According to Milian, Winnie finally understood, heart demons were a terrifying thing for elves, severe enough to completely destroy one.
To put it simply, heart demons psychologically were shadows. Everyone had them, and everyone accumulated them over ti. But elves were different. When psychological shadows beco too heavy, they will fall into depression and eventually die of a broken heart.
Shikondell had witnessed with her own eyes as her holand was torn apart by the iron hooves of foreign invaders. Her people bled and died one after another. The once-peaceful land blessed by Mother Earth was now filled with war, its prosperity lost, everything scarred and ruined.
Her ho was burned down by invading tribals. Her family, her subjects, killed cruelly by tribal warriors right before her eyes, all to protect her.
And perhaps, the scene from back then had been far more horrifying and despairing than anyone could imagine, so much so that it stripped her of all courage and hope to continue living.
The only reason she continued to cling to life was probably the promise she made to her father: "Live well, my child," and the belief that one day she would liberate her people and rebuild the Moon Elf kingdom.
This burden, one she could hardly ever hope to fulfill, weighed heavily on Shikondell, suffocating her. In truth, she often had nightmares, dreaming of her people being slaughtered and enslaved, of tribal butchers chasing her madly, only to wake up in terror in the middle of the night.
She never told anyone about these things. She didn't want to pass on negative emotions to anyone, especially not to those close to her, making them worry for her sake.
Shikondell always knew she was stranded on a lonely island. As the tide rose, the island's area was shrinking rapidly. Her space to survive grew smaller and smaller, until, eventually, even the ground beneath her feet would be taken away.
"Humans don't know how to heal elves, especially when it cos to heart demons," Milian said. "She's had the root of this illness for a long ti. This recent incident only worsened it, pushing her beyond what she could bear."
"So, the reason Dell can't wake up... ultimately cos down to her heart?" Winnie asked.
"Yes." Seemingly helpless herself, Milian clearly wanted soone to confide in. Even Winnie, whom she'd always disliked, was now soone she was willing to open up to, revealing more than she usually would.
"Milian, I've been wondering, could the reason you always push away, the reason you don't want to see with Dell, actually include this?" Winnie asked.
"Humans only bring her more shadows." Milian indirectly answered Winnie's question.
"The nuns and priests of the Church of Radiance can't heal her." Milian's hands, resting on her lap, clenched slightly.
"Then what do you plan to do?" Winnie looked at Milian.
"I want to bring her back to the Elven Forest. My sister, the current Elf Queen, might have a way to save her. After all, most of the elven sacred relics remain in the Elven Forest."
"Even if it's only a small chance, it's still better than leaving her in this human-filled environnt," Milian said solemnly. "The shadows humans cast on her are far too heavy."
"The Elf Queen?" Winnie frowned. Milian's sister, the current Golden Elf Queen, was one of the fated heroines from the original story. For reasons unknown, she seed to harbor hostility toward Winnie and deeply disliked him.
"Do you really think Dell would willingly go to the Elven Forest now?"
"Why wouldn't she? There, she'd be surrounded by her own kind. I'm trying to save her. And compared to humans, elves clearly understand elves better, and care more for this lost, holess princess of their kin." Milian stated matter-of-factly.
"Even though the Golden Elves and Moon Elves have lived apart for centuries, we still recognize each other as kin. Unlike you humans, who are always fighting among ourselves."
Winnie shot Milian a sideways glance.
No wonder Golden Elves had another na, High Elves. That innate pride wasn't just for show.
Or rather, pride and purity were simply in an elf's nature.
"Milian, do you know why Dell dislikes you? Why does she dislike your people?" Winnie didn't voice his own opinion but instead spoke gently.
"Of course it's because we failed to save the Moon Elves back then. I've already admitted it, we were too selfish. But this is an internal elf matter. It has nothing to do with outsiders." Milian said, as if she fully understood.
"No, that's not it. That's not the main reason, Milian." Winnie shook his head.
"Then what do you think?" Milian frowned, confused.
"Because you simply don't understand her," Winnie said softly.
"We don't understand her? Then who could possibly understand her better? You humans?" Milian clearly resented Winnie's answer.
'Virtue 20.'
Current Virtue: 8034.
"No, Milian, you misunderstood . Your thinking is too extre, always viewing things through the lens of race. I'm not talking about racial issues at all. I'm talking about how each individual's experiences shape their personality and stance." Winnie explained slowly.
"People from different races and cultures can understand each other through shared experiences. Oppositely, even people from the sa race and culture, if their experiences differ greatly, cannot understand each other. Do you get what I an?"
"You assu that because you're Dell's childhood friend and share her race, you fully understand her. Then you offer her things she doesn't want, things she scorns and rejects. Do you really expect her to treat you kindly?" Winnie said.
'Virtue 20.'
Current Virtue: 8054.
"Offer? We never ant it as an offer!" Milian said, surprised.
"But to others, that's exactly how it cos across," Winnie countered. "Just now, Milian, when you were speaking to , did you realize how proud you sounded?"
"No, right? You didn't even notice your own condescending tone?" Winnie looked at Milian seriously. "No wonder they call you High Elves. Judging by the aura in your speech alone, you're certainly 'high' enough."
"..." Milian stayed silent, then finally said, "Then do you really understand her that well??"
"I don't know. But as an outsider, do you know what impression you gave ?"
"What?"
"If I recall correctly, there's an agreent between your elves, if one side is attacked, the other must co to their aid. After all, you're all children of Mother Earth and the Ancestors of the Forest."
"Yet when the Moon Elves needed help the most, you stood by and did nothing. It wasn't until Dell managed to escape with the help of her people that you even realized the Moon Elf royal bloodline still existed. Didn't you already assu the Moon Elves were completely wiped out?"
"I know you might have had your own reasons you couldn't share. But now that everything's over, it's too late. Suddenly, you show up and tell Dell, 'It's okay your ho is gone, we can give you a new one. After all, we're your kin.'" Winnie paused.
"You either help decisively, or you don't help at all. The most hypocritical thing is pretending to help when you don't really want to, acting like you're supporting her."
"I'm serious, if you're only doing this because your conscience bothers you, then please don't. And stop bringing up those tribal people. That's just reopening her wounds."
"Okay, maybe what I just said was a bit of moral pressure. It's understandable that you can't help because you're trying to protect yourselves, but do you really understand Dell?" Winnie continued.
"Why don't you understand?"
"I have known everything about Dell's life since childhood. Isn't that understanding?"
"That's not understanding at all, Milian. Your understanding is too shallow." Winnie shook his head.
"What did you say?"
"Milian, have you ever experienced the drastic fall, from being a pampered princess in a greenhouse, to wandering the streets with no guarantee of survival, freezing, starving, not even able to eat a full al?"
"Have you ever experienced the despair of your lowest mont, when no one cares, no one notices, no one helps, when the future seems shorter than a pitch-black road?"
"That feeling of being utterly alone in this world, where everyone else is hostile, as if the entire world is trying to crush you, yet you still have to fight to survive, have you ever felt that?"
"To have no illusions left, that simply waking up to see the sun the next day is your greatest luxury and luck." Winnie's tone rose and fell drastically.
Milian was left speechless by Winnie's barrage of questions.
'Virtue 50.'
Current Virtue: 8104.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Asking you these things must be quite difficult, Your Highness." Winnie tilted his head. "You probably don't even know what it feels like to starve, do you?"
"It's not pleasant. It's unbearable. It strips away every shred of dignity. You'd grab anything edible and shove it into your mouth, even roadside trash, even grass roots."
"Are you really so familiar with all this?" Milian bit her lip, instinctively wanting to argue, but then she t Winnie's eyes, filled with a faint smile, and suddenly rembered sothing. She fell silent, saying nothing.
"Now, Milian, I suppose you have so idea why Dell would rather stay with , an outsider, than with her own kind, don't you?" Winnie suddenly smiled coldly.
"And go back with you? Back to that place? To be displayed like so rare animal, so the Golden Elves can say, 'This is what happens when you lose your kingdom'? To have every Golden Elf who sees her say aningless things like, 'My condolences,' or 'May Mother Earth protect you, child'?"
"Is that what she needs most right now, your empty words and fake concern?" Winnie said coldly. "Honestly, expecting you Golden Elves to help her reclaim her kingdom is less reliable than relying on this young master. If I truly had the power, I'd kick those tribal people back to their holand and rescue every Moon Elf. Unlike you, who only offer symbolic sympathy to your suffering kin, then say empty words to ease your conscience."
"Milian, honestly, I think your first words when you saw Dell again, 'You were broke and didn't say anything? Why didn't you co to us, Golden Elves?' were the most ridiculous thing of all." Winnie's tone grew calm.
"Before that, Dell had already wandered for who knows how long, starved for who knows how long, suffered in darkness for who knows how long. You never even tried to look for her. And when you accidentally encountered her as a holess wanderer, you had the nerve to ask, 'Why didn't you co to us for help?'"
"You expected her, a princess who, once she left ho, couldn't even find her way back, to co find you??"
"And even if she did find you, would you really have helped her? If you were going to help, you'd have done it already, wouldn't you? The Moon Elves were waiting for their kin's reinforcents the whole ti, weren't they?"
"..." Milian was completely silenced by Winnie's words. Sha overwheld her. She couldn't utter a single word.
'Virtue 200.'
Current Virtue: 8304.
This was probably the highest Virtue bonus Milian had ever given Winnie. But right now, Winnie didn't care at all.
"Those who know the truth see you as hypocrites, as betrayer to your own kin. Those who don't know might think you're offering her charity, like you randomly t a stray dog and tossed it so scraps. Do you really see her as your kin?"
"..."
'Virtue 100.'
Current Virtue: 8404.
"Alright, Milian. Honestly, I don't think your kin can help her. And I don't think you truly want to help her either." Winnie took a deep breath. "So, I won't hand her over to you."
"I know we have problems, but if you keep clinging to this, Dell's life is in danger." Milian clenched her small fists.
"Don't worry. If she's in danger, Calla's young scoundrel will be the first to object." Winnie stood up, looking down at Milian. "Unlike you, my feelings for her are sincere, genuine and true."
"You may abandon your own kin, but I will save my friend. My roommate." Winnie stared into Milian's beautiful olive-green eyes, speaking each word deliberately.
"Can... you really save her??" Finally, Milian managed to say, her voice strained.
"You don't understand elves."
"I don't understand elves. But I understand her." Winnie looked at Milian, speaking seriously. "More than any of you ever could."
"When it cos to her safety, you'd hesitate, weighing your own survival. But I'm different."
"I will save her, even if it costs my life." Winnie said firmly. "That's the difference between us."
"...How do you plan to save her?" Milian's tightly clenched hands finally relaxed.
"One night, just one night is enough," Winnie said, then looked at Milian.
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