After showing an even more overprotective and loving side to Arthur, Aria continues to smile at him with that expression so heart-warming.
But also, a curious glow arises in her gentle and wise eyes. "Arthur, you already know that mommy is on your side no matter what, but could you help me understand a few things?"
"Of course," Arthur can't deny anything to such a good mother.
Aria makes an even more thoughtful expression. "Draven told me what happened, but I wanted to hear this from your point of view."
"Hmm," Arthur makes a sorry expression. "I heard your conversation, he didn't exaggerate, I really did those things…"
"Hey, don't be sad," Aria places her hand on Arthur's leg and strokes it tenderly. "You did such things to protect the people in the village, right?"
He nods and she continues. "And you tortured those guys…"
"I had to know everything possible about them before planning the next move." Arthur explains.
"Mm~ mm~~" Aria nods as if she could understand something, but Arthur still doubts that that could expose his secret.
But then her next words leave him worried.
"Arthur, my beloved son..." She speaks in such a caring tone, really messing with his emotions. "Don't lie to mommy; how do you know how to torture people so efficiently?"
"WHAT???" Arthur is shocked that Aria isn't asking how he could do such a vile thing, but she just seems curious to understand how he was efficient.
Arthur tries to think of something, but nothing comes to mind. No answer other than the truth would make sense now, especially since his mother is so intelligent.
Aria can see that he is hesitant, so she begins to express her thoughts. "I never told you how to do something like that, and I believe neither did your father; after all, he couldn't do something like that,"
"I'm also sure that no one in this village could do the same... I also didn't let you have access to any book with such things…"
Aria's eyes sparkle with curiosity as she speaks. "What you did was not wrong, but the way you handled the situation doesn't make sense…"
"Arthur," She calls his name with that loving tone. "It's like a puzzle that mommy can't put together... and it may drive me crazy if I don't understand what's happening with my son."
*Glup*
The sound of Arthur swallowing dry echoes through the room. He feels cornered because continuing to lie to his mother is hurting her, but the truth could make her never look at him the same way again.
"Why are you so afraid to tell me it, my son?" She asks.
"It's just... this..." Arthur sighs and looks away. "I'm afraid of losing what's most precious to me... this life... my sister... you."
Aria feels her heart hurt when she sees her son sad. "Why would you lose anything? That doesn't make sense."
"You won't look at me the same way if you find out how sinister the shadows inside me are..." He says, depressed.
But instead of words, he feels the delicate and warm hand of Aria lift his face, making him look at her big blue eyes, shining with love.
"Nothing you say to mommy will change how I feel about you," She speaks lovingly. "No matter how many shadows are in your heart, mommy will always love you because you are the most perfect son I could ever desire."
Arthur is surprised by how much Aria can make him feel loved, which makes him love her more and more.
He can't hide anything from her anymore; he doesn't want to do it ever again.
Nyx feels that Arthur is in a hard dilemma, so she expresses her opinion in his mind. "You can tell her; she won't reject you, I'm sure."
Arthur also begins to think that, so he tries to explain how he can be her son but still have a part of him that is Liam.
"I have this..." He sighs as he tries to explain. "This thing inside me..."
"Hmm..." Aria listens to his words attentively with a curious expression.
He pauses and instinctively looks at Eve in his arms; he definitely doesn't want that little angel to have contact with his dark side.
Aria notices his concern. "Don't worry, she has a heavier sleep when she's sleeping with her big brother; after all, she loves him the most."
Arthur smiles upon hearing that, but then his expression becomes cold and sad when thinking about Liam's life.
"I don't know how this happened..." He tries to explain even though he doesn't understand almost anything about that yet. "But I had this inside me... memor-"
"Memories of another life?" Aria completes Arthur's words before him, shocking him and Nyx.
"How? How do you know already??" Arthur finds his mother very intelligent, but how could she know about his second personality within the deepest and darkest part of him?
Aria seems very relieved now, as if she had taken a weight off her shoulders.
And contrary to a bad reaction that Arthur always thought such a thing would cause, she continues looking at him with that loving expression.
" I already suspected this," She speaks with some pride in her tone. "Your mommy isn't stupid; I knew there was something different about you from the very beginning."
"Really?" Arthur is very confused, but happy that Aria doesn't seem disappointed.
"Mm~" She nods while continuing to smile. "The day you were born was one of the happiest days of my life; you were such a beautiful, perfect baby boy..."
"You awakened my most powerful instincts but also left me quite curious and perplexed,"
Aria points to Arthur's low belly area. "It wasn't just because you were born with a heart-shaped Nexus, but also because I could see in your eyes that your potential would be unlimited."
Arthur can't help feeling proud that Aria has so much faith in him. Liam didn't have time to understand how good it was to have a mother who supports him all the time, so as Arthur, he wants to enjoy it to the fullest.
Aria smiles at seeing her son's eyes shining. "Oh my~ I think every mother sees their children as special, but I was certain that you were more than special,"
"But you acted like a normal child until you were five," She makes a nostalgic expression. "Then things started to get a lot more interesting..."
Arthur always saw himself as a kind of aberration due to his nightmares, and that's why he always tried to hide such a side and just seem like a normal child.
But it seems Aria saw through him from the beginning, and instead of feeling something bad, she found him… "Interesting?"
"How could I ask for a better mother???" He wonders, very happy and grateful.
Aria's eyes continue to shine as she explains how she sees Arthur. "You have always been a perfect child, but you started to see the world in a different way; I can't explain it well..."
"You seemed to enjoy food more, enjoy playing with me more, even waking up and seeing the sun through your bedroom window was reason enough to make you smile the whole day..."
"You have always been happy, but it seemed that with each day you became even happier... and of course, there is the fact that you also started to mature faster,"
"You tried to hide it, but mommy knows her little boy well," Aria speaks and giggles lovingly, which gives her a kind of charm that touches Arthur's heart in all possible ways.
She puts her fingers on her chin while making a thoughtful expression. "You were my first child, so I tried to understand what was happening to you,"
"I sought an answer in books and even talking to other women in the village, but I never found a reason that justified your peculiar growth and the way it made you enjoy life even more,"
A glint passes through her eyes as she remembers something. "That's when I found something very peculiar, too..."
She pauses mysteriously, leaving Arthur very curious. "What was it???"
Aria looks around and then at little Eve sleeping. "Not here,"
Arthur is confused, then his mother stands up and extends her hand to him. "Come with me, I'll show you."
He starts to get up instinctively but then notices that Eve is still sleeping in his arms.
The girl seems to feel his movement and hugs his waist while still sleeping. "Big brother…"
"Damn, she's so cute!" Arthur exclaims in his mind while staying still so as not to wake the happy girl.
"Oh my~" Aria shakes her head and smiles. "She thinks about you even when she's sleeping; such a loyal sister."
Arthur can only smile and cast a confused look at his mother.
She takes the pillow behind his back and, with a quick movement, pulls him out of the bed and gives the pillow for Eve to hug.
The girl seems to be fooled by the trick and hugs the pillow tightly while continuing to sleep.
"Really???" Arthur casts another confused look at his mother. "How is that possible?"
"It's because of your scent," Aria responds with a smile.
"My scent?" Arthur never found anything special about his smell.
Aria again makes her thoughtful and charming expression. "So this is also as I thought… you can't smell your own scent?"
Arthur smells his sleeve and only notices the perfume of the soap on his clean clothes and also the soap he used in the bath.
His confused expression makes Aria more certain about her theories. "I never mentioned it because you seemed not to notice it; also, neither your father nor other men notice it either, but women…"
"Women what?" Arthur is so confused, he wants to understand how his mother knows about his memories of another life, but now he also wants to know what kind of smell he has.
But then he sees his mother make an expression that he has never seen on her face before, a mixture of affection, passion, and embarrassment.
"Is her face really blushing???" Arthur can't help but find his mother even more beautiful now, and that is problematic because he can't prevent specific feelings from arousing inside his body. "Damn!!"
"Oh my~ how should I explain it?" Aria really blushes, which adds an extra layer of beauty to her already perfect look.
Arthur becomes even more curious and shocked when he hears Aria's explanation.
"You smell so good... it's a kind of smell that arouses the most intense and wild instincts of a woman."
"What the?!" Arthur doesn't understand how he could smell that way and not notice it.
But the way Aria is looking at him with that aroused expression makes him feel guilty and then worried.
He looks at little Eve, hugging his pillow, and almost immediately takes it from her hands.
But Aria holds his arm and prevents him from doing it. "It's okay; she doesn't have such instincts yet, so your smell must be like a sweet candy to her, a delicious candy, I bet."
That still seems crazy to Arthur, and he starts to wonder if his mother is just messing with him.
"Nyx? Is this true?" He asks her mentally.
"H-how should I... I m-mean, I think I didn't notice a-anything..." She starts to stutter, and Arthur is already sure that she is lying due to her shyness.
"Don't lie to me," He speaks in a determined tone. "How do I smell?"
She has to contain her shyness and be honest with him. "She is right, your smell is really good..."
"How good?" He asks, curious.
"Don't make me say that..." She says in a super shy and cute tone.
Arthur doesn't want to push Nyx so hard, but he needs to understand what kind of scent he has that makes even his mother act strangely.
"Nyx, you need to tell me it,"
She needs some time to gather the courage to speak honestly, but she does it and exclaims in his mind.
"So freaking good!! Is that what you want to know? You smell like pure pleasure; it's so good that I'm already addicted!!"
Finally, she gets stressed because he forced her to say that and remains silent after saying some last words.
"YOU…"
"BAKA!!!"