Hate me, Miss Witch!

Chapter 401 - 207: There’s No Reason the Childhood Friend Can’t Defeat the Sudden Arrival (Double - )

"It’s just my own one-sided... "

"Unrequited love, that’s all."

She smiled a bit, yet there wasn’t much humor in her words.

Instead, there was a slight bitterness.

"In fact, perhaps he still harbors a certain sense of distance towards me now, unwilling to develop too deep a connection with me."

"Maybe, in his heart, his impression of me remains merely as a friend, or even just as that of a Beastmaster and Pet Beast."

"Being close, trusted, even able to lazily sunbathe on his head... "

"But that ultimately is just the closeness of a Beastmaster and Pet Beast, completely different from the true heart-to-heart connection and mutual reliance between people."

The voice of the girl in the black dress was very soft.

"He is very smart, and it’s impossible for him not to notice my special fondness and closeness towards him."

"However, due to our initial encounter as Pet Beast and Beastmaster... in his heart, he always attributes my fondness and closeness towards him to the hatchling dragon’s reliance on the first living being it sees, or due to the effect of the Soul Pact."

"I can understand his perspective... he feels that my closeness and reliance on him stem from the coincidence of my hatching, from the external binding of the Soul Pact, rather than from genuine feeling."

"This isn’t true love, but merely a distorted emotion."

"Therefore, he doesn’t want me to be dragged down by this abnormal bond, nor does he want to bind himself with it."

"But..."

She spoke softly.

"In my heart, I clearly know it’s not like that."

"What ’special feeling of a hatchling dragon for the first living thing it sees,’ what ’binding of an equal contract’... such things might impact a newly hatched dragon unfamiliar with the world."

"But how could these bindings and attachments last for centuries, or even eras?"

The crimson gold in the eyes of the girl in the black dress shimmered.

"In those long days, I once wanted to resent him for leaving me so irresponsibly, to reject his vile act of abducting a minor dragon."

"But in the end, after enduring the passage of time and clearing all the clutter and distractions in the sea of the soul, I could see so clearly."

"The deepest and most fervent emotion in my heart for him—"

"Is still longing and attachment."

She blinked her eyes.

"To become his lover like Hathaway... maybe, all along, it was just my own wishful thinking."

"However, Lily."

"Since nothing is settled, there’s still a chance, right?"

"Even though this companionship of over five hundred years was just my own persistence... but when he awakens and sees everything I’ve done for him."

"Even the most stone-hearted person should be moved and open up, right?"

The voice of the girl in the black dress was very soft.

At this moment, she seemed no longer the mysterious and unparalleled, imposing leader in the eyes of the Elven Royal Court.

No longer the Queen sitting on the Throne of the Night.

But merely a warm-hearted girl, worrying about her romantic affairs, yet holding hope within her worries.

"He will."

"Though he and I only met once, I think that Brother Shiayar, who smiled at me even the first time we met, is not such a heartless person."

"A heartless person would never do such decisive things for Sister Hathaway."

Lilianna spoke out without hesitation.

This time, her response was no longer the previous formal answer focused on avoiding mistakes.

But was instead her genuine thought from the heart.

And upon hearing Lilianna’s response.

The girl in the black dress on the Throne of Shadows merely closed her eyes slightly.

The entire hall fell silent, where even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard clearly.

Her lips occasionally lifted, occasionally twitched, but joy surpassed melancholy.

It was unknown how much time passed before the girl in the black dress opened her eyes again.

The crimson gold glare appeared, resembling flowing lava.

Yet also glittering and pure, like the light of a bright moon.

The joy and melancholy intertwined in those crimson gold eyes vanished.

In just an instant, she reverted back to the mysterious, incomprehensible, and stunningly beautiful Queen of the Night.

"Indeed."

"He was never such a heartless person."

"Moreover, from ancient times to now, there’s never been a reason why childhood friends can’t surpass those appearing out of the blue."

"If not, how could Ennie become the most special one by his side."

"My story with him—"

"Obviously, it’s only just beginning."

Initially, it felt like she was forcing herself to be confident, as if even she had little confidence.

But in the later part, it carried a bit of indisputable authority.

In the crimson gold vertical pupils of the girl in the black dress, a flash of tenderness appeared and disappeared quickly, replaced by an indescribable radiant splendor.

This was the familiar image of the leader shown in the eyes of the elves of the City of Wind and Snow to Lilianna.

When the entire Elven Royal Court had just fallen to the depths of the Abyss, and countless elves were dizzy, unable to find a clear path forward.

It was this mysterious leader who emerged from the depths of the Royal Court.

With unparalleled power, helped the Elf Clan construct the City of Wind and Snow at the base of the Abyss, using the ruins of the Royal Court as the foundation.

Also using multiple mysterious Sacred Relics, she created crops that could be grown and harvested in the most barren soil within the lifeless Abyss.

It can be said that without her, this City of Wind and Snow would never have been built, and the elves in the Royal Court would probably wither away in aimless confusion.

Many residents in the City of Wind and Snow, including those Legendary ones, have speculated about the real origin of this mysterious and unparalleled guardian and leader who emerged from the depths of the Royal Court.

Some say she was a powerful Council Elder who sealed herself away hundreds of years ago to break through to a higher realm.

Others say she was simply the offspring of a past Elf King, or perhaps the Elf King himself.

But in reality, only Lilianna, as the leader’s confidant, truly knew.

The reason why the leader became the guardian of the Elven Royal Court and protected the City of Wind and Snow for centuries was actually due to a rather trivial reason.

"This is ultimately Hathaway’s hometown."

"At least we can call ourselves close friends, even if it’s a bit superficial, because our opponents aren’t just each other, but there are others as well."

"With that said, since it’s on the way, might as well look after it."

For such a simple reason.

"Well, the whining is over."

The girl in the black dress casually leaned back against the Throne shrouded in night.

Those crimson gold eyes returned to their lazy and relaxed look.

She lowered her gaze, looking at the young Grey Elf in front of her.

"Now, back to business, we should discuss the main issues."

"Lily, report on what I asked you to investigate between the Abyss and the Main Material Plane."

"The activities of those false gods on the Western Continent."

"That certain Golden Elf about to return from the depths of the Astral Realm..."

"And—"

"The matter of the ’Black Tower.’