[Time passed day by day.]
[For a long lived being like you, a year and a day make no difference at all.]
[Ever since Toru entered your life, you gradually learned things you had never known before.]
[How to care for a child's emotions, what to do when they reach a rebellious phase?]
This was basically raising a son.
Kagarino Kirie tilted her head, thinking that if this continued, she would really turn into the little boy's mother.
[Toru is very well behaved. He never argues with you, even though you have always used a cold and detached approach in raising him.]
[But Toru knows that in this world, there are very few people who are kind to him. After being abandoned by his parents, there is only one person left whom he deems worthy of his love.]
[The child grows bigger and bigger.]
[He reaches the age to attend kindergarten.]
[Recently, Toru has developed an interest in the piano. You often see him playing in the villa's piano room.]
[Over the long years, you have learned nearly every musical instrument. A pile of useless knowledge and skills. To you, his playing technique is still very immature.]
[Humans, in the end, are only like this…]
[Over hundreds of years, you have seen countless brilliant talents. A few decades later, without exception, they all turn into a handful of yellow earth.]
[Humans always bloom with their most dazzling colors within limited time.]
[After a few more decades, the boy before you may also leave you.]
[At that time, what kind of emotion would you feel?]
[You have never raised a pet, but on social forums, countless human owners feel sorrow, even shed tears, when their pets pass away.]
[Presumably, when Toru leaves you, the situation will be much the same.]
['What a fragile race.' You stand in the piano room, listening to the piece he plays for you, thinking this to yourself.]
[Time flies like a white horse passing a crack.]
[Time always slips away without notice.]
[Toru reaches the age to attend elementary school, and you find a private school nearby for him.]
[The tuition is expensive, but the wealth you have accumulated is not to be underestimated. Raising him for hundreds of lifetimes would not be a problem.]
[In third grade.]
[Toru is discovered by a talent scout nearby. With Toru's looks and piano talent, his future is bright. The scout originally wanted to ask the guardian, that is, your opinion.]
[But you did not want to think about it, so you pushed the decision onto the young Toru.]
[You believe that his future should be chosen by himself.]
Piano…
Toru?
"Sounds a bit familiar," Kagarino Kirie murmured, as if she had heard the name somewhere before.
She did not watch television often. Compared to dramas, she preferred literary books.
But the name Toru did ring a bell.
[Toru agreed to the talent scout. Under your supervision, you signed the contract.]
[Because of your powerful background, the agency did not dare include exploitative clauses or play any tricks.]
[In the second year, under capital operations, Toru quickly gained considerable fame.]
[With his cute appearance, combined with piano skills that did not match his age, this contrast allowed Toru to rapidly accumulate a large number of mother fans, becoming a dazzling and shining star in the world of child celebrities.]
[During this period, you often browse information about him online.]
[When you see messages praising the child, your mood improves greatly. Gradually, this becomes one of your forms of entertainment.]
[On the other hand, when antis smear him, you often feel the urge to go offline and teach them a lesson.]
Kagarino Kirie blinked.
This was bad. She had completely become his mother.
[Of course, when facing him, you still maintain a proud attitude. A vampire's dignity does not allow you to show concern for humans.]
[By the way, over these years, you gave up the plan of disguising yourself as a sixteen year old girl to attend school.]
[Your appearance has not changed much, still as beautiful and stunning as ever.]
[Toru participates in more and more music events, variety shows, and television dramas. You hear more and more news about him. People call him 'piano prodigy,' 'a once in a thousand years beautiful boy,' 'a musical treasure bestowed upon Japan by heaven,' and other similarly exaggerated titles.]
[You recall that three hundred years ago, there seemed to be a very famous pianist named Beethoven. You even heard his performance in person.]
[Humans' sense of time is truly hard for vampires to understand.]
[After all, phrases like 'once in a thousand years'… they have not even lived a thousand years themselves, so how can they say such things?]
[The piano emerged around the year 1700, the camera in 1872… Sitting in the study, muttering these things, you realize for the first time that humans and vampires perceive time very differently.]
[Things that seem like they happened just a few years ago to you are already information that can be recorded in history books for humans.]
[You cannot help but recall what happened last year.]
[Because Toru suddenly talked to you about 'romance,' the shy you did not speak to him for an entire week…]
In the eyes of a long lived being, seven days are equivalent to a few seconds.
But for humans, seven days are not a short period of time.
[Toru thought he had done something wrong and spent every day thinking very seriously about it.]
[In the end, he spoke to you and bowed in apology—]
["Onee-chan, I'm sorry."]
["What are we having for dinner tonight?"]
[Because it was just in time for dinner, you asked back.]
["Huh?"]
[You still remember the look of surprise in his eyes.]
[The child has grown a lot recently. His height has already reached your forehead.]
[After entering adolescence, boys really do grow quickly. There are gradually more points of masculine charm about him. Because he exercises often, his physique is excellent. His face is also your preferred type, and due to playing the piano since childhood, his temperament carries a gentle warmth.]
[The reason the topic of romance came up a year ago was actually because Toru had received many confessions during that period… as an entertainer, he was very popular among his peers.]
[Your conversation went as follows—]
["As a vampire, Onee-chan must have been in love many times, right?"]
[Several years ago.]
[After accidentally learning your true identity and not feeling the slightest fear, this child is truly impressive in some ways.]
["O-of course."]
[Romance? You had never considered such things… but to avoid showing weakness in front of the child, you decisively lied.]
["Onee-chan is amazing." He smiled brightly, with a faintly mischievous air.]
[You always feel like this guy is teasing you, but you cannot catch any small weakness of his.]
[In the future, you must definitely deal with this brat's arrogant attitude.]