The lady was quite troubled.
To be honest, she had thought about this situation before.
After returning, she would be showered with care and concern by her family and friends back home.
The scene would be warm and heartwarming.
But feeling between her left and right arms… the four-way division of softness and the pulling force in both directions, the lady felt… a little torn between laughter and tears.
“Lady~~ Quickly make this little mercenary go away! Tell me about your experiences over these past two months~~”
The twin-tailed girl was tightly clutching her lady’s left arm, completely disregarding maid etiquette at this point.
She just used those beautiful red eyes to glance arrogantly at the quiet and reserved girl opposite her!
“Let’s go see the lady of the house.”
Although Reliel’s face showed no expression at this moment, Ileya could tell from the force with which she was holding her arm… that she could feel it.
The other party was currently locking horns with Yumina.
But from this perspective, it seemed that Reliel, who had been traveling outside all year, was more developed… As for Yumina, she fit the classic loli mold… ahem.
But… although she had heard from Jenny earlier that the entire Hunter Blade Mercenary Group had been summoned to the Marquis Castle.
When she heard this news, Ileya was surprised but not confused.
Because she already understood the intricacies of the situation.
Although she didn’t know whether the father of the girl in front of her was the old man in her own family, her mother was undoubtedly the Lady Mother.
And if you counted the time, this should be the point in the original “fate” when the other party acknowledged her familial roots, right?
Perhaps the Lady Mother had called her back this time… to acknowledge this daughter?
Originally, Ileya had thought so.
But now, seeing that Yumina’s address for the other party was still “Little Mercenary” rather than “Second Miss”… it seemed the Lady Mother still hadn’t laid her cards on the table.
Why? Was it the butterfly effect of her awakened memories? Or did the Lady Mother want to give her a hint first?
After thinking about these questions for a moment, Ileya shook her head slightly.
The so-called “original fate” was only ever a reference for her.
The path ahead was one she had carved out herself from the Dark Wasteland.
There might be regrets, but no one could control her, and she would definitely do her best.
Thinking this, she turned her head to look at the two girls beside her.
“Well… how about this: since I have to go see Lady Mother first thing after returning, you guys can accompany me there~”
After saying this, Ileya suddenly felt the disdainful gazes from behind her, coming from Amisa, Holly, and Veil.
“Playgirl…” the Holy Sword Bearer muttered softly.
“What does… ‘playgirl’ mean?” Amisa was slightly startled, looking at her disciple.
“It’s a term from our world for a person who has unclear relationships with many girls.”
“I see,” Amisa nodded slowly.
“Then it seems the lady is definitely a playgirl.”
Hearing the discussions behind her, Ileya was covered in black lines.
‘This is called a stalling tactic, a bunch of ignorant people…’
As the group chatted, they had already returned to the castle courtyard under the respectful welcome of several castle guards. And twenty minutes later…
Ileya saw the Lady Mother she had been worried about the entire way.
She looked… in good spirits, but… her figure seemed even more slender than before she left.
“Lady Mother.”
After being away for two months, Ileya felt as if there were thousands of words stuck in her throat.
But in the end, only this one sentence came out.
“I’m back~”
“Mhm.” Lady Shudrian seemed the same.
Even if there were countless words to say, they were insufficient.
She could only keep stroking her daughter’s head, looking at her own Jiji’s current appearance…
At this moment, the lady of the house also had a feeling of [My Daughter Has Grown Up].
She seemed to have grown taller.
Her facial features, unlike her own gentleness and warmth, looked more like her father, with an undeniable sense of authority and mystery…
Her red eyes seemed like a sea of blood surging, making it hard to look directly at her, let alone see through her.
Of course, in other people’s eyes, Ileya’s aura and those red eyes might be a bit frightening. But in Lady Shudrian’s eyes, the way her Jiji looked was just too endearing.
So much so that the lady couldn’t control herself and directly pulled Ileya, who was still having an affectionate moment with her, into her arms.
She started exercising a mother’s privilege! Going wild with affectionate ruffling of the lady!
“Mmph! L-Lady Mother…” Although she felt helpless, the lady couldn’t resist at all.
She could only passively endure this suffocating wave of maternal love.
“Ahem, everyone must be tired from the journey. Please move to the dining hall.”
Suxi, seeing her lady start to dote on the young lady, could only cough dryly and say to Holly and the others.
“Food, food~” Veil was the first to respond!
“Senior Veil… weren’t you just eating a table full of desserts at Miss Jenny’s place?”
“Mmph… d-desserts can’t be considered a meal! Desserts go into a different stomach!!”
Facing Holly’s question, the goddess girl replied with complete confidence.
By the time the group was led out of the room, and the lady of the house had poured enough maternal affection onto Ileya…
The young lady, whose face was slightly flushed, adjusted her somewhat disheveled clothes and hair and began to recount the experiences of the journey to her mother.
Ileya naturally didn’t mention trivial matters like encountering bandits and thieves on the road, because even if she didn’t bring it up, her mother would definitely know anyway.
She only detailed her discovery… in the Ratman race, and told her mother her speculation…
Which was about her maternal clan… the Seredon Family’s predecessor, or rather its ancestor, being the “Saint Witch” Tilyaro Risereton, this matter.
And also… that the Saint Witch was not human, but a Supreme Being.
“Seredon… Risereton…”
Lady Shudrian couldn’t help but mutter these two surnames.
Although it was hard to believe, if this were true, then some inexplicable matters, including her younger sister’s death, would all have answers.
As for the restrictions of the Kingdom.
Having been the Lady of the Eastern Capital for so many years, Shudrian was definitely not just a beautiful vase only good for banquets and socializing.
She knew that the “women” of her family might have some issues, and she had been investigating the relationship between the royal family and her own family with extreme caution…
It was also for this reason… sigh.
But she really hadn’t expected that the Seredon family… had such a distinguished ancestor, and that even the entire family had the bloodline of a Supreme Being.
So that’s why they were “natural Transcendents”?
No wonder…
Shudrian murmured unconsciously, thinking of her stubborn and old-fashioned father, who also deeply loved both herself and her sister.
The family had been passed down to the present day, and there might be many secrets.
If Yaya’s speculation was true, then when her sister went out to seek the opportunity for [Transcendence]… the so-called suppression by the royal family wouldn’t have been so gentle!
The most likely scenario was that, when no one knew, when her little sister was cursing him as an old stubborn for not understanding, and when she herself was sighing deeply over this matter…
That apparently rigid, serious, and unsmiling little old man… had withstood all this pressure.
“Sigh…” Letting out a slow sigh, Shudrian felt that her father’s image had suddenly become much taller in her heart at this moment.
But… if her father was like this, then could her current younger brother also have inherited this secret?
Thinking of this, Shudrian immediately wanted to grab paper and pen to write a letter home.
But the moment she picked up the pen…
She didn’t know what to write. She could only dejectedly stick the feather quill back into the pen holder.
“Forget it. In a matter like this… what difference does it make whether I say it or not? It would only cause unnecessary worry.”
Muttering to herself, Shudrian then looked up at her daughter again, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
“Yaya is truly amazing~ Mother investigated for such a long time without finding anything, and yet you managed to figure it out in just two months.”
“Maybe I just got lucky~” Ileya said with a very modest chuckle.
But only she herself knew that if it weren’t for standing on the foundation of her mother’s investigation, and because of her own special nature and ability to see the original “fate,”
Then she would probably be just like her mother, investigating without any leads… and would absolutely never get any results.
“Well, Yaya… I… um… have something to tell you…” Looking at Ileya’s current appearance, Shudrian first checked the quiet room around them…
Then leaned in a little closer to the young lady.
“Lady Mother! Wait a moment!” Ileya quickly waved her hand.
She probably knew what her mother wanted to talk to her about. She then quickly walked to the door.
Her small, fair hand waved beside her!
Whoosh! Two pitch-black, alien creatures appeared beside Ileya.
“What are these…” Shudrian was momentarily stunned, then immediately realized…
This was her Yaya’s Transcendent ability.
“These are Wenren Zombies. They can sense things over a very long distance through vibrations.”
Explaining this, Ileya walked to the door and pushed it open.
“Hm? Lady.” Suxi, standing at the door, was slightly startled.
Just now, she had entrusted the task of taking the others to the dining hall to her daughter.
As the Head Maid, she had stayed to guard the door.
“Aunt Suxi, please go make some tea first.” Ileya gave a slight nod to Suxi in front of her.
“Understood, Lady.”
Suxi understood that it was time for mother and daughter to discuss private matters, so she didn’t hesitate and immediately turned and left the doorway.
Finally, Ileya had the two Wenren Zombies guard the door before retreating back into the room.
And for some reason, Lady Shudrian felt that when Yaya turned back to look at her… there was a hint of reproach in her gaze?
Huh? Why…
“Phew… you weren’t afraid of the old man’s informants being around when you talked about something like this…” Ileya shrugged and sat back down beside her utterly bewildered mother.
“Go ahead and speak now. Is Reliel… the daughter of you and another man? Is that man still alive?”
Huh… what?
Lady Shudrian was first stunned, then directly petrified on the spot.
It seemed… she had hit the nail on the head?
Ileya recalled her father’s cold and arrogant face, then imagined a lush green meadow flourishing on top of his head…
“Wh-What… What are you talking about?!!!”
The next second, the shattered petrification of Lady Shudrian broke, and her face turned bright red!
Whether it was from embarrassment or anger was unclear!
Her hands directly attacked left and right, pinching her nonsense-speaking daughter’s little cheeks! And began pulling them to both sides!
“Mmph mmph!! L-Lady Mother!?”
The young lady was also slightly confused. Was her mother furious from shame?
‘It’s my fault too. I should have been more tactful…’
“Stop talking!”
“I… I didn’t say anything…”
“Stop talking!”
“Mmph aaaah…”