Chapter 865: Talia's Unwavering Resolve
Chapter 865: Talia's Unwavering Resolve
The train corridor was noticeably emptier than when the train had stopped.
Lance and Talia walked through the aisle, their footsteps echoing in the spacious passageway, each carrying a suitcase.
"Sir, Miss, please show your tickets and identification documents."
A young, uniformed attendant stood ahead, politely blocking Lance and Talia's path.
Although the war situation was progressing towards peace talks, both within and outside the Empire, a period of turbulence, short or long, was inevitable. This was a time when chaos was most likely to occur, and identity checks on long-distance journeys had recently become particularly stringent.
"Here."
Lance reached into the pocket of his gray overcoat and produced their tickets, then turned to take Talia's documents from her hand, offering them both with a warm smile.
"...?"
The attendant's gaze lingered on Lance's face for a second longer, seemingly admiring the handsome nobleman.
But this brief moment of admiration was enough to stir discontent in the black-haired youth's gray-haired female companion. Her sharp, golden eyes made the attendant quickly avert their gaze.
She carefully took the tickets and documents, avoiding any contact with Lance's hand, and meticulously verified them with her equipment.
That gray-haired woman was terrifying, not allowing even a second of extra attention for the handsome man.
Before the attendant could ponder further, their eyes widened in surprise.
"Professor Landry Washington?"
The attendant whispered the name.
During the recent events in Brillada, the professor's name had not appeared in official announcements but had circulated among the public. Even without the chaos of the battle between Hestinos and Emperor Loren, Professor Landry Washington was already a well-known military engineer in the Kreithni Empire and the chairman of the Empire's new energy organization, a name frequently mentioned in the news over the past couple of months.
"I'm heading home for a visit."
Lance calmly explained, snapping the attendant out of their daze.
"Please take your documents back; I've finished checking them."
The attendant promptly returned the tickets and documents with both hands.
Professor Washington's registered residence was in the northwestern border region of Niksachsen, and this northbound train was undoubtedly the best choice for his journey home.
"Cabin 404, continue straight to the end of carriage four, and it's the fourth room on your right. Sir, Miss, welcome aboard the Brillada Magic Train. Have a pleasant journey!"
The young attendant respectfully stepped aside, indicating the direction to Lance and Talia.
"Thank you, and have a good shift."
Lance nodded in gratitude, taking back their tickets and Empire identification documents.
"Tata, why did the attendant suddenly look startled? Am I that scary?"
Lance wondered to himself.
At the end of last month, during their assault on Blood Moon City, Talia had once again fused with the Great Love Poet and transformed into the Mad Love Demon Lord. Their fusion level was so high that it took at least a month for them to separate each time.
Even now, Talia had to maintain her fused state.
"I don't know."
Talia nonchalantly stared out the window in the corridor.
The interior of the train was designed in the typical Kreithni Empire style—the walls were adorned with rosewood panels, and the aged carvings emitted a soothing, faint fragrance.
"That doesn't make sense. Professor Landry's reputation should be quite good. I've been maintaining Elsa's reputation as my way of repaying Dimensional Saint Landry."
Lance scratched his head in confusion as he slowly made his way down the aisle.
"Four-oh-three, four-oh-four..."
He muttered the numbers he saw on the doors.
Soon, he located his cabin on the right.
He affixed the ticket to the door lock and gave it a gentle push, and the heavy wooden door swung open.
Although the journey wasn't excessively long, the train didn't have sleeping berths. Nonetheless, this first-class cabin was still luxurious and comfortable.
The spacious luggage rack could accommodate several suitcases.
Lance and Talia brought in their luggage and stowed their suitcases, finally allowing Lance to release the burden from his shoulders and sink into the chair, feeling a different sense of relaxation from when they had arrived in Kreithni.
The velvet-covered cushion was soft and thick, making it feel like one could sink into it.
"Ah, it's so easy to feel sleepy in the winter. I'm already feeling drowsy in the morning."
Lance shook his head, hugging the Little Black Cat mini-pillow.
They had departed early in the morning, and it was barely past seven o'clock. Now that he was in a comfortable position, he felt the urge to catch up on some sleep.
"Then take a nap. I'll wake you when we reach the station."
Talia's voice softened as if soothing a child to sleep.
Lance's eyelids gradually drooped.
It seemed he was giving up on resisting sleep.
"Wait, I need to go to the dining car to buy some snacks. The next meal won't be for a few hours, and you'll get hungry."
Just as Lance was about to doze off, he suddenly remembered an important task and quickly stood up, maintaining his alertness.
"No, I'm not hungry."
Talia wasn't sure if she should praise or scold Lance for this instinctive habit.
"You will get hungry."
Lance firmly insisted, as if he knew her body better than she did.
"..."
Talia's cheeks flushed, and she bit her lip, clenching her fist.
She seemed to be saying that if Lance didn't go, she would punch him.
Lance immediately put down the Cat Boss down and strode out of the cabin.
"Damn it, why does he understand me so well..."
Talia muttered in frustration after confirming Lance had left.
Meow, Tata, do you still remember how you two first interacted?"
Cat Boss lay on the table, shaking his head as he asked Tata.
He had long gotten used to the daily chats between Lance and Talia.
Recalling the first time he met Tata and Lance, their relationship wasn't as good as it is now.
He occasionally saw the black-haired boy with green eyes come to Cat Boss's restaurant at a fixed time to look for Tata. Naturally, he assumed they were a couple, only to later discover that their relationship wasn't that simple.
He was extremely curious about the seemingly cold and aloof Tata and the elegant boy's connection.
He initially planned to observe them for a while longer.
Until one day, the boy unexpectedly brought along a silver-haired girl with amber eyes, equally beautiful and captivating. Together, they found Tata, which genuinely piqued Cat Boss's curiosity. He couldn't resist asking Tata about her relationship with the boy.
"At that time... I only knew him, nothing more. I wasn't wrong," Talia replied without any emotion in her voice.
Initially, her relationship with Lance was purely a business arrangement.
She had to protect him and ensure he repaid his debt before it was cleared.
Additionally, he would occasionally bring her things that pleased her, like the Huberian she had always wanted to meet. Before she could find a suitable excuse or opportunity to hint at it to Lance, he suddenly brought Huberian to her.
"I asked you if you thought he was special, and you didn't even understand the definition of 'special.' You asked me, meow," Cat Boss reminisced, lying down with a hint of nostalgia.
Even now, as he recalled the days of watching the boy and girl meet in the restaurant over a year ago, he still felt that Tata's relationship with the boy was extraordinary.
Tata, who never interacted with others, could spend extended periods with this boy.
"Didn't I ask you back then, what makes someone 'special'?"
Even after traveling through the human realm for so many years, Talia still had many human emotions she didn't understand.
She knew that the "special" Cat Boss had asked about that night wasn't in the literal sense of being "unique" but rather something special related to the human concepts of "partner" or "love."
"Yes, I said that he always makes you happy, and you'll gradually become inseparable from him without realizing it. You'll start to care about and be curious about his thoughts. Your once peaceful self will become emotionally stirred because of him, meow."
After Cat Boss finished speaking that night, Talia remained at the front desk, frowning in deep thought for a long time, as if she truly didn't understand.
But looking at Talia's expression now, she seemed to have no more doubts.
"No, I don't understand," Talia replied after considering Cat Boss's words, shaking her head firmly.
Her happiness was no longer solely because he fulfilled her wishes or because of the contract that kept them together. She had long figured out what was on his mind, and the emotions she felt due to him weren't just anger.
This could only mean...
It meant...
Talia hesitated in her thoughts, unable to bring herself to say that conclusion, even at the risk of death.
She raised her head to look at Cat Boss but inadvertently caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window glass.
Outside, the mountains stretched endlessly, covered in snow. As far as the eye could see, the snow-laden trees in the winter morning shone brilliantly, like a silver-white paradise.
And in that reflection, her face, hidden in the dawn's light, was filled with a heart-stirring expression.
She immediately felt ashamed of her own expression and patted her cheeks.
A princess of the Demon Realm, who had already given in to her appetite, was now considering marriage to a human and becoming a virtuous wife and mother?
If this had happened over a hundred years ago when the Demon Realm still existed, she would have rather died than consider such a thing!
The carriage was unusually quiet, with only the monotonous sound of the train tracks. Talia closed her eyes, deep in thought.
"Tata, if I were to ask you again, just like before, meow, what would you say about Lance... How would you answer?"
Cat Boss felt that Talia's face had completely betrayed her heart.
Even the usually stubborn Tata couldn't deny it, but Talia still seemed to be holding on to something.
"Lance? He's just average, with a bit of good looks and a hint of the principal's dignity. He can paint a few nice pictures, and deep down, he has an indomitable righteousness, hoping to save all souls, whether they deserve it or not. He's a bit like my type, but I really don't understand why so many people like him. Can't they stop liking him because he's..."
As soon as Talia heard Cat Boss's words, she immediately raised her chin and began to speak in a string of complaints, even with a hint of annoyance in her tone.
"He has a lot of flaws, so I won't go into detail."
Her voice suddenly changed, and she finished in a lowered voice.
"Meow."
Cat Boss could only meow in response.
Demon princesses were known for being stubborn, but Talia's stubbornness was a chronic condition.
Not long after.
The sound of the door lock clicking echoed.
The door to the compartment was pushed open again, and Lance entered, pushing a small food cart.
"I bought quite a lot, and it met their onboard catering requirements, so they lent me the food cart. On the way, some people asked if I was selling, but I said no. I told them it was all for my elders, and they asked how many people were in my family, haha!"
Lance explained to Talia and Cat Boss.
"Lance, are you trying to complete the Seven Captures achievement?"
Talia immediately looked up and asked, "Don't think that just because we're on a train, I won't lay a hand on you. The smaller the space, the easier it is for me to mess with you."
"I've lost count of how many tasks Lance just assigned himself with that one sentence," Talia thought, recalling that she was just one task away from capturing Lance for the seventh time.
"Your Majesty, tea or coffee?"
Lance's smile faded as he solemnly secured the food trolley beside the table and returned to his seat across from Talia.
"Either is fine, I'll have whatever you're having."
Talia nodded slightly, no longer concerned with Lance's daily tasks.
She decided to let things slide for now.
As long as Lance didn't provoke her too much, she would turn a blind eye. After all, there was still a long journey ahead, and she couldn't spend every day riding him like a horse.
"Then I'll take a quick nap while you eat..."
Lance poured himself a cup of tea and placed it in front of Talia before sitting down in his own seat, ready to close his eyes.
Knowing that Talia had food, he could rest easy.
"Wait."
Talia stopped Lance, causing him to lift his eyelashes once more.
"What's up, Tata?"
Lance asked, looking at Talia across the table, who was not in a hurry to eat.
"If you're going to rest, do you want me to use Sweet Town to give you a good dream?"
Talia asked Lance.
She had already set up a portable barrier magic device in the Kreitni Empire's carriage, and using the minimum range of Sweet Town wouldn't affect the other passengers.
"Why are you suddenly being so extravagant?"
Lance was always cautious when it came to using eighth-tier magic.
Previously, he had to be prepared to use this spell at any time, so he never took this trump card lightly.
But now that they were on vacation and there were no imminent threats, he could use this spell more casually, leaning towards the direction of a lifestyle magic.
Still, it was an eighth-tier epic spell, and the mana consumption was not insignificant.
"Do you remember the bonus we got at the end of the Shadow World?"
Talia opened her suitcase slightly and took out a sealed letter.
After breaking the simple seal, the surface shimmered with a blend of sea blue and orange, like the waves of a deep ocean, reminiscent of the boundless blue sea of Nekaris Island.
Faint whispers seemed to echo within the compartment, like the song of waves beneath the Demon World's clear skies.
"This is Calyera's letter."
Lance took the envelope from Talia's hand, and the deep blue waves appeared especially gentle under the morning light.
[Calyera's Manuscript]
[Category: Artifacts]
[Grade: Epic]
[Class: 1]
[Reading this manuscript will grant the reader a slight increase in mental magic and illusion resistance, and they will feel Calyera's presence.]
[Note: There's no reason to fear the darkness, my child of light. The dawn may come slowly, but the day will break, and it won't be long after you touch my name.]
They both deduced that, like the previous material, [Calyera's Shadow Weave], it contained a trace of Calyera's magic.
If Talia used her spell, [Sweet Town], which shared the same origin as Calyera's magic, to trigger it, it might create an illusion resembling Calyera's innate ability.
Since Calyera's magic was full of unknowns, if they activated it directly, they might fall into a dream state due to her power, just like when they used Calyera's Shadow Weave card in the city of Paria and couldn't wake up for a long time.
As they needed to return to the Kreitni Empire in the real world as soon as possible, they didn't activate Calyera's manuscript bonus in the Shadow World's final threshold space.
"You said that after the Kreitni Empire's affairs are settled, we'll go back and look at it together."
Talia hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking Lance.
She wasn't sure if Lance still remembered their hasty agreement.
"Of course, we even pinky promised."
Lance nodded seriously, certain of his memory.
"So, using Sweet Town now should be fine, right?"
Talia breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Lance remembered.
The train journey was indeed perfect for watching movies, giving them a private theater experience.
"Meow! I don't want to be affected, let me retreat outside, meow."
Cat Boss nimbly jumped off the table and ran out of the compartment.
Someone needed to stay awake to keep an eye on the sleeping pair, ensuring they didn't oversleep and miss their stop.
"If you're not hungry, I'm sure it's fine."
Lance watched Cat Boss close the door and then turned to Talia, responding to her question.
In a moment, they would be dreaming together for an hour or two.
He didn't want Talia to go hungry.
"I'm not hungry!"
Talia's blood pressure spiked again.
"Then let's take a short rest."
Lance suggested to Talia.
"Mhm."
Talia responded, casting the spell she had become quite familiar with, resonating with the magical letter in her hand.
As invisible energy filled the compartment, the air began to ripple with dream-like waves.
Visible ripples spread out in circles, and even space seemed to become unstable, as if transporting them to another dimension.
Lance and Talia heard a buzzing sound in their ears before they both collapsed onto the table.
Drowsiness washed over them like a tide, irresistible.
Half-asleep and half-awake, they weren't sure if it was their will or their bodies functioning, as their eyelids gradually closed and their vision dimmed.
(End of Chapter)
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