Chapter 1181 - 542: "Mom

Chapter 1181: Chapter 542: "Mom

For instance, who had new lambs born, how the harvest looked this year, who had a quarrel with their spouse, which child got into trouble again...

The neighbors were all kind-hearted, greeting warmly when they met, occasionally sharing homegrown vegetables.

Her parents were both present and healthy.

Life was poor yet carefree.

No conflicts, no dangers, no urgent pressures.

It was precisely the most beautiful, most perfect life she had imagined.

So perfect that... it seemed almost fake.

"..." Teresa pursed her lips, silently gritting her teeth.

This thought had surfaced in her mind more than once.

Like sly bubbles underwater, it always floated silently to her mind at the happiest, most relaxed moments, then popped with a "snap," leaving a chilly ripple.

Why do I... always feel unfamiliar?

She watched her mother’s silhouette mending clothes under the lamp, her father’s back quietly polishing farm tools, all within this simple yet full-of-life house.

Everything was so real, tangible.

Her mother’s nagging was real, her father’s silence was real, and the tiny stings in her palms from labor were real too.

But why was there always a small part of her heart that felt empty, like an important puzzle piece was missing?

Why sometimes did she stare at something familiar and suddenly feel it "shouldn’t be like this"?

A vague unease lingered in her heart.

Like extremely delicate threads wrapped around her heart, usually unnoticed, but in some silent moments or excessive happiness, it would quietly tighten, bringing a barely perceptible yet undeniable feeling of suffocation.

Towards her current life, Teresa even felt a trace of... fear.

Not fear of something specific, but of this overly perfect, flawless life itself.

It was too complete, leaving no gaps, making her feel like an intruder, like a thief stealing someone else’s happiness.

She feared that one day this perfect bubble would burst, feared everything would vanish like morning mist, feared waking up to find that she was still that penniless...

What kind of self?

She furrowed her brows, trying to grasp the fleeting shadow in her mind, but caught nothing.

Only that inexplicable, heavy unease slowly settled down like the night, weighing on her heart.

At night, she lay on her soft, comfortable bed, listening to the familiar chirping insects outside the window, yet struggled to sleep.

The bed beneath her was comfortable, the room smelled of sun, everything was perfect under her mother’s care.

But the more it was like this, the clearer the discord in her heart became.

Such a vision was immensely beautiful, yet... unfamiliar enough to stir panic.

She turned over, burying her face into the sun-kissed pillow, covering her ears, trying to ignore the increasingly loud alarm in her heart.

Is this truly what she wanted?

Or rather, is this really... her life?

That night, Teresa had a dream.

A repeated dream she had many times.

In the dream, she saw a giant mirror.

And flashing constantly in the mirror were the experiences of a girl.

That was... another self.

She didn’t converse with that self, merely watched quietly from an observer’s perspective.

Watching that entirely different life from hers now.

"..."

Teresa watched quietly without surprise, without fear.

Because she had been watching for a long time.

She couldn’t recall when awake, but once in the dream, she could remember everything here and remember where she had seen before.

Teresa didn’t know why she had to watch such a pitiful, even tragic "other life," but she instinctively felt that it was important to her.

So she started, bit by bit watching.

Watching the girl who lost her mother from the very beginning, growing up little by little in solitude.

In the mirror, clearly they were the same villagers, but they showed her different attitudes.

Frankly, Teresa didn’t like the story in the mirror.

Not happy, not comforting at all.

Her mother died early, her father was often absent, leaving her alone in an empty room.

Later, she even became a slave, and was transported to the Evil God’s altar.

A tragic life, filthy bloodline, nothing good ever happened.

She didn’t want that life at all.

Really, not at all.

Until—that change appeared.

That nearly dreamlike perfect knight, the savior of her other self.

Lord Herbert.

Like a sun-bright Paladin, appeared by her other self’s side in danger, saving her from all sufferings.

Just like a legendary hero.

Teresa knew that her other self liked him, though it was just a girl’s secret infatuation, unspoken boldly.

No, anyone would fall for him under such circumstances, right?

Such great gratitude alone would make anyone moved, not to mention that lord was really handsome...

Even the self outside the mirror felt a bit moved, right!

Really, just a little bit.

In the mirror, that lord had once said something to her other self.