landbeastnovel Chapter 223: Volume 4 Epilogue
Chapter 223: Volume 4 Epilogue
Chapter 223: Volume 4 EpilogueChapter 195
Imagine a world—no, a reality—that becomes everything you've ever wanted. It exists solely for you and your significant other—with luck and love intertwined.
Imagine if you wish for a certain moment—like laying in your true love's arms—to never end. And it doesn't. You wish that your true love adores you just as much as you adore them. Both hearts share the same feelings, which gives them a spiritual bond. You don't even have to tell your true love how much you love them because they already know. They know what you would do to stay with them and would go to the same lengths to show you how much you mean to them.
Imagine such a perfect world.
In reality, however, life is not always so black and white. Complications arise that stem from the complexity of human emotions, expectations of others, experiences you go through, and relationships—whether platonic or not—outside your love circle.
Whether a man or a woman, you'll always have difficulty with your conflicting emotions. Communication barriers always exist where you can't express yourself clearly to your significant other or you feel hesitation over how to handle a certain situation and can't confide in your significant other.
Past relationships or personal experiences can affect how individuals approach and experience love, whether old or young. This may often lead to emotional baggage or unresolved issues complicating current relationships.
Navigating through issues you face in life can often feel scary and overwhelming, forcing you to choose which path you wish to take to resolve those issues.
Love isn't that simple.
But if it's inside the perfect dream made just for you then it doesn't matter. All it takes is looking forward, ignoring all the issues surrounding you and your lover.
Madilith has always known that love isn't as simple as it's described in young adult romance novels. Authors never show the struggles because they know that readers will get bored along the way. This leads to an angry audience. To circumvent that, they come up with ridiculous plots like: the handsome hero saves the princess from a dragon then she declares that her mother told her to marry the strongest man in her kingdom—the end. The romance is shown throughout the story but the complications and obstacles are left out. People care more for the fluffy moments that the couples share, not the hardships they go through.
It was because of that that Madilith grew up with a naïve perception of love—something she grew out of not so long ago.
Because of that she knew that what she was currently experiencing was just a dream.
But this dream was hers, something she wanted to become reality. As such, she feels the desire to experience it to its fullest.
"My love." someone called out to Madilith as she was sitting on a balcony, stargazing with a glass of red wine in her hand.
She looked back.
Arnold, wearing a tuxedo with his dark blue hair slicked to one side, stood there with a warm glint in his eyes.
Madilith remembers this night very clearly. How could she forget? It was the night that Arnold took her first time.
They were at one of the Berkley villas located in a small town near Horvine city's walls.
This town was known for its abundance of wine farms and markets. The streets are usually filled with people from all around the empire visiting to taste the variety of cheese to choose from or just to experience the cultures as a whole.
The streets were now empty. The street lights were on but there were no patrolling guards, no dogs barking and no prostitutes standing on the streets.
How much time had passed since Madilith came here?
It doesn't matter, she thought.
The dream is indistinguishable from reality so why would she leave, especially if it's all so perfect?
Arnold got on his knees.
Madilith lifted one of her legs.
Her took hold of her foot and took off her heel.
He caressed her bare foot and brought it up to his mouth, after which he planted a kiss on the top of her foot.
"Good boy." Madilith smiled as she stroked his cheek, "I will allow you to lick my foot if you beg me."
"Please allow me to experience the taste and texture of your perfect foot, my love."
"Hnn~ That doesn't sound sincere~"
"I will be most honored and grateful if you allow me to worship your gorgeous foot!"
"Hehehehe."
Arnold took all five of her toes in his mouth. His tongue wiggled over her red toenails and between her toes. He caressed her leg lovingly.
This is the Arnold she wants to see—the complete opposite of what and who he truly is. Arnold would never get down on his knees to worship a woman he considers below him. He doesn't even bow in the presence of royalty—why would he bow for a girl he already ran through a few years back?
The reverse always happens—with his lovers being subservient to him and listening to his every order.
If Madilith can see him worshipping her every day then she'll stay in this dream forever, enjoying the bliss of being wanted by the one you love.
"—Please wake up—"
"Hm?" Madilith opened her eyes when she heard Arnold speak.
That's odd. She didn't wish to hear him speak, just continue to lick her foot.
"—I need to know how you feel about me..."
"Hey, why are you stopping? Don't just look at me like that! Answer your mistress!" Madilith noticed the blank expression on Arnold's face and his dead eyes.
Feeling creeped out, she stood up, with her foot still wet from saliva.
"I can't lose you! I don't want to!" He tried to touch Madilith.
"W-What are you saying? Y-You're not supposed to act like this! You're supposed to only speak when I want you to!" Madilith, unsure of why he was saying those things, pushed him away.
Despite doing so, he continued.
"I only ever listened to what other people told me to do. I've never once listened to my heart... I didn't know what it feels like to make friends, talk to people or experience love..."
"...." Madilith stepped back.
This isn't what she wanted Arnold to say. Why was he saying all that?
"Leave me alone!"
"I want to experience love and make friends..." Arnold took her into his arms in a tight hug.
"Stop it! Let me go! Disappear! Disappear!" Despite wishing for him to disappear, the dream didn't answer her wish.
"I want to protect my family one day and show my children that violence is not always the answer. I want you to bear those children. You'd make a wonderful mother..."
Madilith clutched her head.
"STOOOOP—"
"I don't know why I fell for you even though we don't know each other that well... But that doesn't matter."
It felt like her head was going to tear apart.
"I love you, Miss Madilith... Please come back..." A different voice sounded in her ear.
Was that... Hofir just now?
!!!
Everything turned dark. Arnold, and the perfect world created by that dream, vanished.
The cool, gentle sunlight was replaced by a slight breeze and cold floor.
Madilith felt a powerful force pull her from the dream. She could make out a small light above through her heavy eyes.
The light grew larger and larger until she could make out someone's face in that light.
In that moment his face overlapped with Arnold's but the more she blinked, the clearer Hofir's face became.
"Hofir...?"
***
Hofir sat there against the throne with Madilith in his arms while looking up at the hole that had appeared in the ceiling after some mysterious woman entered the nave and killed both the dead king and that blob monster.
That woman hit him so hard that even his head was pounding.
A faint light shined down on him.
Madilith's body felt cold but there was a heartbeat.
He looked down at Madilith's face.
She looked so angelically cute.
Hofir's eyes were drawn to her lips.
I want to kiss her.
I want to taste her lips.
I want to savor her taste.
He couldn't do such a thing to a defenseless woman—especially to the one he loves.
He then looked at her chest. His hand hovered over one of her breasts.
"....." He shook his head.
I can't...
I shouldn't...
This is wrong...
"Please wake up... I need to know how you feel about me... I only ever listened to what other people told me to do. I've never once listened to my heart... I didn't know what it feels like to make friends, talk to people or experience love... I thought... I thought that I could experience all of that with you."
Silence.
"I want to protect my family one day and show my children that violence is not always the answer. I want you to bear those children. You'd make a wonderful mother..."
Silence.
"She's not going to answer..." Hofir leaned against the throne and looked up as if trying to
"....."
"So, are you going to answer my question? What's your next scheme?"
She stayed silent. Not only was she at a loss for words, she was completely dumbstruck by what he knew. How did he find out about her secretly communicating with her past self through divinations?
"You're not going to tell me? Is it because you hate me? Let me clear one thing up for you: I will not aid you in making my younger self a puppet to the gods. All you do is lie, steal and manipulate."
"...Aren't you the same?" she looked at him with a sharp glare.
"I only mixed some lies in the truth that I told him. I suppose the difference between the two of us is that I have no semblance of godhood, thus that makes me more trustworthy than you."
He continued, "He is going to create that Divine Fertilizer but what do you think will happen once he realizes the leverage that he'll have over trillions of lives and his creator?"
"...." Angelica could feel cold sweat down her back.
If that version of Arnold turns out like the Arnold in front of her then humanity as a whole is doomed.
"Naturally he'll go to the Fairy Queen first. She—alongside the five High Elves—will determine a reward for him saving the World Tree. We both know that the reward they'll give him won't be equal to the worth that fertilizer holds."
"...What am I going to do... Am I going to reincarnate and experience this hell all over again...? No, I don't want to... I don't want... to..."
"Then reincarnate into his world. You should be able to do that, no?"
"...B-But Goddess Melis will know—"
"The Destiny Goddess will probably already know why you're there and will make sure that Melis doesn't find out about you."
That's right. The Destiny Goddess—her predecessor—should already know why a goddess from the future would regress to the past.
Angelica slowly stood up. She dusted off the dirt from her white dress.
"Do you know whose body you'll take over? I suggest that you don't take over the queen's body. You will never be able to comprehend what rewards a man with the knowledge of the future would want." He then scoffed, "Look at me giving advice to someone I hate. Have I gone senile? Anyway, the decision is up to you. I don't need to tell you this but it's important that you don't tell your younger self who you are."
Arnold's body began fading away.
"Looks like my time here is up. I would've liked to tell you how much I despise you but I suppose you already know."
"If you despise me so much then why help me...?"
She couldn't understand it. He was helping her fulfil her duty as a goddess. Getting her hands on that divine item will determine the fate of all the realms.
Completing this mission will make her a hero to the people of the divine realm, including the gods themselves.
Where is the benefit for him?
"I suppose it's because I want to do one last good thing before I disappear? It makes me feel like a hero, I guess."
"A hero whose efforts won't be recognized by me or the gods."
"Well, that's not any different from how my life has been, is it?"
He then vanished.
"Your guidance has revealed a clear path," she said, gazing at the dead World Tree, "Yet, gratitude isn't owed for this revelation, not to someone like you."
Volume 4 End