The bright morning sun spilled across the horizon, awakening the capital of the Havoc Empire, which seemed more vibrant than ever after the successful crusade against the evil Demon King.
Within a hidden and secluded shack inside the restricted area of the Clock Tower, Giva Givo had just finished a delicious breakfast.
“I’m full,” she murmured.
She put down her wooden utensils and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
It was a pity there was no gramophone here; she could not play one of Uncle Hannibal’s elegant little tunes.
She stood up and stretched lazily, then tilted her head back toward the bright greenery outside the window, drinking the remaining half-bottle of fresh milk in one go.
Gulp, gulp, ah…
This was exactly the peaceful life Giva Givo had dreamed of—one where she could successfully sever her maternal ties with Kaika and Fini.
Including today, Valo had been under house arrest by the Grand Sage for four days.
During this time, her daily needs were managed by Miss Aine, the knight princess from the Hero’s party.
That old magical fogey, the Grand Sage, still had a shred of humanity left; she had not shackled or tied Valo up, nor had she put any suspicious collars around her neck.
However, Valo’s range of movement was strictly limited to this small shack.
Judging by the fact that she could see the main spire of the Clock Tower from her bedroom window, Valo deduced that her place of confinement was nearby.
Even knowing this, she did not have the slightest intention of calling for help.
Why would she want to be rescued?
She couldn’t wait for the Grand Sage to fulfill their agreement and send her away to dump her status as the mother of those two girls.
If anything, she was annoyed that the Grand Sage had been acting like a coward ever since the night of the kidnapping and had not shown up once.
When was that old geezer finally going to take her far away?
She wasn’t planning on deserting the plan, was she?
Over the past few days, the attitude of the knight, Aine, had given her a bad premonition.
“Mom, if you’re finished, I’ll clean up the dishes for you. I have quite a few classes at the Clock Tower today, so I’ll still have to lock the doors and windows. Please… don’t be mad at me.”
Wearing a white academy uniform and with her blonde hair tied in a low ponytail, the knight princess carefully watched Valo as she cleared the table, looking as if she were trying to get on Valo’s good side.
“Also, Mom, can I discuss something with you?”
“I’ve told you, I’m not your mother… Sigh, whatever. Speak.”
Valo sighed.
After being called “Mom” for several days by this Junior Aine, she had given up on arguing over the word.
The young woman immediately set down the dishes and pressed her hands together in a prayer-like gesture the moment she heard Valo agree.
It was as if Valo were not a hostage under house arrest, but a grand empress who had to be pampered.
“Mom, just in case! And I mean just in case!”
The girl pleaded, “If Fini finds out later that you were kidnapped and sent away… you absolutely must not tell her that I was the one who tied you up.”
Huh?
“Please! I don’t want Fini to hate me.”
The girl’s voice sounded as if she were on the verge of tears.
“As long as you’re willing to help me cover it up, you can use the power and wealth of the Aine family however you wish!”
‘Wait, sister?’
‘I haven’t even been sent away by the Grand Sage yet, so why are you already preparing an exit strategy?’
Valo once again sensed something ominous.
‘Could it be that the Grand Sage really chickened out, and this Junior Aine heard some rumors?’
Just as she was about to press for more details, the sound of the door opening came from outside.
A familiar figure appeared, finally giving her a glimmer of hope.
It was the Grand Sage!
Thank goodness, she was saved!
Before the Grand Sage could even close the door, Valo rushed over in three quick steps and grabbed her sleeve.
The blueberry-scented girl, who was slightly shorter than Valo, was so startled that her hands trembled.
Trying her best to maintain her persona of a “good mother sacrificing herself for her daughters’ future,” Valo asked anxiously.
“Grand Sage, are you here to take me away?”
“I’m ready. When do we leave?”
Her eagerness might have seemed suspicious, but Valo couldn’t care less.
This was because the moment she agreed to the Grand Sage’s demand—the “here is 1,000,000 gold, leave my daughter” scenario—she had already begun taking a massive risk.
In the Fallen Kingdom route of Kaika’s story, if the relationship between the protagonist and her daughter was poor, and she tried to dump Kaika during their escape for the sake of her own peaceful life…
If the plan failed and Kaika’s Blackening Meter reached 100%, a special bad ending would be triggered: the Confinement Revenge Ending.
In this ending, Kaika would not kill her mother.
Instead, she would cruelly turn the protagonist into a cripple who could not move freely, then imprison and torture her.
It was a total nightmare for anyone playing the mother’s role.
By day, Kaika would be the star student of the Clock Tower with excellent grades and conduct; by night, she would vent all her negative emotions on her mother.
“You’re so messy, Mom. You’ve wet yourself again while I was away. Even a dog knows to relieve itself by a tree.”
“Today, I prepared your least favorite: eggplant. Open up, Mom. If you don’t, I’ll have to use a mouth gag.”
“What’s that? You want me to give you a quick end? Oh… you ‘took care’ of me so well before, how could I bear to pull the plug? Relax, Mom. I’ll take care of you forever.”
It was a fate where one could neither live nor die, truly living up to the name of a Confinement Ending.
When Valo had unlocked this ending in her previous life, she had felt a chill run down her spine.
If she had to experience it personally…
Valo shook her head inwardly.
‘It’s fine. As long as the Grand Sage makes her move and sends me away, everything will be okay.’
However, just as she thought the Grand Sage’s appearance today meant everything was finally arranged, she looked up only to see a guilty and hesitant expression on the girl’s face.
The Grand Sage pulled her hand away, bit her lip, and asked with a look of suspicion.
“Madam Valo, have you truly decided to accept my conditions, abandon your status as Kaika and Fini’s mother, and leave?”
‘What else?’
Valo barely suppressed her irritation and forced a decent-looking bitter smile.
“Didn’t I already agree to your terms several days ago, Grand Sage?”
“…That is true. Mm, that is correct.”
The Grand Sage began to mumble indecisively.
“But regarding you, Madam Valo, I feel that something is off, yet I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
‘What is this old hag muttering about?’
Yes, yes, oh wait… yes? Is that right?
To summarize: I know you’re anxious, but don’t be anxious yet?
‘Are you kidding me?’
Valo was almost at the point of dropping her disguise to urge the Grand Sage to send her away.
Then, the Grand Sage’s next sentence accurately struck her worst fears.
The look in the girl’s eyes held a hint of flattery, as if their positions had swapped.
Valo was no longer a hostage, but a great Buddha that the Grand Sage could not figure out how to handle.
“Madam Valo, I was thinking… How about I let you go back to Kaika and Fini? We can make up a reason for your absence and act as if the events of these past few days never happened.”
Hiss…
Valo gasped, her fists instantly clenching!
If the situation allowed it, she would have grabbed the Grand Sage by the collar and shaken her!
‘Cowardly Grand Sage, step forward!’
‘We agreed on an exchange of interests! We agreed I wouldn’t have to be a mother! You are the head of the Clock Tower in the Havoc Empire; you can arrange everything with just a word. How can your promises be as worthless as hot air?’
‘Hurry up and have someone take me away!’
Valo was dying of anxiety.
Because her previous actions in the game’s plot were undoubtedly a choice to “abandon Kaika,” the longer she stayed near her without leaving, the more likely she was to be caught…
And her little brain seemed to have been cursed; whatever she feared most was exactly what happened!
Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.
“Waaaah!? Fi… Fini? Kaika? Gaah…”
“I’m so, so, so, so sorry! I don’t know anything! I’m just the Grand Sage’s lackey! Fini, you must not blame me!”
Accompanied by the sound of the knight Aine’s exaggerated kneeling and pleading outside the shack, Valo’s two “dear daughters”—Kaika and Fini—burst into the room silently and swiftly!
They had arrived right on the heels of the Grand Sage.
This could only mean… the sisters had followed her here.
Looking at the scene that had fallen into an eerie silence, Valo had only one thought in her mind: she was going to be infuriated to death by this brain-dead teammate.
‘Grand Sage, not only do you hate closing doors, but you didn’t even think to check if you were being followed when visiting a hostage?’
‘Did you buy this account?’