Volume 3, Chapter 8-2 – Aetlana Samael

Stella rubbed Cheryl’s red hair with a helpless expression.

“Cheryl, you know, I understand why you did it out of sisterly affection,” Stella said. “But do you know how worried I was about you just now? If you had died all alone like that, wouldn’t you have felt even a little sad?”

Cheryl did not speak. She merely continued looking at her.

Stella paid it no mind and continued.

“No matter what reason you had, no matter what you say, going alone to pick a fight with a higher demon was far too reckless. Thank goodness you didn’t lose an arm or a leg.”

“Fortunately, you weren’t hurt.” Stella looked Cheryl up and down and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was no blood on her and no visible wounds. “Otherwise, how was I supposed to explain it to Vivian? Tell her I watched my little sister go off to die and failed to stop her?”

Cheryl still said nothing.

Stella squeezed her hand.

“I’ll let it go this time. At least you weren’t hurt, but there absolutely can’t be a next time. Never shoulder a responsibility you can’t bear, and never place the burden of fulfilling your wishes on someone else’s shoulders.”

“Don’t do something like this again. Do you understand?”

She glanced at Cheryl’s expression.

Cheryl’s gaze was both keen and profound, casual to the point of boldness, contemplative to the point of dejection.

It was an utterly enigmatic gaze.

Even as Stella prattled on with empty, tedious words, ‘Cheryl’s’ eyes flickered with a peculiar light.

It made no sense at all.

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“…Sigh.” Stella sighed. “You look completely dazed. Who knows if any of that even got through to you.”

—————

Aetlana felt that the Polyjuice Potion must have affected her mind and caused her to hallucinate.

Otherwise, how could she explain standing here now, with the Young Mistress right before her, her eyes full of reproach, even rubbing Aetlana’s head?

Aetlana’s gaze met Stella’s.

Hair interwoven with silver and crimson entered her sight.

The Young Mistress she had yearned to see day and night stood only a single step away.

‘Young Mistress… it really was the Young Mistress.’

‘She has truly… truly grown this much already?’

Aetlana thought.

The photographs had not shown it at all.

The girl before her, with her hair tied in a high ponytail, looked as though she had only just enrolled at Lilith School. Her face was like a spring breeze sweeping away the bleakness of winter. Her scarlet pupils seemed to carry a voice of their own, while the curved shadows of her lashes trembled softly, as though filled with thoughts of happiness and the future, of life and dreams.

It was exactly the same expression Aetlana had seen in her dreams.

That was a dream that had torn her heart to pieces, a dream she could never reach.

For a moment, Aetlana felt as though her eyes had gone dry and her fingers had turned cold.

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Even broken flower petals were tangled in Stella’s hair, giving off a faint fragrance.

And upon the nameless little island within Aetlana’s heart, a warm spring breeze seemed to blow as well. A fleeting, chaotic sensation brushed over her and vanished at once, like torn petals drifting through a gentle wind.

Aetlana understood perfectly well that Stella had clearly mistaken her for Cheryl. The Polyjuice Potion had worked successfully, and this was exactly what she had wanted.

But she was not Cheryl herself. Their voices were different, their tones were different, and even the way they spoke was different.

The Pale Lord’s daughter must surely have inherited her mother’s wisdom. She would definitely notice that something was wrong.

Besides, Aetlana was not suited to meeting Stella.

She was a remnant of the Pale Lord’s forces, a demon guilty of grave crimes, an exile wanted by both the Abyss and humanity.

The Samael family’s pursuers were nearby. The Chastisement spirits would follow the scent of the brand and appear the moment she let down her guard even slightly, while Lavinia was also searching this district inch by inch.

If the Young Mistress were dragged into danger because of her…

If the Young Mistress were hurt because of her…

If the Young Mistress’s identity were exposed because of her…

Aetlana closed her eyes.

The consequences would be unimaginable.

From beginning to end, all she had wanted was to see Stella from up close just once. And now, that tiny wish seemed to have been fulfilled.

And now…

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The Young Mistress was right in front of her, holding her hand and rambling on about how worried she had been.

The Young Mistress’ hand was warm. Her voice was pleasant to listen to. There was reproach in her eyes, but far more concern.

For a succubus of this age, life should have been full of joy. Failure should have been something impossible for her. Beautiful clothes and a delicate face were the weapons with which she conquered fate.

So this, right now, was the best distance between them.

She could keep looking at Stella without saying anything, without needing to do anything.

Without having to fear hurting her own fledgling.

But Aetlana truly wanted to say something.

The words she had thought about for more than ten years, the words she had turned over countless times through all those days and nights in the White Tower, were now all jammed in her throat.

‘I’m sorry. I was the one who left you behind back then.’

‘I always wanted to come back for you, but I was imprisoned in the White Tower and couldn’t get out.’

‘Have you been doing well? Has anyone bullied you? Do you hate me?’

‘Young Mistress, I’m back.’

‘What kind of life have you lived since then? Where are you now? What things bring you joy, and what things make you sad?’

Even if they were only trivial little matters like these, she desperately wanted to know.

Aetlana urgently wanted to say something, but all the words she wanted to speak were trapped in her eyes and throat. In the end, they were swallowed by her lowered eyelids and a silence that had come from nowhere.

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She could not say anything.

Aetlana did not know how to begin. She merely gazed quietly at Stella, hoping that Stella could read the countless words contained in her eyes at this moment.

At the same time, she began mocking herself. She had clearly had so much she wanted to say. She had clearly imagined it hundreds and thousands of times, imagined what she would do after they reunited.

Yet when this moment finally arrived, everything became absolute silence.

No matter what she did, she could not bring herself to say those words.

‘Long time no see.’

‘And…’

‘I love you.’

Translator Note

I knew it. I really should add the drama genre for this novel! TvT

Anyway, it seems it’s confirmed that the egg didn’t contain twins but just one daughter. Because the egg hatched when Aetlana carried it.