episode_0018

The inn, made of wood, was not a place where nobles stayed, but because it was located in the capital, it was quite neat.

Adorned with fine candles, the interior of the inn exuded a serene and orderly atmosphere, making it a suitable place for nobles to stay for a day or so for a modest retreat.

“Where is Emma? Celine? Lephia?”

The woman absentmindedly shaking her head here was, of course, Lady Mandarine. As soon as she arrived today, she planned to ask the maids to stay in the same room.

They might tell her that it’s not a place for a noble lady to stay, but she had just resolved to insist on staying together tonight no matter what.

“But where on earth did everyone go…?”

But here’s the problem. The spacious inn, which should have been bustling with people, was strangely quiet. The only person around, if you could call them that, was an old man who handed over the key to the maids’ room and then promptly disappeared.

“Kael said he’s staying here too…”

This was the place where her son would spend the night today. Since his mother insisted on not staying at the hospitality, he had informed her that he would accompany her here.

Because of his persistence, Darin felt even more anxious. It was an unwritten rule that men, except for their husbands, did not enter the room where a noblewoman was alone. But Kael seemed likely to force his way in under the pretext of being her son.

“Should I wander outside? Or should I book another place right now? But the petty cash is held by the servants…?”

Noble ladies did not carry wallets. Carrying money in noble society was considered ungraceful. It was not just Darin who thought so; even the surrounding servants felt the same way. They earnestly advised the mistress not to carry a wallet, even if it was poorly attached inside.

Respecting the opinions of the users at that time, it’s regrettable how it turned out. There was a brief emergency pouch in the lining, but all that was inside was pepper for repelling insects.

‘What should I do…? Should I just sleep outside? Yes, it would be better to do that than to get into an accident with my son.’

Darin, who looked anxiously out the window and pondered, even considered extreme choices to avoid the crisis, but…

– Bang!

The cruel deity intervened to stop even this. An unexpected downpour came. It’s truly awkward to face winter with such a situation.

The once silent inn was suddenly filled with thunder. The hail-like rain intensified Darin’s isolation. Any accident here would surely be concealed by the sound of rain.

Yes, for example, murder, theft, or even if her son, in heat, were to assault her…

Because the rain was so heavy, knowing this fact, Darin couldn’t bring herself to leave the inn hastily. It would be madness to wander around getting soaked in this chilly weather.

“Haah…”

A sigh close to lamentation escaped the girl’s lips. It seemed even more insane to directly enter the room in such a dangerous situation where her son might visit. If she were to face such a situation, her principles and morals would surely be distorted. To Darin, who had fallen into this world with nothing, family was everything. This was more precious than anything else.

“Kael, Kael… Huk!”

Therefore, deliberately ignoring the thunder, Darin pushed open the inn’s entrance, deciding to sleep outside. She didn’t understand why her son harbored dangerous thoughts, but she was worried about what would become of her son’s future if an accident occurred.

Darin was an unbearably kind mother. Even in this situation, her son’s bright future was far more precious than her own safety.

Mother and wife.

That kind of status didn’t matter. I was not happy because I was a lady, but because I was the mother of Kael and Piel. I didn’t want to die like a crazy girl who takes her son’s genitals. The rough downpour was quite intense, but if I could avoid the rain under a tree, I wouldn’t freeze to death. The determined girl began pushing the thick wooden door with trembling hands.

“Kkiik…”

The woman swallowed her sobs and prepared to face the downpour.

“Huh!?”

She couldn’t push the door any further due to the huge shadow blocking it. She just collapsed, clutching her buttocks in pain.

“Mother, where are you rushing off to? It’s raining heavily outside…”

Kael, who had suddenly transformed into a filial son, was now standing there. There was no trace of the earlier vile demon in his worried and gentle actions as he kindly helped his fallen mother.

Darin, in her calm and weak state, almost mistook what had just happened at the café for a dream.

“Just a short walk…?”

“Haha, that’s an exaggeration. A walk in this weather? Tomorrow morning the rain will stop, so it would be better for you to go out with your son then.”

“What about the others?”

“The servants have other things to do, so they decided to stay elsewhere. You can rest assured and return to your lodging to get some good rest.”

Staying elsewhere for other matters? It was a very clumsy excuse. It was nothing less than a blatant provocation towards her mother. Whether you know something or reject my feelings, today, you won’t be able to leave this place…

“……”

Exhausted, Darin had no energy left to argue. Instead, she chose to avoid friction, knowing that if she provoked her son’s temper, it might lead to a bigger incident than expected.

“…Okay.”

She slowly climbed the stairs to her lodging after giving a brief reply. If a man like Kael had arrived here, there was nothing she could do. Her son’s face seemed kind when he tried to go outside, but his determined refusal was evident in his dilated pupils.

Finding the lodging wasn’t difficult. Among the lined-up entrance doors, only one was wide open.

She wanted to enter and catch her breath quickly. However, as she tried to lock the door, another problem arose.

“Wait, there’s no lock!?”

How surprised must she have been for her inner thoughts to burst out? But it was understandable. The handle and lock were roughly torn out when she pushed the door open.

Only two people around Dallin possessed such strength. Her husband, Bayoren Jazak, who was away on a mission, couldn’t be here. That meant it was very obvious…

“Ah…”

The woman swallowed her sadness and wandered outside the door. She immediately started busily searching for another room to enter, but…

– Click, click.

The doors of the other lodgings were securely locked. The only place she could enter with the key she received was the maids’ bedroom with the broken door. This meant that was the only place allowed for Dallin.

Thud, thud. Exhausted, she reluctantly returned to the bedroom. She was afraid of running into her son outside.

“When you go to bed tonight, leave the door open. The ‘young child’ you mentioned will let you know,” her daughter-in-law said.

The ominous remark her son made echoed in her mind. Kael never gave her any choice from the beginning. Breaking the door and then saying if she wanted, she could leave it open? It was a ridiculous joke.

“…Tangerine?”

A modest basket appeared in her anxious gaze. Inside were heaps of tangerines, her favorite fruit.

Confronted with the orange fruits amidst her turmoil, she felt a slight uplift. When stressed, she used to chew on tangerines. Perhaps it started from the moment she was assaulted by her husband, an incident she named “the assault.”

Darine knew who had brought it. Emma, her personal maid, must have separately prepared the tangerines, knowing her mistress would want them.

– Munch.

Feeling assured enough to eat, she grabbed the tangerines and oranges. She was also quite thirsty today as she hadn’t had any tea.

– Munch munch munch.

As she devoured the tangerines, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster’s. Quite a cute sight for her age.

The tangerines and oranges quickly vanished from the girl’s hands as she crouched under the blanket. The stress of suddenly becoming a “mandarin orange” princess overnight was clearly intense.

“Yum yum…”

Despite having two children, her cheeks remained round and chubby, just like when she was nursing her second child, Pie. Even though Pie was twenty years old, she still received the same doting treatment as if she were the younger sibling whenever they traveled to remote places.

“It’s delicious, it’s so good…”

One would expect her to be happy eating her favorite fruits, yet strangely, she felt only endless despair, like an abyss.

“Hehe, hehe…”

Her mouth chewed on the tangerines while above, her eyes welled up like an impending storm. Afraid her son might attack if she closed her eyes, she couldn’t rest despite being exhausted. In a situation on the brink of collapse, all her mother could do was sadly chew on the tangerines.

And that night.

The uninvited guest who unexpectedly visited in the dead of night was a foreseen disaster.