By the time Valo finally regained consciousness, she realized she was already inside an unknown, dimly lit room.
The only thing greeting her sight was a dark, empty space.
A single candlestick, nearly burnt to the wick, indicated that she had been here for some time.
She subconsciously tried to struggle, but immediately felt the strange sensation of being bound.
She was currently tied firmly to a chair that made her backside ache.
Thin cords bound her ankles to the chair legs, and her hands were pulled back behind the backrest, locked in cold handcuffs.
Fortunately, Valorant was only known for having a lot of “fan service” rather than being the kind of game that required extra patches.
Otherwise, she would probably be forced to wear a VR headset displaying a “Hypnosis Complete” status right about now.
Valo didn’t rush to call for help. Her current situation wasn’t hard to understand — she had been kidnapped.
The person who took her was obviously the lady she had seen right before losing consciousness: the Knight Princess of the Hero Party.
That Val Junior probably wouldn’t go so far as to kidnap her just to claim a mother, so… the decision must have been made by a certain Celestial Being who could easily order her around.
A moment later, the “creak” of a heavy iron door opening echoed behind Valo.
As a new candlelight illuminated the small room with a yellow glow, two familiar figures — one tall and one short — appeared before her.
“I’m… I’m sorry… Mom—”
The knight lady scratched her ear awkwardly and placed the new candlestick on a table not far from Valo. The first thing she did was apologize.
“I was forced to use such crude methods to bring you here.”
‘I really am not your mother. Enough is enough.’
Valo didn’t even have the heart to argue. Compared to this Val Junior who was acting as the muscle, a wave of intense unease washed over her the moment she recognized the identity of the other person!
“It was my order, Mrs. Valo.”
Her voice was childish yet carried supreme majesty; her stature was small, yet she cast a cold, imposing shadow.
The moment the Great Sage turned around to look at Valo, she asked a question in a calm tone.
“Do you know why I ‘invited’ you here in such a manner?”
Valo’s heart leaped into her throat!
‘This is bad!’ In the Fall of the Country Route, there was normally only one reason the protagonist would be kidnapped by the Great Sage — her identity as the Villainous Demon King had been exposed!
Furthermore, the Great Sage must have discovered the fact that the protagonist had no real power and was ‘just a soft, frail Demon Clan loli who was easy to take down!’
She likely planned to use the protagonist as bait to lure her daughter into a trap, aiming to wipe out the Demon King and her remnants in one fell swoop!
Once this plotline was triggered, it almost always ended in a Death Ending!
‘It doesn’t make sense. Although Kaika’s performance during the entrance exam was suspicious, it shouldn’t have been enough for the Great Sage to link us to our true identities. Kaika hasn’t exposed any Holy Relics related to the Demon King either.’
‘Wall-hacks don’t count if you don’t get caught, but did the Great Sage just turn on cheats?’
Valo shook her head inwardly. There was no time to obsess over that; she had to struggle before the Scripted Kill occurred!
Her body trembled slightly, and her brain began overclocking like a 9800X3D.
‘Should I play innocent? “Great Sage, how could you suspect a Loli Widow like me of being the Demon King?”‘
‘Difficult. That relies too much on the relationship between the protagonist and the Great Sage in the game. I don’t think my relationship with her is good at all. Playing dumb would only lead to her crushing my hopes with a cold, “You still want to deny it?”‘
‘Should I stay stubborn and wait for my daughter? “I won’t tell you anything, hmph!”‘
‘That won’t work either. That move depends too much on my daughter’s affection level. Right now, my relationship with Kaika is terrible. If she actually came to rescue me, I’d do a handstand and meow like a cat.’
The only choice was to immediately slide into a kneeling position, admit everything, and try to win the Great Sage’s sympathy with tears — Valo would be honest, the Great Sage would be moved, and she could cling to life for a bit longer.
Taking a deep breath, Valo had already prepared her lines!
However, when their eyes met, right at the moment she was about to speak!
“Great Sage, actually I—”
The cold gaze of the elf loli in front of her gradually filled with a bitter, sour tinge of “jealousy”!
Unable to wait for Valo to break her silence any longer, she took the initiative to give the answer!
“Finney is an outstanding adopted daughter whom I have exhausted my heart and soul to raise, and in my eyes, Kaika is also full of potential.”
“Two such excellent young girls should not have their bright futures hindered by a selfish, manipulative ‘green tea’ mother.”
‘Meow, meow, meow?’
This was… an answer that Valo had not expected in any sense.
“Mrs. Valo, I believe you are unworthy of being the mother of these two daughters!”
‘What!? Wait…’
Valo was stunned.
The Great Sage hadn’t kidnapped her because she guessed her identity as the Villainous Demon King, but simply because she ‘felt she was unworthy of being Finney and Kaika’s mother’?
Then, given this direction, could it be that the Great Sage wanted to…
“I will give you a considerable amount of wealth and arrange a place for you to live in another territory of the Havoc Empire.”
The Great Sage’s serious voice echoed in the dim room, seemingly trying to use absolute power to pressure Valo!
“In exchange, I demand that you relinquish your status as their mother! Act as if you never had these two daughters!”
Silence fell as the Great Sage gently placed a hand on her chest.
Seeing that Valo didn’t respond immediately, she assumed Valo was unwilling to give up two “super cash cows” and was planning to put up an ugly struggle.
She let out a disdainful sneer and continued to raise the stakes.
“Mrs. Valo, do you feel the wealth I offered is too vague?”
“Then just give me a number.”
To someone of the Great Sage’s status, money was nothing more than a boring number.
‘I’ll give you a check to leave your daughters’ — so that was the purpose of the kidnapping.
‘I see.’
…
…
‘So the Great Sage threatened me just for this!?’
If that was the case, forget about giving her money and a place to live — she would be willing to work as a slave to pay off debts just to agree to this!
‘Hee hee hee ha ha! Oh ho ho, cough…’
Bowing her head, Valo tried her best to calm her body, which was trembling slightly with excitement.
‘Calm down. It doesn’t matter if I’m laughing hysterically inside; my outward performance can’t be too obvious!’
Although she wasn’t sure why the Great Sage thought she was “unworthy of being Finney and Kaika’s mother,” she had to maintain her persona as a mother so as not to arouse suspicion.
Valo quickly thought of the persona she should play in this situation.
Thus, a moment later, she took a deep breath and calmly looked up at the Great Sage.
She put on an expression that looked reluctant yet helpless, as if she had no other choice, and said bitterly.
“I… I understand. If this will truly help Finney and Kaika have a better future, I am willing to give up my status as their mother.”
After accepting the Great Sage’s request, she decided to add a bit of “final concern” for her daughters.
This way, she could cut ties while also gaining some favor points with the Great Sage.
‘Living a life of luxury being supported by the Great Sage in the future… how wonderful~’
There was one more thing.
“Money, housing… compared to those conditions, I hope you can promise me one thing, Great Sage: that you will take good care of them.”
“Don’t let them be sad or hurt, and especially don’t do anything to make them resentful or angry…”
‘Otherwise, if you piss off that one “Demon Seed” and that one “Spirit Pearl,” you’ll be the one suffering for it, Great Sage.’ This was her friendly warning.
But she wasn’t done yet!
Valo was afraid the Great Sage might have a soft heart and leave some room for reconciliation, which would prevent a clean break.
She didn’t want Finney or Kaika looking for her everywhere.
She quickly added, “By the way, Great Sage, after you send me away, don’t tell them a single piece of news about me. If there’s no other way… just tell them I died somewhere far away.”
After finishing her speech, Valo couldn’t help but hum inwardly. ‘This way, everything should be foolproof.’
She really had to hand it to the Great Sage. Even with all her painstaking planning, Valo had only managed to cut half the ties with Kaika.
Now, the Great Sage had stepped in and solved it all in one clean break!
This old elf was truly her benefactor; Valo almost wanted to call the Great Sage “Mom” instead.
However, the Great Sage remained silent for a long time!
“Um, Great Sage? Is… is my request too much?”
When Valo looked at her again, their eyes met, and she saw a hint of hesitation on the Great Sage’s face!
“Mrs. Valo, you…”
Suspicion, conflict, and even… an urge to back out?
The elf loli bit her lip, frowned, and narrowed her eyes as she asked in a low voice, “Do you truly think that way?”
‘I couldn’t be more sincere! Great Sage, why are you hesitating? You help me cut ties, I give you the daughters; it’s a win-win!’
“…Tsk!”
But for some reason, the Great Sage actually chickened out!
She rubbed her temples and, without giving Valo a chance to bargain further, gave an order to the Knight Princess who was standing by, not even daring to breathe loudly.
“Miss Ain, take Mrs. Valo to the room next door. Don’t let her leave, and you will look after her for the next few days.”
“Mrs. Valo, I was a bit impulsive regarding the conditions I just proposed. I need to think for a few more days to give you a more suitable negotiation plan.”
‘Impulsive? Those conditions were great! I could even lower my demands on this end!’
However, the Great Sage turned and left as soon as she finished speaking.
Valo watched her go, feeling anxious but unable to do anything. ‘Tsk… was my performance just now too eager and suspicious?’
She had been dealt a winning hand, only to play her cards in the worst way possible.
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