Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1591: What is Mother’s Love? Connection? Obsession? Or... Something more than that?

After all the laughter had finally settled and the meal had long been finished, Morgana and Lia stepped out of the restaurant.

They walked side by side along the dimly lit street, their hands gently intertwined, their pace slow and unhurried.

Lia stole a glance at Morgana, her expression thoughtful.

”Aunt... is it really that funny?” she asked, ”I mean... Mother and the Dragon Emperor...”

Morgana’s lips curled upward instinctively, threatening to pull another laugh from her chest. She held it back with effort, pressing her lips together before answering.

”No... It’s not exactly funny,” she said, though a trace of amusement still lingered in her tone, flickering at the edges.

”It’s just... your mother would never show interest in anyone other than you.”

Her gaze softened as she looked ahead, her eyes reflecting something deeper than her words.

”She’s connected only to you... not only by blood, but also by instinct, by something far more consuming than ordinary bonds... something that refuses to loosen no matter what.”

Lia hummed quietly, her brows knitting into a faint frown as she absorbed those words, turning them over in her mind again and again.

”Now that I think about it...” she murmured, ”You always say Mother acts strange around me... because of our blood connection. Why is that?”

Morgana turned her head slightly, a teasing smile forming,

”So you finally admit your mother acts strange, hmm?”

Lia’s cheeks flushed faintly, and she quickly shook her head, almost flustered by the accusation.

”I-It’s not strange,” she corrected herself, though her voice wavered slightly. ”It’s just... different.”

She hesitated, her fingers lightly brushing a strand of her hair as she tucked it behind her ear, her gaze lowering for a moment.

”I’ve seen other mothers and daughters...” she continued slowly. ”Like Xara and Selene... the way they talk, the way they keep a certain distance... the way they understand boundaries...”

Her voice softened further...

”When I compare... we’re too close... far too close compared to anyone else in any Empire.”

Her grip around Morgana’s hand tightened unconsciously, as if grounding herself.

”It feels like... Mother only sees me... like I’m the only one who exists in her world... and everything else is just... background.”

Morgana shrugged lightly, though her expression carried a knowing weight, something that hinted she understood far more than she let on.

”Well, what can I say?” she replied, her tone light, almost playful, yet laced with something heavier beneath.

”Your mother loves you more than anything in this entire world.”

Her smirk deepened faintly, almost darkly.

”In fact... she would burn the entire world for you without hesitation... reduce everything to ash if it meant keeping you by her side... that’s how much she loves you.”

Lia fell silent.

Her gaze drifted forward, but her thoughts spiralled inward...

Her mother... her beautiful, overwhelming, possessive mother.

The memories rose one after another.

The way her mother would pull her into sudden embraces, holding her tightly without caring who might be watching, as if the world itself had no right to witness what belonged to her.

The way soft kisses would scatter across her cheeks, her forehead, her face... unrestrained, unfiltered, almost desperate in their frequency.

The way her mother captured countless photos of her, as if afraid that even a single moment without her would become unbearable.

And then... Taking her clothes when she wasn’t looking.

Holding them close... breathing in their scent like someone clinging to something they could never have enough of... like something fragile that could vanish if not held tightly enough.

It was... not something a normal mother would do, right?

At first, Lia had never questioned it.

As a child, her world had been small, wrapped entirely within that overwhelming affection, and she had accepted everything as natural... as love in its purest, most unquestionable form.

But as she grew older, as her world expanded and she began to see how others lived, how others loved...

She started to understand.

It wasn’t just love.

It was something deeper. Something that blurred the line between affection and possession.

Possessive... overwhelmingly so!!

As if... if Lia were to disappear, her mother would crumble... or perhaps burn everything down in her absence.

And yet...

Lia had grown within that love.

She had been shaped by it, protected by it, warmed by it like a flame that never dimmed.

And no matter how strange it might appear to others... no matter how easily it could be misunderstood...

She loved it.

Every bit of it.

Even the suffocating parts that should have frightened her... she embraced them without hesitation.

Her love for her mother was absolute!!!

But...

That kind of bond could not remain unchanged forever.

Her Mother needed someone!

Someone who could stand beside her mother... not beneath her, not overshadowed by her... but equal.

Someone who could face that overwhelming love without breaking under its weight... someone who would not run, no matter how intense it became.

This insane woman against an insane man was the perfect match!

Yes, there were nobles who would accept her mother.

For her power.

For her status.

For her beauty that could make even the strongest kneel without resistance.

But that wasn’t what a daughter wished for her mother.

’I want someone... who can truly stand beside her... someone who understands her even more than I do... someone who won’t leave... no matter what she becomes...

A True Insane Love!!’

The thought echoed quietly within her,

She wasn’t certain if Victor was the right choice.

She didn’t know if he could carry that weight... or if he even should.

But for her mother... who barely spared a glance at anyone else... who lived in a world where only Lia and Morgana truly existed...

Victor was the only one who had made something shift.

That subtle, fleeting expression she had seen during the broadcast...

That faint, almost amused curve of her mother’s lips... rare and genuine.

Lia had noticed it.

And she understood.

Deep down...

Victor had already left a mark inside her mother’s heart... a mark that might one day grow into something far more dangerous than either of them expected.

’But how do I even contact him... last time, he didn’t spare me a single glance...’

The thought lingered, as Lia remembered that moment clearly. When Victor came after meeting her mother during the dome incident, he hadn’t even looked her way... not once.

As if the Princess of the Void meant nothing in his eyes.

Just like her mother!!

The similarity unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.

Just as her thoughts began to spiral into something deeper—

Snap!

Something within her tightened... then broke.

A sudden, unfamiliar sensation rippled through her senses, like a thread being pulled taut inside her chest.

Not just her.

Morgana, who had been lost in her own spiralling amusement, imagining endless scenarios of Victor and Mary colliding like two disasters waiting to happen,

’I really want to see my sister’s face when she finds out what her daughter wants... ahaha... that would be priceless... she’d probably lose her mind all over again...’

Her thoughts halted abruptly.

Something called to her?

Ba-dump!

Her pupils dilated slightly, a subtle shift that did not escape even herself.

The laughter inside her mind vanished as if it had never existed.

Both of them reacted at the same time... yet different feelings erupted inside their heart.

And then—

Both of their heads turned.

To the left.

Across the street—

Wrrrrrrhhhh!

A loud mechanical roar tore through the moment as a massive vehicle, a heavy crane, rumbled past between them and the opposite side, its bulk swallowing the view entirely.

For a brief second... everything was blocked.

And then—

It passed.

The view returned.

But there was nothing there.

Just an empty stretch of pavement, a few distant pedestrians walking aimlessly, completely ordinary.

Morgana blinked, her brows pulling together slightly as she tilted her head, her earlier sharpness dissolving into confusion.

That sudden urge...

That pull...

It had felt real.

”Lia?” she called softly, glancing toward her niece.

Lia was still staring across the street, her eyes lingering for a moment longer than they should have, as if trying to grasp something that had already slipped away.

”N-Nothing,” Lia said quickly, snapping back as she averted her gaze, forcing her expression to settle.

She resumed walking, her steps steady... but just a fraction faster than before.

Morgana watched her for a second, then followed, though the faint unease remained tucked quietly beneath her calm.

But Lia...

Her thoughts did not settle.

’Why did that feel so familiar...’

Her fingers curled slightly at her side.

’Why did I just sense... Mother? No... something like Mother...?’

***

Just half an hour ago,

Aether and Nyx were quietly enjoying their date, the evening unfolding in soft, unhurried moments. Even with his face still concealed behind the cold, expressionless skull mask, there was something unmistakably alive in the way he moved beside her.

What surprised him the most, however, was not the date itself... but Nyx.

She was the one leading.

Guiding him from one place to another, deciding where to go, what to do, what to see... as if she had silently taken control of something that was supposed to be his role.

Aether couldn’t quite understand it.

First, she had confessed something absurd and confusing... claiming she loved that bitch just as much as she loved him.

Then she avoided him, then blushed like a maiden drowning in her own emotions... and now this.

Taking the lead as if nothing had happened.

Today... he had seen too many sides of her.

Sides he had never expected.

Not that he was complaining.

If anything... he was enjoying it far more than he should.

This woman, who always locked everything deep within her heart, who rarely let even a crack form in her composure... was now laying everything bare before him.

And he loved it.

Every fragile, confusing, beautiful piece of it.

As their date continued, the air between them shifted slowly, almost imperceptibly, into softer... warmer... something that lingered just beneath the surface.

A quiet romance began to bloom between glances and silences.

Nyx, however, carried her own storm beneath that calm exterior. Beneath the charm of her unusually sexy, hot, handsome, etc. husband... she felt something else entirely.

Fear.

Not of him... but of losing him.

Like a flock of unseen crows circling above, waiting to tear away something precious the moment she loosened her grip.

She was under full guard all this time and guided to the less crowded place.

And finally, they found themselves seated together on a park bench, the world slowing around them.

Before them, a stretch of cold water shimmered faintly under the dim light... disturbed occasionally by a group of thieves attempting to redirect its flow elsewhere, their movements clumsy yet persistent.

’Seriously... just leave the damn water alone...’ Aether thought, irritation flickering through his mind as he watched the unnecessary chaos unfold.

No matter where he went... trouble followed.

At first, he didn’t care.

But now...

This moment mattered.

The quiet sway of trees above them.

The gentle breeze brushes against their skin.

The subtle closeness between him and Nyx...

And yet... it was being disturbed.

Anyone would be annoyed.

Aether turned his head slightly, glancing at Nyx.

As expected... she didn’t react.

She rarely did.

The outside world barely seemed to reach her.

But her eyes...

They were elsewhere.

Lost in something deep, something heavy.

’Hmph... your handsome husband is right here, and yet...’ he thought, a faint hint of playful annoyance crossing his mind.

Without warning, he shifted, lowering himself gently until his head rested on her lap, his masked face settling against the softness of her thighs.

”What is my dear, lovely wife thinking about?”

Nyx flinched slightly, her thoughts breaking apart as she looked down.

Her breath caught.

For some reason... even with a mask, he looked more handsome than ever.

Just having him this close... this real... made her heart rise uncontrollably, beating louder, faster, as if trying to escape her chest.

”W-What are you doing?” she asked, flustered, her voice stumbling as she became painfully aware of his head resting on her lap.

Aether smirked beneath the mask,

”Lying on my wife’s lap... is that wrong?”

Nyx softened instantly, a small, helpless smile forming as she shook her head gently.

Sometimes... he really did act like a child.

A dangerous, terrifying child... but still.

Then, slowly, his hand rose, his fingers brushing against her cheek with surprising gentleness.

”You know... your husband is always here for you,” he whispered, ”No matter what you’re going through... You don’t have to hide it.”

His thumb traced lightly along her skin.

”If there’s something weighing on you... tell me. I’ll listen. You’re not alone... let me carry it with you.”

He had noticed.

From the moment he woke from that long darkness... something about her had been different.

Nyx flinched again, her lips parting slightly before a weak, fragile smile appeared.

”A-Am I that obvious...?” she murmured, almost embarrassed by how easily he had seen through her.

She hadn’t expected him to notice this too... just how much he sees her?

Aether chuckled softly, still resting on her lap, his fingers idly playing with a strand of her hair as he looked up at her.

Her face... her beautiful face... those deep, dark purple pupils trembling ever so slightly...

”Tell me... what’s bothering my lovely wife...”

”...”

Nyx bit her lower lip as she looked into his eyes behind the mask.

There was no curiosity there... Only concern and warmth mixed with little fear.

It made something inside her tighten painfully.

”Did our family hurt you?” he asked, his voice calm but edged with seriousness.

It was the most obvious possibility.

Even if he had brought them together... even if he had forced unity where there had been none...

They were not machines.

They were not perfect.

Conflict was inevitable.

And while he was gone...

What if something had happened?

What if someone had pushed her too far?

If they had...

He would not let it pass. As a man responsible for everyone need to talk it through, it’s not who was right or wrong... it’s about each one and their actions!

But—

”NO!”

Nyx’s voice cut through his imagination sharply, her tone carrying a rare edge of anger.

”Of course not. My sisters would never hurt me... why would you even think that?”

She frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at him, almost offended by the suggestion.

”...”

Aether blinked, surprised for a brief moment... before a faint smile touched his lips.

Then...

”Then?” he asked softly.

Nyx fell silent.

Her fingers tightened slightly against her dress, her gaze lowering as if the words themselves refused to come out.

Aether didn’t push.

He simply stayed there... quiet... patient... waiting.

Letting her come to him.

After a long pause, Nyx’s lips finally parted.

Her voice barely rose above a whisper.

”I... I’m scared of death.”

”...”