Meeting the Parents

Shu Ying (Ex-Goddess)

I've been out of the secluded territory for only two days, and I'm already displeased. After they brought us out and reunited us with our parents, I had the "honor" of meeting my "mother," whom I am supposed to worship and respect. She gave me a fleeting glance before returning to her reading, completely uninterested. After that, the nanny escorted me to my room and enlightened me about my lineage—I am the daughter of one of the wives of an elder in our clan. I am expected to live up to the standards set by both my mother and father.

When I asked about my father, I was told that he is a very busy man, and the conversation quickly devolved into meaningless blabber.

So, here I am, sitting in my room, reading the local etiquette rules, the basics of which were already drilled into us in kindergarten.

Judging by what I see here, I need to get as far away from this place as possible, and quickly. This whole etiquette, intrigue, and blah blah blah is just not for me. I wouldn't be surprised if they will try to marry me off to the "right" person. Long Hao turned out to be the son of my father's brother, and Nao Xiao, Nao Mei, and Nao Xue are daughters of an elder in the same category as my father. No wonder we were singled out in kindergarten.

The nanny tried to tell me how lucky I was to be born here, but I just rolled my eyes. After her second attempt to instill in me a love for everything local and all the conditions, including my "parents," she gave up. Apparently, she didn't much like being here either, but life had taken that turn for her.

The only problem is I can't use my old powers properly. Whenever I try to do anything beyond mere perception, something goes wrong—things catch fire, explode, disappear, or something else strange happens. Once, I wanted to pull a chair towards me, and it turned to dust from the inside while looking normal on the outside. Because I'm constantly trying to regain some control over my old powers, I've gained a reputation for being unlucky in "kindergarten". It worked in my favor, as less petty trouble came my way, and even the nannies were wary of me. One time, a nanny "accidentally" pushed me, and later under my clear and miraculous gaze, she broke one leg, then the other, and then her hair accidentally caught fire when a lamp exploded. Oh, how I laughed!

That's how I bonded with my sisters. I don't know why some of the nannies disliked them, but in the midst of conflicts with the nannies, they did a lot to get revenge, and that's how we became friends. People avoided me, and despite their high social standing, the sisters also experienced strange accidents from some nannies.

Since arriving here, I've already blown up two lamps and broken several floorboards. Now, people avoid me, even my mother. She tried to tell me that even though I'm not the most desired child, I will be useful. When I heard that, I was stunned—what kind of person says that to their child? But she got what was coming to her when the floorboard beneath her unexpectedly turned out to be rotten. She hit the wall headfirst so hard there was a loud clang of jaws—I wouldn't be surprised if she knocked out a couple of teeth. Oh, how I laughed!

Of course, this didn't earn me her love, but I don't need it. If they don't want to treat me well, I'll make their life a living hell. Since then, in my presence, something always seems to explode or enchanted redwood, used for making reusable talismans and known for its strength, suddenly rots.

At least they left me alone after few days. They took me to see my mother several times, hoping she'd explain how everything works here. But after her revelations, things keep going wrong. Ahahaha! Judging by her glances, she's starting to fear me as if I were mad, especially since I don't hide my glee when things go awry. These strange occurrences don't scare me at all.

Half an hour of idleness later, I accidentally set the table on fire while trying to move it with my powers. Everything here is off, but at least it was fun. I might be turning into a pyromaniac.

A knock sounded, and the nanny entered the room.

"Little Mistress, your father is calling for ..." she began to talk when her eyes catched the remains of the table, which was still smoldering.

"Understood," she said somewhat resignedly. She approached the table, waved her hand, and it disappeared, replaced by a similar one. "Please don't break the furniture; it's very precious wood" she added.

"It wasn't me. You said yourself that no spiritual energy is emanating from me!" I retorted.

"As you say, Little Mistress" she replied wearily. "But let's hope these unexpected things stop happening to the local furniture. It's very expensive, and I feel sorry for the people who make it. This is the seventh table on my watch."

"I was bored, and then whoosh, the table caught fire" I said playfully.

"Understood. Alright, let's go to your father. He's finally free and has returned, and he wants to see you."

"Let's go," I said, standing up. As we walked, I observed the surroundings inside the mansion. To clarify, we were inside a castle, but it wasn't a single structure. It was more like an enclosed territory with mansions inside, one of which we were in.

Walking through this mansion, I could see the woodwork was indeed expensive for mere mortals, though to me, it was just junk. But I realized I had been breaking too much furniture. After all, I'm in a house, and as they say, don't foul where you eat. But honestly, I was just bored.

After about five minutes of wandering through the mansion, we arrived at a door. The nanny knocked, and we heard a voice from inside say, "Enter."

We entered, and I examined my "father." He looked unusual—of average height, gray-haired, with wrinkles, and a scar on the left side of his face. Judging by the trace I perceived, he received it just a few days ago, and it seemed there was some poison involved. The poison's effect was being suppressed and slowly removed, but the process would leave a significant scar and take quite a long time to heal. His gaze was stern and somewhat wild, but unlike my mother, he evoked warm feelings in me.

He approached me, also studying me, then lifted me into his arms and said, "Hello, princess. I'm sorry I couldn't meet you earlier" and hugged me. Interesting, someone in the family seems to love me.

"Give us fifteen minutes" he told the nanny. She bowed and left.

He carried me to where he had been sitting, placed me on his lap, and stroked my head, saying, "I'm sorry, my dear. I'm a very busy man and won't be able to see you often, but I'm glad I could meet you this time."

Warmth, comfort, coziness—wow, I almost fell asleep in his arms. He was a pleasant person. I turned to look at his face, but he was already distracted, studying a map on the table.

I stared at his scar, wondering if I could help. I could sense the poison. I raised my hand, using it as a conduit for my will to work more precisely, and tried to make the poison disappear. Concentrating on the poison, I didn't notice at first when a small black smoke began to emanate from the scar. Then the scar started to change as if it were scorched or cauterized, and it began to smell like something was burning.

Smelling the burning, I quickly withdrew my hand and looked at my father, who was gazing intently into my eyes. There was no anger or aggression in his gaze, although judging by the sizzling sound, it must have been painful.

He ran his hand over what was now a burn scar and said, "I was told strange things happen around you. Now I understand. I hope you remember this because you never know what might happen. On this plane, you can use your powers as you like since no one knows about them here. But before people from a higher plane, you must hide this ability and never show that you can do this. If people from the upper plane find out you can use this, something very, very bad will happen. Understand?" he said in a very serious tone.

Hmm, so father knows something about the power of the goddesses? Curious, how does he know...

"And thank you for the healing. Don't worry; I barely felt the pain," he said more gently and continued to stroke my head. I felt sleepy again. I wondered what that bastard, because of whom I'm here, was up to. Hopefully, his ass is on fire.