Chapter 44
A brief, awkward silence.
“…Uh, Mom?”
Vita was extremely flustered. This was completely unexpected.
But Vita wasn't the only one.
Ba-dum—
Her mother's expression was like she'd been struck by lightning.
Vita had absolutely no idea what to do.
“Oh, no, this is…!”
For now, Vita shoved Carlisle away in a panic.
Her face was bright red, and her pupils were practically vibrating.
Carlisle was flustered too, but he was pushed away more easily than expected.
“Uh, um… this is, well…”
She had no excuse. Since she'd been quietly nestled in his arms, Vita's mind had simply short-circuited before she could come up with one.
“Bi, Bia—”
Vita Shamal's mother, Mrs. Emma, cut herself off and covered her mouth.
She was an open-minded woman, but there were certain lines.
After all, this had been her son until recently. Seeing her child looking like that so soon was a shock.
‘I understand, of course.’
Now that she was a woman, it was only natural.
But as a parent, she couldn't help being surprised.
She was still so young. She probably knew nothing about the ways of the world. Still, she'd inherited her mother's eye for men, but this was bewildering beyond words.
So Mrs. Emma nearly made another slip before correcting how she addressed her.
“No, Bianca—!”
As a rule, any man with her daughter was practically a thief. Mrs. Emma had only realized that today. She had only ever had sons, so the shock was immense.
“How could a girl go around without a shred of caution…!”
Smack—smack—
Vita got a spanking from her mother for the first time in ages.
“Ow, Mom—!”
“What are you wearing?! Your clothes are completely soaked and clinging to you…”
Ah, so that was the problem. Vita spoke up at once.
“It’s the sports festival today…!”
“Oh, is that so…?”
At those words, Mrs. Emma paused, then smacked her on the rear again.
“That doesn't excuse you—!”
“Please let me explain!”
Vita's face crumpled.
Carlisle Schultz was just as flustered by the situation. At a loss, he spotted a brief opening and immediately bent at the waist.
“Hello, Mother!”
He bowed in greeting.
He had only one thought in mind: he had to make a good impression.
So Carlisle greeted her quite politely and properly, with an expression that clearly showed his nerves.
“W-well, all right.”
Mrs. Emma nodded slightly, looking somewhat awkward.
“I've heard so much about you.”
That came out of nowhere.
Vita had never once told Carlisle about her mother. Vita stared at him blankly for a moment, but Carlisle had returned to his usual slick demeanor.
“Bianca often says you look a lot like her mother…”
When did I ever?!
But Vita would never know that Carlisle was mustering up courage in his own way right now,
to make a good impression on the mother of the woman he liked.
In fact, her mother's voice softened slightly.
“Hmm, really…?”
“You really are beautiful.”
“Oh my, what a thing to say.”
A universal law: no woman dislikes a compliment about her appearance.
Of course, Mrs. Emma knew he was flattering her.
But seeing how he felt made her happy in its own way. At the very least, this boy seemed sincere about her daughter.
If so, that was good enough for now.
“Did she really say that?”
At her mother's smiling question, Vita couldn't deny it. Carlisle Schultz's expression, which she glimpsed out of the corner of her eye, was a little funny too.
Wasn't that look practically begging her to say yes?
“Haha, a little…?”
So Vita smiled and went along with it.
Even though it had never happened.
Mrs. Emma's mood suddenly eased, and after clearing her throat, she took another look at Carlisle.
Come to think of it, this young man was quite handsome.
‘Why is he so handsome…?’
But looks weren't what mattered. Realizing that, Mrs. Emma soon decided she was being silly and said aloud,
“Come in for now.”
‘Oh no, what do we do?!’
‘Why are you asking me?’
Vita and Carlisle exchanged that conversation with their eyes, then followed her inside nervously.
***
The three of them entered the room awkwardly.
Mrs. Emma busily filled the refrigerator. She had brought side dishes because she had been worried about her child in the first place.
“Let me help.”
“Oh, it's all right…”
Despite Mrs. Emma's protests, Carlisle sprang to his feet and started carrying the side dishes. Vita helped, too, of course.
Afterward, the three of them sat around the dining table.
“Have some juice.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Carlisle's polite attitude had put her at ease.
“I was startled earlier. Please try to understand.”
Mrs. Emma was open-minded by nature.
Actually, how should she put it?
The child who had once been her son had become a daughter.
She had come by briefly out of concern—wondering whether Vita was adjusting well to being a woman and whether anything was wrong—only to witness that scene by chance and become somewhat flustered.
She had four sons, after all.
For Mrs. Emma, that bizarre feeling from moments ago, as though she'd encountered a thief, was entirely new.
‘Fortunately, the boy seems pretty decent…’
Still, she was a mother. Mrs. Emma had a duty to make sure.
“Um, what exactly are you two…?”
“M-Mom…! It really isn't like that.”
Vita tried to deny it with a flustered expression, but an answer came from beside her.
“I like her.”
His gaze was quite direct, his attitude confident.
“Though it's still one-sided.”
With those words, Carlisle glanced at Vita for a moment. Her flushed expression didn't exactly look displeased.
“…Oh my.”
Mrs. Emma blinked both eyes.
What was this? Were these two actually serious about each other?
She had certainly been terribly startled earlier, but what parent wouldn't be interested in their child's love life?
The boy seemed nice, and her child also appeared more sincere than she'd expected.
For no good reason, Mrs. Emma felt her heart flutter.
By this point, Mrs. Emma's opinion of Carlisle had been revised upward as well.
‘If he's someone Vita likes, he must be a good kid.’
Even so, just in case, Mrs. Emma asked,
“You're not just fooling around, are you…?”
“No, absolutely not.”
His attitude passed the test for now.
He was polite, and the boy seemed to have some backbone, which she found a little appealing.
“And you…?”
She could more or less guess, but wasn't her child's feelings the most important thing? Mrs. Emma turned her gaze to Vita.
“He says it's one-sided.”
At that moment, Mrs. Emma felt a little mischievous. She asked another question to tease her on purpose.
“You haven't forced a hug on her or done anything bad when she didn't like it, have you?”
Show me how sincere you are!
“M-Mom…!”
The bait was taken immediately. Vita was quite flustered.
“What kind of question is that…”
Carlisle himself was right there. It was rude for her mother to ask such a question in front of him.
‘She's not usually like this…’
Even so, Vita felt she needed to correct her mother's unnecessary misunderstanding.
Carlisle might be a bit of a ladies' man, but he was absolutely not the kind of guy to force something like that on her.
“It's absolutely not like that! He's actually a pretty decent guy.”
Vita defended him before she even realized it.
Then her face turned red.
What was with that reaction?
Carlisle seemed to be holding back a laugh beside her. Her mother wore a subtle smile.
Only then did Vita finally realize that they had been teasing her.
“Ah, Mom…!”
“Do you like him too? It would be a little strange for you to be hugging if neither of you had feelings for the other.”
At her mother's follow-up, Vita was rendered speechless. She genuinely wanted to cry.
***
Judging by that reaction, her guess seemed to be right.
‘This is awfully fast, though…’
Now, seeing not a son but a daughter, Mrs. Emma felt relieved.
If they were both sincere, what more was there to say? A young man and woman liked each other, after all.
“So what are you two?”
She asked with a bright smile, feeling relieved.
She had always worried about what would happen if Vita couldn't adjust to life as a woman.
Vita couldn't answer and sat back down. Her face flushed hot, and her fingers and toes curled up in embarrassment.
‘How did this happen…?’
She glared at Carlisle beside her, who was pretending to be calm.
He pretended not to know anything, merely clearing his throat.
Vita felt like she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole. Fortunately, it seemed Carlisle had a conscience after all.
“We're in a ‘some’ relationship, Mother.”
He answered for Vita. Vita didn't exactly know what a ‘some’ relationship was, but in a fit of irritation, she immediately nodded along.
“Y-yes, that's right!”
“What is a ‘some’ relationship?”
Carlisle answered politely.
“It’s when two people have feelings for each other but aren’t dating yet. That’s what a ‘some’ relationship is.”
The juice Vita had been drinking caught in her throat, and she spat it right out.
“Cough—cough!”
What the hell was he talking about all of a sudden?
“Are you all right, Bianca?”
“Yes, yes. I'm fine.”
Vita immediately leaned close to Carlisle's ear and whispered.
-Hey, are you crazy…?!
-I'm trying to help you?
Carlisle whispered back just as quietly.
“You two really are close.”
Mrs. Emma was convinced.
Vita sulked and simply kept her mouth shut. Denying it now would make the whole picture look strange.
‘What a pointless thing to say…!’
Vita didn't know that, in her mother's eyes, even glaring fiercely at Carlisle like that only made them look sweet together.
In any case, Vita was awkward and mortified, and the uncomfortable visit showed no sign of ending.
How old was he, what career had he decided on, and even why did he like her daughter?
‘This isn't some formal meeting between families…’
Carlisle kept answering her mother's barrage of questions.
“You became independent from a young age?”
“Yes, Mother. There aren't many things I haven't done.”
“Oh, really? You must certainly be good at taking care of yourself.”
He had become independent from a young age and there weren't many things he hadn't done.
On top of that, he studied hard after returning from work and even earned a full scholarship.
Mrs. Emma's expression was growing gentler and gentler. By the time the visit was nearly over, her face was filled with smiles.
“Oh dear, I've taken up your time.”
“Not at all, Mother. I enjoyed myself.”
By now, she was even chuckling warmly. Then she went so far as to give Vita a push from behind.
“See him out, will you?”
Vita stood there blankly, then jumped in surprise and answered,
“M-me?!”
“Of course you should see him off!”
So, though she wasn't exactly pleased about it, Vita found herself standing with Carlisle Schultz at the building's entrance again.
A brief silence lingered. Vita wondered for a moment what to say, then declared to him,
“You know, don't get the wrong idea…!”
“Wrong idea about what? About you and me being in the ‘some’ stage…?”
Carlisle chuckled.
Vita's face turned red.
“That's absolutely not what this is.”
“…That hurts a little.”
His expression had grown serious in the meantime. Once again, he pulled Vita into his arms.
“You probably have no idea how nervous I was.”
For some reason, Vita couldn't answer that.
“Your mother is pretty open-minded, though.”
“That's how she is.”
After answering, Vita pushed Carlisle away. It was her way of telling him to go now.
“See you, ‘some.’”
What a laid-back guy. Vita sighed as Carlisle waved and gradually disappeared into the distance.
‘Some… what even is that?’
It absolutely wasn't anything like that.
***
“Come here, Vita.”
Afterward, Vita was alone with her mother.
She approached her mother's side somewhat sheepishly.
“…Mom, you know…”
“You don't need to explain.”
Her mother spoke with a smile.
“I was startled, actually. But it's natural.”
“N-natural?”
“Of course it is, isn't it? You're a woman now, so dating a boy isn't strange.”
So that's how it was?
Vita found herself at a loss for words all over again.
“Have you gone beyond hugging?”
Lost in thought, Vita suddenly jolted and denied it.
“N-no! Of course not!”
She panicked like a guilty thief caught red-handed.
But her mother already wore an expression that said she knew enough.
“You must use protection. You're both still young. Mom respects your choices, but you still have to do what needs to be done.”
At her mother's stern reminder, Vita forced herself to nod.
“Ah, yes…”
She always did, after all.
Anyway, Vita didn't know what to do. In the end, she blurted out what she was really thinking.
“Um, Mom… am I strange?”
In her confusion, she had ended up asking whether she was strange, unable to make sense of her own feelings.
“I was originally a man…”
Her mother appeared to ponder for a moment before answering.
“No, not at all. Since you're a woman now, I would have been more worried if you hadn't adapted.”
That wasn't the answer Vita had expected.
“Your body became female, so isn't it only natural that your mind would become more feminine too?”
Vita felt strange as her mother continued.
“Anyway, he seems like a good boy. That Carlisle…? He seems capable of supporting himself, and he seems to have some backbone.”
“Nngh…”
She had defended him, but now she felt irritable.
Somehow, it felt as though she were losing.
“He's not that great…”
“Oh my, really?”
It was no wonder her father, Maximilian Shamal, was completely under her mother's thumb. Her father had a fiery temper too, but her mother didn't, and yet she was still the undisputed head of the household.
Feeling as though all her thoughts had been seen through, Vita fell silent.
“And he's handsome.”
“That's really not true.”
“You still can't live together, though?”
“M-Mom—!”
Vita shouted angrily at her teasing mother.
“It's really not like that…”
She was nearly in tears.
“You've completely become my daughter.”
So Mrs. Emma could only smile.
“Well, anyway. Mom has to go.”
Afterward, Vita had dinner with her mother and saw her off.
“Make sure you eat properly, and don't skip breakfast.”
“Yes, yes. Take care.”
And then she was left alone.
She felt confused.
Vita still hadn't told her parents about her plan to turn back into a man. She had hesitated because she was worried they might be concerned.
But at that moment, Vita realized something anew.
‘My parents are treating me like their daughter now…?’
Of course, that was only natural, but her mother's words today lingered strangely in her mind.
It was natural, she had said. It wasn't strange. It wasn't strange that Vita herself was gradually becoming more feminine.
On a chilly autumn evening, Vita was lost in thought when her phone buzzed with a message. She checked it.
It was a text from Carlisle Schultz.
-Did you eat dinner, my ‘some’ girl?
What kind of term was that?
But as she inferred its meaning, her face felt a little warm. It was just so cringeworthy.
‘Why did I defend a guy like this…’
She grew annoyed for no reason.
Seriously, she had no idea.
“Haaah—”
Vita finally ran a hand through her hair, leaped onto the bed, and kicked the innocent blanket. Then she typed a reply.
-🖕.
Clearly,
the slight heat in her face was only because she was annoyed.
“Oh, right.”
She noticed another message. This was why Emily had said she'd contact her that evening.
-You have plans tomorrow, remember? You can come here!
Beneath it was a location and a winking emoji.
Right, she had plans with Emily tomorrow.
Forget this ‘some’ nonsense—Vita was devoted to Emily and Emily alone. At that thought, Vita's face brightened.