Volume 5 Chapter 41

New Demon King

Late at night, Ascillia made a small bow and expressed, "Your Lordship, you should sleep now. You are not in good health. Staying up late will be detrimental to your health."
"Ascillia." The elf looked up with a smile and gestured for Ascillia to come over with her hand.
Puzzled, Ascillia went over. The elf hugged Ascillia and gave the latter a peck on the cheek. With a smile, she stated, "Ascillia, Dear, I'm so glad to hear your voice. I feel much better now. To be honest, I feel a little cold. Come, let me hug you for some warmth."
"Your Lordship, I think you should sleep now."
Ascillia didn't expect the kiss or hug. However, she didn't avoid her kiss. The elf was fond of kissing those close to her. She had a rather bewildering understanding of human etiquette. Humans didn't go kissing other people every day, but it was a real kiss to her.
"Not yet. I've been thinking about what he said this entire time. I think what Travor said makes sense." The elf trained her gaze on the chessboard on the table in front of her and continued in a soft voice, "I've been thinking about what he said. I mean that black fabric. I think what he said is reasonable, would you agree? See, if I only had black fabric left, I would need to kill a King so that I could sell the black fabric. I need to create value. Not wait for value to present itself."
"Your Lordship, are you saying that you are going to assassinate Lucilia?!" Ascillia jumped up and panicked: "You must not misinterpret what he meant!! That was definitely not what Sir Lin meant. Furthermore, how can you assassinate Madam Lucilia? She is elves' hero. It is as impossible as me trying to assassinate Lord Veirya!! You must not do anything silly! That is seeking death."
The elf shook her head as she laughed: "No, I know that, obviously. I wouldn't kill my friend. Plus, that bitch, Lucilia, is not someone of my calibre could assassinate. I would not commit such folly. In addition, he surely didn't mean for me to kill Lucilia. He knows I wouldn't do such a thing. That's not to mention that he's her husband. What sort of husband hires someone to kill his wife? In the hypothetical event he did, it'd be fastest and easiest for him to assassinate Lucilia."
"That is right. Sir Lin would never harm you. He is a gentle gentleman. He would never impel someone to kill. Never." Ascillia heaved a breath of relief and beamed again: "You should not think too much. I doubt Sir Lin meant anything special by that. I am sure he does not want you to kill a King. Do not think too much. You should sleep now."
"No, Travor's words were not drivel…"
The elf initially wanted to explain it to Ascillia, but she stopped herself when she saw Ascillia's smile and gaze. She was cognizant of Ascillia's yearning for Travor. Despite him already being engaged to Lucilia, she still loved him. Ascillia misunderstood Travor. She believed him to be a gentle, kind and friendly human; however, she didn't understand him. She developed the belief he was kind and friendly solely due to the reason that he saved her. She had no idea his nature was that of a businessman. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that he was a loathsome businessman.
Travor was a man who was willing to do anything for his own ends. He thought nothing of the lives of others. He was determined to obtain what he wanted by all means, and he would stop at nothing to ensure he had it. His conscience wouldn't even be rustled if others were hurt, suffered losses or died. Others encourage others to live. He, to the contrary, encouraged people to die.
Ascillia had no clue what Lin Dongqing meant. The black cloth theory he brought up was not intended to encourage the elf to kill Lucilia since it was asking for the impossible. The black fabric he referred to was none other than herself. Ascillia didn't understand what he meant, but the elf understood what Lin Dongqing implied.
The elf realised, "He wants me to die. I'm the black fabric, and he's the businessman. In a nutshell, he was referring to my death. Everyone will eventually die; I'm no exception. I don't have the lifespan of an elf. I only have as much time left as a human."
From the perspective of elves, a human's lifespan was the equivalent of a blink of an eye. That was why the elf stayed at her place to wait for her life to come to an end. She assumed she could slowly wither. She couldn't even outlast Lucia for her Queen's sake. She totally lost in the end. However, Lin Dongqing then showed up and told her that her death could potentially create more value. As he said, merchants determine the value of goods. He had the ability to turn her death into value.
The elf wanted to die. She wasn't afraid of death but Lin Dongqing. He told her he wanted her to die, but he didn't even bat an eye. He genuinely treated her as nothing more than a piece of black fabric, his commodity. He didn't involve his feelings. The entire world was his commodity. He could abandon anyone's value for what he wanted. He would squeeze everything out of them even if they would die as a consequence. That was his nature. Ascillia, however, still didn't realise that. She was too deep in love with him to see his nature.
"Now that I think about, he probably used Ascilla to approach me. Just what sort of man is he? What is the limit of what he would do? The previous Demon King put the entire world in danger, inciting the three races to join hands. Even then, they might not have been able to defeat him. The Demon King is now dead, and everyone believes that the world is now at peace. That man is likely able to also give the three races a run for their money, though. He will toy with the entire world as they run circles in the palm of his hand. I'd say… he's the new demon king."