[Open.]
Reacting to my order, the door blocking the entrance of my bedroom opened. After entering, I made sure to close the door behind me. I approached the bed in the middle of the room quietly. Mother was still sleeping.
Seeing one more time the poor state she was in, I couldn't help but feel anger boiling up inside me – again. Thinking back on my little game session with my aunt, as I thought, I went too easy on her. Good thing I didn't kill her, it would have been a waste.
I sat on the bed beside mother, carefully examining her. Her injuries didn't seem like they'd be too hard to heal. She had bruises and cuts, but nothing broken. No internal injuries. I already tried Healing Magic on my Aunt, who was in a much worse state, so I should be able to heal mother. Unlike mother, my Aunt had no superficial wounds. Instead, her insides were completely messed up. Yet, I still managed to heal her, so I shouldn't have any problem with my mother.
I'm a bit apprehensive… It's only light magic, so nothing should go wrong, but this is the first time I'm using magic on mother. I can't help but be a little worried. I already noticed more than once that my lack of control in my magic can generate some serious problems… But that's only Healing Magic… Just Healing Magic…. Besides, I've practiced long enough on Aunt Nora. That's right; there is nothing to be worried about.
As I placed my hands above mother, I concentrated my mana in my palms. I tried visualizing her wounds closing and her bruises disappearing. I imagined all the pain going away. After a few moments focusing on my mana, a bright light materialized and gently covered mother's sleeping body. Slowly, all her wounds disappeared. If not for the traces of dried blood and tears on her face, no one would've guessed the poor state she was in just a few seconds ago.
Yet, it wasn't enough. She seemed perfectly fine now, but there was still something missing. Her ears. The incision was gone and her ears cicatrized, but they did not grow back. They have a weird shape now, and they're closer to human ears than elves'.
I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised. I expected something like this. While Healing magic can regenerate the dead cells and accelerate the healing process, it can't do anything about what has been either destroyed completely or chopped off.
I hate this. I know elves are being discriminated here, but my mother's ears were her most particular feature, and I loved them. I'm sure that if she had the choice, then mother would want them back too. They were part of her after all, a proof of her identity. I wonder if there is any way to grow them back? I need to find some magic that can actually regrow limbs… There has to be a way.
I was suddenly startled as I noticed mother looking at me.
… Huh? When did she wake up? She didn't see, did she? Did she see me using magic? She looks confused. Oh no, this is bad…
Mother slowly got up, without breaking the eye-contact. "Lyni…? You're still awake?" She asked.
She looked at her surroundings, trying to recall everything that happened. "Oh… I fell asleep…"
She flushed a little in embarrassment, as she remembered giving in to her grief in front of me. Well, that's kind of cute… I guess I would be embarrassed too if I suddenly became vulnerable in front of a child. Anyway, it doesn't seem like she saw. What a relief…
However, mother then realized that all her pain had vanished. She started to inspect her own body, looking at her arms, touching her face trying to feel the wounds, but there was nothing.
… I forgot about this. How am I supposed to explain this? She was badly injured and when she wakes up, all her wounds are gone. Of course she'd notice something…
Mother stayed quiet for a while, staring blankly at her perfectly healthy body in astonishment. She was trying to come up with a logical explanation for her sudden recovery. Then she looked up at me, raising an eyebrow, her eyes full of doubt.
Please don't ask, please don't ask, please don't ask…
"Lyni… Did you…?" She started.
But before she could finish, I rushed forward, throwing myself on her. I hugged her tightly with my tiny arms and started to cry.
"Mommy…! Sniff… Is mommy fine now? Lyni was scared…" I whined, while rubbing my face against her.
Yes, it's all an act. And I feel really bad for deceiving her. But I don't really have a choice. I can't get exposed. Not now.
After two years living as a baby, my acting became pretty good and anyone would fall for it. But mother's lack of reaction is worrying me. What kind of face is she making? Slowly, I looked up at her with my teary eyes.
… That's not good. Her eyes widened, full of suspicion and her mouth remained an uncharacteristic grim line. That's not the kind of expression you should have when your two-year-old daughter is crying, asking for attention. Did she see through my acting?
I expected her to start interrogating me at any moment, but she didn't say a word, she just looked at me. After a short and awkward moment looking at each other, she finally broke the silence.
"Yes, don't worry. Mommy is fine now. I'm sorry for worrying you," she said, as she started patting my head and gave me back my hug.
She knows… In the end, she didn't ask for anything, but I think she knows. She definitely noticed something.
Ultimately, we stayed glued to each other for about fifteen minutes without saying anything. At first, it was because I thought it'd be awkward if I suddenly stopped crying. But as the minutes passed, I surprised myself feeling at ease in her arms. Listening to her heartbeat made me comfortable. It was telling me one thing: she is fine now. That's all what matters.
I'm not sure what she knows, but I think she probably understood I didn't want to talk about it and let it go. I'm grateful for that. At least she didn't reject me.
Everything is fine. As long as she is safe, nothing else is important.
As I was thinking this, once again, I received a notification from the [World System].
Azariah has been blessed by Aileen and received [Divine Protection].
...
What? But… I didn't do anything…?
Well, that's quite reassuring knowing that mother now has some kind of protection, but… Seriously, how did that happen? How did I do that? And since when I could do that? Don't tell me… From the beginning…? No way, that's a bad joke… If I had known, I would have given her my blessings sooner… None of that would've happened.
Are you trolling me [World System]? Damn it… I should have included some kind of tutorial, explaining all my skills. Instead, I have absolutely no idea of what I can do. But, well… It's not like if I had known I'd be reincarnated…
What is Divine Protection though? I wonder how far it can protect her… Is it an invisible shield? Moreover, it's written "Aileen" instead of Lynett. It's been a long time since I have been called that way. Thinking about this, wasn't there something similar written on my advanced status? My [True Name]… Does it have something to do with my soul? I'll have to investigate this later…
Finally, after a while, mother slowly released me from her embrace. I looked up at her and I could feel my face paling when I met her eyes. Oh no, that's not good…
"Is something wrong, Lyni?" she asked as she saw my expression.
"N-No…" I lied.
This is bad. This is really, really bad. Her eyes… They started changing…
The sky blue color of her eyes swirled into a warmer color as I gazed at her. At the edge of her pupils, an amber-colored ring appeared and slowly grew to swallow the blue. Within a few seconds, her eyes completely changed color. There was no longer any trace of the light blue color she once had, instead, her eyes glazed like the sun. A bright and stunning golden color… Just like mine.
I suddenly remembered. Having golden eyes was the proof that you were either a god, or you had been blessed by a god.
Technically, I am a Goddess, right? And even though I'm not sure how it happened, I just blessed my mother. So her eyes changed into a golden color.
This is really bad. Not like I regret granting her a [Divine Protection] or anything, but that's going to be troublesome. So far, only newborns could receive the blessings of a god. Yet, my mother has just been blessed. Those eyes were the very proof of that. Once people notice that, they're going to start asking questions…
I can see troubles coming…