Side Story 9: Mother (5)
“Michael Lighart, a servant of god working in Crescenta empire’s Temple. At your service.”
Looking at Michael who gave her a warm salutations as well, Serena nodded, dumbfounded.
“I’m S-Serena.”
“Oh my, what a coincidence, I… really wanted to meet you in person.”
“Huh?”
“I was just coming from asking His Grace if I may meet both you and Junior Count Orgiu.
“M-me too?”
“Yes. Though the monthly baptism has passed, I was intending on sharing the force of blessings as we have a meal together. With Priestess Deborah over there too. I want to wish god’s will to be with you as well, Serena…” Michael added, looking slightly troubled, “I understand how devastated you may be. Still… don’t cry now.”
Michael’s hand slowly rose to wipe Serena’s wet eyes. He looked at the tear on his long white finger with a look of pity, then quietly closed his eyes as he kissed the tip of his hand.
Serena’s mouth gaped. It was such a holy consolation that she had never seen or heard of before.
“Though I may not be of great help to you, I can understand your sentiment better than anyone, Miss Serena. Please do not be heartbroken.”
“…Yes.” Serena forced her lips to move and wrung out an answer.
Serena may have agreed to join in Malcolm’s plan because she had no other choice, but she was also ruthless and selfish at heart. She did not feel guilty about what she was doing.
Even the slight fear she had before has flown away at the hope of her devastating life getting overturned if things worked out well.
In other words, she didn’t feel sorry for the confused 14 year old Childe or the duchess who was having her position threatened at all.
But looking at Michael’s transparent and honest sentiment, Serena could feel a side of her heart stinging.
It had to be her conscience.
* * *
After sharing a few more words, Michael left the castle with Serena and Abel was dragged out upon Deborah’s request to show her the gardens. Calten was with them.
Looking around the garden was just an excuse. It seemed that Deborah wanted to cheer Abel up. She held his hand right away.
“P-P-Priestess.”
Flustered, Abel floundered but Deborah was nonchalant.
“Are you alright? Your expression is so dark, Childe. It’s making me worried.”
“I am fine.”
“Liar. The Grand priest told me to say I’m hurt when I’m hurt and say I’m not okay if I’m not okay. He said it’s a right only children have. Later when we become grown ups, there will come a time when I shouldn’t say I’m hurt even if I am and don’t say I’m not fine even if I am not.”
Hearing the ten year old giving such mature consolation unbecoming of her years, Abel gave out a small laugh.
“I am not a child anymore though.”
“Yes you are.”
“No, though you may be a child yourself, Priestess.”
“I am all grown up!”
“You? Your height can’t even reach up to my chest.”
“It’s just my height!”
“Both of you are children so cut out this meaningless conversation.”
Calten stepped in to mediate and Abel snickered.
Deborah puffed her cheeks full of air and pouted.
“Anyways, the grand priest seems to be very amicable to that woman. Though, to be fair, he is a man who is kind to all,” Calten said thinking that was unexpected, but Deborah shook her head.
“He only looks like that on the outside, but he doesn’t take too kindly to her. I hate her too.”
Hearing Deborah say she out-right hated her, Abel flinched in surprise. Deborah eyes Abel with her eyes narrowed and asks.
“What? Do you find her amicable, Childe?”
“N-no, it’s not like that…”
“Isn’t she someone who discarded you when you were little? Don’t tell me that your heart is torn just because she is your mom by blood.”
“…Huh?”
Deborah’s gaze had grown cold for some reason.
“Just because she gave birth does not make her your mother. Your mother is the duchess, Childe.”
“I-I think that too. It’s not that my heart is torn…”
“Then what?”
“It’s the opposite. At the end of the day, she was the one who gave give birth to me, yet I find myself odd not feeling anything towards her, and I feel sorry that mother and father seem to be so mindful of her, and I feel a little upset at her for suddenly appearing…”
“That’s not odd at all, Childe,” Deborah said, tightly grasping Abel’s hand in hers.
“You have never been loved by her. It’s only natural that you have no sentiments for her. In truth, I’ve gone and met the duke and duchess before coming to you. I felt like the duchess was uneasy.”
“Mother was?”
Abel recalled Aisha in surprise.
Indeed, he could see where Deborah was coming from. It wasn’t just him who was feeling confused by the sudden appearance of his birth mother. Aisha must feel the same.
The reason why she was nervous was not because she was concerned about people’s opinion of her because of the birth mother’s existence nor was it because of the reputation of Louvremont.
It was because of just one reason: Abel himself.
She was worried for him, who must be confused meeting his birth mother.
She was worried that he may feel more attached towards the birth mother.
She must be worried about whether he’d be able to keep his position as the heir to the duchy.
She must be worried about…
“Haa…” Hiding his face with two hands, a long sigh escaped out of Abel’s lips.
“If you haven’t found a sudden attachment towards your birth mother from nowhere, Tell the duchess that you love her, like you did every day. You haven’t told her that you love her, nor did you kiss her for few days now. You are such a bad boy, Childe.”
“M-mother told you about such things?”
“I can see why she’s looking down. Come to think of it, didn’t you use to spend almost the whole day by her side before?”
Calten got up from his seat naturally and stretched his arms.
“I better go meet my master now. Why don’t you go to the duchess and give her a kiss or something, Childe?”
“Right, and have a snack with me later.”
Calten and Deborah shoved Abel on the back. After hesitating for a moment, he gave a nod.
As Deborah said, it seemed he would still need to tell his mother that he loved her. It’s been a few days already since he had purposefully ignored her because he felt sorry to see her face.
* * *
With slow steps as if feeling hesitant, Abel had just arrived at Aisha’s door.
He could hear two voices from inside. It looked like Hades was in there too.
“Why are you always like this?”
“That’s what I want to say.”
For some reason, the atmosphere was tense and Abel just stood by the door with his ears opened wide, unable to open the door.
It seemed that they had been fighting for a while already. Both their voices were quite agitated.
“I don’t care. Worry about you and Abel first.”
“I am already being selfish enough. If that woman really is Abel’s birth mother, it’s right to reveal the truth just as Abel said.”
“I said you can’t. If we reveal the truth, our own vassals would be coming for Abel before anyone else.”
“Tell them to do so if they don’t value their lives. I will burn off all their heads.”
“Why are you acting so childish?”
“I could say the same thing to you. Why are you being so soft?”
He could guess the reason why they were fighting. Hades seemed to want to get rid of Serena’s existence since he was unable to do anything about her for the moment. Of course, the best way to do so would be to announce that Abel is not his son by blood and strip him of his title as the heir.
But from what he could hear, it seemed that Hades was thinking of revealing the truth but still keep Abel as Louvremont heir.
‘Does father really think… that makes sense?’
He could perfectly understand Aisha’s frustration. The vassals would be outraged and all the Crescentians who have placed Louvremont in high regard would be talking behind their backs.
A Louvremont heir that was not of the Louvremont lineage.
‘There’s no way.’
Aisha was being stubborn in her own way as well. She seemed to think about protecting Abel’s position as the heir even if it meant taking the secret that Abel is not his son by blood to the grave.
Just why… is there no option that to bequeath the heir to his sibling who would be born in the future? It was tearfully moving that Aisha and Hades thought so much of him, but a situation like this was merely too much pressure.
Abel blamed himself; he felt agonized at this very situation where his existence was causing trouble in the Louvremont house and creating conflicts between a loving couple. He felt pain in that.
“Your existence is not only important to me and Abel, now you matter to the empire as well. I don’t want to drag this on like this and make you a laughing stock.”
“I’m not a laughing stock. I don’t want to become a mother who gets in her son’s way. Don’t mind me and think it through carefully. I-I don’t care what becomes of me…”
“Look at you talking. You deserve a beating.”
Hades’ voice suddenly got sharp.
Abel gasped for air as he heard in silence.
“It’s my fault, I am useless, I’m fine, don’t mind me… I’m sick and tired of hearing you saying all that.”
“…”
“I told you before. Even if you really have done something wrong, no one can dare say that you’ve done anything wrong. I don’t want to hear you guilt-tripping yourself with your own mouth that you are of no use. You are as important as Abel is to me, no, even more important than Abel to me. How can I not mind?”
Although Hades’ sharp voice had soothed down, the atmosphere had become more threatening. Silence ran between them and only after a while, Hades’ voice came out.
“Haa… I have no choice. Come here. You need a beating. You are not well-educated enough.”
Unlike his soft voice, the content of it was threatening.
Abel’s eyes widened.
“Fine. I said I wouldn’t be talking that way, I’ve made a mistake. Please let it slip this one time.”
“What do you mean let it slip? You earned a beating, so you are getting a beating. Have I ever let things slip before?”
Abel had his cheek against the door with his ears puckered at the voices that had become smaller and clasped a hand over his mouth.
‘A beating? Is father about to beat up mother? What did she say that deserved a beating? No, even if she said something worthy of beating, he was using violence on her?’
Thinking of how small and skinny Aisha was compared to the giant Hades, Abel gave out a hollow laugh from bafflement.
From what they said, this wasn’t even the first. He had ‘been beating’ her until now. And Aisha was asking to let it slip just once, with his father coldly turning it down…
‘Why would father do something like…’
In the face of Hades’ true colors that he couldn’t even imagine for 10 years, Abel was surprised and clenched his fist without even knowing.
“Where do you think you are running away? Come here! You need a beating from me!”
Hades raised his voice slightly and at the same time Abel placed his shaking hand on the door handle.
The only person who could stop him now was himself.
“Ugh, do you really need to do this in this situation?”
“What’s that have to do with anything? Stop making me tired and come here at once. Hold still. I am going to beat you blue right over here.”
A cruel warning.
“Hauh!”
Aisha’s short scream seemed to have escaped her lips as her mouth was being forcefully covered.
Was he about to beat her with her mouth shut so that she can’t scream?
Enraged, Abel opened the door and shouted without hesitation.
“What do you think you are doing, father!”
There, Abel… saw everything.
The two of them collapsed over the table, seemingly not having any opportunity to even get to the bed,
The shameless hands running over each other,
Their indecent posture,
Kissing each other…
They were a couple in heat.