"So let me get this straight," Alex said, massaging his temples. "You're my mother."
"Yes, my love," Eleonora said, her voice a husky purr as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"You're my mother... You literally gave birth to me?" Alex asked again, for the second time, his voice a flat monotone of pure disbelief.
"Humph!" Eleonora pouted, her cheeks puffed out like a child's. "What kind of question is that? You were inside me for nine months. You kicked me so much I could barely sleep for the last three."
Alex made a sound like a deflating balloon.
"Sorry, it's just..." he stammered. "...well, you look so young that if someone told me you were my sister, I would have believed them."
Eleonora's pout vanished, replaced by a radiant smile that could have powered a small city. She reached out and cupped his cheek, her thumb stroking his skin.
"Oh, Alex! You know how much I love it when you say things like that!" she preened. "It's all thanks to my elven blood, you know. We age... gracefully."
'Elven blood?' Alex thought, a whole new branch of family tree complications springing up in his mind.
"Anyway, since my sweet boy proposed to me," she said, her eyes gleaming with a terrifying mix of maternal pride and romantic fire.
"I'll start planning the wedding as soon as we get back to the castle. Oh, it's going to be magnificent! We'll have white doves, and a seven-tiered cake, and everyone in the duchy will get a day off! And you'll look so handsome in your formal attire! I already have the perfect design picked out, with silver embroidery that will bring out the color of your eyes..."
She drifted off into a reverie of wedding planning, while Alex stared into the middle distance, his soul quietly departing from his body.
"Okay, that's enough, you two," Seraphina cut in, stepping between the bed and her lost-in-fantasy mother. She crossed her arms, her expression a mix of exasperation and genuine concern. "Let's not traumatize the amnesiac into a second coma. He just woke up. The doctor said we need to ease him back into... whatever this hellscape of a family dynamic is."
"I am not traumatizing him!" Eleonora huffed. "I'm reaffirming our bond! And our future! There's nothing more healing than love, Sera."
"Love is great. Incest is generally frowned upon, even in the north," Sera retorted, then turned her attention back to Alex. Her gaze was sharp, analytical, cutting through the fog of absurdity. "You really don't remember anything, do you? Not just... Mom's weird thing. Anything? Your name? Who are we?"
Alex hesitated. He had a cover story, delivered by a literal goddess. It was better than the truth.
"I remember... my name is Alex," he said slowly, testing the words. "But everything else is... hazy. Like a dream I can't quite hold onto. I feel... disconnected. From myself."
It was close enough to the truth to be convincing.
A flicker of sympathy crossed Eleonora's face.
"Oh, my poor darling. That terrible accident... The healers warned there might be... complications."
Sera, however, narrowed her eyes. She wasn't as easily swept away by maternal devotion.
"Disconnected, huh?" she mused, tapping a finger against her arm. "Is that why you tried to stick your tongue down Mom's throat the second you saw her? Felt a sudden urge to reconnect with your roots?"
The shame was so potent Alex felt his Life Force timer might tick backward out of sheer embarrassment.
"I... well, what can I say," he said, trying to regain some control of the situation. "A young woman threw herself at me and called me baby. What was I supposed to do?"
Sera stared at him. Then she burst out laughing. It wasn't a mocking laugh, but a loud, genuine, full-throated peal of amusement that seemed to startle even her mother.
"Hah! Okay, I'll give you that, brother," she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "That's the boldest excuse for being a mom-kisser I've ever heard. You've definitely got balls. Maybe the new you is an upgrade after all."
Alex narrowed his eyes at Sera's last word.
Sera's laughter died down, and a more serious, almost pensive look crossed her face. She glanced at her mother, who was now preening in the mirror, adjusting her hair and clearly ignoring the conversation in favor of admiring her reflection.
"Let's just say 'jerk' is putting it mildly," Sera said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper as she leaned closer to the bed. "You were an ice prince. The absolute best at everything—swordsmanship, strategy, enchanting, you name it. But you treated everyone like they were tools. Or obstacles. Especially... well, especially Mom."
Alex looked at Eleonora, who was now humming a wedding march to herself.
"He never hugged her," Sera continued, her gaze softening with a hint of pity. "He never called her 'Mother,' just 'Duchess.' He found her affection... inconvenient. And she, in return, just adored him more desperately. It was a train wreck in slow motion. So yeah, when you woke up and immediately started macking on her, it was... a paradigm shift. The healers are probably writing dissertations about it right now."
Alex processed this. The 'NPC' version of him had been a classic cold-hearted protagonist type. Reserved, powerful, emotionally distant. It explained why his sudden warmth had broken their collective brains.
"So the old me was a walking bundle of issues, and the new me is a walking incestuous disaster," Alex summed up grimly. "I'm not sure which is worse."
"Oh, the new you is definitely worse," Sera said with a wicked grin. "Way more entertaining, though."
Alex let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
"What about you, sister?" Alex asked, looking at Sera. "What's our relationship like?"
"Us?" Sera blinked, then a wide, mischievous grin spread across her face. "Oh, we're the best. I'm the only one you ever tolerate. Your sparring partner, your designated troublemaker. We're partners in crime. Or we were, until you decided that human emotions were a design flaw and started ignoring me."
She leaned in and, without hesitation, she gave him a soft, gentle kiss on the lips. A kiss that was full of playfulness and warmth, but lasted only a second.
"Now that you've had your... personality reboot," she whispered, her breath warm against his lips, "I expect a significant increase in our 'partner' activities. Twin brother."
Alex's mind short-circuited again.
'She kissed me! She just kissed me!' he screamed internally.
[Not just that,] Lily's voice was a purr of pure, unadulterated delight. [She called you her twin. And she said 'our' activities. Plural. I think we've stumbled into the jackpot, my dear player.]
'Don't call me that!' Alex shot back. 'And what the hell is wrong with this family?!'
[They're obsessed with you,] Lily replied calmly. [And I don't think it's because of the curse or the race's traits. I think they were already like this.]
'Oh, gods...' Alex felt a cold dread creeping up his spine. 'So this isn't a new thing. This is their baseline.'
[It seems so,] Lily confirmed. [The curse just... amplified it. Turned it up to eleven. And you, my dear Alex, you're in luck!]
Sera pulled back, her eyes dancing with mischief, and just then, Eleonora turned from the mirror.
"What are you two whispering about?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "Sera, are you trying to steal your brother's affection already? I told you, he proposed to me first. I have dibs."
"Dibs?" Sera scoffed. "Mom, you can't call dibs on your own son. Even if he is a great kisser."
Alex wanted the floor to open up and swallow him.
"Besides, he's my twin," Sera added, as if that settled the matter. "We share a soul. I have more... fundamental claim."
Eleonora, who finished with her mirror, walked over to the bed and immediately pulled Alex into a tight embrace. His face ended up right between her breasts again. The sweet scent of jasmine and something he could only describe as 'maternal desire' filling his lungs. Follow the newest chapters on novelping.com.
"Twin or not, I carried you for nine months," Eleonora said, her voice a low, possessive hum. "I felt your every kick. I know you better than anyone. You were the first man in my life, and you'll be the last."
[She's not wrong,] Lily's inner commentary was merciless. [From a certain, deeply disturbing point of view.]
'I'm going to need a therapist,' Alex thought, a wave of genuine despair washing over him. 'A very, very powerful therapist who specializes in divinely incestuous noble families.'
[Alex, you better throw your old world's moral compass out the window,] Lily advised, her tone surprisingly serious. [It's useless here. And it will only get us killed.]
"So," Alex said, his voice muffled by Eleonora's chest. "Are you here to get me out of this hospital?"
Eleonora's arms tightened around him.
"Not yet, my love. Dr. Linda wants to run a few more tests to make sure your life force is stable," she said, her breath warm against his hair. "Then you can come home. Back to the castle. Where you belong."
"The castle," Alex repeated. The word conjured images of stone towers, drafty hallways, and more opportunities for this family's unique brand of affection. "I... I look forward to it."
He didn't. He was terrified.
"Good boy," Eleonora purred, finally releasing him. She sat back, her sapphire eyes sweeping over him with a look of such intense, proprietary love that it felt like a physical touch. "Just be patient a little longer. I'll make sure they take good care of you here."
Alex nodded, didn't think much about it, so he spent the next two hours chatting with Eleonora and Sera, who were now vying for his attention with a ferocity that was both flattering and deeply unsettling.
He learned that he still had two more siblings, an older sister and a younger sister.
The older sister came yesterday to check on him but had to leave on urgent business. Eleonora already informed her that Alex had awakened, and she'll come to meet him as soon as she returns.
And the younger sister, well, she was stuck in the capital. Sera said that she is a student at the Royal Academy.
"What about my father?" Alex asked, the question popping out before he could stop it.
The room, which had been filled with boisterous chatter, fell silent.
Eleonora's smile vanished, replaced by a cold, distant look. Her eyes, which had been so warm and affectionate just a moment ago, now held a hint of something dark and dangerous.
Sera's playful demeanor also vanished, and she shifted on her feet, suddenly uncomfortable.
"What father?" Sera asked, her voice flat.
Alex knew he had touched a nerve, so he didn't push further.
Soon, Eleonora and Seraphina left with a promise to return tomorrow with a "special surprise".
'Family meetings are exhausting,' Alex thought, slumping back against the pillows. 'I need a nap.'
[You need a meal,] Lily corrected him. [Your life force is dropping again. We're at 9 days and 13 hours. We can't afford to waste time.]
'And how do you propose I do that?' Alex shot back. 'Kiss my mother again? Or maybe my sister? I'm not sure my moral compass can take another hit today.'
[There are other options,] Lily said, her tone turning sly. [You're in a hospital. Full of people with life force to spare. Nurses, patients, even that doctor I heard them mention. All you need is to find a cock and suck it.]
"WHAT THE FUCK?!!!"
...