Chapter 191: Merciful Lies
[Mira’s Apartment]
Jason stood outside his mother’s door as he calmly watched Cerci drive away through his [Eye of the King]. Jason had put one of his Phantom Squads on Cerci’s trail and told them to keep an eye on him and report back if they heard Cerci say anything about his family. Jason already knew that Cerci had been trying to get him to trust him, so he wasn’t surprised when he heard it. And he wasn’t even angry either, since he had already expected it. You shouldn’t be angry when a snake tries to bite you since you already knew it was a snake.
Jason decided that he was going to follow in his father’s footsteps as far as Cerci was concerned. Cerci was a useful man, and his organisation Gaia was also useful since they had the power and connections in the government, so Jason was going to use them for as long as he needed to. But Jason wasn’t going to become their errand boy or their slave. If they needed his help, then he’d decide on his own if he wanted to help them or not, but they would not be summoning him and commanding him to do whatever they wanted.
Jason’s gaze shifted from the phantoms following Cerci to the Phantom subordinate that he had put in charge of protecting his mother inside the house, and he saw his sister and Riyala sitting on a couch in the living room while his mother worked in the kitchen. Riyala looked tense and was trying her best to sink into the couch since she was very nervous, and Janet was just watching the news on the TV while waiting for Jason to come back. Jason opened the door and walked into the apartment, and he saw everyone perk up as they turned to him.
Mira leaned out from the kitchen and smiled at her son as she spoke.
"Are you hungry, Jason? There’s some macaroni left from this morning. I’ll just heat it up for you."
Jason shook his head.
"Sorry, mum. Riyala and I have to go. There’re some things I have to deal with."
Mira blinked in surprise as she slowly walked out of the kitchen while cleaning her hands. This was the first time that her son would be turning down an offer of her food, and it was just too shocking for her to overlook. Mira turned to glance at the TV that was still playing images from earlier that day. Mira had heard about the dragon that people claimed flew over the city, and she knew that everyone suspected her son was riding the dragon, but that wasn’t her concern.
From the footage she saw, Mira could tell that Jason wasn’t just riding that dragon for no reason. Jason had been riding with the urgency to get home as quickly as possible! Mira walked up to Jason and took his hands in her own.
"Jason, I want you to be honest with me now. I’m not going to ask you about the news or the blood you’re trying to hide with that coat. I understand that there are some things you are keeping from me, and that’s fine. But please, I want to know what happened to Gina."
Jason had to actively struggle to keep himself calm. Jason hated lying to his mother. Ever since he was little, he had made it his number one rule to always tell his mother the truth, since she was the one who always advised him when he had to make a difficult decision. But how in the world was Jason supposed to explain this to her? How was he supposed to tell his mother that the girl she saw as a daughter was dead? That Jason had stabbed her through the heart and killed her with his own hands!
Jason couldn’t do that! It would fucking break his mother’s heart and he would never forgive himself for putting that sort of pressure on his mother’s shoulders. Even if his mother knew that Gina could still be resurrected, it wouldn’t stop her from feeling the pain! No, Jason was going to fix all of this. He didn’t need to burden his mother with something that wasn’t permanent. Jason sighed and spoke in a low, reassuring tone.
"Gina was attacked by someone earlier, mum. But she is going to be okay. She’s resting right now, but she’ll wake up soon. I promise."
Mira had gasped the moment she heard that Gina was attacked, but as Jason explained things further, her worried face began to relax a little until it was barely showing any worry at all. Mira put a hand to her forehead and looked down at the ground before she let out a sigh. She turned back to Jason and gently pulled him in for a hug as she spoke.
"I know you’ll take care of everything, Jason. So please look after her."
It broke Jason’s heart to hear his mother’s relieved voice. Mira had so much faith in him, and he had lied to her. Jason held his mother softly and nodded into the crook of her neck. Even though he told a lie, Jason didn’t have to worry about it. All he had to do was make sure that it became true. He would tear through reality itself just to make sure that he brought Gina back to life!
At the side, Riyala was watching on in curiosity. She couldn’t understand what Jason and Mira were saying, but she had heard the name ’Gina’ and she knew that it had to do with what had happened earlier. Would Jason really tell his mother that Gina had died? No, that wasn’t possible. There was no way his mother would be that relieved if he had told her the truth! That meant he lied to her.
’Jason must be really confident in being able to bring Gina back. I wonder what sort of challenge he has to cross to make it happen. I hope he can do it.’
Riyala really liked Gina. If not for Gina convincing Jason earlier, then Riyala was sure that she would have been captured by the Phantoms the moment she landed back in Radagan, and if not for Gina taking care of her for the past few days, then Riyala would have never become so comfortable with being on Earth. Gina was a good person with a good heart, and Riyala was willing to do anything to make sure she was okay!
Riyala was lost in her thoughts for a few seconds, but she was suddenly brought back to reality as a voice spoke from beside her.
"Hey, your name’s Riyala, right?"
Riyala turned to Janet in shock, and she recoiled in fright when she saw that Janet was tilting closer than before! Janet raised a brow at Riyala’s reaction, but she just shook her head and ignored that. Janet looked over at Jason and Mira for a second before she spoke.
"Can you tell me what happened? You were there, right?"
Riyala raised her hands up and waved them quickly to try and get Janet to stop talking! Riyala couldn’t understand a single word that Janet was saying! None of the words that Gina taught were useful here! Janet frowned when Riyala started waving at her and she scooted closer.
"Hey, what’s wrong with you? Are you dumb? You can’t speak?"
Riyala’s waving got even more frantic, and her cheeks began to redden as she opened her mouth.
"Thank you! Sorri! Sorri!"
’Huh?’
Janet tilted her head to one side in surprise, and for a while she couldn’t even start to decipher what the fuck Riyala was trying to say!