Luo Shu's expression visibly faltered upon seeing the tall, handsome, golden-haired man.
Meanwhile, Lacus, who had been sitting sideways to the door, noticed Luo Shu's arrival and turned her gaze towards him with a smile:
"Good afternoon, Meer and... Luo Shu."
Hearing Lacus's voice, Siegel, standing nearby, turned around.
"Well, well," Kirika Tachibana, lounging against the sofa armrest beside Lacus, smirked playfully as the man of the hour arrived.
Meanwhile, after glaring at Meer, who was waving at Lacus, Luo Shu quickly put on a smile and stepped forward:
"Good afternoon, Lacus."
After returning her greeting, he turned to Siegel:
"Good afternoon, Mr Siegel. I believe this is our first meeting?"
"Indeed it is, though I've wanted to meet you for quite some time."
Siegel Clyne's tone was remarkably similar to Lacus's—gentle and charismatic.
He approached Luo Shu and extended his hand.
Luo Shu hastily offered both hands, shaking Siegel's with an almost deferential politeness.
After the brief handshake, Siegel chuckled:
"There's no need to be so nervous, Mr Luo. I'm not so old-fashioned as to meddle in whatever exists between you and Lacus."
'If you knew what I've been doing with your daughter these past days, you wouldn't be speaking so mildly...'
Luo Shu maintained his smile. Despite Siegel's reassurance, he pretended not to hear and quickly added:
"You're too kind. Any words from someone of your standing could never be considered meddling."
Hearing this, Siegel glanced at the smiling young man who had so smoothly grouped himself with Lacus as "we," his expression caught between amusement and exasperation: "It seems my visit has added quite a bit of pressure for you all."
Hearing this, Lacus replied in an extremely gentle tone:
"Father, how could you say such a thing? We're both delighted you came to visit Luo Shu and me. How could there possibly be any pressure?"
Her daughter's rebuttal made Siegel pause, and he couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh:
"You two..."
Though they say daughters naturally favour outsiders, wasn't this shift in allegiance happening a bit too quickly?
Had he already been automatically excluded?
He couldn't help but wonder whether there was still a place for him in this family.
Shaking his head, Siegel then patted Luo Shu on the shoulder and said:
"Never mind. At any rate, seeing you all so united does put my mind at ease somewhat."
Luo Shu, who was being patted on the shoulder, maintained his smile as he replied: "You're too kind."
Siegel didn't speak, merely gesturing to Luo Shu:
"Let's all sit."
After indicating for Luo Shu to take a seat, Siegel turned to glance at Meer:
"You too, Meer."
"You've endured quite a lot recently because of my wilful daughter."
When Lacus was in Copernicus, it was Meer, her doppelganger, who appeared in America on her behalf.
Siegel, who had been cooperating with Meer in this act, was fully aware of this.
To put it bluntly, the time he'd spent with Lacus these past few years probably didn't amount to even a tenth of what he'd spent with Meer.
Compared to his biological daughter, who often neglected him while busying herself with her own affairs, Siegel sometimes felt Meer was more like his real daughter.
Hearing Siegel immediately complain about Lacus being wilful, Meer cheerfully ran to Lacus's side, placing her hands on her shoulders as she said:
"Judging by that tone, Father seems to have had quite a troublesome time recently."
Siegel didn't refute this. After sitting down with Luo Shu, he clasped his hands together and chuckled:
"Just some self-important powerholders thinking they can push us around with their high-handed tactics."
"Neither I nor Marlene care about such things."
"Compared to that..."
As he spoke, Siegel took a magnetic card from his pocket and handed it to Lacus:
"This is the fake identity Marlene and I arranged for Mia."
"From now on, Mia can operate publicly as my second daughter - your younger sister."
Hearing this, Luo Shu couldn't help but glance at Lacus and Siegel with some surprise.
He knew about Mia.
That Sword Spirit of the Kusanagi Sword, which gained independent consciousness due to interference from the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System—essentially, Lacus's avatar.
Why suddenly arrange for Mia to have an identity as Lacus's younger sister?
"Thank you for your efforts, Father." Lacus accepted the magnetic card with a smile. "Mia will probably be very happy with this identity."
"As long as she's happy."
Siegel sighed, then hesitated before continuing:
"Marlene is quite fond of Mia. So, Lacus, could we let the girl stay in America a while longer?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu, who had been about to ask for details, immediately closed his mouth and looked at Siegel with newfound sympathy.
'Stepmother prefers the second daughter, tsk tsk... Mr Siegel has some courage saying that out loud!!'
Although he'd learned from Hugh Carlisle that part of the reason Marlene, the stepmother, had taken a liking to Siegel was because of Lacus, Luo Shu could well imagine how difficult being a stepmother could be—and how awkward it made things for the father who remarried.
For a father to tell his daughter that the stepmother prefers the younger sister... that was precisely the sort of thing one should avoid saying if possible, as it could easily cause family conflicts.
Fortunately, Lacus wasn't an ordinary person.
Upon hearing that Marlene was fond of Mia, she smiled:
"Isn't that wonderful? I was hoping Mia could learn more about social conventions. If Aunt Marlene doesn't mind the trouble, I'll entrust Mia's education to her."
Hearing this, Siegel visibly relaxed, casting an apologetic glance at Lacus. He felt guilty for his daughter's maturity yet helpless that she was too understanding for her age.
From just that subtle change in expression, Luo Shu could already sense the overwhelming pressure of a blended family.
'I must say, father-in-law, your facial expressions are quite impressive.'
As Luo Shu silently mused, Siegel sighed and said:
"Aside from Mia's matter, there's one more thing I came here for."
At this, everyone present showed curiosity, including Luo Shu.
It was then that Siegel turned to Luo Shu and stated:
"This might seem sudden, Luo Shu, but there's someone who wishes to meet you."
"Who wants to meet me?" Luo Shu asked, puzzled.
Siegel paused briefly before solemnly replying:
"The one who wishes to see you is the Saintess of the Patch Tribe."