TEWMD Chapter 09

Chapter 9

It said there was an error.

It said the progress couldn’t be measured!

So why was it fixed so quickly?

And it’s already at 5%.

At this point, is it even making a difference whether I’m here or not?

What does it think I am?!

Sure, I’m only a seven-year-old kid, but still!

I’m suddenly losing confidence.

Can I really protect Mom…?

“It’s been a long time.”

While I stared blankly at the scroll because my confidence had suddenly dropped, Mom looked out the carriage window and spoke.

“When I first saw this view, it was really hard to get used to.”

Her voice was softer and more emotional than usual, as if she were remembering an old memory.

I stopped thinking for a moment and listened carefully.

Mom looked very serious.

“You said the world you lived in was very different from this one.”

Dad Harzen also looked outside and joined the conversation.

Wait a second!

My dads, the main characters of the novel, know that Mom is a possessor, someone who came from another world and took over Yuria’s body.

That’s why they don’t look surprised when Mom occasionally uses modern words.

In fact, these days, Mom’s way of speaking has rubbed off on my dads too, and they sometimes use modern expressions themselves.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“……”

“So back then, everything was scary and confusing. I didn’t even know who I was or what I was supposed to do.”

Mom rested her chin on her hand against the window frame and continued.

“On top of that, I had already been labeled a villainess. Nobody listened to anything I said. They would even tremble whenever I raised my hand.”

“……”

“It felt like there was nowhere I was welcome.”

Mom looked away from the window and lowered her eyes.

“But that’s all in the past now.”

Dad Harzen stared at her and asked,

“Did you ever think about going back?”

“Of course I did. Many times.”

“Then even now—”

“I already told you. It’s all in the past now.”

Her pink eyelashes shimmered beautifully in the sunlight.

“I made new connections here. We went through difficult things together and overcame them together. This place has become my real world now.”

“……”

“So the only place I want to return to, and the only place I need to return to, is here.”

A dazzling smile appeared on her lips.

“Because all of you are here.”

Her purple eyes, like amethysts, curved warmly in the spring sunlight.

I covered my mouth with both hands and gasped.

Wow.

Mom really looks like the heroine.

Well…

She actually is the heroine.

“Most importantly, my beloved daughter is here too.”

“The cold-hearted daughter who didn’t even come out to say goodbye.”

The moment Dad Harzen finished speaking, my eyebrows twitched.

Dad is an idiot.

I secretly followed them all the way here because I love Mom more than anyone!

“Anyway, unlike back then, I really like this world now, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

“……”

“Although I still don’t like the Imperial Palace.”

Dad Harzen gave a small laugh at her playful comment.

Then he tilted his head lazily and repeated her words.

“Yes. These days, I have come to like this world very much too. Although I still don’t like the Imperial Palace.”

Mom smiled slightly after hearing him.

Then she gave a small sigh.

“The person who was the only one to open her heart to me in that place is sick. How could I not go?”

Dad gently placed his hand over hers.

“Mother will be fine.”

“We have to make sure she is.”

That’s what Mom’s ability is for.

Mom took another deep breath and smiled faintly.

“You probably wanted to return to the Imperial Palace even less than I did. Thank you for accepting my stubbornness, Harzen.”

“Wasn’t I summoned too?”

“Even so, you could have refused if you really wanted to.”

“Perhaps.”

Dad raised one corner of his mouth and touched his chin with one finger.

“People who have no way to retreat tend to become more extreme.”

I shivered as soon as I heard him.

I knew he was talking about the Imperial Palace.

But because I knew the future, his words somehow felt like they were also describing me.

Mom must be like that to my dads.

The one thing they can never give up.

Their final reason for protecting this world.

Okay.

I clenched my fists and strengthened my resolve again.

To protect Mom.

And to protect the world Mom loved.

I would do everything I could.

The important thing is to never give up!

First, let’s make a new plan.

What do I need to do after arriving at the Imperial Palace to stop the progress from decreasing?

To figure that out, I needed to understand the relationship between the Imperial Palace and my parents.

But…

I only know that they have a bad relationship. I don’t know the details.

The original was told from the heroine Yuria’s point of view.

And Mom rarely went to the Imperial Palace.

That made sense.

She was busy fighting the Demon King!

If she was busy getting to the Demon King’s castle, how could she keep going back to the Imperial Palace?

The only times Mom went there were when she was summoned to fight the Demon King and when she returned to receive her reward after defeating him.

Even then, almost everyone except the Empress disliked Mom.

More accurately, they seemed to dislike heroes in general.

Just as Dad Harzen said, did they really think the heroes were taking away their glory?

If only I had read the side story.

Then I would know exactly what was going on.

But me?

Cici?

I was a child who never read the side story.

I’m seriously regretting that now.

Still, at least I don’t know absolutely nothing.

Thanks to Dad Harzen telling me various things, I wasn’t completely clueless.

“You will have to continue on foot from here.”

The carriage stopped with a jolt, and Count Rionard opened the door.

I jumped down from the carriage and followed behind them, putting all the information together.

One: The Imperial Family doesn’t like Mom and Dad.

Two: Mom and Dad don’t like the Imperial Family either.

Three: The closer we get to the throne room, the more the scroll’s percentage decreases…

I watched the progress slowly drop by 0.01% at a time.

What should I do now?

If we enter the throne room like this, the original story will probably begin the moment we meet the Emperor.

I had worked so hard to get this far.

I couldn’t just fail without doing anything!

What if I take off the Invisibility Cloak right now…?

I thought about it for a moment.

Then I shook my head.

This didn’t seem like a good idea.

What if Mom and Dad separated me from them and went into the throne room without me?

I did have the things I had taken from Dad Kyle’s laboratory.

But none of them were things I could use here.

At the very least, I need to get somewhere they can’t immediately send me away.

Somewhere even Mom and Dad couldn’t casually leave.

For example…

In front of the Emperor.

Inside the throne room.

The problem was that I might accidentally activate the original story right there.

But…

This isn’t my first time stopping the story right before it begins.

I did it once already.

I can do it again!

“Please go inside.”

Count Rionard had finally reached the throne room.

He bowed and gestured for us to enter.

Okay! Get fired up!

Let’s go!

I quickly ran ahead of Dad Harzen and entered the throne room first.

The first thing I saw was a throne at the end of a red carpet.

And sitting on that throne was a man.

Wrinkles around his eyes showed his age.

His hair was partly gray.

He looked very much like Harzen, but he was even more arrogant and cold.

Just looking into his eyes made it hard to breathe.

That’s the Emperor.

I swallowed nervously and looked at the scroll.

Progress remaining until full activation: 0.1%

Hmm.

Good.

Seeing the tiny amount of progress left made my fear disappear.

That old man suddenly didn’t seem like such a big deal.

I can do this, Cecilia!

This is my moment!

“…We greet His Majesty the Emperor.”

Mom and Dad bowed to the Emperor.

At that exact moment, I threw off the Invisibility Cloak and took one step forward—

“W-Whoa?!”

Before I could take the step properly, I tripped over the cloak and fell flat on the floor.

At the same time, a heavy silence fell over the entire throne room.

“……”

“……”

“……?”

I immediately lifted my head and looked at the scroll.

Progress remaining until full activation:

Unable to measure due to an error

“Khm.”

I sniffed once and smiled proudly.

…Anyway, I did it, right?