Free Web NovelIf an ordinary person’s life was a straight line, then Flaviel’s life was countless points connected together.
What she called “a fragment detached from the river of time” was, to her, simply one of those points — a period of her life manifesting independently.
Vieya had seen Flaviel from every time period.
By the time the slime girl understood what she meant, night had already fallen.
Darkness draped the sky; the stars shone brilliantly.
Jasmine, who had endured all afternoon and all evening, finally couldn’t hold it in. Lying on the bed and looking at her mom who was sitting beside her, she whispered:
“Mom... who is that woman?”
“That woman?” Vieya pretended to be confused.
Jasmine made a strangled, frustrated face.
“That very long-haired gold woman — her eyes are gold, her hair is gold, that one!”
“—Are you talking about me?”
A flat voice came from the bedroom door.
Flaviel stood there wiping her hair with a bath towel, her golden cross-shaped pupils calmly fixed on Jasmine.
“You should be around seven years old, right? Children that age should be sleeping alone in their own room.”
“Y-Y-You... who are you!” Jasmine hid behind the slime-mom, poking her head out toward the doorway and shouting with her eyes squeezed shut, “This is mine and Mom’s room! You get out!”
“You’re already this big, yet you still need your mother to sleep with you?”
Flaviel’s gaze slid from Jasmine to the slime girl, her expression turning strange.
“You’re a terrible parent. A dragon’s daughter, and you’ve raised her into a seven-year-old who can’t sleep alone... a spoiled mama’s girl?”
“Uuu... Mom, make that annoying woman leave!”
Jasmine shook Vieya’s shoulders, shrinking back, “I don’t want to see her!”
“Make me leave?”
Flaviel’s brow shot upward. She strode over in her white fluffy bathrobe, grabbed Jasmine’s clothes, and started pulling her toward the door.
“You’re sleeping in the next room. I’ve already cleaned it up for you.”
Her tone was decisive and allowed no argument.
Jasmine instantly clung to Vieya like a koala, arms and legs wrapped around her, refusing to budge.
Flaviel sharpened her tone.
“Go sleep alone in the next room.”
“You should be the one—... uuu, Mom, help me!” Jasmine whimpered.
Flaviel frowned.
“You’re too old to be clinging to your mother like this. You’re disrupting your mom’s life. Can’t you be a bit more independent?”
“Uuuh... Mom, I don’t want to leave you...” Jasmine rolled around, clinging, whining.
“...,” Vieya sat trapped between the two of them, glancing left and right. She couldn’t favor either side, so she could only state her stance:
“How about... we all sleep together tonight?”
“I don’t want to see that woman...” Jasmine protested.
“Jasmine, you can’t keep calling her ‘that woman.’ She is also your mother. You must respect her the same way you respect me.” Vieya said earnestly.
“Ehhh... this woman...” Jasmine’s face scrunched up tightly.
“Call her Mom.” Vieya said.
“I only have you as my mom.” Jasmine declared without hesitation.
“Fine.”
Flaviel stood silent for a moment, then turned away in her bathrobe.
“You two sleep. I’m going to the next room.”
Bang!
The door closed.
Vieya sighed inwardly. She had never seen Jasmine so emotional.
In her memories, Jasmine was always obedient and considerate — quiet, calm, never expressing intense emotions in front of others, never putting people on the spot. She always gave others space, even lowering her own presence.
But just now, she was frighteningly stubborn. She wouldn’t even listen to Vieya...
“All right, Jasmine. It’s late. Let’s sleep.” Vieya stroked her daughter’s soft hair. Jasmine finally loosened her grip, slid off the slime-mom, and plopped onto the bed.
She peered carefully at Vieya’s expression.
Seeing no anger, she hesitantly whispered:
“Mom... because I acted like that... do you hate me now?”
“I don’t.”
Vieya reached out, turned off the light, tucked Jasmine into the blanket, and said with eyes closed:
“Since you are my daughter, it’s impossible for me to hate you. No matter what you do.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then... Mom, let’s pinky promise.”
“...Where’d you learn that?”
“Hehe, Maixi said it’s a ritual watched over by divine beings. Once you hook pinkies, our promise gets blessed by the gods — it won’t change for a hundred years!”
“Oh? Then once we pinky promise, you have to sleep properly.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Moonlight spilled into the dark room.
On the bed, two silhouettes reached out their hands, slowly moving closer, their pinkies hooking together in the silver glow.
“Dear gods... please let me always stay together with Mom...” Jasmine prayed silently. freёweɓnovel.com
The ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ promise sealed, they slowly drifted into peace and sleep.
A long while later.
After confirming Jasmine was sound asleep, Vieya opened her eyes, gingerly pulled her arm from Jasmine’s embrace, tucked her in carefully, slipped off the bed barefoot, and used her authority to move without making a sound.
Open door. Slip out. Perfect execution.
The breathing in the room shifted faintly.
Jasmine rolled over, staring blankly at the warm empty space where her mom had been.
After a long while, she closed her eyes again — but her breathing never returned to calm.
...
Next door.
The record player had stopped.
The small green-shelled lamp flickered faintly.
Flaviel sat alone at the table. She lifted the lampshade, adjusted the worn-out filament with a small motion, restored it, and put the shade back on.
The light steadied.
Flaviel’s lips curved very slightly — barely noticeable.
But after staring dazedly at the lamp, she lowered her head again and quietly ate the bowl of cold dumpling-and-fish porridge.
The night was quiet.
Wind rustled the leaves outside the window — like someone whispering under the branches.
Soft footsteps approached from afar. Someone knocked on the door.
Before Flaviel could answer, the person had already entered.
She didn’t speak — just glanced around the room, closed the door behind her, and sat beside Flaviel.
“Hi, wife? The porridge’s gone cold. Why are you still eating it? Want me to go heat it up?” the slime girl asked, resting her cheek on her hand.
“I didn’t expect you to already know how to cook for yourself.”
Flaviel spoke softly, took another spoonful, and tasted it.
“It’s pretty good. Looks like you’ve put effort into this.”
“Didn’t you tell me to learn back then?” Vieya propped her cheek on her hand, staring into Flaviel’s eyes.
“I don’t know if you remember it. Three years ago, you told me to take good care of our daughter and learn some cooking.”
“Did I...?”
Flaviel lowered her eyes, emotion hidden.
“...Sorry. I don’t have those memories.”
“I see.”
Sensing the air getting heavy, Vieya tried steering the conversation elsewhere:
“I’m planning to ask the Elven Royal Court to help revive you completely. If we manage that, you’ll get all your memories back... and Jasmine and I can stay by your side again. Then I’ll cook porridge for you every day!”
“...” freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Flaviel looked at Vieya as if she were an idiot.
“Revive me? Without me, you can’t live?”
“I can live. But life feels... incomplete.” Vieya looked into Flaviel’s eyes, spaced out for a moment, then turned toward the window. “When you come back, do you still want to be a Demon King?”
“Be a Demon King... I’m not sure. I’m not complete right now. Only the complete me can answer that.”
Flaviel paused.
“And besides... my answer now wouldn’t mean anything.”
“I see...” Vieya murmured.
Flaviel glanced sideways, directly at the slime girl’s cheek.
“You look very disappointed.”
“I’m not.” Vieya continued looking outside.
“...I’m just regretting that it’s nighttime — I can’t show you how beautiful this little city is.”
“I don’t like it here much. Too cold. I prefer warm places.” Flaviel said.
“But if you want to go out, we can.”
“Ah?”
Before Vieya could finish her “Ah,” Flaviel was already at the window, pushing it open. Cold air rushed in.
“I hid it from you before — I never told you I was a Demon King. Or a wyrm. But now I’ll say it clearly... I am a Demon King. And I am a dragon.”
“So—are you interested in taking a ride on an evil dragon?”
Flaviel sat halfway on the windowsill, turning her head to Vieya, eyes bright and razor-sharp.
