Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1006: Both Vesperine and Aether wanted the same thing!

Xara.... Well... what should she even feel now?

She had lost her children, of course... and it made sense—anyone would leave her after witnessing the truth of her life, after seeing what she really was beneath the mask she wore for so long.

After all, even her own mother and father were terrified of her... so what could she possibly expect from her children, the ones she had raised with what little love and tenderness she knew?

She had hidden her real face from them.

A wicked face.

A monstrous face.

To be perfectly honest, she was never interested in children to begin with. She had only done her part in the deal she made with Mortimer—nothing more, nothing less.

It was a transaction, a cold decision. However... the moment she held them in her arms for the first time... the moment her skin touched theirs... something strange and powerful had stirred within her.

Something raw.

Something unfamiliar.

Something she couldnʼt even begin to define.

A need, a desire... to protect them. To shelter them... To love them.

It was a unique feeling... she had never felt before.

She made a silent promise to herself that day—that she would forever hide her wickedness from these two tiny souls who didnʼt deserve a mother like her.

She didnʼt want to be anything else but their mother.

Not a scientist... Not a monster.

Just a mother.

She wanted to love them simply for who they were. To be by their side, to hold them when they cried, to watch them grow and smile with them... yet she knew deep down that her blood-crazy side still lurked within, waiting. And that was why... that was exactly why she even dared to create a new one.

Because she was afraid sheʼd lose the first two.

Because the madness in her whispered it might happen eventually.

But no matter what twisted choices she made... she genuinely loved her children.

Too much!

And then came the truth... raw, brutal, unfiltered.

She didnʼt run from it. No! She embraced her fate like a blade against her throat.

She knew her children would come to hate her.

That was only natural, wasnʼt it?

After all, her own parents had hated her when they saw the real her—the blood, the experiments, the obsession.

She was a scientist, after all. She calculated the results, predicted reactions. She had run the numbers a thousand times in her mind.

And this?

This was the obvious conclusion.

Itʼs obvious!

Itʼs fucking obvious!!

She told herself this over and over. She accepted her fate. She prepared herself for the storm.

That was what being a scientist meant, right? You hypothesise, you test, you face the consequences.

Nothing new.

But still... it stung.

Even though she thought she was ready, it pierced deeper than any scalpel sheʼd ever wielded.

She saw her daughter collapse into heartbreak, and her sonʼs eyes blaze with fury... To be honest, she had expected worse. Far worse.

They just... hurt.

She managed the moment as best she could. She looked them in the eye, and with all the strength she had left, she apologized.

For being like this.

For being her.

It was the least she could offer.

She made up her mind right then and there—to put everything back in its place. To undo what she could.

Thatʼs it.

No theatrics. No dramatics.

She didnʼt show much of a reaction. After all, this was the outcome sheʼd anticipated, wasnʼt it?

Thatʼs what made science beautiful and cruel all at once. You prepare for the worst-case scenario... You run simulations... You hold your breath and hope for a miracle, but you never count on one.

Thatʼs what made her good at it.

She always calculated for collapse.

Anyway... just when she thought of setting everything aside, burying it all and walking away quietly... her creation woke up.

It stirred.

It breathed.

It moved.

Well... yes, she had added a few enhancements, a few secret modifications... but she never truly expected it to function. Especially after Kai had broken it.

So when it moved again—when it stood there, awakened—she was shocked. Almost awed. She was taken aback, caught between fear and wonder.

She was happy to see it like that.

So happy that, for a brief and shameful moment, she forgot she was supposed to be feeling guilt.

She stood there, torn.

She didnʼt know who to support, and who to step away from. One side stood her perfect, brilliant creation—proof of her genius.

And on the other... Kai.

Her son.

Both of them were born from her hands, her mind, her madness.

She felt torn apart by it—these emotions clawing inside her, too tangled to unravel.

Just then, Aether entered.

No hesitation. No questions.

He stepped between them.

He said he would stop them.

For her?

Only for her!!

That... made her happy. So happy that it burned behind her eyes.

However...

She never expected what happened next.

Both Kai and her creation turned on Aether.

Both of them.

Without pause.

She couldnʼt understand why Kai was so furious with Aether. It didnʼt make sense. Logically speaking, it should have been Aether who was angry with Kai—not the other way around.

She called out. She tried to stop them.

But none of them listened.

Not Kai.

Not the creation.

Until... her eyes caught it.

A thin, slick cut running along Aetherʼs arm. It was small... barely a scratch.

Something inside her snapped.

As if...

When she saw his blood—that bright, vivid crimson trickling down his arm—her mind went completely blank. It was as if something possessed her, something primal and feral that had been sleeping deep inside her for years.

She had never imagined that a single drop of blood could stir such uncontrollable rage in her.

Not once in her life.

Even when her own children had been wounded—when they bled, when they cried—she had never felt this kind of blind fury.

But now?

Now she was furious.

Why?

Was it because Aether was her mate?

Was it because he had accepted her for who she was, when even her own children recoiled?

Was it because he was strange, abnormal, out of place in this world... just like her?

No...

None of that entered her mind.

Nothing.

She didnʼt know.

She didnʼt care.

Nothing made sense in that moment—nothing at all. Her mind was blank. All that remained was pure, seething rage.

And before she even realised it… Her hands had moved on their own.

She killed her own creation.

With her bare hands.

Of course, she had prepared a curse on it from the very beginning—she wasnʼt foolish. She had been experimenting on it, after all, and she wasnʼt naive enough to think things would always go as planned. So she had crafted a curse, a backdoor, a failsafe.

And now… she had used it.

Thud!

The headless body collapsed to the floor with a heavy, final sound.

Xara stood there, staring blankly at the lifeless body. Her breath came slowly, steadily, as her gaze turned toward Kai.

He too fell to his knees. His legs gave out from under him as he looked up at his own mother—eyes wide, trembling with something that might have been fear, or disbelief.

Xara stepped forward slowly.

One step. Another.

Her fingers raked furiously through her hair.

”Why?” she asked, her voice sharp, cracked, almost deranged as she dug her nails into her scalp.

”Why did you do that?” she muttered, scratching her head violently as if trying to claw the question out of her skull.

”I donʼt get it... really, I donʼt... Why do you hate him so much, Kai? What has he ever done to you? Huh?”

Her tone rose with each word, fury unravelling.

”Heʼs just trying to help me! Heʼs just being... good! Kind! Helpful! And yet... all of you... every single one of you... Keep hurting him!”

Her voice cracked.

”Why?”

Her nails dug deeper.

”Why?”

Her breath trembled.

”WHY?!!!”

She roared, eyes wide, mouth twisted in anguish and fury as her expression turned dark and wild.

Leon and Vesperine immediately stepped in front of Kai, standing tense, alert, their bodies shielding him instinctively. They didnʼt dare make a sound, but their stance showed they were prepared for anything.

Xara didnʼt even blink.

Her eyes locked on her son.

”I...” she began, her voice suddenly calmer—sharper, more bitter.

”Yes, I hid it... I admit that. I acknowledge what I did. I accept your hatred for me.”

She took another slow step forward, her words quiet but razor-sharp.

”But I still donʼt understand, Kai. Not even a little. What did Aether ever do to you? One second, youʼre furious about my creation, and the next... You try to kill him?”

Her brows furrowed. Her eyes narrowed.

”For what?”

Kai gritted his teeth, his voice cracking as he yelled, ”B-Because of that bastard... I lost everything!”

Xara tilted her head slowly, her expression briefly thoughtful before shifting into something far more dangerous.

She blinked once. Then again.

And then her lips curled into something wicked.

”Oh... I see,” she whispered.

A pause.

”I see now...”

Her voice turned low and sharp, like the edge of a scalpel.

”Youʼre just jealous of him, arenʼt you?”

Kai flinched as if struck.

Xaraʼs laugh burst out—high, cracked, nearly hysterical.

”Haha... how did I not notice this before? Of course! Of course, it had to be that. Thatʼs the only thing that makes sense!”

She laughed again, louder this time, her shoulders shaking.

Then she stopped abruptly.

Her head tilted slightly to one side as her smile vanished, replaced by a strange stillness.

”You know...” she said softly, her voice suddenly devoid of laughter, ”Iʼve never been angry with you until now.”

She stared into his eyes.

”Even after everything you did—ignoring my words, doing whatever you wanted, choosing to believe in another woman over me—I wasnʼt angry.”

Her gaze drifted downward, settling on the blood still glistening on Aetherʼs forearm.

”But this?”

Veins popped on her forehead. Her jaw clenched. Her hands trembled.

”This is where I draw the line.”

She was pissed.

Furious!!

Barely holding herself back from tearing him apart.

Xara closed her eyes for a moment. Breathed deeply. Then opened them again.

Her voice was final.

”Just... never show your face to me again.”

Kaiʼs eyes widened in horror. His breath caught in his throat.

It was as if his entire world had crumbled in an instant.

Vesperine blinked once, surprise... but inside, she was grinning. Her mission had been accomplished. She had sown the seed of ruin.

Successfully!

And Aether...

Aether stared at them all in silence.

And then, he smirked ever so slightly.

Of course he did.

After all... wasnʼt this exactly what he wanted?