’Get Cosmetic Skin Packs for all Love Interests,’ it said.

Cecilia took a deep breath and pressed the claim button.

DING!

[Congratulations, Cecilia! Three Five-Stars Cosmetic Skin Packs for all Love Interests, claimed!]

A golden light erupted from her chest, and before she could even fully process the sensation, a collection of ornate containers materialized on the floor of the room with soft, heavy thuds.

They gleamed in the pale morning light, polished wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl, brass hinges, and velvet linings peeking from the edges.

Oathran flinched awake while Arkai and Eastiel burst through the bathroom door, still in various states of undress, their eyes wide with alarm. "Wha—?!"

Cecilia ignored them. She jumped down from the bed, her bare feet barely making a sound, and knelt before the containers.

With trembling hands, she opened the first one. Eastiel’s box. What they saw inside first and foremost was a familiar accessory.

"M-my hairband?!" Eastiel flinched, his lion ears shooting straight up in shock.

Arkai’s box revealed a set of worker overalls. The practical, worn-in and unmistakably his from the job he’d held in that world. "This is... my worker overall..." He stared at it, speechless.

Oathran’s box was last, and his eyes froze the moment he saw it.

"Eh?"

Inside was the familiar red uniform of McKing, folded neatly.

Even his McKing uniform?!

Beneath the uniforms and the iconic items were more clothes. Sweatshirts and sweatpants, pajamas, suits and ties. Everything they had owned and favored in that alternate world, preserved in perfect condition.

After examining it all, Cecilia was certain these were exact replicas. Either that, or they were the real garments, enchanted with some kind of magic that maintained their appearance and durability, freezing them in time.

They were five-star cosmetic packs, after all.

But this didn’t give her a clue. If anything, it raised more questions. If Sol were brought here the same way, would it be exactly the egg... or a replica of it? A clone recreated by the System?

The thought made her chest tighten.

Shoving the thought aside for now, she moved to the next reward. Rank 3: ’Get access to Love Interests’ Alternate Universe Shop.’ She clicked ’claim’ and flinched.

"Huh?!"

Inside were three different shop tabs, each labeled with one of her husbands’ names. She opened them one by one, her brow furrowing, and found them all... empty.

[No product available for sale yet.]

She squinted at the top right corner, where the currency was displayed. She tapped it.

[Love Dust]

[You can get Love Dust by converting the unused five-star Ranks after ranking the scenario to the maximum rank!]

"THIS SCAMMY ASS SYSTEM, I KNEW IT!" Cecilia suddenly spat.

Rank 4, ’get one free custom Five-Stars Item for each Love Interest’ and Rank 5, ’get one free requested Five-Stars Skill Orb for each Love Interest’ didn’t help much either.

She studied them briefly, turning the possibilities over in her mind, but connecting them to dimensional travel felt dangerous. A misstep could waste resources she couldn’t afford to lose.

Maybe the Rank 6 rewards, ’get one free Return to Scenario Ticket for each Love Interest’ plus her own free Return to Scenario were the true answer after all.

If she could return to that world, she could hold Sol directly and finally calm herself. One second away from her child felt like a torture to her.

Rank 7, ’get a hint to unlock further Bond Rank Abilities for each Love Interest,’ likely had nothing to do with bringing Sol here either.

A bit dejected, Cecilia claimed her own ’Cosmetic Skin Pack for Player’ and let one more ornate container materialize on the floor.

It looked just like the others, beautiful, elegant, and completely useless for what she needed. She stared at it for a long moment, her heart heavy with the growing certainty that she would have to use the Ask-the-Gods-Anything Ticket after all.

Maybe they would reach through the void and place Sol in her arms.

But she had wanted to save that ticket. She had wanted to keep it for the one question she wanted to ask.

With a sigh, she tapped ’Unlock Player’s Alternate Universe Shop.’

And froze.

"Ah—"

The shop opened before her, and there, in the vast emptiness of the interface, was a single item. Just one. The only thing available to buy inside.

[Five Stars Offspring, Dragon Lord: Sol Alicei (Egg)]

[7000 Love Dust]

"AAAAAAAAAH!!!" Cecilia squealed in pure, unrestrained joy and launched herself off the floor, her bare feet barely touching the ground before she bounced again.

The sound was so sudden that all three of her husbands jolted in alarm.

"What?! What?" Arkai’s wolf ears snapped forward, his body already tensed for a threat.

"Cecilia, what’s wrong?!" Eastiel’s golden eyes went wide, his lion tail puffing with surprise.

"Did you break something?" Oathran asked, though his voice was more curious than concerned.

But Cecilia wasn’t listening. Her face was radiant, eyes shining, cheeks flushed, a smile so wide and bright it seemed to light up the dim inn room.

She looked like a woman who had just discovered the answer to every prayer she had ever whispered.

The despair that had been weighing on her since waking was gone, replaced by a giddy, almost feral hope.

She was certain now. The cosmetic packs had been the first clue, but this, this was proof. The items in the shops and rewards were not mere replicas.

They were the same items from that world, transferred here and enchanted for durability. Preserved exactly the way it was.

The gods she knew were that sentimental.

Her grin widened until her cheeks ached. "Sol!" she finally gasped, her voice breaking with emotion. "We can bring our egg here!"

***

The heavy iron door at the top of the dungeon stairs ground open with a long, groaning protest, and for a moment, the world beyond was nothing but light.

It was a blinding, golden, infinite light.

It poured through the opening like a flood, erasing the shadows that had clung to Angela’s skin, washing over her in waves of warmth.

She stepped forward slowly as though the light itself were a living thing that might startle and flee if she moved too quickly.

Her pitch black hair caught the wind and stirred around her shoulders like ink dissolving in water.

Her plain clothes hung loose on her frame, but she moved as though they were robes of state.

Her chin was lifted. Her shoulders were back. Her feet, pale from months without sun, touched the cold stone of the palace courtyard as though she were ascending a throne.

The guards flanking the entrance stood frozen, unsure what to do.

The sun crowned her hair with fire and turned her eyes to burnished amethyst. She tipped her face toward the sky and let the light press against her closed lids, let the wind carve the dungeon’s chill from her bones.

The air tasted of snow and freedom.

When she opened her eyes, there was no confusion in them. No hesitation.

Today was the second phase of her twenty-year plan.

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