Chapter 90

Pure white light splits the darkness, dyeing the surroundings. In the faintly draped darkness, her pink eyes pierce through me like a sharp gaze.

“How on earth…?”

I clearly saw her coughing up blood and collapsing.

Even if she didn’t die, she should have at least lost her strength.

But how can she still wield such powerful divine energy?

As the question briefly crosses my mind, Lillian frowns and lets out a low groan.

“Ugh, it stings so much.”

Blood continuously flows from her hand. The blade that was supposed to pierce my heart is deeply embedded in her right hand.

I couldn’t understand.

“Why… why are you here…?”

“Isn’t it too cowardly to just run away like this?”

“Are you… trying to kill me?”

“Of course not. The only thing I can do is save you.”

Lillian smiles gently and holds my gaze.

And at that moment, the air trembles, and the surroundings begin to shake.

[Almost there! You, damn woman!]

A chilling voice tears through the space. The thickly split darkness gathers in one place and begins to be sucked back to its original position.

Right into my body.

Lillian tries to block it, but the darkness brushes past her and deeply penetrates my body.

[Tina, kill that woman right now!]

“What?”

[If you don’t kill her now, you’ll never see your mother again.]

The voice that seeped deep into my chest echoes in my head, whispering. As if responding to it, a suffocating feeling presses down on my entire body, and my body stiffens like a heavy lump of iron.

In my gradually fading consciousness, I numbly pick up a shard of glass scattered on the floor.

[You don’t want to leave your mother dead and alone in hell, do you? You’re a good girl.]

“…Yes, that’s right.”

[That woman is the one who interferes with your love for your mother. She’s just a vile being who enjoys your suffering.]

“I definitely killed her…”

“Are you curious?”

Lillian’s voice echoes calmly.

With calm eyes fixed on me, she gently pulls the blade embedded in her hand.

A short spurt of red blood is quickly followed by pure white light enveloping her hand, instantly healing the deep wound.

“Tina, do you know who I first visited when I came to the Empire?”

“…What?”

“Would you like to look behind you?”

As I turn my head, a woman stands there.

Artasha Blanchard.

Her pale face looks at me, her blue eyes filled with helpless worry.

“Artasha…?”

Why are you here?

Why are you looking at me like that?

I’m just a monster who devoured your daughter.

[Gah! Can’t you snap out of it?! Kill that saintess right now! Don’t you want to see your mother again?!]

My body moves against my will at the scream that seems to crush my head. I raise the glass shard high and rush at Lillian.

“If only you… if only you disappear…!”

I swing the glass shard to tear her face, aiming for her eyes.

“Die!!”

“Please, Princess.”

But just before the glass shard reaches Lillian, someone firmly grabs my arm, and then another hand tightly grips my neck, subduing me.

“Ugh!”

The arm choking my neck lifts me into the air.

As my breath gradually chokes, my weakened body eventually drops the glass shard I was holding.

“Ha… huk… I can’t… breathe…!”

In my inverted vision, I try to punch the arm choking my neck, but the arm holding me is as immovable as a mountain.

My body, struggling for oxygen, gradually loses strength and sags like a puppet with its strings cut.

“…Sorry, Tina. Just sleep for a while and wake up.”

A soft voice seeps into my ear. The owner of that voice is someone I know all too well.

“Huh… gk… Vi, Viviana…?”

My vision flips.

My consciousness sinks into deep darkness.

I thought I had thrown everything into the abyss.

How on earth…?

How are they all standing on their own two feet?

※

On a warm grassy field.

Someone is gently stroking my head. The touch is so tender and warm that I’m afraid opening my eyes will make this peace disappear, so I tightly shut them.

“Still a spoiled child, huh?”

A nostalgic voice faintly seeps into my ear.

Not a voice I’ve heard while living as Tina, but a voice buried deep in my past memories. Startled by the sound, I open my eyes wide.

“Mo… mom…?”

A woman with black hair flowing softly over her shoulders looks down at me with a warm smile.

Seeing her beautiful face, tears naturally well up in my eyes from the surging longing in my chest.

“Huhu, you’ve changed a lot, haven’t you? Your hair is white, your eyes are tinged with blue… Should I call you daughter now?”

“Re, really… mom…?”

“Yes, the mom you locked in hell.”

At her low, calm voice, my heart sinks. Her eyes are no longer filled with affection but with deep resentment and anger.

“Hey, you’re not planning to leave me here and be happy alone, are you?”

“Mo, mom…”

“I’m rotting away here every day, and you, my child, don’t even show your face.”

“….”

“After all the effort I put into feeding and sheltering a child I never wanted, is this how you repay me?”

Though filled with contempt and disgust, the words didn’t hurt much.

Because they were words I heard every day in my past life, they were familiar.

But strangely, I was just happy to hear my mother’s voice again.

“Remember. I’m your only family.”

“…Yes.”

I clench my fist and nod.

Only then does my mother smile brightly and gently stroke my head.

“Alright, I’ll be waiting here.”

It was the smile I longed for.

With her smile as the last thing I see, the whole world begins to flip.

[Come find this mother soon.]

※

“Gasp…!!”

A flash of light blinds my eyes, and my vision clears.

The bright grassy field that was just there is gone without a trace, replaced by a gloomy, windowless landscape.

Where on earth is this place?

“Ha… ugh… wa, water….”

My throat feels like it’s burning.

My body is so exhausted that even taking a single step is difficult. But unable to bear the thirst gnawing at my throat, I stagger and barely manage to get up.

“Hak… huk, huu…”

Though the gloomy space feels like a prison, suffocating even my breath, fortunately, I see a door not far away.

Forcing my trembling legs to move, I barely manage to step towards the door.

Clank—

“Eek?!”

But a sudden resistance firmly grabs my ankle, and I collapse to the floor.

“Ah… agh…”

Pain and confusion wash over me.

As I catch my breath, I look down at my throbbing ankle.

“What, what is this…”

A strange metal is heavily clamped around both my ankles.

Thick shackles meant for a prisoner. The shackles are firmly connected to the wall with heavy chains, binding me so I can’t move.

“Wh, what on earth is this…”

The chains are so heavy that I can barely lift them with both hands. The weight feels like it’s telling me I can never escape this place.

As confused thoughts swirl in my head, the door I saw earlier creaks and slowly opens with a chilling sound.

“You mustn’t get hurt. Tina needs to live a long, healthy life.”

“You… you…!”

Lillian Eldoria.

The moment I see her pink-tinged eyes, a cold shiver runs through my body.

“I clearly saw you drink poison and collapse…!”

“That’s right. If I hadn’t placed a blessing beforehand, it might have been dangerous.”

“A blessing…?”

Lillian smiles and slowly closes the door. Judging by the heavy sound, it’s no ordinary door.

“By the way, you must be hungry. I’ve prepared a meal.”

Only then do I notice the tray in her hand.

On the tray is a glass of clear water and a bowl of warm soup steaming with heat.

The sight of the water in the glass makes my thirst burn even more, and the savory aroma of the soup makes me swallow my dry saliva.

“I’ll give it to you soon. Of course, there’s something we need to do first.”

Lillian smiles meaningfully and slowly approaches me.

Instinctively, I try to step back, but the cold wall blocks my retreat.

Lillian, now right in front of me, quietly kneels to match my eye level and speaks in a soft but firm voice.

“Hand.”

With words I can’t understand, Lillian extends one hand towards my face.

As I blankly stare at her outstretched hand, Lillian smiles sweetly and brings her hand even closer.

“Tina, hand.”

“…What?”

“If you make me repeat myself, I’ll have to scold you.”

With a voice tinged with an eerie aura, Lillian continues with a gentle smile.

“Come on, be a good girl, Tina.”

“You… are you seriously…”

“Hand.”

Are you telling me…

To place my hand on yours?

Like a dog?

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