episode_0023

Waking up in the morning after spending the whole day with Lily felt strange.

I couldn’t sense Lily’s presence, who was always by my side. I searched for her on the bed with my hands, but she was nowhere to be found.

As I opened my eyes and looked around, Lily was nowhere to be seen.

“Did she go to the bathroom?”

She’ll be back soon, I thought, but Lily, who never crossed my mind while tossing and turning in bed, seemed absent.

Feeling that something was amiss, I got up from the bed.

“A note?”

Right after getting up, there was a note on the small table where the water cup from last night was placed.

“Something big has happened…!”

The note was obviously left by Lily.

It was short.

[Going to talk to Helena and coming back]

Is everything okay? Should I intervene in this? Is Helena going to act strangely towards Lily?

I prayed as I paced back and forth. Hoping that nothing had gone wrong.

==

In Helena’s room where Amelia had tea time, two women were present.

Lily, the young girl, and Helena, the adult, stared at each other in silence.

Breaking the quietness, Helena spoke first.

“I’m sorry. For leaving you alone in the annex all this time.”

Just like she did with Amelia, Helena stood up and bent down to Lily, placing a hand on her waist.

Lily was inwardly taken aback by Helena’s gesture.

Who was Helena to her? The one who led her mother, Amelia, to death, plunging her into ruin.

The Helena she remembered was madness personified. Yet here she was, bowing to herself, looking like an 8-year-old child.

To seek forgiveness for what had transpired.

Different. Too different. She appeared entirely unlike the Helena who had always belittled, ignored, and tormented her from behind.

The torment that began when she awakened to her mana. How much did Amelia suffer because of that?

My hands still tremble. Should I confess my sins to the Helena standing before me now?

To Helena, who has done nothing in this world?

My head is spinning. Sometimes I meet Amelia, who has nothing but her head, in my dreams.

I thought I could never forgive her.

But how would Amelia have acted?

What would her mother have done to her?

In truth, I know the answer.

“I will forgive you.”

“Are you sure?”

Helena was taken aback by Lily’s words.

“But!”

Lily shouted loudly.

“Hugging Amelia is not allowed.”

“What?”

“Absolutely not.”

Lily showed a strong determination as if she would not yield on this matter.

Seeing this, Helena smirked and punched the counter.

“Then is it okay if I reveal the true nature of Amelia’s spell?”

“What…!?”

Lily was shocked by Helena’s words. She never expected Helena to be this skilled.

She didn’t think she would be exposed for the spell she cast while Amelia was asleep.

She thought no one would notice. It seems she made a mistake, having recently awakened to her mana.

“An 8-year-old Lily revealing Amelia’s secrets…”

“Stop it!”

“Lily. I know I’ve done wrong. You must have been deeply hurt. But I believe that’s a different story from Amelia’s.”

Helena sat down calmly, sipping her tea as she spoke.

“As a maid, loving Amelia like a daughter, right?”

“…?”

“You love her as a woman, don’t you? I know it well. Because your expression matches mine.”

“I will never give up Amelia…!”

As an immense amount of mana overflowed from Lily’s body, the objects around them trembled.

“I won’t take Amelia away. Because Amelia loves Lily so much. With a mother’s heart.”

“Ugh…”

Lily was speechless. Amelia clearly considers her as her daughter and loves her. Past or present.

“Wanna cooperate?”

“Crazy?”

“Was Lily always this harsh in her words? Amelia will be very sad.”

“Ugh…!”

Helena was indeed Helena. Lily was taken aback by Helena’s confident demeanor that came out more boldly than she had expected.

“No matter how much you love Amelia, Lily is just an 8-year-old child right now.”

Lily’s biggest issue. Her age, precisely. An 8-year-old young child. Because of that, Amelia cutely accepted any expressions of affection from Lily. As a child’s coquetry.

“So…”

Thus began the negotiation table between the two, which continued for a long time.

After all the stories were over, Lily’s first words were immediate.

“Helena. Are you not in your right mind too?”

Lily had no idea that Helena was this kind of person. Thinking back on the stories she had heard so far, she became slightly more wary of Helena than the Erodragon.

==

It wasn’t until lunchtime that Lily returned.

“Lily!”

“Amelia!”

I quickly embraced Lily and lifted her up. While doing so, I checked Lily’s condition by turning her arms.

Fortunately, she seemed fine.

“Phew…”

“Don’t worry, nothing happened.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And I have also forgiven and come back.”

“For Helena…?”

“Yes.”

Luckily, it seems that Lily and Helena have reconciled well. Frankly, if it were me, I would never forgive a mother who left her child in such a place for years.

Truly mature, Lily. Should I hug Helena briefly now?

“And…”

Lily’s expression deteriorated in real-time.

“It’s okay to meet Helena…”

“Huh?”

“I won’t say anything about meeting her. But absolutely, absolutely! I must stay with Helena at least ten times longer than you!”

Lily informed me in a tone that clearly stated she must not be disobeyed.

Her seriousness was so adorable that I chuckled and kissed Lily’s cheek.

-The end.

“Don’t worry. I am Lily’s maid, Amelia. Please don’t worry about Lady Helena.”

With her hand on the cheek that received my kiss, Lily stared off into space. Finding her too cute, I gently nibbled on the other cheek that still had baby fat.

“Eek!”

“Oh, sorry for startling you.”

“Oh, it’s okay.”

“Are you hungry? Shall we have lunch?”

“Um, yes.”

==

Before going to bed, Lily got lost in thought about her conversation with Helena today.

Helena’s request was so absurd that it was beyond belief. I’m not sure if it’s even possible.

Having a husband and son, or even without them, could it be possible?

Helena’s words didn’t seem like lies. Her expression looked very serious.

It wouldn’t be a problem for Helena if I married Amelia.

I thought it would be quite challenging, but I wonder if Helena can actually make it happen.

Would Amelia understand this?

I doubt even Amelia would understand this…

-Tap, tap.

As I heard Amelia finishing up and coming to the bedroom, I quickly pretended to be asleep.

Then, as usual, I gathered saliva in my mouth and let it dribble out.

-Swish.

“You seem very tired, Lily.”

-Mumble.

-Thump, thump.

I could feel my heart beating strongly. I might get caught like this. But I couldn’t help it.

Thinking that Amelia was going to eat my saliva.

Gently closing my mouth, Amelia hugged me and tried to fall asleep.

Feeling the warmth of Amelia’s body against mine, a pleasant sensation spread through me.

Plus, the immense comfort felt at the back of my head.

Because of this, even though Amelia hugged me tightly, I only felt softness.

After some time passed and Amelia’s breathing changed to shallow and regular, I turned around.

Then, placing my hands on Amelia’s body, I started to massage her.

Amelia and I met, and time passed. And that time was not in vain.

Lately, there have been visible results every day due to the efforts put into molding Amelia’s large body with my small hands.

-Squish, squish, squish, squish, squish.

Amelia’s large body was diligently kneaded by my small hands.

Touching how soft it was, it felt like my hand would melt away.

My small hand was buried in the large flesh. With each of my movements, the shape changed, and Amelia’s body shifted slightly.

As time passed to some extent, every night, or whenever there was a chance, the effects of the diligent molding began to show.

Resistance that was absent on the smooth skin started to emerge.

The slight resistance that was there had now grown so much that my little fingers could no longer pass through.

The soft flesh was completely different from the hard flesh.

When touched lightly,

Amelia made a sound.

I wanted nothing more than to bury my face and bite right away, but it was certain that Amelia would wake up if I did that.

Unable to help it, I removed my hand from Amelia and quietly slipped out of the room without her noticing.

Carefully moving to the storage room, Lily picked up a vial she had made with magic.

The vial was quite small, just the size of Lily’s small hand. It contained a transparent liquid that looked similar to water.

Lily opened the lid.

And carefully smelling it before drinking the liquid.

Trembling with happiness, Lily returned with a happy expression and fell asleep again in Amelia’s arms.