When I went to pick up Leah, I looked at Angelina and called her, “Angelina.”
Leah looked as though she really liked Angelina. She looked at Angelina with reluctance to part. She waved goodbye with a smile. Angelina gave her head a scrub, and then looked at me. Her face was full of concern, which was the same as Veirya’s. Consequently, my curiosity was piqued. Veirya never showed such a variety of expressions before.
Angelina asked, “How’s. Veirya?”
The mother was evidently more proactive than her daughter. I gave her a gentle nod, “She’s all right. She’s calmed down, and this probably won’t happen again anytime soon.”
“Is that right?”
Angelina didn’t reveal a look of relief. Instead, she sighed, “She used to say that a lot in the past, too; nonetheless, she still couldn’t let it go in the end, and she’d bring it up later on. She’s calmer and sharper than anyone with a sword, but in reality, she’s just a kid. It’s impossible for her to comprehend what happened in the past. I thought she’d come to understand it after growing up, but it appears that she can’t comprehend it.”
“I think Veirya is actually very understanding. Perhaps it’s because of you that she’s somewhat reluctant to accept it. Additionally, maybe what happened in the past is, indeed, very important to her.”
“Is that so…?”
Angelina gently sighed. She then lowered her head feeling slightly sadly. She touched her face and in a soft voice said, “I’ve never been a qualified mother. I was always in the military camp. I was never able to take care of Veirya by her side as a mother should. That’s why my relationship with her has always been distant. I think that’s why she doesn’t like me.”
“Actually, Veirya has always liked you very much. However, she is unwilling to express that, since you are the chapel’s knight. Whatever the case may be, you are Veirya’s mother.”
“*Sigh…* That child still doesn’t understand…”
Angelina raised her head after she sighed. Her gaze showed pity, since she hoped for better from Veirya. She looked at me, and then took hold of my hand. I froze. She pulled me into her embrace before I could react. In an instant, my head found itself in Angelina’s warm valleys of gentleness. Angelina rubbed my head then suddenly chuckled, “Fortunately, I can feel reassured with such a cute boy staying by Veirya’s side. You two look very good together. Veirya is insensible, but you’re very sensible. How about it? Want Mom to give you a hand? That child is easy to trick. I reckon you should just drug her and complete the deed. I really like you, to be honest. Plus, I can occasionally have fun if you’re by her side. What do you think?”
“No, no, no, no!!! I can understand the previous things you said, but what’s with that last one? Why exactly do you want Veirya and I to get married? What do you want to do to me?!”
“It appears that you want to marry Veirya, too. You like my daughter? My daughter is extremely unfeminine, you know? She’s not a good choice for a wife. If you don’t mind a married woman, I can marry you, too. I honestly really like you, you know?”
Angelina licked her lips. She looked akin to a wild beast hunting its prey no matter how I looked at it.
‘I feel that this woman is going to eat me…’
She gently stroked my head and even dipped her hand into my clothes to pinch my spine… Angelina’s scent was very mellow, consequently causing me to struggle to breathe… Although Angelina was Veirya’s mother, she didn’t look as though she was a mother that had given birth.
‘Come to think of it, I honestly don’t think anybody could tell if I could be together with her.’
Leah suddenly grabbed my cloak from behind and exclaimed, “Papa!”
Angelina smiled and then released me. She looked at me, whose face was completely red, with an amorous smile. She said, “I’m amazed that there’s a man who’d blush, because a woman hugged him. How interesting. Seeing your reaction makes me realise what my charm as a female is. You’re too cute! If you want, I can accept you at any time!”
Leah cautiously looked at Angelina, who was in front of her. She hugged onto my thigh and shakily exclaimed, “Papa is mine!”
Her gaze was overflowing with fear and jealousy. Angelina looked at her. With a smile, she reached out to rub her head, “Leah, having a father alone isn’t enough, you know? You must have a mother.”
Leah looked as though she recalled something that was worth regurgitating. She shut her eyes tightly, shivered and frowned. She loudly shouted, “Leah… Leah… Leah just wants Papa! It’s Papa that Leah needs, not a Mama! Leah doesn’t like that woman! Leah doesn’t want to call that woman, Mama!!”
I smiled. It appeared that Leah recalled calling Veirya, Mama. I scrubbed her head, but didn’t say anything. Instead, I looked at Angelina and said, “Although this isn’t very appropriate for an outsider like me to say, I hope that you and Veirya can make up. If possible, I would like to help.”
“You’re actually not an outsider.”
Angelina softly giggled, while I froze.
“Wouldn’t that be solved if you married Veirya or me?”
“If I married you, Veirya would definitely kill us, would she not?”
“That’s true, huh? She can’t kill me right now, though, so I don’t care.”
“I don’t want to die, though!”
‘I want to talk to Angelina when she’s in her work mode, now. At least I can have a proper conversation with her when she’s in her work mode. The current Angelina is just teasing me about everything. More importantly, I wasn’t sure if Angelina was being serious or not. If Angelina made me feel unsettled, only to tell me she was just joking in the end, I’d be left feeling incredibly awkward. Most importantly, there’s no man who wouldn’t want her if they saw Veirya’s face suggesting romantic things to them.’
‘I must be careful in the future.’
I went home with Leah after. Leah didn’t seem touchy about the marriage topic, probably because she wasn’t aware of what it meant. However, she wore a distressed look on the way back. It appeared that she wasn’t too willing to face Veirya again. After all, calling Veirya ‘Mama’ was a dark history for her.
“Leah, if Veirya really became your Mama, would you be happy?”
I hesitated for a moment; then I looked at Leah’s expression and considered asking that question, but didn’t in the end, since I thought that there’d only be one possible answer from her. After all, her relationship with Veirya still wasn’t too good. But nonetheless, compared to a family dispute, I was currently more eager to know what exactly the chapel wanted.
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