Chapter 51: Mammon's Heart Aches for His "Precious Daughter"
"Mr. Mammon, there's something I'd like to ask your advice about."
After chatting for a bit, Lillie had calmed down enough to venture the question — though not without hesitation.
"'Advice' is much too formal. Please, go ahead, Lillie."
Mammon was still playing with Nebby. The little Cosmog really was impossibly cute.
"Well, you see… I have a friend."
Clearly, Lillie still couldn't bring herself to speak directly. She'd deployed the classic "asking for a friend."
Mammon chuckled softly but didn't call out the girl's paper-thin cover story.
"She used to have a perfect family. A caring father, a gentle mother, a brother who doted on her."
Lillie stared at her lap, her feet swinging unconsciously as her memory drifted back to those days.
How happy she'd been then.
"But there was an accident. Her father went missing. And after that, her gentle mother began to change."
"She stopped caring about what her children felt. She became cold and detached, never considering their thoughts. She grew unbearably strict — frightening."
Lillie's voice dropped lower and lower. Yes — this was where she was now.
She was afraid of Lusamine. Terrified of Lusamine. She didn't even dare see Lusamine.
Because she knew. Her mother had changed — into someone almost unrecognizable.
"And then her mother wanted to do something terribly dangerous. Her children couldn't take it anymore, and they both ran away from that cold, empty mansion."
"Mr. Mammon… do you think they did the right thing?"
Lillie was lost. She had no idea whether fleeing Aether Paradise with Nebby had been the right choice.
"A family falling apart, huh." Mammon pretended to think it over.
"It's hard for an outsider to say whether it was right or wrong. How about this, Lillie — let me ask you a question."
Mammon considered for a moment, then replied.
"Does your friend believe her mother still loves her?"
Lillie went still. And then, with a sinking feeling, she realized — she didn't know.
"I… she doesn't know. She doesn't know if her mother still loves her."
Lillie's voice shrank to almost nothing, thick with sadness. Her eyes began to sting and redden.
How heartbreaking was that? They shared the closest bond blood could create — and yet she couldn't even say whether Lusamine loved her.
"That is serious, then."
Mammon watched the hurting girl and sighed quietly.
Lusamine — you really have a lot to answer for.
Turning someone as sweet as Lillie into this anxious, melancholic version of herself — that took effort.
Fine. I'll put Lusamine through another round tonight. She's wearing a camisole and thigh-highs this time. And twin-tails. And she's calling me "Daddy."
What could he say? Mammon just cared that much about his "precious daughter's" wellbeing.
"How should I put this… Lillie, speaking purely from my personal perspective — running away isn't really a good thing."
But the real reason he'd sought Lillie out today was to help untangle the knot in her heart.
Lillie kept her head bowed, lifting a hand to wipe the tears gathering in her eyes. She didn't dare look up — she didn't want Mammon to see her like this.
But she was listening to every word.
"Whatever happens, the bond between family — between blood — isn't something that breaks easily. Let me tell you a story. When I was very young, my mother passed away. And ten years ago, my younger brother vanished."
Mammon's tone was matter-of-fact.
"..." Lillie went rigid. She'd never have guessed that someone as sunny, warm, and cheerful as Mammon came from a broken home too.
"But my father has never given up searching for my brother. Even now, ten years later."
Mammon said it with quiet feeling.
He was technically a transmigrator, though "reincarnator" was more accurate — he'd been born directly into this world's version of his mother. She'd died when he was three. And when he was six, his younger brother Silver had disappeared.
Mammon knew the plot well enough to guess who'd taken Silver. But what good did knowing do?
Tell Giovanni? Have Giovanni go demand the boy back from that old monster?
He could, sure. For all Giovanni's cold-blooded ambition, his love for his children was genuine and profound — he'd lay down his life without hesitation.
But telling Giovanni the truth would be signing Giovanni's death warrant.
Because the old monster in Johto was simply too powerful. The absolute pinnacle of trainers in this world's recorded history — an unprecedented, unreachable peak.
Well… unless this world's ancient Hisui region had once produced a certain little freak of nature named Rei.
"I'm sorry — I made you remember painful things." Lillie's guilt was immediate.
"No, all of that is long past. Neither my father nor I are trapped in those memories."
Mammon smiled.
"What I want you to understand, Lillie, is this: even though my brother has been missing for ten years — even though there hasn't been a single trace of him in all that time — my father still hasn't given up. That's what the bond of family creates. That depth of devotion."
Mammon's gentle voice was soft and warm, and it left the golden-haired girl gazing at him in a quiet daze.
Mr. Mammon's father must be a truly wonderful, responsible man.
Both Mr. Mammon and his father… they're so strong and so admirable.
That was what Lillie was thinking.
"Of course, my family's situation doesn't represent everyone's. But I do believe that if people truly are family, then no matter what the conflict — it can be resolved."
"Let me ask one more question, Lillie. Has your 'friend' ever opened her heart to her mother? Really talked to her?"
"Talked to her?" Lillie blinked.
"Yes. An honest, nothing-held-back conversation. Telling her mother exactly how she feels and what she thinks. Being brave enough to say it out loud."
"I… no. Never."
Lillie bit her lip. Have an honest heart-to-heart with Lusamine? Something like that…
She'd truly never considered it. She was shy by nature — not exactly introverted, but certainly not an outgoing girl.
"Lack of communication is one of the main reasons conflict festers in families."
Mammon put his finger directly on one of the root causes of the Aether family's dysfunction.
Lusamine had undeniably warped over the years. But Lillie and Gladion's inability to act had also been a contributing factor in Lusamine's downward spiral.
After all, Lusamine did love Lillie and Gladion — even if that love had curdled into something closer to possessive control.
Then again, you couldn't really blame Lillie for any of it.
She and Gladion had been children. Lillie was shy and reserved; Gladion was stoic and silent. Expecting either of them to sit Lusamine down for an open, vulnerable conversation? Without some outside push, that was never going to happen.
"I see now…" Lillie murmured, the realization dawning. She bit her lip with self-reproach.
"Have you figured things out, Lillie? If you need help — well, you're so cute that I suppose I could lend a hand."
"Huh?" Lillie's eyes went wide.
"After all, you're really not the kind of girl who can hide what she's feeling. It's written all over your face. That 'friend' is actually you, isn't it?"
Mammon grinned, watching the crimson creep across her cheeks once more.
"If you ever need help, come find me. I'm quite a strong trainer, you know."