Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1878: W-What is that thing? WHAT IS THAT FUCKING THING?!

Allen’s grandmother was utterly taken aback by those words… her grandson had done that? Along with his own wife?

How could they do something so vile?

That wasn’t her grandson. That wasn’t the grandson and granddaughter-in-law she thought she knew.

The old woman stared at Young Aether, disbelief trembling in her voice as she said,

“Y-You must have done something… T-This is fake! My grandson would never do something like that!”

Young Aether looked at her with a faintly amused expression. She looked almost exactly like he had once acted, desperately clinging to the version of someone he wanted to believe in.

He leaned slightly toward her and said coldly, “I know… how it felt,” as he slowly nodded.

The old woman’s body trembled. Young Aether glanced at Lia and calmly said, “Take control of her.”

Lia’s crimson eyes immediately glowed. The old woman’s eyes lost their colour at once, her trembling stopped, and she fell utterly silent.

Young Aether stared at her for a moment before turning his gaze toward Lily, who remained frozen in shock, just as shaken as the old woman had been when she heard the recording.

Young Aether parted his lips and said quietly, “It’s not fake.” That was all he could say to her.

For this girl who had never witnessed Allen’s real face… she might not believe him. She could not understand what he had seen, what he had endured, or why those words carried such weight for him.

But that was fine.

After all… he was the only one who remembered everything.

Young Aether then shifted his attention toward his mother, who lay motionlessly on the bed.

The sight of her made his heart tremble.

Beside her, the child with ice-blue eyes leaned over the edge of the bed, watching her with an unmistakable look of worry.

“…”

Young Aether slowly forced his eyes away from her.

It changed nothing. No matter how much he wished otherwise, she would always be the same!

But what exactly had happened to her to make her like this?

Something he was curious… or he beleived himself so.

He turned back toward the old woman and asked,

“Now, you’re going to answer my questions. You understand?”

The old woman nodded after Lia’s command took hold of her.

“What happened to her?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why is she here?”

“I don’t know.”

“…For what reason did Allen bring her here?”

“…Redemption.”

Young Aether fell silent for a moment. His eyes narrowed slightly as he processed the single word before he asked,

“Is it true… that his parents died because of my father?”

“Yes.”

“How exactly?”

“We all believed it was simply an accident. But later, Allen told me the truth. He said that when he tried to warn you about something, your father killed them… then made it look like an accident.”

“…”

Young Aether remained silent for a moment.

… Maybe this could be a lie.

Not that she was lying, but… what if Allen had fed her that information?

Nothing could be trusted, right?

Who was right and who was wrong… it was impossible to know. Unless the person involved himself stood before him and told him the truth.

But seriously, would his father… his stepfather, really go to such lengths?

Sure, he hated him, but… this was ridiculous.

Killing his friend’s parents? For what reason?

“Allen tried to warn me… You say,” he mumbled, trying to remember anything related to this. His mind searched through every memory he could reach, but… nothing.

He couldn’t find anything worth mentioning anymore.

“But then again… if that bastard killed his parents… why would Allen still be with him? It doesn’t make any sense…” He looked at the old woman and frowned.

“Tell me… he comes here, right? With his wife… What do they do?”

The old woman answered blankly, “He and his wife come once or twice a month to check on her health and her condition.”

“Then?”

“Then… he cries.”

“..?”

“He cries and begs before her… He kneels every single time.”

Young Aether fell silent. His eyes fluttered slightly before he lowered his gaze, as though the answer had unsettled something he had not expected to feel.

After a moment, he asked quietly, “Why would he do that?”

The old woman’s expression remained empty as she gave the same answer.

“…Redemption.”

Young Aether’s jaw clenched tighter. “Redemption?” He nodded a few times before glancing toward the woman who was still lying motionlessly on the bed.

“Why are you here with her? Why this place?”

“I’m here to take care of her… I feed her, bathe her, and take care of everything she needs. And this is the only place where danger couldn’t find her. I also have zero Aevum, so this place makes sense. No one would be alerted by my presence here.”

Young Aether quietly stared at her. Slowly, he ran his fingers through his hair, his expression tightening as he tried to piece everything together.

“Fuck… this is so confusing.”

Danger find her?

What?

What was he talking about?

What exactly was he trying to achieve here?

Redemption?

The Fuck!

Before Young Aether could ask anything else, Lily suddenly spoke up. “Wait… what’s going on here?” She looked at her great-grandmother, her brows drawing together as she noticed the sudden change in the old woman’s manner.

A moment ago, she had been emotional and resistant. Now, she spoke with the lifeless precision of a machine.

“Lia’s controlling her,” Young Aether said. “Her Vampire abilities.”

“Oh….” Lily’s eyes widened in utter shock before she immediately asked,

“So whatever we ask, she’ll answer?”

Young Aether nodded, though he was slightly surprised by how quickly Lily had accepted what was happening. More importantly, he noticed that she still had not asked about the recording he had played earlier.

Lily’s expression suddenly became serious. She looked at her great-grandmother and asked, “Then… are you aware of your great-grandchildren? Do you know their names?”

The old woman nodded without hesitation. “I do. Elder Sister Lily Hatcher and Young Brother Noah Hatcher.”

“Huh…” Lily blinked thoughtfully. She stared at the old woman for a few seconds before murmuring, “She knows us, but… how come we’ve never been aware of her? Why would he hide her from us? And for what reason?” She paused before asking,

“How much do you know about us?”

The old woman continued speaking in the same emotionless tone.

“I knew about them from the moment they were born. Allen tells me about his children every time he visits me.

Lily likes to play detective. She is thirteen years old this year, and her birthday is next month.

Noah likes to draw. He is five years old, and his birthday was a few months ago.

I was so sad that I could not meet them, but Allen brought me one of Noah’s drawings and… I… I was so happy to see his drawing.

I always wanted to meet my great-grandchildren, but he always refused. He told me the time was not yet right.”

Hearing her words, Lily’s expression softened slightly. She blinked and asked, “Then… why didn’t he allow you to meet us?”

The old woman slowly raised her hand and pointed toward Aether’s mother.

Lily followed her finger and glanced at Aether’s mother, confusion settling across her face. Why would he hide his own great-grandmother from them because of someone else’s mother?

Young Aether rubbed his fingers together, his gaze fixed on the floor as his thoughts spiralled deeper.

If what she said was true… then was Allen protecting his mother?

From whom?

From his father?

Even though he had killed his own daughter?

Even though he was working under his father?

Why would he do this?

And why would he come here every time, kneel before her, cry, and beg for her forgiveness?

Or… maybe this had all been planned from the beginning.

Maybe every answer he was receiving was simply another piece of a carefully constructed deception designed to confuse him.

But none of this had happened in the previous timeline.

Still… considering that it was his father who had been taking every step behind the scenes, Young Aether could not convince himself that this was anything more than another plot.

What if this was simply another Plan B?

His trust in everything had already begun to collapse. Even though the woman was under Lia’s control and had no reason to deliberately deceive him, he still couldn’t bring himself to believe that everything she had said was true.

And it wasn’t as though Lia’s manipulation was perfect… not even his own.

Manipulation failed if the person being manipulated was being deceived by someone else.

Like how an old nurse from the academy deceived.

So, if everything she had said was true… then what about the previous timeline?

Nothing made sense.

The more answers he received, the more questions seemed to rise from beneath them.

Then his eyes finally fell upon his mother. His expression hardened, and after a moment of hesitation, he looked at Lia and asked, “Can you control her?” He pointed toward his mother.

Lia pouted when she saw how interested her son was in this random woman, but she quickly put her feelings aside when she noticed the seriousness in his eyes.

“I already did, dear.”

“Then?”

Lia’s expression slowly changed.

“She is just… empty.”

Young Aether frowned. “Empty? What do you mean by empty?”

“When I tried to enter her mind…” Lia paused, her crimson eyes narrowing as she recalled the sensation.

“Something was missing. Something that should have been there. Her self-consciousness… her awareness of herself… it isn’t there.”

She continued staring at Aether’s mother, as though trying to understand something that should not have been possible.

“You mean… her mind or her will is broken?” Young Aether asked, his frown deepening.

Lia shook her head. “No. It isn’t broken.”

“Then what is it?”

“I don’t know. I thought she lost her soul first, but… when I pushed… I felt it.” For perhaps the first time, uncertainty could be heard clearly in Lia’s voice.

“It’s somewhere deeper in there, but I can’t reach it. Every time I try to go deeper, something stops me.”

Her crimson eyes suddenly glowed with greater intensity.

“And if I force my way deeper…”

Aether’s mother’s nose suddenly began to bleed.

“Something is pushing me away…”

Lia immediately stopped.

Her expression became unusually grim as she stared at the blood slowly running down the woman’s face.

“And anything further would kill her.”

Young Aether remained silent.

To him, it might have seemed as though Lia simply wasn’t strong enough to break through.

But only Lia herself knew how deeply that revelation had shaken her.

Someone had actually pushed her out.

The Bloody Mary?

She was pushed out…. Just like someone she had encountered before.

Her eyes slowly shifted toward Young Aether.

Only a handful of people possessed the ability to completely resist or interfere with her manipulation. Yet this weak, almost lifeless woman had somehow managed to force her consciousness away.

And Lia had felt it.

Whatever was inside that woman had not merely defended itself.

It had rejected her!

That was not something one encountered every day.

‘Just… who is she?’ Lia thought, her expression tightening with unease.

“…”

Young Aether stared at his mother’s bleeding nose.

His trembling hand slowly reached toward her face and stopped just above the blood. His fingers hovered there for several seconds.

He wanted to wipe it away.

He wanted to touch her.

But memories of the pain and suffering she had caused him came rushing back, holding his hand in place more effectively than any physical restraint could.

His fingers slowly curled.

He shook his head and said in a dull, indifferent tone, “I’ll do it myself.”

He stepped forward until he stood directly before her. His hand rose over her head, but he hesitated.

For a moment, his fingers remained suspended in the air.

This was his mother.

The woman he had spent so long trying to forget.

The woman he had once wanted to understand.

And perhaps the woman he had hated more than anyone else.

Yet now, seeing her lying there like an empty shell, bleeding because of something he could not understand… he found himself hesitating.

Finally, his fingertips touched her forehead.

The moment his fingers touched her skin, blood began to fall from her eyes.

Drip…

Drip…

“She’s crying again,” Lily said in surprise, her voice becoming quieter as she looked at Young Aether.

“I think she really is aware of what’s happening here.”

Young Aether stared at those blood tears.

His heart tightened painfully.

Why would they hurt him?

Why did seeing her like this still hurt?

He had abandoned everything.

He had already told himself that none of this mattered anymore.

So why did his chest feel as though something was squeezing it from the inside?

He clenched his fist, forcing those thoughts down as he concentrated.

He couldn’t afford to lose himself in emotions now.

He had never attempted something like this on a living being by himself before.

So he wasn’t even sure if it would work.

‘Activate… Echoes of Souls.’

He focused his consciousness and carefully reached toward her.

But there was nothing.

Young Aether frowned.

He tried again.

Nothing.

Again.

Still nothing.

He pushed deeper, searching desperately for even the faintest trace.

He wanted to feel her soul.

He wanted to feel her presence.

He wanted to know whether she was still there.

Even if it was only for one last moment.

He just wanted to know.

‘Come on…’

His fingers trembled slightly against her forehead.

‘Let me feel you… just once.’

!~Ding~!

[Echoes of Souls Activated]

The next second, Young Aether felt his consciousness suddenly being pulled downward.

Deeper.

Deeper.

And deeper.

Then—

THUD!

A fierce mass of cosmic-black smoke suddenly slammed into his consciousness.

The impact was so violent that his entire mind seemed to rupture.

His consciousness was violently thrown backwards, ripped away from whatever he had touched, and forced back into his body.

His physical body jerked violently.

Then he collapsed.

“Aether!”

Lia immediately caught him before his body could hit the ground.

Young Aether blinked as he stared blankly at her, still struggling to comprehend what he had just experienced.

His voice trembled with disbelief as he muttered,

“W-What is that thing? WHAT IS THAT FUCKING THING?!” he shouted.

“…”

“…”