The thought was strange, but it only flashed through Lillie's mind for a moment before it slipped away.
The mansion was quiet.
Lusamine set her teacup down on the coffee table and looked at Lillie with an expression that was hard to read—cool, but not simple.
"Sit."
The command carried authority and no warmth. Lillie's body trembled, but she still walked forward and sat across from her mother.
Even then, she couldn't bring herself to look up. Fear sat too deep in her chest. She gripped the hem of her skirt with both hands, staring downward.
Minutes passed.
Lusamine waited for Lillie to speak. When nothing came, her face hardened. Disappointment settled into her eyes.
"Since you came back on your own, I assumed you'd made up your mind," Lusamine said, her voice turning colder. "So what is this? Why are you acting so weak?"
Her words cut slowly.
"It's disappointing, Lillie," Lusamine continued. "Do you have nothing you want to say to me?"
Lillie's shoulders shook, but she still couldn't lift her head.
"I loved you both," Lusamine said, and now anger crept into her tone. The light in her eyes dimmed. "I gave you everything."
Then her voice snapped.
"And you… you both betrayed me!"
That was how Lusamine saw it.
She loved her children—yet her own family had turned on her. They ran, and they took vital assets with them: Type: Null and Cosmog. To Lusamine, it wasn't just disobedience. It felt like theft. Like rejection.
"No… that's not—"
"A child who rejects my love and leaves me… Lillie, you—"
"That's not how it is!"
Lillie's voice burst out—sharp, trembling, stubborn—cutting Lusamine off.
Lusamine stared.
It was the first time Lillie had ever raised her voice like that.
The first time she had ever dared to interrupt.
"Mother always makes everything about herself," Lillie said, biting her lip as she finally lifted her head. Her eyes were red, but she forced herself to meet Lusamine's gaze. "Why did you become like this?"
"You…"
"Mother used to be gentle," Lillie pushed on, the words coming faster. "Gladion and I loved you more than anyone!"
Lusamine froze, caught off guard, staring as if she couldn't process what she was hearing.
"But after Father disappeared, you changed," Lillie said. "Why? You never think about what we feel. You just push your ideas onto us, whether we're happy or not!"
Her voice cracked, but she didn't stop.
"My mother wasn't supposed to be like this!"
It all poured out at once, like she'd been holding her breath for years. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
"And you're still doing dangerous things," Lillie said, voice breaking. "Father disappeared because of those experiments—and you still won't let them go."
Her hands clenched.
"If… if you disappear too, like Father did… what happens to me and Gladion?"
Her breath hitched.
"We… we don't want to lose you too… hic…"
At the end, her resolve gave out. She couldn't hold it back anymore. She broke down, sobbing, the words finally leaving her chest after sitting there for so long they felt like they'd been crushing her.
Lusamine couldn't speak.
She had never realized Lillie carried this much fear—this much pain. Something tight rose in her chest, unfamiliar and sharp.
Silence returned to the room.
Only Lillie's quiet, uncontrollable crying remained.
She hadn't wanted to cry. She just couldn't stop.
Then a warm hand rested on her back.
Gentle. Slow. Comforting.
Lillie blinked through blurred vision and saw Lusamine close—right there beside her. And for the first time in a long time, the coldness was gone from Lusamine's face.
In its place was softness.
"My Lillie…" Lusamine said quietly. "You've grown up… but you're still a child."
That voice—gentle, familiar—hit Lillie harder than any accusation. Her emotions surged, and she threw herself into Lusamine's arms as if she'd been waiting to do it for years.
"Mother!"
"I'm here," Lusamine murmured, holding her tightly. "I'm sorry, Lillie. I put you through too much."
Guilt filled her voice, raw and honest.
Why didn't I notice?
Lusamine held her daughter and, for the first time, questioned whether her way of "loving" them had been love at all. Her obsession with Ultra Beasts—her fixation—had made her deaf to Lillie's feelings.
She did love her children.
She had simply never listened.
She had believed they should obey, because she knew best.
Lillie's outburst forced her to see the damage that belief had done.
When their emotions finally settled, mother and daughter sat back down.
There was so much to say.
Lillie talked about everything that happened after she left Aether Paradise. Lusamine listened closely, responding now and then, the conversation flowing in a way it never had before.
For a while, the atmosphere felt… good.
Until—
"Mother," Lillie said, hesitating, gathering courage again. "Have you still not given up on that plan?"
"The Ultra Wormhole?" Lusamine asked.
"Yes," Lillie said quickly. "It's too dangerous. Please… can't you stop?"
Lusamine sighed.
"As much as I want to tell you what you want to hear, I won't lie to you," she said. "We can't stop the research."
"Why?" Lillie's voice turned urgent. "Ultra Beasts are too dangerous. You know that."
"Yes," Lusamine said, firm. "And that's exactly why we can't stop."
Lillie went still.
"Lillie," Lusamine continued, "this isn't only about me. For Alola, the Ultra Beast threat is real."
She watched Lillie carefully.
"Do you know why Alola never established a Pokémon League?"
Lillie's face tightened.
She was bright—too bright not to understand what Lusamine was pointing at.
"Professor Kukui is trying to build the Alola League," Lusamine said, shaking her head. "But it's an uphill battle because Alola's core problem hasn't been solved."
"Because of the Ultra Beasts…" Lillie whispered.
"Exactly," Lusamine said. "Do you know Kahuna Nanu?"
Lillie nodded faintly.
"Before he became a Kahuna, he was one of the International Police officers the League sent here to investigate Ultra Beasts," Lusamine said.
Then she revealed the part Lillie didn't know.
"During a mission, they failed. Someone was killed."
Lillie's eyes widened.
"Cause of death: an Ultra Beast," Lusamine said, voice steady. "A Guzzlord."
The room felt colder again—not from Lusamine's tone, but from what the words implied.
"If we don't study Ultra Beasts—if we don't understand them—Alola will never have a League," Lusamine said. "And Alola will never stand alongside the other regions the way it should."
Lillie bit her lip.
She wasn't a little child anymore. This wasn't just about fear or family. Lusamine was talking about Alola's future.
Even if Lillie hated it, she couldn't selfishly tell her mother to abandon the issue.
Lusamine's hand reached out and gently stroked Lillie's cheek.
"Don't worry," she said softly. "I know what you're afraid of."
Then her voice steadied with confidence.
"I've prepared for it," Lusamine said. "I even hired a trainer at Champion level to protect me."
"A Champion-level trainer?" Lillie echoed, startled. Even she understood what that meant.
"Yes," Lusamine said. "He's very, very capable."
Something complex flickered deep in Lusamine's eyes.
But Lillie didn't notice it.
Not at all.