NOVEL NEXT Chapter 374: Feelings of a Daughter
"So Pandora, why did you gather us here?" Tsukuyomi firmly holds Eclipsya, the Zephyra who is also here and seems curious.
"The thing is, you know I declared war and my kingdom is no longer 100% safe, right? So I decided to take you to a place where I know no one can hurt you." I've already found a good place for them to stay, I can bring them back after the war is out of my territory.
"I want you to pack your bags and get everything ready, you'll be gone for a while." I say as they look at each other.
"Where are we going?" Zephyra asks.
"You'll be staying with my master, his name is Thalruk Acheron and he lives on a floating island that's always in motion, so I know no one can hurt you while you're with him..." The only problem is I never told him about this.
I'll just invade his island and make him take care of my wives, I bet he won't like it, and he'll definitely call me a rebellious disciple or apprentice.
"..."
"So... let's get things ready." Tsukuyomi quickly agrees and Zephyra also ends up deciding not to think too much.
"Wait, give me Eclipsya here, I'll take care of her while you pack your bags." I say, extending my six arms to Tsukuyomi, who simply hands Eclipsya over and leaves the room with Zephyra.
It's good that they're both very obedient and won't stir up any trouble, my castle isn't 100% safe and I don't want them to get hurt while they're here, it's better for them to be with my master, I could leave them in my own universe too, but I decided that with my master is better for a few reasons.
"Now daughter, we have a serious conversation to have." I say, looking directly into Eclipsya's eyes. I smell her body, sensing the scent of Azazel, I heard Tsukuyomi say that she found Azazel rubbing things on Eclipsya before leaving.
"You smell just like your older sister." I murmur, placing Eclipsya on the bed and staring into her eyes.
"You can't fool me, don't forget that you came from me to a certain extent, and I know myself very well." I say as my daughter briefly averts her gaze before looking down, having been caught.
"I'm sorry." She speaks, the first word she's said since she was born. I knew she could speak, she just didn't want to, although her first word being "sorry" and not "mama" is quite... different from what I wanted.
"Do you know what I'm talking about, Eclipsya?" I ask, and she nods yes.
"You're brilliant, why did you hide that you could already speak perfectly?"
"Servants are less attentive if they don't realize I already understand everything." She speaks, and I smile, Eclipsya's pronunciation is perfect, and she's a strategist, unlike Azazel's pronunciation, which is still slightly wrong and super childish.
"When did it start?" I ask, sitting next to her. I'm sure she knows what I'm talking about.
"...It was...after the kiss..." She admits, while I remember Azazel kissing Eclipsya, a scene that really irritated me.
The thing is, since then I've been observing Eclipsya more closely. Normally the common thing would be to observe Azazel to prevent her from making mistakes, but it turns out Eclipsya's reaction to the kiss was not what you'd expect from a baby.
And that's when I noticed it, Eclipsya's gaze is like mine, deep as if it has no end, and the more you look, the deeper they become, in other words, Eclipsya is romantically obsessive like me.
A trait she inherited from me without a doubt, mixed with Tsukuyomi's neediness, gave her a clingy obsession, and ironically, Azazel continues to surrender to Eclipsya without wanting to.
And since Eclipsya inherited this feeling from me, I noticed that the more Azazel tries to get closer to her, the more "in love" Eclipsya becomes with Azazel, which one day will be dangerous for Azazel.
It was obvious that before the kiss, Eclipsya looked at Azazel as a rival for affection, when Azazel was near me, Eclipsya had a clear look of disgust because she was stealing my attention.
But they're children, and Eclipsya is a baby, so I didn't try to do anything, but obviously Eclipsya's disdainful look never went away when she looked at Azazel, but that changed when Azazel kissed her.
From that day on, Eclipsya had a softer look, which I initially thought was good, until I saw Eclipsya looking with envy and anger when she saw Azazel holding a maid's hand.
From that point on, it became obvious, everything Azazel does to get Eclipsya's attention only sinks Eclipsya deeper into problematic feelings.
"Daughter... I'm not angry." I say, surprising her.
"...Really?"
"Well, I'm irritated, but not exactly angry about this..." I understand how hard it is to hide this, or painful not to be reciprocated, I remember when Zephyra rejected me the first time.
I wore a beautiful dress, made a bouquet of flowers using a large part of my mana, and romantically asked for a relationship, only to be brutally rejected by her.
So I even understand that it must be difficult for Eclipsya, ironically Eclipsya seems more like me, while Azazel seems more like Grimm.
Eclipsya is quiet, observant, but knows how to assert herself and show presence, while secretly planning things, while Azazel is impulsive, energetic, and can't stay still, similar to Grimm, who suddenly kidnapped me on my 1st birthday.
"You know, daughter, I won't judge you." I say, caressing her head. She's so cute.
"..."
"I kind of understand you, you're young, you're experiencing new things, and you're quite mature for your age." I'm not sure exactly how the growth of my race affects us, but Eclipsya definitely seems like an adult at this moment.
Eclipsya is probably going to evolve into the adult phase before Azazel, who was born first.
"So I approve of this." When I say that, she looks surprised.
"It's really okay? Can I have her for myself?" She refers to Azazel as if she were something to be obtained, which puts a smile on my face, as it reminds me of how I thought of Zephyra in the beginning.
"Of course, but only when you're adults. If I see you doing something with Azazel right now, you'll be in serious trouble. You're still a child and you should enjoy this stage of life, don't be like me, who had to grow up too soon." I say, as she looks at me.
"But... I wanted to be like you now." She says, making my heart swell with pride.
"I know, I'm amazing, so being inspired by me is cool, but honey, you're also too young to be like me, so just enjoy the free time you have now, because you'll never be able to go back to these more carefree times."
"Let nature take its course, I won't stop you when you're an adult, but while you're a child, you'll have to limit yourself to acting, playing, and enjoying a child's life." She nods when I say this.
"So when I grow up, can I have her for myself and you won't say anything?" She asks with more interest in this part.
"...I might even give you some advice to help you snag Azazel." It might seem a bit strange that I'm letting my daughter want to be with her half-sister, but strangely, it also seems... natural.
'Probably it's the limit between species.' My race has a ridiculously low number, it's like an animal that feels attracted to another animal of the same species, but due to the scarce number, it has to settle for a different type of being.
I've never had anyone of my own species around me, so it's obvious I've never felt this, but Azazel and Eclipsya both have someone of the same species, so they must be more attractive to each other.
'Now I know how my mother feels.' I would love to have grandchildren between the two of them, especially since the grandchild would be of the same race as us, so it would be wonderful to spread our race throughout the world.
'Maybe in a few million years, my race can populate the world.' That would be a nice dream, considering how few of us there are.
"In short, Eclipsya, I won't clip your wings, do what you have to do to conquer who you like, but be smart, I learned by trial and error what works, and I can give you great advice another day." I say, giving her a gentle hug.
"...Thank you, mom, I'll wait then." She says with a genuine smile on her face.
"I'm glad you understand, so you can go back to pretending to just be a baby, even though you're brilliant, I really don't care, I agree with you that it has its advantages, just have fun." I say, giving her a caress that messes up her hair as I get up.
"I enjoyed the conversation, daughter, we could have these kinds of conversations more often. I like Azazel, but she's too silly for this type of conversation about love, I believe we have a promising future in these love-related conversations, and I hope we can talk more about this in the future." I say, pleased with the mother-daughter conversation.
"Yes, mom, I enjoyed it too, I'll love your advice to help me catch the older sister." Eclipsya says, putting a big smile on my face.
"Of course." I hear Tsukuyomi coming back, she opens the door and sees me while Eclipsya goes back to pretending she still doesn't speak, pretending she's not as aware of the world around her, despite understanding everything perfectly.
"Pandora? Is there a problem?" Tsukuyomi asks, and I wink at Eclipsya before going to the door.
"None, I just connected a little with my dear daughter. I'll go help Zephyra with the clothes, and I also suggest you keep your eyes wide open, or you'll be left behind." I say, knowing that Eclipsya loves me much more than she loves Tsukuyomi.
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Galaxy's Warning
Just to be clear, this chapter has no sexual intent. Azazel and Eclipsya are children, and Eclipsya's feelings are not lustful, but rather an obsessive attachment to Azazel. The chapter primarily focuses on mother-daughter dynamics, showing how Pandora handles her daughter and her complex emotions.
That's why Pandora makes it clear to Eclipsya that she will only have the freedom to act on her feelings when she is an adult. I want readers to view this chapter from Pandora's perspective, as a mother giving important guidance to her daughter based on her own experiences. Pandora encourages Eclipsya to enjoy her childhood—because it only happens once—and also sets boundaries for the future, showing responsibility by recognizing that Eclipsya's feelings are premature and could cause problems. At the same time, she validates her daughter's emotions while managing them responsibly, giving advice and rules.
For those who love Azazel and Eclipsya, I hope you enjoyed this! This chapter is meant to show that even children can experience complex emotions, and that parents have their own ways of handling them based on personal experience. It also demonstrates how much Pandora has matured from the first chapter to now.
(Of course, this warning exists because children are a sensitive topic, and I don't want anyone to misunderstand the context of the chapter!)