Chapter 241: Back Home (1)

"Sigh... why am I so nervous all of a sudden?"

Standing in front of our house, my hand froze above the bell, a faint tremor running through it. I was nervous. No, it was more than that. I was terrified.

Why? Because I was about to meet my mother and let me tell you, my mother... Well, let's leave it a surprise.

"Get a grip, Nana," I scolded myself, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath before ringing the bell.

Ding! Dong!

"Coming!" a female voice called from inside, her voice cheerful and energetic.

'Shit!' I cursed, quickly scanning my clothes one last time. After my fun in the subway, I had to change my clothes to be more decent The main reason was to control my pheromones and keep them at the minimum, so now I was wearing a light blue shirt, white jeans, and a pair of sneakers.

'Why the fuck am I so nervous?'

"Nana~" The door suddenly swung open, and standing on the threshold was a beautiful, mature woman. Her light-pink hair framed her face in gentle waves, and her emerald-green eyes glimmered with a warm, motherly light.

"Mom..." My heart clenched at the sight of her, memories of the past flashing through my mind. I love my mother more than anything. She sacrificed so much for me, even at the cost of her own life force.

"Oh, Nana, my sweet baby," she cooed, her arms open wide. Without hesitation, she took me into her embrace, holding me tight. Her body was warm and soft, and she smelled like vanilla and fresh-cut grass.

"I missed you," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

"Me too, Mom," I replied, burying my face into her shoulder, letting her warmth and love wash over me.

"Are you alright? Did you get hurt? Your teacher called me that day."

And there it was, the worry and concern that were ever-present in her voice. Ever since the gate incident, she'd always been concerned about my safety—always calling, checking in on me, asking me to visit her so she could truly confirm that I was unharmed.

"I'm fine, Mom," I said, pulling away and giving her a reassuring smile. "Really. I'm a tough girl."

"I know you are, Nana," she replied her tone firm but tinged with affection. "I know. But you're still my little girl, and I worry about you."

"I understand, Mom," I nodded, trying to keep my expression neutral, but a faint smile tugged at my lips.

"Good, good, now come in, come in," she smiled, taking me by the hand and leading me into the house.

"Right, right," I mumbled, letting her pull me inside.

The familiar scent of home enveloped me—hints of lavender from the candles she always burned, the faint aroma of something sweet baking in the oven, and the comforting warmth of a place that had always been my sanctuary. It was overwhelming in the best way possible. My nerves, which had been a tangled mess just moments ago, began to loosen their grip.

"Mom, what are you baking?" I asked, trying to sound casual, though my voice still carried a slight tremor.

"Your favorite, of course," she replied with a knowing smile, her emerald eyes sparkling. "Strawberry shortcake. I figured you'd need a little pick-me-up after everything you've been through."

"Really?" I blinked, surprised. "How did you know I'd come today?"

"Hehehe." She chuckled softly, her hand still holding mine as she led me to the kitchen. "A mother always knows, Nana. Besides, your teacher may have mentioned you'd be stopping by soon. I've been preparing all morning."

'Oh yeah... the academy would be notified when I used the ID they gave me.' I didn't think of that, but it didn't matter. I wanted to leave a record of Nana leaving the city—that's why I used my connection as Lady Raven to get here.

"Thanks, Mom," I said, feeling a lump rise in my throat. Even after everything—after all the distance and the chaos of our life—she still knew me better than anyone. She always had.

My mother, Nora, was a former B-rank hunter. She's a support type, and her magic was unique in a way. In a five or ten-meter radius—I can't remember—my mother could nullify any magic around her completely. A strong ability, but it comes with some drawbacks. One was that she was unable to learn other types of magic. Her mana had the same nullification properties, so any magic she tried to use would get canceled.

The second, which was more important, was that my mother couldn't choose which magic gets nullified or not. The moment her range was activated, every spell, enchantment, and curse got nullified—even the magic of her allies. A blessing and a curse at the same time.

And it was a curse more than a blessing since, because of her magic, my bastard father married her.

At first, he tricked her by letting her believe that it was a marriage of love, and for some time, that was true to some extent—at least for my mother. However, when I was born, that all changed for one simple reason.

I didn't inherit my mother's magic. It's not uncommon for a child to inherit one or both parents' magic, but I didn't. Why was that a problem, you may ask? Well, because my father revealed to me a very important thing as he and his friend raped me during my eighteenth birthday. He wanted magic like my mother's for himself.

My father had lightning magic, a powerful magic that caused him to reach S-rank, but that same magic also had one major flaw: it harmed its user, a side effect of the massive amount of energy that it needed.

So the bastard came up with a sick idea after he met my mother. Marry her, have a child, and hope that child would have her magic. Then, take the child to a specific criminal organization that has the ability to steal the magic of others and implant it inside others. And the worst thing? Death was the only outcome of such implantation, and the younger the person, the better the stealing chance.

So yeah... my father saw me as his ticket to solving the problem with his own magic. And when that didn't happen, he simply used me for his and his friend's pleasure.

'Fucker.' Gritting my teeth, the thought of killing him was tempting, but that's not what I truly wanted—a slow, miserable death after I fuck his ass, of course.

One of Morgana's teachings was, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a dick for a dick, or something like that."

"Nana," Nora's soft voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and the moment I turned to her, she hugged me again.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, Mom," I smiled, returning her hug, her warmth and love seeping into my very bones. "Just... hungry."

"Sit, sit," she urged after breaking the hug and pulling out a chair for me. "Let's have some cake and catch up. You can tell me everything."

The kitchen was just as I remembered it—cozy, with sunlight streaming through the curtains, casting a golden glow over the countertops. The cake sat in the center of the table, perfectly frosted and adorned with fresh strawberries. It looked like something out of a dream, and for a moment, I forgot about the weight of the world outside.

"Mmmm, Mom, it's perfect," I said, taking a seat and inhaling the delicious scent. "I'm starving."

"Then eat up, sweetie," she said, her voice warm and comforting.

She took a seat across from me, watching as I devoured the cake. I don't think it's healthy to eat a whole cake on an empty stomach but come on! It's my mother's cooking.

"This is so good," I moaned, savoring each bite. "You always make the best desserts, Mom."

"I'm glad you think so," she replied, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "So, tell me about the incident. What happened?"

I hesitated, considering how much to tell her. On one hand, I knew that she deserved the truth and the academy probably informed her about the whole thing. On the other hand, I didn't want her to worry even more than she already was. Moreover, I can't reveal Morgana's involvement or the fact that I'm no longer human.

'Thank god that my Arachne form isn't a magical ability or my mother would've already nullified it by now, revealing my true form.' I sighed mentally in relief. If the Arachne form was a magical ability, I would be in very deep trouble. Imagine your cute daughter suddenly transforming into a giant half-human, half-spider monster.

"There's not much to tell, Mom," I began, trying to keep my tone light. I told her the same things I did to the academy while keeping the important information hidden. But that didn't prevent Mother's face from darkening when I told her about Fatty and his love potion.

"I heard that the kid's family were alchemists," she said, a bitter edge in her tone. "They are under investigation. Those potions are illegal."

"Is that so?" I was a bit surprised. Even in a world of magic, certain laws were enforced. One of those laws was the control and ban of some magical and alchemical ingredients.

"Don't worry, sweetie," Mother said, her emerald eyes burning with maternal ferocity. "They'll be dealt with."

"Thanks, Mom," I nodded, but deep down, I had other plans for Fatty's family. Having a few talented alchemists under my heels would be very helpful. All I had to do was first break them apart, then give them a nice warm welcome into my team—as slaves, of course.

"Ahh~ that was good." Patting my full stomach, I stood up from the table and began cleaning up.

"No, no," Mother protested, trying to shoo me away. "You're the guest, I'll do the dishes."

"Nonsense, Mom," I said, gently pushing her aside. "You've done enough already. Let me handle the clean-up."

She wanted to protest, but a part of her seemed relieved. Maybe it was because of her condition. Maybe she just needed a little rest. Either way, she didn't argue as she watched me wash the dishes. But after I finished cleaning the dishes, Mother hugged me from behind, whispering in my ear.

"Come, sweetie, let's have a bath together, like the old times."

"Mom?" I froze, shocked by her sudden proposition, and when I turned around, I saw a look in her eyes that I knew too well.

'Oh no!... Don't tell me that my pheromones affected her.'

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