Chapter 3: The Cheese
Nelly’s mind was in utter chaos. Her face was pale as she stood ramrod straight, completely forgetting to move.
Karsus remained calm and detached. He walked slowly toward Nelly, his posture poised and elegant, like a predator closing in on its prey. Every step held a latent tension, and his blood-red eyes were beautiful yet terrifying.
He stopped in front of Nelly, then suddenly dropped to one knee. He took her rigid right hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
His fingers and lips were cool. The temperature sent a jolt through Nelly, finally waking her from her stupor. Her whole body shook as she tried to back away.
But Karsus tightened his grip, and as he lifted his gaze, a single look was enough to freeze Nelly in place. Seeing this, he lowered his lashes slightly, a hint of grievance in his expression. For a moment, his face seemed to regain the innocence of a young boy, a stark contrast to the oppressive aura he had projected just moments before.
He once again solemnly kissed the back of her hand, his lips lingering longer this time. Even a cool touch, when held for long enough, began to feel scorching.
Nelly couldn’t stop herself from wanting to pull her hand away, but fear sapped her of all strength.
“Don’t be afraid.” Karsus said the same words again, his voice gentle, a smile playing on his lips.
He was charming when he smiled. It was the first time Nelly had seen him smile, but her surprise was quickly washed away by fear. She kept her face tense and didn’t reply.
Karsus, however, paid it no mind. The color in his eyes was as fiery as a flame as he repeated, “Nelly, don’t be afraid.”
This time, Nelly couldn’t bravely answer with “I’m not afraid.” She only managed to ask in a dry voice, “What… what are you going to do?”
The demon king, who looked like a young boy, blinked innocently. A faint blush even appeared on his cheeks, and his tone could even be described as naive. “I… I want to be with Nelly.” He smiled again, his joy evident on his face. He gave a light wave of his hand, and a young man in a uniform appeared before them.
It seemed that returning home was not going to happen anytime soon.
Nelly looked back unwillingly. As expected, the great doors of the Demon’s Lair were shut tight.
Seeing this, Karsus’s lips tightened slightly. He gave a quiet order to the servant he had summoned, “Take Nelly to rest.”
“Karsu—” Nelly’s words were cut off before she could even get them out.
“Kal.”
Nelly took a deep breath. “Kal, I…”
“Yes?” He released his arm from around her and stood face-to-face with her. Taking advantage of his height, he looked down at her slightly. The flickering firelight cast another layer of shadow on his chiseled features, making even his gentle, doting expression seem cold.
Nelly trembled and bit her lip. “It’s nothing.”
Kal said nothing more, only glancing at the young servant who stood silently by. The servant immediately bowed slightly and gestured for Nelly to follow him to “rest.”
On either side of the circular hall were dark doorways that led to spiraling, winding staircases.
Nelly followed the silent servant down a flight of stairs and into another equally silent corridor. The black and white marble walls on either side were plain, without any extra decoration, a stark contrast to the opulent, treasure-laden throne in the main hall.
They walked for a long time without passing a single door. Besides the sound of their footsteps, the only other noise was the occasional crackle of the torches on the walls. The crisp sound echoed down the long corridor like the whispers of ghosts.
Nelly couldn’t help but feel her hair stand on end, her fists clenched tightly. To alleviate her fear, she spoke up, “Where are we going?”
“To your chambers, milady.” The young man didn’t turn back. His pace was steady and confident, each step as if landing on an invisible musical score, unhurried and deliberate.
Nelly bit her lip and mustered the courage to ask again, “I don’t know how to address you yet.”
This time, the man was silent for a moment before replying succinctly, “Odo.”
Nelly wanted to probe for more information about the Demon’s Lair, but just then, Odo stopped. He elegantly took half a step to the side, bowed, and pulled open a pure white door, gesturing for her to enter.
“Thank you.” Nelly cautiously approached the doorway. Seeing that Odo had no intention of entering, she slowly closed the door behind her.
The room was unlit, completely dark.
Nelly pressed her back tightly against the cold door, her body tense. She took a deep breath and took another step forward.
With a soft click, the candles on the crystal chandelier lit up one by one, gently illuminating the entire room.
Nelly held her breath.
This was the perfect room, a room that matched her girlish fantasies.
Growing up, Nelly’s family wasn’t well-off. She shared a bedroom with her parents, so she had always longed for a room of her own. She had even drawn up floor plans for it. But fate had other plans. It wasn’t until high school that Nelly’s family moved into a new house, but by then she was boarding at school, and the time she spent in her own bedroom during holidays was minimal. University was even more of a lost cause. In her very first semester, she had decided to slack off and visit a convention on Christmas Eve… and then she ended up in this world.
The scene before her was identical to the room she had imagined.
Oak bookshelves lined the walls, with hardcover books standing in neat rows behind glass doors. The golden lettering on the cloth spines gave off a warm, gentle glow in the light.
Nelly had always been a book lover. Seeing the bookshelves she had dreamed of since childhood, she stood stunned for a moment before walking over with light steps. First, she ran her fingertips across a whole row of encyclopedias through the glass, as if to confirm with her touch that she wasn’t dreaming. She couldn’t resist opening the cabinet door and randomly pulling out a book. It was written in a language she didn’t understand. On the title page was a towering tree. Judging from the exquisite illustrations, it must have been a collection of Wildian legends.
Then she turned around, passing a carved wooden desk and a large four-poster bed. She walked to the other side of the room and pulled back the heavy, wine-red curtains. Bright, floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of the Demon’s Forest and the winding mountain range beyond.
It was all too perfect. It was like stepping into her own most beautiful dream, one that even she might not have remembered in perfect detail.
Nelly walked around the room twice in her excitement before she suddenly stopped, covering her mouth. She felt a cold sweat break out on her back. She had actually gotten so excited that she had completely forgotten her current situation! This was the Demon’s Lair, the most dangerous place on the Wildia continent. What was wrong with her?!
The moment that thought struck, her joy vanished completely. Nelly only felt a sinister, eerie quality to the room. She crossed her arms and walked to the slightly brighter window, listening for any sounds from either side. With a swipe of her hand, she opened the system interface.
A red banner scrolled across all the columns: CONNECTION INTERRUPTED.
Seeing this, Nelly’s heart sank. She had lost contact with the system. What was she supposed to do? How could she continue the mission and go home?
She rummaged aimlessly through her inventory, looking for clues, but her gaze fell upon a small green triangle. It was the gift from the innkeeper of the Oak Tree Inn. Even though it had happened not long ago, Nelly looked at the piece of cheese and felt a sense of disbelief. She couldn’t help but take it out of her storage space and hold it in her palm, dazed.
Nelly carefully unwrapped the leaves and brought the pale yellow cheese to her nose for a sniff, sighing. It was a tempting and rare delicacy, but she had no appetite for it now.
She was about to fold the leaves back the way they were when she caught a glimpse of faint black writing underneath the cheese.
Suspicious, Nelly picked up the cheese. There, next to the veins of the leaf, was a line of small words written in maple sap:
Save us.
What was this? Nelly stared at the words, reading them over and over to make sure she hadn’t misunderstood. If it were merely an earnest hope for the hero, it wouldn’t have been phrased as a plea for help; words of encouragement would have been more appropriate. Besides, this message was clearly meant for Nelly, and had nothing to do with the hero, Kal.
Could the innkeeper have sensed something was off about Kal?
Just as Nelly was pondering this, there was a knock on the door. “Nelly.”
Hearing Karsus’s voice, Nelly’s entire body went rigid. She shook her head to stay calm, but before she could put the cheese back into her storage space, the door was pulled open.
Young man—no, Your Majesty the Demon King, have you ever heard of the phrase “please come in”?!
In her panic, Nelly could only use the pad of her finger to forcefully rub away the words written in maple sap. At the same time, she stiffly turned to the side and said dryly, “Kal.”
Karsus’s expression was normal. His gaze settled on the cheese in her hand as he asked calmly, “Hungry?”
Nelly gave a dry laugh and told a lie. “A little…” As she spoke, she broke off a corner of the small piece of cheese and popped it into her mouth.
He walked right up to her. The look in his eyes seemed to have softened a little, but it only made her feel twice as uncomfortable.
“Kal… are you hungry?” Nelly asked in a small voice, trying to break the meaningful, hair-raising silence.
Karsus gave a faint smile. He lowered his gaze, appearing a little shy, and enunciated with extreme coyness, “If Nelly… feeds me…”
If you’re the Demon King, then don’t act like some innocent young boy. Just stick to being cool, aloof, and wickedly charming, and don’t break character so casually, okay? And for that matter, you’re looking down all shyly, yet you’re making such an embarrassing request. What is even happening!
Though she was on the verge of a mental breakdown, Nelly didn’t dare defy his clear request.
Uncertainly, she picked up half a piece of cheese with two fingers and, holding her breath, slowly brought it to the young man’s lips.
Karsus’s eyelashes fluttered lightly, like the wings of a black butterfly, revealing the alluring red beneath.
Nelly grew even more rigid, feeling an unbearable heat rush to her face.
The black-haired young man pursed his lips coyly before finally opening his mouth to take a bite of the cheese.
Then, his crimson lips parted and closed, and in one smooth motion, he took her fingertips into his mouth.