Chapter 577: Book 5: Chapter 176: The Cruelest Punishment

Book 5: Chapter 176: The Cruelest Punishment

Huff…

After the green mist completely engulfed Estelle, Raymond finally exhaled a long breath, as if he had released all his pent-up frustration. He immediately felt a significant lift in his mood.

“This is…” Raymond surveyed his surroundings, taking in the sight as the mist dissipated.

Before him stood an igloo made of ice bricks. Though not spacious, it contained all the essentials.

A burning bonfire cast a warm glow, illuminating matching tables and chairs. Upon one of the tables rested exquisite teacups, filled with steaming black tea.

It was evident that the owner knew how to enjoy a good life.

“It’s freezing cold. Would you care for a cup of black tea?”

“Yes, thank you,” Raymond replied politely, accepting the cup. But as he lifted it to his lips, his expression shifted abruptly.

“Who are you? I don’t recall there being a third person here just now,” he said warily as he scrutinized the blonde girl leisurely savoring her tea in her seat.

“Come on now. It’s only been a short while, and you’ve forgotten me already?” Lilith breathed in the aroma of the tea, a smile playing on her lips before continuing, “We’re old acquaintances.”

“I recall us being old acquaintances,” Raymond retorted with a sneer.

The blonde girl possessed a delicate and alluring charm, the kind that would leave a deep impression on anyone after a glance.

Raymond sifted through his recent recollections but found no trace of her. Only in the distant past did a figure vaguely reminiscent of her exist, but that person had long since perished.

“Oh my. It seems like you’re still lost in that dream and fail to grasp the reality,” Lilith remarked with a snap of her fingers.

“Cornelia, wake him up,” she ordered.

“Eeyah.”

A toddler that looked about two or three emerged from behind the blonde girl, startling Raymond once more as he had not sensed the child’s presence before this.

“Eeyah-eeyah-ee!”

Cornelia waved a morose-looking doll in her hand as if it were a magic wand. After spinning it in mid-air several times, she pointed her finger at Raymond.

An invisible force enveloped Raymond, rendering him unable to resist. He could only watch as the scene before him abruptly shifted.

“Raymond Cassellman, do you take Estelle Hesse to be your wife?”

“I do.”

“Estelle Hesse, do you take Raymond Cassellman to be your husband?”

“I do.”

It was a snapshot of Raymond and Estelle’s wedding, a moment frozen in time despite the transformation of his love into hatred.

“You have to rest up for our baby. I’ll go sleep in the study.”

This was a moment shared between Raymond and Estelle during her pregnancy when everything was still wonderful and he was a devoted husband.

“I want a DNA test!”

That was Raymond’s demand upon discovering the child wasn’t his, marking the beginning of his peculiar journey.

Then, he saw the scene he dreaded revisiting—the night he engaged in drunken infidelity with another man, only to be caught red-handed by Estelle.

And then finally, his death by a thousand cuts and Estelle’s farewell, marking the culmination of his hatred.

These images, once experienced firsthand by Raymond, now replayed before his eyes like a film. With an unseen force, these memories gradually detached from reality.

In Raymond’s perspective, he transitioned from an active participant in the unfolding narrative to a mere spectator.

The memories once again connected to a distant past, when he came into the small world, overcoming obstacles for Estelle.

“I see… So it was a dream.”

Raymond watched the scene playing before him as tears involuntarily streamed down his face.

“Yes, it’s a dream. A beautiful dream made specifically for you,” Lilith remarked, teasing the fire with her foot, feeling the dancing flame tickling the sole of her foot.

“Who the… hell are you?”

Memory resurfaced… No, more like, Raymond’s timeline had finally realigned. He finally recognized the girl, she was the one whom he had brutally killed not long ago.

Yet here she stood, alive, playfully appearing before him.

“Shouldn’t you be focused on something more pressing than asking who I am?” Lilith’s lips curled into a mocking smile as she traced mischievous circles with her fingers in the air. “Didn’t you just murder your beloved~?”

“My beloved…? Estelle…?” Raymond snapped back to reality, staring blankly at his hands.

If the previous events were merely a dream, then hadn’t he… killed his most beloved woman with his own hands, without any reason?

“NO! ESTELLE!!!!!!!!!”

“The northern winds are blowing… and the snowflakes are drifting…~ Ahem, I thought the song fit the atmosphere just right,” Lilith explained upon seeing the confused look on Cornelia’s face.

“Why…? Why are you doing this to me!” Raymond glared at Lilith with bloodshot eyes, looking like an enraged beast.

“Huh? Have you forgotten that you were the one who made the first move?” Lilith raised her hands in the air innocently. “And you were the one who killed Princess Estelle. Don’t pin the blame on me,” she added.

“If it weren’t for you… if it weren’t for you…” The green mist filled the air once more as a saint-level expert’s domain enveloped the small igloo once more.

“If it weren’t for me… you’d be able to reunite with your dear Princess Estelle?” Lilith’s tone turned icy as she mocked. “Don’t be absurd. That dream just now wasn’t entirely fictional; it was crafted from the perfect script in your mind. Of course, that pig-headed bride at the start was merely a small gift from me to you, but I didn’t meddle in the subsequent plot.”

“Nonsense!”

“Hehe, just face the reality. You’ve sensed it already, haven’t you? Princess Estelle isn’t even in love with you. Even if you go to great lengths to claim her, it will likely end in tragedy, just like how she cheated on you in the dream.”

“Shut up! You’re not even… Ooof!” Raymond continued ranting, but Lilith capitalized on his distraction. She charged toward him and delivered a powerful punch.

“Ah, that feels refreshing,” Lilith groaned in satisfaction.

However, Raymond, being a middle-stage saint-level expert, proved tougher than most. Lilith’s powerful punch only knocked a few teeth out of his mouth and he still looked energetic enough to retaliate.

But Lilith had no intention of engaging in a prolonged duel. She simply wanted an outlet for her frustration, so she made a quick exit after punching him.

“Cornelia,” she called.

“Eeeyah~” Cornelia, already half asleep, responded lazily and flicked a finger toward Raymond. The space around him distorted, and Raymond was forcefully teleported away.

“Fight’s over, that’s a wrap,” Lilith declared while dusting her hands.

She did not order Cornelia to finish Raymond off, thinking that letting him live might inflict greater torment.

Though he might have forgotten that Estelle wasn’t dead for real due to the protective nature of the Immaculate Domain Tree, the relationship between him and his beloved Estelle was definitely over.

All Lilith needed to do now was to sit back with her popcorn, and watch the rest of the drama unfold.