Please, Mother, have mercy on me

At first, everything was fine, Letia’s movements were gentle, and Lili felt very comfortable.

However, Lili’s body seemed to react to the prolonged contact, and her imagination wandered in unintended directions.

Although it was supposed to be a simple massage, Lili found herself feeling unusually flustered.

She wondered why her reactions were so strong.

Letia noticed Lili’s response and tried even harder to continue the massage.

Lili bit her lip, trying to endure, but couldn’t help making unusual sounds.

Karina watched with a smile, and secretly covered her granddaughter’s eyes.

“These two, flirting in front of me!”

“Who, who is flirting? We’re not!”

“Yes, yes, not flirting,” Karina said with a laugh, “It’s just a massage, a normal massage is fine, right? Letia, don’t take it too seriously. Look at your little friend, she might not last much longer, huh?”

“Mother’s advice is right, daughter acknowledges her mistake.”

“Hmm… I’m not overwhelmed…”

Lili tearily defended herself, but her flushed face seemed to have the opposite effect.

A moment later, Lili collapsed on the stone table, exhausted.

Letia lifted her head proudly, her expression showing a teasing smirk.

Lili “hmph”ed and looked away, refusing to pay attention to Letia.

Karina looked at Lili thoughtfully, then smiled brightly, leaning close to her ear and whispered, “Should I step away for a moment?”

“No need!” Lili immediately refused, “I’m not flustered, Mother, please stay here a bit longer!”

If Karina stepped away, Letia would likely take the chance to tease Lili openly.

Earlier, Letia had already revealed some playful tricks to Lili, and while Lili would eventually face Letia’s challenges, she wanted to assert herself first.

After all, she had already been through so many lessons, a bit more didn’t matter.

Even though Lili’s mind hadn’t surrendered, her body had grown accustomed to Letia’s guidance.

“Mother,” Letia said enthusiastically, “I’d like to spend some time alone with Lili, can you step away for a while? Maybe use a soundproof spell?”

“I’m not going to be alone with you!” Lili said flustered, “Mother, I want to talk to you more, hear stories about Letia when she was a child!”

“Alright! I’ll tell you about Letia’s childhood!”

“But, Mother…”

“Letia,” Karina said firmly, “When you care about someone, you have to consider their feelings and know when to stop.”

“Weren’t you going to step away a moment…”

“Do you still want to talk back?”

“No… I dare not…”

“I’ll spend some time chatting with Lili, Letia, you go prepare afternoon tea.”

“Ah this…”

“Lili,” Karina held Lili’s hand, “what would you like to drink? Tell Mother, and I’ll have this stubborn one prepare it.”

“Well, I like fresh orange juice!”

“Orange juice, perfect, healthy, and tasty!” Karina naturally looked at Letia, her smile vanishing instantly, “Our Lili wants orange juice.”

Letia froze, not understanding the meaning of the words.

Lili looked at the frustrated and powerless Letia and felt completely victorious.

Letia, you’re getting your comeuppance!

Who told you to bully me and always act without regard for me!

This is payback, don’t blame me!

While Mother is here, I’ll make sure you feel the consequences!

Will there be retaliation? I don’t care!

Even if I didn’t make you feel it, you would still act as you please.

No need for restraint, consequences will happen, and you will see what it feels like to be at a disadvantage!

Lili thought this while smirking, Letia clenched her fists, frustrated but powerless.

Karina seemed to notice something, staring coldly at Letia, radiating authority.

Letia shivered, recalling the punishments of her own childhood.

“Letia?…” Karina called softly.

“I-I’ll go, I’ll go… please forgive me, Mother!”

Letia avoided Karina’s gaze and hurried out of the cave.

While Letia went out to pick oranges, Karina held Lili’s hand and patiently told her stories about Letia’s childhood.

Letia had been mischievous, climbing trees and collecting bird eggs.

At that time, she couldn’t fly well and often fell from trees, which made Karina anxious, though she gently tended to her injuries.

As she grew older, Letia became more rebellious and didn’t follow Karina’s guidance.

She valued the dragon pride above all and often acted proudly in front of other clans, offending many people.

“Wow, Letia was that mischievous?”

“Yes, if you weren’t careful, she’d cause trouble.”

Karina frowned, but her expression still carried warmth.

She probably scolded her out of habit, but truly cared for her daughter.

Whether Letia was mischievous or frequently caused trouble, Lili realized she wasn’t as bad as she seemed.

Even when Letia was strict, Lili understood she wasn’t intentionally mean.

Lili admitted that the magical silver patterns were powerful, and she sometimes longed for reassurance from Letia.

Even so, it didn’t need to go too far.

A little comfort would calm the silver patterns, and both would regain composure.

It only needed to be a necessary ritual, no embarrassment required.

Yet, ever since meeting Letia, Letia had constantly been intense with her.

Letia’s strict guidance was sometimes overwhelming.

Letia often claimed Lili had embarrassed her, but Lili couldn’t understand what that meant, nor did she want to.

Letia still acted bossy, treating Lili like a plaything for her own amusement.

Lili disliked Letia for this, even though she knew Letia cared in her own way.

In a way, it seemed they could never fully understand each other, and Lili acknowledged her own mistakes.

If Lili could have been honest, or explained that she didn’t understand the magical patterns, Letia might have been gentler.

Perhaps then, Letia would treat her like a cherished companion.

“By the way, how did you two meet?”

“Uh? Meet… how…”

“Yes, I want to hear the story of how you met,” Karina smiled and patted Amy’s head, “Amy wants to know too, right?”

“Yes!—” Amy waved her arms excitedly.

Lili felt a cold sweat, realizing she hadn’t rehearsed any story with Letia.

She certainly couldn’t tell Karina that she had been in difficult situations and that Letia’s care had changed her life.