Just Trust Mom
"I'm relieved you've returned safely, my lord."
A knight standing guard at the mansion's front gate saluted Athena as he spoke.
For a moment, I felt as though he had glared at me. Probably just my imagination again.
I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes, so I kept my gaze fixed on the floor as I stepped inside the mansion.
Anyone else, I might have managed. But before the Dawn Knights, I simply could not lift my head.
Of course I couldn't. I had left one of their own half-dead and forced him into early retirement. I had no face left to stand before them with any dignity.
The deeper we went into the mansion, the more eyes turned toward us—and the harder it became to breathe.
Countless maids and butlers had come out to greet us.
"Welcome home, Master. And you as well, my lady."
Rosewen welcomed us with a warm, gentle smile.
"You've worked hard, my lord. And I'm so glad you're safe as well, my lady."
The head butler bowed his head in greeting.
And then—
"My lady…"
Alina, looking at me with trembling eyes.
I couldn't even manage a greeting. I turned my gaze away and avoided her.
The wound that had opened between us still haunted me.
Beyond them, so many others came forward to welcome us.
More accurately, they had come to welcome Athena.
"Mom. You okay…?"
Beside me, Mari held my hand and looked up with a worried face.
My trembling must have traveled through our joined hands.
I forced down every negative feeling trying to surface and gave Mari a smile.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
I'm fine.
I'm perfectly all right.
After receiving greetings from countless maids and butlers, I returned at last to my room—a room so familiar it was almost oppressive.
There was one difference from before, though.
"Mom's room…?"
I wasn't alone and lonely this time. Mari was with me.
Her eyes went round as she took in the scenery of my room.
She darted here and there with a light in her eyes, as if she had found a nest of her own.
After scampering around the room for a while, she finally flung herself onto the enormous bed and sprawled out.
"Mom and Mari's bed!"
The sight of Mari hugging a pillow with a blissful smile was genuinely hazardous to the heart.
T-too cute…
Someone once said that in this world, cuteness alone is justice and truth. This was the moment that proved it.
I suppressed the smile threatening to break free and sat down beside Mari, who was flopped across the bed.
"Won't Athena give you a room of your own, Mari? You could sleep there."
"…!"
This vast mansion had rooms to spare. Surely there was at least one suitable for a child.
There might even be a room that suited Mari's tastes perfectly.
But far from looking pleased, Mari stared at me with eyes full of shock.
"Can't… sleep with Mom…?"
"H-huh…?"
Those bright aquamarine eyes began to fill, little by little, with tears.
"Mari… alone… hic…"
"M-Mari?!"
As the adorable little girl started to tear up, my mind dissolved into chaos.
"Hic… Mom. If Mari is hated… alone. Alone… I'll sleep…"
Her pitiful sobs made me realize I had made a terrible mistake.
I had forgotten.
How young Mari still was.
Athena might say a dragon has no need for parents—but any living creature with feelings can know loneliness.
The way Mari clung to me was proof enough of that.
Surely she looked at me like this because she longed for affection.
And Mari was still only a hatchling, barely born.
This was the age when love was essential.
I hadn't stopped to think how it would sound to a child who already saw me as a parent—suggesting we sleep in separate rooms.
From Mari's perspective, it must have sounded like I didn't want to sleep with her at all.
That was why she was crying so heartbrokenly.
You said you'd take care of her, Hera.
And already I had made this little girl cry.
Disgust at myself rose hot in my chest.
I quickly gathered Mari into my arms and wiped her tears away with my fingers.
"No, Mari…! There's no way Mom could ever hate you…"
"…But… separate room…"
"That was only because I thought you might not like being cramped. If you want to, of course I want to sleep together…!"
"Want to sleep… with Mom…"
Mari mumbled it shyly, her little mouth working.
"Th-then… shall we sleep together from now on?"
Her eyes flew wide open—and then she beamed, wrapping her tiny arms around me.
"Love you, Mom!!"
"Hngh…!"
Mari nestled against me was so cute it bordered on destructive.
Was this what people meant by death by heart-throb…? At this rate, my heart really might burst someday.
"…So the two of you are going to sleep together from now on?"
Athena frowned as she looked at me.
Mari and I had washed away the fatigue of travel and were now having a meal with Athena.
"Y-yeah. Mari's still so little… I thought it would be better if we slept together."
I had decided we would share a bed until Mari had grown a little more.
I didn't know whether dragons went through puberty—but at least until then, we'd probably keep sleeping side by side.
"No."
"Huh?"
Mari and I made the same stunned sound at once.
"That's overprotective, Hera. A dragon doesn't need that sort of thing."
"B-but…"
"And if you spoil her too much, she'll turn out rotten."
Athena's refusal was firm, if politely worded.
I hadn't expected her to say no. I turned to Mari with a flustered look.
"…"
Mari was staring at Athena with eyes gone cold and still.
Those blue irises, usually as clear as the sea, looked frozen solid now.
She held Athena's gaze for a long moment—then met my eyes.
"Mari… wants to sleep with Mom…"
The chill vanished from her face in an instant. She looked up at me with the expression of a rain-soaked puppy.
She was so unbearably precious that a maternal instinct I didn't even know I had surged up in waves.
I smiled at Mari, trying to reassure her.
Just trust Mom, Mari.
I had chosen to look after this young life. I would see that resolve through to the end.
I clenched my fists and faced Athena with determination.
"I… I said I'd take responsibility."
"What?"
Athena raised one eyebrow, clearly not having expected that answer, and looked at me in mild surprise.
"She may be a dragon, but Mari is still far too young."
"…Hmm."
"I… I may not be her real mother, but… I still want to do whatever I can for her…"
Athena's expression suggested her mood had soured, and my courage shrank a little in spite of myself.
But I drew a deep breath and finished what I had to say.
"S-so… please let me put her to bed…"
"…"
Athena glared at me as if the whole idea displeased her.
Then something seemed to occur to her. She thought it over for a moment, and a smile slowly spread across her face as she looked at me again.
"Hera. Are you thinking of Mari as your daughter?"
"Y-yeah… I'm trying to."
"And that feeling will never change?"
For a second I didn't understand the question.
A change of heart—did she mean I might stop thinking of Mari as my daughter?
If that was what she meant, then absolutely not.
The parents who had abandoned me and walked away.
I never wanted to become a person as irresponsible as them.
I gave Mari's head a firm, gentle stroke.
"Yeah. My feelings will never change."
"So you'll look at her as your daughter for the rest of your life?"
"…Yeah."
Athena studied me for a moment, then nodded.
"All right. Do as you wish, Hera."
"R-really?"
"Mm."
At her ready consent, bright smiles broke across both my face and Mari's at the same time.
"Thank you, Athena…!"
"There's a condition, though."
"Hm?"
Athena smiled with a faintly wicked look.
She slid right up beside me, brought her lips to my ear, and whispered so quietly Mari couldn't hear.
"Starting tonight—every night—once you've put Mari to bed, come to my room."
"U-uh?"
Her words brushed my ear so intimately it almost tickled.
Maybe it was her sultry tone, but the invitation to her bedroom sounded distinctly suggestive.
"An hour will do."
"…W-what for…?"
Was there really a reason I had to come so late at night?
But Athena only pressed a finger to my lips and shook her head, as if it were a secret.
"You'll find out tonight."
Her words were full of mysteries, but I had no particular reason to refuse, so I decided to accept.
"O-okay… got it."
An hour wouldn't disrupt my sleep that badly anyway.
If I put Mari to bed early and went, it wouldn't matter at all.
Mari seemed overjoyed at the prospect of sleeping with me. She buried her face against my stomach and grinned from ear to ear.
A warm pride welled up in me, and I gave both of her cheeks a gentle pinch.
"Mmph… Mom…"
Her little cheeks stretched like soft rice cakes—and still that adorable smile stayed bright on her face.
…If Mari is this happy, an hour is nothing…
I turned to thank Athena again—and froze at the look on her face.
"…A-Athena?"
"Hm?"
"A-are you okay…? Your face looks a little…"
"I'm fine, Hera. Let's finish eating."
She picked up her utensils again as she spoke.
But a chill still lingered on her features.
"……"
It was the smile of someone watching prey set out before them—hungry, possessive.
And the way she kept licking her lips, for some reason, sent a small spike of tension through me.
I-it'll be fine… right?