episode_0012

Since declaring me as his “childhood friend,” the lady of the manor had to face a new trial.

“W-what on earth is this?”

Upon returning to the central chairman, the men looked at Cael with envious eyes.

The noble ladies looked at me with jealous eyes.

I asked my son why he did that…

“I introduced you as my guardian and childhood friend to others as well.”

He did so to explain to all the nobles just as he had explained to the hero.

“Congratulations, Cael. Your fiancée is not just ordinarily beautiful.”

“Viscount Gestin, she’s not my fiancée, just a childhood friend. I’m the one pursuing her.”

“Haha, where would a woman be who could continue to push away a man like you? She quite likes you too, doesn’t she, Orange Lady?”

“Yes, yes… H-hoho…”

Mandarin suddenly became an Orange family lady overnight. It was absurd, but since the position was what it was, she couldn’t even show a hint of it outwardly.

“How am I going to handle this for real? The aftermath is going to be enormous…”

It was an unexpected and hastily made setup. There was no prior agreement with my son. Therefore, to minimize the verbal slip-ups, Darin decided that hiding behind Cael and awkwardly smiling at the nobles was the best course of action.

– Kwak.

Even though my son was having conversations with the nobles who had faces, I could see the sway in his waist. It was exasperating to see the repercussions of lies expanding uncontrollably.

I believe my son when he apologizes to the hero and says he’ll take care of it himself. But what’s the point of lying to his actual fiancée?

“Cael, how do you plan to handle the aftermath?”

The boy with a rock-like body turned his head towards the murmuring mother. Meanwhile, the person spouting lies seemed completely unfazed.

“Please understand. It’s because other noble ladies are trying to get involved.”

“I understand what you mean, but you said you have a separate fiancée, didn’t you!? Then why don’t you bring that lady here and be done with it?”

“I am engaged to the woman I marked with a dot, and she is my mother.”

“Kyle! Are you kidding right now!?”

The frustrated face of the red-haired girl wrinkled. Despite her stern expression, she seemed like an angry hamster in her pitiful state, but it was clear that she was upset because of her son.

“This is not a joke. Haven’t I always told you? I am always sincere.”

“No, ugh…”

The son’s attitude of joking around with a serious demeanor was enough to upset his parents. Even jokes can be too much. Darrin grabbed her head with one hand and twisted her waist. She didn’t understand why her son introduced her as his childhood friend. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it have been better to explain to the hero that she was a nanny?

“Hoo, how are you going to explain this to your father when he returns from the expedition?”

“You don’t need to worry about my father.”

“What do you mean there’s nothing to worry about? How ridiculous would it be if people at church heard that my wife and son are lovers?”

“My father will not show any signs of being ridiculous. No, he won’t be able to do that at all.”

“What…?”

Darrin could only look puzzled at her confident son. Could it be that they had already discussed this with her husband? Even so, the setting of “childhood friends” seems excessive.

“No matter how much you try to disguise it, if rumors spread like this, it becomes meaningless…”

The girl started to cry. She had gone out for the first time in a long while with a joyful heart, but except for when she first visited the palace, there hadn’t been a single sweet moment.

“Mother, aside from that, you don’t look well.”

Even in her son’s eyes, his mother looked very tired. Beads of sweat due to tension appeared on her forehead. Her face looked paler than usual. Her thin ankles were trembling, which was pitiful.

Darin’s mind was already a mess. It wasn’t just causing trouble for her son by insisting on unnecessary outings, but the situation became even more dizzying as she and her son were seen as having a childish relationship in the society filled with nobles. The aftermath far exceeded what a lady of her standing could tolerate.

“How absurd must it seem from a husband’s perspective?”

She had always been discreet at home, so sneaking out, along with the rumor of an affair with her own child, would surely bring disgrace if discovered. Things had somewhat settled now, but she knew that if provoked, this person would turn fiercely hostile.

But revealing herself as a noblewoman to others was not an option. Her husband’s words echoed in her mind.

“I may be a king in my small domain, but there are stronger nobles in the capital. Refrain from going out. Surely there are those who would harm you to possess you. I will not give up my companion, so I would have no choice but to confront and perish with them.”

She regretted mocking her past self, who had laughed at her husband’s flattery and the sycophants. Perhaps she had been living under an illusion all along, and it wasn’t really her.

“Look, being beautiful doesn’t benefit me at all, does it…?”

Initially dismissed as vanity, upon arriving at the palace, it became clear that her beauty was indeed exceptional. Darin may have been naive in some respects, but certainly not foolish, despite pretending to be her son’s lover. The fact that no one seemed suspicious left no room for doubt.

Most of all, the way young nobles looked at her was unsettling.

“Why, why…? Why do they look at a woman with an owner like that?”

Darin knew very well what those looks meant. When Bayoren, the first passerby, looked at her, it was the same predatory gaze.

If given the chance, the male’s desire to turn back time was clearly felt. Considering my son’s reputation and power, it wouldn’t be a mere indiscretion.

Could it be that I’m being underestimated as a fallen noblewoman? Or perhaps the central nobles are more dissolute than I thought. Since we are not yet in a lover’s relationship, maybe there will be an opportunity for me as well. Nevertheless, the lady of the house began to feel nauseous due to various factors.

“Kael, I feel so dizzy…”

Darine couldn’t help but express her honest emotions about her son’s concern. At this rate, she felt like she might make a serious mistake. She even thought it might be better to leave the place.

“I, I think I was wrong. I shouldn’t have recklessly broken free from the Baiyoren’s control…”

A faint hint of tears welled up in his muddled pumpkin-colored eyes. Was the problem that a country mouse had come to a place where it didn’t belong and didn’t understand the subject? If so, he wanted to go back to his mouse hole right now.

“Let’s go somewhere else. Somewhere just for the two of us, just for a little while…”

“Just the two of us…?”

“Yes, quickly.”

Sweaty, small hands wrapped around his large son’s wrist and pulled him along. Kael’s face turned red. It seemed as if his mother’s words were bewitching men in some way.

Regardless of what feelings her son might have, Darine is impatient. The young and lively noble ladies were everywhere, and the gazes of the men were directed at her face and bosom. Already cautious due to past wounds, facing such open stares made her head spin.

– Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Without a word, Akkael took Darine to a separate room. Although this situation was somewhat intended, his mother’s resistance was stronger than expected.

– Thud.

Pushing aside the beautifully decorated curtain, a man and a woman stepped inside. The separate room had a peculiar atmosphere with a red bed, leaving Darine overwhelmed by the headache. She could only bury her head in her hands when the bed came into view.

“Mother, are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine.”

She replied that she was okay to her son, but in reality, she wasn’t at all. If it hadn’t been for her beloved son’s coming-of-age ceremony, she would have immediately run to the carriage and returned to being an artist.

“Your complexion is too pale.”

“It’ll get better with time…”

To others, it might seem like an overly sensitive reaction, but for her, who had suffered deeply from trauma related to men since childhood, these outbursts might have seemed natural.

Now, she may be seen as a lady and a mother, but when she first had an oppressive sexual encounter with her husband, she was only 14 years old. The sexual intercourse that took place during a time when she couldn’t accept being a “woman” could only leave deep scars in her heart.

“Kael, you shouldn’t leave your room for a while. It’s awkward to be misunderstood as just childhood friends with you…”

“…I understand.”

Kael looked a bit upset, but Darin didn’t catch on. He was just feeling repulsed by being mistaken for his mother’s lover.

Kael gently dabbed his mother’s face with a handkerchief to wipe away her sweat. While Darin sat there with a blank expression, she began to regain her peace of mind under the care of her dear son.

Looking at his lovely mother with her eyes closed, Kael smiled. In this place, there was no need to worry about the gazes of other nobles or servants. It was a perfect “secret room” with just the two of them.

“Mother…”

The scent of a woman wafted through the tightly enclosed space between her swollen breasts. There would be an even stronger female scent between her armpits and legs. The warm air swirling in the confined space began to fill Kael’s nostrils.

“I’m sorry.”

Kael apologized to his mother. To Darin, it might have seemed like an unexpected behavior, but from her son’s perspective, it wasn’t so unexpected after all.

The woman felt a strong aversion towards men, knowing that her upcoming actions would surely cause great pain. It was due to the accumulated resentment from her childhood and the sense of reward she felt when other men were harmed in front of her. There was only one choice for Darin in Kael’s situation.

However, Darin just smiled softly and gently stroked her son’s hand. She misunderstood her mother’s shock as an apology for what happened today.

“You don’t have to apologize so much, it’s okay. It must be because you meant well. My mother doesn’t know much about the church…”

Being with her reliable son in an empty space made her feel relieved. She quietly loosened her corset to relieve some of the discomfort.

“Phew, finally feeling alive.”

As her constrained chest opened up, an incomparable fragrance filled the room. This caused Kael’s lower body to swell, but his birth mother wouldn’t notice.

With conflicting emotions, the two mothers held hands without saying a word. The face of a little boy who had cried bitterly, with scraped knees, appeared in her mind. At this moment, only the adopted child truly cared for her.

“Lately, I’ve been reminded of a fairy tale my mother used to tell me when I was young.”

“…Huh? What fairy tale?”

Darin, who had been silent for a while, blinked repeatedly, realizing that she shouldn’t fall asleep as the ceremony was about to begin.

“She told me so many stories. What are you talking about?”

The stories Darin usually told her son were mostly based on myths and folktales she had read in her past life. Since the spectrum was quite diverse, Kael often listened attentively to his mother’s words.

The expression on her son’s face as he looked at his mother with a puzzled look seemed complex. It was a rare opportunity for them to be alone together, and Darin was afraid to ask for her opinion, fearing a negative reaction.

However, if you don’t muster up the courage, won’t you just be standing still? Despite making it so obvious, it’s treated as a joke. Of course, considering her and their relationship, such a reaction is natural.

“What’s with all the hesitation? Just say it already.”

As the response was delayed, the frustrated woman began to pout softly. The cold sweat that had been clinging to the hand holding onto her son’s wrist had suddenly evaporated. Having somewhat regained composure, it shouldn’t be too difficult to bring up this topic.

“Do you happen to remember the story of Oedipus?”