Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son-Chapter 521: Rest [1]

[Head Base of the Three Gods Church]

[Kandam Continent]

"...."

Christina stood in the full hallway with her eyes glued on me.

She looked like she wanted me to explain what was going on.

Behind me, a group of people stood awkwardly.

"Is this really alright?" Peony, Elijah’s mother, asked with a small smile. "We can always go back to my island."

She was in a wheelchair, with Elijah standing behind her.

"It’s fine, aunty," Christina said, shaking her head. "I’ll ask some maids to clean the second house."

"You hired new maids?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," she replied, looking at me. "Is there a problem?"

"Nope." I shook my head. "I have no problem."

She nodded as her eyes fell on the three unknown people.

One of them was Arawn, and the other two were the mermaid princesses.

Christina ignored Arawn, and even Kana, who stood close to Elijah.

Her focus remained on Kaelia, who stood on the side.

"They’ll live here for a while," I said. "Maybe for a few weeks."

"...A few weeks," Christina repeated, finally looking back at me.

"Yes," I said. "That’s all."

There was a pause. Then Christina smiled politely.

"Alright," she said. "If that’s your decision."

She turned slightly and clapped her hands once.

A maid at the far end of the hall straightened immediately.

"Prepare the second house," Christina ordered. "And make sure the wards are active."

"Yes, Lady Christina."

Peony let out a quiet sigh of relief. "You’re very kind, dear."

Christina inclined her head. "It’s nothing."

Elijah leaned closer to his mother. "I told you it would be fine."

Kana shifted beside him, her hands clasped in front of her.

She didn’t speak, but I noticed how she avoided Christina’s eyes entirely.

Christina’s gaze flicked to him for a brief moment.

"...And who is he?" she asked.

"A friend," I replied.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "You’ve been making a lot of those lately."

I just shrugged, not giving an answer.

She exhaled through her nose, then turned back toward Kaelia. "And you?"

The women stared at each other for a long second.

"Kaelia," she said at last. "And that girl is my sister."

Christina nodded once. "Welcome."

Woah. What’s with that tone?

The group slowly began to disperse, maids guiding Peony and Elijah away, Kana following after a moment of hesitation.

Soon, only Christina and I remained in the hallway.

With a tired sigh, she sat down on the corner of a sofa.

"You are bringing a lot of people," she said, patting her thighs. "You sure they are trustworthy?"

I sighed and lay down on the sofa, resting my head on her thighs.

"They are trustworthy," I replied softly, looking up at her face.

But all I saw were two globes hiding her face.

Her fingers slowly moved, brushing through my hair.

"Tell me," she said. "What happened in the past few days?"

I sighed as I told her everything that happened.

---

"The Goddess of Fate, huh?" she mumbled, her voice soft.

Squeeze.

"You know about her?" I asked, inhaling deeply.

"No," she replied. "How would I know?"

"That’s true," I mumbled, squeezing gently. "But the Orb of Fate is really something."

Christina tried to move my hand, but I didn’t let her. "How does that even work?"

"I don’t quite understand yet," I mumbled softly. "But it’s like the orb just maxed out my luck for a while."

Christina went quiet for a moment.

"...Luck," she repeated slowly. "Are there other uses of the orb?"

Squeeze.

"There must be," I replied thoughtfully. "But I’ve yet to discover them."

Christina slapped my hand away from her chest. "They are not stress balls. Stop squeezing."

"Urgh," I groaned, pulling my hand out of her bra. "Anyway, what were you up to?"

"Nothing," she replied, leaning back slightly. "I was just thinking if we could meet with my family once you came back."

"...."

I got up and sat straight, looking at her face. "Your father and brother?"

She nodded. "...Yeah."

I stayed quiet for a second.

I had already thought about it, and I was going to meet them sooner or later.

I leaned back against the sofa, rubbing my neck. "That’s going to be... complicated."

Christina gave a small, tired smile. "It always is."

"Your father still hates me," I said bluntly. "He thinks I killed you."

She reached for my hand, squeezing it tightly. "Hey, I’ll explain everything to him. Don’t worry."

I nodded, not saying anything.

"Anyway, I was thinking of dyeing my hair back to blue," she said, earning my attention. "What do you think?"

"...I have no problem," I replied, shaking my head. "Just don’t change these babies—"

She slapped my hand away when I tried to squeeze her boobs.

"Don’t do that."

"You don’t touch them in the middle of day."

"What about at night?"

"......."

She shook her head, but a small smile betrayed her annoyance.

After a moment, she relaxed back into the sofa, crossing her legs.

"Qais, there’s something else I want to talk about," she said, her voice serious. "It’s about... Zenith."

I froze as I turned to look at her.

"...What about her?" I asked.

"Can you talk with her?" she said, and I stood up from the sofa. "At least listen to her, Qais!"

"I’ll see what I can do," I replied, waving my hand. "I’ll see how things are going with the others."

She didn’t stop me as I walked away.

[<Qais—>]

’Not now,’ I cut her off before she could say anything. ’And why were you quiet all this time?’

[<...I was talking with Christina.>]

’You can talk with her even though you’re with me?’

[<Yes.>] She affirmed. [<Were you thinking something else?>]

’Yes,’ I replied. ’I thought you were jealous.’

[<I am a Goddess of Love.>] She replied. [<Why would I ever be jealous of two mortals sharing a passionate time?>]

"Is that so?" I said out loud. "...But I want to spend passionate time with you."

[<...Really?>]

I could almost feel her attention turn fully toward me, like a presence leaning closer.

"Not really."

[<Urgh.>]

I chuckled at her obvious displeasure as I walked toward the front garden.

’Hmm?’

But as soon as I reached the area, I found something surprising.

It was Peony, sitting in her wheelchair with Nymeria by her side.

Nymeria had her full concentration on the woman.

With her ability to manipulate plants, she was slowly creating a leg and an arm that Peony didn’t have.

I slowed my steps without thinking, staying near the edge of the garden.

Thin green threads of mana extended from her fingers, weaving together like vines.

Where Peony’s leg should have been, roots formed first.

They twisted and thickened, bark smoothing into something closer to skin.

The same process was happening at Peony’s arm, fingers forming one by one, trembling as they settled into place.

After a long minute, Nymeria lowered her hands slightly.

The green glow faded, leaving behind a rough but complete limb. It wasn’t perfect, but it was there.

"I hate her." I turned my head to find Elijah standing beside me. "I hate that elven woman."

"...Yeah," I replied. "She used to bully you once."

"...."

He didn’t speak, keeping his gaze on his mother, who was trying to walk.

"Did she really change?" he asked again.

"I don’t think so," I replied. "Deep down, she’s still a proud elf... but broken."

"...."

Elijah didn’t say anything else as he rushed toward his mother.

Nymeria, on the other hand, looked at me and meekly walked toward me.

Elijah said something as they crossed paths that made Nymeria flinch.

"I didn’t know you could do that," I said as soon as she got closer. "Creating limbs with plants."

"...It’s not perfect," she replied gently. "She’ll need a lot of time to master it."

"...That’s still incredible," I said quietly.

Peony took a careful step forward.

The plant-formed leg trembled, but it held.

"Ahem."

Nymeria coughed, grabbing my attention.

She spread her arms, her eyes on me. "May I?"

I let out a sigh. "Sure."

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her.

Nymeria stiffened for half a second, like she wasn’t used to being touched, then slowly relaxed.

Her forehead rested against my shoulder, her breathing uneven as she inhaled my scent.

"I’m tired," she admitted quietly.

"I can see that," I replied. "You should’ve stopped earlier."

She gave a weak huff of a laugh. "If I had stopped earlier, I wouldn’t have been here."

I held her for a moment longer, letting the silence do its job.

Nymeria pulled back first, straightening herself and smoothing her sleeves like nothing had happened.

"I’ll check on Christina," she said, walking away. "Bye."

She didn’t let me respond as she walked away quickly.

I let out a sigh and looked back at Elijah and his mother.

But...

My gaze shifted to someone else.

Kaelia stood at the balcony of her room, her eyes on me.

I waved at her, which she ignored before walking inside.

"...What’s with her?"