Everything was so natural.
But when Grin realized what he had done, his body couldn’t help but tremble.
Dolores took the opportunity to stop patting his back. As expected, Grin quickly looked up, his conscience clear enough that he didn’t dare look at her for long.
Even in a dreamscape, how could this be anything but embarrassing?
A grown man nearly 2 meters tall was acting spoiled toward a child who stood only 1.5 meters, and Dolores’s movements were clearly those of someone comforting a small child.
It was… difficult to put into words.
Although Grin felt his mind and body were truly healed by this embrace, his chest still felt warm.
There were still dark tear stains on the white dress covering Dolores’s chest.
Because of that, it felt even more awkward.
Dolores understood his predicament. She intentionally changed the subject to divert his attention and ease the awkwardness:
“Why were you in such a hurry to use the memories of [**Punishment**]? I thought our next meeting would be when you prepared a bunch of questions for me…”
‘And in such a battered state, as if you suddenly used the memory in the middle of a battle,’ her inner voice followed her words into Grin’s mind. He wiped away his tears, trying his best to restrain his expression from further embarrassment before answering her.
He told Dolores about entering the memory to avoid the mental toxin.
It was hard to speak; Grin had already acted so childishly while buried in her arms that he couldn’t maintain a serious face anymore.
Dolores’s behavior had never truly been bad, except for the moment of betrayal. This was the reason Grin felt so conflicted.
Upon hearing the name of the toxin, Dolores’s expression changed slightly.
“It was Viseliane who poisoned me, wasn’t it?” Grin voiced his guess, though he hoped for a negative answer.
But why did he think it was Viseliane? It wasn’t just because the name of the poison included the word “Elf.”
A look of sorrow flashed across Dolores’s face as she sighed. “You already have the answer in your heart, don’t you?”
“In our world, Viseliane died protecting me… But she was a very good, very kind child. I believe the version of her you saw is the same, right? Even if she often lacks expression.”
Grin found it hard to argue with her words.
He had only eaten food given to him by Viseliane. The clues were too blunt and naked. The only thing Grin couldn’t understand was her motive for harming him.
“I’ll tell you the answer when you leave, but you must promise to take good care of that child.”
Dolores spoke, and Grin saw a certain seriousness on her cute face.
“She poisoned me. She wanted to kill me, didn’t she?”
“That’s why I’m asking you as a favor…”
Dolores sighed again.
“I thought your next entry into these memories would be later. After all, your chances of seeing me while I’m rational are limited. The later we meet, the more advice I can give you.”
“My dear, you should be clear on one point: I am no Prophet or God. Many of my answers are based on speculation. You need to keep that in mind.”
“Now, tell me everything that happened.”
‘Although there seem to be many variables, I hope everything is still proceeding according to my expectations.’
Hearing her internal thoughts, Grin glanced at Dolores, but she was already smiling, prepared.
She knew Grin could read minds in the memory; after all, she had tricked him out using her inner voice in the first place.
Facing the Dolores within the memory, Grin even told her the information he had obtained from Doroth.
‘The Past Kingdom… So that’s where Xiao Huayu buried her foreshadowing. As expected, because of the sacrifices of Viseliane and Hagel, the most important clue was cut off here.’
Xiao Huayu…
Grin had never heard that name. There was no one around them with that name or code name.
“She was a friend I knew a long, long time ago. Don’t worry. Although she is female, she died a long time ago,” Dolores explained briefly.
‘This is the downside of having my heart-voice heard… even if I can control my thoughts, I’ll still subconsciously think about unexpected things.’
“You really are hiding things from me, and quite a lot at that,” Grin said bitterly.
“Yes… After all, my dear, if I wasn’t special, why would it have taken me nearly five years to accept your love and be willing to embrace your feelings?” Dolores reached out and flicked Grin’s forehead.
“A handsome and charming man like you — most women wouldn’t be able to resist your pursuit, right? So I am the exception. You should be glad I am that exception, my dear.”
“My wish is to make you happy.”
As soon as Dolores finished speaking, Grin’s expression turned strange. He had heard that exact sentence somewhere else not long ago.
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone said something similar to me recently. It was Alberke, the one I mentioned. But she said that was her purpose for approaching me.”
‘I see. If she is… then everything makes sense. How could there be such a huge discrepancy?’
Grin keenly captured Dolores’s thought and instantly understood Alberke’s importance.
When Grin had first spoken, Dolores had mostly been grumbling in her heart about things not going as she expected.
But this one random sentence seemed to allow Dolores to connect everything.
What had she connected?
“Is Alberke a backup plan you left behind?” Grin asked.
Dolores curled her lips into a playful smile, her entire face glowing with joy as she answered:
“Aha, my dear, you could interpret it that way. Alberke is very important. Like me, she knows many, many things.”
“If possible, it would be best to just kidnap her and use magic to extract the memories from her head all at once.”
The tone suddenly became horrifying, as if she had turned into a different person.
Grin could only assume Dolores was being sarcastic.
Dolores knew he still had his morals because he was constantly hesitating.
After saying this, Dolores signaled for Grin to come closer, then whispered her advice to him.
After a few sentences, she pulled back. She had one last answer to give him.
She could feel the memory was about to end.
It was time to say goodbye again. Dolores’s expression became sorrowful, and she let out a long sigh.
“If only the me before you now wasn’t [**Punishment**] but [**Retrospection**]. My dear, I love you so much. I want to help you so much more…”
The sudden directness left Grin unsure of what to say.
“If I am [**Punishment**], then [**Repentance**] is the period after I kill you, while [**Retrospection**] is from before I met you.”
“My dear, this version of me can only see you one last time. When we meet again, please bring more questions. Meet me with the scene I hope for…”
Dolores took a few steps forward and told Grin to lean down. Grin complied, and she held him tightly in her arms once more.
This time, Dolores was the one who didn’t want to part.
“Next, I’ll tell you Viseliane’s motive. Right now, her heart only holds the Princess she wants to protect, so…”
Dolores released her embrace and, before Grin’s surprised eyes, she kissed him. As she pulled away, she gave a short goodbye:
“My dear, I like you.”
In an instant, Grin’s head spun. As a part of the memory, Dolores had timed it perfectly.
She gave him no chance to reply.
Since she could see the [**System**] [**Panel**], which tracked her [**Affection Level**], it wasn’t surprising she could see the [**Task**] column as well.
Otherwise, how could she have used her heart-voice to trick him the moment they met?
Fortunately, the [**System**] of his mind had blurred Dolores’s thoughts. She had controlled her mind and given Grin a small surprise and an answer at this moment.
Unfortunately, Grin couldn’t read her thoughts right now.
But he should be able to understand the motives and anomalies surrounding Dolores and Viseliane now.
The [**System**] [**Panel**] updated.
[**Dolores Favorability Quest: (Like)**]
**Task Requirement: Kiss Dolores and receive a sincere “I like you” from her.**
The [**Panel**] scrolled, and a line of text appeared at the bottom.
[**Completed**]