Capitolo Terzo: Conquista (11)

We were finally at our destination.

I sighed in relief when we finally managed to get to where Erina and her son were staying. Jonathan literally bolted as soon as the plane landed, forcing Hannah, Giorno and Santana to follow him closely behind to make sure he didn’t cause a scene while I took care of the rest of the landing procedure. It was the first time in a while I was left alone with Baba Yaga and the woman hummed at my work, staring with a mixture of curiosity and… questioning.

“Is there something troubling your mind?”

“Just thinking of how you and your wife have this capacity to handle multi-tasking quite masterfully and with little communication.”

That was a peculiar topic to bring up, but I suppose it does sound a bit off compared to what one would expect from a couple from Victorian London. We were pretty much self-sufficient when it came to most affairs, and the presence of Servants was more about helping people off the streets and having a modest life rather than showing off that we had money. We would do so much together, and we would be the ones with different initiatives to keep affairs going while also sharing the burden of our reputation together.

Hannah would focus mostly on charities and social causes relating to those elements of society she was familiar with. Through the money she made before we married, she worked her butt to clear up the Rookeries and create better living conditions for the people there. I had made my own business through that by establishing reliable work-places, but it was my wife that set up the situation where people were able to not only work, but also go back to stable and comfortable homes.

At the same time, I was quick to champion through my political candidates the need for public schooling. The initiative was already starting to take a foothold in the parliament when I left, and had been experimented with before, so the support was steadily growing now as many could see how this would lessen the economic reliance on foreign specialists when it comes to some device-making or general working. The industrial business in the British Empire as a whole was booming, pushing a positive economic wave across Europe which prevented a couple of wars from happening in the process.

Diplomacy was supported as the best method to deal with land-disputes and I had plans to enforce an international congress to further cement this rule within the international circle of great powers dominating over the world. I was getting wealthy and influential enough to do so and… It sure felt odd to think of how much time had gone by and how much I managed to do in that amount of years.

“Well, we are married by love and we have been close for longer.”

The redhead picked up the dreamy hint I had unconsciously let out, adopting a pondering look as she stared elsewhere.

“Do you think I will find someone to be with?”

I paused reading some reports I had yet to finish writing, glancing once more at the witch.

“You mean the ‘romantic someone to settle with’?”

She nodded at the guess and I thought about that bizarre thought. Up to this point, Baba Yaga’s ominous presence had been so… simplistic in nature. It was a strange addition to the team, and her overall situation showed no ulterior motivation beyond being… a curious tourist. Maybe a bit more as she was literally tapping into any source of knowledge that was beyond her current Russian one.

“Depends on what you want to see on a life-long companion.”

Humming at my response, the woman nodded. “Well, I would want him to be kind and understanding for a start. Could be troublesome if I have to be honest and my partner finds me distrustful due to my past.”

I nodded at this, resuming the final steps to start going and check on the others.

“Maybe I would like him to also know how to be childish too,” She hummed, making me frown as I could tell this was sounding a bit too familiar. “To be somewhat of a little boy. Blond hair, blue eyes and-”

“You are not getting any closer to my son,” I rebuked flatly and she huffed.

“Why not? I will be the best wife option he will have once he is old enough.”

“First, he is a little kid. Second thing, you are a hag by metaphorical means.”

Her mouth opened at what the witch perceived as an insult. In truth, it was an insult, but she hesitated to call me out on it just yet.

“W-Well, I can protect him better.”

“You just want to have him around for some other reasons,” I pointed out, not even holding back in that regard as I saw her flinch. “Like really, why the hell are you trying to take my son like that?”

“His potential and future-”

“Should not be the basis of any relationship. Stop trying because I will not allow this,” I replied flatly, staring at her as harshly as I could. “I will not be as vocal as Hannah, but that’s because you should know already I will jump to acting on this mess rather than talk you out of it if you push through that sort of stuff.”

Baba Yaga tensed up at this, recognizing that I was already getting annoyed by her foolish mannerism.

“I suppose that’s… a fair response. However, if I had to settle down with someone, do you have anyone I could at least befriend in that regard?”

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I didn’t exactly think much about it. The previous stunt had soured my mood in that matter. Still, I offered her the name of someone that would know how to handle her just right.

“Well, there’s Bhediya. He is a trustworthy friend of mine who is currently seeing no one.”

Her curiosity was piqued by this unexpected quick response. “Oh? What is he like?”

The ensuing description seemed to be enough to keep her intrigued by the werewolf, especially the werewolf bits. I wasn’t sure if it was for all the good moral reasons, but I could at least pray that Bhediya was ready for that.

I almost felt ashamed for putting him through this but… this is his fault for refusing to go on dating for so long and then trying to make it pass out as if he hadn’t found the right one yet. I was quite sure he found at least three viable options, but refused to go forward out of personal anxiety about being in a relationship.

Still, we were finally done with the landing process and we could finally check on where Hannah and my son went. We tracked them at the small manor that Erina’s father gave to both her and Jojo when they married.

A little place in India they could visit whenever they wanted to leave Britain for the holidays. It was somewhat similar to the Joestar Manor, if not smaller due to the slightly humbler work the blonde’s father had here in the Dominion. We were greeted by a few servants of Indian origin. Differently from some of their counterparts in similar situations, they were allowed to wear traditional clothes and their only restriction was that the garb had to be elegant in their own minds.

Some accepted that notion, while a few favored British clothing due to how ‘elegant’ it felt to them. It was a bizarre decision in the eyes of many fellow members of the colonial elite, but Erina didn’t mind as she grew to love some of the dresses and outfits Indians would use for important ceremonies. She herself had a few locally-produced fine dresses in her wardrobe and she showed them off at some parties back in London.

The first thing I noticed when we entered the living room where the others were was the small circle of chatting and playing around between Georgie and Giorno, with Santana watching over them. Giorno was using this chance to tell his cousin about what happened during the trip to get here, sparing no details about the ‘cool adventure’ he went through. Then my eyes landed on the trio of adults that turned to stare at us, and my eyes were fixed at a sole individual that looked as angelic and cute as the first time I pep-talked her into dating Jojo.

“Dio,” Erina jovially greeted, instantly tensing up in anticipation as I reached out for a hug and some hair-ruffling. “You need to lose that habit.”

The whining was met with a chuckle.

“And why would I? How could I forsake treating my young sister with affection?”

We all shared a smile before I introduced Baba Yaga to the group. Erina was instantly entertained by the much-older lady, questioning her as much as she questioned her. The maturity displayed by the redhead seemingly vanished as she slowly got coaxed to behave like a ‘young woman’ with Erina. The giggles were a surprise for sure, but it provided me with unexpected news about my brother and sister-in-law.

“You two are expecting another child?” I interrupted, my tone drenched in pure surprise.

Erina blushed, realizing she had delivered the news so carelessly. “Y-Yes. I should have made the announcement before but-”

“None of that, Erina. There’s no need to apologize to us and- dear, of dear, Jojo. Does father know?”

“I just learned now,” The man admitted sheepishly. “Erina and I will write him a letter suggesting he is going to get another grandson in a couple of months.”

It was indeed a surprise since it meant that, rather than being a single child, George was going to have siblings. And while this was a pleasant surprise, it opened the sort of door I didn’t expect to deal with.

“Dio.”

I blinked, looking at Hannah. “Yes dear?”

She blinked, but her gaze was still fixed at the sight of Giorno playing with lil’ Jojo.

“I want another child.”

…

Well, I was somewhat expecting this already. My dear wife did relent on this new mission at the condition I was going to owe her up big time, I just didn’t expect her to cash this favor this early and with that sort of request. After all, I did consider trying to provide Giorno with a younger sibling after this trip, so it felt somewhat convenient and yet awkward to satisfy because of the situation we were in.

“Is that your absolute wish?”

A nod, and then she smiled. “Can you make it twins and girls?”

“You know better than me that I don’t have that sort of power,” I replied flatly, causing her to giggle.

“Hamon?” The woman mirthfully guessed and I snorted.

“I mean, if you seek plant-children, I could try to make some if you give me some dirt, some seeds and perhaps some assistance in going through the intense mind-work of creating one from that process.”

She playfully tapped her fists onto my chest allowing me to hug her close and nuzzle my chin onto her head. “But we will get a child or two out of this. Promise you this much.”

“I’ll hold you onto that then.”

I could just tell it was going to be tedious because we were traveling in a cramped space but… maybe, if I found a nice place where to have a date with her and set up the mood… who knows. There was still so much to do, but I wasn’t going to waste any time providing my sweet lovely wife with the chance of having either another son or a daughter for her to love together with our Giorno.

But for now, we enjoyed our time together with our family, knowing that the next steps were going to take us into some uncharted land.