CHAPTER 93: YOU CAN CALL ME MOTHER

"Yeah, he declined to enter that Phoenix Nest even though he had the chance. I don’t know why he did that, though."

Sera replied to Seraphine while sipping tea from the cup, seemingly in a good mood.

"Although I also know that the situation might not have been good at that time due to the deal with Dorian and Sir Malcolm, he really should have thought a little. After all, such chances don’t come easily."

Sera said, sounding a little reluctant, as if she was feeling bad for Lucien. Her feelings now were the exact opposite of what she felt before.

While she got angry at Lucien for denying that offer before, now she felt genuinely bad for him instead.

Girls... they just couldn’t be understood.

"Yeah, such an opportunity, and he directly refused? What a loss!"

Seraphine also nodded, feeling a little regret for her son. Honestly, if she knew he had such an opportunity, she would have forced him to take it.

After all, she knew how much they did just to let him awaken his class, although her son seems a lot stronger after going through it.

Not only her, but Cedric also looked stunned.

’Damn! Why didn’t Father and that brat tell me this?’

If they hadn’t met the Eldest Princess Sera here, would they even know about it?

Of course, he knew knowing it would do nothing, but still.

"Yeah, it is indeed a loss. But I can also understand him. After all, that was the deal between his grandfather and the Second Prince. He cannot get greedy now, can he?"

Sera also slowly nodded with Seraphine as if sympathizing with her, wearing a solemn face. She even gave a random reason for Lucien so he wouldn’t look bad.

Without realizing it, her gentle manner and smooth flow had already softened the distance between her and Mother Seraphine.

She had even already persuaded both Cedric and Seraphine to call her by name. She seemed really intelligent in some regard.

"Yeah, you are right. He cannot be stingy."

Mother Seraphine nodded in relief after Sera gave her a reasonable explanation. She thought it made sense.

Her son had grown up after all.

’He must have his reasons,’ she thought, then looked at Sera with a smile.

"Thank you, Miss Sera, for sharing the news. We really had no idea about this."

"Umm, my father probably wouldn’t have said anything to us."

Cedric also agreed with his wife, though he couldn’t help but feel a little more resentful toward his father.

It felt like after meeting that brat yesterday, his father had completely stopped caring about him.

"Come on, Madam Seraphine, didn’t I say there’s no need to add ’Miss’ while calling me?"

Sera suddenly smiled like a flower when she saw them thanking her, then quickly corrected Seraphine with a pout.

"You can just call me Sera. Lucien and I are quite close. There’s no need to put distance between us now, is there?"

She acted as if offended, causing both Seraphine and Cedric to smile a little awkwardly.

In fact, they were also extremely curious about when their son had become acquainted with the Eldest Princess Sera.

After all, she was a league of her own, already in the Early stage of the Arcanist realm. She wasn’t like Lilith, who was of same age and power level as Lucien.

Not to mention, from her excitement and her effort to get close to them like right now, it made them wonder if there was something else going on between them.

In fact, their suspicion was going strong from the beginning when she came with Garrick all alone.

But they couldn’t directly ask such things, could they?

So, Seraphine just smiled slightly and accepted the offer, as she also didn’t want to use honorifics for someone younger than her.

"Okay, Sera. Once again, thank you for the news. Do you want to have some more tea?"

She asked, not finding anything else to say. Honestly, from the beginning, it was Sera who had been directing the conversation. But what Sera said next really threw her off guard.

"No need, mother... cough—I mean, Madam Seraphine."

Sera coughed lightly to hide her embarrassment over the slip of her tongue, while she declined more tea, having already had two cups.

"So, I heard that the Lionheart family declared war on the Goldveil family. They even said they’ll kill Lucien if he leaves the capital?"

She asked, attempting to change the topic.

"Yeah, that is basically the case. Sigh...but they’re just being used as a gunpoint, and the real mastermind is someone else. You probably already know that."

Seraphine nodded to Sera, acknowledging their predicament. Because of this, Malcolm had even decided to leave their business in the Edoria Kingdom.

"Yeah, I heard it’s Duke Castor. That bastard doesn’t know anything better and had to put his hands where they don’t belong."

Sera said in a rage, cursing one of the dukes of her own kingdom, causing both of Lucien’s parents to twitch their mouths.

"Tch, if it were only the Lionheart family, I could have helped you out of this trouble. But with Duke Castor... this situation is out of my hands. I don’t have much weight in the core politics of this kingdom."

Sera sighed, as if apologizing to Seraphine and Cedric for her incompetence.

Although to outsiders, it seemed like she was highly regarded in the Edoria Kingdom due to her Phoenix bloodline, that was all there was to it.

At most, she was just a precious product of the king’s failed experiment.

Although people around her showed respect, she didn’t have actual power of her own, nor could she demand that Duke Castor stop targeting the Goldveil family.

"Haha... just the fact that you feel this way already makes us happy. No need to feel bad."

Seraphine laughed after seeing the dejected look on the girl in front of her, feeling a little touched. She could, of course, see that what Sera said came from genuine feelings.

"This war isn’t something we can decide. There’s no need to involve yourself recklessly for us."

If a princess publicly supported their family, the situation could escalate, giving off the wrong signals. So, for now, it was better if Sera simply showed personal support.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you for understanding, mother... I mean, Madam Seraphine. Sorry!"

Sera nodded to Seraphine in agreement, then once again acted as if she had slipped her tongue, correcting herself awkwardly with an apologetic look.

But this time, Seraphine didn’t let it go like before. After talking with Sera this long, if she still didn’t understand, she would be a fool.

So, instead of brushing off her blunder like before, Seraphine suddenly came closer and grabbed Sera’s tender hands with hers, surprising her in the process.

"No need to apologize, Sera. In fact, you can always call me mother, at least when we are alone. I actually like it a lot."

Seraphine said with a twinkle in her eyes while simultaneously observing Sera’s figure and demeanor.

Now that she took a closer look, although Sera seemed older than Lucien, her beauty, power, and status all seemed perfect for a daughter-in-law.

Not to mention, she could clearly see that this girl was trying so hard to come closer to them, even calling her "mother" twice.

If she believed she slipped up, she might as well drown in a spoonful of water.

’Wow, my son managed to get a princess to fall for him. I never knew he was this good.’

Seraphine didn’t believe all these things weren’t because of Lucien. Although Sera acted carefully, she could see through her feelings and intentions clearly.

"Why correct it? Didn’t you say you’re a friend of Lucien? I think it’s okay to call me mother at times. Don’t you think so?"

Seraphine suddenly looked at Cedric, who had been acting oblivious from the beginning. But after seeing the signal from his wife, what could he do?

He immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Yeah, yeah. There’s no need to feel distant from us, Sera. You can call her mother as much as you want."

He even added a little more to lighten the atmosphere.

"In fact, why don’t you call me father, too? We only have that stupid son with us. If he can help us get a daughter, that would make us happy too."

Cedric said, making Sera’s pitch red. Although his words seemed normal, she could feel the implied meaning.

But even after realizing it, she didn’t deny it at all and even acted as if she didn’t understand. This girl really had some brains in this department.

"Is this really okay? Won’t Lucien get angry if he finds out?"

Instead, she acted a little awkward and asked again, sounding a bit timid.

Her cheeks were already showing a pink hue due to her shyness, but the naked excitement in her eyes couldn’t be hidden from Seraphine, who was so close to her, making her feel her guess was right.

"Yeah, of course. And why would Lucien get angry just because you call me mother? If he says anything, tell me, and I’ll show him who his mother is."

Seraphine said with a smile and encouraged Sera.

"Okay, don’t act so distant now. Tell me what you should call me."

She seemed really eager to hear that word from Sera’s mouth, this time not as a slip. Seraphine felt like she was meeting her daughter-in-law for the first time.

How exciting!

’Sigh... my son has really grown up. He directly got me such a beautiful princess as a daughter-in-law.’

She thought, feeling happy, her eyes fixated on Sera, who fidgeted a little nervously and finally said softly, as if in a whisper,

"Mother!"

"Hmm? Haha... why are you so shy all of a sudden? You can say it loudly whenever you want. No need to feel distant."

Seraphine laughed and encouraged Sera, releasing her hand in the process.

When she heard the word "mother" from Sera’s mouth, she felt so good that her laughter echoed throughout the room.

"Hmm? What happened, mother? Did you hear a joke? Why are you laughing so loudly?"

Just as she was about to ask Sera to repeat the word, Seraphine’s laughter was abruptly cut off by a curious voice and the sound of the door opening.