Chapter 95: Identity
When Red-Kite took the goblet from Braenn's hand, she couldn't help but flinch as if she'd received an electric shock. Fear, anger, resentment all these emotions coiled in her mind like weeds, leaving her no time to savor the meaning of Arthur's words.
Trembling, she raised the cup to her lips, yet stopped at the last moment. Looking at the assembled people and dryads in the hall, she shouted with all her strength:
"My name is Maria Barring."
No one spoke. Only Maria's shout echoed and rebounded off the hall walls.
Behind Dandelion, Faiv murmured in confusion: "Maria Barring? Why is she using her old name?"
Braenn wept silently, the tear tracks on her cheeks like two small streams.
Eithné's smile was somewhat stiff. Ever since she had released Red-Kite from the noose, Maria Barring had died, and the newborn was Milva which means 'Red Kite' in Elder Speech the nickname given by the dryads. Now, the girl was abandoning this affectionate name and picking up her old one. It seemed the resentment in her heart was deep.
But then, Eithné's brow smoothed out whether Red-Kite or Maria, neither would exist after drinking the Water of Brokilon. The one reborn would be a brave and loyal dryad.
Hmm, I'll still call her Milva when it's done.
"It's about time, dear." Eithné smiled faintly at Maria, revealing a few small teeth.
Maria suddenly threw her head back and drank the water in the cup in one gulp.
Eithné took the cup, placed it on the floor, and gently stroked the girl's hair: "Now, make your choice. Do you wish to remain in Brokilon, or proceed along the path of destiny?"
Arthur frowned. To him, there was a clear trap in Eithné's question if Maria answered that she would follow the path of destiny, the dryad could forcibly interpret her destiny as fighting for Brokilon.
"What do you want to do the most? Think carefully!" Arthur whispered a reminder.
Maria's expression was vacant; she seemed not to notice Arthur at all, yet the words she spoke caused the Dryad Queen great surprise:
"I want to leave here."
"Leave?" Eithné's voice rose to a sharp pitch with fury: "Why!"
Taking advantage of the Queen's shock, Maria swiftly darted a few steps behind Arthur, taking his arm and saying:
"I followed your instructions and drank the Water of Brokilon. Although I didn't transform into a dryad as you wished, our agreement ends here. I am still a human, and I will be a human from now on, so I should naturally return to the human world. This place…"
Maria scanned the hall, looking at the various expressions of the dryads by the door and windows, and finally spoke the rest of her words: "This is not my home."
"Ridiculous!" Eithné had by now regained her composure, her tone becoming elegant and cold once more: "Surely you don't think you have any road back, do you? You traitor to the human world!"
Maria's face suddenly turned ashen, but Eithné was not finished with her:
"Perhaps you think Arthur will be your shield, but what if I told him…"
"Stop it! I…"
Maria sadly released Arthur, as if releasing her own freedom.
But just a second before she was about to give in, her hand was firmly clasped by Arthur:
"Let her speak. Nothing is going to fall apart."
Eithné's gaze flickered playfully between the two of them before she continued:
"What did you think I was going to do? Curse you in a fit of pique? Or sow discord? What I can do is far more potent than either of those I intend to tell you the truth."
Maria suddenly clenched her hand, her nails nearly tearing Arthur's skin.
Noticing her action, the triumph in Eithné's eyes almost spilled over:
"Five years ago, a little girl was chased into Brokilon, treated as prey by humans. I saved her the girl standing next to you, Milva. And as it turns out, the reward she brought me was beyond imagination."
"At that time, Verden and Creyden believed the dryads were in decline and were eager to expand their territories eastward. They organized four separate expeditions, all of which failed, without exception."
"If that's all you intend to say, I don't have the patience to listen." Arthur gave a massive yawn: "I don't need to hear the rest to know what happened. It's simply that Milva helped the dryads repel the expeditionary forces, and her hands were stained with human blood."
"Save it, Eithné. Do you think I care about that? She was your soldier at the time. A soldier fighting bravely for their side is merely fulfilling their duty; it's business."
The ancient sages had already made a judgment on this: the harm caused by an individual performing their public duty should be attributed to the collective.
But Maria's face didn't relax in the slightest, and Eithné's smile grew wider: "What if I told you that Milva did not participate in the war as a soldier?"
"Instead, she acted as a guide, leading them into the dryads' ambushes…"
"Four times!"
The sound of the wind rushing in through the dome suddenly became much clearer.
Arthur looked at Maria, but she kept her head down, her gaze fixed rigidly on the toes poking out from her sandals.
"I spit on you! Do you think we'll believe your nonsense just because you babble some rubbish? All the dryads here are your subordinates, and their memories were wiped. Isn't everything whatever you say it is?" Zoltan rumbled angrily, but the dwarf, lacking subtlety, was easily shut down by Eithné:
"Of course, you won't believe my one-sided story, but you are more than welcome to send letters to the royal houses of Verden and Creyden to inquire."
"I believe those 'surviving' members of the expeditionary forces are still undergoing interrogation. If you compare their accounts, and add a little logic, it won't be difficult to reach the truth…"
It's over!
Maria's body was stiff as stone, her heart feeling like it had sunk into ice water. When dealing with the expeditionary forces, she had wondered why they were leaving survivors. Eithné's explanation then was that the survivors' testimonies would help clear her of suspicion and explain how she managed to survive the fierce losses unscathed.
She never imagined that those same witnesses could also be used to sever her path of retreat...
"You truly disgust me!" Arthur's voice boomed suddenly. Maria closed her eyes in resignation, awaiting his fury.
She knew how hateful her actions were. Even if the next second she were torn apart by that terrifying roar, it would be entirely reasonable.
But Arthur's object of accusation was not Maria, but the Dryad Queen Eithné.
"She may be a traitor to humanity, but from the dryads' perspective, she was a warrior who walked in the shadows, a hero who repeatedly helped you avert disaster. And now you turn around and sell her out completely?"
"I have never encountered anyone as shameless as you!"
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