Taming The Villainesses novel Chapter 446

It's warm.

When I lifted my head, I saw the eyes of a woman looking at me.

“...Mom.”

“You’re finally awake—”

My mother was saying something to me. My head hurt too much to understand her words, but I could tell from her expression that she was deeply sad.

“If you just hold on a little longer, I’ll take you to a place where it doesn’t hurt—”

“......”

When my mom is sad, I feel sad too.

To me, my mother was the entire world. Because I was in pain, my world grieved with me. I wished I could be healthy and free of pain. I wanted a strong, healthy body.

I didn’t want my mom to be sad anymore.

That was the only thing I ever wished for.

Maybe that wish came true—because at some point, I stopped hurting. Life was poor and lacking, even a child could tell, and there wasn’t anything you’d call abundance. But I was happy.

Even so, I could tell.

There were times when a shadow passed over my mother’s face. And I somehow knew that shadow would eventually tear my mother and me apart.

“There’s something I forgot to bring.”

“......”

“I’ll just go back for a moment. I’ll be right back. Just a few nights, and I’ll be back. So don’t get sick. Listen to your teachers—”

It was all full of things I couldn’t understand as a child. All I understood was that my mother was leaving me. And I would have to wait for her to come back—not knowing when.

But—

I nodded.

Because I knew, no matter how long it took, no matter how many nights passed, my mother would come back to me just like she promised.

So every time the sun set, I’d bring a chair over to the window, climb up, and stare down that faraway alleyway.

One day, two days.

One year, two years.

Yes, that’s right.

I had always been waiting.

And then, when I grew older, I couldn’t bear to just wait anymore. I decided to go find her myself. To find the mother who had once been my entire world—I stepped out through the window I’d always looked from.

I turned the corner of that alley I’d only ever gazed at.

And then—

I lost my way.

You could say I became a lost child. So—how much time did I spend wandering, trying to find my way back?

Still, it wasn’t all meaningless.

Even though I thought I was just lost and aimless, I experienced unexpectedly joyful things. And now, I had a family of my own.

Yeah.

I built a place to return to—on my own. Everyone’s waiting for me.

So—

I don’t have time to be lying around in a place like this—!!!

Thoom—!

It happened the moment I steeled my resolve.

Thoom—!

Something massive collapsed with a crashing impact, shaking my whole body. Maybe because of that, I was finally able to escape the tight confinement that had trapped me like a prison.

“Pwah—!”

The first thing that burst out was a breath I felt like I’d been holding for ages. My chest and heart felt like they would explode from the sharp inhalation. In front of me was a massive divine statue.

The once-floating godly statue had lost its posture and fallen, rolling across the ground.

I didn’t know what had happened, but somehow it had broken whatever weird brainwashing or hypnosis it had cast over me.

I think—I’d started seeing a desert or something like that...

━━Hioooong...!

Then I heard a familiar cry. You could probably guess it just from the sound—but of course, it was a spider. Because spiders go hiooong.

“Bael!”

━━Hioooong...!

When I turned my head, the paper spider Bael raised its two front legs toward me, alternating them. Was it a gesture of joy?

“Bael, come back!”

But the smile of delight on my face soon twisted into a frown.

Because Elga, with Bael perched on her shoulder, looked to be in terrible shape.

“Elga-nim, are you all right...!?”

“...Well, I’m alive, somehow. But that one over there is in worse shape than me.”

Shff.

Elga’s hand pointed toward Ayra, who was groaning with a horrific wound. The only small relief was that Priestess Miriam had reached out with a glowing hand toward Ayra.

“Your Majesty, this may leave a scar.”

“...Nngh.”

“Still, I feel strangely energized. Right now, I feel like I could even bring someone back from the dead. Maybe it’s this bright space—”

As she spoke, Miriam looked just as energized as she claimed. The healing light flowing from her hand touched my cheeks and gently faded.

If Priestess Miriam is here, that must mean...

I turned my head and spotted the man fighting the giant.

Compared to the massive body, he looked as small as an ant. I didn’t know how he could be fighting so fiercely. But he was someone fit to be called the protagonist of this story.

No matter what he did, I wouldn’t be surprised.

What I had to do now was use the time he was buying us to gather my family and break through this crisis together.

Cough.

Maybe her senses were returning—Ayra vomited a large mouthful of blood. But her face had far more color than before.

“Ayra-nim, are you all right?”

“...Looks like the world really loves me. Escaping death’s doorstep yet again—surely they meant me when they spoke of Ayra von Taranteira, the queen who even defies death.”

“If you’re cracking jokes, I suppose you’re not doing too badly.”

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