Endless Debt-Chapter 943 - 49: Time_2

She was curious about what happened next.

"Many people have loved me, and I have loved them."

"That’s not love," Aimou shook her head. "It’s more like a master treating a pet."

"Maybe, but it’s still a kind of affection, isn’t it?"

Serey remembered Bologue had also evaluated him this way. Looking at it now, he and Aimou were quite similar.

"As the journey went on, we became closer... Usually, when I want to conquer a woman, it takes no more than a week. If I don’t succeed within a week, I leave on my own."

"That sounds like a real scumbag."

"Haha, how should I say it? My mindset back then was completely different from now."

"Tell me about it."

"I felt I was far nobler than humans. I was a fierce wolf, and humans were like little lambs to me," Serey said indifferently. "Wolves eating sheep, that’s normal, isn’t it? I might feel affection for some little lambs, but as you said, it was a relationship between a master and a pet, unequal and condescending."

"Go on."

Serey continued, "I traveled with her for a few months. I didn’t succeed, nor did I leave on my own. It was then that I noticed my change, a change that frightened me. After all, I had lived like this for hundreds of years. Suddenly, one day, I realized I was being led by a little lamb. It was terrifying."

"Then... one day I asked her, do you love me?"

Serey and Aimou locked eyes, and Aimou was completely engrossed in Serey’s story. She didn’t interrupt but eagerly awaited what Serey would say next.

"She said I was an interesting person, a hateful person, a somewhat strange person.

She also said I was a pitiable person."

Serey fell silent, poured himself a glass of wine, and drank it in one go. His words carried a trace of alcohol, like a drunkard, though he was quite sober.

"I thought she was going to reject me, but she said she loved me."

Serey pondered, "That’s so strange."

Aimou said, "You began to blur this relationship, wanting a definitive answer from her, preferably that she didn’t love you so that you could have a reason to extricate yourself from this ambiguous relationship and hunt for the next target."

"That’s right. Unconsciously, I was influenced by her, which frightened me," Serey said, "But I didn’t expect her to say she loved me. I asked her, I couldn’t feel her affection, and aside from ordinary interactions, we were just like before, traveling and adventuring."

Serey thought for a moment and added, "Our travels were much smoother after I joined her."

"What did she say?"

Serey hesitated for a moment. Even after all these years, he still remembered what she had said, like an imprint engraved in his mind.

"She said she knew what kind of person I was, and she couldn’t hold on to me. Rather than pleading, it was better to give me freedom from the start.

She loved me, but she didn’t want to hold on to me."

Serey and Aimou both fell into silence. The sound of conversations around continued, and Palmer’s raspy laughter added an absurd touch to Serey’s recollections.

"I never expected her to answer like that," Serey said with a wry smile. "Everyone I’ve ever met tried to hold on to me, except her.

She said I’m like the wind; you can’t catch the wind. You have to let it go, and if it wants to return, then it belongs to you."

"I left because I was afraid of my own transformation. I wasn’t like this before. I traveled far and roamed for years. One day, I met her again, and we talked about our experiences over the years, and then she left again without even saying goodbye."

"I chased after her and asked why she left without saying goodbye. She said as long as there’s no farewell, we will always meet again."

Serey sighed, "She was so beautiful that day. When she saw me catching up, she laughed and reached out to grab my arm."

"She caught you, Serey," Aimou marveled.

"I was caught, and I wanted to know what she was thinking, to understand how she viewed me. This time, I couldn’t leave but stayed by her side. During the journey, she never forced me to do anything or asked what I was thinking."

Serey showed a troubled expression. "Looking back now, was I tricked? Did a bad man meet a more skilled bad woman?"

"You could say it serves you right," Aimou added, "and you’re also quite fortunate."

"She gave me absolute freedom.

Suddenly, I found that my understanding of freedom had become unfamiliar. I was like a bird that couldn’t land, I began to panic, longing for a place to perch... I was actually afraid of her abandoning me."

Serey stirred the ice in his glass with a spoon, producing a crisp clinking sound.

"I never expected that one day I would willingly offer the shackles, hoping someone would bind and tether me."

Serey didn’t tell the story that followed, but Aimou could roughly guess the ending: Serey was an Undead, and the woman would eventually fade away in the torrent of time.

In Serey’s many false love stories, this was the only one imbued with genuine love.

Serey reminisced, muttering, "Bologue was very much like me at that time."

Aimou listened carefully.

"He, like me, doesn’t know what he wants. I chose to wander around, making mistakes repeatedly, while he locked himself away.

What I’m trying to say is, he needs some time."

Serey concluded, "Give him some time, and maybe you won’t even need to make a move; he’ll open the door and surrender on his own."

Aimou felt a bit emotional but also found it somewhat strange, "Are you helping me?"

"To be precise, I’m helping Bologue," Serey replied with an odd smile, "Of course, I’m also curious about what Bologue would be like if he fell in love."

Aimou gathered her courage and straightforwardly said, "He’s a smart man, though sometimes he can be dull, but I think he should know my feelings."

"I think so too. That’s why I said he needs some time to figure these things out."

Serey knew he and Bologue were similar yet completely opposite. Serey didn’t care about right or wrong, only about himself, while Bologue longed for noble character and was unwilling to make mistakes, so he was hesitant.

Aimou sat up straight, squinting as if contemplating Bologue’s situation, then turned her gaze to Serey, staring intently at him.

"It’s quite surprising, Serey."

"What is?"

"I thought your romantic history would be a tangled mess full of deceit and betrayal."

"Why do you see me as a heinous villain?"

"Hmm? You don’t think you are?"

Serey was about to refute when he suddenly recalled many tragic scenes, women’s faces stained with blood, looking at him with a mix of pleading and hatred.

He sighed softly, "Yes, more than heinous..."

"I often feel guilty and sorry for who I was then," Serey appeared much more weary. "As I said, I was a fierce wolf. Why would a wolf care about what the little lambs think?"

Aimou asked again, "Did you pay the price?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Are you judging me?"

Serey didn’t defend himself and softly said, "I have paid the price, but I haven’t suffered all the penalties yet."

A sad atmosphere emanated from Serey. What he shared with Aimou was just a small part of his long life. This Night Race Lord’s experiences were far more complex and twisted than Aimou could have imagined.

Serey’s love story was just a small part of his life. More important were the expansion and destruction of the Eternal Night Empire. Compared to these sins, Serey’s actions seemed insignificant.

A figure swayed over, breaking the mood. He sat on the other side. Palmer, drunkenly, asked.

"Bologue has successfully advanced. What will his Secret Energy evolve into?"

Palmer was very curious, curious about the magnificent power that belonged to a Negative Power User.