Incompatible Interspecies Wives

Chapter 176: The Flow of Time (8)

As Ascal saw Arwin emerging from beneath the World Tree, he quickly approached her side.

He wrapped a thin blanket around her sweat-soaked body.

Seeing his daughter crying with a broken expression, he couldn't find the words to speak.

After mouthing words for a while, he finally asked with difficulty.

"...Are you alright...?"

But even as he spoke, Ascal was aware of how foolish his words sounded.

"..."

Arwin didn't respond to such an obvious question.

Her dry lips spoke for her condition instead.

Arwin had completely fallen apart after parting ways with Berg.

It was a testament to how intense Berg's presence had been for her.

It wasn't just because he was the first person she met outside the world.

For 170 years, nothing had moved Arwin so deeply.

Not the books from the outside world. Not the gifts from Sylphrien. Not even the visitors to the estate.

Nothing had shaken Arwin, who struggled under repression.

But this being named Berg had changed Arwin so drastically in less than a year.

He had transformed Arwin, who had once yearned for freedom with unwavering conviction.

Arwin was suffering to the point of death over their separation.

She was willing to perform the sacrificial ritual she had despised so much just to bring him back.

"............"

Ascal wanted to tell Arwin to stop everything.

To give up on Berg and not to go through with the sacrificial ritual.

He knew how much she had hated the ritual all along.

But the words wouldn't come out easily.

He had never seen Arwin desire something this intensely other than freedom.

It was difficult to tell her to give up something she wanted so badly, even if it meant pushing herself to the brink.

Arwin's bizarre behavior wasn't without impact.

The elders were also feeling pressured by the subtle madness she displayed.

Ascal could see it.

The stubborn elders were searching for a way to share lifespan.

Before marrying Berg, Arwin's outbursts to be sent outside had seemed like a child's tantrum.

After marrying Berg, Arwin's actions seemed like a weak form of blackmail.

Of course, it was the elders who accepted Arwin's proposal.

But even those capricious beings weren't brave enough to ignore the demands of Arwin, who possessed an innate vessel for longevity.

Her time with the mercenary corps had influenced her as well.

There was a hint of recklessness, as if she had been tainted by the human mercenaries.

Her disregard for life occasionally peeked through.

And there was nothing more terrifying to an elf than such a being.

In this current state where no one could predict what direction her recklessness would take, they had no choice but to grant Arwin's request.

There was also genuine pity for Arwin.