Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 403 I am Loyal!

In a quiet corner of the cafe, at a table set apart from the rest...

Penelope sat across from Aether. She silently slid a document across the table toward him, her face unreadable.

Aether frowned as he picked up the paper, confusion clouding his expression, ”Infertile? What are you saying?” His voice wavered as he stared at the words, trying to process them. He began reading the document slowly, his fingers trembling ever so slightly.

Penelope, her face cold and indifferent, watched him. But her eyes... her eyes held something almost like pity as she saw the realization begin to dawn on him.

When he finally finished reading, Aetherʼs face went pale. ”T-This is...” His voice faltered. The words stuck in his throat as he looked up at her, shock etched across his features.

Penelope said nothing. She simply waited, giving him the space to digest the reality of the situation.

”I...” Aether ran a shaky hand through his hair, gripping it as if trying to hold himself together. ”M-Maybe itʼs wrong,” he stammered, desperation seeping into his voice.

With a slight frown, Penelope responded, her voice tinged with quiet sympathy. ”Aether, please understand... I tested it more than once. Every result came back the same.”

Aetherʼs breath hitched, his heart racing as dark thoughts swirled within him. ”Oh God... W-What am I supposed to do? Everything was fine... why now?” His body trembled, a deep-seated fear creeping in.

”Everything is fine?” Penelope snapped, her face contorting with sudden anger. ”Are you serious, Aether? Youʼve been losing jobs left and right! You canʼt even hold one down for more than a month or two, and you think itʼs fine? Really? When did you start living in this delusional world?”

Aether recoiled at her words, his brow furrowing deeply, ”P-Pene? Why are you speaking like this?” The sharpness of her tone cut deeper than he expected. They had been together for years, and this side of her—this anger—felt new to him.

Penelope let out a long, exhausted sigh, her voice softening with a hint of sadness. ”Iʼm sorry, Aether, but... I canʼt handle this anymore.”

His heart sank, his face paling further as the gravity of the situation hit him like a wave. ”Pene, just... give me a little more time. I can fix this, just—”

”Wait?” Her voice rose again, furious. ”Iʼve been waiting for ten years! How much longer am I supposed to wait for you to get your life together?”

Aether sat there, stunned, unable to find the words. The reality of her frustration and exhaustion weighed heavily on him.

THUNDER!!

”I tried, Aether,” she continued, shaking her head, her expression worn with fatigue,

”I tried to be patient.

I tried to support you..

I waited and waited, hoping things would change...

I tried to accept your flaws....

I dealt with your anger.....

But Iʼm tired, Aether....

Iʼm tired of waiting...

Iʼm tired of trying..

Iʼm tired of... accepting you.”

Aether felt something deep within him shatter. He knew he had to speak carefully now. If he didnʼt, he was going to lose something far more precious than he could bear.

”Please,” he whispered, his voice cracking, ”Heh...Give me one more chance, Pene. I can fix this, I will—”

”Youʼre still not getting it, Aether.” Penelopeʼs voice was calm now, almost eerie, as she pointed at the document, ”Iʼm not talking about your life or your job. Iʼm talking about this.”

Aetherʼs heart sank further, his face ghostly white, ”I-I... What if we consult with doctors? Technology has advanced so much. We could try IVF or IUI. Thereʼs still hope, right?”

Her face softened, but only with resignation, ”Aether, Iʼve already consulted with specialists. Theyʼve run all the tests. They said... itʼs impossible. Medically, you canʼt have children.”

Desperation clawed at Aetherʼs chest, ”Hehe-- Maybe we can talk to your mother—she always has ideas, right? Maybe she—”

”Sheʼs the one who sent me here,” Penelope cut him off, her voice low and sad.

Aether stared at her, shocked. ”Oh... I see,” he whispered, disbelief lacing his tone.

”Iʼm more devastated than you can imagine, Aether.” Penelopeʼs voice trembled with the weight of her emotions, ”I wanted to have your child... OUR child!!

To love our child, to have something we created together. But now... now I donʼt even know what to think. All this waiting, and for what? This?.... Defective...

ah”

Aether was startled by her words, blinking a few times as his thoughts scrambled, ʼM-Maybe sheʼs just angry...ʼ he tried to reason with himself, attempting to understand Penelopeʼs harsh words.

Deep down, he knew she had longed for a child, had dreamed of it for years. She had even told him five years ago that she didnʼt mind waiting, that she would take care of the child until he was ready to step up as a father. Her patience had seemed endless back then.

ʼShe didnʼt care what I was doing... she was always so understanding,ʼ Aether reminded himself, trying to soothe the sting of her cruel remark. But now, out of nowhere, the crushing news that he couldnʼt have children... it must have hit her harder than he realized. It wasnʼt just his failure.

For her, it was a devastating blow to the future she had imagined for so long.

As Aether started to speak softly, ”Adopti—” Penelope cut him off,

”I would rather sleep with another man than raise a child that isnʼt mine.” Her words came out sharper than she intended.

Aetherʼs heart skipped a beat, ”Heheh--What did you just say?” His eyes narrowed as he stared at her, disbelief and anger building inside him.

Penelope facepalmed as she realized what she had just let slip in anger, ”I-I didnʼt mean that, Aether. Iʼm sorry, it just— Ouch!”

But it was too late. He grabbed her wrist, his voice dangerously calm, ”What. Did. Heheheh... You. Just.

Say?”

She winced as his grip tightened, ”A-Aether, youʼre hurting me.”

His grip only tightened further, ”What. the. fuck. Did. You. Say?

Hehehe...”

In a moment of desperation and pain, Penelope slapped him, her eyes burning with anger and frustration, ”I said Iʼd rather sleep with another man than raise an unrelated child! Is that what you wanted to hear?”

THUNDER!!

Aetherʼs expression went blank. He released her wrist as if it had burned him. The pain in his chest intensified a sharp, unbearable ache. For a moment, he just stared at her, unable to process what she had said, what she had become to him in that instant.

Then uttered only one word ”Go,” Aether his voice barely audible. A single tear escaped, rolling down his cheek.

Drip.....

Penelope flinched, her gaze falling on the tear that slid down his face. She rubbed her sore wrist.

Aether lowered his eyes, his knuckles resting against the table as he mumbled, ”Go.. Heh.. go... go.... go-Hehehehe-go-he..... go...

go-Hehehe..... go.....”

He repeated the word over and over, like a broken record, his voice filled with despair as he stared at nothing.

Moments later, the quiet murmur of the cafe was broken by a waiterʼs voice, ”Excuse me, sir. The madam has already left. Weʼre closing now.”

Aether didnʼt respond immediately.... He simply stood up, his movements mechanical.

The rain had not stopped, and when he stepped outside, it poured harder, the cold water blending with the tears that still fell from his eyes.

Just like that day... the rain once again served as a mask, hiding his pain from the world.

His heart had shattered once before, but now... this time it felt worse, as if the pieces that had been left were crushed into dust.

...

The current Aether, watching this memory unfold, felt his own tears spill over, as if reliving the agony of that moment.

Drip...

Aetherʼs tears mingled with the rain as he stood on the street, lost in the echoes of his past. He watched his younger self in his mind, crying in the rain. The child he once was, the man he now became... it all seemed the same.

Every time, the rain had been there, the only witness to his darkest moments.

Aetherʼs Vision, the level bar that had been tracking his emotions surged rapidly, moving toward the top, but it stopped just centimetres short.

The reels stopped spinning before him, and two doors appeared just like before. One door was pure white, its surface glowing softly, while the other had changed.... It was darker than it had been the last time, now mixed with white streaks.

Without hesitation, Aether reached for the white door, ready to turn the knob when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

[Are you sure?]

Aetherʼs hand froze, ”Yes... I am.”

[You might not see the truth]

”The truth?” Aether paused, confusion creasing his brow.

[Yes... you are not naturally infertile~]

His heart skipped a beat, ”...What do you mean?”

[... See for yourself~]

An inexplicable force urged him toward the darker door. Hesitant, but drawn by an unseen compulsion, Aether opened it.

[~Fu~Fu~ Finally~]

As the voice faded, Aether found himself standing in a surreal vision, watching a scene unfold before his eyes....

There, in the dim light of a kitchen, he saw.... his mother.

She stood by the stove, her hands moving with calculated precision as she poured a strange substance into a pot of food.

The same food that only he had eaten.

Aetherʼs blood ran cold.

”W-What did she...”

[She drugged her own son, ensuring you would become infertile]

”No... thatʼs not possible... she would never...” His voice cracked with disbelief, his mind desperately rejecting the truth.

[Accept it. Your mother made you infertile]

”NO! Youʼre lying! This... this isnʼt real! Youʼre making this up!” Aetherʼs voice rose in fury, his eyes wild as the truth slowly broke him from within.

The image of his younger self, happily eating the food his mother had served him, played out in vivid detail. He watched his oblivious smile, the carefree joy on his face...

[Making up? If thatʼs what you want to believe, go ahead. But remember, I only show the truth and the results of your actions... Nothing is fabricated. I am loyal to the truth and to Mother God.]

”..... NOOOOOOOOO!!!” Aetherʼs scream tore through the room, and in an instant, the space around him erupted in blue flames. The heat radiated outward, scorching the metal walls as his rage burned uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the mission tab blinked furiously.