In countless fairy tales, the stepmother always plays a villainous role.
Cinderella was ostracized by her stepmother and bullied by her stepsisters, living a miserable life.
Gretel and Hansel were abandoned by their stepmother and wandered in the forest, unknowingly stumbling into the witch's gingerbread house.
Snow White was ambushed by assassins sent by her stepmother, who even personally tried to poison her with a poisoned apple.
— For children, 'stepmother' has never been a pleasant term.
She can strip a child of their sense of security, severing the love and care from their biological parents, becoming a reflection of almost all negative emotions in a family.
For Aurora, was her stepmother such a negative figure?
From her terrified expression, Su Tianqing could already draw a definitive conclusion.
"Wait, wait a minute, Alice, what did you just say?"
Nan Jiayu was a little surprised,
"You... you... your stepmother...?"
"Sorry... this... I didn't dare... didn't dare tell anyone..."
The girl whispered softly.
The Golden-haired Fox Girl frowned slightly, narrowing her eyes, her emerald fox eyes showing confusion.
"Alice."
"Can you tell me what kind of person your stepmother was?"
"! ..."
Hearing this question, Aurora hunched her neck, head bowed, her face filled with terror.
Just mentioning it elicits an unconscious defensive reaction? It's similar to when she encountered Fenrir in Hong Kong City, maybe even worse.
...
The three sat on the edge of the villain's rooftop.
The communication with Inari had been cut off; she seemed to have something to do, so Su Tianqing did not disturb her further.
I've bothered Inari all day, I'll make her some gifts and mail them to her another day, Su Tianqing thought.
But now...
The Golden Fox looked at Aurora beside her.
The Magic Girl, Alice, was recounting her past story.
"Five years ago, Mom fell seriously ill."
"After Mom left, Dad was very sad, but after a year, he remarried another auntie."
"Dad said that auntie would be my new mother from then on."
"She was a very strange person."
"She didn't let me enter the living room of the house, only allowing me to stay in my bedroom."
"She didn't let me watch TV, and she didn't allow me to go out to play."
"She also brought an older sister."
"Both that sister and I loved Magic Girl, so she took all my merchandise, didn't allow me to touch them, and put them all in the sister's room."
The girl clutched the plush toy in her hand, almost squeezing the cotton out of it.
After a brief silence, these few words were squeezed out from the girl's lips:
"...Those were all things Dad bought for me. I hated her very much."
"I see... And then? Did you tell your father about these things?" Su Tianqing pressed.
But the result was naturally as expected.
Aurora shook her head.
"...I didn't dare tell him about these things."
"Dad is usually very busy with work and often travels around the world."
"And that auntie is very good at pleasing Dad; if I told Dad about these, she would definitely retaliate even worse."
"Later..."
"One day, that sister of mine found me, took me to a park near our house, and showed off the guardian star she had picked up to me."
"She told me that as long as I had a guardian star, I could become a Magic Girl, and I wouldn't need any of my merchandise anymore."
"...Those were clearly my things, but she spoke of them as if they were worthless."
"But she didn't succeed in transforming."
"I said it was because the guardian star didn't respond to her, the star wasn't looking at her."
"She got very angry, she said it was all because of me, that I interfered with her, and she called me a harmful jinx that no one wanted."
"She hit me with branches, threw sand and dirt on me, and hit my head with that guardian star."
"I was very scared."
"I cried and apologized to her, but she didn't listen to me, just kept hitting me."
A long silence, Su Tianqing and Nan Jiayu frowned deeply.
Just listening to it, one could feel the suffocating pressure.
"...Later, I grabbed that guardian star from the ground."
"That was the first time I transformed into a Magic Girl."
"She furiously hit me, telling me to give the guardian star back to her."
"When we got home, she told that auntie about it."
"They found me and told me to hand over the guardian star."
"I didn't want to give it to her, so she hit and cursed me, saying I was a child without a mother, that she would beat me to death, and even poison Dad's cup."
The girl paused for a moment, hugging the plush toy in her arms tighter.
"..."
"...I was very scared."
"I was afraid she would hit me again, afraid she would hurt Dad."
"I hated her, I loathed her."
"She wanted to hurt me, hurt me and Dad, and steal all my things."
"Why did Dad let her be my stepmother? Was it because she deceived Dad?"
"Her words were full of deceit, full of the most malicious curses."
"She's a liar, she's a thief, she's... she's a demon, an evil demon."
Aurora's voice gradually became shaky, trembling in fear.
"—That night, I locked them in the room."
"I lit the gas in the house, lit the curtains and the sofa."
"Thick smoke and fire engulfed the house."
"But when I came to my senses, I was already standing on the rooftop of the building opposite my house, in my Magic Girl form."
"...The guardian star, it protected me."
"They were wailing for help at the window."
"I saw them, and they saw me too."
"She cursed me, called me a thief, an arsonist, using words I had never heard before."
"...Until the raging fire completely consumed them."
Silence.
A long silence.
Aurora hugged the plush toy in her arms, her head bowed, biting her lip gently, tears rolling down from her eyes.
Su Tianqing didn't know what to say.
Years of bullying and suppression, yet in the end, it led to raging fire and thick smoke. Who could have imagined such an outcome?
A fire, burning everything to ashes.
"...After that, Dad took me to live somewhere else."
"And from that time on, I was haunted by evil spirits."
Aurora clutched her head in pain,
"They must be the evil spirits they turned into. They will attack everyone they see, tearing them to shreds."
"...This is all my fault."
"I caused the death of those innocent people, it's all because of me..."
"If I had given up the guardian star then, if I hadn't picked up that guardian star..."
"In that case, you wouldn't be able to sit here and chat with us anymore," Nan Jiayu interrupted Aurora's mumbling and said.
The girl looked up blankly.
The Cat Girl sat in front of her, staring intently, and said,
"You protected yourself and your father. Even if your method was extreme, you still gained the guardian star's recognition. All of this has meaning."
"Cheer up, Alice, you are now Magic Girl Alice! Even without the star's gaze, you are still a qualified Magic Girl!"
"Ah..."
The Hellcat gave a speech, trying to help Alice cheer up.
The Golden Fox sat by, gently twirling a tuft of fur at the tip of her tail, deep in thought.
Now she knew Aurora's background.
So... how should she solve it?