Chapter 528: Chapter 528: Monsters, we all are.
Chapter 528 – Monsters, we all are.
"What do you wish, mother-in-law?"
Noah asked warmly, almost softly, looking at Marigold’s desolate face. Her expression was the very picture of hollow, as if nothing within her wished to continue this existence any longer.
Seeing it, Noah was struck by a strange coldness. One that came not from the frozen world around him, but from within, wrapping itself around his entire being.
Watching Elijah, and now Marigold, reduced to this — two beings of immense power and talent, both brought low by love — was a humbling thing.
It was as if life itself was screaming at him. As if something — someone — was trying to make him understand the true meaning of existence.
Yet the enlightenment still eluded him, slipping past his reach like a mortal trying to hold the wind.
He let out a weary sigh, tilted his head upward, as a thought whispered inside his mind uninvited.
’Is it worth it?’
This life. All these battles. Were they worth it? Why was he here, fighting a whole universe for more power?
Why was he here, pulling his entire family into a war he had no idea how would end?
Was he ready to lose them? Certainly not.
Then was it arrogance to believe none of them would die?
’It was this same arrogance that got me killed last time. That got all of them killed in the process.’
They had mainly managed to come back thanks to a fortunate encounter with his mother in the Spirit World.
Would that always be the case?
The answer was obvious enough.
’Life is truly trouble.’ He concluded, lowering his gaze back to Marigold. ’And the only thing that makes it worth the trouble are the connections we build along the way. It is only for my wives, my children, and those who believe in me...that this fight is worth having.’
That was why he sought strength. That was why he was always causing trouble, while doing his best never to bite more than he could chew — even if he sometimes failed at that, embarrassingly.
Only for them.
And yet a question crept to the edge of his thoughts regardless.
’Until when? Until when do I have to keep getting stronger to protect the people I love?’
Until when would this be over?
Noah didn’t know. And that unknown made his heart sick with fear, the fear of what it would mean if all of this were indefinite.
What if he had to keep fighting, over and over, with no end in sight? Even the thought made his stomach churn and his mind curl in on itself like a frightened animal.
No one wished to fight forever. And only now did Noah understand why. Only now...did the question settle on him with real weight.
’How much longer?’
He hissed a slow breath, closed his eyes, and took hold of himself, burying the fear deep inside where none could glimpse it.
Because he had no right to fear. That right belonged to those without heavy responsibilities.
He was the head of his family. His fear would spread to the rest of them, and not everyone could bear the kind that gnawed at him.
But he had forgotten one person.
One person who had been watching him listlessly, yes, but with enough awareness left to recognise the flicker that had lit his eyes a moment ago.
It was a feeling she knew intimately. Because she had always asked herself the same question.
’How much longer?’
And seeing it in another, seeing it in the very man sitting on the frozen floor, watching her with unwelcome compassion...was enough.
Marigold opened her mouth.
"...N-Noah." Her voice was rasp, weak, and achingly small for a woman of her stature.
Noah’s eyes widened slightly, genuinely not having expected it. He focused on her at once, every trace of fear buried, his smile confident and easy.
"Are you willing to talk now, mother-in-law?" He said. "I was ready to move on to my second option."
"Why?" Marigold asked plainly, still looking at him with that hollow expression. "Why are you trying to help me?"
"You are my wife’s mother."
"I hate her." Marigold said directly, her voice sincere. "I hate my daughter. I hate Justicia. And I know they hate me too. So why?"
Noah smiled wryly. He couldn’t refute that. It was true.
Still...
"I don’t know." He shrugged. "I don’t know why I want to help you, except that I do. And no matter what your relationship with Apollonia and Justicia is, the fact remains that you are family."
He grinned.
"A troublesome one. But then again, I am known for particularly liking dangerous, troublesome women with a few screws loose." He winked. "You are at the very top of that category. You are honestly a bloody mess, mother-in-law."
Marigold let out an unexpected, small chuckle. It surprised both of them. They looked at each other with wide eyes.
Noah was the first to break into laughter. "Well, there we go. At least you’re not a lost cause yet."
Marigold shifted slowly, pulling herself into a sitting position and facing him. "You are a strange man, Noah."
"Aye."
"You want to help someone like me." She chuckled, harshly. "Someone who killed one of your wives and had her reincarnated. Who tortured the other while making her watch everything I did to the one she loved."
"The fact that you are aware of what you have done makes you even more frightening."
"And you still want to help me?"
"I mean, yes." Noah smiled. "We are all monsters in some way, Marigold. All of us. I am not innocent. Neither are my wives. We have done things that might genuinely surprise you. Not because they are worse than what you have done, but perhaps because they are things you would never have expected, given who you appear to be."
He paused, then continued calmly.
"And do you know what mainly shapes a person’s character?"
He didn’t wait for an answer.
"The place they were born. And the trials they are put through." He sighed quietly. "You are the monster you are because of those things. And if I had lived what you lived, I would probably be the same."
Marigold’s eyes widened.
"So you see, it’s not that we are better people. Well, I am better than you. But that’s beside the point. The point is..."
He gave her a quiet smile.
"...I have no right to judge you for a life I never lived. But be aware of one thing, you are only receiving this consideration because of the bond between us, unexpected as it is. Anyone else in your position would have been killed without a second thought."
"I understand now why Justicia chose you."
"I said I am better."
"Then choose me." Marigold said.
Noah paused.
"What?" He asked, genuinely confused.
"You asked me what I want. Here it is, Noah." Marigold forced out a smile, but it came out empty and hollow.
"I want you to choose me. I want you to love me. To love me in a way I have never been loved. Let me taste what I saw Elijah have for Justicia. Let me taste what you have for my daughter. Let me feel that — just once — and then, please..."
Her smile widened. Mad, yet deeply longing.
"...please kill me afterwards. My soul to ashes."
—End of Chapter 528—
