Chapter 1078: Chapter 1078

“Feels like the baby’s already kicking,” Perserque said playfully, gently running her hand over her slender belly.

“Say something that makes sense, will you?” Davey couldn’t blame her for being in such a good mood, but she had been unusually and insufferably cheerful ever since the day before.

“It seems like she’s really happy,” Aerie said with a bright smile as she watered the flowers in the garden with her ears perked up.

When Davey absentmindedly reached out to touch her ears, she blushed and fidgeted awkwardly. “Um. Davey, my ears...”

“It’s okay.” Her face turned even redder as she bowed her head and fanned herself with her hand. “It’s just... they’re kind of sensitive, so maybe not in public.”

She had struggled to get the words out, clearly flustered.

Now that Davey thought about it, her ears and tail were definitely more sensitive than those of most beastfolk.

“Did you have a nice dream?”

Davey smiled faintly and took the watering can from her, starting to water the flowers himself. She giggled in response.

“Oh, nothing. I’m just happy.” She let out a soft laugh, covering her mouth with her small, pale hand. Her eyes curved sweetly as she smiled. “Just being here together .”

They were together seeing the same scenery; laughing together; and talking together. It was a modest way of life—especially for a former princess—but in some ways, perhaps it was exactly the kind of life a member of the royal family would long for the most.

Davey couldn’t help but feel relieved, thankful for his decision to escape royalty when he had the chance. He did feel a little bad for Baris, but he had absolutely no intention of ruling the country. Of course, technically speaking, his current position meant that if the king gave him an order, he had to obey. In reality, however, the people in the capital were going out of their way to avoid dealing with him. He assumed they were probably afraid of getting caught up in something shady and facing backlash if they pushed their luck. Still, the lack of any bothersome talk about foreign affairs was likely thanks to Baris.

“Sister, don’t you think we might be hearing some good news soon?”

“Hehe, I hope so. I’ll be happy regardless of whether it’s a boy or a girl!”

“Yeah, the baby’s going to be adorable either way. Oh, do you think they’ll have horns too?”

“Well, I’m not sure, but considering how my own horns can be attached and removed, I’m not sure if the demonic bloodline will carry over properly.”

Honestly, there was no real way to know. Unfortunately, Tionis had already gone through a war with the demons in the past. As a result, there was hardly any favorable sentiment towards demons floating around the continent. Not that the demons thought any better of humans, of course.

“If the baby is born with horns...”

“We’ll have to hide them.”

There was nothing good to come from purposely stirring up trouble.

“We’ll have plenty of ways to conceal them.”

Like using an artifact, for example. Of course, if the child had horns, Davey wasn’t planning to go out of his way to remove them just to avoid causing a fuss.

Horns or not, that didn’t matter to family.

The bitter feeling that came when the uncertainty became certain was hard to shake off. Sure Davey was happy that things were going well for Perserque, but he still couldn’t stop thinking about that strange fluctuation of power from the day before that had rubbed him the wrong way.

Time would finally provide an answer.

“Master Davey. The requested item has been successfully recovered.”

Rinne, who had scoured the lord’s manor at his command, finally brought him a small notebook. He had secretly hoped they would find its owner along with it, but there was no such luck. Goddess Freyja had used the notebook to express her will.

It looked like nothing more than an ordinary notebook upon first glance, but Davey could sense a faint trace of divine power lingering within.

“If the Holy Empire got their hands on this, they’d probably flip out, calling it a sacred item or something.”

It didn’t possess any special powers, but the fact that it was an item used by Goddess Freyja remained incredible.

“Leaving without even saying a word, huh...”

With Rinne walking alongside him, he made his way to the spot where she had found the notebook.

He then thought about what exactly Goddess Freyja meant to him. Their relationship was rather complicated, after all. She was someone Davey resented, but could never truly bring himself to hate. It was a strange feeling, like she’d been family for a long time. No matter how much he might want to hate her, it just wasn’t possible.

Rinne came to stand beside Davey as he stared silently at the place where the goddess had vanished.

Though she resembled Goddess Freyja, she was clearly different, even in height. With a solemn posture, she patted his back. “Master Davey.”

Even as she quietly tried to comfort him, he couldn’t help but make a bitter face, overwhelmed by a strange sense of loss. “She could’ve at least said goodbye before leaving, that old hag.”

They say one might not notice when someone arrives, but one always notices when they’re gone. Ever since losing the sense of her presence, he’d suspected she might be gone. Once it was confirmed, the bitter feeling hit even harder.

Whether she had been like an older or younger sister—or maybe even a mother figure—Goddess Freyja had left behind a gaping hole in his heart.

“And it’s only been a few days.”

Yet what she had done in that short time felt so recklessly selfish.

“No, it’s fine. I just need a bit of a break. Thanks, Rinne. You did well.” Davey slowly stood up and gently patted her head.

She gave a dissatisfied look and fussed with her now-messy hair.

Davey had not heard anything from the Hall of Heroes despite her vanishing. In the end, her avatar truly had disappeared without saying anything to him.

Perserque had sensed how conflicted he was, so when he returned, she picked up on his mood instantly.

“Did something happen?”

“No... It’s nothing,” he muttered.

“It’s not nothing. You look terribly sad to me.”

Davey fell silent at her words.

“Tell me. I might be able to help.”

“No, it’s fine. Things are just unfolding the way they were always meant to. There’s nothing left for me to do here.”

She paused in silence at his response, then she pinpointed the truth with eerie precision. “Goddess Freyja is gone, isn’t she?”

“You were always furious with her, always grinding your teeth, and yet you still followed her. It’s like how a child follows a parent.” Perserque chuckled softly, recognizing that it wasn’t romantic love but a kind of familial affection. “Come here.”

Without a word, she pulled his head into an embrace and gently patted his back. “She isn’t dead, Davey. She’ll wake up again someday.”

However, the version of Goddess Freyja he’d known over the previous few days? She’d probably never return.

Goddess Freyja had no true gender, and her essence lacked humanity. She was a vast, transcendent will. That was the true form of Goddess Freyja.

Yet for a very brief period, she had seemed so human, in a way that defied explanation. Of course, her actions were often unpredictable in many ways, but still.

“If you feel like crying, it’s okay to cry, you know.”

“I’m not a kid. I’m not gonna cry over something .”

“Isn’t it only natural for a child to cry when they’ve lost a parent?”

Davey no longer had the will to argue with her. He just shut his mouth.

She quietly held him. “She was with you during those few days you were gone?”

“And she helped you?”

“Since it’s only been a few days, it’s natural to feel her absence.”

Even with Perserque comforting him, Davey couldn’t untangle the complicated mess of emotions in his heart.

Then, she leaned in and gently kissed him before speaking softly, “She left satisfied, I’m sure of it. You said she was just an avatar, a resting form for the goddess.”

“She still had power left, and yet she followed you around, only to leave without hesitation. Do you really think there’s another reason for that? I don’t.”

She was gone. It effectively meant the death of that side of her. She was now just a connection from the past, someone who he’d most likely never meet again.

“I planned to talk to you about several matters regarding what happened at the royal capital... but let’s just forget about it for today.” A sweet scent lingered around him as she gently embraced him. “Just for today, let’s stay .”

Davey felt grateful to her. “Yeah, you're right. She was always meant to disappear eventually. I can’t let myself get stuck over this.”

Perserque simply continued to stroke his back. “Let’s be sad just for today, then forget.”

Even if that version of her was gone, Goddess Freyja herself still existed. Anyways, there was always the possibility that the same version of her could descend to the world again.

“Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon won’t be coming today, either.”

“To be frank, there was a report of some suspicious financial activity within the territory. She’s with Aeria now, receiving a briefing from Royal Attendant Bernile.”

Technically, that was Davey’s job, but since both Illyna and Aeria were former princesses, they were naturally familiar with those kinds of affairs. After all, in most royal households internal administration typically fell to the queen. They’d likely received training in such matters since they were young.

“Suspicious finances, huh?”

“They said it smelled like corruption.”

“I’ll have to look into it tomorrow.”

Perserque simply nodded. “Now, forget it all.”

Just as she said that and tried to push Davey down, a sudden sound startled them both. They quickly sat up.

It was the distinct sound of a smartphone camera—something that shouldn’t even exist in Tionis. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone nearby, either.

Startled, Davey turned his head toward the source of the sound. “Huh?”

Both he and Perserque could only stare in a daze at the culprit.

“What... are you doing?” Davey asked, and the culprit shamelessly held up a sleek white tablet in front of him with a completely blank expression.

Another flash went off.

Standing right there in front of him was none other than Goddess Freyja. The one who was supposed to have vanished was now casually leaning back in his chair, snapping photos with a smart tablet as if nothing had happened.

Davey couldn’t understand what was going on. She had definitely disappeared. Her presence was completely gone, and the notebook she always carried had been found lying abandoned. Yet, there she was in front of him.

Confused, Davey stared at her. She calmly pulled a stylus from the bottom of the pad and scribbled something down before flipping the screen to show him a message.

“Huh?” Perplexed, Davey stood up and approached her. “You... didn’t you disappear?”

She proudly tilted the pad, showing it off from different angles before writing another message.

‘Yeah, okay, I get that it’s one of those electronic pads you commonly see on Earth. Wait, does this mean...?’

“Don’t tell me... you disappeared just to go get that thing?”

There was no way the avatar of the Primordial Goddess went all the way to Earth just to buy some electronics.

As Davey muttered to himself in disbelief, she swiped the screen and showed him a photo—one of him and Perserque when they’d been caught off guard.

She flipped through the pad indifferently, clearly not caring how Davey felt about it. Soon, photos of his past that he had definitely never seen her take started appearing.

Sure, there were plenty of times when he had woken up looking dazed, but the photo he was seeing at that moment was from shortly after he had returned from the Hall.

Another photo flashed past. There was even a shot of him furiously shouting at Goddess Freyja, taken right after that damned judge in the Dream World had used Hyun-Ah against him. At that time, she had briefly possessed Illyna.

He knew there was no way she could’ve taken that picture herself. The photos she was showing him were clearly ones he had never seen or taken. It was almost as if she had somehow read the records of the world and stolen every piece of personal information about him.

“What happened to my right to privacy?”

Ignoring him completely, she kept showing off the pad, flipping through the photos with her small, pale fingers.

Perserque, watching from the side, looked absolutely delighted, her eyes sparkling with interest. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on NoveI★Fire.net

The mood from earlier, when Davey had been mourning her disappearance, now felt utterly ridiculous in comparison to the brazen spectacle. She continued flipping through, but finally paused and turned the pad to show him a photo.

It was a baby—completely naked except for a single diaper—giggling brightly.

Goddess Freyja gave him a big thumbs up. At the same time, letters scribbled themselves across the top of the photo.

Davey felt an uncontrollable urge to destroy that damned pad.

He lunged at her instantly.