For a moment, Dorothy almost blurted out, "I choose three," but in the end, she held back.
After all, although this choice seemed wonderful—not only gaining freedom but also getting a strong, beautiful, and rich Angel Witch wife for free—it looked like a win-win situation. However, upon closer thought, it seemed to be a trap.
Normal, traditional Demoness families still valued family status quite a bit. Generally, the male line was responsible for external affairs, was the head of the family, took care of providing for the family, and had decision-making power over major household matters. The female line, on the other hand, was responsible for internal affairs, household management, and children's education.
This division of roles would be decided before marriage and would not be easily changed afterward.
However, in recent years, such traditional Demoness families have become rare. Many new-era Demoness couples played things differently. They believed that family concepts inherited from the era of human gender relations were too old and rotten. So, they felt that husband and wife should be equal, and there was no need to divide roles so strictly. Therefore, who takes the male role and who takes the female role should also be equal, and they could completely take turns.
From a universally rational perspective, Dorothy fully agreed with the egalitarian views of these new-era Demonesses. However, in reality, memories from her previous life made it psychologically difficult for her to accept this kind of arrangement. Her family concept leaned more towards traditional Demoness families.
However, new-era Demonesses nowadays are all strong and independent, unwilling to submit to others. It's hard to find a traditional, virtuous wife and good mother type of Demoness who is willing to sacrifice herself to bear children for you and take care of the family.
Therefore, Dorothy was well aware of her situation and had long prepared herself to live alone for life. Marriage and children were never part of her life plan.
She often self-mockingly said things like, "I am my own wife," and "my body is my soulmate." This was truly a perfect harmony of mind and spirit, a unity of soul and desire.
In short, being single for a while is great; being single forever is always great.
So, even though Sophia's pure white maidenly appearance perfectly danced on Dorothy's 'XP,' and even though the Angel Witch's graceful figure would make her shamelessly covet her body, she still...
"I refuse."
What a joke. The most common way Demonesses establish family status is by strength. After all, they are a War race; whoever is stronger is right, and whoever is stronger has higher family status.
Unless it's a love expert who can trick their partner into being utterly devoted and willingly sacrificing for them.
But was Dorothy such a love expert? Was she worthy?
Not at all.
Given the power gap between her and Sophia, if they really got married, could she control this partner who was just one step away from being a Great Witch?
No way. She would probably be defeated, stripped of her armor, and played with like a puppet. After a while, she would be the one raising the child and taking care of the house.
Although she wasn't entirely averse to raising children and taking care of the house, the last shred of dignity from her previous life made her unwilling to easily bow her head.
In short, goodbye.
Dorothy, even if I die of poverty, starve to death, or even end up as cannon fodder on the front lines, or am dragged back home to inherit that damned family business, I will never be the submissive one.
This statement is about dignity; there will be no 'true scent' moment, serious face.
Also, Sophia, why are you just watching? Why don't you say something? Youfeiliya is just your teacher, not your biological mother. And even if she were your biological mother, you can't just listen to everything she says. Where is your independence as a new-era Demoness? Major life decisions should be made by yourself...
Dorothy looked expectantly at the Angel Witch beside her, hoping she would at least express her stance.
As a result, the pure white maiden turned her head, stared at Dorothy seriously for a while, then frowned, seemingly with some disdain, but finally nodded.
"Teacher, although I don't think Big Miss and I will get along, if it's your command, then I have no objection and am willing to obey."
Dorothy: "..."
At this moment, she was numb. Why did this useless Angel have no independent thoughts at all? You couldn't possibly be a traditional Demoness, rarer than a giant panda, could you?
So, she finally made her choice dejectedly.
"Two, I choose two."
Although from the perspective of human emotions, Dorothy didn't particularly like her mother's cold concept of equivalent exchange, once she suppressed her emotions with reason, she was surprised to find that this concept unexpectedly suited her taste.
A large part of discomfort in human interactions stems from the inequality of relationships. As the saying goes, 'he who eats another's food is beholden to him, and he who takes another's hand is beholden to him.' Once such a debtor-creditor relationship arises between two parties, it becomes difficult to communicate on equal terms.
The difficulty of social etiquette often lies here. Instead, the straightforward transactional thinking of equivalent exchange makes people more comfortable. Many people prefer to deal with clients rather than their own relatives for this reason.
However, people often dislike such straightforward transactions when interacting with those close to them, as it can seem heartless, cold, and not intimate enough, hence the concept of social etiquette.
But debts are easy to repay, while favors are hard to repay.
From the perspective of human affection, Youfeiliya, as a mother, undoubtedly bestowed a favor upon Dorothy. This was the favor of birth; she granted Dorothy life, allowing her to be born into this world. Such a great favor is simply impossible to repay.
After all, could Dorothy really learn from Nezha and cut her flesh to repay her mother, or carve her bones to repay her father?
Moreover, Youfeiliya didn't intend to harm Dorothy; she just wanted an heir. Inheriting the Dragon Witch's family business is something many people can only dream of. How could this be called harm?
The path Youfeiliya arranged for her could be said to be the recognized path to success in the hearts of most Demonesses, leading her all the way to the Peak of her life.
It's just that everyone has their own aspirations.
The saying "dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and rats' sons dig holes" often proves wrong. In reality, examples of a tiger father raising a dog son are not uncommon. Therefore, a giant dragon can also give birth to a salted fish. A strong woman like Youfeiliya just happened to give birth to Dorothy, a salted fish.
What parents consider good, their children do not agree with. The origin of family conflicts is largely this clash of ideas between two generations.
Dorothy really wanted to control her own life, but before that, how should she repay her mother's favor of birth?
Perhaps some people might think that it's natural for parents to have children, that they wanted to have them, and that children don't owe anyone anything. However, Dorothy found it difficult to agree with this view.
She had previously thought that her mother had abandoned her, so she could naturally act as if she had no mother. But now that the misunderstanding was resolved, she actually couldn't ignore Youfeiliya's opinion.
A life without parental blessings is difficult to be truly happy. Even if one doesn't say it aloud, there will always be some regret in their heart.
Dorothy herself didn't know how to handle this messy situation. She couldn't make a choice on her own. This kind of thing was like parental pressure to marry—it was hard to say who was right or wrong, everyone had a point. But now, Youfeiliya herself gave her a choice, giving her a way out.
She said that equivalent exchange was her life motto, but was that truly all it was?
Looking up at Youfeiliya, who was feigning coldness and sternness in front of her, Dorothy's emotions were complex. She thought for a moment and ultimately did not expose her mother's facade.
"Two, I choose two. Fifty years it is, Mama, I won't disappoint you."
Dorothy called out this "Mama" willingly.
Instead, the Dragon Witch began to feel uncomfortable all over.
"Heh heh, you have a lot of courage. With your lazy demeanor, it's impossible for you to resist me after fifty years. You'll see, you'll eventually come home with me obediently. I'll just consider it a 50-year vacation for you."
At her daughter's change in address, Youfeiliya's eyes widened, and an unprecedented feeling surged in her heart. This made the Peak Witch's state of mind momentarily flustered. Her lips, however, uncontrollably wanted to curve upwards; she was just on the verge of losing her composure.
Fortunately, years of training in unparalleled martial arts gave her absolute control over her body. She ultimately maintained a straight face and continued to act according to her usual demeanor.
Tsk, but I feel like my daughter has seen right through me.
How is that possible? This child is only 16 years old. I've eaten more salt than she's eaten bread. How could she see through me? It's an illusion, all an illusion.
The Dragon Witch comforted herself this way.