Chapter 49: A Peculiar Comfort and a Sudden Pivot

My hometown…

Yalin attempted to conjure memories of his hometown, but aside from the sheer size of his childhood home, no other impressions surfaced.

If Fulin’s conjecture proved true, he would indeed have to return and investigate.

Yet, the mere thought of a ten-day journey by carriage, traversing a route fraught with rugged mountains, was enough to make his backside throb with a phantom ache.

An airship, on the other hand, would drastically cut down on travel time and offer a far more comfortable experience.

The cost, however, was prohibitively exorbitant.

‘Never mind,’ he thought, ‘for the sake of my physical and mental well-being, I’ll just have to scrimp and save for a while.’

“Alright, I’ve essentially covered everything I can,” Fulin declared, “let’s conclude for today.”

A hint of exhaustion laced Fulin’s voice.

She found herself truly aging, feeling breathless after merely a bit of extra conversation.

“I won’t keep you for dinner, though I suspect you wouldn’t care to stay anyway.

Before you depart, however, might you assist me with something?”

“Please, tell me what you need.”

“Liyang is likely quite distressed at the moment; would you be willing to go and speak with her?

The child rarely speaks, and she has no other companions… but she places immense trust in you.

I believe at a time like this, you are the only one who can truly be there for her.”

“I could, yes, but if the purpose is to offer guidance, wouldn’t Professor Fulin be far more appropriate?” Yalin inquired, a hint of bewilderment in his tone.

“Alas, I’m an old woman now,” Fulin replied with a wry smile, “and there’s an undeniable generation gap between us and you youngsters.”

“Furthermore, I find myself rather fatigued at present.”

“I understand.”

Yalin assented.

While he harbored little desire to become entangled with Liyang, he had, after all, just gleaned a wealth of invaluable information from Professor Fulin.

To refuse her request now would strike him as unduly heartless.

He departed the study on the first floor, ascending the narrow staircase to the second, where he gently rapped on a door.

“Grandma Fulin?”

Liyang’s voice, tinged with a faint sob, emanated from within the room.

“It’s me. May I come in and speak with you?”

Silence descended upon the room.

After a considerable pause, Liyang finally spoke, “Um… you can come in.”

Granted permission, Yalin pushed the door open and stepped inside.

This marked his inaugural entry into a girl’s private chamber, and a peculiar sensation stirred within him.

Though modest in size, the room was meticulously maintained, utterly devoid of dust, and the air carried no trace of unpleasant odors.

By the window stood a desk, adorned with several thick tomes of magic and an assortment of peculiar, distinctly Oriental-styled trinkets.

Liyang sat hunched on the small bed by the desk, her head bowed low.

Her eyes, red and swollen, bore testament to a recent, intense bout of weeping.

As if unwilling for Yalin to witness her disheveled state, Liyang averted her face, allowing her ink-dark hair to curtain their gazes.

“You… you can sit anywhere.”

“Alright.”

Yalin, without a hint of ceremony, pulled out a chair and settled into it.

Fulin had tasked him with accompanying Liyang and engaging her in conversation, yet in this oppressively heavy atmosphere, how was he ever to initiate a dialogue?

“Um… Grandma Fulin sent you, right?”

“Yes.”

“Mm… thank you.”

Liyang fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, then, after a moment of hesitation, murmured, “I’m sorry, this situation must be quite uncomfortable for you… Truly, there’s no need for you to go out of your way to console me.”

“Oh, really? Well, that’s incredibly helpful then.”

‘True to Liyang’s nature, she’s effortlessly perceived my predicament, hasn’t she?’

‘How considerate of her…’

Liyang paused, startled, before a soft, involuntary laugh escaped her lips.

“Yalin, you really are a strange person.”

“What makes you say so?”

“Because I feel that most people would simply continue with their condolences, yet you’re quite the opposite; you seemed to breathe a sigh of relief…”

“My apologies then.

I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m actually rather cold-hearted.”

“That wasn’t what I meant at all.

If you were truly cold-blooded, you wouldn’t have come to my rescue that day.”

Liyang shook her head, her gaze softening perceptibly.

“In truth, I find this rather good; your particular demeanor has, paradoxically, made me feel a touch more at ease.”

“It’s truly wonderful that you can understand me.”

Yalin idly poked the roly-poly toy resting on the table; the small figurine swayed gently, its gourd-shaped shadow dancing back and forth in the lamplight.

“I lament your predicament, but as I am not you, I cannot genuinely empathize with your experience.To offer facile words of comfort would only strike me as disingenuous, and thus, I found myself at a loss for how to begin.However, for lack of a better way to phrase it, I believe you are a good person, and you deserve a favorable outcome.Yes, that about sums it up.”

‘A good person…’

A prickle of emotion stung the corners of Liyang’s eyes.

For some time now, her heart had been ensnared in a profound internal conflict.

That her parents were villains was an indisputable truth.

As researchers for the Abyssal Church, their hands must have been sullied with the blood of countless innocent lives.

Yet, despite this grim reality, Liyang found herself unable to harbor hatred for them.

In her memories, they had always worn gentle smiles, watching over her from her bedside, their hands softly caressing her head.

Liyang found it utterly impossible to reconcile that profound tenderness with the brutal truth that now confronted her.

Thus, she instinctively began to seek justifications.

‘Perhaps her parents were coerced?

And they ultimately paid the price for it, didn’t they?’

Yet, the more she attempted to console herself, the more acutely she recognized that she was merely evading the truth.

The agonizing pain of this internal schism threatened to shatter her entirely.

Yalin, however, sidestepped all her struggles and contradictions.

He neither lectured nor offered empty solace; he simply stood quietly by her side.

‘You are a good person.’

Though it was but the briefest of sentences, its resonance was profoundly reassuring.

Liyang quietly lifted her gaze, meeting Yalin’s eyes, which were as dark and profound as still water.

Indeed, every time she had plunged into despair, he had been there by her side, a warm beam of light piercing through the encroaching darkness.

Yet, she knew, more keenly than anyone else.

That particular warmth was not exclusively hers.

Yalin’s heart was already irrevocably claimed by another; no matter how intensely she yearned, she could never intrude upon that space.

The thought ignited a sharp, piercing ache in Liyang’s chest.

‘But then again,’ she mused, ‘how could someone as cowardly as myself ever be truly worthy of Yalin?’

The utmost she could manage was to silently support Yalin from the shadows, simply wishing for his happiness.

“Thank you, Yalin,” she said, “your words are more than enough.”

Liyang dabbed at her eyes, then forced a resilient smile to her lips.

“Oh, Yalin,” she added, “you like Celeste, don’t you?

I—I’ll be rooting for you.

If there’s anything you’d like me to do, I’ll certainly help with all my might!”

The roly-poly toy stopped swaying.

Yalin flinched, a trickle of cold sweat appearing on his brow.

‘No, why did the conversation abruptly pivot to Celeste?’

‘He had only just recently escaped from that particular demoness’s clutches!’

‘Liyang, Liyang, I’ve always treated you kindly; how could you repay my goodwill with such vengeance??’

Yalin cleared his throat a few times, then, feigning composure, asserted, “I appreciate your concern for me, but I believe you’ve perhaps misunderstood something.”

“Misunderstanding? But haven’t you always liked Celeste?”

“That was all in the past.

I’ve since come to realize that one-sided affection ultimately only casts one as a fool.

Surely, mutual affection is what truly matters, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Mutual affection…”Liyang murmured the words “mutual affection…” softly, her earlobes abruptly flushing crimson.After a brief pause, she whispered almost to herself, “Then I… I will do my best…”