Chapter 181: Misunderstanding

There were no good dreams.

Iyue tossed and turned in bed—she dreamed of chasing her mother’s figure through the giant tree’s maze-like corridors, but could never catch the fleeting hem of her skirt; then she dreamed of holding her father’s bony, withered arm, quietly waiting for him to breathe his last.

And at the end of the chain of dreams, she returned to the pitch-black Demon King Castle.

The black sun hung high, fire rained down, towers collapsed… Lian En fell again and again in repeated charges, only to stand again and again.

To save her struggling companions, she drew her longbow and fired a magic bullet.

The dreams were too short, and life too long.

Unforgettable memories always seemed to erase the good and leave the bad.

And at the very end of the dream, she saw the music scores soaked in her mother’s blood burning in the flames—

‘Sister. I love you. This is all for your own good. We have to be together forever and ever, always and always.’

Her little sister Nefi smiled at her as she burned the scores… And at the end, a vicious bullet glowing with deep purple light pierced her chest, splashing brilliant blood—

“No! Nefi!”

Iyue screamed as she woke from the dream, her forehead soaked with cold sweat.

She finally understood why the closer she got to Fenglin City, the stronger her fear and premonition became.

She sat up in bed and fished the two magic bullets out of her waist pouch.

In her eyes at that moment, these two small bullets were as terrifying as venomous snakes.

Clutching the pouch and throwing on clothes, she rushed out the door without even putting on her hat.

She ran through the silent streets in the dead of night… Following the path she remembered, she ran out of the lower district and into the forest land on the city’s outskirts.

She found a hidden clearing among the bushes.

She dug a hole with her hands; the soil was cold… Mud soon filled the gaps between her fingers.

She threw the two magic bullets into the hole, then fiercely pushed the dirt back in and stomped it flat with all her strength.

After finishing, she stood there looking up for a long time… until her breathing steadied slightly, then turned and headed back into the city.

When she returned to the house, the night was still deep.

She locked the door, then slid down to sit against it.

“It’s okay now… it’s okay.”

Then, out of habit, she reached for her waist pouch.

“……!”

Feeling that familiar cold touch, it was as if even her blood had gone cold.

She tore open the pouch and dumped out everything inside—

Two “Demon Bullets” rolled across the floor… their bodies gleamed with the same purple metallic luster as the ones in her nightmare.

Iyue felt fear surging up like a tide.

“No… no…”

Her teeth began to chatter. She shook her head violently, trying to make the fear eroding her mind recede.

But the fear didn’t disappear. Instead, it repeated the Demon King’s warning in her ears over and over—

Until the sky grew light, she still sat on the floor, shaking uncontrollably.

…

‘I can’t just stand by and watch Sister drown in that kind of despair.’

‘The mere thought that she might end up like Mother fills me with utter terror.’

‘There was no other way. I couldn’t even imagine a life where Sister died, a future where Sister was gone. So I burned the scores, destroyed the last bond she had with her father… and caused her a deep, unhealable wound.’

‘What I did was unforgivable, so even if she resents me, I accept it willingly. She might never love anyone again… never trust anyone again… but as long as she lives safely, that’s enough.’

‘……Until I heard the news that she had left with a human man and gone to the battlefield, that’s what I believed.’

‘……’

…

In the early morning, there was a soft knock at the courtyard gate.

“Lady Iyue. It’s time for us to leave.”

The person who came was Yan Wei Fu. This time, he hadn’t been waiting in the courtyard beforehand.

There was no response from inside.

The knocking paused, then came again.

“Lady Iyue?”

Inside the house, Iyue was still sitting on the floor, pale-faced.

There was no way she hadn’t heard the knocking, but she remained completely still.

Yan Wei Fu was silent for a moment, then circled around to the wall.

Just as he was about to climb over, the sound of approaching footsteps made him stop.

Yan Wei Fu halted. He turned around the street corner without a sound and hid on the other side.

A moment later, the courtyard door was knocked on again.

It was a young girl’s voice… tinged with hesitation and barely suppressed excitement.

“Sister Iyue… are you in there?”

That voice finally released Iyue from the nightmare that had gripped her all night.

Recalling the smiling face of the voice’s owner, she stood up shakily, opened the door, and stepped out of the inner room—

“Is that Milin… Xiao Milin?”

Joyful laughter came from outside the door.

“It’s me!” Milin’s voice was right against the door. “Sister Iyue, can I come in?”

Iyue’s hand rested on the door for a long moment before she slowly pulled it open.

The door swung open, and the red-haired girl standing in the morning light beamed a brilliant smile, then crashed into her arms—

“Sister Iyue! I didn’t think you’d really come back! I missed you so much!”

Feeling the warmth of her body, Iyue felt the fear that had been coiled around her loosen a little.

“Is Sister Lian… here too?” Then she stood on tiptoe, peering over Iyue’s shoulder into the courtyard. “I thought you two were traveling together…”

“She’s not here. Come inside, and I’ll tell you slowly.”

“…Let me say this first—don’t think about knocking me out and taking me back, okay?”

“I won’t do that. Come on, get inside.”

Her nervous demeanor made Iyue laugh despite herself.

For a moment, she forgot all the terrible dreams and took the girl by the arm into the courtyard.

“Sister Lian was taken away by the Royal Court? For real? What do they want with her?”

The two sat on a bench in the courtyard… Iyue told her everything she knew about where Lian had gone.

“I’m wondering about that too. But I don’t think the Royal Court will do anything to her.”

“Hmm… probably just an invitation, right? After all, she looks so much like that person, it’s only natural they’d be curious.”

‘This child… she still hasn’t accepted that Lian is her father, has she.’

Watching Milin think seriously, Iyue couldn’t help but think so.

She had known it ever since she saved Lian from those two demons.

“Anyway, the Audience Ceremony is in two days. Sister Iyue, you’re invited too, right? We can just go pick her up then.”

Milin nodded, then, as if suddenly remembering something, lowered her voice and leaned in mysteriously.

“But forget about that for now.” She winked. “Sister Iyue, I brought you a surprise. Look… who’s that!”

She pointed excitedly toward the open courtyard door—it hadn’t been closed.

“Uh…”

There was no one at the door. But Iyue could hear someone beside the wall by the entrance taking deep breaths over and over.

“Jeez… what’s there to be shy about! Come out already, Natalia! That’s not like your usual wild self at all.”

Milin jumped up from the bench, ran to the courtyard entrance, and pulled an elf girl inside.

“Nefi…?”

“Hello… Sister.”

The elf girl with snow-pale cheeks tinged with red—Nephtalia—stood at the courtyard entrance, a little ill at ease.

She was wearing a green-and-white dress today. It suited her well, but it was covered in patches and looked somewhat worn.

“Long time no see.”

Her little sister’s voice was still as gentle and full of love as ever.

Iyue’s vision narrowed in an instant. She felt something explode in her head—

“Natalia found out where you were staying, so we came together!”

Milin was still laughing, completely unaware of the change in atmosphere.

“A big surprise, right? Now you two can finally have a good talk—”

Iyue stood up from the bench and stepped backward toward the house.

Her heel hit the step, and she almost fell. After regaining her balance, she continued backing up the stairs.

Nephtalia’s smile froze.

The gentleness and joy in her eyes shattered like glass struck by a hammer, spiderwebbing into countless cracks.

“…Sister Iyue? What’s wrong?”

Milin finally sensed something wrong. Worried, she moved to approach Iyue and check on her—

Iyue said nothing. She spun around and dashed into the house.

Then she ran back out clutching her waist pouch, brushed past Nephtalia like a gust of wind, and fled into the street.

“Wait… Sister Iyue! Where are you going!”

Milin hurried after her, leaving Nephtalia standing alone.

‘Again, huh. You’ve run away from me once more.’

She stood there, lifting her head to gaze at the tree canopy shading the courtyard.

‘This is a rift that time cannot mend. She can accept an unknown hero and follow him into life-and-death battles and danger… but she runs away again and again from me, her own blood.’

‘Why?’

‘In countless days and nights without Sister, without light, she kept thinking about the answer to that question.’

“It really is because of the family… because of the Nelfs.”

She looked at the empty house before her and smiled softly.

‘If this is the root of all tragedy—’

‘Then this time, I will sever it completely.’