Volume 1 Chapter 152
by Need_More_SleepVolume 1 + Chapter 152: Something Is Off
After being bullied for so long, Leah had finally managed to straighten her back. To say that she held no resentment in her heart would be impossible. The humiliation, cold stares, and injustice she had endured in the past had finally given way to a chance to fight back, how could she not feel anger and bitterness?
Leah’s past experiences, when boiled down, were nothing less than outright bullying.
The one who had once orchestrated everything, Long Aotian, had already been locked away and could no longer stir up trouble for the time being. As for the other bully who had once stood just as high above everyone else, Vivian, she had long since fallen from her pedestal, reduced to a broken-backed dog, so miserable that not even a trace of her former radiance remained.
Yet even though everything seemed settled on the surface, the anger in Leah’s heart had not fully dissipated. Her hand clenched slightly, her fingertips nearly digging into her palm, and a trace of long-suppressed grievance and unwillingness surfaced on her face.
“Leah.”
Just as her emotions churned, a warm hand gently came to rest on her head, softly ruffling her hair. Eve’s tender voice, like a spring breeze, quietly suppressed the anger in her heart.
“Let’s go home and eat.”
Such a short sentence, no persuasion, no lofty principles, not even a mention of past wounds. Yet it was precisely this simple warmth that caused the tightly drawn string in Leah’s heart to slowly relax.
She froze for a moment, the anger in her eyes gradually fading, replaced by a sense of calm.
“Okay…”
She responded softly. Though her voice was quiet, it carried a solidity she had never felt before.
Eve simply stood there in silence, her gaze calmly sweeping over the box clutched tightly in Vivian’s arms. She naturally understood what was inside that box, and she also understood the meaning it held for Vivian.
However, she did not ask any questions, nor did she reveal any additional emotion. She merely cast a fleeting glance before withdrawing her gaze again.
Eve would not speak out of turn. To the Vivian of today, the “Eve” of the past was already dead, and she, the current white-haired Madam Eve, was Leah’s long-lost mother, bearing no relation whatsoever to the former red-haired witch.
She knew she could not reveal even the slightest flaw, could not show a trace of familiarity, and had to restrain herself even from excessive eye contact. Otherwise, any of it could become a risk of exposing her identity.
After all, Vivian had once lived with her day and night, familiar with her every movement and manner of speech. If Eve were even slightly careless, even the subtlest change in a glance could be noticed by the other party.
Eve understood this clearly. Thus, she imperceptibly adjusted her expression, maintaining a calm and distant demeanor, allowing no cracks to show.
She would never reveal her identity as the red-haired witch at such a critical juncture, much less allow the Church to sense anything amiss. She knew better than anyone that once her true identity was exposed, the consequences would not merely bring trouble upon herself, but would also implicate Alice and even affect the entire empire.
Just imagine if the citizens of the empire were to suddenly learn that Eve, the national magus personally appointed by the imperial ruler, was in fact the red-haired witch who had once struck terror across the entire continent…
Once such news spread, it would inevitably cause an enormous uproar and might even trigger unpredictable turmoil within the imperial royal family itself.
No one would care about the achievements the red-haired witch had once made, nor would anyone be willing to understand how many deeds she had done for the benefit of the people.
In this world, the very word “witch” was itself an insurmountable abyss. Once tainted by it, one was destined to be rejected by society. That deeply rooted prejudice was like an immovable mountain, standing between people’s faith and understanding, driving them to instinctively shun witches, or even wish to eradicate them completely.
Eve was keenly aware of this. Therefore, she had to remain calm at all times, never revealing a single flaw. Every word she spoke, every action she took, even the slightest change in expression had to be perfectly controlled. She could not allow anyone to harbor doubts, especially at such a precarious moment.
What was more, she was an existence that had already been executed once.
The world believed the red-haired witch to be truly dead. If that fact were overturned, what awaited her would no longer be judgment, but the hostility and fear of the entire world.
An immortal witch, even that title alone was enough to strike terror into hearts, and would be sufficient to plunge both the Church and the royal family into irreparable chaos. Witches were already targets of universal hatred, and a “resurrected” witch would only multiply the world’s fear and revulsion. When that time came, not only would she suffer, but even the imperial royal family might be shaken, or even overthrown as a result.
Thus, when facing Vivian, Eve deliberately reduced even the number of times she met her gaze, as though Vivian were nothing more than an unrelated stranger. She took Leah by the hand and, without hesitation, walked around Vivian, heading steadily and naturally toward home, as if she had not noticed the other’s existence at all.
Yet despite Eve’s deliberate avoidance, Vivian remained standing there, unmoving, her eyes fixed firmly on Eve, as though trying to find some familiar trace in her.
At that moment, she even forgot that she was still holding a heavy box. Her arms trembled slightly, but she had no intention of letting go.
“Leah’s mom…”
Vivian murmured softly, her tone carrying an unconscious sense of daze. She did not feel anger at Leah’s mockery, nor did even a trace of resentment arise, because she knew very well that she deserved it.
The things she had done in the past were shameful even in her own recollection, how could she possibly hope for Leah’s forgiveness?
In truth, Vivian’s attention at this moment was no longer on Leah’s attitude at all. Her gaze remained fixed on the woman Leah called her mother, her thoughts churning uncontrollably.
Especially when Leah mentioned that her mother’s dish names were awkward and hard to remember, Vivian’s heart tightened violently, her body trembling almost involuntarily.
Back then… she herself had once said the very same thing to her own mother.
What shocked her even more was this sweet-and-sour pork and mapo tofu, these two dishes, which she had searched for across many nations in her capacity as a Saintess without ever finding. Even the finest royal chefs and the most renowned culinary masters on the continent had looked utterly confused upon hearing those names, without the slightest sense of familiarity. And yet Leah’s mother could make them?
Not only that, tofu itself was an extremely rare ingredient. Ordinary people had never even heard of it, let alone made it by hand.
And Vivian clearly remembered witnessing her own mother making tofu in the courtyard with her own eyes. It was an exceedingly complex process, one that involved no magic at all, yet somehow felt imbued with an almost supernatural sense of wonder.
There were simply too many coincidences.
Coupled with the inexplicable sense of familiarity emanating from Leah’s mother, Vivian’s thoughts grew increasingly chaotic. Her reason told her that the white-haired woman before her was an entirely different existence from the person in her memories, yet her intuition throbbed faintly with pain, as though some truth was about to surface, just a little more, and she would be able to grasp it…
“Something’s wrong. This is definitely wrong!”
0 Comments