Abyssal Chronicles

Chapter 570 - 571: A Knife Hidden in a Smile

As for why his mother, who should have been enjoying her life in the winter forest, suddenly appeared near the capital of the Red Leaf Empire and even inexplicably appeared beside him, Pierre expressed his confusion.

However,

Considering that every time he did something wrong in the past, the bloody butterflies that his mother transformed into would often appear beside him inexplicably, Pierre, who had become accustomed to it, didn’t intend to dwell on this issue any further. Right now, what Pierre was most concerned about was how to explain himself to his mother?!

Releasing his power and sparring with human companions was clearly something his mother didn’t approve of. She had even warned them multiple times not to take action against human forces without permission.

And he…

It seemed that he had been a bit too enthusiastic with these humans just now...

Estimating the disapproval of his mother, Pierre sighed.

In addition,

Stealing a glance at the silent black-haired girl beside him, Pierre felt his heart pounding in nervousness. As a ’good son’ who had long accompanied his mother, he knew all too well that Yumo’s silence was a sign of impending anger. And when Yumo got angry, what awaited him was probably something dreadful...

Just thinking about a certain legendary weapon, Pierre shivered all over, lowered his head, and began to pray fervently in his heart, hoping that he would come out of this unscathed.

And at this moment,

Yumo who had been going around in circles, finally stopped and stood in front of Pierre.

Looking at the delicate ankle like white jade in his field of vision and those snow-white toe tips like tender lotus shoots, Pierre’s heart was almost about to jump out of his chest. Taking a deep breath, Pierre gathered his courage and was about to voice the ’appropriate’ reasoning he had thought about for a long time.

"Mom! Listen to me, I...?!!"

However,

Before Pierre could say a few words, Yumo’s slender fingers pressed against Pierre’s lips.

"Be quiet."

"Ugh..."

Faced with Yumo’s unquestionable tone, Pierre chose to remain silent and the emotions of fear in his deep purple eyes became even stronger.

However,

In Pierre’s imagination, that thunderous scolding didn’t come. On Miss Yumo’s face, there was not even a hint of anger. Instead, it was filled with concern and worry?

Then,

In Pierre’s somewhat incredulous gaze, Yumo slowly raised her hand and gently patted Pierre’s head. Then, she began to pinch Pierre’s cheeks gently.

"How... How come you’ve lost so much weight?"

While pinching, the black-haired girl couldn’t help but sigh. Her words were filled with genuine worry.

"Mom?"

"Really, you’ve lost weight."

Yumo continued to express her amazement. After pinching Pierre’s cheeks, she gently stroked his pale lilac hair, patted his arms, and even crouched down to poke her son’s abdominal muscles. She seemed to be conducting a physical examination on her son, leaving Pierre feeling utterly bewildered.

But he dared not resist and could only silently allow his mother to fiddle with him, even raising his hand in cooperation.

Meanwhile, Yumo silently examined her son’s body, observing and muttering to herself:

"You little brat, can’t you take care of yourself at all?"

"How much weight have you lost? Haven’t you been eating properly?"

"Your arms have also become thinner. You used to be so strong. Have you not been exercising lately?"

"Your hair has grown quite long, hasn’t it? Although I feel like boys shouldn’t have such long hair, well... it looks pretty good on you…"

"Have you become picky with your food again? Why is your complexion so pale? Malnutrition?"

"Why are you sweating so much? Is it hot?"

...

...

"!??"

As he watched his mother muttering to herself, her words filled with care and affection, Pierre’s initial anxiety gradually faded, replaced by a sense of confusion and warmth. Scenes from the past, when Yumo had cared for him in the winter forest, replayed in Pierre’s mind like a slide show.

At this moment, Yumo stopped her observations and looked at her stunned son with some helplessness:

"Sigh, come on, give Mommy a hug."

Saying that, Yumo didn’t mind Pierre’s dumbfounded expression and embraced him. She gently patted Pierre’s back with one hand.

"It’s been so long, you little brat"

"Mom!"

Feeling his mother’s physical embrace for the first time, Pierre was deeply moved and couldn’t help but hug his mother back. At that moment, all of Pierre’s inner anxieties and uncertainties seemed to disappear, replaced by a warm atmosphere.

’Mom still loves me, Sniff*...’

Pierre murmured emotionally in his heart as he held his relatively petite mother tightly. Regardless of everything, Pierre had been away from home for a long time, and he missed his mother. Now that he was once again feeling the familiar gentleness and warmth, he couldn’t help but be immersed in it, entering a state of bliss.

After all,

His mother still loved him. After decades of separation, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to scold or even lay a hand on her son as soon as they met, right?

Thinking about it, Pierre couldn’t help but feel at ease and enjoyed his mother’s embrace with relived smile.

...

After a moment of tenderness,

Miss Yumo slowly withdrew from Pierre’s embrace and caressed his face. She continued to ask with a concerned tone:

"Pipi, those people seemed quite strong, Did you get injured anywhere? If you did, does it hurt?"

"Huh? Injured?"

Hearing his mother’s caring words, Pierre blinked in confusion and then his arrogant nature unconsciously surfaced. Looking at his beautiful and cute mother, Pierre raised his chest proudly, placed his hands on his hips, and struck his usual arrogant pose. After a few disdainful laughs, Pierre patted his chest proudly:

"Injured?! How is that even possible?! Those losers couldn’t possibly hurt me! Mom, look at me, my body is in great shape!"

Saying that,

Pierre even flexed his muscles, striking a pose.

"Hoh~!"

Seeing her son act so confidently, Yumo clapped her hands happily.

"Then, do you feel tired? After all, you fought for so long~"

"Tired?! Not at all!"

Seeing his mother clapping for him, Pierre became even more boastful, shaking his head without noticing Yumo’s gradually fading sweet smile. Still like a child eager to show off his achievements, he continued to display his prowess to Yumo.

"Those guys, a bunch of nobodies, hardly took any effort from me! I could take on three more of them with no problem!" he declared.

"Oh, really? Pipi is so amazing," Yumo responded.

"Of course~"

"Well, if Pipi is fine and in such good spirits, then I can be at ease too. With that, I can focus on some important matters."

"Hmm? Important matters?"

Pierre tilted his head curiously, scratching the back of his head. He asked, "Mom, What important matters?"

"That would be~"

Yumo stepped forward again, approaching Pierre. Her gentle smile, which had been constant on her face, slowly disappeared as she spoke. Sensing something ominous, Pierre instinctively felt a sense of foreboding. His cocky expression instantly vanished, and he began to step back nervously:

"Mom?!"

In the next moment, to Pierre’s horror, Yumo’s expression changed rapidly, almost as fast as turning the pages of a book. In an instant, her smile vanished, and her face darkened. An indescribable chill emanated from her crimson eyes.

Then, Yumo slowly raised her hand and pointed to Luminous Royal Academy, where smoke was billowing.

"Pipi, tell me, what did you just do?"

"Huh?!"

Feeling the substantial darkness emanating from Yumo beside him, Pierre suddenly felt that something was terribly wrong. He instinctively tried to step back and escape.

However, Pierre’s thoughts couldn’t escape Yumo’s watchful eyes. Before he could take more than two steps backward, Miss Yumo’s slender fingers turned into merciless iron claws, grabbing Pierre’s face and lifting him off the ground as if he were a chick.

"Why aren’t you speaking, little Pipi~?"

"Mom... Mom, listen to my defense... I mean, my explanation! I definitely didn’t do it on purpose!!"

Pierre quickly raised his hand and grabbed Yumo’s wrist, attempting to struggle. Despite Pierre’s immense strength, he was still no match for Yumo.

After a brief struggle, he couldn’t budge Miss Yumo’s "Nine Yin Claw".

"Let... let me explain..." Pierre pleaded.

"Explanation, my foot! You little brat! You haven’t been in trouble for thirty years, and now you want to rebel, don’t you?! How many times have I told you not to attack humans without permission?! Why don’t you listen?! Are you feeling itchy in your butt?!"

"No, it’s not like that!"

Pierre hastily denied and spoke with a tone full of grievance.

"No, I didn’t initiate the attack! It was those humans who attacked me first! My identity got exposed somehow, and then I was surrounded! I only acted in self-defense! Mom, you have to believe me! They were bullying your son!" Pierre’s voice even began to quiver slightly.

"I was forced into this!"

As the second child in Yumo’s family, Pierre had also undergone training in Sebastian’s Acting Class. Pretending emotions was something he could manage. However, as one who ranked second-to-last in the class, Pierre obviously hadn’t mastered the finer points of acting.