Chapter 166: You are my monster
Carolynn looked down through a glistening curtain of tears, her breath hitching in ragged, stuttering sobs.
Eren let out a long, shuddering exhale. Bowing his head, he leaned forward until his forehead gently rested against the edge of her lap.
"I’m sorry," Eren whispered, the hard edge completely gone from his tone, replaced by an aching, vulnerable honesty.
"I’m a reckless idiot for even letting that thought cross my mind. Seeing you cry over a centuries-old regret like this... there’s no way in hell you’re the monster pulling the strings behind this."
He tightened his fists, his knuckles paling.
"Truth is, I’m just terrified," Eren muttered, his voice muffled against her knees. "This damn Substance has been eating at my mind for weeks. The thought of losing you to it... say the word. Tell me you had nothing to do with this recent outbreak."
"Because if you tell me you’re innocent, I will tear the world apart to shield you. Even if the entire empire draws their steel against you, I’ll stand in front of their blades. I will keep you safe. Just... please."
Carolynn’s eyes trembled.
For three hundred years, the ancient succubus had carried the crushing pain of solitude. She had lived as an untouchable ruler, a traitor to her own kind, a lurking calamity who expected only execution or hatred from the mortal realm.
Yet here on the floor was an arrogant, unpredictable boy, barely a fraction of her lifespan, kneeling in for her shame.
He wasn’t running from her. He wasn’t demanding retribution for the blood she spilled in war.
He was kneeling, begging for the chance to fight the world on her behalf.
Norelia stood silent, her eyes wide, her heart aching at the genuine devotion spilling from her usually smug lover.
"Eren..." Carolynn whispered, her voice cracking under the overwhelming warmth.
She gently curled both palms beneath Eren’s jaw, lifting his face upward. Her touch was tender, her thumbs brushing away the glistening moisture gathered at the corners of his blue eyes.
Leaning down, Carolynn pressed her forehead softly against his. A choked, wet sound escaped her lips—half a sob of lingering grief, half a breathless laugh of relief.
"You foolish boy..." Carolynn murmured over his lips. "Why would a mortal like you throw your life away for a monster like me? You have your whole future ahead of you. You have my sweet Norelia and... girls who can offer you an honorable world."
Eren raised his hands, curling his fingers around her trembling wrists to anchor her.
"Because you’re my monster, Carolynn," Eren whispered. "Just like Norelia is mine and the others. I have a terrible, greedy habit: I refuse to let anyone harm the women I love. And I love you, you magnificent old lady. Just as deeply as I love Norelia."
That was the final fracture for her mental fortress.
She pressed a tender kiss right between his brows, her warm tears wetting his forehead. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she pulled his head against her, holding him with a desperate strength that sought to fuse him directly into her soul.
"I didn’t do it, Eren... I swear to you, I have had nothing to do with the horrors happening now," Carolynn sobbed into his hair, burying her face against his neck. "Please... believe me..."
A soft smile curved Eren’s lips. Leaning fully into the generous, intoxicating warmth of her embrace, he slowly and soothingly combing his fingers through the messy tangles of her orange curls.
"I already believe you," Eren murmured with gentle, unyielding fondness.
***
After a beautiful moment, Norelia sat on the opposite edge of the sofa, leaning back against the armrest with her arms crossed. Her brows twitched in mounting irritation as she watched the unhinged, romantic scene unfolding in front of her.
Her three-hundred-year-old adopted mother had taken up permanent residence on Eren’s lap.
Carolynn was draped over him, purring. Her thick legs were tucked to the side, her soft arms were looped around his neck, and her flushed cheek was pressed against his chest, letting out muffled giggles of pure, post-cry bliss.
Meanwhile, Eren’s shameless hands had settled with zero hesitation on the thick, pillowy curves of her butt, lazily kneading the soft flesh beneath the red robe.
A man has to offer physical support during times of severe emotional trauma. It’s basic humanitarian aid.
"Alright, that is quite enough, you greedy old hag!" Norelia snapped, her voice disturbing the cozy atmosphere. "You’ve completely hijacked my boyfriend under the guise of an emotional crisis!"
Carolynn didn’t budge. She merely nuzzled her fiery orange curls deeper into Eren’s shirt collar, letting out a muffled whine against his collarbone.
"Don’t be so stingy, my baby," Carolynn murmured lazily. "You and those other young vixens have had his undivided attention for months on end. Your poor, lonely mama has only gotten to feast on his divine vitality once during our little arrangement last week!"
"Let an old woman bask in the knowledge that she’s properly cherished."
Norelia’s murderous glare turned straight toward the smirking idiot.
"Don’t look at me like that, Professor," Eren replied smoothly, giving Carolynn’s hip another casual, affectionate squeeze.
Norelia pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out an exhausted sigh. "Unbelievable. Two incurable degenerates sharing one couch."
Forcing her mind back onto the rails, the petite professor straightened her posture.
"If Mama truly isn’t supplying her own essence to harvest, then who is mass-producing them? And more importantly, how are they synthesizing it?"
"An excellent question," Eren agreed, his blue eyes sharpening as the playful atmosphere cooled. "And what’s the objective here? Why are they flooding them into the human realm instead of weaponizing themselves?"
Norelia tapped her chin, eyes narrowing in thought. "Could they be using preserved blood vials Mama left behind during the War?"
Carolynn slowly lifted her head from Eren’s chest as she shook her head.
"Impossible," Carolynn stated softly. "Demon noble blood loses its active magical resonance within a decade unless sustained by a living host’s direct mana core."
"Furthermore, I personally incinerated every single reserve and alchemical lab before crossing the border into the human realm. There is not a single drop of my past blood left on this continent."
Eren leaned his head back against the sofa cushions, humming quietly. "Which leaves us with a far nastier deduction. If the original recipe is dead, someone reverse-engineered the catalyst."
"A modified derivative..." Carolynn’s pupils suddenly dilated, a realization flashing across her breathtaking face.
"Of course. If they couldn’t harvest my lineage, they would look for an equivalent substitute—someone whose innate physiological purity and demonic mana density could match the original catalyst."
Eren arched a skeptical brow, looking at the gorgeous woman resting in his lap.
"Wait a minute. You’re the supreme Demon Queen. I thought you were the undisputed apex predator of your entire race. Who could share an identical bloodline purity with you?"
Carolynn blinked her large eyes, tilting her head with an expression of pure, innocent maternal pride.
"Why, that’s simple, darling," Carolynn purred softly. "My first daughter."’