dkrc Chapter 1452 - 54: Before That_3
Chapter 1452 - 54: Before That_3
Moli trailed off mid-sentence, then cautiously stole a glance at Rafael. By rights, the fact that she and Fisher had been secretly meeting in private shouldn’t be something Rafael knew about. Even the matter of Fisher saying he would deal with those two Demons had been told to Moli during one of those private meetings—saying it out loud now would be as good as exposing everything, wouldn’t it?But Rafael, upon hearing this, merely looked at Moli and did not pursue the issue of the two of them secretly seeing each other.
Perhaps it was because of the sounds Moli made that morning when Rafael was pretending to sleep, which made her certain that even if those two met, they wouldn’t do anything wrong; or perhaps it was simply that Rafael’s feelings for Moli were already deep enough that, now the two of them were alone together, she could not bring herself to rebuke the sister who had been by her side for four and a half years.
In fact, if one really measured by time spent together, Moli had stayed by Rafael’s side far longer than Fisher had.
It was just a pity that feelings could not be weighed by the length of time alone.
How many people are thrown into sleepless longing by a single, pitiful, stunning glance, a fleeting moment that plants an illusory shadow in their hearts; and how many others share the same pillow day and night, yet harbor their own secrets and separate thoughts.
The time spent with Fisher had been short, but far too dazzling—so much so that, if Fisher did not have that incurable habit of being fickle in love, Rafael would have felt that no matter how many pages were devoted to chronicling the feelings between them, it would not be excessive.
She believed it was the same for Moli. When the girl first left the Ocean, still ignorant of the world, and got dragged into a peril where her kin were dying and she had no one to rely on, the Fisher who pulled her from the fire and water became an inseparable part of her.
Moli’s words cut off abruptly, but Rafael had already understood what she meant. She shook her head and said,
"Of course I’m willing to trust Fisher, even though he himself thinks his abilities still can’t match that Barbatos. He said the other side doesn’t just have one Demon like Barbatos—there’s another one there, the one who sent that Human journalist over back then... Agares?"
"There’s... another one?"
"Mm. I don’t even dare imagine how terrifying two Demons of that level must be... I believe Fisher probably already has a way to deal with them. With his personality, he would never say something like ’I’ll go settle this’ unless he had at least some clue how to do it..."
"Then what is Rafael worried about?"
Rafael hesitated for a moment, then turned her head to look at her.
"I’m worried about the method he’ll use."
"...The method?"
"Mm. Whenever I think of Fisher helping me, I sometimes have nightmares, Dreams about... things I don’t quite remember clearly. I’ve forgotten what I saw, but I still remember how I felt in the Dream—that... unease and fear. I don’t know if it’s because of those powerful Demons, or because of my doubts about him..."
Rafael paused for several seconds, then finally added the unfinished words,
"I believe in his feelings for you and me, and that’s why I suspect he might make decisions he shouldn’t in order to save us—take a desperate gamble with improper, heretical methods. If that’s the case, the price he’ll pay will be something I cannot accept. Even if he truly defeats the Demons in the end, I would still feel it wasn’t worth it for him."
"Have you asked what method he’s going to use, Rafael?"
"I have, but it was all... vague. He only said that he’ll go to the Demon Dynasty, the lair of that group of Demons, the place they escaped to. But I don’t believe that just relying on this can avoid direct confrontation with them. In the end, the fact that those Demons showed up in the Human coalition to serve Elizabeth is already extremely abnormal—there must be some other secret in all this that we don’t know."
"The Demon Dynasty..."
"Mm. I don’t know where that place is either, but I heard Erem Clan Chief and the others mention before that Demons live very deep underground."
"So what do you want Fisher to do, Rafael? You want him to give up helping you? That’s... completely impossible, and I can’t accept it either. If the war is lost..."
"He certainly wouldn’t agree, Moli. In a few days I’ll be leading the army to the front, and he’ll likely be setting out as well. I still have matters at the front to tend to, and you... Moli, I want you to go with him to the Demon Dynasty."
"Eh, me?"
Moli tensed up at once. She looked to Rafael, afraid this was some kind of test, but when she raised her eyes she saw only Rafael’s profile turned to the side.
With the candlelight at her back, only her emerald eyes shone with light.
"Mm, you."
Moli shrank back a little and said in a small voice,
"I thought... Rafael cared a lot about me and..."
"Mm, I care a lot."
"Then why are you still..."
"Because there’s nothing else I can do. I’m afraid this is where my road ends."
Rafael shook her head, looking out the window at the Dragon Court, which had gained a brief respite of calm like the lull before a storm. She spoke softly to Moli,
"You and I both know the situation in this war. Even without those two Demons, because of the defeat two and a half years ago, our strength has been greatly diminished, and in numbers we’re far inferior to the Fake Court and the Humans—let alone with Nali behind them. Our individual power may far exceed the ordinary, but even so we’re no match for Demons... So I have to consider what happens if we lose.
"When I was defeated and forced to retreat back then, many clans and races left their homes, bringing their families with them, and withdrew with me to this corner of the world. If we lose again, I don’t have the face to abandon them and run away with Fisher and my family. I will die here and be buried with my soldiers. But you’re different, Moli—you were never a Dragon Court demi-human to begin with. You’re free to leave; in a way, you’re a safeguard for me.
"Even though I still can’t let it go, compared to someone like Elizabeth, I would much rather entrust Fisher to you. I want you to follow him into the Demon Dynasty and stop him when he’s about to make a wrong choice because of me and the Dragon Court, so he doesn’t pay the price. And then, even if we lose, you can still take him and my Mother away from here..."
Moli pressed her lips together. Faced with Rafael’s concession at this moment, she felt no joy at all. She gritted her teeth, hesitated for a moment, then looked out toward the Ocean beyond the Dragon Court and said,
"I... I’ll go beg my Mother and ask her to help us."
Rafael simply watched her quietly, then shook her head and said to her,
"You told me yourself about the promise between you and your Mother... A being as powerful as her would of course feel compassion because of who you are, but that only concerns your safety. If you go back to seek her out, the only thing you’ll get—besides never being allowed to return—is her refusal... Don’t do something foolish, Moli."
Moli reached out and clutched tightly at the edge of her sacrificial robe. Yet in this moment, she all but wished she had power as great as her Mother’s.
She would almost rather Rafael, as before, quarrel with her over Fisher than speak so calmly now of what was to be done after her death, as if everything were fixed on rails of fate, and all they could do was watch it slide helplessly down into the Abyss.
"Then it’s settled, Moli. Remember what I’ve said—these things I leave in your hands..."
Rafael smiled faintly, then turned to face her. Of course she saw the hesitation and unwillingness in Moli’s eyes. After a brief hesitation of her own, Rafael still stepped forward and gently took Moli’s hand, wrapping that slightly cool skin in her own heat.
"Rafael, maybe there’s another way. Fisher, he..."
"I hope so too... But if I do survive, you and Fisher will be in trouble."
"Rafael, you know I..."
Rafael gave Moli’s hand a light squeeze, crumpling the words she was about to say back into her throat. Only then did she finally say,
"...Thank you, Moli."