Grin was like her; he seemed like someone who couldn’t hide a secret.
Actually, that wasn’t quite right. After all, when they first met, he had hidden things perfectly well, showing no reaction that would have let her notice anything unusual.
He must have already forgiven the original “Dolores.” Although this was outside Dolores’s expectations, it was understandable.
Grin was the child of her and Xiao Huayu. They would never allow him to be an irredeemable person — because they both loved righteous and kind protagonists.
There was no doubt about this. Dolores had only ever had minor friction with Xiao Huayu regarding Grin’s physical build.
Dolores preferred beautiful young men, while Xiao Huayu liked sturdy, reliable older men. Ultimately, Dolores had compromised and designed Grin’s image without any half-heartedness.
Regardless of his appearance, the core part of the protagonist’s design had to be truth, goodness, and beauty. Even though she and Xiao Huayu both had some twisted tastes, that didn’t matter.
It was precisely because of this design that redundant betrayals and memories were necessary to awaken the other’s heart for revenge. Only in this way could a kind protagonist be filled with the hatred required for vengeance.
If the goal was simply revenge, there would be no need to add such bizarre things to the game — the Recall System, memories of a past life — wasting text, illustrations, and time.
This was… a personal preference.
Just like those forced plots she never understood in all kinds of works, where things are interrupted at critical moments or misunderstandings arise. There were many perspectives for interpretation: one could look at the characters, the general story, or the creator.
Misunderstandings drove the plot, delayed expectations, or perhaps only a deliberately designed misunderstanding could achieve a specific kind of anticipation…
Anticipation.
This could be considered a literary sentiment or a bit of selfishness; the redundant designs she and Xiao Huayu created were nothing more than a result of that special feeling.
Even though this game was close to being an adult title, and the Queen had been the subject of one lewd illustration after another by Dolores’s hand, the protagonist of the story standing before her, Grin, was a good man who met her and Xiao Huayu’s expectations. He was a knight, a King, or a Savior.
A kind and upright Hero.
A knight who followed his principles.
A wise and great King.
And a Savior who would never give up.
Dolores and Xiao Huayu had negotiated less on the most important plot designs because Dolores knew Xiao Huayu would design such a protagonist, which was why they only had slight disagreements over his appearance.
Therefore, such a protagonist required the push of one misunderstanding after another to make it possible for him to swing the blade of revenge at others.
Hatred and pain blinded the eyes, making one lose their reason.
She believed that Xiao Huayu had designed enough plots and misunderstandings to allow Grin to seek revenge. Even if Dolores only had a vague understanding of his past life, she knew it wouldn’t have been a pleasant experience.
Woman after woman would appear by Grin’s side, either begging or relying on him, seeking pity or offering invitations like comrades-in-arms, using betrayal after betrayal to weaken his mental defenses.
They would build up Grin’s psychological defenses piece by piece upon the Dolores who had always stayed by his side, only to let Dolores receive him with tenderness and companionship before serving as his final harbor and collapsing.
The final betrayal would plunge Grin into obsession and madness. In such a state, it should have been impossible for Grin to offer forgiveness in his second life.
After going to such great lengths to make him that way, why would he give it up?
Hatred built on misunderstandings would not bury Grin’s original character; he had to always be the kind Hero. That was the protagonist she and Xiao Huayu had in mind.
How could there be so many painful, forced misunderstandings? It was all just a compromise made for the sake of the story. Only, Dolores hadn’t anticipated that everything she and Xiao Huayu had created would actually become reality.
Nor did she expect that a child as meticulous as Xiao Huayu would somehow let Grin escape from the hatred she had spent so much effort designing in his past life.
She didn’t want to dig into who the “Dolores” of the past life really was; the fact remained that the other party had still followed the original plan of betrayal.
From becoming his reliance to the final betrayal.
Dolores still didn’t quite understand what would happen if she followed or strayed from the original plot. Information she might have learned in the future now seemed out of reach, as she likely didn’t have a future left.
But the other version of her must have softened her heart, as she actually confessed the truth — that she still loved him — within the memories, rather than choosing to deceive or misguide him.
Regardless of whether the System explicitly stated that the Task required “Dolores” to speak words of true sincerity, and even though it marked them as “sincere,” the other party surely had means to induce them or continue manipulating the situation.
The protagonist of the game, Grin, was not a Transmigrator. He had no natural understanding of the System. He couldn’t fully trust this external thing; at most, he would use it as a sort of tool.
If it were a tool, then it was naturally impossible to trust it completely. Perhaps he might even think it was a power that came with a price.
A game was a game, but if such a powerful thing suddenly appeared in reality, Dolores herself would worry if some old monster was trying to possess her, let alone Grin, who was a native.
He might even think it was the Demon’s Power.
Thus, following these thoughts and stacking the truth layer by layer, Dolores was shocked by Grin’s words of forgiveness.
Even if the “Dolores” in the memories had hesitated for a moment, as the protagonist of the story, Grin could actually choose to disregard the past betrayals and pain, persistently expressing forgiveness just to avoid hurting others.
Suppressing the emotions of betrayal and injury in the depths of one’s heart was never pleasant. If there were a target to vent those feelings on, one would feel much better.
And her current self was just such a target; her weak self had no power to resist.
Most people, upon realizing they had done something wrong, would push forward with the mistake even if they knew they were in the error.
To admit a mistake meant bearing the consequences and losing face, property, and so on. Conversely, acting shamelessly resulted in almost no loss and might even allow the matter to pass.
Especially those in high positions; they were more likely to harbor a prideful mentality that even if they did something wrong, they could never apologize to someone of low status.
They thought they could cover up their mistakes with large amounts of compensation, but they would never admit fault; the compensation was more like a handout under that mindset.
Facing Dolores, who was a Princess, Grin’s status was that of a superior holding power. He could have used the System to keep pushing the mistake forward, and Dolores would have had no means of resistance.
These were things most people would do, even if they hadn’t experienced the mental breakdown Grin had in his past life.
Yet Grin, who had experienced those betrayals, did not do so.
Forgiveness — a light, airy forgiveness. After learning of his mistake, he chose to apologize.
This was not some detestable act of a Holy Mother.
He had the courage to apologize for his mistakes and bear the consequences, regardless of face or loss.
He could not be blamed for any of the deliberately arranged events he went through. Even if he had lost his nature because of them, it wouldn’t have been his fault.
But he hadn’t. Those things that should have filled him with hatred had not affected him forever.
Hadn’t Dolores known all along…? Grin was still Grin. He had always been trying to save the tragedies he saw.
“Grin… lean down a bit,” Dolores said softly.
Grin had heard these words not long ago from the Dolores in the memories. At that time, the Dolores in the memories had hugged him gently and given him comfort.
He did as he was told. If he didn’t lean over or kneel, Dolores wouldn’t be able to reach his face even if she stretched her arm.
Dolores placed her hand on Grin’s face, kneading and rubbing it as if she were feeling a piece of jade. Her emerald eyes were filled with Grin’s face.
This face, which she had created — she looked at it clearly this time, observing and touching it carefully as if admiring a work of art.
“Before, I couldn’t look at you properly because of the fear the System brought… Now that I’m touching you, I actually have the illusion that a fantasy has come true. No, it’s not an illusion. Grin, you are real.”
“Grin, you’ve always been that same Grin — a kind and brave child. You never should have had such a destiny… Honestly, I… if only I could have believed in you a little sooner.”
“To not even believe in my own child, and instead guess the worst possible outcome based on a few words… If we had just spoken openly at the beginning, it wouldn’t have turned into this terrible ending.”
“Grin, I’m very grateful that you can trust me. Thank you for still being that kind Hero in my eyes.”
“I finally realize that this isn’t a lifeless world. The qualities and kindness I could never possess, along with his creations in fantasy, have become reality in you.”
“It’s truly an incredible feeling. If only I had realized this sooner.”
Grin saw a smile on Dolores’s face — slight, yet incredibly gentle. Her voice had also become soft.
He seemed to see a silhouette on Dolores’s face that was extremely familiar from the past.
Only now did he realize that it might be a look akin to watching a ‘hope’ or seeing ‘hope come true’ — there was a hint of relief and a hint of regret.
Was he Dolores’s hope? What kind of hope was she harboring? What kind of emotions and background was her deep understanding of him based on?
Grin suddenly realized that he had seen this expression countless times before.
The Dolores of the past life had already looked at him with this expression many times.
This time, with the exact same face, it was being recreated.
Her hand was on Grin’s face.
Dolores’s hand was small and white. Touching his cheek felt like stroking a rough stone.
The girl’s hand trembled slightly as she touched him…