Chapter 1175: Lia is... Mother-con? Part-2

After that small, passionate kiss, Lia’s cheeks flared with a soft, blooming red. Flustered, she gently pushed Aether away with both hands, her shy reaction doing nothing but feeding his ego even more. She looked adorably helpless, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself.

But he didn’t press her.

She was sweet... fragile in her emotions, like Helena. He couldn’t scare her away by being too aggressive.

So he held himself back and simply sat beside her, quietly. She settled on the edge of the river, her bare legs still submerged in the cool water. The current gently flowed around her ankles, sending ripples across the surface.

Neither of them said anything for a while. They just sat close—so close their arms lightly brushed, and their warmth intertwined. The only sound was the steady hum of the flowing river, calm and soothing.

"...How are the others doing?" Lia murmured softly, resting her head against his shoulder.

Aether closed his eyes, letting her weight relax against him. "...They’re doing fine."

"I see..." Lia whispered with a gentle breath, almost as if she was afraid to disturb the peace.

After another moment of silence, she asked quietly, "Did Selene know what you did?"

A pause.

He didn’t respond right away.

Noticing his silence, Lia slowly turned her head and gave him a flat stare. Her deadpan gaze was piercing. "You didn’t tell her... did you?"

Aether scratched the back of his head with an awkward chuckle. "Come on... I’m here now, right? Everything’s fine. There’s no need to tell them everything."

He forced his smile.

Lia narrowed her eyes, "I’ll tell her," she declared firmly. "And not just her—everyone. Give me the list! I need to know how many sisters I’m going to have to share you with!"

Aether let out a weak laugh, rubbing his face. "Let’s... not talk about that."

"Aether!" Lia frowned, this time more seriously. She really wanted to know—no, needed to know.

Her voice held a weight of sincerity... She wasn’t just teasing.

Aether sighed deeply... and gave in.

He started listing them—one by one.

Selene... Aria... Aqualina...

Lia didn’t flinch. Her expression didn’t even change. She simply nodded and hummed quietly. "I see... So, not only them... but even their mother..."

Aether blinked in surprise. He expected shock, or even disgust. But she wasn’t weirded out. She wasn’t even mildly disturbed.

"Aren’t you... bothered by it?" he asked slowly, unsure how to even phrase it.

Lia turned to him and tilted her head, eyes soft. "Bothered? Why would I be?"

He stared at her, unable to form words for a moment. ’Shit,’ he thought. Right... she may act differently, may feel more grounded and sane than most here... but she was still raised in this world.

Her sense of morality, her view on love, was built here.

He sighed. "Forget it. It’s nothing."

Lia shrugged but then suddenly frowned, "Wait... isn’t Selene loved... Victor? Wait, I am confused now, she loves both of you..."

She stared at Aether, tilting her head as her brain tried to piece things together.

Aether didn’t say a word, he just removed his ring, his deep black hair turned to pure white hair.

And that was enough.

Lia’s eyes widened in slow, horrified realisation.

"Holy shit... YOU’RE VICTOR?!"

Aether nodded, a little sheepishly.

Lia’s face went pale. "T-Then all this time..."

"Yup. It’s me," Aether said with a faint chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lia just stared at him, completely dumbfounded. Her brain was spinning.

All this time... she had hated that bastard—Victor—for toying with Aether.... And now?

Now everything made sense.

Why Aether had always told her not to hate Victor.

Why he defended him.

Why he and Victor seemed... connected.

Her jaw clenched. Her eyes narrowed in disbelief as her voice dropped, laced with frustration. "Tsk... I can’t believe you played with my heart like that."

Aether raised his hands slightly, defensively. "Oi, I didn’t play anyone. I had my reasons back then. I had to hide my identity... heck, I even warned you. You’re the one getting all worked up."

Lia gritted her teeth, huffing like a storm cloud with crossed arms and a deep pout. "I don’t care anymore. Just... fuck off!"

But before she could walk away, Aether reached out and pulled her into a firm, apologetic hug.

"I’m sorry. I won’t hide anything from you again... I promise," he whispered near her ear, his arms wrapping tightly around her.

Lia let out another huff against his chest, cheeks puffed up with annoyance, but her hands didn’t push him away. She wasn’t going to let this bastard keep teasing her innocent heart like that again... but something in her chest softened.

Victor and Aether... they were the same person.

She still couldn’t fully process it. It amazed her—and pissed her off at the same time.

How could she have missed it?

Her heart was pounding, cheeks flushed from the emotional whiplash.

Aether pulled back slightly, his voice softer, more vulnerable now.

"Come on... It’s not like I was doing it to hurt you. I needed to keep it quiet. Even the others only found out recently. I didn’t want to lose you, Lia... that’s why I stayed silent."

His face carried a pained expression, regret flickering in his eyes.

Lia stared at him for a long moment, then let out a sigh. She leaned in close and gave him a long, slow glance from beneath her lashes.

"You owe me one..." she muttered.

Aether smiled and nodded without hesitation. "Got it."

But Lia’s voice grew a bit quieter as she asked, "Anyway... There’s so many of them... I’m getting worried now.

What’s my place among them?"

Her eyes looked vulnerable, a little afraid of the answer. The doubt showed in her tone, even if she tried to sound calm.

Aether smiled gently. He reached out and pinched her nose softly, drawing a small squeak from her.

"Your position?" he repeated with a grin. "It’s right here—always in my heart. None of them are above anyone else. You’re the woman I love. That’s all that matters."

Lia snorted through her nose, pretending to roll her eyes. But her lips curled into a smile. She leaned back into him and rested her head on his shoulder again. "I hope so..."

Aether didn’t miss the flicker of sadness behind her words. He knew where it came from. Her mother was one of many mistresses her father had. Forgotten. Discarded. Until she took revenge and killed them all. That trauma still haunted Lia, even if she never openly spoke of it.

But he also knew... words wouldn’t be enough. She needed more than promises.

She needed proof.

He would shower her with love until she never doubted again.

"Hey..." he said gently, pulling her just a little closer. "Do you love your mother?"

Lia blinked and looked up at him. "Yeah... Why?"

"I mean... I kind of never liked her," he admitted, though he held back the full depth of his emotions. "She always gets in our way. So, I wondered... if I took you away from her—would you still be happy?"

Her face changed instantly. Her playful, calm vanished, replaced by a serious, almost fierce expression.

"No," she said firmly. "I would never leave my mother. She is my world, Aether. When everything collapsed around us, when life was cruel to her, she never abandoned me. Not even once. She gave me strength when I had none. She raised me when no one else did... and even when I am not chosen one... she still loved me for who am I!!"

Her voice trembled. "Please... don’t hate her. I know she doesn’t want us together, and I know she can be cold, but... she’s still my mommy, Aether."

She lifted her hand and gently touched his cheek, looking into his eyes with so much honesty it almost hurt.

"Please... don’t hate her. For me."

Aether stared into her eyes for a long moment. Her plea echoed in his mind, soft but heavy. He breathed out slowly, lowering his head just a little.

"Fine..." he whispered.

He didn’t mean it entirely—at least not yet. But in that moment, looking at her face, he couldn’t say no.

Also... Aether was beginning to realize—this would be hard. Much harder than it had been with Kai and Xara.

Unlike them, separating Lia from her mother felt... impossible.

He bit the inside of his lip, holding back a sigh, then casually—though carefully—asked, "But... what if I told you your mother tried to kill me?"

Lia tilted her head with a light smile, confidence brimming in her expression. "No way. My mother would never do that."

She gave a soft, almost playful laugh. "Honestly, that sounds a little unbelievable. Haha... come on, Aether, don’t be so rude," she muttered, nudging him with a small pout.

But Aether didn’t laugh. In fact, he froze for a moment, his gaze narrowing slightly as he caught a strange glint in her eyes—a flicker of something... unhinged.

Just a flash, but it was there.

"..."

He blinked, still studying her expression. Then he tried again.

"I mean... what if she didn’t try to kill me directly, but tried to kill me just to keep me away from you?"

Lia’s demeanour shifted in an instant.

Her face tensed, her brows furrowed, and she let out a sharp "Tsk" as she glared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Please don’t make baseless accusations, Aether," she said coldly.

"Yes, my mother doesn’t like us together... but she would never go against my will like that. Never."

Her voice trembled just slightly—whether from anger or fear, he couldn’t tell.

"If you say one more thing like that about my mother..." she stood halfway, her voice trembling with restrained emotion, "...I’ll leave."

She meant it.

Aether quickly reached for her wrist, gently catching her before she could walk away. He chuckled lightly, masking the knot forming in his chest.

"Come on... I’m just teasing. Of course, your mother would never do something like that," he said with a half-hearted grin.

Lia blinked, then let out a small pout and let herself fall into his lap, arms folded.

"Don’t question my mother," she mumbled, still puffed up with pride.

Aether laughed, trying to soften the mood. "Look at you... total mother-con?"

Lia’s face turned red in an instant. "Idiot! Don’t say that—I’m not like that! I just... love her. That’s all."

"Yeah, yeah~" he replied with a teasing tone, smirking.

But inside,

’Damn it... both mother and daughter are completely messed up. And here I was hoping Lia would be the normal one... I guess that’s the maximum limit anyone can stay sane in this place.’

He knew it now—there was no way he could remove Mary from Lia’s life. She was deeply, emotionally bound to her.

He would have to find another way.

’Fuck... more overtime for me...’

Before he could spiral too deep, Lia wrapped her arms around him again, her cheeks flushed with quiet excitement.

"So... when are you going to ask my mother for me?" she whispered shyly.

"Haha..." Aether chuckled, scratching his head. But inside, he could already see it—red eyes, blades, a furious mother’s wrath.

’Yeah... that’ll be the last day I ever see the sky. Either she dies... or I do.’

Lia pouted again. "Don’t laugh it off! I’m serious. You are already married to Nyx. What about me, huh? Mister... don’t make me wait too long!"

Her tone was playful, but her eyes glimmered with genuine hope and a little nervousness.

Aether reached forward and pinched her nose again. "You’re cute when you act like this."

"Don’t change the subject!" Lia said, trying to hold back a smile.

Aether let out a long sigh. "But your mother hates me..."

Lia stared at him, amused and exasperated. "Then you better work your ass off, Mister~"

Aether’s lips twitched.

Before she could say anything more—he picked her up and tossed her into the river.

"KYAA!!"

Splash!

She flailed as the cold water hit her full body, soaking her instantly. She stood up with a glare, her entire body trembling.

"YOU!!"

Aether grinned, hands already gathering water. "What?"

He splashed a wave straight at her.

Lia’s eyes narrowed as her smirk returned. "Oh, so you want to play games, huh?"

She splashed him back—harder.

Their laughter echoed across the river as water flew everywhere. Lia giggled as Aether tried to dodge and failed miserably. He retaliated, drenching her again.

For a moment... it was perfect.

They laughed, they played, and they soaked each other without holding back.

But not far away, hidden behind the trees—

Nyx and Nightfire watched in silence.

Their faces were solemn. Quiet. Eyes heavy with thoughts neither of them voiced yet.