"You are here." Camilla greeted Bloed and Regina with a smile.
"Mother." Bloed smiled. Regina also nodded briefly.
"Sit. The food will be served soon. I heard Tito say that today's dinner is fried chicken with French potatoes bathed in cheese. My mouth is already watering."
Bloed grinned. "Nice! I'm starving…"
"Hahaha, you are always starving. Do you think I don't know you hid potato chips in your room?"
Bloed was embarrassed. To be honest, though, anybody would love food as much as him after surviving one entire year eating raw meat and insects and drinking fresh blood.
"Reginleif, will you eat?" Camilla asked.
"… Food is not something necessary for my body… But I think I want a little." Regin said.
"That is good." Camilla nodded. "Food is one of mankind's best pleasures. Learning to enjoy food will help you to be more human."
"… More human, huh." Regina nodded and fell silent.
A few minutes later, the food was served. As was the habit in this family, the food was gone in an instant. Actually, Bloed was the one that ate the most. He ate almost five times more than Camilla and Regina combined.
Plus, after the body enhancement operation, Bloed's appetite had become increasingly bigger. He was still thinking about repeat again.
At that moment, Camilla looked at him.
"Bloed, what are your plans for the future?"
"… Plans?" Bloed was stunned. Camilla had never asked him something like this.
"Yes, plans." Camilla turned serious. "You are not thinking about staying in this corner of the world forever, right?"
Bloed fell silent. Actually, he never considered leaving.
This place was like his paradise. Here, he had Camilla, Tito, and Regina, his only loved ones. What reason he had to leave?
Camilla seemed to understand everything from his silence. With a sigh, she tapped the table twice and spoke.
"Bloed, the world is very big. You can't spend all your life here. Sooner or later you will have to leave. And when you do, you will have to face the world that abandoned you."
"But mother, what is wrong with staying here? I like this place. What else ca–"
*BAM!*
Camilla slammed the table hard.
"Bloed, stop being a child! You are already fifteen! Don't you have a dream? Something you want to do? You are my son! I want to be proud of my son and be able to say, he is my son!"
"… Are you not proud of me now?"
Camilla was startled before shaking her head with a bitter smile. "Of course, I'm proud of you. But you can't spend all your life here. Bloed, you must go to the outside world, meet the sights this world has to offer and discover the unknowns you can't discover here."
Camilla then moved her wheelchair beside Bloed and caressed his cheek. "… Go, my son. Find your dream."
Bloed fell silent for a moment.
"… Will you go with me?" He suddenly asked.
Camilla's expression turned complicated. "… No. I can't accompany you this time."
"Why?"
"… It's complicated, Bloed, but I can't. Don't worry, Regina will go with you."
Bloed turned silent.
Bloed did not want to leave. He did not have good memories of the outside world, and besides, he considered the spaceship as the perfect place in this world. Here, he could experiment freely, he could eat with his mother, the woman he loved, and could tease Regina when he was bored.
… But he also understood Camilla's point. Actually, going to sightsee around the world was not so bad.
But he wanted go with Camilla.
"Mother, I will not go without you."
"… I'm sorry, Bloed. I can't."
"I don't understand. You can use your armor to walk, and I read once that there is a very powerful healing mage somewhere in the continent. Maybe he can heal your body!"
"Don't insist, Bloed."
"But–"
"I said not!"
Bloed froze.
Camilla's reaction was strange.
Instantly, a bad presentment filled his heart.
"… Mother, are you hiding something from me?"
"…"
"… Tito, what is happening?"
[… I'm sorry, young master. I'm not authorized to talk about it.]
"… Indeed, there is something."
"Bloed, please stop…"
Bloed furrowed his brows. For some reason, his heart felt unusually heavy. Now that he thought about it, Camilla's behavior lately had been strange.
She brought his operation forward without a reason and increased Bloed's classes with her. She even offered herself to teach him bioengineering, and even now, she was talking about his future plans…
… It was as though she was preparing him for something.
… As though she was going to–
*Cough cough!*
"… Mother?"
"… I'm fine." Camilla smiled weakly towards Bloed. But then–
*Cough!* *Cough cough cough!* *Cough cough cough!*
–Camilla started to cough blood.
"Mother!" Bloed's expression changed. He hurriedly tried to help her, but the coughing did not stop. Instead, it became stronger!
"Tito! Regina! Help! Something is happening to mother!"
"*Cough* W-Wait… Bloed, I have something to tell you… *Cough cough!*"
"S-Stop mother, everything will be alright. Tito! Where are the robots!?"
[They are coming, young master.]
"What is happening!?"
[…]
"Tito!"
"S-Son… *Cough* P-Please, l-listen, *Cough cough!*"
"Mom mom, I'm here, tell me."
Camilla looked at Bloed and smiled. She then opened her mouth to say something.
But then, the coughing fit turned increasingly intense.
Camilla coughed and coughed, unable to stop the blood from escaping her mouth.
Today was the day. Finally, her organs could not endure anymore.
Camilla stared at the panicked Bloed with a saddened gaze. Unfortunately, she did not have more time.
The next second, her consciousness faded out.
Only Bloed's cries of panic could be heard.
...
Only three chapters until the end on this arc, :p