only she would come back, but now that his wish had become reality, he had no idea what to do.

What if she resents him for going missing because of her brother? It would be natural, and he actually thinks it’s his fault too, but precisely because of that, if he heard such blame directly from Lillieta’s mouth, he would…

‘I don’t think I could bear it.’

He felt like he would want to die. He was afraid.

‘I’m really such a disgusting bastard…’

Richard walked unsteadily, berating himself. When he came to his senses, he was near Lillieta’s room. It wasn’t surprising since this wasn’t the first or second time he had unconsciously come here when drunk.

‘I can’t collapse and fall asleep here again. I need to go back…’

As he staggered and turned around, his senses suddenly caught a presence.

Though ruined by alcohol, a top-tier knight’s instincts don’t disappear, and he could clearly sense a person’s presence even in the darkness. Richard instinctively looked in the exact direction.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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