London stared at L as if he was unaware that the girl was very shocked to hear her idol's voice on the other end of the phone.
"What happened to you?" he asked in astonishment.
L could only shake her head, still unable to speak.
"Hm... okay, I'll call you later, Auntie. My wife seems to have something stuck on her throat, so I'll get her a drink first."
Billie Yves just laughed and agreed. "All right, go help her first. Later when you're already certain of the right date and time, I'll come. See you."
"Thank you, Auntie. See you."
After London hung up the phone, it took five minutes for L to calm down before she could speak normally.
"How can you call Billie Yves Auntie? You two sound so familiar with each other!" L voiced, seemingly a little faster than her usual pace. "And... and... she, hasn't she retired for a long time? Nobody knew where she went to seclusion..."
London just laughed lightly at L's shock. "Auntie Billie and my family are quite close. She used to be in a long term relationship with one of my uncles, you might remember, his name was Jean. After they broke up, the relationship between our families remained good. Besides, my mother really liked Auntie Billie and has been a big fan of hers since a long time ago. Well, just like you…"
"Oh really?" L was still doubtful hearing that.
"That's right. Because of what happened between us, 25 years ago, Auntie Billie also receives a bottle of immortality potion, so she always looked young. She resigned from the music industry a few years ago as well as a way to dispel people's suspicions of her youth."
"Oh..." L then remembered about herself. "Then... if I drink the immortality potion and come with you, I'll also have to withdraw from the entertainment industry one day?"
London nodded. "That's right. You can only pretend to look young for some time, you can't maintain that excuse forever. Sorry. We can't possibly disclose our clan's secrets to the outside world. Other people will be suspicious if they see you continue to look like this, without ever getting old."
"I understand." L nodded. She took a deep breath and looked closely at London. "I think this is worth it."
"That's right. That is also one of the reasons why the Schneider family is very closed and doesn't appear in public quite often. Very few people know about our true appearances."
"Hmm... makes sense. I'll protect Lily that way too."
"Exactly." London once again had a mischievous grin when he stole a kiss from her. "I'm so happy. You don't know how uneasy I had been in the past few months trying to figure out the best way to tell you all my secrets."
"I understand, it's definitely not easy." L nodded in confirmation.
"You know, I was ready to keep this secret for years until Lily has already grown up," London continued.
"Why wait for Lily to grow up?" L asked, not understanding.
"Of course so that when I reveal my secrets, I can hide behind Lily's body so you can't scold me... hahahaha..." London laughed with satisfaction.
He knew himself well enough and no doubt that if he was pressed, he wouldn't hesitate to take such devious methods. L certainly wouldn't be able to scold London if Lily protected him.
"You... !" L wanted to look angry, but her lips were smiling. She wasn't at all angry.
Seeing L's attitude, which began to soften, and how she didn't mind at London's silly plan of wanting to use Lily, the man felt he had the upper hand. He was about to steal another kiss when his phone suddenly rang.
Ugh! He wanted to see who else of his staff dared to disturb him when he wanted to kiss L like this.
"We're in front of the gate. Please open the door." Finland's voice from the other end of the phone immediately made him jump.
Ah... Again, it turned out that it was his mother who called.
"Wait a minute, Mom." London kept his phone and turned to L. "My parents have arrived. Are you ready to meet them?"
L looked nervous. She hurriedly tidied her clothes and hair and regulated her breath, then nodded. "Y... yeah."
"Let's meet them." London then got up and took L to walk out of Lily's room to their yard.
In front of the gate, London pressed the remote then opened the gates of their large house, revealing three a.d.u.l.ts who stood idly while carrying boxes of cakes and flower bouquets.
"Hey... good afternoon. Come in." London approached Finland and hugged his mother. Her eyes were moist as she patted his back.
"Gosh, honey... I'm so happy, your problems are finally solved now. I can't wait to meet Lily," Finland said in an emotional voice.
L only stared at the sight. She could now properly see how close the mother-child relationship between London and Finland was. For a moment, she felt sad and jealous because she didn't have a mother. Her eyes became rather wet.
After Finland released her arms from London, she smiled sincerely and approached L. "L? You're not going to hug me?"
L stuttered at the words of the young and beautiful woman before her. It was hard to believe this woman had three a.d.u.l.t children.
"I... I... er, uhm, I don't.. uhm..." L swallowed. She didn't know how to behave.
"Come here. Give me a hug, too. From now on, you can think of me as your own mother. You are the mother of Lily, my granddaughter, so you're also my child. If London bothers you or is doing weird things, don't hesitate to tell me so I can teach him a lesson." Finland smiled broadly then hugged L very warmly.
Finland's warm treatment to her made L feel touched. She hadn't had a mother for a very long time, and so far, she had been accustomed to taking care of herself. She almost forgot what it was like to have parents. Finland's warm and motherly attitude finally made L's defense collapse and she cried on the woman's shoulder.
"Sshhh... don't be sad. You already have a family from now on. We're here. You're not alone anymore," Finland whispered while stroking L's hair.
She already knew from London that L was an orphan who lived alone and had experienced many hardsh.i.p.s since childhood. As someone who had had the same fate, she understood how it felt. Because of that, she tried her best to make L feel welcomed.
"Thank... thank you..." L whispered while sobbing.
"Sshh... you don't need to thank me. Now, let me introduce you to my family. This is my husband, Caspar, and that is my youngest son, Rune. We live at the house down the road. You and London can visit anytime."
L bowed slightly when she was introduced to Caspar and Rune.
"Good afternoon, Uncle, Rune... Nice to meet you," he said quietly.
"Don't be too formal. You can call me Dad too. I hope you haven't had lunch yet, because I brought a cake with the latest recipe and I'll be cooking lunch for us this afternoon," Caspar said, giving the flower bouquets he brought to L and hugging her.
"Th... thank you," L replied in a choked voice. She immediately remembered that London had told him about his father, who loved cooking. Is this the father that London was referring to? Gosh. How perfect this man is. Really handsome, kind, and likes cooking, she thought.
As if he could read L's mind, London immediately pulled the girl out of his father's arms. "Ahem... I know my father is very handsome and his cooking is also very good, but you mustn't fall in love with my father. My father belongs to my mother. You must be satisfied with his duplicate, which is me."
L rolled her eyes furiously when she heard London's words. "What are you saying? Nonsense!"
She hit London on the shoulder, but the young man had caught her hand while laughing.
"Sshh... you don't want to have a bad reputation in front of your in-laws, right? Don't be so quick-tempered. You know I'm just kidding. Hahaha... Now here, meet my brother, Rune. He's a scientist who often creates various useless machines."
Rune nodded with a big smile. "Yep, that's me. Nice to meet you again. I brought Dad's food in this box. We better go to the kitchen immediately and put it on the dining table."
"Ah, yes, of course. Please come in." L hurriedly handed the flowers in her hand to London and received a box filled with cakes from Rune. She then invited her guests into the house.
She still couldn't believe what was happening.
The whole Schneider family was now in her house!