This time, he didn’t teleport but properly escorted Nailey to her door. Nailey suspected he was finding excuses to spend more time with her but felt something was strange and pretended not to notice, focusing solely on walking.
Soon they reached the black and white corridor. Kalsas gentlemanly opened the door for her, bowing slightly with composure. Nailey was momentarily stunned by his actions, as if a familiar scene had flashed through her mind.
She quickly concealed her momentary lapse, lowering her head to say, “Good night.”
Kalsas stepped forward half a step, took her hand, and kissed it, raising his head with a very gentle voice, “Good night, Nailey.”
His eyes held a starry radiance, with a deep red undertone, possessing a bewitching and enchanting demeanor. His tone was tender, capable of imprinting itself in one’s heart with just a glance.
Nailey felt as if burned by the kiss, sensing her ears turning red instantly. She nervously mumbled a response and quickly stepped into her room, closing the door behind her.
She covered her face. Although this task… seemed to have a truly high difficulty coefficient.
Naily paused, vaguely feeling something was off.
It seemed the course of events had subtly deviated from its intended path, with each step feeling like walking on marshmallows – sweet and tempting, yet like a swamp with no solid ground, with sinking being the only way out.
She suddenly became more alert, forcefully slapping her cheeks: who knows if Kalsas had tampered with her emotions – she must not be deceived, absolutely not! Thinking of the medical school she had worked so hard to enter, her laboring parents, and her close friend from middle school, Naily’s determination grew even stronger.
This was just a virtual world she had accidentally entered – her reality was not here, and would never be here.
Early the next morning, the same kind-hearted woman brought breakfast again. Naily had originally planned to let the suspicious food be, but unexpectedly, Kalsas emerged from behind the woman.
Glancing at the two portions of breakfast, Naily felt a headache but had no choice but to let the Demon King enter the room and experience having breakfast with the number one antagonist of Verdya. This way, Naily had to steel herself to eat. Although she deliberately chose plain white bread, she knew clearly that if there were any bewitching spells in the food, they could not be detected by taste alone.
Having been in this world for quite some time without realizing, Naily had grown accustomed to the frugal life of a hero, almost forgetting the taste of good food, to the point where she couldn’t help but eat the white bread with great interest.
Kalsas did not deliberately stare at Naily, only glancing at her casually while taking a shallow sip of red tea; the teacup conveniently covered his lips, hiding whether he was smiling, but his eyes were tender.
After eating a piece of bread, Naily decided not to eat more, took a sip of tea to clear her throat, and said: “Kalsas… what are your plans for today?”
Kalsas lowered his eyelids and smiled slightly: “To be with Naily.”
Naily’s fingers curled around the teacup, responding dryly: “Is that so? So what should we do?”
“Whatever Naily wants,” Kalsas behaved exceptionally well, appearing completely compliant.
Being treated this way by someone who embodies beauty, status, and power made it hard not to feel somewhat elated. Naily was only momentarily dazed before immediately adjusting her state, lowering her head to stare at the deep red tea, and casually suggested without much enthusiasm: “Let’s read books.”
“Mm,” Kalsas briefly responded, and seeing that Naily seemed to have finished her breakfast, he elegantly stood up first, walking to Naily’s side and extending his arm: “I’ll take you to the library.”
Just thinking about which parts of this vast castle she had been to made Naily’s head ache slightly. She tried her best to conceal this momentary abnormality, took another sip of tea, and then raised her head to say: “Okay.”
Kalsas looked normal, as if he hadn’t seen her previous unusual state, and instead seemed genuinely delighted by her response, the corners of his mouth slightly curved.
Naily hesitated for a moment before linking her arm with his.
Kalsas then smoothly wrapped his other arm around her waist.
★ Chapter 7: First Kiss
After finishing, he clapped his hands, and a thumb-sized brown figure appeared out of thin air, fluttering transparent wings and bowing: “Greetings, Your Majesty. How may Buch serve you?”
“The book about Verdaya,” Kalsas ordered flatly.
The elf named Buch humbly bowed, circling in the air, raising dust from behind the bookshelf, with a low murmur barely audible. In a moment, Buch appeared sitting atop a large stack of books. Thick hardcover books, ivory-covered ancient texts, and parchment scrolls were spread out across the table.
Kalsas nodded to Buch, and the elf instantly disappeared with a snap.
Nelly hesitantly unrolled the topmost parchment scroll, glancing at it and feeling overwhelmed: it was not Verdaya’s common language, but an even more ancient, lost script. Kalsas walked to her side, seemingly casually saying: “The Song of Halga, the birth legend of Verdaya.”
This is the only copy on the entire continent.” He paused, a cryptic smile playing on his lips, and added:
“I can read it to you.”
“In the common language.”
Nelly was stunned for a moment, not refusing: “Thank you.”
Kalsas sat down in the high-backed chair at the left end of the long table, his slender fingers carefully tracing the ancient scroll’s surface. Looking at the obscure, dense text, he effortlessly translated it into the common language: “Please listen. We all know that in the glorious past, the great kings and lords of the continent established immortal achievements, and all of this began with that well that ruled everything, named Urld.”
His reading voice was calm, lacking the passion typical of legends.
“Three goddesses obtained the world’s source from the well, and people thus remembered their names: Urld, Verdanti, and Skueld. They gave this continent its past, present, and future. From the mist and smoke, Halga, the great king, united the tribes, bestowing rings of power. His reputation…”
As the name suggests, this was a story about the legendary King Halga.
Halga, blessed by fate, led his kingdom to prosperity, building a magnificent red fortress, but attracted the covetousness of evil forces. Undead giants in human form haunted the red fortress day after day, killing brave warriors and destroying exquisite halls.
To protect his people and reputation, Halga waited alone in the red fortress hall for a final battle with the enemy.
In that battle, Halga killed the giant but was also gravely wounded. Before dying, he entrusted his two children and wife to his brother Hremont, receiving his promise before passing away.
Kalsas looked up, calmly facing Nelly. He carefully restored the scroll and said flatly: “Everyone knows what happened afterward.”
Nelly had indeed heard the subsequent story. Hremont betrayed his brother’s wish, killed his nephew, and took the throne; thereafter, wars continued for hundreds of years until the Melo lineage reunited the lords, and the Verdaya continent finally regained prosperity and peace, until…
Nelly bit her lip, carefully glancing at Kalsas. Until the Demon King Kalsas arrived, bringing disaster and suffering to the people of the borderlands once again.
Kalsas remained expressionless, staring at her and asking: “Do you believe these legends, Nelly?”
