Volume 5, Chapter 16 – After Calming Down

Although her ear was being pinched, Fia didn’t grimace, because Claire’s grip was quite light, only slightly firmer than a caress. The difference in how Claire treated her versus how she treated Nola made Fia realize that Claire was on her side, and a sudden sense of victory filled her.

Going too far would only embarrass Claire. Fia pretended to be in pain, then sat up straight and stopped provoking Nola. This girl’s way of doing things was very much in the beastfolk style. The Cold Night lacked order due to long-term chaos, and the creed people believed in was to solve problems with their fists. They lacked cunning, which was why they were played with by the surrounding countries.

Of course, that being said, Fia could somewhat understand the reasons for Nola’s repeated attacks. Seeing one’s companion being dragged would indeed ignite a monstrous rage. It was the same emotion she felt when she saw Anastasia get hurt. If she had seen someone dragging Anastasia, the matter would absolutely not have ended so simply.

As for the punch just now, the thought process was probably that Nola believed she was the most important person in Claire’s heart. Her appearance made Nola feel as if she had stolen Claire from her, just as Yelido had stolen Veronica from Clark. Clark, of course, would see his wife being stolen as a mortal enemy. Nola thus felt she had been cuckolded, angry enough to want to vent her rage in the most primitive way. After all, no one could accept their wife leaving with someone else.

However, knowing what Nola was thinking was one thing, and accepting it was another. Both the half-snake girl named Ying obstructing Anastasia from annihilating the rebels, and Nola punching her just now, were their faults. Besides, Claire had only ever seen Nola as a niece from the very beginning, and in the end, it was Nola herself who chose to leave Claire. The notion of Fia “stealing” Claire simply didn’t exist.

“Nola, sit back down.”

Seeing the seriousness in Claire’s eyes, Nola gradually lessened the force in her hand and returned to her seat.

As the tense atmosphere dissipated, Claire quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Fia and Nola in turn, then put her hands on her hips like an older sister taking care of children, and switched to a helpless tone.

“If you two keep arguing, I’m going out and I’ll only come back in when you’re done. Nola was the first friend I got to know after coming to the World Tree Continent. Fia is the lover who helped me find the meaning of life when I had already given up. You are both very important to me. I don’t want to see you laying hands on each other. Understand?”

“…”

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Nola lowered her head, while Fia looked away. Neither answered directly, but their actions had already given Claire an affirmative reply.

“Good that you understand, otherwise I’d get really angry,” saying this, Claire looked at Nola. “This is Silvar, not the Cold Night. It’s true that in the Cold Night, strength is revered above all, but putting aside the fact that you are no match for Fia, violence doesn’t solve problems. Apologize to Fia. I always taught you to have manners. You were the one who struck first. If you still remember the past, you should know I don’t like you stirring up trouble everywhere.”

“But she provoked me,” Nola emphasized stubbornly.

Claire’s brows knitted together.

“If you hadn’t used such an exclusionary tone, Fia wouldn’t have bickered with you. Have you forgotten all the etiquette I taught you in the past? Or do you want it to be like before, where you get into trouble and I have to take you to someone’s house to apologize?”

“Ugh.” Claire’s current appearance reminded Nola of the fear Claire had etched into her memory when she was a child. Her breath caught, and her fiery spirit was instantly doused as if by a basin of water. After a few seconds of silence, she apologized in a voice as small as a mosquito’s. “…Sorry.”

Claire looked at Fia, and the pleading look in her emerald eyes told Fia what she wanted her to do.

Fia waved her hand magnanimously and switched to a cheerful tone.

“For Claire’s sake, I’ll forgive you. Just don’t make the same mistake again. Claire’s magic requires emotional control; you should be good at that.”

“Alright, let’s let the unpleasantness of a moment ago pass. Although it might be a bit redundant, I’ll introduce you to each other. Fia, this is Nola, a child of the Fire Cat Tribe I picked up seven years ago. She was less than ten years old then, and now she has grown to the age of maturity for her tribe. The Fire Cat Tribe is a race among the beastfolk known for their strength and agility. They have difficulty controlling emotions like anger, so their way of doing things seems rude to elves and humans. It’s an innate flaw of theirs, please forgive her…”

“Ah, I know.”

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Although she only half-understood, Fia responded in her heart. Beastfolk with ‘fire’ in their race name generally couldn’t control their wild nature.

Moreover, the beastfolk’s Cold Night Kingdom was a loosely assembled country for historical and geographical reasons. It was difficult to make tribal natives who lived in a world where the strong preyed on the weak abide by the rules of civilized society.

Before setting out, Fia had specifically learned some things about the Cold Night. This country’s worship of strength was so extreme that the king could be decided by a one-on-one duel. If a tribe had a powerful warrior, even if he forcibly took another’s wife, as long as it wasn’t too bloody, he would still be praised. Their concepts of “hero” and “warrior” did not refer to people with both strength and virtue, but solely to those with power.

Rather than calling the Cold Night a feudal country, it was more like a tribal union wearing a feudal skin. Although they had a king, large cities, and smaller villages, the rules they followed were still the old tribal ones. The word of the chieftain (i.e., the one with high status and power) was greater than the law. The king, nobles, city lords, and even village chiefs could bypass the law and arbitrarily decide matters of life and death. It was quite chaotic internally.

When these things were applied to a specific person, Clark was a good example. When he was saved by Chiharu’s wolf-folk tribe, the people of the tribe took a liking to his courage and strength, and all the women sought him out, hoping he would leave them with the seed of a strong man.

Later, after Clark defeated the wolf king near the tribe, not only did the tribe members treat him as an honored guest, but they even went so far as to use aphrodisiac incense to try and make him mate with the beautiful women of the tribe. Of course, in the end, Clark escaped the tribe through willpower, not letting the women have their way.

This incident alone was enough to show the barbarity of the Cold Night and their reverence for strength.

After introducing Nola, Claire turned to introduce Fia to her. Due to her shyness, Claire’s tone was particularly embarrassed when she mentioned certain things.

“This is Dofilia Alexia Yushir. She is both the Eldest Princess of Silvar and my… my lover. Nola, no matter how you see me, I only think of you as my sister, my niece. Fia and I are already engaged, so I can’t go with you as you said—if you come to Silvar to see me more often after you’ve settled your own affairs, Fia and I would both welcome you.”

“Engaged…”

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Hearing this word again, Nola suddenly raised her purple eyes. However, she was no longer as angry as before. Instead, she stared into Claire’s eyes as if to confirm whether she was joking. After a few seconds of getting nothing, she bit her lip, her hands under the table clenching together.

“The important person you mentioned… you mean her…?”

“Yes. Fia is an elf I met in Aurora City. She is the only person in this world who is not afraid of me and will not forget me. More importantly, she taught me what it feels like to love someone.”

Claire’s words made Nola’s hands clench even tighter. She lowered her head deeply, her fiery red hair obscuring her face, making it impossible to see her expression.

“She’s not using you? Even a dragon is no match for you…”

Although she was verbally doubting Fia, Nola’s tone lacked conviction. It sounded less like questioning someone and more like asking about Claire’s recent situation from the perspective of a family member.

Claire smiled.

“Fia’s strength is about the same as mine, maybe even stronger. She has no reason to use me. And when we met, Fia didn’t know about my power. Our meeting was purely based on emotional compatibility.”

At this, Claire even looked at Fia and quietly held her hand. She actually didn’t want to use matters of gain and loss to explain her relationship with Fia, because from their first meeting to falling in love, it had nothing to do with power or exploitation. If she had to say, she was the despicable one, because in the beginning, she was the one who had used Fia’s innocence to get close to her.

“…Then is she a Holy Son? She’s not affected by the curse, and her own strength is very high.”

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Nola still asked in a small, listless voice, looking like a kitten that had been scolded by its mother.

The atmosphere between the two had completely turned into that of friends reuniting after a long time.

Claire couldn’t help but smile.

“In the past, I would have said I wasn’t sure, but now I can say with certainty that Fia is definitely not a Holy Son.”

“If she’s not a Holy Son, why is she immune to your curse? I only slowly started to remember you, Claire, after I obtained my divine weapon. It was then that I realized that only those with divinity could be immune to your curse.”

“I don’t know the reason either, but not knowing the reason doesn’t change the result, does it?”

Since there were no refreshments on the table, Claire took some juice from her storage magic and pushed it to Nola. She propped her elbows on the table, her gaze like that of someone looking at a younger sister she had raised.

“What about you, Nola? What has happened to you all these years?”

This brat isn’t so annoying once she calms down. Looking at Nola, who was as docile as a younger sister in front of Claire, Fia silently judged. She’s probably just used to being arrogant, so she’s not used to her role when facing someone stronger than her.

“I…” As if ashamed to speak, Nola hesitated for two seconds before opening her mouth. “After I left your side, Claire, I immediately returned to my clan for revenge. I not only killed the people who burned down my village but also all the nobles who sold me as a slave. I thought the people of my clan would retaliate against me, but they treated me as a hero and acknowledged my martial prowess. Later, you found me, Claire, and I thought you were one of the nobles who had come for revenge…”