Chapter 803: Carmela, The Mother Collector
Meanwhile, Carmela was watching from the sidelines with mixed emotions.
Part of her was genuinely happy for Joy. But another part of her felt a pang of jealousy.
Carmela loved children. She had always wanted to be around them, to protect them, to nurture them.
But children were terrified of her. With her hood always pulled up to block the sun, her gloomy appearance, and her cold expression, she looked like something out of a nightmare.
Whenever she got too close to children, they would cry and run away.
So she had learned to keep her distance. She would watch from afar, smile quietly to herself, and never approach.
She took a step back, trying to blend into the shadows so she wouldn’t disturb the adorable scene.
But then a soft voice came from her side.
"Excuse me...could you possibly be...Carmela?"
Carmela froze. It was Olga.
She had somehow glided over without a sound, and now stood before her, looking up with curious, kind eyes.
That direct, unflinching, genuine gaze made Carmela feel strangely exposed. She felt a blush threaten to rise on her brown cheeks. She managed a stiff nod.
"I...I am. Carmela. Yes."
The moment the confirmation left her lips, Olga’s entire face lit up as if someone had ignited a star behind her eyes.
"Carmela!"
Before Carmela could react, Olga threw herself forward and wrapped her in the warmest embrace she had ever experienced.
Carmela was so shocked that she couldn’t even move.
"I finally got to meet you!" Olga exclaimed, squeezing her tight. "I can’t believe I finally got to meet you, Carmela!"
"I thought the day would never come with how elusive you are!"
Carmela was completely taken aback.
"You...You know about me?"
Olga pulled back slightly, but she didn’t let go completely. Her hands remained on Carmela’s shoulders, her eyes bright with excitement.
"Of course I do! Skadi mentions you all the time in her letters!" Olga smiled warmly. "She writes to us regularly. Even though her handwriting is all over the place and her vocabulary isn’t always correct, she always tries her best."
"And in this past month or so, almost every letter has something about you in it."
Carmela felt her heart flutter. "She...She writes about me?"
"Oh yes!" Olga clasped her hands together. "She told us all about how scary you seemed at first—how her tail would be on alert whenever you were near.
"But then as time passed, she realized you were actually a really nice person instead."
Carmela’s face burned. She could feel the flush spreading across her cheeks, and she was grateful for the darkness that partially hid her embarrassment.
"She also talked about how strong you are." Olga continued, her voice full of admiration. "She said she looks up to you so much because of your power and your skill."
"She told me about how you train with her sometimes, and even though you’re incredibly fast, you always hold back just enough so she can learn."
"She told you about that?" Carmela whispered.
"Of course she did!" Olga beamed. "She even said you often buy her treats and leave them at her doorstep—and that you’re too shy to hand them over directly, so you just run away before she can catch you!"
Carmela wanted to sink into the ground.
All her secret acts of kindness, the treats she’d left for Skadi, the little gestures she’d hoped no one would notice had been discovered!
"And most of all." Olga said softly, her eyes shimmering. "She told me that you’re her newest best friend."
"She said she’s never had a friend like you before, and she’s so, so happy that you’re in her life!"
Carmela’s heart was racing so fast she thought it might burst out of her chest.
She’d never expected to hold such a high position in Skadi’s life.
She remembered how it had started—Skadi running circles around her, asking endless questions like a curious little puppy, while Carmela coldly ignored her.
But Skadi had been relentless. Like a sun that refused to set, her warmth had slowly melted through all the ice around Carmilla’s heart.
And now, hearing that Skadi wrote about her in her letters, that Skadi considered her a best friend...
...Carmela felt emotions she’d thought had died long ago surging to the surface.
Tears began to form in her eyes.
Olga noticed immediately. "Oh no! What did I do? I’m so sorry!"
"God damn it, Olga!" Theo shouted from the side. "This is why I told you that you can’t say such personal things the moment you meet someone! It’s too much for them!"
But Carmela quickly shook her head, wiping at her eyes.
"No, no. You did nothing wrong. I just...I thought about something else."
Despite her words, more tears kept coming.
Olga’s motherly instincts kicked in immediately.
She grabbed Carmela and pulled her into that same warm embrace, pressing Carmela’s face into her soft, comforting chest.
"There, there, Carmela." She cooed, stroking her hair. "There, there. It’s alright. Everything’s going to be alright."
Carmela’s breath caught. She felt so safe, so warm, so loved.
Olga leaned down and whispered in her ear. "While talking to Maria, I also heard about you. I heard that she adopted you as her daughter."
Carmela’s eyes shimmered. Maria had proclaimed that to the rest of the world?
Her heart swelled with warmth.
Olga pulled back slightly, her expression shy as she hesitantly said,
"I know this might be abrupt, especially since we just met, but ever since I read those letters and saw how much my daughter adores you, I’ve always thought of you as my own daughter too."
She reached out and gently cupped Carmela’s cheek.
"So if you’d like, Carmela...can I also treat you as my own daughter?"
Carmela was speechless.
"You don’t have to call me Mommy or anything."
Olga added quickly, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
"I just want to spoil you a little bit. Like I do with Skadi and her sisters."
Carmela felt the tears coming again.
This was too much. Too much kindness, too much warmth, too much love being offered without any conditions.
She’d spent so many years alone, believing she didn’t deserve love after she caused her mother’s end.
But here was Olga, offering it freely just like Maria did.
"You don’t have to answer right away." Olga said quickly. "I know this is a lot to take in—"
"Yes."
Carmela’s voice was soft but certain.
"Yes, I would like that. I-I would like that very much."
Olga’s face lit up like the sun. She pulled Carmela into another tight hug, and Carmela felt something inside her finally begin to heal.
It only made sense, as just like how Joy had a father complex, Carmela had a mother complex.
As long as there was a loving mother in front of her, she couldn’t say no.
—
Skadi, who had been watching the emotional scene with a happy grin on her face, couldn’t resist any longer.
"Mama, Mama! Can I join in too? Can I get a hug as well?"
Olga laughed, spreading her arms wider. "Come here, darling."
Skadi bounded over and threw herself into the embrace, wrapping her arms around both her mother and Carmela.
"This is the best! The absolute best!" She declared, her tail wagging so hard it was practically fanning the air.
The four little sisters, who had been swarming Joy, noticed the group hug and immediately dashed over.
"Me too, Mama! Me too!"
"I also want a hug!"
"Don’t forget us!"
Soon, Olga was completely enveloped in a mass of bodies—a vampire, a wolf girl, four little munchkins, and Joy, who had been pulled in by the eager little ones.
The group was a tangle of limbs and fluffy tails and warm embraces, and Olga was loving every second of it.
But then she noticed one more person standing on the sidelines.
"Aisha, darling!" She called out. "Come here as well!"
Aisha, who had been watching the scene with a smile on her face, jerked in surprise.
"M-Me? You want me too?"
Olga’s expression turned stern—the kind of stern only a mother could achieve.
"Of course, Aisha! You’re acting as if I haven’t already considered you my daughter!"
Aisha felt her heart warm at the words.
She was an orphan—her village had been destroyed, her parents had abandoned her, and she’d been alone for so long.
But Olga had changed all that.
From the moment she’d heard Aisha’s story years ago when they first met, she’d accepted her with open arms.
She’d treated her like one of her own, given her motherly love and affection that Aisha had never experienced before.
Despite her feisty, independent personality, Aisha had found herself drawn to Olga’s warmth.
Sometimes, when she visited with Skadi, she’d end up lying in Olga’s lap, letting the older woman stroke her hair like a contented cat.
Now, hearing Olga call her over with such love in her voice, Aisha couldn’t resist.
She shyly approached the group and allowed herself to be pulled into the embrace.
Olga tried to call her sons, but they just harumphed and looked away as if they were too many for a hug.
And just like that a heartwarming scene was created.
Theo watched from the side, his heart warming at the sight.
It was beautiful.
But the perfect moment was interrupted when Cassius appeared, looking absolutely pitiful.
"Mother-in-law...as you know...I was tragically robbed of my own mother’s warmth at a tender age."
"I have never known the solace of a maternal embrace."
He looked up, his eyes glistening with expertly summoned moisture.
"Seeing this beautiful display of familial love...it stirs a deep longing."
"So, would it...Would it be too much to ask if I, too, could partake in this hug? Just for a moment?"
Theo’s sentimentality evaporated, replaced by volcanic fury.
"YOU DAMN BRAT!" He roared, his face turning puce.
"I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU’D TRY TO INFILTRATE THIS PURE MOMENT WITH YOUR HORMONE-DRIVEN SCHEMES!"
"GET YOUR GRUBBY HANDS AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!"
Olga shot her husband a stern look. "Darling, be quiet. Our son-in-law is a good man, and he deserves warmth just like everyone else."
Theo sputtered. "But—!"
Olga narrowed her eyes in a way that immediately silenced him.
Then she turned to Cassius with a warm smile.
"Come here, dear. Join us."
Cassius didn’t need to be told twice.
With a triumphant grin that made Theo’s blood pressure spike, he pushed his way straight into the center of the hug and was surrounded on all sides by softness.
Olga’s pillowy bosom pressed against his front. Aisha’s smaller frame was against one arm, Carmela’s cool presence against the other.
Fluffy wolf tails brushed his legs. Little hands clung to his coat. And he could also feel two pair of breasts on his back from Joy and Skadi.
He looked like he was in pure heaven.
Theo watched, twitching, his blood pressure audibly rising.
"He’s...He’s nestling...in the bosom of my family... son-in-law, my ass—"
"He’s the damn devil!"
