League of Legends

Chapter 846 Lost Memories

Painful memories of the war were already smoldering in people's hearts, and Maura's words just ignited this anger.

They shoved and yelled at each other, all trying to get up.

Someone yelled.

"The offal of Noxus! My son was killed by you!"

A moldy egg came flying and hit Maura on the neck.

Juice and pulp of rancidity trickled down the back of her neckline and into her clothes.A foul stench came, but Maura would not let the smell of death take her back to that distant time.

She closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

The crowd erupted.

Maura knew that her answer was ill-considered, giving the impression that she had no sympathy for the dead.

"please."

She whispered to herself, not sure if she wanted to beg them to stop, or to encourage them to unleash their overwhelming anger.

As if answering her plea, more late-season egg fruit exploded into flower on the stony ground.Another fell behind Maura's knee.She staggered, almost losing her balance due to her bound hands.

The judge stood tall, his figure covering the crowd and Maura in the seats.She slammed the ball against the base, and the judge's robe instantly burst into flames.The wooden benches beneath the people twisted, deformed, and groaned at the will of the judge.

"The balance is restored by me!"

The villagers who were scolded fell silent.

"Yes, Maura, this court remembers that time," the judge continued in a more tactful manner. "Many Ionians . . . and Noxians . . . perished. What about you?"

This question also caused Maura to search hard for herself.

Why was she the only one who survived?

She couldn't find a satisfactory answer.

"I seem to have been spared," she said quietly.

"Indeed." The judge smiled coldly.

Maura knew that nothing she said would ease the pain of the bereaved.She owed everyone a truth, but she couldn't present it.Her memory of that time is fragmented.

At this moment, she could only lower her head.

"I don't remember," said Maura.

The judge did not stop questioning.

Maura knew that going on like this would only cause more furious voices to erupt from the hall, interrupting the trial again and again.

"How long have you been in this land?"

"I do not remember."

"How did you come to this village?"

"I do not remember."

"Have you ever been here?"

"I..." Maura hesitated, she couldn't find the memory that carried the exact answer. "I can't remember."

"Have you ever met Elder Suma?"

The name stirred something inside her.

A memory within a memory raced through her mind, blurred and sharp at the same time.

The vacancy that once existed is now flooded with anger.

She was betrayed.

She also betrays people.

"I can't remember!" Maura snapped angrily.The shackles on the wrists clanged.

"The war has destroyed much," said the judge softly. "There are some things we can't see."

The oncoming enlightenment calmed Maura's fighting spirit a little. "I can't remember," she said this time, more calmly than before.

The judge nodded. "What you can't remember, maybe someone can answer for you."

Maura saw the old man walking slowly towards the witness seat in front of the judge's bench.

His fingers trembled to smooth his thick eyebrows.

"Asa," said the judge patiently. "Daddy, thank you for testifying with us today."

The old man nodded.

"Do you know this woman, this Maura?" asked the judge.

"Yes," said the old man. "When she came to our house, the wet season had just started this year."

"you?"

"Me and Sawa, my wife."

The judge glanced at Mrs. Comte, who was still fidgeting on the bench in the front row.The judge pointed to Maura.

"She went to your house?"

"Actually, I found her in our family's field," the old Benonically confessed. "A calf got lost in the night. I went out in the wee hours of the morning to look for it. I found her."

The crowd stirred again, whispering in shock and worry.

"spy!"

"There will be endless troubles!"

"We must defend ourselves!"

The judge put his hand on the spherical gavel in front of him.

The room was quiet.

"What was she going to do, Monsieur Comte?"

The old man frowned again and glanced at Maura.It's like asking for forgiveness.

"She wants to commit suicide, magistrate." He said flatly.

The judge leaned forward.

"The wet season has just arrived," Asa went on to explain. "She was drenched and feverish, almost a handful of Noxian bones bound together with mud and sinew."

"You knew she was Noxian then?"

"She carried a weapon, a sword with their language etched into the scabbard. The Ionians would never carry such a weapon."

The judge pursed his lips. "Master Comte, you must have suffered heavy losses during this invasion."

"Yes, magistrate." The old man said, looking at his wife. "Two sons."

"How did you deal with this woman?"

The old man took a deep breath first.

"I took her home and gave her to Sawa," he said.

The murmur in the halls rose again, as people questioned why he was so merciful to his ruthless enemies.Every face in the hall tells a story of loss.No one here has been spared in this conflict.

The old man raised his head, and then turned to the crowd. He didn't believe that everyone was hard-hearted.

"My sons...my children...their bones have been cleansed by heaven. Would those who died wish to see us drowned in sorrow, even buried beside them?"

Maura saw the old man and his wife looking at each other tacitly.Shava's wide open eyes were also filled with tears.

"We can't just forget it, but..." the old man's voice trembled. "But we can't get bogged down in the past, we have to move on for the rest of our lives."

Shava bit her lower lip and straightened her body, as if to block anyone behind her who dared to denigrate their choice.Asa turned away from the gaze.

He sat down facing the judge, and the round stool under him creaked.

"There's been so much death that I can't bear to let it go," he explained. "We scrubbed her down and took her in."

The judge nodded expressionlessly.

Maura saw the judge carefully looking at the clothes and trousers on her body, imagining getting rid of the shackles.She knew what the magistrate was imagining, and she had thought about it many times herself.This suit was given to her by the old woman. It was a young man's suit, who should be a head taller than her. Maybe he had Shava's smile or Asa's kind eyes.

For Maura, this dress is always a reminder of her weakness.

For so many years she has always believed in the power of Noxus, risking her life.Yet Maura accepts their meager gift of hope, puts on the clothes, and joins a broken family.

(End of this chapter)