Shuri's current expression was truly a sight for sore eyes, at least that was the case for Cecilia. After all, in the twenty years that she had known the woman, Shuri had always acted like a mature woman with endless composure. Even though she had only been a young girl when they had first met.
It was very rare to see her get flustered about anything and that too in such a manner.
Sadly though, as was normal with Shuri by now, she was able to take control of her expression rather fast. And the flustered expression soon morphed into a troubled sigh.
"Was I that obvious?"
"Hmm… Well not really, to be exact. I say I think you only have the hots for him. Though I understand you. My son is handsome."
Cecilia humphed proudly when she talked about her son. Like any other mother out there, she thought her son to be the most handsome and perfect man on earth.
The only difference was that, in her case, Adam was at least the most charming human out there right now so she was not wrong about that. [1]
Shuri was left speechless as she was unable to counter Cecilia's words. But in the end, she simply sighed and nodded her head in acknowledgment.
She had no intentions of hiding her emotions for Adam and she already had the thought of telling everything to Cecilia before going further in her relationship with Adam.
She just never imagined that it would happen so fast and Cecilia would be the one to approach her on this topic.
"I am sorry. I am sure that all of this might seem a little gross to you. I would understand if you ask me to not approach Adam anymore."
Here she was, a married woman in her thirties, lusting for a young man barely in his early twenties. The difference in age might not be a problem in some cases, but there was also the fact that she had basically helped in raising him until now and was practically family to him.
Even if she was accused of grooming, there would be nothing she could say because of how accurate that wording would be.
"I am sorry."
"Hmm… You don't really need to apologize to me, you know? Both of you are adults. Why would I interfere with whom Adam is planning to have a relationship with in the first place?"
Cecilia didn't care about age as it was irrelevant in the supernatural society past a certain point. Some people could live for hundreds of years and still look like they were in their middle ages. While some monsters could even surpass the thousands of years mark of lifespan.
This was why, one was considered an adult at 15 when one awakened or when one made their first kill.
After all, if one was old enough to kill then they were old enough to drink and gamble. Both Cecilia and Theresa had been considered and treated as adults ever since they were children after they killed the cultists with the dagger Musashi had given them.
Adam was now an adult in her eyes in every sense of the term and he would live for a very, very long time. Almost too long even…
If his curse was as strong as Cain's, then he would most likely live forever. Suffering eternally, all alone.
A bitter taste spread in her mouth at that thought. She knew a few human beings who had managed to cheat death and surpasses the limited lifespan even the strongest Hunters had.
But they were rarely happy. The mind of humans simply was not wired to live that long anymore.
Only those who were born immortals could actually support the weight of time and she sincerely hoped that Adam was in the second case.
"Cecilia?"
"Sorry. I was just thinking about something irrelevant."
She shook her head and took Shuri's hands in hers.
"Look. I am not saying that you should just directly go and bone my son. But whatever you end up doing, I will not be against it. I have no reasons to be against a consenting relationship between two consenting adults."
"I… Sigh~ Thanks."
Tears gathered at the corner of Shuri's eyes as she felt a huge weight suddenly vanish from her heart. She had been so hesitant and scared about this that she had forgotten how to sleep peacefully at this point. She was always left wondering how her life would change and if she would lose the friendship she had with Cecilia if her feelings were to be brought out into the open.
There were so many moral dilemmas, thoughts of stigma from society, her own relationship, and much more that were acting as shackles and limiting her actions and emotions.
Now though, the greatest shackle had been released and she felt like the other ones didn't matter as much as she thought they would…
"But… What about your husband?"
Shuri could only form a smile full of endless bitterness at those words, "I honestly don't know. But I am sure he is feeling far happier without me."
She explained the information she had found out and talked about her husband has created his own family and living a second life in Japan.
A hand was placed over her stomach as she felt endlessly gloomy. They had been married for years and never had a child no matter how much they tried.
She thought the problem was once on his side as she had made sure there was no problem on hers. But this showed that he had no problem either.
She did not understand where the problem was. They had tried nearly everything for years and went to many doctors. Even artificial insemination failed.
'Ugh…'
Images she had hidden deep in her mind surfaced and flashed but she simply shook her head and pushed them away to the furthest corners of her mind. All the blood flowed without end and the feelings of emptiness in her stomach kept churning on endlessly. Just thinking about those moments made her want to tear up even more.
The only option left was adoption or finding a surrogate mother.
Though now… Thinking of all that was useless.
Cecilia hugged Shuri, "I am sorry for making you remember bad memories."
There was no more smile on her face and all she did was take Shuri in her arms.
It was in a moment like this that she remembered that Shuri was just a frail woman who had a fragile heart and someone who hid her pain in the endless pursuit of work, success, and greater heights.
She had faced many terrible and unimaginable things in her life and had somehow managed to come out of them mostly unscathed. But they still left scars that were most likely never going to heal no matter what…
"Shh~ Don't cry. You are ruining your beautiful face. We don't want to scare Adam away now, do we?"
"Pfft~ haha."
Shuri chuckled out loud and let out a small laugh through her tears.
This was why she loved Cecilia so much and considered her to be her best friend.
No useless sympathy. But neither did she have a heart made out of stone.
She could be comforting when necessary and also lighten the atmosphere when needed.
"I am also really happy to have you as my friend."
It was a belated answer to Cecilia's earlier speech and to this, Cecilia gave a smug grin as she helped wipe away the tears from Shuri's face with a small tissue on her hands.
"I know. I am also happy that you have me as your friend. I am awesome after all."
Laughs once again bloomed in between the gloom and the moment of tears stopped once and for all.
[1]: I think I already explained this. But just to be clear, the stats Charm isn't just physical appearance. There is a limit to the change in the face. What it truly affect is the charisma and natural aura. In the same way, some people naturally seem more beautiful just by changing their clothes, standing a little straighter, etc. Pass D+ it's mostly the aura.
(AN: Welp. A little more knowledge about Shuri's life. It wasn't all rose and joy. Some things people get for granted are things over wish they could have even if a little. Still, having a true and loyal friend or family, in your worst moments, helping you and supporting you mentally is honestly one of the best things ever. The feeling of knowing that you aren't alone and that people actually care about you can do wonders for mental health.)
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