Volume 5, Chapter 61 – The Two Fairy Girls

After early spring, the continuous heavy snow in the Cold Night finally stopped. The melting snow made the ambient temperature even colder, but this did not diminish the joy in the hearts of the people in the city. They were the victors, and the remaining soldiers were still outside the city, hunting down the Lionfolk soldiers who had once been arrogant but were now fleeing in disarray.

More importantly, this offensive and defensive battle had lasted only one night, and their casualties were unbelievably low. In the context of the Cold Night’s past wars, this was an unimaginable achievement.

Chazo had been captured alive. Nothing made the Holy Son Faction happier. As the mounted messengers outside the window shouted, the war was over, and the streets were filled with jubilation.

However, the end of the war did not mean that everything was over. For the leader of a faction, everything was just beginning, especially for Fia. Not only did she have to deal with Tilulu’s matter, but she also had to handle the relationship between Nola and Tilulu. She couldn’t let someone who had no good feelings for Silvar become the king of the Cold Night. In that case, she might as well have let Chazo continue to sit on the throne. At least after being taught a lesson by her, he would obediently follow her commands.

As for the Watcher and the Demon General of Absolute Death, Fia had no intention of dealing with them for the time being. The Watcher called herself a “protector,” but according to the Demon General of Knowledge’s explanation, Fia felt she was more like a lolicon with a fanatical pursuit of young girls. However, time was limited, and she didn’t have time to say a few words to her.

As for the Demon General of Absolute Death, because Fia had used [Mind Blast] on him, and he had been possessing Chazo at the time, although control of the body had been returned to Chazo, Fia was not clear whether he had actually died under the [Mind Blast]. Therefore, she could only inform Nola in advance and have her keep a close watch on Chazo.

—It was worth noting that Nola’s injuries had been too severe, and she had lost consciousness in the middle of the battle with the Demon Generals. Claire, on the other hand, had no healing ability, so it wasn’t until Fia returned and used nano-machines on her that she had woken up.

As for the last Demon General of Gluttony, Fia had dealt the final blow earlier, sending him to hell.

In this way, six of the seven Demon Generals of the Absolute Evil camp had fallen at Fia’s hands. Only two remained alive, and both had clearly expressed their allegiance to her. To defeat eight Demon Generals single-handedly, even in the past tens of thousands of years of history, was an unprecedented marvel. This was not because the Demon Generals were too weak, but because Fia was too strong. Although this generation of the seven Demon Generals could not be said to be the strongest, they were of a decent standard.

As for Fia now, she was following Claire with a sense of trepidation.

Less than an hour had passed since the end of the war. It was now one in the morning, and Tilulu was still lying unconscious in Claire’s bed.

“…Is there something you want to say to me, little Fia?”

Sensing Fia’s hesitant atmosphere, Claire stopped in the corridor. She turned around with a particularly ladylike smile. The faint candlelight hanging on both sides of the corridor reflected on her, dyeing her snow-white skin and silver hair a faint gold.

“From the moment you came back, you’ve had an expression as if you wanted to say something but were too embarrassed.”

“Well…”

Fia’s breath hitched, and her gaze subconsciously shifted away. She did indeed have something to say to Claire, but the content was too strange, and she didn’t know how to start.

The reason was easy to understand. To say to one’s fiancée that one had been confessed to by one’s daughter today, and the confession here meant that the daughter wanted to become a character like her fiancée, and that she had almost been taken advantage of by her daughter, and because she didn’t know how to react, she could only ask her fiancée for advice—this absurd content was simply unspeakable.

It was precisely because of this that when she had returned from the battlefield earlier, Fia had sent Nola, the Demon General of Knowledge, and the Watcher away at a dazzling speed. Now, it was a private environment for the two of them—Anastasia and the others had been arranged by Fia to stay in their residence at the Hunting Ground before she had left the city to fight, and not to run around.

Claire reached out and gently brushed the dust from Fia’s shoulder like an older sister.

At this moment, Fia was wearing a black formal dress, her white side ponytail hanging down by her side. Her hands were clasped at her waist, and her head was lowered in a well-behaved manner, looking as pitiful as a noble young lady who was afraid of strangers. To think that such an elf girl was her fiancée, Claire felt a surge of affection. She asked casually.

“Is it about Tilulu? Earlier, Anastasia and I saw the black demon outside the window of the Hunting Ground. When we came out, Milu and Liti also told me that you had left with Tilulu, who was not in a good state.”

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“Uh… y-yes…” Fia tensed for a moment. “That demon came from the teardrop pendant the Wandering Knight gave her. As long as her emotions reach an extreme point, the demon will help her fulfill her wish. But that’s not the point…”

The black demon seen by the Demon General of Absolute Death and the Demon General of Gluttony was not the Absolute Evil. It was just a product of the materialization of Tilulu’s negative emotions. As she lost consciousness and the pendant’s magic power was drained, the demon had naturally disappeared.

Feeling even more guilty, and worrying that Claire would misunderstand, Fia subconsciously put her fisted hand to her lips and coughed twice, her gaze wandering on the wooden floor.

“Ahem, what I wanted to say is, besides helping her fulfill her wish, that pendant also infinitely amplifies a person’s positive or negative emotions. She was the latter. Originally, I took Claire’s advice and wanted to use this method to expose her problem early, so I could also let her make a choice soon, whether to continue to be queen or give up. So I allowed her to keep that pendant with her. But… but the result was completely different from what I had imagined…”

“Let’s talk as we walk.”

Seeing Fia’s difficulty in speaking, Claire, with the magnanimity of a mature older sister, curved her lips and pointed to the front, taking a step forward.

“The result is that Tilulu has fallen in love with Fia, not the dependence of a daughter on a mother, nor the friendship between friends, but the love for a peer. Is that it?”

“Huh?” Fia’s eyes suddenly widened, her gem-like eyes, flickering with firelight, filled with shock. “How did you know, Claire?”

Perhaps not wanting to put pressure on Fia, Claire did not turn her head. She held her chin with her index finger, a nonchalant look on her face.

“It’s a woman’s intuition. Didn’t I hint at it before? The way Tilulu looked at you in the carriage, the feeling had already slowly changed. It seems little Fia didn’t understand the true meaning of my words at that time. From that moment on, I had a faint feeling that she was attached to you.”

“Although she calls you ‘mother’, the fact that your apparent ages are similar cannot be changed. In this case, it’s very difficult to truly think of Fia as a mother, just like you with Mizuki. So it’s not impossible for that attachment to gradually evolve into love.”

No, no, in this place that doesn’t welcome same-sex marriage, it should be very strange for this kind of feeling to be born.

Though she thought this in her heart, Fia did not refute it, because the fact was that Tilulu had confessed her love to her.

She hadn’t expected that Claire had seen through it long ago and had even vaguely reminded her, but she hadn’t understood.

Fia once again realized that she was a complete novice in matters of love. A shy crimson appeared on her exquisite face. Since Claire had already seen through it, the next part would be easier. She haltingly recounted what had happened between her and Tilulu in the room in the evening. She then watched as Claire’s mouth gradually opened wider, until her beautiful profile was filled with an expression of “why did it turn out like this?”.

Claire’s expression was extremely strange. Her beautiful and deep emerald eyes looked at Fia. For a moment, Fia read in them a hint of, “are you an idiot?” politely concealed.

“…So Fia not only rejected her, but also said you hated her like that?”

“Yes.”

Fia answered without hesitation. Although she would occasionally have fanciful thoughts when teased by other beautiful girls, in terms of practical action, she was absolutely loyal to Claire.

However, it was this very action that made the hesitation in Claire’s eyes grow even more. She stared at Fia for a few seconds, then held her forehead as if she had a headache.

“It’s amazing that you can have such a confident expression… Why didn’t you just agree?”

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“Huh?” Fia’s eyes instantly widened. She quickly walked half a step in front of Claire and tilted her head to look at her face. “Why would I agree?”

“Anyone would have agreed, right? Tilulu’s love for you has no falsehood. Wouldn’t it be nice to let her have a happy ending? Anyway, she’s satisfied just by being by your side. She doesn’t care about your strength or your family background. Where else can you find a second woman like that?”

“Here.”

Fia pointed at Claire.

Claire was at a loss for words.

Fia pouted like a pouting child.

“You should have said, ‘no one would agree’. Love is a two-way street. Although she likes me, I only see her as a daughter and a younger sister. Besides, she’s just a twelve or thirteen-year-old child who isn’t even an adult. It’s too early to talk about love at this age, or rather, she doesn’t even understand the weight of those two words. More importantly, I already have you. If you say again that I should accept her regardless of your feelings, I’m going to get angry.”

Claire was first stunned, then her eyebrows arched at a subtle angle, and she gave a wry smile that was both helpless and somewhat happy.

“I’m very happy that you can say that, Fia… but I’ve never thought of having you all to myself. You’re too dazzling, and I have all kinds of flaws. To have me bear this weight alone, I often feel uneasy and inadequate, feeling that I’m not good enough.”

Fia immediately stopped, her eyebrows raised as if she were about to say something. Claire knew what she would say, something like “I’ve never felt you’re not good enough.” She gently pressed her index finger to Fia’s cherry lips, not letting her speak.

“I’m just speaking from my perspective. Just as I can’t understand why you think I’m perfect and qualified to be the queen consort alone, you also find it difficult to understand my thoughts. You see, I’m burdened with a curse, and I’m not an elf, yet I’ve become the queen consort of the elf kingdom. Even if no one points fingers at me, I will always be self-reflecting, thinking about whether I’ve brought shame to you.”

“You should be able to understand from my perspective, right, Fia? If I were a human queen and married you as my queen consort, with the hostility humans have towards elves, the people would say the monarch was bewitched by a beauty and married an inferior subhuman. Of course, I haven’t heard anyone curse me now, but this is something that can be understood with a little thought. They just don’t say it to my face. Don’t say things like ‘I’ll rip the mouth of anyone who says that’. You know, even if you do, it won’t alleviate the worry in my heart.”

Seeing that Fia had looked away as if admitting defeat, Claire finally removed her index finger from her lips—and then, her fingers moved to the white hair at the side of Fia’s face. Like a lover, she played with her hair, her eyes filled with both tenderness and amusement.

“If an outsider heard our conversation, they would surely find it incredible. Fia, the queen, wants to be devoted to her consort, but the consort is persuading her that she should look at the other people who love her.”

“…You know it’s weird, Claire, yet you still said those things.”

Like a little girl, Fia pouted unhappily, her brows furrowed.

“Because that’s what I think. Little Fia cares about me too much, which puts a lot of pressure on me.”

“Then agreeing to Tilulu, wouldn’t that pressure still exist?”

Outsiders’ evaluation of Claire wouldn’t change just because Fia had one more consort.

“But I would feel better. If there’s something I can’t do, others can make up for it. And when there are more people, the public’s attention won’t be focused on me alone. More importantly, my existence hasn’t hindered you from doing what you should. You’ve always had a strange view on this matter. As the monarch of a country, the one who inherits an important bloodline, isn’t it normal to have multiple wives and concubines? Your father has sixteen consorts.”

“No…”

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This is different.

Fia wanted to refute, but she knew this was a difference in their concepts. Even if she said it, she couldn’t convince the other party. It was like asking a believer of the Goddess of Life to believe in the Elf God. It was a thankless task.

She decided to play her trump card, put on a straight face, and puffed out her chest.

“I can’t possibly agree to her wish. It’s not because of you, Claire, but because I can’t say I’ll be responsible for someone I don’t love. I can’t look at her the way I look at you.”

Having said this much, Claire should not continue.

“Hmm…”

A thoughtful sound came from Claire’s throat.

Suddenly, as if she knew how to convince Fia, her eyes lit up. She put one hand under her ample chest, accentuating it, leaned closer to Fia, and said with a sly look.

“Then what if it wasn’t Tilulu who confessed, but Anastasia?”

“Ugh.”

Fia’s straight face almost broke.

Undeniably, her heart had indeed wavered just now. If the one who had confessed to her was not Tilulu, but Anastasia, and had said those words, it would be very difficult for her to refuse. But the two were fundamentally different. Besides the fact that she knew Anastasia very well, Anastasia was a mature woman who knew what she was doing. Tilulu was different; she was just a child.

Besides, not refusing didn’t mean she would agree. In the end, it hadn’t happened yet. Who knew what would happen? It was too profound.

The mischievousness in Claire’s expression grew. She gently poked Fia’s face, which was struggling to remain calm.

“See, you hesitated, didn’t you? So little Fia just likes mature older sisters. Then just wait five or six years for Tilulu to come of age. Won’t everything be fine then? I remember you’re also five years away from the elven age of adulthood. At that time, both of you will be grown up. Tilulu will become the way you like—”

“That’s so far in the future. We’ll talk about it then. It’s too early to make a promise now.”

“Hoh, you didn’t refuse outright? How honest.”

Claire raised an eyebrow slightly and retracted her teasing. She resumed walking shoulder to shoulder with Fia, her tone becoming serious again.

“Tilulu has lacked the feeling of being loved by her family since she was a child. Fia gave her warmth, so she will naturally be attached. Even if you can’t accept her, you must explain the reason to her. You don’t want to see her dejected and depressed for the rest of her life, do you? She just wants to be by your side. That’s not an extravagant request.”

“But her mind is not yet mature. How can I easily decide her future? I came to you for help because I wanted to know a perfect solution, but you’ve thrown the problem back at me.”

Faced with Fia’s sigh, Claire shrugged.

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“I can’t give you any advice on this alone. In my opinion, just agreeing is fine. Even if you can’t say you love her, isn’t it good to fulfill her wish and continue to treat her as a younger sister? It’s your own obsession that’s troubling you. I don’t know what you think, but from my perspective as your queen consort, I don’t think it’s a big deal to have one more sister.”

The “sister” Claire was referring to was probably in the sense of a fellow wife.

It seems I can only think of the answer myself, Fia thought in distress. Everyone’s attitude towards feelings was different. Besides, her and Claire’s concepts were worlds apart. There was still some time before Tilulu woke up. She would think about it carefully during this time.

“I didn’t expect Tilulu to go that far. And Fia could even resist that temptation. Are you really an elf with a healthy mind?”

Claire sighed with emotion.

“If my mind weren’t healthy, I wouldn’t have been able to resist.”

Fia sighed helplessly. She couldn’t help but recall the image of Tilulu holding her ribbon in her mouth, her eyes full of desire as she untied her formal dress. Although her figure was immature, it was also extremely alluring.

Suddenly, she looked at Claire beside her, her perfect body outlined by the candlelight, and her heart couldn’t help but stir—she wanted to try using the same pose on Claire that Tilulu had used on her. She pretended to look straight ahead, but her hand quietly took Claire’s, then guided it, letting her warm hand rest on the bow of her dress’s sash, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

“Let’s sleep together tonight?”

Understanding her meaning, Claire’s pretty eyebrows rose in a nice arc.

“At a time like this?”

“It’s been so many days.”

“Then… just this once.”

“One night.”

Fia looked up and corrected her seriously.

Claire thought for a moment, then her face was full of a charming smile.

“Then you have to listen to me today!”

“Eh-eh?”

Without giving Fia a chance to react, Claire, starting from the hand on her waist, instantly swept her light and soft body up in a princess carry, lifting her feet off the ground. Then, she casually opened a door in the corridor, turned, and entered. Finally, she didn’t forget to use her now-demonic tail to hook the door shut and set up a soundproof barrier.

As Fia’s shy cry of surprise was muffled by the door, tonight was destined to be a busy night.