The journey to the side wing’s guest room was devoid of any human presence, clearly intentional on Yifa’s part.
Nelly almost leaned her entire body weight against the door to muster the strength to open it, then walked directly to the bed and collapsed face-first, not caring about the Demon King’s intentions.
The bedding sank slightly beside her, and someone sat down, cool fingers gently stroking her hair.
Nelly took a breath, turned sideways, and looked up, speaking somewhat unsteadily: “Did you know about those things… already?”
Kalsas’s movement paused, his fingertips sliding from her hair to her cheek, moving upward to find her furrowed brow. He smoothed her brow and then answered calmly: “No, I learned many things only today.”
“Then…” Nelly’s voice trailed off. In the chaotic darkness, her azure eyes surged with tumultuous waves, gradually becoming misty, “Then why can you remain so calm?”
She would be in such pain that her brain might explode from this truth. He was forced to bear a fate of certain death, and had more reason than anyone to be furious, so why could he be so serene?
The Demon King seemed to smile. He leaned in close, gently kissing her lips, as if this single kiss could dissolve all anxiety and pain.
In their entanglement, Nelly instinctively clutched his shoulder’s clothing, as if afraid he would leave if she let go.
He finally covered her, gazing closely for a moment before turning them to lie face-to-face.
The translation continues in this manner, maintaining the original narrative style and emotional depth of the Chinese text.
“Perhaps it’s because they have nothing to do with me that I want to save them.” Naily’s gaze fell far, far away, piercing through the black night to the end of the world. Her tone was somewhat stiff: “Before coming to this world, both of my parents were doctors. From a young age, I felt that being able to save others was a great thing, so naturally my parents were great people. I was proud to have such great parents. Although they were busy, they also loved me very much… I shouldn’t have any dissatisfaction.”
Naily curled herself into a ball. Even with Calsas embracing her, she still hugged her own arms, as if feeling cold. She murmured repeatedly: “I shouldn’t have any dissatisfaction… I have a happy family, I have the dream of becoming a doctor, and I have indeed walked this path, so I have very sufficient reasons to want to leave here,” she stared at him quietly, unconsciously repeating, “very sufficient.”
“If there are people I can save, I will not let them go. You are no exception.” She laughed softly, “The first time I chose to return to Sloss with you, I might have been carrying a mood of redemption.
But when saving one person means others cannot be saved and the world will be destroyed, I have no other choice. I was educated this way since childhood; one person’s safety is too small and insignificant compared to the lives of millions, even if that person is the one I love. Even if that choice would hurt him, would hurt myself, I would have no other answer.”
This was the first time Naily candidly admitted that she still loved him.
The firelight danced in Calsas’s eyes. He was stunned by her words, wanting to express his feelings through action, but their posture was already intimately close, and mere affection could no longer adequately express his emotions. He thought about this and gave up his intention, continuing to be a quiet listener.
“But thinking about Ifa’s attitude and appearance as a savior, I suddenly realized that perhaps my actions have nothing to do with the ideals I believed in, or even with the fear of making a choice. Perhaps… I am just a more selfish and colder type of person.” Naily laughed abnormally, “Saving others means placing oneself in a more noble position, ultimately to satisfy one’s own desires. The more people saved, the stronger the sense of peace and vanity. In terms of baseness, hypocrisy, and madness, I am not much better than those five people.”
“You ask me why I can’t simply choose to save only you.” Naily covered her face, “Now I give you the answer. Because that way, I would never be able to save myself.
Calsas suppressed his eyebrows and asked calmly: “Yourself?”
Naily spread her palm, looking at the fine lines that could not be read in the dark night, her tone detached: “I mean… I am very disappointed with my life before coming to this world. Because of this disappointment, I want to doubly protect others, to give them the life I could never have.”
“But you just said your previous life was very happy,” Calsas’s tone became strange.
Naily shrugged, as if giving up on hiding her emotions: “Superficially, yes. My parents loved me very much, and I knew this. But more often, I would be in pain in that home. I could hardly feel any emotion between them beyond living together, and I was often afraid that if I weren’t there, their occasional arguments might end in divorce at any moment.”
“But I always thought this was a normal relationship. Marriage is just an equivalent exchange. Because society says everyone needs a family, so people with suitable conditions get married, raise children, and spend a lifetime in arguments and misunderstandings. That’s nothing. But… my friends’ parents would go on dates, celebrate wedding anniversaries, celebrate each other’s birthdays. None of these would happen in my home. Even without these, life continues normally and is considered happy.”
“I thought then that perhaps they just invested these emotions in their work. But I didn’t even realize that I was blaming them.”
Why would they rather spend effort to work overtime and save more unrelated people than save a family that could collapse at any moment? Or perhaps they already understood it was beyond salvation, so they gave up and went to save strangers who were more promising and would give a greater sense of achievement?
“My desire to go back is less about yearning for past life, and more about fear that if I disappeared, would that family be completely destroyed, losing even its past life…”
Naily spoke many words that were very foreign to the Demon King.
As her words poured out, the part of her that had never been open to Calsas was now undoubtedly exposed. Her voice trembled, her tone revealing complete self-loathing: “Sorry for forcing you to listen to so much self-pitying, boring talk.”
“Naily,” Calsas called her name in a deep voice.
Naily involuntarily shuddered at the weight in his tone, then looked at him in confusion, mechanically laughing: “Hmm?”
“Naily,” he called her again, as if trying to summon another person buried beneath a hard shell. He stared at her unblinkingly, as if he could see through her soul and reignite her nearly extinguished spark. His tone was serious yet gentle, saying to her word by word: “You are different from them.”
A hint of kind mockery appeared in his eyes, giving warmth to his usually cold red pupils. Patting her head like an elder, he half-scolded her: “You are not as bad or as complicated as you think.”
Even now, I can see through you at a glance.
But…” Nalie pouted, feeling her entire face burning with shame. She wanted to retort with a choked voice, but her words were silenced by a single glance from the other person.
“No buts,” Kalsas gave her a sideways glance, with a hint of disdain in his expression, “They call themselves saviors fighting against heartless gods, standing high above, yet they would never let their robes get even a speck of dust, let alone shed a drop of their own blood.”
He raised an eyebrow at Nalie’s stunned expression and couldn’t help but flick her forehead: “They’re much smarter than you and won’t be foolish enough to martyrize themselves.”
“I didn’t…” Nalie reflexively tried to argue, but the other person simply pressed her against his chest, silencing her.
