Chapter 427: Heart-To-Heart (3)

“Okay, but you won’t turn into metal, will you?”

“…I don’t know.” (Cordelia)

“Ugh, seriously, how are we going to fix this? Well, let’s give it a try; just breathe and relax, don’t get too nervous, I’ll be gentle and—”

“Hmmmgh!!” (Astrid)

“Sweetheart!,” (Leyla)

“Huh? What’s going on?”

Just as I was about to seal the deal with Cordelia—hoping that our earlier conversation had made a difference and that she wouldn’t turn to metal—Lily interrupted me.

“My older sister seems to be trying to remind you of the main objective.” (Leyla)

“Yes, exactly, that’s where I’m going. I’ll seal the deal with her and we’ll move on to the next level; don’t worry, Astrid, I’ll live up to your expectations.”

“Mngmngh!” (Astrid)

“I think she’s saying to let her go and that that wasn’t the main point.” (Leyla)

“No?”

“mngh!” (Astrid)

“I think she’s saying the main thing was your secrets and all that.” (Leyla)

“(⊙ｏ⊙) Right, how could I have forgotten? But is that okay?… What if that makes Cordelia not want to do it?”

“hmnghmmm!” (Astrid)

“She says that’s not what matters; besides, she has to clear her reputation with her daughter.”(Leyla)

“Huh? Reputation? What does that have to do with—ah! Right, Cordelia must be thinking that you’re dating me and Christian.”

“Mngh!”(Astrid)

“She says, ’Exactly, plus, if Lia hears those shocking secrets, everything else will seem trivial, so she won’t get nervous and, therefore, stiff when you take the initiative.’” (Leyla)

“Hey, Lily, do you really understand her? I only heard a simple ’mngh!.’ How on earth did she say all that…?”

“I just felt that’s what she meant.” (Leyla)

“…that doesn’t seem like something you can just feel, besides—”

“Mnmgmgh!” (Astrid)

“Now she’s saying we shouldn’t get sidetracked and that we should set her free, or she’ll really get angry.” (Leyla)

“Right, she’s calmed down now… Astrid, you’re calm, right? You’re not going to try to cast another spell, are you?”

“mnngh mnaghmm!”(Astrid)

“She says ’yes

’.” (Leyla)

“What do you mean by ’yes’? Are you saying she’s calm, or that she’s about to cast a spell?”

“mhghghh!!!”(Astrid)

“She says, yes, she’s calm now.” (Leyla)

“Hmm, I don’t think that’s how it is, but whatever, Lily let her go.”

“Phaaa!… Ugh. I know I’m partly to blame, but… no! That doesn’t matter. Honey, even though you said some unnecessary things, you handled what happened before really well; I feel like you opened my eyes to some things, and that really moved me, but that doesn’t change the fact that we need to talk about your secrets to clear up a lot of misunderstandings… it’ll also help with that metalization thing.” (Astrid)

“Oh! Was what Lily said true?”

“Yeah, I don’t get how she did it; most of that was just in my mind… No! Don’t get distracted—go tell Lia your secrets.” (Astrid)

“Haaah~ Well, I guess the time has come. Okay, Cordelia, what I’m about to tell you explains a lot of things I said before, but it can also have a big impact on your decisions, thoughts, and even how you feel. You’re ready, right?”

“Yes (ㆆ_ㆆ)” (Cordelia)

“I can tell you’re nervous, but I think you’ll be able to handle it. I mean, it can’t be worse than Astrid, who even fainted.”

“Honey, that was unnecessary to say.” (Astrid)

“I just want to lighten the mood so she isn’t so nervous. You’re calmer now, aren’t you, Cordelia?”

“Yes (ㆆ_ㆆ)” (Cordelia)

“I like your enthusiasm. Well, I’ll tell you the truth, and yes, just as you think, Astrid is dating Christian and Seraphina—”

“Honey!” (Astrid)

“I see. My mom has a harem, too.” (Cordelia)

“No! Wait! That’s not what I— Honey! Why did you say that?” (Astrid)

“Hey, you two are the ones who interrupted me—let me finish. You really are mother and daughter… Ahem, as I was saying: Astrid is dating Christian and Seraphina because they’re both the same person. Cordelia, you understand what that means, right?”

“…That it’s a joke?” (Cordelia)

“Brrr! Wrong answer. Come on, try again.”

Strangely enough, I don’t feel nervous at all.

Maybe because I’ve been honest about my thoughts, or maybe because my relationship with Cordelia hasn’t deepened enough yet.

Come to think of it, Cordelia is the first person I’m telling my secret to before sealing the deal, but I don’t feel bad about it—instead, I feel like for the first time, I’m doing things right.

“….” (Cordelia)

“So, can’t you think of anything else?”

“…” (Cordelia)

Now that I understand her better, I’m starting to find her personality a little cute; she probably has the answer, but she’s holding back from saying it, since she likely thinks it can’t be that and that she’s missing something.

“Well, how about a little more help?”

I said as I changed my appearance. The fact that I’m not nervous means that the “I’m your mother” moment while I transform into Astrid won’t happen…. and sure enough, I transformed into Christian without any trouble.

I saw her eyes widen and a look of surprise cross her face.

I’ve been trying to elicit this surprised reaction from Cordelia for a long time, and now that I’ve succeeded, it somehow makes me feel really good, and I want to keep doing it—I want to keep making her impassive gaze change.

“Y-you… you’re Chris!” (Cordelia)

“Correct answer, my dear Cordelia. Indeed, from the very beginning, Seraphina and Christian have been the same person. Christian is an identity I created to, well… hit on your mother.”

“Honey!!, cut it out with those unnecessary comments on such a sensitive topic.” (Astrid)

“Well, I was just being honest. I originally created the identity of Christian to build my harem of cute girls, and you were always a top priority. Besides, it’s a done deal, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not! Lia never said she agreed; she said it was weird, and you’re making it worse.” (Astrid)

“Ah! You’re right… Cordelia, you’re okay with the relationship I have with your mother, right?”

Now that I think about it, we’d just put that issue aside; for some reason, my mind assumed it had already been resolved.

I think it’s because Cordelia doesn’t seem to care much about it; at least it was less of a deal than finding out that I thought she hated me.

Anyway, we should hear what she has to say about it.

“I don’t know… It’s kind of weird… but I’ve never seen my mom happier; that’s why I supported her affair with Chris.” (Cordelia)

“Ugh! Lia, ’affair’ is a really strong word.” (Astrid)

“It’s the only word that fits, mother…” (Cordelia)

“You’re right /_ ” (Astrid)

“…I still have a hard time understanding that Phina is Chris, and I don’t know what to think about the other girls, including you, mother, but… even so, and even though it’s weird, I don’t want to take your happiness away, mother. I want you to always be happy.” (Cordelia)

“Sniff!… Lia, your mother is very happy; she’s happier than ever. Having you and Honey… I couldn’t ask for more, sniff!.” (Astrid)

“…I also have to thank you, mother… if you hadn’t helped me, Phina would still be misunderstanding me, and I don’t know what would have happened.” (Cordelia)

“Sniff, you’re welcome; in fact, I’ve always supported your love.” (Astrid)

“…We still don’t know if that’s it… besides, you started dating her first.” (Cordelia)

“Ugh! W-well, I didn’t know Chris was Phina; I only found out later… s-she tricked me.” (Astrid)

“Hey, Astrid, you didn’t hesitate for a second to pin all the blame on me.”

“I’m just being honest. It was a total shock that I accidentally got involved with the same person as my daughter.” (Astrid)

“Yeah, right. A shock that wore off pretty quickly, and then you proposed—.”

“Aaahh! Let’s not talk about that. Well, Lia, we both ended up like this, but even though it’s weird, I’m really happy.” (Astrid)

“Mother…, you’ve always been weird. Also… can you stop hugging me?”

“Y-yeah, /_ I guess you still don’t really like it when I hug you.” (Astrid)

“No… it’s just that I’m a big girl now and I don’t like it when you do it in front of Phina.” (Cordelia)

“You’ll never be too big in my eyes; you’ll always be my little girl.” (Astrid)

“Please stop or I’ll get mad (ㆆ_ㆆ).” (Cordelia)

“Okay, I’m just really happy right now… Can’t I really keep hugging you?” (Astrid)

“No.” (Cordelia)

I watched Astrid and Cordelia interact; actually, I’ve always been curious about how they act when they’re together.

Cordelia acts… well, more normal and expressive when she’s talking to Astrid.

I hope there comes a point in our relationship where she speaks to me with that same ease, though I feel like I’ve grown rather fond of her piercing, cold gaze… Hmm, if I put her in a latex bodysuit and a riding crop, and do the same to Astrid…

’No, we haven’t gotten there yet; I have to finish this first.’

“I’m sorry to interrupt your mother-daughter moment, but we have to keep going or the night will be over. Cordelia, do you have any questions before I tell you more?”

“Is there more?” (Cordelia)

“Much more. I have to tell you about my identity, past, abilities, and other things.”

“I see… there’s something I still don’t understand: if you thought I hated you, why did you agree to be my friend? Why did you spend time with me as Chris?” (Cordelia)

“Yeah, it’s normal to be curious, right? Well, like I told you from the start, I was interested because you’re very beautiful.”

“Just that?” (Cordelia)

“Well, that was more than enough for me. I mean, the important thing is that there’s interest, right? Plus, being close to you gave me a chance to understand why you hated me; I really wanted to find the answer and work things out so I could go out with you. You know, as Chris, I tried lots of ways to get you to notice my… well, courtship, so to speak.”

“I… didn’t notice.” (Cordelia)

“Yeah, I figured that out. Even though I wasn’t being discreet at all, I later realized it was because you only had eyes for Seraphina, which is ironic: we created a love triangle with just two people.”

“…” (Cordelia)

“It leaves you not knowing what to think, doesn’t it? Everything was tangled up from the start, and then the mother-daughter issue came up, which made it even worse, not to mention that you could be a potential— ahem. Anyway, I’ve been interested in you from the start, to the point that the irrational hatred I thought you had didn’t stop me.”

“…I see. I appreciate your interest in someone like me.” (Cordelia)

“Oh, come on, don’t put it that way. Like I said, you have a lot of good qualities, as long as you don’t turn into—Oh! But since we’re getting along so well, about what happened earlier with Alice—when you said ’eliminate,’ what did you mean?”

“…” (Cordelia)

“Come on, we’re talking so openly at this point; it’s no big deal, and I’m not going to get mad.”

“…I hadn’t thought about it yet… it was very sudden, and I was just thinking about allying with Alice. I just didn’t want your love to be scattered.” (Cordelia)

“So you said it on impulse. I figured it would be something like that… hmmm, but I guess you haven’t changed your mind about the harem thing yet, have you?”

“…No.” (Cordelia)

“Well, I like your honesty, and I’ll be honest too: I don’t plan on breaking up with any of the girls either, and I’ll do everything in my power to keep it that way, dealing with any factors, both external and internal.”

“…” (Cordelia)

“Honey, are you threatening Lia?” (Astrid)

“Did it sound like that? I just meant that if she keeps up with this ’eliminating’ business, I’ll actively step in, and I sincerely hope this never escalates to the point where I have to make a real threat. So, Cordelia, keep this in mind now that you’re figuring out or defining how you feel.”

I mean, it’s something I’ve always done; in fact, right now I’m dealing with something that could potentially ruin my relationship with Alice.

I think that, even though I did the best I could at noon, it’s not enough; I have to be even better, to make sure nothing happens again that creates cracks in our relationship.

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind…” (Cordelia)

“Hmm, I know that Honey will eventually love and become very protective of Lia too, and that Lia cherishes our new family, so I won’t say anything about this.” (Astrid)

“I hope so too, Astrid. Anyway, Cordelia, are you ready? What comes next might affect you a little too much. Well, I’ll get to the point: my other big secret is that… I’m not Seraphina…”

I’ve always thought that the biggest problem was my dual identity, especially if it means telling a girl who knew me as Chris that I’m actually a woman.

But with Cordelia, I think this is more relevant, since she’s the only one who had feelings for me before I was reincarnated.

I hope this conversation has a happy ending…

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