chsdbacks Chapter 1657: I feel quite honoured, my dear granddaughter
Chapter 1657: I feel quite honoured, my dear granddaughter
"...WHAT?!"Grace screamed so loudly that the entire cage trembled.
Her face turned pale for a brief second before fury exploded across it.
"Damn it! Don’t tell me..."
She immediately closed her eyes and tried sensing something invisible. Threads of pale energy flickered around her body as she searched desperately for the familiar connection she had always possessed.
A second later, her eyes snapped open violently.
"N-No..."
Her fist clenched hard enough to crack the air around her.
"NO!!"
Grace glared at Aether with murderous rage.
"That damn woman stole my Authority temporarily!"
"..."
Aether blinked in confusion.
Then, after a short pause, he asked the only thing that truly mattered to him.
"It’s not going to hurt her... right?"
Grace’s face instantly flushed red with anger.
"Hurt her?!" she shouted furiously. "Fucker, that Authority was mine! If anyone’s suffering here, it’s me!"
She immediately slammed against the cage barrier, trying to force herself out.
CRACKLE!
Lightning-like chains exploded across the cage’s surface, violently throwing her backwards. Grace stumbled before glaring at the prison with pure hatred.
"Let me out of this damned cage first!" she roared. "Then I’ll deal with that thief myself!"
Aether stared at her for a moment before silently deciding it was best not to remain there any longer.
The angrier Grace became, the more unstable she looked.
So he immediately exited the Twin Domain.
"YOU BASTARD, COME BACK!" Grace’s furious voice echoed behind him as the realm collapsed around his consciousness.
"THAT AUTHORITY BELONGS TO ME!!!"
The next moment, Aether returned to reality.
He slowly turned his head toward Nyx, who stood nearby looking at him curiously with innocent eyes.
Those same eyes that apparently stole an Authority from Grace without even realising it.
"...Haha."
Aether could only let out an awkward laugh.
Nyx tilted her head slightly. "What happened?" she asked curiously.
However, Aether immediately waved his hand and changed the subject before Grace somehow exploded from rage inside his head again.
"So..." he coughed lightly. "You take every soul here and turn them into ingredients for your food?"
Nyx instantly gave him a deadpan stare before sighing softly.
"Not every soul," she corrected calmly. "I only take the ones trapped on the first layer."
She glanced toward the staircase of the Grenthollow.
"They were supposed to fall into the Void’s Cradle eventually and disappear forever anyway, right?" she continued.
"So I thought... instead of vanishing meaninglessly, wouldn’t it be better if they became food for my husband?"
As she said that, she proudly looked toward his stomach with complete seriousness.
To Nyx, this was perfectly logical.
A woman’s duty was simple.
Fill her husband’s stomach... and empty his sack.
Then he would never forget her.
Aether stared at her for several silent seconds before slowly nodding with satisfaction.
Honestly... her logic was horrifying, yet strangely efficient.
At least this way, the lower layers would no longer remain overcrowded, and the Grenthollow’s cycle could continue functioning properly again.
Was this the reason she said she found a way to keep Grenthollow?
Well, as long as she didn’t capture those innocent souls, everything would be alrigh—
"Also... the nastier the soul is, the tastier the food becomes," Nyx said with a sly grin spreading across her face.
!!!
A chill instantly crawled down Aether’s spine.
For a brief second, he genuinely felt like vomiting as horrifying thoughts flashed through his mind.
Countless tortured souls... boiled, crushed, refined... and then casually mixed into food he had happily eaten before.
’Please... don’t cook anymore!!’
Aether screamed internally, nearly on the verge of tears.
He had already sacrificed his sense of taste surviving Delphine’s cooking. Back then every meal felt like gambling with his own life expectancy.
And now this?!
Even though Nyx’s cooking genuinely tasted incredible... she was putting damned souls into it!
Couldn’t someone just give him normal food for once?!
He no longer cared about luxury meals or divine ingredients. At this point, even plain porridge sounded like the greatest blessing in existence. He could eat it for the rest of his immortal life without complaint.
Yet none of those words left his mouth.
Because...
’S-She’s doing this for me... right?’
Aether’s expression twitched slightly.
’To make her husband happy... so... so... I should appreciate it... probably...’
His heart almost broke from forcing those thoughts into existence.
Honestly, he might have been the only husband in the universe capable of accepting this level of insanity from his wives.
At this point, he deserved a "Best Husband Certificate" carved from divine metal.
Taking a slow breath, Aether forced a warm smile onto his face before gently patting Nyx’s head.
"Of course," he said softly. "I love my darling’s cooking... no matter what it’s made from."
Nyx’s purplish-black eyes widened slightly.
Seeing his teary gaze and strained smile, she completely misunderstood the situation. In her mind, her husband had become emotionally moved by the depth of her devotion and effort.
Her shoulders trembled faintly with happiness.
"T-Then..." she stammered excitedly,
"I’ll cook even nastier souls for you every day after you come back!"
"..."
Aether felt his soul leave his body for a moment.
Maybe... maybe he really needed to shut his mouth sometimes.
From the corner of his eyes, he suddenly noticed Starla floating nearby while trying desperately not to laugh. Her shoulders trembled faintly, amusement dancing openly across her ghostly face as she looked at him with complete understanding of his suffering.
That expression practically screamed:
’Damn bastard... You absolutely deserved that. Ahahahaha!’
Aether’s lips twitched slightly, seeing the haughty look on her face.
’Look at her acting all mighty now,’ he thought inwardly with narrowed eyes.
Then, without warning, he gave her a slow, sly wink filled with deliberate teasing.
!!!
Starla immediately stiffened midair.
Her ghostly body froze completely before she hurriedly turned her face away, her cheeks glowing bright red even in ghost form.
’T-That perverted bastard!’ she cursed inwardly while clenching her fists tightly in embarrassment.
Yet beneath that anger... dangerous thoughts quietly surfaced inside her mind.
Thoughts she absolutely refused to acknowledge.
It seems someone seeded ’something’ into her mind~
Aether chuckled internally after seeing her reaction.
’This ghost is honestly pretty amusing~’
Still smiling faintly to himself, he turned his attention back toward Nyx.
"So," he asked curiously, "have the others made their decision yet?"
Nyx blinked once before slowly shaking her head.
"I don’t know," she answered softly. "It’s almost night already... maybe they’ve finished discussing it by now."
Aether glanced toward the distant cage for a brief moment before looking back at her.
"Should we head back?" he asked carefully.
Nyx’s expression immediately stiffened slightly.
She looked at him quietly for several seconds before biting her lower lip.
"You really want to leave?" she asked in a low voice.
The question carried visible reluctance hidden beneath her calm tone.
Aether’s gaze softened instantly.
He stepped closer before gently placing his hand on her head.
"I’m not leaving you, dear," he said warmly. "I’m only going to protect the world you live in."
His voice became quieter, gentler.
"I want to protect this place... so we can continue living here happily together."
Nyx bit her lip again, this time hard enough that a tiny trace of blood almost surfaced.
Her fingers tightened slightly at her sides as frustration, worry, and helplessness mixed together inside her chest.
She hated this.
Hated the feeling of watching him walk toward danger while she could do nothing to stop him.
After several long moments, she finally turned her face away with visible reluctance.
"F-Fine!" she muttered angrily.
Even now... her husband still refused to listen to her selfish wishes.
’Bad husband!’
The thought echoed bitterly inside her mind while her cheeks puffed slightly in frustration.
****
Meanwhile, while Aether silently received his imaginary Good Husband Certificate for surviving emotional warfare...
Far away within the Naiadae Palace, the situation had escalated into complete chaos.
The once elegant royal hall now looked like a battlefield. Cracked marble spread across the floor, broken furniture lay overturned everywhere, and powerful pressure filled the room like a storm ready to explode at any moment.
At the centre of all this madness stood the Mighty Snowflake herself.
"Huff... Huff..."
Aqualina panted heavily while glaring at the smug serpent before her. Her beautiful face had completely lost composure as frustration visibly twisted her expression.
"Okay! Let’s make a deal, Snowflake!" she finally shouted through gritted teeth.
"I’ll give you anything you want! I’ll help you hunt powerful beasts, fight whoever you hate, destroy mountains if necessary... whatever it is, I’ll help you!"
Her fists clenched tightly.
"So, how about you give up your place already?!"
However...
Snowflake merely raised her snake tail lazily before flicking it toward them like a mocking middle finger.
Then, with the most infuriating smug expression imaginable, she hissed proudly,
"Lick my pussy, bitch~ Hiss~Hiss~ Hissssss~"
"DAMN YOU!!!"
The entire room exploded again.
Several women nearly launched themselves toward Snowflake for another round of fighting.
Yet just as absolute chaos was about to erupt once more...
"What lively people we have here."
A new voice suddenly echoed throughout the room.
Instantly, everyone froze.
The atmosphere shifted completely.
Every pair of eyes widened with alarm.
Someone had entered the palace... without any of them noticing.
Impossible!
Even monsters like them failed to sense the intruder approaching.
Who?
Everyone’s thoughts raced simultaneously as they turned toward the source of the voice with guarded expressions.
Then they saw...
An old figure dressed entirely in white stood near the bed. Their back bent nearly ninety degrees while one frail hand held a wooden staff for support. The figure quietly leaned beside the sleeping Sandra as though they had been there the entire time.
"Grandma?" Selene muttered first, her brows immediately furrowing in confusion.
The hooded figure let out a soft chuckle.
"Oh?"
A faint smile appeared beneath the shadow of the hood.
"I never expected you to call this wretched old woman that."
The Prophetess slowly lifted her head toward Selene.
"I feel quite honoured, my dear granddaughter."