Chapter 85.2
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Chapter 85: I Know My Limits [2]
The fiery red sun sank behind the western hills, and a crescent moon began to rise.
“You two go eat. I’m not hungry.”
Dinner time.
Iris lay on the bed, her expression cold.
Naya, holding Illya’s hand, stood nearby, at a loss.
Iris had been sulking since the morning—all over a jade pendant.
At the time, Naya didn’t know why, but in a moment of impulsiveness, she accepted Linnevia’s gift.
In her heart, she still saw Lina as her friend.
To her, a friend’s blessing was something natural to accept.
Receiving a friend’s gift felt perfectly justified.
Naya subconsciously believed the jade pendant could protect and bless her descendants.
But Iris wasn’t from Earth and probably didn’t understand this way of thinking.
Even so, Iris had already destroyed the pendant, and Naya had apologized at noon. What more did she want?
“Alright, Illya, let’s leave Mother alone.”
“Okay…”
Illya, though playing along with the tense atmosphere between her Mother and Mama, was secretly thrilled.
With Mother gone, she could eat for two—what a treat!
As soon as they left the inn, Flanna and Bella hurried over.
“Why… why are you following us?”
Illya was startled by their sudden appearance.
Without Mother, were two maids going to join them?
“Her Majesty the Queen asked us to protect you,” Bella replied.
“Don’t worry, Princess, we’ll sit at a separate table and won’t take your food,” Flanna said, easily reading Illya’s mind.
“Hmph! Fine, then follow!”
Illya sighed in relief.
Hand in hand with Naya, they headed to a restaurant for dinner.
After the last incident, Naya chose a less upscale place.
Dragons valued large portions and a full belly, while human nobles emphasized refinement and elegance.
As they ate, Naia repeatedly glanced to her side.
Without Iris, something felt off.
She cast a guilty look at Flanna and Bella at the neighboring table.
It made her feel a pang of guilt.
She should go back and sincerely apologize to Iris.
At noon, her apology had been late, and her attitude wasn’t quite earnest.
Besides, Iris’s stubborn cuteness over something so petty only showed how much she truly loved her, didn’t it?
Naya put down her chopsticks and stood up resolutely.
“Mommy, what’s wrong?”
“Illya, finish eating and then go play with Flanna and Bella. I’m going back for a bit.”
“Going back? Because of Mother?”
“Yes.”
Naya nodded.
“Flanna, Bella, please keep an eye on Illya. Illya, be good and stay with Flanna and Bella.”
“Yes, Miss Naya.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
Illya watched Naya hurry out of the restaurant with an smile appeared on her face.
She couldn’t wait to see her Mama and Mother reconcile.
Why had Mother gotten angry, anyway?
Grown-ups were so confusing.
Now all the food on the table was hers!
Seeing Illya sitting alone at the table, Flanna asked.
“Princess, would you like to join us?”
“No!”
Without Naya’s supervision, Illya devoured her food like a whirlwind.
“Ugh…”
Holding her mouth, Ilya suddenly realized that with Mommy gone, she didn’t have to maintain her lady-like manners.
She glanced over at Flanna and Bella’s table, still loaded with food, mostly untouched.
She couldn’t understand why adults ate so little.
Her pink eyes sparkled, and she grinned mischievously.
“Flanna, Bella, how about we share a table?”
“Of course, Princess,” Flanna replied, noticing the bare plates on Illya’s table.
What a little glutton, she thought.
Meanwhile, Naya rushed back to the inn, heading straight for their room.
But Iris wasn’t sitting on the bed. Instead, Naya heard sounds from the bathroom.
She cautiously approached the bathroom door and knocked.
“Iris, are you in there?”
The door clicked open.
Iris stood before her, completely unclothed, and a blush quickly spread from Naya’s neck to her cheeks.
“You—you could’ve at least covered up!”
“Finished eating so soon?”
Iris asked blankly.
“I left Illya with Flanna and Bella,” Naya replied, turning her head aside.
“I’m sorry, Iris. I shouldn’t have accepted Lina’s gift without your consent. That was wrong of me. I’m really sorry for today. And also for this morning, when I woke up thinking about Lina first thing.”
“Naya…”
Naya clutched her chest, turning to look Iris directly in the eyes.
“I promise, there’s no one I love besides you. I really only see Lina as a friend. Meeting her today was just to officially say goodbye to my past self and start a new life. That’s why I was so emotional today—because I felt that after seeing Lina, my whole life belonged to you. From now on, everything in my future will revolve around you.”
“Naya, I’m sorry, too. I might’ve overreacted.”
“No, absolutely not. It’s normal that you didn’t understand why I took Lina’s gift. In my hometown, this kind of jade pendant isn’t something lovers exchange—it’s more like a blessing. It’s meant to protect me and ensure that I, and the baby, will be safe.”
Back on Earth, as a child, every year during the Lunar New Year, my family would buy me, one of these jade pendants.
They were meant to invoke the gods’ protection.
Naya believed that Lina, being from Earth and Chinese, shared the same sentiment when she gave her the pendant.
That’s why Naya had accepted it without hesitation.
“So, that’s what it was… and I went and destroyed it…”
After hearing Naya’s explanation, Iris felt a deep sense of regret.
She had thought that the jade pendant was like a token of love, which is why she had been bothered by it all day, believing that Naya accepting Lina’s gift meant accepting Lina’s feelings.
Naya raised her hand and embraced Iris, letting the water droplets from Iris’s body soak into her dress.
“It’s alright. Rather than having Lina protect our child, I would much rather it be you. Iris, let’s protect our child together.”
“Mmm.”
The System had mentioned before.
Iris have been entering to supply energy to the children’s souls.
Feeding the children would ease their souls’ internal conflict.
“Be careful, though. Don’t actually harm their physical bodies.”
“Don’t worry, I know my limits. It will be fine.”
Warm water poured down from the showerhead.
Naya’s dress was completely soaked.
Meanwhile, Iris knelt before her, praying devoutly, blessing their children’s souls.
Naya leaned against the sink, covering her face, biting her lip.
In her heart, she longed to be connected with Iris. No matter how many thorns and obstacles lay ahead, she hoped Iris would press forward, reaching the shore of blessings.
“Iris…”
Iris continuously channeled energy, while the twin souls of their children on the shore greedily consumed it, momentarily halting their conflict.
“Ah!”
Naya suddenly cried out in surprise.
Startled by the fox that had silently appeared at the bathroom door, she hurriedly covered herself.
“What’s wrong, Naya?” Iris’s muffled voice came from inside.
“A fox… why is there a fox here?”
Iris lifted her skirt and poked her head out.
Looking outside the bathroom, there was nothing there.
“It just flashed by… a pink fox.”
Iris didn’t think it was Naya’s imagination. She quickly activated her life-sensing ability and, sure enough, detected a fox hiding in the room.
“Naya, relax a little…”
With her nerves tense, Naya hadn’t even realized how tightly she was holding onto Iris.
Her cheeks turned red again.
After a soft pop, Iris wrapped herself in a towel and quickly left the bathroom.
She found the little pink-furred fox under the bed, then reached out and grabbed it.
“Wuuu…”
The pink fox looked pitifully at Iris.
Naya, wearing her soaked dress, trembled as she walked out of the bathroom. Iris turned, holding the fox.
“Is this the one?”
“Mmm.”
Naya nodded.
“Wuuu… wuuu…”
The little fox waved its limbs, looking as though it was about to cry.
Iris lifted her head—the window was tightly shut.
So how had this fox gotten in?
“Who sent you?”
“Yip yip…”
Can’t understand it.
Iris frowned.
She cast a marking spell on the fox, carried it to the window, opened it, and placed the fox on the windowsill.
But the fox didn’t leave. Instead, it jumped back down and rubbed against Iris’s leg.
“Go away.”
Naya squatted down, picked the fox up from beside Iris’s leg, and said:
“Iris, you should get dressed first.”
This naughty fox almost saw everything under Iris’s towel.
Only I can enjoy my wife’s secret garden! Even if you’re just a fox, it’s not allowed.
Iris nodded, picking up her pajamas and underwear before returning to the bathroom to change out of the towel.
Naya kept a close eye on the fox.
At first, she had been afraid of it, but now it was trying to act cute to gain their sympathy.
Highly suspicious.
Oh, right. Better check if this fox is male or female.
As Naya flipped the fox over to check its underside, the fox fiercely resisted, kicked Naya away, and quickly fled the room.
“Hey!”
Naya leaned against the windowsill, but the pink figure had already vanished.
Just as Iris walked out of the bathroom, Naya turned to her with a helpless expression and said:
“It ran away.”
“It’s alright. I placed a marking spell on it. I can track its movements by activating my elemental vision.”