NOVEL NEXT Chapter 241
In the end, Euges paid the highest price to barely obtain a single gerbera. Cecilia stuffed her bag with candies and chocolates, closing up shop without a second thought for the day.
“The flower shop is now closed. Please come back tomorrow!”
“Yes~”
I smiled softly watching this when suddenly Euges came up close and handed me the gerbera. “A gift,” he said simply.
The servants, having seemingly forgotten the days I had been put down, shrieked with delight at their lord’s romantic gesture.
Receiving the gerbera, I felt a strange emotion.
I had received flowers at the Sun Palace before too.
It was a completely different atmosphere back then.
“Thank you.” I liked the flower I received this time.
Euges kissed my cheek as I smiled happily.
“
Kyaa
!”
“Oh my!”
The servants made a fuss watching us.
My face turned red with embarrassment, and I scolded him. “W-Why are you doing this? The kid is watching…!”
Euges just shrugged. “Then don’t be pretty.”
His outrageous comment left me gaping, and then he whispered in my ear, “Just know that I’m holding back a lot right now.”
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Romance Pass’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[What are you holding back?]
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Euges, An Expert in Playing House’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[What are you holding back?]
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Rotten Taste’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[What are you holding back?]
I thought the same constellation had mistakenly donated three times with the same message.
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Let Me Have a Bite Too’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[Look at these perverts asking at the same time;;
Slurp
, oh wait my saliva…]
Cecilia decided to move the location, instructing Euges to pull the cart.
“I thought you said the shop was closed?”
“It’s closed here! It starts again over there! Daddy, hurry!”
Euges seemed to sense this madness would repeat often and muttered softly, “This is crazy.”
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Cider Pass’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[It’s funny how the most capricious Euges is played by a 5-year-old’s whims.]
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Euges Turning Over a New Leaf’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[This is what self-improvement looks like.]
After all the flower shop play ended, Cecilia, who had exhausted herself, began to nod off. “Mommy, I’m sleepy…”
I yawned, holding sleepy Cecilia and patting her back. Her tiny, dependent gestures were irresistibly adorable. “Let’s take a nap, Cecilia.”
“
Mmm
…”
The servants took her gently, smiling softly.
“I’ll take her, madam. You must be tired from playing with the lady all day. Please go inside and rest.”
“Thank you.”
As Euges came closer, we held hands and entered the mansion.
Ding!
[The Evaluation has been updated.]
An evaluation notification popped up.
{Our Happy Home Evaluation Sheet}
▸
Parenting:
★★★★★
▸
Marital Harmony:
★★★★★
▸
Reputation:
★★★★★
It’s already come to this.
The time to part with Cecilia was approaching. It was a relief to be leaving the dungeon, but I felt a bittersweet emotion. Was this really the right thing to do?
Then Winda came to see me. “Madam. I have something to give you.” Winda handed me a small chest. Upon opening it, there was a key inside.
“It’s an heirloom of the Rodrigo family. It would be best if you kept it.”
This was a quest reward I received yesterday after driving out the Mintzberg couple.
Ding!
[‘Cecilia’s Room’ key acquired.]
It was also the key to Cecilia’s room.
“Then please rest.” Winda withdrew, and Cecilia went to her room.
As I stood there holding the key, Euges gently brushed my hair and asked, “Is it time to leave?” He seemed to have noticed what the key was.
I nodded slowly. “Yes. If we enter the room and destroy the object possessed by the demon, the dungeon will collapse.”
And we would return to reality.
We now went to the front of Cecilia’s room to leave. Since the evaluation conditions were met, no maid was guarding Cecilia’s room.
“Why hesitate?” Euges asked me as I hesitated.
Being a developer, I had to do this, but those living in this world wouldn’t understand my concerns. “I’m thinking whether it’s right to erase this beautiful dream world that Cecilia wished for.” No matter how I thought about it, it seemed too cruel. “…It just occurred to me. Of course, we have to return to reality.”
Before Euges could say anything, I casually inserted the key into the door and turned it.
Click
. The door opened. Now, there was no turning back.
Now that it’s come to this, we must quickly destroy the demon and return.
I entered the room with false bravado when suddenly,
“Hello, Mommy.” Cecilia, whom I thought was asleep, greeted me with a bright smile.
Thud!
Before Euges could enter, the door shut behind me.
“…Weren’t you sleeping?”
“
Mm
. I felt like Mommy would come.” Cecilia looked eerily mature and calm as if she knew what was about to happen. “Don’t worry about daddy. He safely returned to the original world.”
It was definitely a tense situation. Yet, it didn’t feel threatening at all.
“This is where mommy belongs!”
I sat down where Cecilia suggested.
Cecilia kicked her legs in the air and asked nonchalantly, “Are you leaving?”
“Yes. I have to.” My voice cracked a bit unknowingly.
“Why? Don’t you like it here? If you don’t like it, I can make it cooler. I can even make a cooler daddy. Don’t go.”
“…”
“I like having Mommy.”
It hurt. Because I’m not Cecilia’s real mom. But I am also the person who created her. Tears fell due to clumsy guilt and sorrow.
Cecilia wiped my face with her tiny hands. “Don’t cry, Mommy. Stop!”
Cecilia’s face gradually twisted as if sensing the impending farewell.
“…Can’t help it. I will stay here. Cecilia can’t go with Mommy!”
My leaving meant the dungeon would disappear. Cecilia would go to hell, and she knew it.
I impulsively said, “Do you want to leave together with me?” It was a rash statement. But once I said it, I felt more certain. There was a way for Cecilia to return to reality with me.
“Do you want to return to reality with me?”
“How? Cecilia is almost as good as dead. If we leave here, she’ll fall straight to hell.”
“You can become a butterfly.” I quickly summoned a squire butterfly. “Like this.”
Cecilia’s eyes widened as she saw the squire butterfly. The butterfly flapped its elegant wings and landed on her hand.
“If you want, I can make you live as a butterfly, Cecilia.”
That way, Cecilia wouldn’t go to hell. She would live as a squire butterfly, saving a frail human.
As she sensed the end, Cecilia
’
s expression gradually brightened. “…Yes! I’d like that!”
Cecilia ran into my arms for a farewell hug as a 5-year-old. “Thank you, Mommy. I was happy because you were my mommy.”
Even though I hadn’t destroyed the toy possessed by the demon, the dungeon began to collapse according to Cecilia’s will.
“I was happy too.”
Cecilia smiled brightly. And before I knew it, only Cecilia, who became a butterfly, remained in my arms.
Ding!
[Dungeon Quest: Taming the Tyrant.]
▸
Reward: 50,000,000 coins, return to the banquet hall
“Let’s go back now.”
The butterfly flapped its wings in response.
* * *
After the dungeon collapsed, I returned to reality with Cecilia, who became a butterfly.
“Theresa!” Euges immediately hugged me as he found me at the dungeon door. “I thought I lost you…”
Fear was evident in Euges’s voice. He must have been shocked since I was unexpectedly trapped alone in Cecilia’s room.
I hurriedly soothed his back. It’s okay. Don’t worry. I will never disappear.
“Everything’s been resolved.”
Then, I suddenly felt a bustling activity around us. I was startled and looked around. And I locked eyes with the imperial family members sprawled all around us. They all looked at us in shock. I worried their jaws might drop.
“…”
They’re definitely going to misunderstand this, right…?
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Rofan-Addicted Young Lady’ has sponsored 1,000,000 coins.]
[It’s over.]