Chapter 39: Ziffnel, the Angel of Love II (part 2)

She smiled bitterly as she recalled the naughty boy she had raised, crying when he was young.  

A firm voice came from beside her.  

“No, if that thing were the same as I was before, there would be no danger to life just by devouring.”  

“Why? Wouldn’t it all be over if I got swallowed up by that big mouth?”  

“My name is Colossal Serpent, and for a serpent that devours the world, the concept of digestion does not exist. I just foolishly swallow everything to fill my stomach.”  

Looking at her former self, Liliana proudly boasted about the majesty of the Great Colossal Serpent, even while cold sweat ran down her back.  

Seeing her like that, Priestess Emily nodded in admiration.  

“So, in the end, that’s who you really are?”  

“… …”  

“It’s okay. Count Rotani, that child still loves you.”  

“J-Just, if you’re really going to keep teasing me, please go away!”  

With a tearful face, Liliana swung her fist at the priestess sitting beside her. However, the high-ranking priestess easily dodged her attack and continued teasing Liliana without holding back.  

Fortunately, they seemed to be having a very enjoyable time, despite having abruptly ended their quarrel.  

“Hey, I’m not gaining weight!”

***

Squeak. Squeak.

A very unpleasant sound rang out in a steady rhythm.  

He sat on the bed, absentmindedly stroking the gift Cecile had given him, which hung around his neck. He looked at the woman in front of him, sighed, and lowered his head.  

Cecil Lionelta. 

A pitiful woman who had lost all her vitality to her daughter and eventually died.  

And then, a terrifying woman who had become one with the devil and returned from the dead.  

As Julius dwelled on the past and present of the wife he had loved, his mind grew increasingly clouded. A heavy weight settled in his heart, and his brows furrowed.  

Squeak.

The sound continued.  

After he had refused to return the necklace to her, she had left the cabin without a word, her expression stiff. Not long after, she had returned, turned a shadow into a large rocking chair, and sat there at a distance, her expression dark as she stared coldly at the bonfire.  

It was truly uncomfortable.  

Deep down, he wanted to immediately place the necklace around her neck and whisper words of love to her.  

However, the silver locket that hung against his chest seemed to cry out for him ‘not to abandon me’. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to return his dead wife’s memento to her.  

Time passed in vain. Unable to endure the silence any longer, Julius carefully lifted his head and spoke softly to her as she gazed into the fire.  

“…What exactly is this place?”  

“…Colossal Serpent’s stomach.”  

“… …”  

“This is the void of the Colossal Serpent, manifested by my magic. There is no one here. It’s a world just for you and me.”  

“What’s happening outside?”  

“…Why? Are you asking about Lionelta’s whereabouts?”  

With a wry smile, Cecil lifted her face from her crouched position and looked back at her husband.  

Her words dripped with sarcasm.  

The heretic inquisitor gave only a weak rebuttal.  

“…No, as a heretic inquisitor, I was simply concerned about whether any of the other residents were harmed.”  

“It’s fine. When I kicked out my pathetic sister earlier, I made Colossal Serpent spit out all the other humans she had swallowed. This is paradise—just for you and me. There is no need for impurities.”  

Had she caused an incident while trying to be considerate?  

Julius, catching a glimpse of her oddly kind yet somewhat comical expression for a devil, let out a small laugh and slowly nodded.  

“… What’s so funny? Is my longing for love pathetic? But it doesn’t matter. It’s better to stay here for the rest of my life than to be abandoned without receiving your love.”  

Cecil opened her eyes wide and glared at Julius.  

Although the situation was clearly serious, the heretic inquisitor’s face gradually softened.  

“… It’s not funny. If you want it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give it.”  

“… What do you mean?”  

The lovely wife tilted her head with a questioning expression.  

Julius looked at Cecil’s face for a moment, his gaze distant. Then, he roughly undid the buttons on his neatly dressed heretic inquisitor uniform and flopped down, lying on the black, soft bed he had been sitting on.  

“Humans are never satisfied with what they have.”  

“… ….”  

“I may have unconsciously wished for it. Back in the day, you were bright and pure. No, I mean your appearance.”  

“… See? In the end, you only liked the old me.”  

“I may have secretly been reluctant to see you as one with the devil.”  

He felt sorrow as demonic energy coursed through her body, her once clear blue eyes—bright as the sea—turning dull and clouded.  

“Even as I held you and whispered words of love, dreamed of a happy future, and smiled at you while you picked up pieces of bread with your tiny mouth, I was only looking at who you used to be, not who you are now.”  

“… Please don’t say such cruel things.”  

Hearing the truth he quietly conveyed, the eyes of the devil—who longed for love and dreamed of a happy family—turned red once again.  

They said she was a devil now, and the devil always won bets.  

So why… why did things keep turning out this way?  

She hadn’t asked for much. She had only wanted things to go back to how they were before.  

“…”

‘Ah, I see. He wanted to return to the past, because my body has already become one with the devil, tainted beyond salvation.’

‘My wish was impossible.’  

Cecil buried her face in his arms and wept silently.  

A long time ago, the cuffs of the white blouse—a simple gift from a young man with short hair who had spent his very first salary on it—had once been dry.  

Now, they were slowly getting wet.  

The heart of the devil, unable to hold on to the hope slipping away with her tears, grew cold.  

A faint whimpering voice echoed in the silence.  

As her quiet cries pierced his ears, the heretic inquisitor’s mouth slowly opened again.  

“… So, I will try my best.”  

“… ….”  

“I will try my best to truly love you as you are now.”  

His voice, though rough, sounded like a sweet heavenly melody.  

The woman, crouched down and slightly turning her head, peeked at her husband through tear-stained eyes.  

Did she…seem a little bit cute like this?  

Seeing her, he let out a soft smile, exhaled a quiet sigh, and closed his eyes, tracing the wooden patterns embroidered on the ceiling in his mind.  

The baptism of strong waves cheerfully blew away his muddled thoughts, and the poor man—who had been running without rest—surrendered his exhausted body to the soft bed.  

“If you wish, we can stay here together forever. If you seek love, I will remain by your side and love you as you are now.”  

That was his apology to her.  

That was the true expression of the eternal love he had once sworn.  

There was no answer.  

But the woman’s sorrowful sniffles—once echoing in the silence—could no longer be heard.

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