Dolores looked a bit flustered. Her hand, which had been reaching for the small dessert cake, instead fidgeted on her lap after Grin appeared.
At this moment, Dolores had a very strange air about her—naive and cute, which clashed with every version of Dolores in Grin’s memory.
But from her reaction, it was clear that this version of Dolores knew him. And she also had some memories from her first life.
Being called “darling” by a Dolores like this felt almost criminal. Even the Land Kingdom required a minimum age of eighteen for marriage.
The neighboring Vass Kingdom set it at fourteen, but that was their own national context.
Dolores paused, staring at Grin’s head, then muttered under her breath:
“So that’s how it is.”
Her murmur was very soft, but at such close distance, Grin heard it clearly. He immediately asked:
“You can see the system on me, right?”
Dolores nodded, then answered like she was reciting a list:
“Yes. I can see the system tasks, and also… hm, my affection level, it shows 90, ‘Like.'”
“I thought it would be maxed out… What was that stage called? ‘Love’? Or…?”
Dolores’s expression turned troubled, as if she was struggling to remember.
“‘Unswerving,'” Grin replied.
“Oh, right, ‘Unswerving.’ ‘Until death do us part.'” Dolores shook her little head and added apologetically, “Darling, I often forget things. I was already starting to forget even before I betrayed you back then. Maybe it’s because I grew up like this—this form can’t support too much thinking.”
Dolores’s voice was a bit babyish, and combined with her occasional wandering attention, she seemed more like a child matching her appearance.
‘I want to tease her.’
The thought surfaced in Grin’s mind like a demon from hell, but he quickly expelled it.
“Cough, cough…” Grin cleared his throat, silently cursing himself for thinking such nonsense.
How could he actually treat Dolores like a child?
But there was a detail in her words: since she knew about her own betrayal, that meant this child Dolores was from this current life, not the previous one.
Both scenes Grin had witnessed took place in this current life.
Also.
The current Dolores did not know what happened before her “time travel”—that is, her childhood.
Though it was complicated, as Grin sorted it out:
The Dolores from the first life and the Dolores before he met her at the Royal Palace in the second life were the same person.
A straight line, with no fundamental change to her core.
Because both called him “darling.” But the current Dolores was like the pure version of Dolores from their first meeting—she had never gone on adventures with him, so she didn’t feel love for him.
He had learned to distinguish the different versions of Dolores from the details.
“You haven’t left Ulgrich yet. So right now, at the Capital… is it the Scarlet Sect? Or the Scar Brotherhood?”
Dolores clutched her head in distress, trying hard to recall forgotten memories.
“You already knew they were the ones who caused this tragedy. Why did you choose to hide it from me?”
Though the question carried a hint of accusation, Grin’s voice involuntarily softened and grew gentle.
Seeing her so adorable, he couldn’t bear to say anything too harsh.
“I had to let you find the answer yourself—with hatred, becau…” The little girl version of Dolores paused, falling into thought again.
“Knowing these things isn’t good. They would find out. I couldn’t let you be reborn with these memories, or something terrible would happen.”
“I hid a lot from you, because some knowledge cannot be carried through rebirth.”
This matched Grin’s speculation, but Dolores’s speech was halting, with frequent pauses for thought. It seemed recalling the past was very difficult for her.
“When did you start forgetting things?” Grin asked.
Dolores replied, “From… the undersea city. I forgot the city’s name. I only remember that the sky was an ocean above.”
“Melisglen,” Grin answered.
“Yes, that’s the name.”
After Dolores’s reply, Grin sighed and continued asking, “Was it because of that talent you had to pay to leave?”
Dolores nodded, but also defended Phil: “Yes. Phil actually didn’t hide it intentionally; that was all she knew.”
“It’s just that the cost of saving the world was too high, and I overestimated myself… But luckily, I was the one who paid the price, not you.”
Dolores’s eyes, which had been dim, suddenly lit up again. She put on a proud smile.
“If you had lost your memories, it would have been hard for you to go back and fix past mistakes and regrets. I’m glad I remember this now—the absolutely right choice I made.”
She placed her hand over her chest, her reserved smile carrying a brilliant tenderness.
Grin sighed, full of helplessness:
“This is still my fault. I never realized that you were going through these changes while beside me—neither in strength nor in my care for you did I do well enough.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, darling. You’ve done very well. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have been greedy enough to plan for the future.”
The child-like Dolores comforted him, then continued:
“Even though I’ve forgotten many things, I still remember that when I first started out with you, I never considered making you reborn with the system back to the past.”
“Why?” Grin asked.
“Rebirth has some harsh conditions. I can’t remember them clearly. The real reason I wanted you to be reborn was that I didn’t want you to stay trapped in sorrow.”
“So I remember telling myself, ‘There’s no need to keep clinging to the present with you—it’s already riddled with holes and full of tragedy. I need to plan a future for you, to plan for change and correction.'”
‘As I thought, Dolores’s motive has always been for me.’ Grin thought silently.
“I forget many things. The past is always fragmented. I entrusted Hagel with some future arrangements because I was afraid that one day I’d forget all of this.”
“Viseliane… I was worried about her, so I didn’t let her plan for the future like Hagel. But… darling, this time you saved her for me.”
Dolores’s words were full of tenderness.
She had seen the affection quest for Viseliane on Grin’s system and understood everything.
“So, darling, can you tell me—does reaching ‘Unswerving’ affection on the system affect you?”
Grin asked. He saw Dolores lower her head.
“Let me put it another way. You’ve planned so much for my rebirth. Is the person beside me now still you?”
Dolores stopped moving entirely.
After a long pause, she finally replied, “Darling, you already have the answer in your heart, don’t you?”
“The Dolores you know is a girl who is a little insecure, cute, and kind. I believe you can distinguish which part of me it is that you love.”
“You can’t keep drowning in fantasies and memories. Those things no longer exist in reality. How many more times can you see me? Once? Or twice?”
“Desserts in dreams have no taste. They can’t fill your stomach, and you can’t taste the sweetness.”
Grin’s figure gradually faded.
“Darling, see you next time.”
Dolores bid him farewell. After he disappeared, only the dessert remained before her.
Before leaving, Grin left behind a very complex look, as if he wanted to say something but held back.
The white-haired little girl picked up a small cake and took a bite.
“It’s so bitter…”
It should have been a sweet flavor.
“Why… am I just a part of a false memory…?”
“I’ve already forgotten so many things…”
She rubbed her hand against her cheek several times, wiping away tears.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry, Dolores. You’re a strong child.”
“I barely managed not to show any sign of it in front of him.”
“Seeing him means everything we did in the past succeeded. Don’t cry, don’t cry…”
‘I will still feel glad for him.’
‘But I also feel a little sorrow for myself.’
—
In the memory, in the memory of [Punishment].
Grin could hear Dolores’s inner voice.
And in this [Retrospection].
Facing the child-like Dolores.
He could still hear her thoughts.
‘Don’t cry, Dolores. You’re not a child anymore. Soon, very soon, it will be over…’