Chapter 45: Will This Satisfy You?

Dolores did not expect an answer from Green.

She was merely hanging on the edge of the cliff of self-reproach due to the similarity of the scene, choosing to voice the oppression in her heart to alleviate the pressure. Dolores had never encountered a situation like this, where someone would risk life and death for her sake.

Even if Green was the same, she had not directly witnessed the danger he faced at that time. Furthermore, her heart would subconsciously resist his kindness because of the System.

But Vesperian was different. Dolores had not known her for long. Even if Dolores realized that the woman’s feelings might be directed toward the original owner of this body, it was her whom Vesperian was currently protecting.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps came from behind her. Without even thinking, she knew it was Green who had come to stand behind her.

Dolores waited for a long while without hearing a sound, her brow furrowing slightly. What was she expecting? Was she hoping that Green would be like the hero she admired, using gentle platitudes to comfort her?

The hand gripping the bedsheet tightened involuntarily, betraying the conflict between her heart and her actions. She actually was hoping for some comfort.

Even if that person happened to be Green.

“Dolores, if you possessed the power of the people you spoke of, what kind of situation would lead you to act as they did?”

Green did not answer Dolores’s question directly. Instead, his question immediately prompted Dolores to think, causing her to calm down slightly.

This question was not difficult for Dolores to answer. Or rather, at countless different moments in the past, she had thought of many similar answers. Dolores was fond of serious, dramatic stories and was often moved by certain noble acts.

Because of this, she would feel softhearted when Green remained true to his word, and she would feel guilty and uneasy because of what happened to Vesperian.

“Are you saying that I am someone she would give her life to protect… is that it?”

“I find it hard to imagine myself paying the price of my life to protect others… I most likely couldn’t do it. If one day I truly could do such a thing, then there would only be one reason: I absolutely had to.”

Gratitude, affection, love, or a momentary impulse — all of these could serve as reasons. However, Dolores did not understand what kind of emotion drove Vesperian to protect her like this.

“I know a bit about Vesperian’s situation. According to the information I have, Vesperian, who serves as your maid, was originally by your mother’s side.”

‘My… mother…?’ Dolores murmured the unfamiliar word, feeling as if it belonged to another lifetime.

Her eyes inadvertently filled with a sense of loss. Before she transmigrated, she had been raised in a single-parent household by her father, and it had been a long time since she had heard the phrase “your mother.”

Although she could tell Green was referring to the mother of the original owner, she tried her best to shift her attention and realized Green had mentioned Vesperian’s name.

Green then handed Dolores a piece of metal. It looked like an Armor Plate from a suit of mail, and it bore an awkward pattern.

“In the Ancestral Land of Rand Legends, aside from the rocks and trees, I saw your phantom lead me to several places. I don’t know if this counts as a clue, but it is related to your mother.”

Finally, Green added, “Perhaps you can find the answers to your doubts here. As far as I know, Vesperian had some sort of agreement with your mother.”

The Ancestral Land was still a lie, but the Armor Plate Green provided was a genuine item belonging to Dolores’s mother.

In the previous life, because of Vesperian’s early death, the clues regarding Dolores’s mother had been cut off — this was something Dolores had personally told Green.

Dolores had spoken to Green about her own affairs, including Vesperian and her mother, the missing Princess of Holanri.

Vesperian, who knew the truth, had died. King Felts IV, Dolores’s father, had overextended his life during the Royal Capital Dragon Calamity Event, leading to his premature death several years later.

In the previous life, the matters involving Dolores’s mother became a cold case due to the deaths of those who knew the truth. The Armor Plate he handed over and the branch given to the King originated from the same dream.

Green saw Dolores tremble uncontrollably after seeing the item he handed her. It looked as if she had seen something beyond belief. He assumed Dolores was thinking of her mother, as the Dolores of his past life would occasionally reminisce about her.

However, Dolores’s shock was due to the pattern on the Armor Plate. It caused her thoughts to freeze for a moment. The pattern on the plate was something Dolores remembered, but it shouldn’t have appeared in the Kingdom of Rand, nor should it have even existed in the Souland region.

“Prophet…” Dolores murmured subconsciously, but she quickly masked her expression. “I think I probably know what I need to do now…”

‘If I still have the chance to retain my self-awareness in the future.’

But looking at Green’s face, Dolores found that she could not muster the expected feeling of being full of hope for the future. She tried her best to restrain her expression, but her face remained visibly dejected.

That moment of seemingly calm surprise appeared to be nothing more than a temporary resurgence. Green’s comfort might have had some effect, but Green himself was another source of the depression Dolores felt.

Nevertheless, Dolores spoke up to reply, “I will find a way to learn about Vesperian’s past, to find the reason she protected me, and to find a way to repay her…”

Dolores looked at Green with a gaze that seemed like a farewell, staring straight at him. “If I have the chance…”

Dolores’s gaze toward Green always carried an indelible look of sorrow. She deliberately avoided looking at him or meeting his eyes. But once they did meet, those eyes would occasionally give Green a stinging look, making him feel as if Dolores felt sorry for even seeing him.

Green thought of the Dolores he once knew. How much similarity was there between that memory and the Dolores currently standing before him?

And his revenge, which he had been unable to let go of before meeting Dolores…

At that moment, the System’s notification chimed in Green’s ear. The favorability tasks had a time limit of only 5 hours, yet he had completed four of the five, meeting the conditions for unlocking.

This time, the favorability task provided a tangible reward, while also bringing an item that only existed in his previous life into the present in Green’s eyes.

Four tasks provided 4 points of favorability, while the main quest had granted another 3 points. Currently, Dolores was only 3 points away from the next stage: Like.

Dolores lowered her head, seemingly trying to do something. When she looked up again, she asked Green:

“Green, if I can no longer hate you and can only like you, will you be satisfied with that?”