episode_0016

Darin tried hard not to be conscious of it. She had repeatedly denied that her precious son had changed from his past. Come to think of it, it had been like this not just today, but since the day Kael returned from his expedition.

But at this point, she had to admit it.

Her angel had changed a lot from before.

“But surely, he couldn’t… be as much as his mother.”

She understood that his temperament had become rougher and he had become angrier. She also noticed some strange aspects. But that must be all. Darin felt disgusted with herself for harboring such impure thoughts about her son in the first place. She only hoped that she was the one harboring the mistaken misunderstanding.

“Kael, tell me honestly. I don’t want to hear you beat around the bush because your mother’s mind is preoccupied.”

It was an urgent attitude, not the composed response of a noblewoman. Though she didn’t show it, Darin had long since grown weary. It seemed that getting a quick answer from her son would bring her relief.

“Who is the woman you’ve marked as your fiancée?”

“…Mother, a virgin? The woman I’ve marked as my fiancée is not a virgin.”

Sweat began to form under the woman’s red hair. Just now, Darin hadn’t meant ‘virgin’ in the sense of preserving chastity. She simply referred to an unmarried woman. But why on earth did such an answer come out?

But on the other hand, she found it puzzling. Among noblewomen who valued honor, individuals who were not virgins were even rarer.

“Not a virgin…?”

The trembling unease wasn’t an expression of regret that her noble son was accepting a non-virgin as his bride. It was more of a fear that it might not be him.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Kael smirked subtly and slowly explained. Why was it so amusing to see his mother looking anxious…? He used to be a child who would freak out if his parents so much as touched an orange tree. But today, he didn’t seem like her son at all.

“…But still, wouldn’t it be better if she were a virgin? Are you going to welcome a woman with experience as a bride, saying there’s something lacking in you? I don’t know about commoners, but… Kael, you are a noble, aren’t you?”

Lady Darrin absentmindedly stroked her hair while expressing her opinions. Her words sounded like those of a typical noble mother worrying about her son, but in reality, it was an act of hoping that the girl wasn’t of low status.

“…Surprising. It seemed like my mother wouldn’t care much about that.”

Kael looked genuinely puzzled. His mother was different from other nobles; she was modest and understanding.

“Well…”

Darrin subtly lowered her head, avoiding her son’s persistent gaze. Such an attitude from her son was natural. She knew very well that this was not her usual outspoken self.

Normally, a woman who truly loved her son would have said it was okay even if the girl wasn’t a virgin. Darrin was fiercely devoted to her child, but she was not a mother who forced choices upon her son.

A virgin? Naturally, it would be preferable as a man. But just because the person one falls in love with isn’t a virgin, does that mean one should turn away? That’s why she would have trusted and followed Kael’s choice. But at this moment, she didn’t want that. Warning signals originating in her mind urged her to resist.

“Your mother may be of common birth, but she is ultimately a lady. What’s so strange about her hoping to meet a flawless woman for her child…?”

She squeezed out her scattered thoughts, articulating her opinions methodically. However, her gaze was fixed on the ground, so her demeanor didn’t quite match. Anyway, she had to feign composure now. Otherwise, she felt she might collapse at any moment.

Had her mother’s feelings been conveyed to the peacemaker? Kael expressed a small consideration to his mother in a sympathetic tone.

“Mother, please take a sip of tea first and calm down. How about continuing the conversation after you’ve composed yourself? You seem very anxious…”

The mother’s gaze moved down to the ceramic teacup at her son’s urging. The color of the rosemary tea contained within was a sinister, blood-red hue, causing a sense of unease to begin to surface.

“Oh, just in case. Because you might not know… even if it’s just once…”

She shook her head, turning away from her son’s sincerity. She was the wife of a baron and the mother of two children. Despite being somewhat plain, she had to keep her composure to maintain her dignity.

“I don’t feel well, so I don’t really want to drink it.”

“It’s a tea for when you don’t feel well. I’m treating my one and only mother, and you didn’t even consider that before ordering?”

The only mother, a cliché but pleasant phrase to hear. Normally, she would have accepted her son’s kindness with a bright smile. If it weren’t for this situation.

“No, I’m sorry, but right now, I don’t feel like swallowing anything.”

“Haha.”

Kael raised the corner of his mouth. It seemed more like he was expressing dissatisfaction rather than smiling happily because this woman kept opposing his will.

“Mother…”

“Y-yes?”

A chilly voice settled in the girl’s ear. It felt as though the tone was reproaching her, and Darin quickly responded with urgency, widening her eyes.

“The tea is truly excellent.”

The man, lowering his voice, politely offered the teacup. It conveyed the nuance of not understanding why she wouldn’t drink such good tea, especially when it was being offered by her own son.

To an outsider, it might seem like a thoughtful son considering his mother, but the recipient felt an overwhelming sense of coercion.

“S-sorry, Kael, I’m sorry…”

Still, she tried to make excuses. Memories of her young child’s face overlapped, intensifying her guilt. Today, there were many unsettling elements. Being cautious wouldn’t hurt.

– Tsk.

“Is that child sticking out his tongue right now??? In front of me…?”

Darine was inwardly shocked by her son’s disrespectful behavior in front of his mother.

“No, no. Kael wouldn’t do that, right? He has always been so respectful to me since he was young…”

She didn’t dwell on it. Her usually familiar son seemed frightening today, so she had to just deflect and deny.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize. As I’ve always said, I have no intention of ‘forcing’ my mother like my father would.”

“Okay… thank you.”

“Anyway, Mother, there’s no need for you to be greatly saddened just because your son is seeing a non-virgin woman.”

“Well, in noble society, there’s a high chance of gossip about a noble lady who hasn’t kept her chastity before marriage, isn’t there? Information gets around in society, so there’s also the possibility that the man who slept with her may spread rumors.”

“Even if that’s the case, it doesn’t matter. My feelings for her are not shallow enough to be swayed by that.”

“…I understand your feelings well, but still, from a man’s perspective, isn’t it better to marry the woman you were first with?”

“I won’t deny that, but the woman I have feelings for is unique to me.”

“I heard that non-virgin noble ladies often easily engage in extramarital affairs.”

Kael’s expression, facing unreasonable avoidance, transformed into a smile tinged with darkness. It was a strange expression that was difficult to interpret as either a smile or anger.

“I heard that, even at local social gatherings, your mother hasn’t shown her face for over 20 years.” Kael wondered where such baseless information came from.

“Who told you such things?”

“Alfred… Oh, no! I mean, Emma!”

Darine quickly diverted to her chief maid as the source, realizing that someone of that caliber wouldn’t bring up such trivial talk.

“Sigh…”

Kael couldn’t help but notice this immaturity. He thought, “He’s so bright, but he can’t lie due to his clear conscience, so he makes mistakes like this.”

The figure of the innocent mother, like a wild rose blooming by the roadside, was truly lovely, but at the same time, it was frustrating to be pushed away like that.

“Since I have little experience with men, couldn’t I turn my attention elsewhere? Having met only one person, I might even become more curious.”

“Such women were destined to be unfaithful. Crazy women who disregard honor and family for simple curiosity are worthless regardless of their purity, aren’t they?”

The reason for pressuring Darien Kael to accept the maiden as his bride was both because he hoped the person his son loved wasn’t himself and because he wished his heart would turn away, even if that were the case.

“Hmm…”

However, it was clear that his mother’s intentions were not being accepted. The man stroking his stubbled chin showed no sign of compromise.

“Mother, I will be honest with you.”

“What…?”

“Except for the fact that the object of my affection is not a maiden, she is an impeccable woman. So there is no need for you to oppose this.”

“Even so, as a lady of the house marrying off her son, there can’t help but be dissatisfaction. As far as I know, you also have no experience with women, right? Emotionally, it’s better for pure people to marry each other. It will bring stability to future generations in many ways.”

“Are people who are not maidens or bachelors impure? I don’t think so.”

“…No, that’s not what I meant. Never mind. Stop joking around and bring her here right now. I need to see who the beloved you’ve chosen is.”

Darien’s urgency grew. His headache was already severe, and as the conversation dragged on, he began to lose patience.

Today, his son seemed completely unfamiliar, making the conversation even more exhausting. There were many things to address besides this, but for now, he just wanted to alleviate his immediate anxiety and return to his lodging to collapse.

Darin’s face began to crumple at Kael’s response demanding a break in the conversation. While he understood his mother’s perspective, her persistent refusal was infuriating. He had even gone as far as treating her to tea to make an unavoidable fact clear, but she rejected even that…

The man brushed through his glossy white hair roughly and stared into the void as he muttered, “Why do you keep pretending not to know…?”

He spoke clearly, making sure his words reached his mother’s ears distinctly.