Shut up, brave man! I don't want to atone for my sins to you!

"Who would want to kill their mother unless it's absolutely necessary?"

"We can't save our mad mother, and if we don't kill her, she will destroy all of Lentiheim."

"So, for the survival of Lentiheim, we have no choice but to do this."

After hearing this, Lacie didn't know what to say.

She just suddenly remembered what Selowei had said to her and Charles not long ago.

Children will eventually grow up, and when the time comes, they will all have their own coming-of-age ceremony.

But for the elves, their coming-of-age ceremony is also their mother's funeral.

Between the blessings and eulogies, the adult elves and the reborn Lentiheim will face a tomorrow without the Matron.

For some reason, this scene suddenly reminded Lacie of a song:

A song from her hometown that is well known to many people.

The name of the song is "Moon Boat".

So the witch couldn't help but hum softly:

"I can catch the moon,

I will use countless dreams,

Holding up countless oars..."

Her singing voice was pleasant and ethereal, yet it also revealed an inexplicable sadness, echoing softly in the starless, moonless night sky shrouded in thick fog.

Fuwenna subconsciously turned her head and looked at the witch who was humming softly.

An indescribable complex emotion rose from her chest and quickly penetrated her limbs and bones, feeling heavy and oppressive, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

Obviously, she couldn't understand the lyrics sung by the witch at all - it was a strange language she had never come across before.

At this time, the witch had already hummed to the climax of the song:

"...Goodbye, Mom.

I'm sailing away tonight.

Don't worry about me.

I have the oars of joy and wisdom,

When you wake up, don't tell anyone.

I am rowing my moon boat across the Milky Way..."

After humming this passage, Lacie suddenly stopped.

She said nothing more and did not continue singing.

Fuwena suddenly felt very sad. A sticky, suffocating heavy emotion overwhelmed her. Her lips trembled but she could not utter complete words.

After a long time, the Archon lowered her eyes and asked in a low voice:

"It's a very nice song, can you tell me its name?"

"...'Moon Boat,'" Rachel whispered. "Its name is 'Moon Boat.'"

"Can you tell me what story it tells?"

"It tells the story of a naughty child who bids farewell to his mother and sets out on a voyage alone on a moon boat."

"Is that so?"

Fuwenna was stunned for a moment, and involuntarily raised her head to look at the night sky covered by thick fog.

"So, are we going to start our voyage too..."

She lowered her eyes and whispered softly.

It seemed like he was asking Lacie, but more like he was asking himself.

[To be continued]

-

23. New Life

In order to prevent the elves from panicking, the news of disobeying the mother was not spread at first.

It became a secret known only to a few elves.

But paper cannot cover the fire after all.

The deformed embryos in the breeding room could still be covered up, but the thick fog that followed pushed the situation to an irreversible disaster.

——Even the most slow-witted elves gradually noticed the abnormality of Lentiheim.

The mother was still as kind as before, but she would utter incomprehensible mumbling to them from time to time.

The thickest fog ever seen enveloped the entire city, but the Archon only issued a strange order: "Don't go out unless necessary"...

The elves all felt that something big was about to happen.

Not long after, they learned the sad news that one of their compatriots had inexplicably disappeared in the fog.

That was the last straw that broke their tense nerves.

Fortunately, the elves, who were used to obeying their mother's orders, did not cause too much trouble even after they panicked.

They were just a little overwhelmed.

Just like ignorant underage children, they lost their most loving mother after an accident.

At the funeral, the children did not cry loudly, they just felt a little sad, and felt empty in their hearts, as if they had lost something very important. But they were still young, and they did not understand that this regret would accompany them every day and night in the future, and would eventually lie in the grave with them.

So they were just at a loss.

They hid in the church, huddled together, longing for someone like their mother to tell them what to do next.

Fuwenna had been stopped by elves more than once along the way and asked:

"Mr. Archon, what should we do next?"

"Yeah, what should we do next?"

Fuwenna thought in a trance and slowly walked to the dome in the center of the church.

The thick fog that enveloped the entire Lentiheim blocked the sunlight, so the stained glass in the dome did not cast the brilliant beams of light as usual.

Instead, there were several lanterns.

They were simply strung together and now hung above Fuwenna's head, casting a peaceful and soft orange light throughout the church.

It is precisely because of this that the church was not swallowed up by the thick fog outside like the missing elves.

Fuvenna looked up at the lanterns in a trance.

For a moment, she suddenly felt that the church had become an isolated island, and those lanterns were the only lighthouses on the island.

However, how long can this lighthouse stand? Will any ship really follow the light of the lighthouse back to the port?

she does not know.

She simply lowered her head and glanced at her fellow citizens who were now gathered in the church.

She realized that their eyes had been focused on her without her noticing.

Confused, expecting, praying...

They wanted her to tell them what they should do next.

Just as children would naturally stick to their older brothers and sisters after their mother's death, Fuvenna understood that after her mistress went mad, as the archon and the eldest son in a sense, she should shoulder the responsibility of guiding her compatriots in the future.

——Although there has never been a concept of family in Lentiheim.

Fuwenna was no longer confused.

She raised her voice and declared to her fellow men:

"We will kill the mother."

It was like pouring a bowl of cold water into hot oil, and the elves quickly began to boil.

Someone quickly stood up and questioned:

"Is there no other way? Do we really have to... kill our mother?"

It was the young elf who had proposed at the meeting that Lentiheim should solve the anomaly on its own.

Fuwenna remembered that he was one of the first elves to learn that the mistress had gone mad.

It was he who took the lead in forming the so-called parliament, declaring that Lentiheim had now become a stagnant pool without any ripples, and if it continued like this, it would sooner or later perish under the steam armor of its neighboring countries.

But at this time, he was the first one to stand up and raise questions.

Fuwena saw the anxiety and pain on his face without any falseness.

He didn't want to kill his mistress.

It's ironic, isn't it?

In the past, young people who had been clamoring for change were unwilling to turn their swords against their mothers, while those who were considered supporters of the old order in the eyes of young people instead took the initiative to ask the heroes and witches to kill their common mother.

After all, it’s… a child?

Fuwenna thought about it, shook her head, and replied in a low voice:

"There is no other way, Austin, you should know that we have no other options."

The elf named Austin looked stunned when he heard that, and then he slumped back on the bench.

Fuwenna looked at the other elves and continued:

"Only by killing the mother can our civilization continue and Lentiheim continue to exist."

"Although this is despicable, this is cruel, this... is probably the most disgusting and ugly crime in the world."

“But it’s all we can do.”

She slowly raised her head.

She looked toward the lanterns overhead.

She knew they were the eyes of the Madam—

The Madam was watching them through the lanterns, watching these bad boys who were about to commit an unforgivable act of disobedience against Her.

"What would my mother think?"

Fuwenna's expression was briefly dazed.

Will you feel angry? Will you feel tired? Will you feel resentful?

But the mother's gaze - the soft light emanating from the lantern still covers and protects Her children.

It seemed as if He was smiling at them from beginning to end.

Fuwena tried to tell herself that it was just her illusion, her mother had gone crazy and she didn't know what she was doing at all.

Then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed her surging emotions.

She looked back at her compatriots.

"We will continue to live with the sin of matricide..."

The Archon's voice trembled slightly.

"——We will bid farewell to our mother and start our voyage."

When her voice fell, the church suddenly fell into deathly silence.

Then, suddenly a low sobbing sound came from a corner, and then more elves were infected, the sobbing became louder and louder, and finally the whole church was drowned in the children's sorrow.

Standing in the wave of sorrow, Fuwena could only lower her eyes and fall into an equally sad silence.

But at this moment, the waves were suddenly parted, and a pair of young elves slowly walked up.