Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 181. Sometimes Just Being There Is Best

Myrissa’s voice joined in, and it was sadder than Rick had ever heard it. "It happened when I was ten years old..."

"I remember Mother before she betrayed me... she sang while cleaning the ward."

"She thought our silly jokes were funny, and she held us when we cried, stroked our hair, and told us stories about the ocean from long ago."

"When she found out about Father’s affair, she turned to stone...It’s cold. Present in body but not in any way that mattered." Myrissa’s voice shook.

"I thought magic could fix everything, such as cleaning up corruption, healing wounds, and repairing broken things, but it can’t fix broken hearts."

"We failed you," she said plainly. "We failed the alliance by making a promise we couldn’t keep.

"We failed our mother because we couldn’t reach her, and we failed ourselves by continuing to hope after fifty years of disappointment."

Rick sat both of his siblings down and looked at them with kindness, not condescension. "You didn’t let anyone down."

"It’s fine that she’s not ready yet. No matter how perfect the words are, some wounds are too deep to heal in just one conversation..."

He thought about his past life and how he had died alone at the age of 24 after years of choosing to be alone. "I know what it feels like to be dead inside... and I was like her once, but not for as long."

"When you’re numb for a long time, feeling anything is scary because emotions hurt and numbness is safe, but she did take the first step today," Rick said firmly. "She cried..."

"That’s something real after fifty years of nothing. And even though she doesn’t care about the world emotionally, she’s helping to save it."

"That’s more than nothing."

Carmilla came out of the other room because she was interested in what was being said. "I shut myself off for five years after my husband died..."

"Everyone in Thornwick tried to help. My fellow knights, the town council, and well-meaning friends—I pushed every single one of them away."

She smiled at Rick in a gentle way. "Until this pervert didn’t push."

"He was simply present with me the first time I met him. He showed patience, making no demands, holding no expectations, and making no attempts to change who I was." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Just being there until I was ready to feel again." Carmilla told both of them that their mother needed time. "And room to deal with fifty years of trauma that has been hidden."

"And proof that the world won’t hurt her again as soon as she lets her guard down."

Liora stood in the doorway, the energy from her meditation still buzzing around her. She put her hands on Thalor and Myrissa’s heads and let soft golden light flow from them.

It was not magic to heal, just comfort directly from God. "It’s clear that you love her," Liora said softly.

"That love hasn’t gone away even though it hasn’t been returned in fifty years. Keep that in mind."

"She’ll remember that you never gave up on her when she’s ready and the walls finally come down."

"That memory will mean everything."

Natasha was the last to come out, and her analytical mind was already looking at the problem from a different angle. "The Emperor’s move had a statistically significant effect."

"To keep the Guilt-Lock Enchantment going, you need to have a lot of willpower."

"The fact that it broke, even for a short time, shows that his will is getting weaker after fifty years of self-imposed torture."

She put on an imaginary pair of glasses, which she used to do when she was a student. "If he talks, Nerissa will have to face him if the spell breaks completely."

"That argument will either be the end of healing or the end of breaking. With trauma of this size, there is no middle ground."

Zara stumbled out of her room. She was still half-asleep but awake enough to help.

"Look, your mom’s fucked up, and we all understand, but she’s still here, still in charge, and still doing everything she can to keep her people safe, even if she can’t feel anything while doing it."

"That’s something hard to achieve, ya know?"

The voice of the demon general got a little softer. "My husband died because of the corruption..."

"I watched helplessly as corruption took him, and I know what it feels like to be sad..."

"Sometimes you just have to keep living day by day until life doesn’t hurt as much."

After that, they talked about what they would do next. Rick’s team would spend the night in Meridia’s guest quarters, resting up after the emotional toll and the fights they had earlier.

Thalor would pilot them back to the surface tomorrow through Scylla. A full report to Fredrich and the Valdris Council would confirm that five of the seven Major Powers are now working together.

The next targets would be the Elven Sanctuary or the Witch Covens, both of which would be hard to negotiate with.

Thalor and Myrissa would stay in Meridia and watch their mother for any changes in her mood. They would use the oceanic scrying network to let people know what was going on.

Both of the siblings stood up and bowed in a formal way to show respect for the ocean dweller.

Thalor said, "Thank you," quietly.

"For trying and not giving up on her even though you can see how broken she is..."

Myrissa said, "I think you are the only one who can reach her."

"You know what it’s like to be alone in ways we never could."

They left without saying a word, going back to their jobs of running a kingdom that their mother ruled and didn’t really care about.

The group got ready for bed. The emotional toll of the earlier megalodon battle and corruption fights had left everyone exhausted.

The Observer heard Zephyra’s voice one last time. "I will keep an eye on things from the surface."

"Take a break for now because tomorrow we go up and plan the next step."

Rick stood by the crystal window and looked out at the dark ocean that surrounded Meridia. Bioluminescent animals floated by, making light patterns in the always-dusk.

The Leviathan remained lost somewhere in the depths of the ocean. The corruption storm anchor pulsed with dark energy, and the world continued to deteriorate as they struggled to salvage it piece by piece.

Sebastian appeared for a short time on his shoulder, but only Rick could see him. "Good job today, Rick."

"This time, I’m not being sarcastic."

"She didn’t take my hand," Rick said in a low voice.

"But she cried," Sebastian said in response. "First tears in fifty years."

"You broke the wall, even if not all the way... sometimes, just being there is best."

Rick couldn’t answer the chibi butler before it disappeared, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Rick’s inner thoughts were honest and real. "Nerissa’s eyes looked so empty... it’s just like mine did, staring at screens alone in my apartment and telling myself I was fine when I was really dying inside."

"But she cried today... that’s the first real crack in fifty years of being numb."

"That might be enough for now... at least slow progress is still progress, I guess."

He lay down on the kelp bed and trusted Zephyra’s watchful eye to let them know if anything went wrong.

It took a long time for Rick to sleep because he kept seeing empty blue eyes and hands that almost touched but pulled away at the last second.

The door to the guest room blew open two hours later.

CRASH!

As Myrissa swam through the coral, it broke apart. The Kraken barely fit in the hallway behind her, and its tentacles scraped against the walls as it rushed.

Everyone woke up right away, their instincts for fighting taking over their tiredness.

"Emergency!" Myrissa’s voice broke with fear.

"My brothers and sisters are under attack!"