Kilian ended his thoughts, his gaze still on Elara.
A flicker of genuine surprise crossed his face, quickly followed by a soft chuckle.
"Did you just call your young master, 'monster in flesh'?" he repeated, a teasing glint in his eyes.
"Haha. What are you going to do if I said I was just joking, or testing you, and I am actually the real Kilian Noxhaven? The heir of the Noxhaven Kingdom?"
Elara froze, her breath catching in her throat.
The color drained from her face, then rushed back in a crimson wave.
Her eyes widened in horror as the full weight of her impulsive confession crashed down on her.
She had just openly insulted the heir to the kingdom, the very person she served.
Her mind spiraled through a whirlwind of emotions, such as stark nervousness, profound shyness, burning embarrassment.
A bead of sweat trickled down her temple.
"Oh, by the gods!" she mumbled, her face glowing like a ripe tomato.
Instinctively, she lifted a hand to smack herself on the forehead, then recoiled, wanting to cover her mouth in utter mortification.
But before her hand could reach her lips, Kilian's hands shot out, gently but firmly grasping both of hers, stilling their frantic movement.
His gaze, intensely earnest, locked onto her eyes.
"Thank you for saying that," he said, his voice soft but unwavering.
"You don't know how much that meant to me. I really appreciate it, Elara."
Elara's breath hitched. The heat in her cheeks remained, but a different warmth spread through her chest.
His words, his sincere expression, and the gentle squeeze of his hands were utterly disarming.
Her trembling subsided, replaced by a profound sense of relief and a burgeoning, unexpected tenderness.
She gazed back at him, her eyes glistening, a silent vow passing between them.
The library's silence, once merely a backdrop, now felt charged, heavy with the weight of unspoken understanding between Kilian and Elara.
A minute passed, filled only with the soft rustle of unseen pages and the distant murmur of other patrons.
Finally, Kilian broke the quiet. His gaze, gentle yet firm, met Elara's.
"Let me answer your second question now, before I forget what we're doing."
A small, wry smile touched his lips.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not a ghost, a monster, a demon, or any god you might be thinking of."
He paused, then his voice dropped, growing serious.
"But to tell you the truth, I'm not from anywhere here. I'm not from Aethelgard at all."
He squeezed her hands again, his eyes holding hers steadily as he spoke of the unimaginable.
"I'm but a simple, normal human from a world far, far from here, called Earth."
"There, magic doesn't exist. There are no powers, no real gods, no monsters, not even other races. It's just humans, animals, and plants."
A hint of something akin to weariness, or perhaps profound longing, entered his tone.
"People work their asses off there, Elara. They pour blood, sweat, and tears into everything."
"There are no spells to make life easier, no potions to make life longer."
"Just humans, in all their forms, the rich, the middle, and the poor, all living without the grace of magic or gods."
Elara, now completely trusting every word from Kilian's extraordinary tale, listened intently.
She commented, a soft sigh escaping her lips, "That sounds like a much peaceful and safe place."
Kilian quickly shook his head, a wry smile touching his lips.
"Oh no, don't judge too fast, Elara." His voice grew serious.
"If Aethelgard has a human territory with only four kingdoms, my world is much more separated."
"There are hundreds of kingdoms, territories there that hate each other."
"Every now and then, they go to war with their neighboring countries just to conquer, prove a point, or just because they truly hate each other."
His gaze darkened, reflecting a grim reality.
"In my world, Elara, humans are the scary ones because there's nothing to truly challenge them."
"The only thing that threatens humans are other humans. They can never fully trust everybody."
Elara's eyes widened, a dawning comprehension in their depths.
"Because Aethelgard has other races, even monsters and demons," she murmured, piecing it together, "made humanity unite."
"Exactly," Kilian confirmed, nodding.
Elara's brow furrowed slightly in thought, then she looked at him.
"I still have one question left, right?"
"Yeah, ask away," Kilian invited, his expression open.
Elara took a deep breath.
"Then why were you sent here? How did you end up in that body? Is there a reason why you are here? It can't be a coincidence, right?"
Kilian's eyes lit up with admiration.
"She really is smart. She knows the right questions to ask."
"Ahh, because of it, she looks more beautiful every time I look at her."
He tried to recall the confusing, terrifying moments of his arrival.
"One night, in my room," he began, his voice distant as he reached back into the memory, "reality just seemed to shatter. Like the air around me cracked and broke down."
"Then something sucked me in, and then... I opened my eyes and woke up in this body with a terrible headache."
Elara listened, her expression filled with empathy.
"Is that all you remember?" she asked gently, her fingers instinctively tightening around his hand.
Kilian thought, his brow furrowing deeper.
"Hmm, I think... if I'm not mistaken, I heard a voice call out to me while I was experiencing that pull."
"It was asking me to do something for them, but I'm not entirely sure what, though. I don't even know why I was chosen."
Elara's features softened, her eyes full of concern. She tightened her hold on his hand, her thumb gently stroking his knuckles.
Her voice was warm, filled with genuine sympathy. "That must have been terrifying. You didn't even have a choice."
Kilian shrugged lightly, a playful glint returning to his eyes.
"It's not so bad," he said, leaning in closer.
He reached out and gently pinched her cheek, making her twitch.
"I at least got to meet such a cute maid like you."
Elara's eyes widened, a blush blooming across her cheeks.
She quickly pulled her head back slightly, her hand flying up to cover the cheek he had just pinched.
"Y-young master!" she stammered, her voice a squeak, her gaze darting away in shy embarrassment, yet a small, undeniable smile played on her lips.
Kilian watched Elara's blush and her shy, embarrassed reaction, a genuine smile playing on his lips.
His lighthearted demeanor, however, masked a deeper, more complicated thought process.
"Sorry, Elara, for not telling the entire truth, he mused inwardly, his gaze still tenderly fixed on her."
"You don't have to know that this world of yours is just a game I've been playing for years. And that the voice I heard was asking me to save this world in the future."
A somber note entered his thoughts.
"I can't tell you those things. I can't imagine how someone would feel if the world they lived in was just made up, fake, a game for the enjoyment of others."
"And that you, specifically, are not even an important or named character in that game."
"The years of hard work and suffering you've experienced, realizing it was not even mentioned in the game... no, I can't let you know that."
"I would never let that happen."
He then approached her, gently taking her hands.
"I think we've spent enough time here, Elara," he said, his voice light.
"Let's go out and buy some food. We can't forget about the feline family."
"I definitely need to recruit them."
As soon as the word "recruit" left his lips, Elara's eyes narrowed, a sudden realization dawning on her.
Her brow furrowed with renewed suspicion.
"Wait," she interjected, her voice sharp with curiosity, "how did you know about the feline family?"
"The problem of food for the children and the Gloomrot disease of their mother?"
"And how did you know about a random girl named Mina if you were from another world?"
Kilian, caught off guard by the rapid-fire questions, let out a surprised laugh.
"Ahh," he teased, his eyes sparkling with mischief, "you already ran out of questions earlier."
"Very unfortunate. Better luck next time, Elara, hahaha!"
With a triumphant laugh, he quickly pulled away, turning on his heel and bolting out of the library, almost like a mischievous child trying to escape a scolding.
Elara stood momentarily stunned, her mouth slightly agape at the sheer absurdity of his evasion.
Her cheeks flushed, and a disbelieving laugh bubbled up from her throat, mixed with a frustrated chuckle.
"Y-Young master!" she called out, already moving to give chase, a genuine smile now gracing her lips despite her exasperation.
Her ears twitched as she hurried after him, the quiet dignity of the library momentarily forgotten in the wake of Kilian's playful escape.
***
/I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If its alright, please drop a comment or a powerstone to help me keep making this world bigger!