episode_0017

“Why do you keep pretending not to know?” With those words, suffocating silence fell between the two hats.

Anxiety, disgust, uneasiness, and other negative emotions that should not be felt towards one’s own son overwhelmed Darien’s mind.

“Why do you keep pretending not to know…?”

When unexpected remarks came from her son’s mouth, Darien could only think about how to react.

“Why, why? Why would a healthy child…?”

He had always shown an obedient and kind demeanor for over 20 years. It was truly unbelievable that a son with such upright character would hold his birth mother in his heart. Darien blinked incessantly, wanting to escape this heavy reality. Hoping it was just a crazy dream.

The ungrateful son, unable to fathom his mother’s heart, continued to spout out things he wanted to say, looking at the pitiful girl who had stopped breathing due to excessive tension.

“Come to think of it, isn’t your mother also a virgin?”

The woman listening to the story turned pale, almost turning blue. Even her trembling plum-colored lips. The girl’s precarious state would have been pitiable to anyone.

“Oh, no, what on earth…”

The woman shook her head, pulling back. Her posture resembled a small herbivore cowering before a large beast.

Why did the mother suddenly bring up the word “virgin” when the topic was about welcoming the son’s bride as a virgin? Not only did the context not match, but she herself was a married woman who had given birth to two children.

“W-what are you saying? How do you think your mother gave birth to you?”

“She gave her body to father against her will. There wasn’t love, was there? Since the man your mother allowed into her heart doesn’t exist in this world, Mother is indeed a pure virgin.”

Finally, the lady realized what her son meant by those words. She tried to block her ears, not wanting to hear any more.

– Clang.

The grip of the snake-like hand held both of his hands, and even this was hindered. Kael quietly pressed his face against his mother, wondering if she truly wanted to say something.

“Eek!”

His mother jerked her head back in terror. But there was nothing behind but a small head. It was a meaningless act as his hands were tied.

The man’s rough lips slowly parted. Watching this, Darin thought it looked like a large beast devouring a small animal.

“Well, wouldn’t there be no problem from your perspective, Mother?”

Whether Darin’s heart was pounding in the face of cruel reality or not, the man only pounded despair into his mother’s ears with a serene voice.

“Since the woman your son has chosen as his bride is indeed a virgin.”

It was a clear despair that could no longer be ignored. Realizing that her son’s heart truly belonged to her, the mother could only stammer like a fool without saying anything.

“Oh, ah…”

Instead of an answer, trembling and panting breaths seemed to be the limit. Her brain, unable to bear the overwhelming disgust, seemed to be collapsing. The woman wanted to stroke her flushed hair again to calm her breathing, but even that was impossible as her hands were held.

“Oh, isn’t this wrong?”

Is there still something more he wants to say? Kael smiled wickedly and opened his mouth again.

“The one who awakened the emotion called love in you is none other than me, isn’t it? Now I see, it wasn’t the tyrant who took away your purity, it was your own son. Haha, I was really foolish. Not realizing that, I came here spinning around like this…”

Kael harbored a gentle laughter and stared at his mother. Although his dark blue eyes flashed with a strong desire like never before.

“So, the one who should truly take responsibility for you is me. Not father, but me.”

Having finished his confession, Kael carefully released his mother’s hand. Then he leaned back in his chair and even managed to put on an incongruously calm smile.

I just uttered words to my mother that were tantamount to a proposal. She will surely need time to sort out her feelings. However, I had to show a somewhat indifferent attitude. I don’t want that time to be prolonged. It was almost like an admonition from an unfilial son to his mother.

Kael was an undutiful son, but he didn’t try to show an arrogant attitude. Ultimately, he was a man who confessed his love, so there was a somewhat devout aspect to him. His straight waist and proper posture maintained a sense of dignity.

Even if rejected, there was no need to suffer further. Whether at home, in the carriage, or in the drawing room. I had indirectly faced my mother’s rejection several times already. I wasn’t a coward held back by past wounds, unable to face forward.

This is the last chance I offer to my mother, knowing she might reject it. Emotions when accepting and when not accepting the same thing will be quite different.

The view of the café with the rosemary-shaped green chandelier was quite splendid and spacious. Except for Kael and Darin, the place seemed deserted. The staff seemed to have left after preparing the tea.

In this silence, there seemed to be no one to rescue the girl.

Today, we didn’t have much conversation, and the weather wasn’t particularly hot. Strangely, Darin’s whole body was covered in cold sweat. He only unfolded dark, ominous thoughts while inhaling the faint scent of flowers emanating from there.

“…”

But the prolonged silence was uncomfortable. At that moment, I thought I should appeal to my mother in another way.

“W-well, yes. That could work.”

Mother spoke first.

“It’s okay, Kael. It’s okay. You’re still young, so you might be confused about your feelings…”

Darin continued, clenching his forearms tightly to suppress what seemed like an imminent sob.

“You’re mistaken right now. The woman who was always around was me, so… Yes, that seems right.”

The son’s face was wrinkled. Even if it was upsetting to push away my feelings as a parent, I could understand it. However, denying one’s own emotions that had been held for a lifetime was uncomfortable, even for the object of pity, his mother.

“Mother, your son is already twenty-three. To older people, he may seem young, but didn’t you give birth to me at fifteen? It’s been a long time since I couldn’t even recognize my own emotions.”

“No, no. In a mother’s eyes, you are still young. Didn’t I say before? In a mother’s past life, the early twenties were a time when social life hadn’t even begun.”

It was unnecessary talk. What did that have to do with now? In this world, being twenty-three was an age at which one could become a respectable head of a household. And above all, Kael didn’t believe his mother’s story about her past life.

This would be true for the majority of the inhabitants of this world, including him. Even the statement of a hero from another dimension was dismissed as nonsense in society. Non-reincarnated individuals from this world believed they had come in response to the call of the warp somewhere on the continent. They might number two or three in a generation, so such attitudes of the inhabitants of this world were perhaps natural.

‘Everyone makes mistakes multiple times in their lives. That’s no different for Kael…’

But no matter how his son looked at him, Daren would try to persuade Kael and squeeze his head in every way possible. Now, I won’t deny the fact that my son is mourning me. It must be an undeniable reality by now. However, even so…

“Kael, no matter how old a child gets, to a mother, they are still a child and a source of worry. It can never be that kind of relationship.”

“Don’t you think you should try it before saying that?”

“What, what are you saying!? What on earth are you talking about!?”

Enveloped in delusions of persecution, his mother’s delicate hand slammed the table. Her sensitive emotions even took brief remarks as mockery. She raised her voice to the point of shouting.

“…Are you curious?”

But unfortunately, it wasn’t just a delusion of persecution.

“Then, when you go to bed tonight, leave the door open. The ‘young child’ that Mother mentioned will let you know.”

“Huh, huh…?”

Darine noticed her son’s dangerous intentions and her face turned pale. Kyle couldn’t hide his hesitation and looked at his mother, who had turned into ice, with a sneer. It meant, “Try to escape once if you can.”

“I wanted to be a little gentler, but I guess it can’t be helped.”

To others, Kyle’s attitude might seem truly sinister for a man showing genuine love.

But to Kyle, Darine was his parent. If he didn’t intend to give up on this feeling, it was impossible to understand her position straightforwardly. If that were the case, it would be impossible to continue.

The woman he loved was a ‘normal mother.’ Such a person would never allow her heart to be swayed, no matter how gently or harshly her son treated her. So, what stance should Kyle take?

“If I make the situation like that, Mother will eventually have to accept me. For example, if I drive her crazy with sex. Or if everyone except Mother and me sees us as lovers… There are many ways to try in the future.”

One of the reasons for bringing his mother to the improvement ceremony was also among them. By pretending to dislike it outwardly and allowing it, his mother surely wouldn’t be able to blame him.

He had to behave in a way that seemed dangerous to his mother but not become a villain. He wouldn’t commit forceful rape like his damned father. When his mother accepted him, he hoped she would shed tears of joy.

“No, I am, I mean, I’m your mother…”

A tremor occurred in her orange-colored irises. As a married woman, there was no way she wouldn’t understand the meaning behind his statement.

Kyle raised his lips while looking at the woman who couldn’t hide her hesitation. It meant that he would do his best, and all his mother had to do was accept it. Facing this, Darine must have felt like a terrible beast’s smile, but that’s just how it was.

– Swoosh.

The girl who couldn’t bear the despair desperately pushed the chair away, slammed the cafe door, and rushed out. This is not right, I’m crazy, it’s filthy, disgusting! Pouring out various kinds of blame, she couldn’t control her anger and finally burst into tears…

The old man with white hair did not stop her.

– Clatter.

Casually crossing his legs, he looked forward to tonight.