Leon Greyrat: The Second Son - Mushoku Tensei OC

Chapter 13 - Departure

—-- Leon Greyrat —--

Mama sat back down before breaking the silence, "Well? What do we do now?"

That was the question indeed.

"After I've assisted with the lady of the house's birth, I assume I would take my leave from your house-"

"Absolutely not," I say, firmly interrupting Lilia's nonsense. "I'll leave the final decision up to Mama, but I will absolutely not let you give birth in some unknown place and then travel alone with an infant."

Besides the health concerns, she would also be an easy target for bandits, as she was unable to defend herself even normally due to her wounded leg. Much less what complications having an infant would bring.

"Yes... yes, I suppose so. The child is innocent in this," Mama says, talking more to herself than to the table.

Paul, who was dejectedly sitting in the corner, decides to speak up, "Dear, surely we could-"

"You shut up!" Mama quickly cuts him off.

I sent a death glare toward the man as he shrank in on himself like a scolded child.

I was livid. Not only had he broken Mama's heart, but he had also caused Lilia's situation to be put in peril.

Mama started to chew on her nails as she mulled over the situation.

The source of her anxiety was obvious. Not only was Paul found to be unfaithful, but she had also become good friends with Lilia over the years, so she wouldn't want her or her child to suffer.

Balancing such feelings of affection and betrayal, especially when it was the only two adults she met on a daily basis, must have been a terrible feeling.

So, not wanting her to feel alone, I made my way over before sitting on her lap.

Taking me into a hug, she buried her face into my hair as she squeezed across my chest.

Almost... a little too hard.

I wasn't Paul, Mama. I'm innocent here.

My presence seems to calm her down a bit as she takes a deep breath.

Letting her pat my head, I looked over at Lilia, whose face was clouded in a myriad of emotions.

Sadness, anxiety, acceptance, and most importantly, regret and remorse.

Good. If she felt that way, then we could somehow salvage this. Because despite how much I loved Mama, and how sad I was that she had been betrayed by her two most trusted people... I loved Lilia too.

And feeling the scarf that was wrapped snugly around my neck... I knew she loved me in return.

She could have left to join her family at any time, as her father owned a well-respected Water God dojo, but instead, she stayed here.

She... loved this family too.

Looking over at Rudy, I see that he also seemed displeased about the situation, and as if we were somehow telepathically connected, we looked into each other's eyes before nodding with an untold agreement.

We would help Lilia.

Despite the sickening feeling I felt about betraying Mama, I didn't want these happy family times to end.

Besides, I knew that Mama was the kindest person in the world, so she absolutely wanted to forgive Lilia, especially when her life was on the line with the consequences of not doing so.

The only problem was that her religion and upbringing wouldn't allow her to do so without just cause. So there just needed to be an excuse she could use for herself.