800: Bittersweet

Bittersweet

Damien didn't just tell Lilith about Joyce's dream, he also expressed his theory about how she might have started having those dreams in the first place.0

"So, you gave that plant to her, huh?" Lilith asked as if she was dazed after listening to everything that her son had said until now.

"Yes, now that I think about it, I think I was destined to steal and bring that plant to Joyce. I don't think she would have recalled her past if it wasn't for that plant. And I don't think we would have ever found out about her reincarnation."

Damien recalled a certain incident from the ship and mumbled, "It looks like Ariel's grandparents don't reveal such information to us. So, I am glad that I took that rash decision during my childhood."

Lilith suddenly pulled Damien into a warm hug and said to him, "You don't know how grateful I am towards you, Damien. No matter how many years had passed, and no matter how much I tried to forget, the thoughts about Mackenzie always used to haunt me. You don't know how great of a favor you've done for me by bringing this news to me, son. That constant itching in my heart can now finally rest."

A subtle smile curved up on Damien's lips. He also hugged his mother back. And he finally relayed the message that Joyce had for Lilith, "Mother, Joyce had asked me to give you her message."

"Really? I thought that she wouldn't want to do anything with me after knowing she was the daughter of a demoness in the past." Lilith pulled away from the hug and looked into Damien's deep eyes. Her eyes twinkled while she excitedly asked him, "But she has a message for me? What did she say to me?"

Damien gave a melancholic smile to his mother and replied, "She said that she was sorry for leaving too early even though she was supposed to stay by your side for eternity."

The happy smile on Lilith's lips suddenly turned sad. She lowered her gaze and gulped the lump in her throat. "She said that?" she asked in a whisper.

"Mhmm…" Damien held his mother's hand and consolingly said, "She doesn't blame anyone for what happened to her that day. She is simply apologetic that she had to part ways with you."

Lilith buried her face into her palms and then began to cry. The scar that Mackenzie's death had left in her heart opened up as if it was very fresh. "It wasn't her fault either that she was mercilessly ki– Why is she saying sorry?"

After seeing his mother cry like that, Damien didn't have the courage to mention how she, along with the others, were attacked by the same so-called angel. He feared that she would somehow find Michael and fight him; if she couldn't do that, he was afraid that she would drown herself in worries.

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After almost an hour, when Lilith finally calmed down, Damien went to the pandemonium stating that he had one more person to deliver Joyce's message to.

Lilith didn't stop Damien from leaving even when she wanted her son to stay by her side for a bit longer. She had yet to know about all the details of what Damien did for the past few weeks. And she was yet to ask more about Joyce.

"Should I have also sent some message back to her?" Lilith furrowed her brows when she suddenly recalled that she hadn't said anything in reply. She sighed and then thought, "I should probably say something, right? Else, she might assume that I don't care about her. She was sweet enough to send me a message even when she doesn't recall much about me. I remember everything. So, I should at least put in some effort."

After keeping that in mind, Lilith also teleported to the pandemonium. She didn't want Damien to leave the Hell realm without seeing her again. If he did that, then she wouldn't have the opportunity to say anything to him.

When she reached in front of the huge red mansion, she was greeted by the three-headed giant dog.

Cerberus would bark and snarl at almost everyone who would come into the vicinity of the mansion. He even barked a few times at Damien until he smelled a few familiar scents coming off of him.

However, the moment he saw Lilith, he wagged his tail and jumped to lick her and rub his heads against her.

Lilith smiled and lovingly scratched Cerberus on his head and his neck. "How have you been, Cer baby?" she asked Cerberus in her soft and low voice.

Cerberus barked once as though he was answering Lilith's question.

"Aww… you've been good, huh?" Lilith hugged one of the heads of Cerberus and added, "I've also been doing good." Her voice became softer and softer as she spoke, "And you know what I just found out? Your dearest sister Mackenzie has been reborn! But you can't meet her. She's on Earth."

Cerberus looked at Lilith and began to wag his tail a bit too enthusiastically. He also barked a few times to express his happiness.

Lilith joyously grinned and then cuddled with Cerberus some more. "If you could talk, I know how much talkative you'd be. And I know how you would have asked a lot of questions to me right now."

Lilith scratched Cerberus' heads gently and lovingly, and then said to him, "You want to know what her new name is? It's Joyce. Doesn't it sound lovely? I think it suits her perfectly."

Cerberus barked in agreement and then kept on wagging his tail. He wanted to hear more about the master who treated him as her brother once.

"And you know who she is in this life?" Lilith gave a wide grin and said, "She is Prince Theodore's niece!"

Cerberus suddenly pulled away from the cuddle and looked at Lilith with all of his eyes. It looked like he was understanding everything that Lilith was saying to him.

Seeing his questioning gaze, Lilith patted his head and asked, "Isn't that amazing? I already know that she was loved and pampered as a child. And Damien says that her husband and her in-laws are also very much loving and understanding."

Cerberus happily rolled over on the ground. His tail didn't stop moving all while long.

Lilith then darted her eyes inside the doors of the mansion. She pointed at the door and said, "I will go inside and find Damien, okay? I need to say something to him."

Cerberus was lying flat on his back. He smiled and then pointed one of his paws at his stomach.

Lilith scoffed and shook her head. "Oh, Cerberus! You're still a pampered baby, aren't you?" She took a deep breath and then gave belly rubs to the hellhound.

After fulfilling Cerberus' wish, she looked at the steps of the mansion. She clenched her fists and mumbled, "It's been a long time, huh?"

She recalled how she used to bring Mackenzie to the mansion so that she could visit Cerberus and her father.

A bittersweet smile appeared on her face when she whispered, "She used to love coming here a lot. I wonder if she still likes dogs so much."

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