Chapter 307: Mrs. Phil’s Worries

Phil placed her hand on Rosily’s head, gently stroking her soft blonde hair, though her expression still held a trace of doubt.

She didn’t press further.

She lowered her hand and turned to look at Estelle behind her.

Estelle looked up to meet her gaze.

Mother and daughter’s eyes met. Phil intended to borrow the power of the Dream World to see what her two daughters had been doing.

But before she could browse, Rosily stepped forward and hugged her, nuzzling against her soft chest in a coquettish manner.

At the same time, Rosily let out a spoiled “Mmm~” sound.

Before Phil could ask, Rosily spoke first, taking control of the conversation.

The girl looked up at her mother.

“Mom, I’m heading to the Northern Mountains tomorrow. Are you worried about me?”

“…”

Phil raised her hand and lightly tapped Rosily on the head.

Rosily’s small willow brows drooped, and she pouted as she continued.

“Mom, why did you hit my head?”

“Worried? Of course I’m worried. You’ve never left my side since you were little. I’m afraid someone will bully you out there, afraid you’ll get hurt, afraid you’ll feel bad inside from meeting all kinds of people. Mom wants you to always be happy… But keeping you by my side forever will stop my baby from growing up.”

Phil opened her arms and pulled Rosily close, holding her a little tighter.

She knew her two daughters were going to the Northern Mountains tomorrow, and as a mother, she was genuinely anxious.

Even though it was just a trip near home—not like Enya, who had drifted alone for ten years starting at fourteen or fifteen, with no one to rely on.

If Enya hadn’t been special, dying in a foreign land with no one to remember her would have been normal. Emerging from such a journey was the rare exception.

Phil was Enya’s past.

That’s why she deeply understood what the outside world was like.

There were so many dangers she didn’t want her children to experience, and the scheming hearts of others she wished Rosily and Estelle would never encounter.

Phil had thought about just letting her daughters live ordinary, happy lives in the cradle of beautiful dreams she had woven, forever as children.

But that would be strangling their future, like clipping the wings of a migratory bird for fear of storms.

That was wrong…

She should be a “gardener”—watering and fertilizing the seedlings, weeding out the plants that stole nutrients.

Apart from trimming broken branches, the plants themselves should decide how to grow.

This thought was like a rule etched into her mind.

Whenever Phil wanted to hold back Rosily, who was trying to fly, this metaphor always surfaced.

Rosily keenly sensed the shift in her mother’s mood.

Though she longed for her mother’s softness and warmth, she let go of the arms that had been wrapped around Phil’s waist and called out softly.

“…”

“Mom?”

“Good child, get along well with your sister. In the future, you two can support each other and look out for one another outside. Also, your sister isn’t good with words, so help her speak. You are sisters—older and younger—forever.”

Phil realized her emotions were showing. She restrained the fluctuating aura about her and nagged her children like any ordinary mother.

After releasing the embrace, Phil turned to Estelle, who was standing nearby.

With a gentle smile, she walked up to her eldest daughter and cupped Estelle’s small face in both hands.

“Estelle, you also need to get along well with your sister.”

“Mm.”

Estelle nodded seriously.

Phil pulled the two sisters together and joined their hands, guiding their small hands to clasp.

Then, placing one hand on each daughter’s head, she simultaneously stroked their silver and gold hair. After a soft laugh, she lowered her hands.

On the way down, she pinched both daughters’ cheeks—equally soft and smooth, with an excellent feel.

Phil said gently, “Alright, tomorrow you’re going outside to take the trial exam. No matter what the results are, I’ll prepare good food for you at home. Just give it your all.”

Rosily: “No problem!”

Estelle: “Mm.”

Phil nodded. She wasn’t really worried about her daughters’ results. Even if they failed, they could ask Antiros to pull some strings and get into Tarronde Holy City.

No worries, not at all—she wasn’t afraid her children would have no school to attend!

“Good, I’ll go pack your bags.”

With that, Phil turned and headed upstairs.

In the living room, Rosily and Estelle stood side by side. They were the same height, and their faces were over ninety percent similar.

But one had golden hair and orange eyes, the other silver hair and golden eyes. One had long hair reaching her thighs, the other had lively shoulder-length hair. At first glance, it was hard to tell they were twins.

Rosily and Estelle held hands, watching Phil climb the stairs step by step until her figure disappeared at the landing. Then came light footsteps overhead, followed by the sound of a door opening on the right. Rosily couldn’t help but pout.

“Why my room first?”

“…”

Estelle lowered her gaze to their tightly clasped hands, wondering if she should let go now.

Before she could decide, Rosily had already released her grip.

Rosily elbowed Estelle lightly on the arm, then leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Don’t you think Mom’s been a bit off lately? I mean, she seems kind of anxious.”

“No…”

Estelle hadn’t noticed, or rather, she didn’t understand what anxiety was. She had almost never experienced that feeling.

But as she thought about it, Estelle suddenly remembered Vivienne.

Combining that with some of Phil’s behavior, she seemed to understand the expression Vivienne had shown back then.

Rosily noticed Estelle spacing out and knew she was thinking.

She didn’t disturb her. Instead, she walked alone to the backyard, sat down on a lounge chair, and stared at the construction site in the distance.

Red Pine City had never stopped construction these past days. This month had the best weather of the year—little rain, mostly sunny or cloudy, and at worst overcast.

When Rosily learned from Elqi that the grassland and forest before her were all going to be turned into a city, she felt a bit reluctant.

She preferred natural scenery over cities.

The grassy hills where she could run freely were far better than those streets with their strange, unpleasant smells.

Even so, she complained…

But when Rosily learned this would give many people a place to settle down, a home for kids her age, she let go of that complaint.

And when Rosily heard from Elqi that it was Yelena—the one who had caused trouble, gotten beaten, then apologized and later dropped out to become a lord—who was doing this, Rosily suddenly realized Yelena hadn’t come to school in a long time.

The last time was with that woman named Ishumir. As for Ishumir…

She was still hanging around the Academy. Rosily could sometimes feel Ishumir’s gaze, but she was always very far away, as if she didn’t plan to approach Rosily for now.

After many days of team training, Rosily hadn’t improved much in teamwork.

Her keen combat intuition made her focus more on how the two instructors used their individual moves to deal with a whole team.

Fighting outnumbered was a skill.

Rosily preferred to lead a team solo rather than rely on a squad’s strength to defeat an enemy. She felt that was easier and didn’t make her feel restricted.

Jumping up from the lounge chair, she saw in the yard a small tree waist-high with crystalline red fruits already growing.

Rosily squinted her orange-red eyes, tiptoed to the field, and reached out—but before she could grab any, she heard a window open.

Phil leaned out from the second floor, looking at her precious daughter about to steal homegrown fruit.

Helplessly, she said to Rosily, “Don’t eat too many. I need them for other things.”

“Oh~”

Rosily obediently replied, picked one fruit, didn’t wash it, rubbed it with her hand, and shoved it in her mouth.

Phil shook her head—though the fruit was clean enough.

Phil sighed, then deliberately raised her voice. “Wash it before eating!”

“Got it.”

Rosily agreed with a smile.

Once Phil withdrew from the window and closed it, the girl grabbed a big handful of fruit, washed them at the water basin, then hurried back to the living room.

She found Estelle still standing there blankly, and couldn’t help being startled.

“You’re still thinking about it?”

As she spoke, she held out the fruit to Estelle. “Here, have some.”

“…”

Estelle looked at the four fruits in her outstretched palm, then shook her head and said flatly, “You eat.”

“Huh?”

Rosily blinked, narrowed her eyes, and pressed a crystalline red fruit directly against Estelle’s lips. Estelle hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth and ate the fruit.

It was sweet, but more than that, it was fragrant.

Phil—or rather, Enya—hadn’t planted ordinary vegetables or fruits. These were alchemical ingredients, far more valuable than common edible plants or fruits.

What they were eating was called a Red Heart Fruit, an important auxiliary material for making the 【Bloodline Lock】 potion.

It didn’t grow on the Southern Continent; Enya had taken the seeds from the Fox Princess’s home on the Northern Continent.

Estelle turned her head slightly and saw Rosily clutching a full handful of fruit, walking to the kitchen to find a ceramic bowl.

Rosily placed the fruit inside, apparently planning to eat them slowly, but she kept tossing them into her mouth one after another.

In no time, the bowl was nearly half empty.

Estelle pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and walked toward Rosily.