Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Because She Loves Her Son
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Because she's a mother who loves her son.
Kairun checked the letter tucked in his bosom once more before setting off.
The corridor leading to the annex was quiet, a far cry from the bustle in the main building.
That's when Kairun, rounding a corner in the hallway, caught the hushed voices of the servants.
"Our lady really is an angel. She didn't even scold him for hanging around the kitchen—instead, she fed him a piece of tart."
"And it was delicious. Worth bringing in artisans from Eisen guard to learn from."
They were maids in the middle of cleaning.
Normally, he would have ignored them and walked past, but when his mother's name came up, Kairun found himself stopping without realizing it.
A faint smile crept across his lips at the servants' praise.
'As expected... Mother is respected by everyone.'
Even as a second wife, her innate gentleness and thoughtfulness had melted the rigid atmosphere of the Northguard family.
She was devoted not just to him, but to his half-brother from the first wife as well.
He was proud of such a mother.
But.
"Lady has such a craftsman's spirit, though. She burned her hands making two versions on purpose."
"Tell me about it. Have you tried the bitter one? They say it's the real deal—pure bitterness."
"I didn't even get a glimpse. Even the head chef who's been here over thirty years in the manor didn't get a taste."
"No way. Real foodies in Eisen guard hunt down the bitter version. The young lord brags about it so much—surely someone has tried it?"
Their ongoing conversation held Kairun's ankles in place.
'No one...?'
"Nope. Every tart she makes goes straight to Young Master Karl's room. We'd need leftovers to even taste it."
The maid giggled as she swept with her broom.
"Our little lord always raves about the sweet version being the best, though. He's the master's son and all, but honestly... isn't he kind of adorable? Annoyingly so."
"Shh, he'll hear you. He's still young—he doesn't know bitter tastes yet."
The words weren't malicious, but they itched in his ears like gossip all the same. Still, Kairun couldn't brush them away.
"Our young lord is such a tease, too. He knows how good the bitter version he eats is, so sometimes he offers it to us servants like, 'Want to try some?'"
"Really?"
"Yeah. But when you go to take a bite, he goes, 'Oh, I ate it all.' Last time, he just showed me an empty plate."
"Right, right. The two young masters are exactly alike. Little lord shows off the sweet one, young lord teases with the bitter. Moments like that prove blood's thicker than half-siblings ever could."
The servants' laughter faded into the distance.
But Kairun stood rooted to the spot.
The smile vanished from his face, hardening bit by bit.
'Something's off...'
Mother was kind enough to share tarts with everyone in the manor.
The sweet version—he'd eaten it until he was sick of it, and so had the servants.
'So why is it that no one's ever tasted the bitter version?'
Not even the head chef.
He'd never tried it himself.
Only his brother, Karl, knew its flavor.
Simply because it suited his tastes?
Or...
'Is there another reason...?'
Forbidden suspicions began to creep up on him.
Kairun shook his head fiercely, trying to shake off the irreverent thoughts.
But his body reacted honestly.
Thump.
His heart sank.
The tips of his fingers clutching the letter trembled faintly.
Puzzle pieces clicking together in his mind formed a picture far too horrifying.
'Mother... is a second wife...'
She'd entered after the previous grand duchess's death.
No matter how devoted, she walked a tightrope under the scrutiny of the family's retainers and servants.
Wise Mother surely knew that.
Yet she alone fed "unverified food" to the firstborn son and prime heir?
Food no one else had tasted.
Food that skipped even basic inspections.
If anything happened to his brother, she'd be the first suspected.
'Mother's the smartest person I know. So why court such danger?'
He couldn't understand it.
He didn't want to.
But cold logic pointed to one possibility.
'What if... it has something in it that no one else can taste...?'
"No... that can't be."
Kairun bit his lip and groaned.
Suspecting his gentle mother felt like a sin in itself.
She'd baked those tarts, even burning her hands in the process.
That devotion couldn't be fake.
But the cold thorn of doubt lodged in his chest dug deeper, refusing to budge.
'I have to confirm it.'
Kairun swallowed dryly and moved his feet.
The annex.
In front of Karl's office.
Kairun steadied his shaking breath and knocked.
Knock knock.
"...Come in."
A weary voice drifted from inside.
Kairun opened the door and entered.
Karl, seated in his wheelchair gazing out the window, slowly turned his head.
"Kairun? Have the guests all left?"
"Ah... yes. I got Mother's permission and left early."
Kairun forced his usual tone.
But his gaze went not to his brother's face, but to the plate on the corner of the desk.
"......"
A half-eaten grapefruit tart.
Its red flesh vividly intact.
The bitter version, different in hue from what he'd eaten.
"Kairun?"
Karl turned his wheelchair to face his brother directly.
Seeing his brother stand silently after entering, Karl set down his pen.
"Why are you just standing there? Your face looks dark. Is something troubling you?"
His brother's voice was as kind as ever.
Kairun clenched his fists.
'He can't find out I'm doubting Mother...'
Voicing baseless suspicions would only worry his brother and stir family discord.
If he was wrong, it'd wound Mother irreparably.
Kairun hastily donned his "mask."
Like the nobles who fawned over him.
"No, it's just... I wondered if you'd heard about what happened in the borderlands."
"The borderlands?"
"Yes. Sir Sesk is loyal, but... he's so rigid, he might have reported something misleading... about the clash with that Barg fellow."
Kairun hemmed and hawed awkwardly.
Karl finally smiled, understanding.
He thought his brother's shadowed face stemmed from fear that he'd misconstrue the clash with the foreign tribe and scold him.
And he was proud of his considerate little brother's worry.
"Come here, Kairun. No need to worry."
Karl beckoned.
Kairun approached the wheelchair, head bowed.
"Sir Sesk isn't one to gossip. And weren't they under the Eisen Baron? I trust the baron's judgment."
"......"
For a moment, Kairun realized he'd badmouthed Sesk to hide his true feelings, and his heart tightened.
"Above all... I heard that Barg fellow saved you. I couldn't scold you when praise is more in order."
His brother's warm reassurance.
But Kairun couldn't fully relax his expression.
Doubt and guilt squeezed his chest.
'He trusts me like this... and here I am doubting Mother.'
But he held it back.
For now, he needed to reassure his brother.
He'd soon leave for the academy, emptying the manor.
Causing strife before going would only torment his brother and mother.
Kairun forced a smile and sat beside him.
"Yes, they were impressive. Especially that Barg—he..."
Kairun spilled every detail of his borderlands ordeal.
Tales of Barg shielding him bare-handed, rising again despite wounds that shredded his clothes.
His instant crush on Kara, shattered just as quickly.
The free yet overwhelming vibe of Eisen guard's border city.
All to make his brother forget his pain and smile, even briefly.
"I see... so that's what happened."
Karl gazed fondly at his brother, who brought the vivid outside world to him, confined to the manor.
"Thank you, Kairun. Thanks to you, I feel like I've traveled to places I've never seen."
"......"
"Academy days are almost here. When you leave... this big manor will feel so empty."
Karl smiled wistfully.
That smile tore at Kairun's heart.
His little brother off to see the wide world, while he withered trapped in this cold room.
And not just that...
Kairun's gaze drifted back to the tart on the desk.
"Brother, not hungry? There's tart left. You usually devour it."
Kairun asked casually.
Karl gave a wry smile, rubbing his stomach.
"Tell me about it. Back in the day, I'd have finished it and run to Mother begging for more."
"......"
"Lately, I have no appetite. My stomach feels heavy... even forcing it down doesn't help. My body's getting heavier by the day."
'Lately...'
Kairun's eyes wavered.
The timing of his brother's illness aligned eerily with when Mother started making tarts.
And...
'Where do the leftovers go?'
Usually, maids would taste them while clearing or send them to the kitchen for others.
But the servants said they'd never even seen the bitter version.
So someone was meticulously collecting and disposing of the remnants.
Ensuring no one else touched them.
Leaving no evidence.
In this manor, only one person had that authority.
Mother. Karla.
'I have to confirm it.'
His heart pounded wildly.
'I don't want to know... but I have to...'
He hoped he was just going mad with nonsense.
But he needed the truth.
For his brother.
For his mother.
For himself.
Kairun reached for the tart plate, hiding his trembling hand.
"Then... Brother."
His voice cracked.
"Mind if I have some? Mother won't give me any after I finish mine."
"Haha, kid. Didn't I tell you it's too bitter for a young one like you?"
"I'm an adult now. Time I learned bitter tastes."
He tried to laugh at his brother's usual jest, but his lips quivered.
Brother smiled the same, but he couldn't mirror it instinctively.
"...Go ahead. Mother would be happy if you ate it."
Permission granted.
Kairun's fingers touched the red tart piece.
They shook so badly his knuckles whitened.
'Please...'
He prayed desperately inside.
Please, just bitterness.
Nothing else inside.
'Mother wouldn't...'
As Kairun shut his eyes tight and lifted the tart to his mouth—
Bang—!
The unlocked office door flew open violently.
The one person who could enter without knocking or courtesy.
"......!"
Kairun and Karl turned to the door together.
Karla stood there.
Her usual gentle, elegant smile nowhere to be seen.
Her gaze fixed not on Kairun's face, nor Karl's...
But on the tart piece hovering at Kairun's lips.
"......"
Mother's eyes shook as if struck by an earthquake.
Disbelief.
Terror.
And...
Shame.
He'd seen her true face, mask stripped away.
The tart slipped from Kairun's hand with a thud.
He knew.
Because he'd never seen that expression on her before.
It wasn't just worry over her son eating something bitter.
It was maternal instinct flaring when a loved one reached for what they mustn't eat.
'Poison.'
Suspicion turned to certainty.
And the mother he'd revered became his most horrifying enemy in an instant.
Tragically, an enemy whose arrows weren't aimed at him.
Because she was his mother.
A gentle mother who loved her son more than anyone.