The island.
The mansion was empty.
Because Silas had said that regardless of whether they went to loot the property left by those who died from the cold, like the nobles, they would be considered accomplices.
Instead, few people wanted the treasures in Madam Melina's mansion.
"..."
Madam Melina stayed in the basement.
Flipping through the notebook left behind for treating Miss Slime over and over again. Attempting to find proof inside that she had loved Miss Slime.
But there was none.
It was all data.
She told stories to Miss Slime only because she felt progress had been made in curing her real daughter, so she was in a good mood. She was willing to treat Miss Slime as her daughter temporarily and tell her stories.
Leaving the basement.
Silas's room had long been empty.
She lay on the bed for a while. Sniffed.
The smell of the man's sweat was heavy, but within it, she could still smell... a little bit of the scent of Miss Slime having lain there.
Everyone had left.
The maid had also persuaded her to leave together.
"No need. Calculate the wages yourself; the money is all here."
"..."
Madam Melina remained indifferent, placing the bag containing silver and gold coins in the hall on the first floor.
She had saved a lot of money.
Aside from necessary expenses, it was all for living after her daughter came back to life. She could provide whatever kind of life she wanted.
After the maid left.
Madam Melina was like a walking corpse, not eating or drinking, dully going back and forth between Silas's room and Miss Slime's room.
Now she understood the meaning of Silas's question: "So, the Madam has turned over a new leaf and now views Miss Slime as your only daughter?"
The answer was clearly sincere.
She didn't lie.
She should have had two daughters. Giving up her real daughter for the slime was wrong.
But giving up the slime and only wanting her real daughter—was that right?
As a mother, could she selfishly choose the easier side?
Would she be deceived by that kind of man?
She didn't know.
Perhaps the slime would live better. Better than staying by her side.
Splash.
Madam Melina lost the hope to live.
She walked into the bathtub full of cold water. Picked up the red scissors she had tried to pierce the slime's body with.
That's right.
Such an excessive mother... what qualification did she have to bestow a name?
Stab!
Without hesitation, Melina stabbed down at her wrist.
Instantly, blood dripped. The cold bathwater showed much scarlet.
Feeling the pain, she didn't scream.
"..."
Again, she stabbed at various parts of her body: stomach, shoulders, everywhere she could see.
She felt relieved.
Since she couldn't fulfill the obligations of a mother no matter what, since she couldn't become a good mother no matter what.
Then living had no meaning. Perhaps, feeling the intense pain, atonement was the only thing she could do.
She regretted it.
Regretted never teaching the slime why she couldn't eat mice.
Also regretted thinking about everything... waiting until the real daughter was cured, then teaching slowly. Even things like breastfeeding, she wanted to compensate the real daughter she had never even met with all at once.
What about the slime?
Just as Silas said, she was nothing. Never loved by her. Clearly accompanying her alive for more than ten years, yet only treated as material, a tool.
Stab!
With a fierce cut of the scissors, half of Madam Melina's body was soaked in the bathtub. Yet through the mottled red water surface, she could see her own intestines.
She thought she would definitely die.
Everything was over.
The last words she should have said weren't asking him to pass on a name, but... hoping he would treat the slime, treat her daughter better. At least not use her for lust like he did to her.
It was strange.
With such severe wounds, logically speaking, she absolutely wouldn't have much time to reflect on the past.
She strangely saw...
Part of the blood in the pool floated back. Under the bloody wounds, various blood vessels crisscrossed. But those delicate blood vessels looked artificial... fundamentally different from the blood vessels Madam Melina knew well for treating her daughter's skeleton.
Splash!
Madam Melina suddenly stood up, clutching the terrifying wound on her stomach.
Her face looked increasingly terrible.
Basement.
Madam Melina was still alive; through a series of repair methods she knew for "artificial" bodies like hers, she survived in a wretched state.
"How is this possible..."
Madam Melina stared blankly at the replaced blood vessels on the low table; they were more obvious after being washed clean. They were really artificial.
Then her memories.
Marrying the scholar priest she admired, yet giving birth to a flesh and blood child that was actually a puddle of slime without ever having done anything intimate.
Feeling completely unregarded as a wife, unregarded as a human.
Precisely because of this, she detested men so much. Upon receiving the priest's letter, feeling there was a chance to save her daughter, she resolutely came to the island.
Suppose.
The memories were all fake—hometown, marriage, giving birth to a daughter...
Madam Melina tightly wrapped the repaired wounds with bandages, gritting her teeth, took enough money, and boarded the last boat of servants leaving the island.
"Don't go this way; the Church people are likely waiting at the port."
She directed the servants to take a safer route.
In her memory, she was born into a small noble family in the Kingdom of Portia. Because she was the second daughter, she was sent directly to a monastery, waiting to marry someone after completing her training. But she met the priest at the monastery.
The monastery existed.
What about the small noble family?
The location in her memory was bustling. But when Melina actually stepped on this land, no one had heard of her surname, nor were there any people or events matching her memory.
She spent a lot of time.
But couldn't find any trace proving that the person Melina had ever existed.
The monastery was indeed there.
"Priest Amant?"
"Ah, heard of him. He did serve as Bishop here before. But I heard he committed some offense and was exiled to a very distant island."
"Female assistant?"
"I don't think so; anyway, I've never heard of Priest Amant having any assistant."
"..."
"Are you Amant's family?"
"..."
Melina only stopped when others started finding her questions strange.
Simple wedding, none. Assistant experience, none. Self, non-existent.
Then what exactly was she?
Madam Melina opened her bag, taking out the letter the priest once used to lure her to the island and various notes on how to cure her daughter.
She almost never paid attention to the letter.
[To my dear wife, Melina]
Because it was too disgusting. Couldn't bear to read it.
Now she started reading.
[...]
[I guess you won't care at all whether my conscience has discovered itself. So let's explain briefly.]
[Our daughter is on that island, and the treatment method is also there.]
[You, possessing such maternal nature, will surely restore our daughter.]
"Grind..."
Madam Melina clenched her teeth until they made noise.
Understood.
Everything about her was fabricated. At the beginning of her birth, she was created and might not even have met Amant. She was just a manufactured mother.
A mother used to cultivate the slime.
"Bastard!!!"
Melina slammed her fist on the table.
Knew it.
How could it be like this?
She was just an artificial human.
The slime could never have been two daughters from the beginning. If she had to say, she only had one daughter.
The real daughter had been by her side all along.
And she was used for more than ten years by a disgusting man whom she had never even met, not knowing if he was feigning death or truly dead.
Truly, a tragic life.
"..."
Madam Melina tore the letter to shreds.
She would no longer seek death, nor would she accept reality with peace of mind just because she knew she was an artificial human.
So what?
The slime's current body was cultivated flesh separated from her own body. She raised the slime for more than ten years. If only she had known this when Silas took the slime away...
Even if the priest was really dead, she would dig up his corpse and feed it to the dogs.
No.
Definitely not dead.
He had some design on the slime, on her daughter.
Then it might truly be as the letter said, the endowed maternity exploded again. For her daughter, Melina could do anything.
"Madam, where are you going?"
The caravan politely asked Melina.
"..."
That's right.
Where was she going to find her daughter?
Where did he take her daughter? The disgusting priest used her and used her daughter, what about him? What exactly did the man named Silas want to do to her daughter?
Unknown.
Madam Melina carried a lot of accumulated gold coins; she thought only two things remained.
First, apologize to her daughter.
Second, dig up the priest's body, chop it up and feed it to dogs, or find him and take revenge.
"A taller male and a nice-bodied but shorter girl?"
"Madam, you can't find them with just these characteristics. Even if you give a lot of money... is there anything more detailed? like what color their eyes are, skin color, any birthmarks?"
"..."
Melina suddenly realized she couldn't expose the appearance of Silas and her daughter.
She couldn't rely on others to search; she could only go herself.
In such a vast region, could she find them? Or rather, even if she found them, would her daughter now still be willing to listen to her?
But she couldn't end herself like this. The shadow caused to her daughter... she must apologize in person. Only then could she search for the priest with the intention of dying. She was afraid Silas was also a link designed by the priest; she didn't want the slime to end up with a life full of tragedy like hers. A laughable person, a person used as a tool—she alone was enough.
"My daughter... must absolutely not walk the same path in life as me."
Madam Melina clenched her fist, then relaxed it. She must find them.