Do you all know the future?

Chapter 138 Pupils Shock
Lottina had a long dream in which the Storm Goddess roared at her, but she didn't care. Her faith had been rebuilt. The Storm Goddess was her god, her master, but she could no longer obey the Storm Goddess.

The pain stimulated the holy blood within her, filling Diane's mind with it, and now she even dreams of Diane's face.

She had previously thought that the head maid was the one who understood her, and that she and the head maid had a special bond, or at least were friends. However, the head maid's ruthlessness was beyond her imagination; the head maid only loved Diane.

Without Diane, she would be a stranger to the head maid, even though they had a teacher-student relationship and were like friends.

"How dare you defile the purity of the gods with the filth of mortal emotions! How dare you imprison me within this lowly body!"

Lotina was finally jolted awake when the Storm Goddess lunged at her menacingly. Her eyes snapped open, and she sat bolt upright in bed. Her rapid breathing was clearly audible in the quiet room, and her heart was pounding as if she were carrying a frantically beating deer.

The dream receded like the tide, leaving behind a feeling of utter weakness. She raised her fingertips and gently ran them across her back and waist. The skin there was smooth and intact, but it was soaked in cold sweat, and she was instinctively afraid.

After taking a deep breath, she looked around. The room was simply furnished with a bed, a table, a chair, and incense burning in the corner, almost finished burning.

Slender wisps of smoke rose and swirled in the air, leaving behind a faint, calming fragrance, but Mother was gone, and Diane was nowhere to be seen either.

Lotina slowly lifted the thin blanket covering her body, her feet touching the cold wooden floor. A wave of weakness washed over her from the back of her knees, causing her to sway slightly. She steadied herself by holding onto the edge of the bed, trying to adjust to the weakness.

As a side effect of awakening her divinity, she, who had never used the laws before, now had to adapt to them, and her body could no longer use any divine magic.

However, Lotina felt a sense of freedom, a freedom from being bound by anyone. She used to think of the gods, which might be a contingency plan left by the Storm Goddess. Now that the gods were gone, she felt a sense of relief.

After a while, the girl took a deep breath and stood up somewhat slowly. She didn't light the candles, but instead groped her way to the door by the moonlight filtering in from the window.

She wanted to find her mother and tell her that she was free now, that the gods were no longer supreme beings in her eyes, that she was herself, that she was Lotina.

Slender fingers rested on the cold doorknob and turned it gently. The hinges made an extremely faint creaking sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet night.

She slipped out of the room, her bare feet stepping onto the even colder stone corridor, when suddenly she heard a lot of sounds she shouldn't have heard.

It sounded like a mother crying; she was crying, but it didn't quite sound like crying.

The girl frowned. Who had wronged her mother? Was it because of her current state? She was better than before; there was no need to cry.

With a sense of doubt, she slowly walked towards the sound. Her mother's voice became clearer and clearer. A heavy oak door was tightly closed, but a sliver of dim, warm candlelight shone through the crack in the door.

The light cast a thin, long trail on the floor, and the mother's voice came from behind the crack in the door. As she drew closer, it became much clearer; it was indeed her mother's voice.

Facing the door, Lotina frowned. She had a premonition that forcing the door open would prevent her from seeing anything, so she slowly squatted down.

She moved gently, trying not to make a sound, and didn't care that the cold stone slabs were digging into her knees. She peered through the crack in the door that let in light.

Despite the narrow field of vision, she could still imprint the scene inside the room into her mind's eye. The candlelight burned quietly in the room, casting a warm and hazy honey color over everything. The room was simply furnished with a bed and a table, just like the room she had just slept in.

Lottina's pupils dilated violently. Suppressing her shock, she gripped the cracks in the floor tiles tightly with her fingers. She thought of the whip that had lashed her body, and the excruciating pain that tore at her soul resurfaced within her.

She quietly watched the world through the crack in the door. She had expected this scene, but the explosive and bittersweet emotions still overwhelmed her.

Mrs. Eve gazed at Diane's face with dreamy eyes, and the love she expressed was palpable even to a woman like Mrs. Eve who had never been in love. She had occasionally seen this kind of love and understanding in her mother's eyes when she was with her, but now it was being expressed to Diane without any concealment.

She knew perfectly well that her mother was doing this for her sake, because Diane had saved her, which was why her mother was so proactive. She also knew that they were mutually attracted to each other, but at this moment, Lottina still felt the last dam in her heart collapse.

A bitter flood overwhelmed her; it wasn't jealousy or resentment, but a kind of suffocating bitterness.

A feeling of suffocation, like the roots of weeds, spread wildly in her heart, entwining and tightening, almost suffocating her.

Diane stole Mother away!

It's probably this kind of emotion.

Tears streamed down her face without warning, and it wasn't until she felt a cool sensation on her face that Lotina realized she was crying.

Tears dripped down the corridor, forming a wet puddle. Theoretically, she should have felt a chill all over her body, and her blood was boiling.

Lotina slowly pulled her eyes away from the crack in the door. She didn't look any further, and without making a sound, she turned and walked barefoot back to the cool, moonlit corridor.

Her heart pounded heavily in her chest as she returned to her room, closing the door to completely isolate herself from that terrifying world.

Instead of going to bed, Lottina went to the window and opened it, letting the cold night wind blow against her burning cheeks.

She gazed at the night sky, at the cold stars on the horizon, and after a while, slowly crawled back into bed. This time, the bed was much warmer, but the dream was even more painful.

Little Diane was bullying the giant snake mother, and she could only watch helplessly from the sidelines until Diane pulled her... and she suddenly woke up.

"what!"

"What sweet dream are you having to laugh like that!"

Her mother's usually cold and ruthless face softened with a gentle smile as she looked at her daughter upon waking and asked her how her dream was.

Mrs. Eve sat gracefully in the chair, her clothes already neatly arranged. A dark blue crinoline skirt hugged her voluptuous upper body, the hem trailing on the ground, perfectly concealing the enormous snake tail coiled on the carpet.

Her hair was neatly styled, and her face was lightly powdered, showing no signs of fatigue from the previous night. Only her eyes were brighter than usual, as if everything that happened last night was a dream.

"Mother……"

Lotina buried her face in her mother, Mrs. Eve's, arms, the warm scent of her mother's body lingering around her nose. Whether she was imagining things or not, she could smell a man's scent, making her realize that her mother was no longer just hers.

"Don't participate in these kinds of ceremonies again. If Diane and the others hadn't shown mercy or hadn't done their best to save you, you would be dead by now."

Mrs. Eve tightened her arms, gently pulling her daughter's slender body into her embrace, and softly patted Lottina's back. Thankfully, Diane had shown some mercy; whether Diane killed the Storm Goddess or the Storm Goddess replaced Lottina, it was unacceptable to Mrs. Eve—it was tantamount to losing her daughter.

"I know, it will never happen again. I am a fragment of a god's soul, and also your daughter. I will never let you worry again, Mom!"

Once the faith in goddesses is shattered, the warmth of family love is comforting, and only a mother's embrace can bring such peace of mind.

"That's good, that's good..."

Having received her daughter's promise, Mrs. Eve gently stroked her daughter's long golden hair, feeling as if her daughter had grown up. Her daughter was no longer as cold as usual, perhaps due to the influence of last night's battle for consciousness.

"Mom, where...where did Prince An go?"

She wanted to ask something, but didn't know where to begin; the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat like a tangled mess.

"He and Margaret went to clean up the mess from last night. The problems left by the battle of gods are too big, and someone has to clean up the mess."

Mrs. Eve blushed suddenly when she mentioned Diane, a blush quickly creeping up her snow-white neck and staining her earlobes, but Lottina in her arms did not notice.

“He was just here with me, but something happened at the palace. Although there were no casualties, he had to make an appearance. After all, he is a prince of the empire and the queen’s husband.”

Mrs. Eve said guiltily, "The snake has been around for a long time. I just let go of its tail to let Diane go. Of course, I didn't forget that my daughter was resting. I wanted to make sure that the first thing my daughter would see when she woke up was her."

"The prince of the empire... He already has Her Majesty the Queen, Dean Isabella, and even Lady Margaret, why would he bother with you?"

Diane already has a wife, yet she still tries to provoke her mother. The young girl is indignant and vents her resentment at having her mother taken away.

"You saw it last night?"

Mrs. Eve's hand, which had been hovering in mid-air, slowly fell down. Her rosy face turned even redder, and her cold body became burning hot. She had been hiding something, and now she was easily tricked into revealing it.

"..."

Lotina didn't speak, but her attitude was clear. Her heart was clenched, and she felt her cheeks burning, her blood rushing back, washing over her eardrums, making them buzz. Her eyes were also unfocused.

The scene became somewhat awkward for a moment, with neither mother nor daughter speaking. Fortunately, Mrs. Eve was more experienced.

"You really saw it? Didn't you already know? You even supported Mom before?"

Mrs. Eve turned her head away, not daring to look Lotina in the eye. She was quite ashamed; she hadn't paid attention to so many things last night, only caring about being with her lover.

However, she didn't feel it was a big deal, since it was Lotina who persuaded her to be with Diane; it was Lotina who encouraged her to go find Diane.

“That was then, and now it is now. Prince An is too dangerous. Last night’s conflict was caused by him. I don’t want you to get involved, Mom.”

The girl made up an excuse, not wanting the scene from last night to replay in her mind; she was genuinely worried about her mother's safety.

Diane is now like a whirlpool, attracting the attention of the gods. It seems that after this divine war, everyone's attitude will change, or else they will suffer the same fate as the moon goddess.

"That's why I can't leave him even more. Last night he risked so much for my daughter and me. He attacked a righteous god. Just think about it. If he had failed, what a price they would have had to pay."

A faint smile appeared on Mrs. Eve's lips, which only deepened after hearing her daughter's words.

“We can repay him, anything is fine with us. But you can’t. Getting too involved will only make you an innocent bystander. Mom, you don’t understand the power of the gods. Don’t be fooled by how brave Ms. Margaret was last night. You should also look at the demigod who fell last night. We can’t get involved in the war of the gods.”

It was originally just an excuse, but the more Lottina talked about it, the more reasonable it seemed. She had briefly experienced the power of the gods, that feeling of looking down on all living beings. Even demigods were like cutting melons and vegetables, let alone her mother, a mere angel.

"He lacks nothing. It's just that the war of gods is not something we can get involved in. He intervened in the war of gods for our sake, and that's why I want to repay him by becoming his lover."

"Besides, I'm willing. It doesn't matter if I'm one more lover. He already has so many, what's wrong with adding me? Do you prefer a younger brother or a younger sister?"

Having nothing left to repay her kindness, Mrs. Eve could only offer herself in return. She already liked her, but last night, Diane saved Lottina, making her like her even more.

Diane genuinely liked her. After all, Lottina didn't have that much influence, and Diane had always liked her. He only made his move because of her, so how could she not reciprocate?

"mom!"

The resentment on Lotina's face froze there; all her words, all her logic and reasoning, were crushed before her final question.

Looking at my mother, at her still gentle and beautiful face, I felt an unprecedented sense of estrangement, as if I had seen a different version of my mother last night. My mother had really been taken away by Diane.

"Don't you want a younger brother or sister? That's fine too. I have you, and I'm sure he won't mind. Isabella is already pregnant."

It wasn't Diane who overpowered her; it was she who used her snake tail to coil around Diane. Diane didn't take advantage of her; it was she who took the initiative to make Diane happy!
"It's not like this……"

Lottina stood frozen in place, her lips moving but unable to utter a single word. Her mother had fallen completely in love with Diane, yet she couldn't bring herself to rebuke her.

"What is that? Don't ruin Mom's love. Mom really likes him, really, really likes him."

Mrs. Eve has already given herself away, and now she looks at Diane with infatuated eyes. She will not tolerate her daughter's unreasonable demands. If she abandons Diane for the sake of risk, Mrs. Eve will despise herself for the rest of her life.

"I……"

She felt like she had been skinned, her heart ripped out, and exposed to the blazing sun, all her hidden thoughts laid bare under the most dazzling sunlight.

Yes, she was jealous, jealous that her mother possessed such a passionate love that she couldn't understand.

She resented Diane for choosing her mother and taking her away from her.

(End of this chapter)