Chapter 138: Mother and Daughter (4)

Losef’s wedding was a disaster.

While Albus took care of the assassin and handled various matters, Carthesia, who had been entrusted with the task, was trying to clean up the mess.

“An assassin, huh…”

She never imagined that an assassin would suddenly infiltrate a wedding, targeting her.

As a dragon—especially a great dragon—Carthesia never experienced life-threatening situations. 

She couldn’t even comprehend it.

“Carthesia.”

“…?”

Carthesia, who had been managing the situation, turned around at the sound of her name.

From the direction the voice came, two great dragons, who had been thoroughly defeated, stood there, looking disheveled.

“I’m sorry, Carthesia.”

“It seems like we lost our minds for a moment.”

“…I understand.”

Although Carthesia found the fact that they had opposed Albus unpleasant, and part of her wanted to personally teach them a lesson, she thought for a moment.

‘Albus let it go, so there’s no need for me to make it worse for them.’

“Speak. Who are you, and why did you attempt to assassinate Carthesia?”

Carthesia recalled the sight of Albus, standing tall before all the dragons on their knees, lifting the assassin with one hand.

“…Thanks to that, I was able to witness such a magnificent scene.”

She couldn’t help but be thankful for the extraordinary memory of dragons.

“Carthesia. Could that person be…?”

The great dragon, Daedalos, asked cautiously.

“That person?”

Carthesia tilted her head in confusion, but soon realized what the two dragons were curious about.

“Is that person truly a great being?”

They were asking if the one who had overpowered all the dragons with nothing but sheer pressure was indeed a being of divine status.

Only a being of unimaginable power, someone even dragons could not fathom, could possibly achieve such a feat.

They believed that only a god could possess such overwhelming might.

‘Albus probably wasn’t trying to present himself as a god, but…’

Since Albus wasn’t erasing their memories, and didn’t seem to care much about it, Carthesia figured it wouldn’t hurt to reveal the truth.

Having made up her mind, she answered.

“Now you understand. You’ve crossed the wrong person.”

The great dragons, who had been uncertain, now widened their eyes and bit their lips in realization.

They had been in love with this dragon for their entire lives.

They had worked tirelessly, reaching a level where even other younger dragons admired her, just to gain her favor.

When they heard she was about to marry, they were shocked to see her bringing a human into her life—someone she had never shown interest in before.

Unable to bear it, they lost their composure and attacked him… only to discover that the human was a god?

A god with a high divine status, powerful enough to overwhelm the entire dragon clan?

This was beyond absurd!

The story of the war goddess Alia, who obliterated the Horned Clan with nothing but pillars of salt, was famous.

None of those who had angered the great gods had a peaceful end.

Those who opposed the gods or incurred their wrath never died peacefully.

Daedalos and Druidebroom’s faces turned pale as they realized the horrible fate that awaited them.

‘Oh.’

Noticing their despair, Carthesia had a mischievous thought.

“Well, if it’s your will, I can help you seek forgiveness.”

The two great dragons brightened at Carthesia’s suggestion.

“Really?”

“Please, Carthesia!”

‘Albus will like this.’

By securing two highly skilled dragons as servants, Carthesia was making an excellent trade. 

It was a repayment, even if not enough to fully express her gratitude.

Carthesia secretly grinned.

***

In the system room of Ruderra.

‘Let’s go, dragon.’

‘Everything happens as per the will of the Lord.’

Through the monitor that Albus was watching, Dua , who had revealed her true form as a red dragon, could be seen riding atop it.

‘She really looks like her father. She’s so cute.’

Albus watched her with a proud fatherly smile.

‘Aren’t you tired of this? How long are you going to keep watching?’

Cambrian, in his spirit form, pointed at the monitor.

“Cambrian.”

‘Overprotectiveness is not good. Especially when you continue to watch your daughter, who has even risen to a high divine status. It’s unsettling to watch, honestly.’

Upon hearing Cambrian’s words, Albus realized that he had been watching Dua ’s every move all day long.

“Hmph… well, it can’t be helped. Carthesia nearly got assassinated. As a father, protecting my daughter in such a dangerous situation, when I don’t even know who the enemy is, is my responsibility.”

‘This daughter of mine… What do you mean, “I’m fine”? You’re staring at the monitor without ever taking your eyes off her.’

“What?”

“No, didn’t you say you were going to catch the culprit? Now isn’t the time to be watching your daughter. We need to find out who’s behind the assassination. If Dua finds out you’re keeping an eye on her like this, she’ll surely feel disgusted or even hate you.”

“Disgusted?”

Albus imagined Dua feeling hatred.

“I totally hate you, Dad!”

“You’ve been watching me like this? Ugh, gross. Why don’t you just die?”

“…!”

Just imagining it caused an overload in his brain, even worse than fighting the [System].

“That’s… that’s not good…”

Was this the hardship of a father with a daughter?

He didn’t want to be hated by Dua.

“Hahaha. Cambrian’s right, you know. You’re being way too overprotective. Heh.”

At that moment, Menhera, who had been sitting beside them and enjoying tea, intervened.

“Mother.”

Menhera, the primordial mother who gave birth to Cambrian and Albus, the creator of this universe. 

Once, she had been overwhelmed with affection, amplified by the [System] she had absorbed, but after removing the System and purifying herself through illusions, she returned to her sane mind and joined Albus’ group.

“Oh, you should call me ‘Mom,’ not ‘Mother.’”

“Mom…”

“Oh, you should call me ‘Mom.’”

But in the process of suppressing her, the word “Mom” had been uttered to shock her, and for some reason, the term had deeply embedded itself in her illusions. 

Now, she was strangely obsessed with the title.

“Oto…”

“Right!”

Albus reluctantly said the words she wanted to hear, and Menhera, with a satisfied expression, savored her tea.

“As Cambrian said, Dua is already a fully matured high-ranking deity. Even if the mastermind behind that assassination is a transcendent being equivalent to the [System], they can’t pose a threat to Dua. So, don’t worry about it.”

Menhera looked at Albus with affectionate eyes.

Albus felt slightly uncomfortable under her gaze.

Before she was affected by the [System], she had genuinely thought of Albus as her son.

Since the time she first conceived him, she had considered every reincarnation, every rough cycle of rebirth, as her child—this was only natural for a god who had a transcendent perspective.

For her, both Cambrian and Albus were precious children she had lost and then regained.

“More importantly, this mother wants to see Albus’ direct grandchild born from him.”

Dua was cute and precious, but not a biological granddaughter.

“So hurry up and join forces with Cambria.”

“Mom… no, ‘Mom’? Cambrian is my past life? To think he’s going to have a child with himself. It’s not even the level of sibling incest, this is…”

“What’s the problem? Incest is common among gods. There are even cases where a goddess changed her gender and impregnated herself with her own sperm.”

The world of the gods was crazier than Albus could have imagined.

“Parents having children with their own children isn’t rare either. If you want, this mother can bear Albus’ child for you.”

What is this mother saying!?

Hasn’t she been purified enough yet!?

“Don’t cut in. I’m letting you be a mother now, but if you touch Albus, I won’t forgive you.”

Cambrian growled as she hugged Albus from behind.

“Heh, that’s our daughter for you. You don’t need to worry about grandchildren.”

Menhera, looking strangely youthful for her age, chuckled.

“However, you’d better hurry. There’s a girl called Alia who is quite dangerous. And as for our Dua… this mother doesn’t want to meet her great-grandchild before her second grandchild.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.”

“Of course.”

Albus’ head was spinning from the conversation with both his spiritual mother and his soul mother.

Technically, he had found family in the form of a mother and sister, having shed his physical form, but…

‘Why are both of them so obsessed with having children?’

This mindset of the gods, with their incestuous and bizarre thoughts, was difficult for him to accept.

A few days later…

“I follow you.”

“I humbly obey.”

“Only Dua is the true king.”

“Please accept us, Lord.”

Countless people bowed down and worshiped the small girl.

Ahem.

Dua straightened her small shoulders, feeling proud.

The preparations for her beloved father’s birthday party were nearly finished.