~ Chapter 170: A mother’s confession ~

[Akardia’s point of view]

Both me and my husband believed that we were in the right in this matter. The Dungeons outside the Dungeon Continent were known to be manipulative, petty, weak, and most definitely eager to kill and corrupt others.

Their reputation wasn’t exactly the prettiest either and those who managed to achieve human form were known to be the most terrible out of them all, but it didn’t appear to be the case with the one who introduced himself as Nanya’s husband.

True, his arrival put both me and Graymore on the edge, but as I continued to watch the fight between them, I began to notice that this Dungeon wasn’t using his attacks with the intent to kill. Demons, especially a pregnant demoness like myself, could be very sensitive to one’s killing intent, so having no such reaction from him made me wonder if maybe we were too quick to judge him?

Before I could even suggest calling off this fight, Nanya jumped in and punched her father right in the face. It made me proud to see how powerful she had become. Then, my daughter exploded in rage against her father... and probably me as well, her mother.

All the things she said about all the things she experienced, in one way, they sounded like a child’s cries in a tantrum, but could they be called as such when my little girl was screaming them out at the top of her lungs with tears in her eyes? It did not feel right, so I flew out there, thinking that maybe with my presence there, I could get them to stop, I could get her to maybe understand that we were just trying to help her out of our stubborn worry as her parents.

What I did not expect when I landed in the middle of them was to hear her ask of us some very simple questions, but to which I didn’t know the answer to. No, to be more precise, I did not know the current answers to them. In the past, Nanya always smiled in the morning if I patted her head, but she did not have any friends other than her toys. The ones she looked for every day was either me or some of her siblings. As she grew older though, she spent more time with me and less with them, but I don’t think I saw her finding joy in anything else other than pranking.

I did not even know who my daughter’s friends were now or what she liked to do in her free time. Although she did not spend that much time with us, it shouldn’t have been so difficult for me to find out after a few minutes of casually talking with her about her family or what she had been up to until now.

I just naturally presumed that not much had changed besides her growing up a bit, getting older, and just getting stronger... What made me realize that this was wrong was the way she asked us those things, the way her tears flowed down her cheeks and her voice almost turned to a painful growl as she shouted each word at the top of her lungs.

It hurt to see her like this, it hurt to hear her, and when I turned my gaze to look at Sunsun, I could see that she was sad and confused. She had no idea why her big sister was crying or why she was screaming like that, but it was clear now that we might have been the ones at fault.

But then came the most shocking reveal of them all... Nanya gave birth to Natrasku and Kormian, my grandchildren, and of all places, they remained on the sealed continents. The moment I heard this, pain struck my heart as I knew that with such a powerful barrier separating that place from the outside world, it was going to be impossible for Nanya to return to her family.

I hugged her and embraced her, crying for her as well. This foolish daughter of mine didn’t realize that once she stepped out of that place, there was no coming back. The same was for her husband. There was no way the barrier would allow such powerful individuals to return to that place, and the reason why she was here was just to let us know that we are grandparents... that’s it...

In her foolish desire to appease us, my daughter may have not realized that she just gave up seeing her precious children again. Maybe, Graymore was aware of this as well and he was tossing that rage at her husband.

“What are you going to do now, you foolish child!” I told her as I cried.

At least my wings protected this embarrassing sight from entering the eyes of the demios around us.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Did she not realize? Did she not understand? This was what bothered me, so I told her.

“The barrier, Nanya, the barrier that keeps the strong away from the weak...”

“What?”

“Both you and your husband are clearly powerful individuals, so I doubt the barrier that keeps the three continents sealed away from the rest of the world will allow you to return to your home.” I told her.

“Oh that...” she said and then turned to look at her husband, but she didn’t seem to be distressed.

“Don’t worry, Nanya, despite all that has happened, your mother will help you build a life here... I’ll build you a school and erm... I’ll have your father expand the continent to give you a Duke of Chaos titles... and erm...” I said as I tried to think of whatever I thought could possibly console my sweet daughter for the loss of her children.

After all, once they crossed the barrier, they could never return. Even if they were as powerful as me, they could only crack it at most. In the past, because I wanted to go after Nanya, I asked Graymore to find anything he could about it, but other than the fact that it may have been created by a Primordial Dungeon, he was not able to uncover anything. The way it worked and restored its energy was still a big mystery for all those who encountered it. Such an impressive barrier could not be easy to sustain.

I knew all of this, that was why at that time I reluctantly agreed to let Nanya go to the Sealed Continents, within that barrier, where all those weak creatures lived, Nanya stood a chance at becoming one of its strongest inhabitants.

Unfortunately, if there was one thing I had to agree with Graymore in all of this, that was the fact that Nanya was truly one of the weakest children I had given birth to so far. The potential Sunsun has for magic control and even Dungeon skills was amazing and compared to Nanya at her age, it was like a mountain looking down at the pebble at its base.

Most of Nanya’s suitors did not even try to get to understand her better. They always thought that by having a connection with her, they could somehow get to me or maybe earn some expensive favors. If they genuinely loved Nanya, I would not have mind offering them one or two things, but just as Graymore learned, even the most promising one of them all turned out to be dirty Merion hidden under the guise of a majestic bird.

“Mother, you think that barrier will keep us from seeing our children?” Nanya asked, but strange enough, I did not feel any distress from the tone of her voice.

Pulling back from my embrace and looking at her, I saw her showing me a wry smile.

“That barrier, mother, it’s not there anymore... or at least it wasn’t when I passed through that spot.” she told me.

“Huh?” I blinked surprised.

“Illsy, can you stop bickering for a second with father and tell me if there was a barrier around the three continents?” she asked, and I turned my head to look at those two.

Currently, they were pulling their hair out like two demonesses who were fighting over a stunning demon.

“Huh? That? There was nothing there. I double checked...” he replied.

“See?” Nanya told me with a soft smile and the continued “And even if there was a barrier there, we have a few connections and some tricks up our sleeve. I am sure we would have eventually figured out a way to get inside. As for blasting a hole through it, I think Illsy has something in his arsenal suited for just a situation like this, otherwise...” she then turned her attention towards the Dungeon man, and I recognized that love-struck gaze anywhere.

It was the same one I had when I first saw Graymore walk out of the bathroom after taking a hot shower. What happened next, well... we usually broke a few beds if they weren’t enchanted properly, he was not getting away from me that easily!

Closing my eyes for a second and clearing my head of these slightly inappropriate thoughts, I looked back at Nanya and then asked her “You’re saying... he let you come here? You didn’t run away?”

“Huh? Where you did you get a weird idea like that, mother?” Nanya scoffed.

“But... you came here... alone, and I thought... we thought...” I said as I cast a quick glance at Graymore, who was biting that man’s hand and he his foot.

Are they some type of wild beasts, or what? I wondered for a moment, but at the very least, I wasn’t feeling any sort of vile killing intent coming off from either of them.

“Initially, Illsy didn’t want to let me go...” she shook her head “but I managed to persuade him. Even then though...” she turned her attention to the two “he didn’t let me go until he finished making me this armor and weapon you saw me use in my duel today.”

“So, they were made by him? With the intent of...” I looked down at my daughter.

“To protect me.” she showed me a soft smile.

“Protect you?” I asked a bit surprised.

Considering how powerful her armor and weapon were and the strength she displayed earlier in the duel, I was both pleased and a bit worried about Nanya’s wellbeing.

“Did... Does he make you fight?” I asked her.

Usually, a powerful spouse also meant a good war asset. Although the relationship between me and Graymore wasn’t like that, from time to time, we did appeal to each other’s strength. In my case, it was for when the nobles were bothering me, and I wanted to be there for Sunsun. As for him, when he wanted to test out his dungeons or collect materials from some powerful monsters outside the Demon Continent.

There were plenty of demios out there who saw the strength of a demoness as something they should own and then wield against all those whom they deemed to be their foes.

“Fight? What do you mean?” she asked.

“Did he force you to fight for him? Did he abuse your strength in any way?”

“No, mother. My current strength is a result of my own training and also Illsy’s diligent help. If not for him, I wouldn’t have ever been able to fight like this!” she replied showing me a soft smile.

Looking into her eyes, I couldn’t catch a single glimpse of lie or pain. There was also no reason for her to lie to me or defend him in case he was actually weaker than her. When I looked at him, though, I only saw a foolish man who was rolling on the ground with my husband, pulling his hair out and shouting at him like a five-years-old child.

Letting out a sigh, I closed my eyes and tried to think about this whole thing one more time. There were many things that did not make sense, especially the way her husband was behaving. If he was indeed such a mongrel of a no-good rotten piece of garbage man that I initially thought he was, then he would not have behaved like this.

I had met plenty of demons and males of the other species, which behaved like arrogant bastards who never knew when to stop. The demio my daughter defeated today was undoubtedly one of them.

I can’t see him as being the same as this man, Illsyore. Put side by side, the way they presented themselves, the way they talked, the way they reacted when their opponent overwhelmed them, it wasn’t the same, but most importantly, I can’t believe my daughter would shed tears for someone like that demio. I then thought back at how my daughter had presented herself from the very first moment she stepped on the continent.

Once I knew that she had returned, I asked my most loyal Royal Knight to actually investigate everything he could about my daughter’s first appearance and her activities since then. He reported his finding earlier today before we set off for the Proving Ground.

Because she was such a beautiful demoness, strong, confident, and completely different from how she was portrayed a century ago, she obviously stood out in a crowd. She helped her brother Eventel and gave a Solstark a good beating. News of her deeds spread like wildfire. Then was her appearance in the capital, which was remarked by the way she behaved in front of the other demios. The inn she planned on staying at had only good things to say about her, especially about how respectful she was towards them. The fact that so far, she did not go on a wild prank spree was the most surprising and important fact of them all.

This was a clear sign of her maturity and wisdom.

As her mother, when I listened to this report, I was surprised, but for a different reason. The confidence she displayed was a sign that she was not the same weak little girl that I had once knew. She did not feel inferior to the demons around her and wasn’t sad anymore that she would be left out from various activities by those around her. The fact that she showed enough strength to defeat a Duke of Chaos meant that during her journey away from home she managed to find the power she always dreamed off as a child.

The most important thing, for me, however, was the fact that she wasn’t so lonely and eager to seek out attention as she did a century ago. Back then, all those whom she pranked never really retaliated both out of fear and respect towards me but also because of how weak and fragile she was. If the knights were not careful with her, they could easily bruise, scratch, or break a limb. Because of this, they kept their distance from her and acted in very restrained manner.

When a demio from the South was enraged at her prank and slapped her, both I and my husband went to pay him a visit... with our full killing intent unleashed. The tragedy that followed that event was a lesson for all the other fools who would dare harm my precious children. I did not step in when they were adults and responsible for their own actions and words, but while they were still within my palace, I would not forgive any attempt at harming them.

Because of how weak Nanya was, even her own siblings had to be cautious with how they played with her, although, before I knew it, innocent bickering among children turned into insults and bullying. I did not know how to react to this at that time, all I could do was to accept little Nanya in my embrace and calm her down. A simple hug from her mother was often the only thing she needed, but maybe... I was wrong? Maybe she was keeping everything inside?

The way she cried out today, her outburst towards her father, it was shocking...

There was a side to my little girl which I never knew about, and this saddened me as well as made me feel disappointed in myself for never noticing it. I brushed away her seemingly innocent reaction, thinking that it was not anything too serious, but it appeared as though... as time went by, I failed to see the pattern.

It was more than clear to me now that what she experienced on the Sealed Continents led to her growth and development into a wonderful demoness, but her childhood bruises and scratches still remained etched on her heart, hurting with every beat when she remembered them.

Maybe... I never accepted that she grew up and went far away from me, in a place where I couldn’t even be in touch with her through something as simple as a letter? My other children might be leading their own lives outside the capital, but they still keep in touch with a letter or a visit from time to time. I know what they are doing, how they have been, but this wasn’t the same with Nanya... I thought and then looked at the demoness in my arms, who was crying and was in pain although she was powerful enough now to take the throne from me. “I’m sorry, little one... I didn’t mean to make you cry... I just... I just missed my little girl who pounced at my tail and tried to act silly whenever she could... I was... I was afraid that when you were out of my reach... I... I wouldn’t be able to protect you...” I said and then held her tight “I’m sorry.”

“Mother...” Nanya said as she cried.

“When I heard you left... I went after you... the barrier stopped me, so when you told me your children were there, I remembered that day... that day when I pounded like a mad demoness at the barrier and yet was unable to shatter it.” I told her as warm salty tears gathered in the corners of my eyes and then slowly flowed down on my cheeks.

If not for my wings that covered us both, I may not have had the courage to do this. Crying in public wasn’t an act befitting an Empress.

“When you returned... I was afraid... I was afraid that this man you called a husband would be someone unpleasant... like that demio you fought against today.”

“Mother, why didn’t you just tell me all of this? Why didn’t you ask? Did you think I wouldn’t answer or that I would try to lie to you?” she asked me.

“No... I... well... That’s just not something a respectable Empress would do, right?” I let out a dry cough.

She looked up at me and blinked surprised.

“What? Your wife’s a tsundere?” asked her husband who was currently pulling my husband’s leg.

“A what? I have no idea what that is! And how dare you listen in on their private conversation?!” he roared and pushed him back, now he was the one pulling on his leg.

“What are they doing?” Nanya asked and then giggled.

“I guess.... they became friends?” I replied tilting my head to the left.

“I’M NOT HIS FRIEND!” they both answered at the same time.

Hearing them, I blinked surprised, then looking down at Nanya while she looked up at me, we but let out a giggle.