Mr. Death in the Steam World

Upon hearing this, everyone present turned to look at Phils.

She clenched her fist, as if to encourage herself, and then said in one breath:

"I learned in the 'Containment Contracts' course at the academy that all containment objects have their own origin."

"If the contained object is willing to hand over its essence, the person who obtains the essence can sign a contract with it and completely control it, just like the concept of a master in fantasy novels."

She paused, then looked at the Queen of Hearts.

"Your Majesty, are you willing?"

Silence fell once again in the throne room.

The Queen of Hearts raised her head, her face, pale as paper beneath the bloodstains.

Her gaze darted back and forth between Moen and Lily, her lips opening and closing several times, but she couldn't utter a word.

Seeing this, Phils quickly seized the opportunity:

"After you acknowledge us as your Lord, we can take you out to see the world."

"You can go see Lily, watch her grow up, watch her go to school, watch her get married and have children... You won't have to stay here all alone anymore."

The Queen of Hearts' pupils suddenly contracted.

"W-What did you say? I can go see her?"

"Yes," Phils nodded vigorously, "as long as Master agrees."

All eyes turned to Moen again.

Moen remained expressionless, but his mind was racing.

His primary purpose in coming here was to save Lily; harvesting the essence was merely a side benefit.

Moreover, he has already obtained the two essences, "War to Sustain War" and "Night of Venting and Slaughter," the latter of which is even purple.

If the Queen of Hearts recognizes him as her master, he can not only rescue Lily, but also gain her assistance.

It seems... feasible.

Just as he was about to agree, the white rabbit suddenly jumped out.

"Wait! Marcus, you promised us!"

"You promised to help us kill the Queen and break the assimilation! Now we've helped you rescue this girl, but what about you?"

Moen opened his mouth, unsure how to respond.

The situation became awkward.

Just then, the Cheshire Cat sighed and gently patted the rabbit's shoulder with its tail.

"Rabbit, calm down."

"How can I stay calm? Fifty years! We've been imprisoned for fifty years! We've finally gotten this opportunity—"

The Cheshire Cat calmly interrupted him.

"If the Queen recognizes a master, we can still have her master order the removal of the assimilation from us."

The White Rabbit's voice stopped abruptly, and the Cheshire Cat looked at him with a gentle gaze that seemed to have come from a lifetime of experience.

"Don't you still have something to finish, Lauren? Are you really willing to die with the Queen like this?"

White Rabbit's lips trembled a few times. He lowered his head, remained silent for a long time, and finally nodded through gritted teeth.

"……OK."

The Cheshire Cat turned to Moen and nodded slightly.

"Mr. Marcus, we have no further objections."

Moen breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the Queen of Hearts again.

"Your Majesty, what is your decision?"

She looked down at Lily in her arms and gently wiped away the tears on her face.

Lily tilted her head back, looked at her with her red and swollen eyes, and whispered:

"Empress, I hope to see you again in the future."

The Queen of Hearts tilted her head back, wiping away the tears that were about to spill.

When she opened her eyes again, there was no longer any hesitation in them.

"I have no objection."

Without hesitation, she raised her hand and removed the crown from her head.

The moment the crown left her body, the entire fairyland seemed to tremble.

The crown in her hands radiated a warm red light; it was the crystallization of all her power and the source of her life.

She handed the crown to Moen.

Moen instinctively reached out to take it, but then stopped himself and turned to look at Phils.

"Miss Ignis, I promised you before we entered Wonderland that this containment object should belong to you."

Phils paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Mr. Marcus, I didn't expect you to be so trustworthy."

Moen wiped away his cold sweat without leaving a trace. Just now, he had been planning to go against his conscience and disregard the White Rabbit so that the Queen of Hearts would recognize him as her master.

"Don't forget, I only wanted to contain the items in exchange for academic credits."

She tilted her head, and orange flames danced at her fingertips.

"But I'm already a second-tier magician. According to the academy's rules, second-year students who advance to the second tier will be directly rewarded with a large number of credits."

"In other words, I no longer need to worry about grades!"

She chuckled and pushed the crown toward Moen.

"Besides, you were the main force on this trip to Wonderland. Without you, I would have died in the nightmare card pile on the first night. So—"

Her smile was genuine.

"Take it."

Looking at her smiling face, Moen thought for the first time how cute she was.

Without further ado, the moment his fingers fully grasped the crown, a warm current surged from his palm into his body, spreading along his limbs and bones.

In his mind, the Death Note automatically opened, and crimson text appeared on the pages:

[The original containment object has been detected: Alice's Fairy Mirror]

[Level: 5]

The heart-shaped gem on the crown glowed red, enveloping Moen entirely.

He felt his consciousness connected with some enormous being.

The entire wonderland, the pocket watch in the sky, the mushroom forest, the rose garden, the Red Heart Castle, the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, and even the Mad Hatter who is unconscious in the distance.

Everything is under control.

As the red light faded, the crown transformed into a small mirror, a miniature version of the mirror that had sucked them into its own world.

[Consecration complete, essence automatically extracted]

【Mirror World (Pink): You gain control of the Mirror World, allowing you to move freely between treated mirrors (6-hour cooldown)】

[Description: Appears everywhere, but belongs to no one]

[Remaining Time: 240:00:00]

Even the essence of the master's recognition was surprisingly present! Moen couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

However, this is the first time I've seen pink. Is it something that only contains objects that recognize their owners?

To be honest, he was taken aback when he saw the long-awaited "Remaining Time" notification.

He then remembered that the two essences he obtained from harvesting nightmare cards in Wonderland did not seem to have replenished his lifespan.

Just then, the pocket watch in the sky suddenly emitted a rapid alarm, and its hands spun rapidly.

Moen and Phils simultaneously felt a powerful suction coming from behind them, and before they knew it, the 48-hour deadline had finally arrived.

However, he is now the master of the fairyland, and he dispelled the suction force with a wave of his hand.

He turned to look at the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, and the Queen of Hearts, and said in a deep voice.

We're leaving.

Lily was still reluctant to part, and the Queen of Hearts gently took her hand, a tender smile appearing on her tear-streaked face.

"Go, Lily."

"Sister Empress..." Lily's tears welled up again.

"We'll definitely meet again someday." The Empress patted her head. "I promise you."

Lily bit her lip and nodded vigorously.

Moen looked at the white rabbit and the Cheshire cat.

"I'll go back and research how to break the assimilation. I won't keep you waiting too long."

The white rabbit snorted, turned its head away, and didn't reply.

The Cheshire Cat bowed slightly as a farewell.

Without further delay, Moen raised his hand, and with a thought, the mirror in his hand lit up, and a portal tore open in front of him.

On the other side of the door was a dimly lit maze of mirrors.

Goodbye, everyone!

He picked up Lily with one arm and held Phils's hand with the other, then stepped into the portal.

Our journey to the fairyland has come to an end.