CHAPTER 108 | HER POV
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I am Melissa, the daughter of a mother who isn't great, but a mother I could be proud of.
My mother wasn't an exceptional figure in the world.
She wasn't an all-powerful Emperor like the one who owned the entirety of the Lake, nor the Sun who claimed the surface world.
Mother was nothing like those supremely powerful figures, nor was she exceptionally smart like my dearest husband, whose intellect truly rivaled mine.
I am Melissa, the daughter of Amara, the one she unwillingly gave birth to decades ago by the command of that one god.
I wasn't an ordinary thing, I was someone extraordinarily intelligent, thanks to his blood flowing in my veins.
This made me a miserably capable figure in this very lake, called the Lake of Dreadnought, where he, the Fallen Dragon of Pride, lay sealed by the Idol of Atlantis, Ashin Sae Acoustine.
Melissa, lounging in her bed, closed her eyes with a creeping unease.
She put away the book she was reading and frowned.
"This... something is wrong. The connection I had with Mother has become weaker these past few hours..."
Melissa was confused by the sudden weakening of her bond.
She turned her head toward the jade slips hanging in the corner of the room, her frown deepening as she saw cracks forming in her mother's jadeslips.
"This... something is wrong with her situation. Perhaps Mother faced an unexpected adversary... No, that shouldn't be possible as long as Lumicor is right by her side... unless."
Melissa slowly rolled off the bed and stood lazily.
She glanced at the messy sheets for a moment before waving her hand gently.
Using her mana to manipulate the air, a soft but strong wind swept through the room, rearranging it.
The unfinished book slid neatly into the shelves, the bed tidied itself, and the cumulative dust on the floor was forcefully swept out of the open window.
The curtains swayed gently by the retreating breeze.
Melissa turned to take one last glance at the bedroom, then smiled softly, satisfied by her quick work.
She gently closed the door, then took deliberate steps in the infinitely expansive hallway, walking for what felt like hours.
"Mother... worry not. Your greatest fear shall not come true, for I, your daughter, will end you before you bring disaster to the world that you hated and loved so much."
Steps! Steps! Steps!
Her steps, measured with a grace only emperors possess, echoed through the expansive hallway with a thud.
Steps...
They stopped as she halted in front of a massive door, inscribed with crabs, and at its center, a handsome figure who looked like an albino lizardman could be seen sitting on a throne, looking down to the world with an inborn arrogance.
Melissa shook her head at the silly monument depicting Theodore, the son of Astria, the one who conquered thousands of territories in their neighboring castle along with his sister, Celeste.
At first, Melissa was quite shocked that Astria was her mother's first wife, since her mother was kind of a lesbian, or a futanari, if she was being precise.
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But after discovering that fact, Melissa merely accepted it, especially since Astria herself gave them access to her expansive library and the dungeon where her mother and husband were currently situated.
Melissa, now at the front of the rightful owner of this castle chamber, braced herself.
She nodded at the guards whose appearance was nothing like a crab, the first spawn of Astria, but more like humanoid beasts with angelic wings, similar to that of a Seraph.
They nodded back, then slowly opened the massive door leading to their mother's chamber.
With the door now open, Melissa gave the guards a final nod, then took a step and another as she entered the room with a confident stride.
The sound of a book flipping its pages in a crisp manner echoed across the room, followed by the scratch of a pen pressed against paper, running across the sheets.
The noises reverberated in peaceful repetition.
A lonely figure was seated at a large desk with a teacup at her right side and snacks at her left.
It was Astria, sorting the reports of her children, along with her son Theodore, who was seated next to her, doing the same, sorting out the reports of his subordinates, then scribbling his orders before his right-hand person, Celeste, his sister, received them and walked out of the room, passing through her.
"What brings you here, Melissa?"
Astria's voice echoed softly in the room.
Her son Theodore paused for a moment, took a glance at Melissa, then immediately continued his work, ignoring her.
Astria herself took a sip from her cup, then reached out for a snack.
Melissa clenched her fist, then merely stared at Astria, who was cheerfully taking a bite from the muffin in her hand with a smile of delight.
Astria waited for Melissa's words, since she knew this smarty-pants had already caught onto her plans.
But to her confusion, how did she figure that out?
Melissa, noticing Astria's expectant gaze, shook her head, then slowly walked toward the desk with two jade slips in her hand.
"You... why did you lie to us?"
Astria noticed the words inscribed on the jade slips, indicating Lumicor's life jade, and then Amara's life jade, which was now cracked beyond repair.
She froze from fear as her smile vanished.
Melissa glanced at Astria, whose face was ridden with fear, then at Theodore, who merely glanced at his mother momentarily, then took a long breather as he mildly stated.
"Mother... I know that Father wouldn't fall so low as to be defeated by the likes of mere sovereigns, so stop dreaming of a pointless vengeance."
Hearing Theodore's cold statement about her plot, to use Lumicor, the God of the Lake, and Amara, the Matron of the South, to defeat Alister von Fai, seemed to be an impossibility itself.
Astria shook her head in realization, then sighed as she took another bite of her muffin.
"I didn't lie to you folks... when I said that there's a demonic entity inside there, the three of you merely shrugged it off. And now, this situation has happened, where one is in danger... Now you suspect me for lying to you?"
Astria lifted her head, then gazed straight into Melissa's face.
Her smile vanished, now replaced with seriousness as she coldly stared through Melissa's eyes.
Melissa sighed at Astria's strong front.
She could only blame it on their carelessness that led them to this predicament.
Had they not ignored her warning, then perhaps her mother would remain unharmed.
Still, she was angered by the fact that Astria, the lover of her mother, tried to use them to deal with Theodore's father.
Nevertheless, she shook her head, knowing that even with all of her items and techniques, she wouldn't even be able to defeat him, a warlord who killed hundreds of Stage 2 Outworlders.
Melissa clenched her teeth, then slammed her palm on the desk.
The papers on it rose from the impact, the tea spilt on the ground, and the snacks flew all across the room.
She muttered lowly, then shouted angrily.
"Then so be it! It's indeed our fault for not believing you, but heed my words, Astria! If anything happens to my mother! Then be prepared to face the consequences for the plot of using us to deal with your problems!"
Theodore frowned at Melissa's attitude as he silently stared at her with the intent to kill, but restrained himself from breaking her neck, since he knew better than to provoke her husband.
Melissa, noticing Theodore's killing intent, stared at him before she snorted, then grabbed Astria by her collar before storming out of the room with a rage that felt like hot static electricity.
Theodore sighed at Melissa's personality, which could be colder than ice or as hot as the sun, just like now.
He then turned to his mother's neck, which was now bruised, before returning his focus to his desk, continuing his work, dissatisfied that he couldn't wring that arrogant woman's neck.
Meanwhile, Astria merely grasped her collarbone, then touched her neck, which was now bruised.
She sighed, then shifted her attention to her son, who was extremely capable in other things but too incompetent in emotional ones, since he mostly inherited those traits from his accursed father.
"At least defend this pitiful mother of yours, Theodore?!"
Astria was quite disappointed in her son as she said those words jokingly, since she knew that her son was an emotionless machine whose sole purpose was to serve his father at his best.
She sighed, and Theodore merely glanced at her pitiful state for a few moments, then back to his desk as he continued his task.
"A stupid question to ask, Mother. My purpose in life is to protect you, and in doing so, I would eliminate all of those threats, even if it hurts you like now... Since if I killed that woman... her husband would storm this castle in a rampage after knowing that, thus killing us both in the process. So, my final verdict is, sacrifice yourself for this moment so that both of us may live, since Father's situation is quite precarious right now."
