Chapter 72

Sheffy’s cry of despair awakened the Little Holy Sword, and this time the frequency of its golden radiance was beyond imagination! Sylatrella was excited! She loved watching it!

Xiarette didn’t move her head away until she kissed Sheffy to the point where her legs kicked out and she stopped moving, still unsatisfied.

There was no time to wipe away the glistening trace at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were filled with tenderness as she gazed at Sheffy’s vacant eyes beneath her, and at the tear in the corner of her eye.

“…I promised this afternoon that I wouldn’t lay a hand on Sheffy again tonight… so… I will keep my promise. But what just happened… was to express my attitude. This level of behavior, I hope you can understand.”

“This level…? Ah… I understand… I understand… Thank you so much… for keeping your promise.”

Sheffy responded feebly, weakly saying so.

What else could she do if she didn’t answer quickly!

Thinking back to the grand scene in the afternoon, poor little Sheffy wanted to cry.

Sob sob, thank you Xiarette! If you had followed that impulse just now and done that to me, I would definitely shut myself in tomorrow!

Fortunately, Xiarette knew how to balance work and rest, and also how to keep her word. Reluctantly, she rolled off Sheffy’s body.

Just when Sheffy thought she was finally saved.

Xiarette lay back on her pillow and left a harsh statement.

“Tomorrow will be double, otherwise I won’t be able to calm down… I might lose sleep tonight because of it.”

“Damn it.”

The two silently stared at the ceiling in tacit understanding.

Perhaps both were trying hard to maintain their calm and avoid triggering another battle.

Sheffy turned to her side and patted her cheeks with both hands—that was because she felt her mouth had been kissed crooked and was trying to straighten it back.

In reality, it wasn’t crooked. It was just an illusion caused by intense emotions~

After a long while, Xiarette turned over to face Sheffy’s back, her fingers sliding over the silky fabric of her pajamas, making Sheffy’s back feel ticklish, and she almost wanted to laugh.

“Pfft…”

“Sheffy, tell me… what exactly does your sister mean…”

“What do you mean? Isn’t it obvious? She’s trying everything to get me to return to the Demon King’s Castle. Unfortunately, I have no such plans right now. And if I go back, the war between the humans and the Demon Clan would immediately restart. Isn’t the current mess enough already?”

“No… I mean… what kind of feelings does she have for you… you’re family after all… why would she kiss you… is that some kind of way to act spoiled? Sheffy, in the Demon Domain, is kissing between family members normal?”

“Of course not! How could that possibly be normal!”

Sheffy immediately turned around to face Xiarette and refuted her.

The traditions of the Demon Domain are about the same as those of the humans, alright? How could they possibly just kiss on the mouth when they meet!

No… Xiarette, is this really what you focused on just now?!

Good grief, Sheffy had thought Xiarette was asking about Belith’s plans, thinking she was referring to some grand strategic situation, but in the end, the topic was still about feelings?

Looking at Xiarette’s delicate, translucent lips right in front of her, gently closed, Sheffy instinctively shrank back to avoid the sharp edge.

The two of them maintained a safe distance while looking at each other. With Xiarette’s gentle sigh as a starting point, this dangerous topic was temporarily concluded.

“Ah… one can’t be careless… by the way, Sheffy, are you sleepy right now?”

“What for!”

Don’t misunderstand. Sheffy’s exclamation of “what for” was a panicked question, not one of curiosity.

The difference between “what for!” and “why?” carried distinct meanings.

Sheffy’s sudden outcry naturally startled Xiarette.

She hurriedly shook her head on the pillow, indicating that wasn’t what she meant.

“No… I was just thinking… if you’re not sleepy, would you feel like telling me about you and Belith? When we came back earlier… didn’t we agree?”

“You’re interested in listening?”

“Yes… I think you probably know the reason why Belith’s attitude towards you suddenly changed, but you’re troubled by it… If you want to talk, I’m willing to listen to your worries.”

“Xiarette, it’s so nice that you’re speaking normally like this without reaching over.”

“Hm?”

No need to ask further, Sheffy was touched at this moment.

At noon, having a proper conversation was simply impossible. All communication was through physical collisions. In that state, where was there any room for verbal exchange?

Now, being able to chat like this, on such a quiet and harmonious night, was no less enjoyable than watching matches at the arena.

Using her butt as a pivot, Sheffy wiggled slightly towards Xiarette like a big fish.

Accidentally touching that soft front end, Sheffy quickly shrank back a bit, avoiding being too bold and risking punishment.

Thus, Sheffy lay with her head resting on the soft pillow and her own silver hair.

Her purple eyes shimmered with light, and her cherry lips parted gently.

“Actually… this should count as a family matter of mine.”

“Family matter? Well, that’s easy then. Sheffy’s family matter is also your sister’s family matter~”

“Hehe… true. Then listen carefully. I haven’t told anyone else these things except you.”

“Mm, I’m listening.”

The temperature outside the window tonight was just right, comfortable enough without needing the ice magic crystal to release cool air.

The storytelling flowed especially smoothly.

“Belith… actually wasn’t that cold from the start. When she was very little, she used to stick to me quite a bit. She’d have me feed her during meals, and she’d come looking for me hugging her pillow when it was time to sleep. Except for when we went fishing, she would run away; other than that, she was quite well-behaved. It was probably around when I was nine and she was seven… that she slowly started ignoring me.”

“Hugging her pillow to find you… and having you feed her…! Cough, let’s talk about that later… you said that year… did something happen?”

“Mm, the army was reorganized. That year, I happened to break through to Six Wings, and Father appointed me as the commander of the Demon King’s Army Second Division for training.”

“You broke through to Six Wings at nine years old…?”

Yes.

Perhaps it was precisely because she was too young that the seven-year-old Belith went before Father and the Demon Elders to protest.

“Big Sister is still just a child! The other division commanders are about the same age as Father! Big Sister likes fishing, she should stay home and fish properly! She shouldn’t be going to war!”

The result was predictable.

Belith was harshly scolded by Father and the others.

Her three wings drooped weakly as she returned to the castle from the council hall in tears and locked herself away.

The Demon Clan revered strength. For nine-year-old Sheffy to achieve the honor of becoming the “youngest Six-Winged in Demon Clan history” was seen by all demons as the highest glory.

Under such circumstances, Belith’s attempt to keep such a “heaven-sent prodigy” at home rather than going to the battlefield was seen as a provocation against Demon Clan traditions, something utterly incomprehensible.

It was like knights in the Kingdom who refused to train and only wanted to enjoy themselves.

Or like in Sheffy’s previous life, those outstanding students who didn’t want to study but only wanted to play games—it was a similar logic.

“Of course, Belith also came to talk to me. She said she wanted me to stay home and play with her instead of joining the army.”

“You surely had to refuse…”

“Yes, even if I was a scoundrel, I wouldn’t go so far as to abandon my duties. Back then, the Demon King’s Army Second Division hadn’t yet become involved in the war with the humans. I never expected that the Demon Clan’s ambitions would grow stronger and stronger… The Second Division’s deployment to the human borders was still years away.”

“You don’t need to call yourself a scoundrel… Yes, I know the Second Division. It’s considered the strongest fighting force of the Demon Clan, their ace unit.”

“Yes… Uh, where was I just now?”

“You said Belith tried to persuade you, but you refused.”

Yes, of course she had to refuse.

But Sheffy dearly loved her little sister. At the time, she smiled and told Belith she would return after a period of training.

Three years.

She said she would return to the Demon King’s Castle after three years and stay for a while.

However… there were things Sheffy didn’t know at the time.

During the time she was away, the environment Belith lived in became very harsh.

This “harsh” didn’t refer to material conditions.

It referred to her mental state.

— Tormented.

“Did you hear? Princess Sheffy led the Second Division to take the North Ice Polar Lake! They say there’s a rich harvest of North Ice Giant Fish there! Now our Demon Clan’s resources will be even more abundant!”

“Don’t you say, although Princess Sheffy’s magical research always causes destruction, it’s actually quite useful. Did you see the improved Light Magic Crystal last time? It can stay lit for an entire month without going out. Her Highness is truly a genius…”

At first, while listening at home to all of her sister’s various accomplishments, Belith’s heart was filled with indescribable joy.

She truly felt that her sister was amazing, so amazing!

But things always change.

Gradually, the tone of these words shifted.

People always loved to compare.

After all, without comparison, they couldn’t elevate the person they praised to an even higher pedestal.

“The First Princess is indeed remarkable, but the Second Princess seems rather mediocre… Already ten years old and still no Four Wings? What a waste of royal bloodline.”

“Haha… That’s just natural selection in the Demon Domain. You’ll see, maybe someday Princess Sheffy will cut ties with her. Why? Because it’s embarrassing!”

These words couldn’t possibly reach Belith’s ears directly; they wouldn’t dare say them in front of her.

But there’s no such thing as an impenetrable wall in this world.

Day after day, Belith still heard plenty of such remarks.

She would retort, get angry, and repeatedly emphasize that her sister would never treat her that way.

She said it would be three years, so it would be three years.

But how could little Belith understand that once one gets involved with the army and power, many things are no longer up to oneself?

Sheffy, always eager to return home and reunite with her sister, was caught up in military affairs. Three years were far from enough. Five years passed in a flash.

At the three-year mark, the now Four-Winged Belith stood at the agreed meeting place, holding in her hand the letter sent back by Sheffy saying she couldn’t return home on time that day.

As expected, she didn’t get to see her sister return.

The sky was overcast that day, very chilly, with heavy clouds.

Belith silently turned and left.

At the five-year mark, Sheffy sent a letter in advance informing Belith that she would definitely return this time.

And when Sheffy, full of expectation and joy for their reunion, was the first to fly to the Demon King’s Castle gate—

No one came to welcome her arrival.

What she heard was only the news that Belith had voluntarily applied to become the commander of the Demon King’s Army Fifth Division.

What followed was easy to imagine.

Every time Sheffy met with Belith afterward, she would exhaust every effort, trying all sorts of ways to amuse her, hoping to reconcile.

In her previous life, Sheffy lacked the affection of family. In this life, she finally had a family and didn’t want their relationship to fall apart because of some idle gossip.

She explained to Belith many times that those who made such sarcastic remarks were just speaking carelessly. She had never looked down on Belith and hoped Belith wouldn’t overthink it. Belith would always be her cherished little sister; that would never change.

But Belith’s response…

Utterly broke Sheffy’s heart.

Cut to the bone.

“It has nothing to do with those rumors, Sister. You don’t need to explain. You never did anything wrong, and I’ve never believed what they said. It’s just that I’ve grown up now; I’m not as childish as before.”

Then what did that mean…

“I just want to become stronger, that’s all. Those childish games end here. I can’t always be that little girl waiting by the stream for your return. I am the Second Princess of the Demon Clan, Belith Harl. I have my own dignity. Maybe I’ll never catch up to you, this monster, but I will at least try not to fall too far behind. This isn’t your fault, but I need to have self-awareness. That’s all. Sister, if there’s nothing important, please try not to speak to me.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep