Chapter: 25. Returned!
The night was deep.
Two differently colored moons hung high in the sky, covering every person peacefully sleeping with a dreamlike blanket.
Even the big fish, which had been terrified all afternoon, had dived to the bottom of the lake to sleep.
But no matter how comfortable the night, there are always restless feelings urging people to pace back and forth.
In the Demon King’s Castle, in a closed and deep corridor, a golden furry ball was pacing more and more urgently, trying to disturb the night’s tranquility.
Fortunately, the Demon King’s Castle was spacious enough, with only the Demon King and the Queen living on the top floor, so there were no neighbors below.
Otherwise, just based on Xiya’s pacing that was almost a blur, she could have driven the people downstairs to the brink of screaming.
However, given the current situation, the first one to collapse was likely to be this continuously murmuring golden furry ball.
“Still hasn’t returned… why hasn’t she come back… Xue Fei… where are you… should I go look for her… no, it’s not right to go look for her… but… but if I don’t look… but but…!”
“Ah? Lord Xiya Let? What are you doing awake at this late hour?”
“！”
When a person is anxious and flustered, even the softest and cutest voice can trigger a hair-raising reflex.
The Holy Sword gleamed, instantly cutting away a few strands of ink hair from Livra’s forehead, the sword light halting in front of her.
The cute smile froze.
“Is it Princess Livra?”
“Ugh… you scared me to death… I thought I was going to die!”
Thud.
Holding a white rabbit plushie, Livra, dressed in pajamas, felt her legs give out at the moment the sword light faded, kneeling on the ground, unable to rise again.
The pallor on her face should not just be from the scare; she was also showing symptoms of magic deficiency that hadn’t completely recovered.
But at least she could walk around aimlessly, right?
Xiya’s face showed an apologetic expression as she reached out to pull Livra up from the ground. Livra leaned against the windowsill to barely steady herself.
“Uh… sorry, Princess Livra, I didn’t know you were coming out at this hour looking like a ghost… Anyway, I’m sorry. Is that plushie in your hand…?”
“Wow… it’s okay, it’s my fault too. I just woke up and wanted to walk around… and I spoke too suddenly. Huh? Is Lord Xiya Let talking about this plushie? It’s called Rabbit, and I brought it from Aulus Castle. It was given to me by my mother. Without it with me, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep in a new place.”
“Uh, no… I know this is a rabbit plushie; I mean the name of it is…?”
“Rabbit.”
“……”
Alright, it’s a rabbit, then.
If you see a cat in the wild, you still call it a cat.
“Hey…”
Not in the mood to say much more, Xiya politely asked Livra if her condition had improved before she turned her gaze back out the round stone wall’s window.
Facing the wind, her golden hair fluttered, trying to see far into the distance for something.
Livra stood by her side at another round stone wall.
Holding her rabbit tightly, she also gazed into the distance.
“Miss Shaya should be sleeping at this hour, right?”
“Don’t say the word sleeping.”
“Huh…? Alright… Hey, I don’t know what happened, but that wind demon fish’s anomaly at noon… was probably caused by me, right? Even though I don’t know what happened… but I’m sure I caused trouble for everyone…”
“You don’t need to feel any psychological pressure; it wasn’t intentional destruction. If we really must talk about it, isn’t Xue Fei blowing up the lake with magic every day much more violent than you?”
“Pfft…! That’s true! By the way, which room does Miss Shaya stay in? I need to go apologize to her early tomorrow morning. Um… one thing at a time, I messed up the fish she worked hard to catch, Miss Shaya will definitely be furious.”
Which room?
If only I knew which room it was!
Waiting here, I could at least talk to Princess Livra about the current situation, which might help ease my anxious feelings.
After hearing that, Livra was greatly shocked!
“Miss Shaya went to the Forbidden Library to help me look for references?!”
“If we don’t consider other possibilities… then yes, that’s the case.”
At her words, warmth surged in Livra’s heart, and a glimmer of light flickered in her beautiful emerald-like eyes.
Not only did Miss Shaya not blame me… but she also wants to help me sort out this inexplicable ability?!
Livra seemed carefree, but having this unknown ability happen to her made her quite anxious inside.
And knowing that Miss Shaya had been busy, even at this late hour, researching materials for her in the Demon Race Forbidden Library, a clear and immense sense of reassurance washed over her.
The blush on her cheeks flashed by.
Her chaotic thoughts were soon interrupted by Xiya’s worried tone.
“Xue Fei still hasn’t returned; I… cough, am a bit worried.”
“Yeah… huh?! No, Lord Xiya Let, I can understand your feelings. I also hope Miss Shaya will return quickly, but I think you don’t need to worry?”
“Why?”
“Because Miss Shaya is really strong!” Livra placed the rabbit plushie on the round windowsill, bending her arm to display non-existent muscles, “She can punch down three bulls! Hehe… in short, Miss Shaya is very strong, and this is Demon Territory, her own turf; she won’t encounter any danger. By the way… about how strong Miss Shaya is, Lord Xiya Let, shouldn’t you know best? Uh… what’s with that look?”
That look, Livra was familiar with.
The way Lord Xiya Let was looking at her now was like looking at an idiot!
Did… did I say something wrong again?!
No, you didn’t say anything wrong.
You just didn’t understand the true reason for my worries.
Neither wolves nor tigers are scary; Xue Fei is very strong, Xiya knows that very well.
But no matter how strong she is, there’s nothing she can do about Princess Belis, a being more frightening than wolves and tigers!
These words, Xiya certainly wouldn’t dare to say directly to Livra, only able to express her inner worries in a roundabout way.
“It’s not the outward safety I’m worried about… I’m afraid of another problem.”
“The Forbidden Library is just for reading, right? Such a cultured place, how could any other problem arise?”
“Hey…”
The only response to Livra’s naive comments was Xiya’s even more naive sigh.
She had lost count of how many times she stood at the corridor’s window, gazing into the distance outside the Demon King’s Castle.
Looking up, the two moons still hung there, and tonight’s wind was very calm.
Xiya narrowed her eyes, trying to calm the emotion called “possessiveness” inside her, while also dividing out another feeling to fight against it.
This other feeling—called rational thinking.
Xiya actually… had thought of a certain possibility on the way to the Demon King’s Castle, or rather, since the day Princess Belis went to Aulus Kingdom to look for Xue Fei.
That is, the relationship between Xue Fei and Belis breaking that line might be an inevitable event that could not be stopped, and shouldn’t be stopped.
In my previous life, I accompanied Xue Fei for twenty years, leaving behind regrets. In this life, I hope to rekindle past feelings and our mutual affection grows even more grand.
In this life, she accompanied Xue Fei for another twenty years, supporting each other through daily life.
When Xue Fei spoke with Princess Belis, her tone was naturally calm and gentle; perhaps even Xue Fei herself did not realize it.
In terms of love for Xue Fei, Xiya had absolute confidence that she could loudly declare from her standpoint that, in this world, her love for Xue Fei was endless, the greatest in the world!
But the same declaration could also be made by Belis.
She had the same awareness.
No one needed to prove who loved Xue Fei more.
Xiya knew Xue Fei’s character.
The affection in this regard was a precious treasure for Xue Fei.
Just because she couldn’t let go, some things became inevitable.
Xiya was indeed struggling and anxious due to her “possessiveness,” but she thought that to deprive Xue Fei of this world’s protection because of such emotions would be too cruel and unjust.
Moreover, Xiya knew she would never do that.
After all… Princess Belis had already expressed her stance beforehand, right?
Every time Princess Belis saw her, she was fierce, but she had never really come to attack her without reason.
After learning of her and Xue Fei’s relationship, she maintained the greatest restraint and showed a deeper love for Xue Fei, respecting her choices.
Belis must have thought this way.
—You have the ability to take away the love of the Queen Sister; that’s your skill. However, this doesn’t mean I will yield. On the contrary, in the future, I will regain all that love you took away.
Xiya thought the same way.
It can be taken back.
But, she absolutely cannot destroy Xue Fei’s spiritual support.
This is an unspoken understanding shared between Xiya and Belis, a subtle balance that can be achieved even among rivals.
Ha… if we really think about it, Xue Fei has been living in the Demon King’s Castle for twenty years, and it was only during these past months that she slipped out and encountered me, rekindling and warming our feelings.
This process… it almost seems like I took away Princess Belis’s Queen Sister, doesn’t it?
Xiya wouldn’t worry about that…
Hmm.
Let no one interfere with each other; if you really have the ability, let’s see who can win Xue Fei’s heart.
Who says the battlefield is only for fighting?
The battlefield of emotions is much more nuanced than the recklessness of combat!
Livra noticed that Lord Xiya Let’s demeanor seemed to have changed during this moment.
Just now, she was full of worry, hesitating and sad.
But now she suddenly appeared filled with fighting spirit!
Hmm?! Did something suddenly happen?!
So what exactly is Lord Xiya Let worrying about?
I don’t know.
But while Xiya silently engaged in this mental game, another person appeared in the corridor.
To be precise, it was a Fire Lizard.
Even more accurately, it was Timani, who had woken up hungry in the middle of the night, looking for a midnight snack, holding a plate of snacks.
Drowsily munching on snacks, she was returning to her room when she unexpectedly encountered a greedy princess.
Livra couldn’t help but reach out to take a few pieces of her snacks.
Timani was not someone to mess with when it came to food.
Noticing the weight of her plate had lightened, she suddenly opened her sleepy eyes, only to see Livra stuffing pastries into her mouth.
Timani was instantly enraged!
“How dare you steal food!”
Steal… steal food?
This term dealt a ton of damage to Xiya’s mental world at this moment!
Livra was unwilling to accept this. She felt that the existence of food should be shared!
“Ugh… but Miss Timani, you also took some without permission… I’m not stealing; I’m taking it openly. Besides, I only took one… there’s so much left on the plate… I didn’t finish it all.”
Steal…?
Taking it openly?
Finishing it all?!
“You greedy, thieving princess! How dare you say that! Do you know that in our Fire Dragon Clan, foraging for your own food shows skill, and behavior like empty-handedly taking from others is shameful…!”
A greedy, thieving princess?!
“Ahhh, you two!! Can you please stop talking for a second?!”
“!” “?!”
Upon hearing the voice, Timani finally just spotted Xiya Let.
“Uh… Hero? So you’re here, why are you so angry? Hungry? Want a piece of snack?”
“No mood! You two talking is the biggest help you could provide me! What are you even saying?!”
“What words… aren’t they all normal words? Uh… speaking of…”
Timani temporarily set aside her snacks and leaned out to look outside the window.
“By the way, is that Xue Fei and Princess Belis walking over there outside?”
“!”
Finally, you said something useful!
Xiya quickly grasped the stone-framed round window and looked down.
She finally spotted the figure she had been thinking about.
Carried by Belis, peacefully asleep on her back, heading back toward the Demon King’s Castle, was none other than Xue Fei.
Wuwu… Xue Fei! You finally made it back, sister is here to pick you up!
