One night, I suddenly woke up after hearing the creaking of the door. Trying to catch a glimpse of what caused the door to open, I noticed a tall figure enter the room, a figure that I almost immediately recognized. It was someone that I hadn't seen in a long time, someone I had been waiting to meet again. But the feelings of relief and happiness in my heart vanished almost as soon as they appeared, as the moonlight illuminated the figure.
"No way... It can't be her."
"M-mommy?"
She flinched, noticing I was awake, then she gently smiled at me.
"Lyni. Did I wake you up?"
That's a lie. This can't be my mother. I recognize her, but... This is wrong. What in the world happened to her in the past few days...?
Her hair was a mess, her body was full of bruises, her face was covered with cuts, but the worst was her ears. Her beautiful elven ears, her most distinctive feature... They're gone. A clear incision mark could be seen, as some blood was still leaking out.
"Someone cut her ears off... Aunt Nora, what did you do?"
As my mother saw me looking at her in both horror and astonishment, she suddenly apologized.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't want to scare you. I was going to leave after seeing your face."
She quietly approached, sat on the bed, and gently took me in her arms.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm sorry... I didn't want you to see me like this," she said with a small voice as a weak smile appeared on her face.
She was about to cry, I could tell. As much as she tried to hold it in, her lips trembled and her shoulders heaved with emotion. She was trying to be strong in front of me, holding back her tears. She was trying to smile for me.
"It's okay, mommy. It's fine," I told her, as I started to pat her head.
Startled by my action, my mother looked at me in confusion for a few seconds. Then a single tear fell down her cheek. Suddenly, she broke down. She tightly hugged me in her arms and started to cry without reserve. All the pain suddenly came out like an uproar from her throat in the form of a silent scream. The tears made wet tracks down her face, washing the dry blood away, as they fell down one after the other, without a sign of stopping. She kept apologizing as she cried, blaming herself for everything. I didn't say a word. I just listened to her, as I kept patting her head.
After crying for almost two hours, my mother finally collapsed in exhaustion. She fell asleep beside me, but even in her sleep, her face was distorted in pain. I gently placed my hand on her cheek. For a moment, I think her expression softened.
"Don't worry, I'll put an end to all of this."
I stroked her head a little, then I kissed her forehead. It was something she used to do all the time when I was younger. This time, mother, I'll be the one to protect you.
I got off the bed, being careful not to wake her up, then I headed to the door of my room. As I thought, I couldn't reach the handle. But it doesn't matter. I'm not backing away. That woman went too far. Even if I have to blow away the door, I'll find her.
Then I thought about it. The [Administrator]. The one who has access to the [World System].
I've played enough games to know that admins have no physical restrictions. They don't need to clear all the floors of a dungeon to reach the last room, they don't need authorization to travel between different areas, and they don't need a key to open doors blocking their way.
I'm not sure if it's going to work, but it's worth a try. Now is the time to make use of this [Administrator] class.
I focused my gaze on the door in front of me, staring at it intensely.
"Open."
The trick worked. The door unlocked and slowly opened itself, offering a view of a long and dark corridor. For the first time in a month, I stepped out of my room.
In the middle of the night, I wandered through the endless hallways of the mansion like a lost child, except that I had a precise idea of where I was going.
At that moment, I was blinded by a five-course serving of rage. I had held it back long enough. With each step I took, I could feel the anger boiling up inside me. Frustration, hatred, anger... Everything that had accumulated over the past months, everything that I had suppressed; now I'm letting it go.
There was a naughty girl in the house that needed to be punished.
Finally reaching my destination, I stopped in front of a big door, giving entrance to my Aunt's room. I repeated the same trick I used to leave my room.
"Open."
As the door opened, I immediately saw Aunt Nora comfortably seated on her couch. Noticing the door of her room opening, she stood up without delay, not turning away her gaze from the entrance. She wasn't expecting visitors this late at night.
But what she saw wasn't what she expected, as her eyes fell upon the small figure standing outside the room. In a subconscious gesture of disgust, her nose wrinkled and she drew her head backwards.
"Lynett?" she asked, raising a single eyebrow, clearly surprised to see me. "What the heck are you doing here? You know you aren't supposed to leave your room, right? Who in the world allowed you out?"
I did not reply. Instead, I simply smiled at her, which caused her to cringe. She immediately broke eye contact since she couldn't stand the sight of me. Then she chased me away with her hand.
"Get lost. I have no time for you, brat."
"But you had time for mommy, didn't you?" I said, looking up at her, still smiling.
As I said this, Aunt Nora flinched, looking at me with widened eyes. Then she chuckled, her lips curling into a smirk.
"Ah... Is this what it's about?" she asked. "It's something between grown-ups, nothing for you to worry about."
So it was her after all. I had my confirmation, that's all I needed.
"What did you do to her?" I asked.
Aunt Nora clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes, clearly annoyed by the curious little child I was, who had no intention of leaving and kept interrogating her.
"Nothing, really. We were just playing around, okay? Then she got careless and got a little hurt. Now go back to your room before I get mad."
A little hurt, huh? This woman... She literally mutilated her, and she calls that a little hurt? Looks like someone didn't learn her lesson. But it's fine. Since she likes playing deadly games so much, I'll play along.
I stepped into the room, a mischievous smirk appearing on my face and my eyes crinkling at the edge. I pushed the door behind me.
"Lock."
With a click sound, the [World System] obeyed my command.
Aunt Nora's pupils constricted and widened in surprise as she saw the small child she just tried to intimidate enter her room casually, closing the door behind her as if not wanting to be interrupted.
I made sure to show her my most innocent smile, tilting my head to the side.
"Auntie~ Won't you play with me too?"