Clap~
With a gentle clap, the story finally came to an end. The four creatures listening eagerly gazed at Veronica with sparkling eyes. Even the snacks and drinks that had been prepared earlier remained untouched, as if they had been captivated by the tale Veronica had told.
"How was that? Was it an interesting story?"
"It was so exciting, Mother!"
"You're right, my little brother. I even forgot to blink!"
Vento and his big sister cheered for Veronica with sincere praise. Of course, this was no exaggeration, as the other two— their father and Madam Caroline—expressed the same sentiments.
"They're right, Veronica. Your story was so captivating that I forgot to drink my tea. Right, darling?" Madam Caroline turned her gaze to her husband, a thin smile gracing her face.
"You're right, darling!" he replied enthusiastically. However, his response was quite different from the elegant and mature demeanor of Madam Caroline. Instead, he behaved childishly, dressing up like the hunters from Veronica's stories. Wearing a makeshift cloak fashioned from a tablecloth and brandishing a branch he had found, he looked more comical than impressive.
"Oh, you..." With a mix of disappointment and irritation towards her husband's childish antics, Madam Caroline shot him a frustrated look while tapping her forehead.
"Ah, that's unfair! I want to be a hunter too!" exclaimed Vento's big sister, watching their father's ridiculous antics.
"I want to be one too!"
Vento, feeling overshadowed by his big sister, sprang into action. He began searching for any unused fabric in his mother's room. After a moment, his eyes landed on some neglected cloth in the corner of the room, along with scattered writing tools on the table.
With fiery enthusiasm, Vento seized every item he could find. He grabbed the tablecloth and raised it high, transforming it into a billowing cloak. Then, he picked up a pen lying around and held it upside down as if it were a dagger.
Watching the three of them act increasingly silly, Madam Caroline felt her patience wearing thin. Her brow furrowed, and her eyes began to twitch; fine veins appeared around her purple-hued face, clearly indicating her dwindling patience.
"You all!!!—"
As Madam Caroline tried to stop their childlike antics, a soft yet powerless hand touched one of her tentacles. The hand belonged to Veronica. Seeing Veronica's pale, delicate hand holding one of her tentacles, Madam Caroline paused for a moment. She realized that Veronica didn't want to disrupt the happiness of the children and her husband. With a gentle smile, Madam Caroline finally reconsidered her intention to scold the trio for their silly behavior.
"Well then, let's go find some evil monsters out there!"
Ignoring his wife Veronica and Caroline, the father raised the branch in his hand with enthusiasm, as if he were the leader of a great army. Dressed in a silly outfit, he dashed out of Veronica's room, his eyes shining with joy and energy.
"Understood, Captain!"
"Understood, Captain!"
In unison, Vento and his big sister responded to their father's call with enthusiasm, then dashed out of the room, wide smiles adorning their faces.
Meanwhile, Madam Caroline, unsure of what else to say, could only apologize to the beautiful woman who was still holding one of her tentacles with an awkward smile.
"I'm sorry, Veronica. I'll discipline them later."
"Fufufu, no need to worry. I actually prefer seeing them happy like this," Veronica replied with a small laugh, her gaze warm as she watched the joy of her husband and children.
"By the way, Madam Caroline, can we talk for a moment?"
After the children and their husbands left the room, Veronica, who had been smiling, now furrowed her brow. Her expression changed, and the depth in her eyes reflected that there was something important she wanted to convey.
---
In the silent room, where candles on the walls provided the only light, two women were seen sitting on the sofa facing each other. In the middle of them was a long table with two cups of steaming beverages and enticing snacks that had just been delivered by the castle servant.
Just as the hot drinks were served, Veronica greeted the servant who bore a striking resemblance to a human. Despite its human-like appearance, the servant was actually a slime capable of changing its form. Not just any servant, but all the workers directly associated with Veronica took on human-like forms because, in this castle, Veronica was the only human.
This occurred because Veronica's husband and Madam Caroline chose their employees, especially those who served Veronica, to resemble humans, all for Veronica's comfort.
"Excuse me, what's your name?" Veronica asked gently.
With great formality, the servant bowed slightly before answering Veronica's question with the utmost courtesy.
"Long life to Queen Veronica and Queen Persephone. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Abyssia, your majesty."
"Very well, Abyssia. Can you guard the door to this room? Because soon, Madam Persephone and I will discuss something important," Veronica said with a gentle smile.
Without a moment's hesitation and without asking for Veronica's orders, Abyssia replied, "Understood, Your Majesty Veronica." With one last bow to both of them, Abyssia left the room while pushing the trolley used to bring the drinks.
Just after Abyssia closed the door, Veronica opened her mouth, slightly pale due to her current poor condition.
"Okay, Madam Caroline, wait... do you want me to call you Madam Persephone?" Veronica asked playfully.
"Call me whatever you like. After all, you are the real queen here, not me," Persephone responded casually, to the question that seemed to provoke her emotions.
"Don't talk like that, we are both wives of that man~"
Unable to resist Veronica's teasing, Persephone furrowed her brow and shot her an irritated glance. In that gaze, she asked, "Stop beating around the bush, just tell me what you want to say!"
Knowing that continuing to tease Persephone might lead to something undesirable, Veronica gracefully began sipping her drink. After finishing, she crossed her legs and looked at Persephone with a serious expression.
"Do you love Vento?"
Veronica's question momentarily puzzled Persephone. She didn't understand why Veronica would ask such a thing, but amidst her confusion, Persephone replied, "Of course, I love Vento like I love my own daughter."
Satisfied with Persephone's answer, Veronica nodded slightly and then asked again, still seeing the confused look on Persephone's face.
"So, what will you do if that child is in danger?"
"Of course, I will—!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Persephone realized what Veronica meant. Her previously confused expression now turned into one of panic.
"Don't tell me you received a prophecy about that child?!"
Veronica could only nod in response.
"What did the prophecy say?!"
"First, I want you to calm down," Veronica said, gently moving aside the purple hands that were gripping her shoulders.
Persephone, realizing what she had just done, tried to calm herself and sat back on the sofa.
"I-I'm sorry."
"It's fine. In fact, I'm glad you care so much about my child," Veronica said with a smile, then continued, "Honestly, I can't see the future of that child clearly, but..."
"But?" Persephone, increasingly curious, set down the snack she had just picked up.
"But I can see that the child will face something very big. After that, I see my origin, which is Earth, and shortly after, I see this world, which is the Underworld."
"Hmm, isn't that a bit too ambiguous?" Persephone, who was trying to find answers in Veronica's words, finally gave up.
"At first, I thought so too. But one day, when the child came to my room, I secretly examined his body with a bit of my Celestia."
"And then, what did you see?"
Taking a deep breath, Veronica gathered her courage before revealing, "Inside that child's body, there lies Aetheria and Celestia."
Hearing that statement, Persephone was left stunned, even her mouth fell open at the words that came from Veronica. Yet, her curiosity outweighed her shock, and she turned to Veronica, as if to ensure her hearing was not faulty.
"You mean Vento can wield the power of Aetheria, which is the power from this world, and Celestia from your world simultaneously?!"
"Exactly, and honestly, I didn't believe it at first. But after I checked again a few days ago, there was no change in his body."
Confronted with such an unbelievable fact, Persephone could only lean back weakly against the sofa she was sitting on.
"Because of that, Persephone, if I die, please give this letter to him." Veronica said, pulling a piece of paper from her sleeve.
"Huh?! What are you talking about—"
Boom!
At the same time that Persephone tried to ask what Veronica meant, a loud explosion echoed in their ears.
"What was that sound?!" Persephone instinctively jumped up from her seat and flung open the window of Veronica's room, as if searching for the source of the noise.
Meanwhile, Veronica remained seated calmly, as if she had known from the beginning what was actually happening. Finally, Veronica opened her mouth and answered the question lingering in Persephone's mind with three simple words.
"That was Vento."