Monster Harem In The Tower-Chapter 266: Uncanny but Lovely

Back to the moment unfolding now.

Lilia frowned.

"Mother... father?" she repeated softly, clearly not processing the term.

"Why... are those combined?"

Ruby instead bounced lightly on the bed.

"Yes! Yes!" she exclaimed, clenching her fists. "She is Motherfather!"

Lilia looked at Ruby, then back at the photo, then at Ruby again. Her brain worked hard, but came up empty.

"Wait." Lilia rubbed her temple. "You mean..."

She stepped closer, then knelt so she was level with Ruby.

"She’s your father’s mother?"

Ruby nodded firmly.

"UN!"

She then reached out, grabbed Lilia’s head, and patted it casually—like an adult to a child.

"Girlie Papa smart!" she said, satisfied.

"...Huh?"

Lilia’s confusion only deepened.

Her father? Her father’s mother...?

Nathan?

"You—"

Before Lilia could open her mouth again—

THUDDD— 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

A heavy impact echoed.

Not like something falling.

More like a low bass sound slamming in from all directions.

The air vibrated.

The entire room turned gray except for Ruby and the object she was holding. Lilia’s body froze, her eyes widening.

Ruby stopped smiling.

"Huh?" her ears perked up. "Weird..."

A black slit appeared in the air, longer than the one Ruby had come out of before.

From within it emerged a pair of milk-white hands. The fingers were slender, tipped with stark black nails. They gripped the edges of the slit—and then pulled it open wider.

The air pulsed.

Ruby immediately broke into a wide smile.

"Grandma...!"

She began hopping in place, her rabbit ears bouncing happily.

From beyond the slit, a figure bent forward and stepped through.

Lilith, the milky mommy.

She was tall, her aura gentle yet heavy. Her gaze settled on Lilia’s rigid form, then swept across the room washed in gray.

Lilith paused for a moment.

...Oh dear, she thought. How am I supposed to explain this to my cutie...

She glanced at the rabbit-eared child who looked utterly delighted.

She let out a soft sigh.

—

Some time earlier.

Inside the Tower—

Domina moved quickly across the expanse of green grass, searching for Ruby through the Prunus Vitalis garden, then leaping over to the Crystal Banafruit garden.

"Ruby?" she called.

No answer.

Her ears caught something.

"Ruby."

Domina’s tone dropped. More serious.

That was when—Lilith appeared behind her, without a sound.

"Are you looking for her?" Lilith asked calmly.

Domina turned sharply.

"...She’s not in the Tower," Domina said. Her jaw tightened. "I realized it too late."

Lilith frowned slightly.

"Hmm."

She stepped forward and raised her hand. In the air, transparent panels appeared—layers of information, branching possibilities, reflections of reality.

And on one of those panels—

Ruby could be seen.

...Hopping about.

In front of a clearly confused Lilia.

With rabbit ears standing upright on her head.

Domina swallowed.

"...Will," she said softly, "Nathan’s little sister... accept a rabbit-eared niece?"

Lilith stared at the panel for a long moment.

Her expression was hard to read.

"...I don’t know," she answered honestly.

The panels vanished one by one.

Lilith lowered her hand.

"We need Nathan’s permission first," she said, her tone flat but firm.

"This is a family matter, after all."

Domina fell silent, her brows knitting together.

"How did Ruby manage to get there?" she finally asked.

Lilith glanced toward where the panels had disappeared earlier.

"There’s a possibility," she said softly, "because of my blood."

Domina turned to her.

"You mean—"

Lilith gave a slight nod. "Yes. Because of that..."

She lowered her gaze, her expression calm yet calculating.

"Ruby likely inherited an ability similar to mine."

Domina let out a short breath. "You... you have to bring her back. It’s dangerous if humans there become aware of Ruby’s existence."

"Yes," Lilith agreed without hesitation.

She stepped forward.

Her right hand lifted. Her black nails extended slightly—sharp, gleaming dimly.

With one clean motion—

SRRRAAK—

Lilith slashed the air from top to bottom.

Space split apart.

A black slit appeared, neatly opened, pulsing faintly like a freshly made wound.

The air around it trembled.

"You should wait here," Lilith said calmly. "You could be affected by the time stop if you come along."

Domina nodded.

Lilith stepped closer to the slit.

"Alright," she said to Domina. "I’ll go get her."

----

Ruby kept staring at Lilia, who stood frozen in place.

"Why Girlie Papa not moving?" she asked again, tilting her head.

"Why...?"

Behind Lilith—

The black slit slowly closed.

Its edges sealed without a sound, as if there had never been a tear there at all.

Lilith crouched in front of Ruby and gently stroked the child’s head.

"Ruby," she said softly, "if you want to come here, you need to ask Papa for permission first."

Ruby immediately puffed up her cheeks.

"Permission?" Her brows knit together.

"Fine then. I came here to look for Papa anyway."

She pointed around. "Just looking for Papa!"

Lilith let out a short sigh.

"Papa isn’t here," she said calmly. "Papa is working."

Ruby fell silent.

Her lips trembled slightly. She lowered her head, then slowly placed the photo she had been holding onto the table.

"...Okay," she murmured quietly.

Lilith watched her, her expression softening.

"Ruby," she said gently.

Ruby lifted her head.

"So... we’re going home?" she asked softly.

Lilith nodded. "Yes, sweetheart."

Ruby gave a small nod.

Then Lilith stood and walked toward Lilia.

She raised her hand, touched Lilia’s forehead with the tip of her index finger—

then slowly pulled it back.

From the point of contact, black matter seeped out, swirling before condensing into a small sphere.

Smaller than Nathan’s memory orb from before.

Ruby stared at it curiously.

"What’s that?"

"This is a memory of you, Ruby," Lilith replied.

Ruby frowned. "Huh?"

Lilith stroked Lilia’s head with her other hand.

"She," Lilith said quietly, "won’t remember you."

Ruby immediately bristled.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Ugh... I don’t want her to forget that she already patted my ears earlier..."

Her feet pushed against the floor in irritation.

Lilith looked at her patiently.

"Grandma will return this memory," she said. "Once you’ve asked Papa for permission."

Ruby gave a small huff.

"...Fine."

Lilith let out a quiet sigh of relief. Good. At least she’s not whining anymore.

She stood and slipped the small black sphere into the center of her plumpy chest.

"Here," she murmured. "So it won’t get lost."

With a single motion, Lilith slashed through the air again.

SRRRAAK—

Space tore open. The black slit reopened.

"Come on," she said to Ruby.

Before leaving, Ruby walked over to Lilia and hugged her tightly.

"Girlie Papa," she whispered,

"I will come back for you."

Lilith lifted Ruby into her arms.

They stepped into the slit.

THUDDD—

That deep, bass-like sound echoed once more.

—

Lilia jolted. The room had returned to normal.

"...Huh?"

She was confused about why she was crouching there. "What am I doing here...?"

Lilia looked down. Her phone was still in her hand.

She slowly stood up, and as she did, her eyes landed on a photo of Nathan and his mother.

She picked it up and stared at it.

"His face has always been goofy," she muttered, placing it back.

Still confused about why she was in Nathan’s room, she turned off the light and closed the door behind her.

And thus, the cheerfulness of the little rabbit-eared girl seemed as though it had never crossed her eyes at all.

Time resumed its course, the world kept turning, and the rabbit-eared girl left behind nothing—

except a promise that she would return, for someone who could no longer remember the happy twitch of her rabbit ears.