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691. Reciprocate
“Are you jealous of Salvos?”
Taburas froze when she heard the question coming from Haec’s mouth. She didn’t know why she reacted that way. But a shiver ran down her spine, and her lips moved, wanting to protest that statement.
“That’s not true—”
The [Succubus] started, but Haec interrupted her.
“If that isn’t true, then tell me: why do you hate Salvos?”
The former Heir of the Netherworld didn’t let up. Taburas opened her mouth, trying to muster up a response.
“I already told you. It’s because—”
“Because of how I’ve changed since Salvos returned? That makes no sense. Why does it matter to you how differently I act with her when I am the same around you?”
Haec cut Taburas off once again. The [Succubus] hesitated. Her mind raced with a myriad of responses. But she knew that Haec wouldn’t be satisfied with any of them.
Why? Taburas asked herself. Why do I feel this way?
At a surface glance, it was just a disdain that didn’t go any deeper than that.
Taburas hated the way Salvos walked. The way Salvos talked. The way Salvos dressed. The way Salvos acted.
Everything about Salvos— Taburas hated. It was simple as that.
And yet, that wasn’t the case. Taburas had no reason to hate Salvos for that, when there were other Demons who were more irritating than Salvos.
So it was as Taburas had said: the fact that Haec acted differently around Salvos was the reason why Taburas was upset.
But then that meant Haec was right.
It was because Taburas was jealous of Salvos— jealous that she couldn’t be like Salvos to Haec.
“Yes.”
Taburas finally replied as she lowered her gaze. Her eyes were shadowed over, and Haec raised a brow.
“You are right. I am jealous of Salvos.”
Taburas spoke in a whisper as her lips trembled. Her fingers shook, and she balled her hands into fists. She stepped forward as she spoke through gritted teeth.
“But why can’t I be jealous? Don’t I deserve a right to be jealous?”
“What do you mean by that, Taburas?”
Haec asked with a frown. His gaze bore into the [Succubus]. And he didn’t seem to understand her plight.
Taburas placed a hand on her chest.
“I told you, I have been with you always. But you never treated me like you treat her. Call it jealousy or call it envy. It does not matter to me. Because I hate it.”
That was right. Taburas was only channeling her hatred of how she was treated into Salvos. Whether or not Haec acted differently around Salvos did not matter. If Haec had been treating Taburas right, none of this would matter.
At least, that was how Taburas felt about it.
Haec stood there silently as he listened to the [Succubus]. After a moment’s pause, he finally raised his head and met her gaze.
“Do you love me, Taburas?”
“Love you? What does that even mean?”
Taburas blinked, stepping back.
“Are you asking me if I care for you? Because of course I do!”
“That’s kind of what I meant, but not what I meant either.”
Shaking his head, Haec looked down at himself— at his chest. He placed a hand there, speaking softly.
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“It’s something I studied about under Oracli. It is a Human thing. A Human emotional bond they form between strangers. That they are born with between their family members.”
“R-right.”
Taburas pursed her lips, listening to Haec speak. She wasn’t sure where he was going with this. But he nodded understandingly.
“Is this how you feel towards me, Taburas? Because I think I understand now, why you’re upset.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Taburas asked, narrowing her eyes. Haec shook his head.
“You weren’t upset with Salvos. You were upset with me. But you couldn't bring yourself to be upset with me. That’s why you blamed Salvos. That’s why you directed your hatred towards Salvos.”
Haec took in a deep breath as he spoke. Then he looked up— towards the rift that was high in the sky. Salvos was returning with over five hundred Demons from the Third Legion now, bringing them back with their collars all removed.
Looking back down, Haec faced Taburas apologetically.
“Perhaps I was wrong— for not reciprocating these feelings to you. But I promise you, I will do you right from now on. I will not treat the same way I did before. I will not abandon you or forget about you. I will rely on you and trust you. I will be good to you, Taburas.”
Haec’s gaze didn’t waver as he peered deep into Taburas. She blinked a few times, hearing what he had to say.
“So you love me too?”
Taburas asked, shuffling her feet. While she didn’t quite understand what love meant, even after Haec’s explanation, a small part of her longed for him to say that he loved her regardless.
But Haec hesitated.
“That… I do not know. Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t.”
Taburas couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t disappointed when she heard that. Her shoulders sagged, and she lowered her head.
“O-oh…”
Even if she still didn’t fully grasp the concept of love, she knew she wanted Haec to love her. So she felt her chest hurt— ache in a way she never felt before.
But Haec stepped forward and embraced her, holding her tight.
“All I know is I care a lot about you, Taburas. So that’s why I will do my best to reciprocate your feelings.”
“Haec…”
Taburas blinked a few times, looking up at him in shock. He did not let go of her.
“For all the times you’ve stuck by my side, even if you didn’t understand the reasoning behind my actions. I shall do the same for you.”
The pain in Taburas’s chest subsided as her eyes grew wide. It was replaced by a strange feeling in her stomach— like the fluttering of the wings of a [Savage Agarat]. Even though she was comfortable in this position, she couldn’t help but shift back to release herself from Haec’s grasp.
“Haec, I—”
Taburas started as she looked up at him. But Haec closed his eyes.
“However…”
Hearing that made Taburas pause. She listened as Haec met her with a serious look on his face.
“If I do this for you, you must promise me that you cannot continue to treat Salvos like this. That you cannot view her with disdain.”
Taburas paused, staring at Haec with confusion for a long moment. But Haec explained himself as he lowered his head.
“I know you are unhappy with me. But it’s not her fault. It’s my fault.”
Haec sighed as he clenched a fist.
“In fact, it’s only because of Salvos that I am who I am today. So you should be grateful to her instead. Please, I need you to understand this.”
“That’s…”
Taburas trailed off. But even though she felt a slight pain in her chest, knowing that Haec was making the situation about Salvos again, the [Succubus] realized that he was doing this for her.
And it made her happy.
“I understand, Haec.”
Taburas finally conceded as she raised her head. And it was like all the pain in her chest melted away. A sense of ease washed over her as she looked up at Haec— at her leader. At the person she knew she loved.
“As long as you reciprocate my feelings, I will not feel jealous. I will not feel disdain. And if you do anything to upset me…”
Taburas chuckled as she looked up at the sky. Salvos was returning from the rift again, bringing with her even more Demons from the Third Legion.
“I will get mad at you, not Salvos. It’s less suicidal of a move, anyway.”
Taburas grinned, looking back down at Haec. The former Heir of the Netherworld paused as he heard that joke. Then he smiled.
“If you do get mad at me, then I deserve it. But please try to be patient with me too.”
“I will.”
Taburas closed her eyes.
“Like I have always been, I will.”
And finally, it was resolved.
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I descended from [The World Of My Mind] with a thousand Demons in tow. I couldn’t bring any more than a thousand, because as much as my pocket space had improved, it couldn’t fit a whole army inside. So now, I was limited to transporting a thousand of them at once to free them.
It would be a lot easier if I could just have Hartia free all of the Third Legion here in the Netherworld. But despite gaining a lot of trust with already freeing thousands of Demons, not everyone was convinced just yet. So I had to continue going through with this laborious method of freeing them.
But as I descended down onto the Third Legion once again, I caught a glimpse of Haec and Taburas walking to catch up with the rest of the army. They had been left behind briefly, embroiled in a long conversation.
However, now that their discussion was over, they looked… happy?
I flew up to them curiously as I glanced between them. Taburas was clinging onto Haec’s arm as he scratched the back of his head.
“Did something happen?”
I asked, cocking my head. Haec and Taburas exchanged a glance.
“We just resolved some unresolved issues. That’s all.”
Haec replied, and Taburas nodded.
“Yeah. Everything is good here.”
I blinked, before shrugging.
“Huh. Alright, then.”