bioinnovel Chapter 41 What?! The clan leader lost the fight for a man and is secretly crying under the covers!
Chapter 41 What?! The clan leader lost the fight for a man and is secretly crying under the covers!
As Elune turned to leave, her steps were as steady as when she inspected the settlement.
Her long silver hair drew a cool arc behind her, and the hem of her dark green robe brushed the ground without being disheveled.
Only she knew that a strange and bittersweet emotion was overflowing from her beating heart.
Every step felt like walking on invisible, thin ice.
She could feel the gazes behind her—concerned, curious, and hesitant.
But she cannot turn back.
At least, we can't turn back here.
The journey from the open space in the center of the settlement to her treehouse is not short.
Elune walked very slowly.
She passed by the glowing mushrooms swaying gently in the breeze.
Passing by ancient trees entwined with vines.
She even managed to nod in response to the few young druids who bowed to her.
But her thoughts had already drifted back to the open space where they had just been.
It drifted into Lynn's deep brown eyes.
It drifted to the gentle yet helpless expression on his face as he comforted Leah.
It drifted to his slightly parted lips as he spoke.
That night, the sensation came without warning.
Soft and slightly cool.
It carried the sweet fragrance of moon dew and the clean scent of his body.
And... the sensation of the soul being enveloped by warm water when the natural contract is concluded.
Elune's fingers curled up unconsciously.
The door to the treehouse is right in front of us.
She reached out and her fingertips touched the wooden door carved with vine patterns, only then realizing that her hand was trembling slightly.
The door opened.
Then it was closed again.
When the barrier that had isolated her from the outside world closed up again.
Elune's taut back finally began to relax.
She leaned against the wooden door and slowly slid down to sit on the ground.
It was very quiet inside the treehouse.
Only the occasional birdsong from outside the window and the indistinct sounds of elves conversing in the distance.
Sunlight streamed through the skylight, leaving bright spots of light on the floor.
Fine dust particles floated in the air, slowly rotating within the beam of light.
Elune looked down at her hands, which were spread out on her knees.
These hands can cast spells that awaken ancient trees, weave green light to heal wounds, and draw complex spell models.
But now, they are trembling slightly out of control.
She doesn't understand.
Why... does my chest feel so tight?
Why... does it feel like something is blocking my throat?
Why are my eyes so sore?
"I need to fulfill my duties as the clan chief."
"I need to take on the responsibility of protecting nature."
She spoke softly to herself, her voice sounding both exceptionally clear and exceptionally hollow in the silent treehouse.
"Everything between him and me was just an accident."
"It's simply to protect nature."
Elune's fingers slowly tightened, gripping the soft fabric of the hem of her robe.
She remembered the helpless yet indulgent look in Lynn's eyes when he looked at Leah.
He remembered the undisguised dependence and possessiveness in Leah's eyes when she threw herself into his arms.
I remembered how Lynn had responded gently yet firmly when Leah cried and said, "Don't go."
"I am the prophet."
"I chose to save the world... so that I could better protect you."
Elune closed her eyes.
The eyelashes cast a faint shadow under the eyelids.
Yes.
They... are each other's most important people.
One is her younger sister, with whom she has depended on each other since childhood.
One is an older brother who carries a heavy mission yet remains gentle and steadfast.
And what about yourself?
An elven chieftain who, in a drunken stupor, unilaterally entered into a natural pact with him.
An elder who was four hundred years older than him.
This thought, like a tiny thorn, unexpectedly pierced the softest part of my heart.
Four hundred years old.
For humankind, this is a long period of time sufficient for dynasties to rise and fall, and for civilizations to flourish and decline.
Although the elf's appearance was frozen at the height of her youth.
Although four hundred years is only the beginning of maturity for an elf's lifespan—
But whenever she thought of Lynn's face, which still carried a hint of youthful spirit, she would...
I remember the slight curve of his eyes when he smiled.
I remember the slight furrowing of his brow when he was focused…
That four-hundred-year gap will become incredibly clear and incredibly heavy.
distance.
A naturally existing distance.
It settles in the eyes, accumulates in experience, and condenses into a temperament called "composure".
At the same time, it also created a chasm that is difficult to cross.
Just as she could never, like Leah, throw herself into Lynn's arms without restraint and express her fear and dependence in a tearful voice.
Just as she could only maintain the dignity and restraint befitting a clan leader from an appropriate distance, expressing concern and support in the most proper manner.
Just like... just now.
Turning away, I shut all the chaos, all the emotions, and all the unspoken words outside that thin wooden door.
"so."
"That's the right way."
Elune murmured to herself, trying to convince herself.
"As the clan leader, one should not be troubled by trivial matters of personal feelings."
"Focus on the affairs of the settlement, focus on responding to the crises that arise, and focus on protecting the way of nature."
"Instead of being there..."
She paused, her voice lowering to almost inaudible.
"Instead of being there... and getting upset over a human being."
But the bitterness in her heart did not lessen despite Elune's self-persuasion.
Instead, it's like spilled fruit vinegar, slowly and stubbornly seeping into every part of the body.
That unfamiliar, burning emotion surged within my chest, unable to find an outlet.
It squeezed her heart, burned her throat, and surged to her eyes—
Elune suddenly stood up.
The movement was somewhat hasty, and it even knocked over a small pot of fluorescent mushrooms on the low table next to it.
The flowerpot fell to the ground, making a slight cracking sound.
Soil and tiny roots were scattered out, and the fluorescent mushrooms trembled slightly on the ground.
She stared at the mess for a few seconds, stunned.
Then, it was as if they had finally found an outlet.
She crouched down and began to pick up the pieces and dirt with her bare hands.
A small cut appeared on my fingertip from a shard of pottery, and tiny beads of blood oozed out.
She ignored it.
I mechanically scooped the soil back into the new flowerpot, carefully straightened the roots of the fluorescent mushroom, and replanted it.
When she did these things, her movements were steady, even elegant.
But when the last handful of soil was filled in.
When the glowing mushrooms stood up again in the pot.
When her hands were covered in dirt and a little dried blood—
Elune looked at her dirty hands and suddenly stopped.
She remained in a squatting position, her back slightly arched, her long silver hair slipping from her shoulders and falling beside her cheeks.
Then, a drop of warm liquid unexpectedly broke on the back of my hand.
Elune was stunned.
She slowly raised her other hand, her fingertips gently touching her cheek.
It's wet.
She...cried?
This realization left Elune momentarily bewildered.
For four hundred years, she has experienced the departure of her people, the cruelty of war, and the crisis of natural imbalance.
She has felt sadness, anger, and helplessness.
But she had never... shed tears like this, because of such personal, trivial emotions.
But the tears were uncontrollable.
One after another, they rolled down silently.
At first, it simply slid down quietly, like dewdrops on leaves in the early morning.
But soon, the long-suppressed bitterness finally broke through the dam of reason—
Elune's shoulders began to tremble slightly.
She raised her hand, which was covered in mud and blood, and covered her mouth, silencing the sobs that were about to spill out.
However, faint, broken gasping sounds still leaked out from between his fingers.
She stood up in a panic and staggered toward the bed.
It's as if they're trying to avoid something.
It's as if it's trying to hide something.
She pulled the soft, embroidered quilt over the bed and wrapped herself in it.
Darkness and the soft scent of fabric enveloped her.
And finally, her last bit of restraint completely crumbled.
Suppressed, muffled sobs came from under the covers.
At first it was just a soft sob.
Gradually, her voice filled with grievance, confusion, and a sadness that even she herself could not understand.
Why...?
Her murmured words, thick with a nasal tone, drifted from under the covers, broken and indistinct.
"I like someone."
Why did it turn out to be... such a painful thing?
she does not know.
She has never liked anyone.
Throughout her four hundred years of life, she dedicated her passion to the way of nature and her responsibility to the rise and fall of settlements.
love…
For Elune, it is the ethereal lament in ancient poems, the shy whispers of young elves, a distant and vague concept.
Until that drunken night.
Until that unexpected kiss.
Until the natural covenant briefly connected their souls, allowing her to feel the warmth and rhythm of another kind of life.
Even when she was in the crowd, her eyes would unconsciously follow his figure.
Until her heart tightened at the tenderness he showed when he looked at someone else.
until this moment-
She hid in her treehouse, wrapped in a blanket, and shed her first tears in four hundred years for this budding, doomed love.
Elune cried quietly.
There was no wailing, no screaming, only suppressed sobs, muffled by the blanket.
Tears soaked the fabric beneath her cheeks, leaving dark stains.
Her long, silver hair clung messily to her sweaty forehead and neck, and the hem of her robe was slightly open from her earlier movements.
She curled up, hugging herself tightly.
It was as if this could ward off the empty, aching, dull pain in my chest.
Until I don't know how much time had passed.
Elune's crying stopped abruptly when footsteps were heard outside the treehouse.
Finished!
I'm about to be seen in my ugly state by my tribe.