Chapter 87

Two days passed by inside the palace. I saw very little of my mother or the queen as they prepared for the convergence. Most of my time was spent with the girls. In particular, I was spending my time with Isabella. To that point, I hadn’t managed to reveal that I was her father. In her mind, I was still her uncle, who happened to sleep with his sister. Thankfully, she was quite sheltered from reality and didn’t find anything particularly wrong with that. Then again, we were all nobility, and close relationships had always been common in royalty, so perhaps I was the one who was in error.

Saria spent time with Bala and Olivia. Olivia was shocked when she discovered that I was married to Saria, but she didn’t appear to be upset about it. My sister seemed to have accepted that I would have many women in my life. That was probably for the best. Although I was gathering my sisters to pull together the human realm, I also had the other realms that I needed to contend with as well. Whatever was coming, it was bigger than humanity. I just hoped that there was still enough time.

My father was already dead, and I had very little news regarding the human realm in his absence. My uncle was presumably running things now, but waiting two days and doing nothing was quite frustrating. Getting the chance to spend time with Isabella wasn’t disagreeable, but it would have been nice if the faery realm wasn’t an island separated from the rest of the world, and this palace was an island within that island.

“And so, the little elf turned out to be a princess in the end.” I read the last line of a book.

It had taken a little coaxing, but I had managed to get some books that were age-appropriate for a child, and that was what I was reading Isabella. The convergence would happen tonight. Everything would happen tonight. It was best if she slept through it without a worrying thought in her mind. If everything went according to plan, my mother would send us to the dwarvish realm with magic. That meant that this was the last time I would be seeing my daughter for a long time.

“I don’t understand…” Isabella frowned.

“What don’t you understand?” I asked gently.

“Why didn’t the princess get ravaged by a devil?”

“Geh…” My eyebrow twitched. “because this isn’t that kind of story.”

“It’d be more accurate.” A voice cut in.

“Don’t you start, Saria?”

“That kind of story is boring. There isn’t enough action.” Isabella complained.

“And by action… you mean…”

“What you do with mommy, naturally…”

“Naturally…” I let out a groan.

Was it truly too late for my daughter? Had her upbringing in naughty novels turned her into a pervert? I didn’t want to accept that as true. I just had to work a bit harder so that she would become an acceptable daughter.

“Auntie Saria, what happened to the elf princess?” Isabella turned to her auntie when she found she wasn’t getting the answer from me.

Saria stiffened, her cheeks turning pink. “Th-that’s private!”

“Ehhh?” Isabella crawled out of my lap and then looked at Saria intently while on all fours. “Isn’t private stuff the fun stuff to talk about?”

“H-how can that be? S-sister, you tell her!” Saria seemed to not be able to handle Isabella’s gaze.

Something about Isabella’s red eyes seemed to bore down on a person. When she had something she wanted to know, she would stare at them intently, and they found it very difficult to keep secrets from her. I would have guessed it was some latent skill of the devil, but I had never read something like that. It was purely a skill of my daughter.

“M-me!” Bala had been cleaning her sword nonchalantly when Saria had thrown Isabella’s gaze on her. “That is… there are some things that a woman shouldn’t share, even with family.”

“Are there things you haven’t shared with your sister?” Isabella asked, wagging her butt expectantly as she rested her chin on her palms like she was waiting for a story.

“Ah… well, no… not exactly.” Bala was being put into a bad spot.

Saria was watching her with a side-glance. If she admitted she was keeping things from Saria, then Saria was the kind of girl who do anything the extract it. The pair had a very odd relationship. If it was a matter of who emotionally depended on the other the most, then Saria had a deep connection to her sister. However, she manifested that emotion with sadism and abuse. This was one of those situations where Saria would bully Bala later if she answered incorrectly.

“Isabella, your panties are showing.” I tried to break into the conversation to spare her any more torment.

“That’s not a problem, uncle. I’m not wearing any panties.” Isabella announced.

“I’m aware… I was being polite.” I found myself sighing once again.

I had found myself sighing quite a bit when talking to my daughter. On the other hand, I also felt a fondness for her. She was extremely inquisitive and quick-witted, and if I sat her down and seriously taught her, I felt like she’d be able to figure out many things. I wasn’t in a situation where I was ready to do that yet. It was best to leave her in ignorance until the world was just a bit safer, but I felt a sense of pride toward her at the same time.

I reached out and grabbed Isabella carefully by the hips, rotating her so that her exposed part was once again hidden from my view. I sat her back down on my lap at the same time.

“You need to go to sleep, Isabella. Tomorrow will be a big day.” I smiled.

“You’re leaving tomorrow, aren’t you.” Isabella turned to me; her words weren’t a question, but an accusation.

My smile slipped slightly. Lucilla, who had been sitting in a chair nearby knitting and seeming at peace as she listened to our chat looked up worriedly from her spot.

“Izzy…”

“You’ll be leaving too, won’t you? I’ll be on my own.”

As I had said, Isabella was a clever girl. She had worked out that we’d be leaving.

“We haven’t decided…”

“Mother intends to send all of us.” Olivia broke in. “If we’re going to take back control of the human realm, we need to emerge as a unified front. No one is going to follow brother if he returns with a few letters of right. They will assume they were manipulated or coerced.”

Lucilla’s lips tightened slightly. On the first day, we had been reunited, she had tried to send me back with two letters of abdication. At the time, I had refused, because I had known deep down that they wouldn’t have worked. Of course, that was before we had known my father was dead. Now that the king was no more, it only made things impossible. Olivia had finally verbalized that worry. It didn’t matter how legal my place on the throne was. Unless I had the strength and support to move, I was just looking to be arrested and thrown in a dungeon.

If I was going to return to the human realm, I needed to do so with all of my sisters with me. I knew next to nothing about my last two sisters, but I had asked what it would take to get them to move and help, and they reluctantly admitted that their sisters would not return on their own.

“It’s okay, mommy.” Isabella cut into the dark thoughts that had come over us. “I’m used to being on my own. I’ll be fine.”

Her words were intended to soothe the situation, but they only acted like a sharp dagger into our hearts. I didn’t know where we were going or what we were getting into. I just knew that it was dangerous. I had already put my sisters into far more danger than I ever would have liked, and I had no choice but to put them into even more danger before the end. My one consolation was that they were adults and could make their own decisions. Isabella was just a young child, and even though she might look only a few years younger than Baba and twice as vulgar, she was a child who wasn’t emotionally mature enough to handle all of this.

“I-if you’re going to be gone by tomorrow, then can you please… stay with me until I go to sleep.” Her question had been directed at her mother and me specifically.

There were tears in her eyes, and even a man like me couldn’t look at such a face and deny her anything. We exchanged glances and then nodded our ascent.

“Of course.”

The other girls took that opportunity to leave. There was a somber atmosphere as they left. We had two days to rest, and now it was back to the journey. I had already traveled so far with them, and yet we still had so much farther to go. It was tiring, and it was a bit depressing as well. Everyone’s life was being upset in this, and they didn’t even have time to come to grips with the losses they were facing. When it was quiet, Lucilla put down her knitting stuff on a side table and then slid into the bed next to her daughter. I remained on the other side as we both squeezed together, holding her tightly.

“Grandma will still be here,” Lucilla whispered to her. “You might find her to be a whole different woman. Mother used to be… well, I’ve seen a part of her I hope you can one day meet.”

Lucilla was trying to reassure her, but it wasn’t totally convincing. Lucilla had grown up with a caring and loving mother, but Aurica had cut her soul in two because of me. The mother she had been with for the last nine years, and Isabella’s entire life, was a crazy and eccentric woman driven mad by what she lost. She may have instinctively protected my children, but she didn’t seem to hold any particular love or desire to be around them either.

Meanwhile, while my mother was loving, most of that love was directed at me. She spoke with Lucilla and treated her kindly, but that was more because my mother was a generally kind person. It didn’t stem from any particular lingering affection for her children. All of that affection had seemingly been dumped on me. Yet, I never could bring myself to break that illusion for Lucilla. She had been so starved for a mother figure that she had come to take my mother’s kindness for motherly love. I was sure it stemmed from her having to be a mother so soon in life. She needed that role model where there was none to be found. Lucilla had to do it on her own, so I couldn’t blame her for any of my daughter’s idiosyncrasies.

One of my hands stroked the back of Lucilla’s head, while the other gently stroked Isabella. They were both parts of my life now. When I had first come to this world and that flippant God had put this complicated charge on my shoulders, I had found the very notion of his demands to be repugnant. However, as I remained in this world and interacted with everyone, his requests no longer felt so aloof and thoughtless. I truly did love this family, and I was going to bring it together and protect it at any cost.

“Mommy… I love you.” Isabella’s words came out in a light and drowsy whisper, her eyes fluttering half-closed.

“Mommy loves you too,” Lucilla responded, tears forming in her eyes as well.

This wasn’t just Isabella being separated from her mother. This was also the first time Lucilla would be away from her daughter so far since her birth. It had an emotional impact that I hadn’t even considered.

“Love… dad..dy…” Her words came out in a barely inaudible whisper.

Lucilla and I shared a glance. I hadn’t told her I was her father, and neither had Lucilla. Had she figured that out too, or was it only the speaking of her subconscious as she slipped into her dreams? I didn’t know the answer, and it would be a long time before I could ask.

“I love you too… daughter,” I spoke gently, leaning down and kissing the top of Isabella’s head.

She made a slight whimper, but she was otherwise completely asleep. Very slowly, Lucilla and I unfolded ourselves from Isabella. It was easier to say than do, as we didn’t want to risk disturbing her sleep. About ten minutes later, the pair of us had finally gotten up, and taking one last look at my sleeping daughter, safe in her birdcage hanging in the center palace of the enemy, I closed the door and ended my last peek at her.

We were plunged into a relatively dark hallway, only lit by the occasional murder hole letting it starlight from outside. My hand remained on the door for a few moments. Lucilla reached out and put her hand on the back of mine.

“You will see her again.” She reassured me. “We both will.”

I nodded. “The quicker we get this done, the sooner we can start our lives together.”

What a quaint thought that was. I never would have imagined thinking such useless things even a few months prior. I had been so focused on completing this mission that I had never considered my life after. The god who had summoned me had explained that once I enslaved all my sisters and impregnated them, I could live the rest of my life however I saw fit. Of course, that in itself had already been a loaded task. He would have known what I would have seen in the process, and he must have anticipated my feelings too.

Was that reward at the end ever going to come? Would I be able to live a life as a king surrounded by my loving sisters, my wife, and our cumulative children? Perhaps, that was the true goal in all of this, but I couldn’t think about such things at the moment.

“The convergence is about to begin.”

Those words came from a light source standing a way down the hall. I looked up to see Baba standing there with a lantern in her hand. Usually, Baba resembled a child in her young teens, perhaps a few years older than my daughter. However, the shadows seemed to dance on her face, and she held a serious expression that made her look much older. In that brief moment, she resembled the wise old magus she always claimed to be.

From the moment my mother had revealed this spell that would merge her soul back together, I had consulted Baba about it. She was my resident expert on magic, and she would know what was possible and when better than anyone. The one argument I was able to win with the queen these last two days was to ensure her involvement in the spell. Someone should be handling it that wasn’t part of the spell themselves. That’s what I was thinking.

“Are you ready?” I asked, turning away from the door for good.

“I’ve gathered the necessary things.” Baba shrugged. “I think I’ve figured out the basics of the spell. The queen has not been forthcoming. I thought I had issues, but even talking to her has been a challenge. Most of the communication had to go through the doppelganger instead.”

“She’s not a…”

“Yes, yes…” Baba waved her hand. “They are a single woman. I’ve heard. After tonight, let’s make that official.”

I gave a stiff nod, although I’d be lying if I said I was excited or happy about this. Once the ceremony was complete, my mother would no longer be my mother. She would be a new woman, a third entity that I had never met before. I let out a tight breath, and I felt Lucilla reach out and touch my hand.

I had to remember that this wasn’t just about me. She was the mother to Lucilla and Olivia too. Once she was back together, they would be getting their mother back. I squeezed her hand, and the two of us followed after Baba. We didn’t have to walk for long before we were joined by Olivia.

This ceremony had to be performed in complete secret. This was extremely dangerous, and if any enemy knew what was happening, they would likely want to do everything possible to keep my mother from becoming whole once again. Thus, this entire area of the palace was cleared out. Even the trusted servants were sent home this night. For once, the palace was truly empty.

The location of the ceremony was none other than the throne room where I had met and nearly choked the queen. It was the most protected spot within the palace, and also served as a magical nexus that amplified their energy, or so I was told. The faery who was very sensitive toward magic often structured their buildings in a way that took advantage of it. I didn’t know much about it. That level of magic education had been lacking from Baba’s occasional talks I got while I was on the road.

We didn’t enter the throne room through the main double doors, but a much smaller side door. As I entered, I could see the room was filled with candles to light the way. There was writing on the floor, some kind of runic spell, as well as various writings on the walls. To the untrained eye, it looked like a room containing the ramblings of a madman. I knew just enough to know that all of these spells were there to prevent the magical signal from leaking and to isolate and amplify the spell.

Such a spell wasn’t as powerful as the death of a dragon, but if it was felt by the fairies, they would start to ask questions, and those questions might eventually lead to the celestials. The longer the celestials were kept into the dark as to what side mother was on, the better off we would be. Standing together, looking so similar but also so different, was my mother and the queen. They had been almost inseparable since the queen had snatched my mother three days ago. Mom turned to me and broke into a smile. She was wearing a dress of fine material, clearly selected by the queen.

“My sweet son…” Mom spoke. “It’s time to begin.”