Omake 22: Tender Affection (2)

Hannah wasn’t exactly sure what was happening in that very moment.

She had been relieved when she first met Dio after so long, and her heart had been aching so much since he left to return back to his home. He had promised to write to her- to check on the progress of her training and the organization she had laid the basis for him to expand on. That promise did little to solve the unpleasant nature of her heart-ache, but it sure offered for quite a warm thought to spend her time with.

Then… another bizarre element happened.

The bar suddenly grew quiet when a gorgeous woman with short brown hair entered the building accompanied by two massive guards with scars on their faces. These men were clearly escorting her, glaring at any possible threats they could spot on in their proximity. The mere stare was enough to send to all those that were unfortunate enough to be close to the entrance.

But the lady didn’t seem to be aiming to have anyone in here attacked from the looks of it as she merely settled by one of the stools by the counter. The bartender approached the lady with a nervous pace, his lips twitching in clear discomfort as he greeted the unknown woman in his workplace. The lady smiled and started to speak with a suave tone. Hannah was too far from the exchange to hear what she was exactly asking for, but she could tell that she was somehow tied to this when the owner looked at her- right at her.

And after just a couple of quiet but tense minutes, the beautiful woman was looking in her general direction. Hannah felt a degree of worry at this development. The guards might not be looking at her too, but she could tell that the lady was the one she had to be the most worried about. Despite that, she felt almost compelled to approach her as she gestured for her to come closer.

There was a strange pull, a familiar magnetism that was slowly forcing her to take steps toward the lovely-looking woman. Eventually the girl was sitting on the stool beside the unknown individual, the guards clearly ignoring her as they seemed to have noticed that their boss had invited her to sit beside her.

“Apologies for the sudden request, young lady. But I couldn’t help but learn that you have been in direct contact with my… particularly elusive son as of late. I heard that you two first met in quite the unusual scenario and that you have grown fairly fond of him due to that.”

Hannah frowned at this, trying to recall anyone that could have fit with that description. A young man who, in the woman’s words, meets her through an unusual, thus not normal, situation. There wasn’t much of a list she would work on, but the only logical answer was…

…

…!!

“Y-You are Dio’s mother?”

She smiled, almost looking complimented by that question.

“That would be mostly correct. While I’m not the biological mother, I’m indeed the one with that role,” The brunette answered. “I’m still trying to understand how the mind of such a brilliant boy works and… my own investigations have led me to you. A close friend of his from the looks of it.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Hannah’s jaws dropped at that last bit. ‘Close friend’? While quite far from the ultimate goal, it was still an immensely good starting point to begin her ambitions to steal the boy’s heart for her to match with hers. She could almost vibrate at this, but she didn’t because, well- there was something off about the woman’s sudden openness.

“A-Aren’t you worried that I might be a bad person to be friends with?”

It had been one of the major worries that had prevented Hannah to be fully worthy of that title. Friendship? Such a powerful degree of trust given to her so eagerly, so nicely. Now she was vibrating at the nice words.

“None of that, dear. That is just silly thinking given by your lack of confidence,” The kind woman remarked. “I can tell from your mannerism and what I learned about you that you are just a good person that was forced in an unpleasant situation. One that, I believe, my child decided to help you break free from.”

Hannah could only nod, but then… the woman spoke up again.

“Oh, what a lovely name. Hannah is such a sweet way to call a goodhearted young lady as yourself,” The lady mentioned. “I remember a good friend of mine that was called like that. A fine and proper individual with a good heart and soul.”

...She doesn’t seem to be that bad. And the way she was handing out these compliments felt genuine.

“T-Thank you, Lady-”

“Mary. Mary Joestar,” The brunette introduced herself. “And I’m glad to have met you here today since… I believe we can come to an agreement that can and will definitely work to our advantage.”

...An agreement?

“You see, Hannah, I worry for my son’s future. While it’s still too early for him to be interested in romantic relationships, I believe that, as his mother, it’s only correct for me to be concerned about the time he is old enough to consider thinking of forming engagements with women,” Mary elaborated. “I wish to make sure that, when the time comes, my handsome and intelligent child is prepared to have someone to look and be amazed by.”

If before the girl wasn’t blushing, now her face was burning at the imaginary scenario she was building for herself the more the brunette spoke.

“I-I- W-What if Dio doesn’t like me? What if he likes someone or-”

“Don’t worry, dear. I will teach you anything you need to be capable of standing up and winning against any possible opponent to Dio’s heart. If you keep this pure heart and desires, then you shall reach success, no matter the obstacles,” Mary interrupted, offering a confident speech. “And I will make sure you are ready to vanquish any threat about this. I can assure you that.”

And with that, Hannah was sold to that offer. Despite the lack of a blood relation between Mary and Dio, she could easily see how these two just matched each other as mother and son. It was impressive and… kind of helpful. She could tell that, just like Dio, Mary was meaning all of what she was saying.

A few years. She could wait this much if it meant being prepared to marry the man that had saved her and shone a bright light onto her life, giving her a new lovely path to follow.