Livia ducked into the kitchen to help Leon’s mother make tea for everyone.
“Is Erica doing well?” she asked Livia.
“Erica? Oh—you mean Princess Erica?”
“Mm-hmm. She was my granddaughter in her previous life.”
Livia gaped. “She what?!” She was shocked that Leon’s mother had mentioned the name in the first place, but she certainly hadn’t seen that coming.
Leon’s mother giggled. “Ah, so she’s a princess now, is she? She went through so much in her previous life, I hope she finds happiness. She’s a pretty sensitive person, you know. And she doesn’t share her feelings much.”
“O-oh. I didn’t realize.”
“Leon and Marie have doted on her a fair amount, haven’t they?” his mother went on.
“Yes. ‘A fair amount’ might actually be an understatement,” replied Livia. That had been a puzzling mystery at one time, but now she understood why Leon was so fixated on Erica. She’d been Leon’s niece in his past life.
“I knew it! I figured they’d fuss over her.” Leon’s mother sighed. “But Leon’s a little too indulgent. It makes me worry.”
Livia understood exactly what she meant. Mr. Leon tends to be extremely kindhearted when it comes to family. The same was true of the Bartforts, so she could only imagine how he’d act with Erica.
Leon’s mother seemed to read Livia’s thoughts. “He’s apparently caused his new family a lot of trouble. He really can be exasperating.”
“Ah ha ha…” Livia laughed awkwardly, unsure what else to do.
Leon’s mother peeked out of the kitchen at Leon and Marie, who were fussing at each other again, and grimaced. “I thought those two would be all right together, but Leon’s a lost cause. He dotes too much on people he cares about, and it spoils them in the worst way. Marie’s no better. She either attracts the worst man possible or lands a decent one and ruins him.”
She knew her children well.
“Uh, um, I’m actually engaged to Mr. Leon!” said Livia. “I’d really like him to come back with us. I…want to spend more time with him.” She spoke from the heart, hoping that she might win his mother over to her stance.
Before Leon’s mother could respond, his father poked his head in. “Missus, you aren’t going to believe this. Our idiot son and our idiot daughter have themselves multiple partners in this other world. It’s wond—er, shocking!” He corrected himself at first but then blithely blurted out the first thing on his mind: “It kind of makes me want to reincarnate too!”
“You could never keep a harem,” his wife spat with a venomous smile. “You couldn’t even keep me head over heels, remember? You should try to learn from your children’s popularity.”
Leon’s father pressed a hand over his chin. “You don’t get it. A harem does mean a man looks after multiple women, but those women aren’t clamoring for that man because they’re attracted to him. I guess a woman wouldn’t know the difference, though.” He shook his head. “Shame. I wish I could live the easy life with a bunch of women spoiling me.”
“No one cares what you want, and you don’t work anymore anyway.” By now, his wife’s smile had vanished.
Thinking better of arguing the point further, Leon’s father retreated to the living room. Livia stood there awkwardly with a troubled smile.
Leon’s mother sighed. “Well, there’s no need for you to worry,” she told Livia. “I’m sure Leon will go back, especially since you all went out of your way to come get him.”
“But he already said he doesn’t want to come back. Maybe he’s fed up with us. We depended on him for too many things.” Because of that, Leon had pushed himself far too long. Livia was worried that that was probably why he didn’t want to return.
His mother shook her head. “He’s the bashful sort who can’t be honest about his feelings. He was overjoyed that you all came to find him, but he doesn’t want you to know that, so he’s acting cold about it. At any rate, he’s got his own reasons for not wanting to go back.”
“What do you mean by that?” asked Livia.
“Sadly, I have no answer for you.” She glanced out the nearby window and sighed. “You can see the view pretty well from here, can’t you? It’s not a pleasant one.” She meant the enormous black hole in the sky, which Livia had noticed when she first entered this world.
It was uncomfortable to look at, but Livia couldn’t suppress her curiosity. “Um, what exactly is that hole in the sky? I mean, I guess maybe it’s not a hole, but it looks like one.”
Leon’s mother smiled uncomfortably. “How should I put this? It’s more like a wall than a hole. A blockade, I suppose you could say. There’s nothing beyond that point.”
“Blockade?”
“I think that’s enough small talk. It’s about time we got back.” She motioned for Livia to return to the living room with her. “I’m glad I had a chance to see my children’s faces again. They seem to be enjoying themselves—a bit too much, I’d say—in your world. And I’m happy Erica got to meet up with them.”
There was something peculiar about the way Leon’s mother spoke, but she seemed anxious to return to the living room, so Livia didn’t have an opportunity to press her for answers. Livia doubted that she wanted to explain herself anyway, since she’d already dismissed several of the girl’s questions. There was no point trying to get more answers from her.
Livia paused briefly at the window, gazing at the sky. “A wall… A blockade… What does that mean?”