Disappointment
The Viscountess went out alone with her son, hand in hand.
Among the nobility, who prized chastity so highly, it was uncommon for a parent and a child of the opposite sex to venture out unaccompanied. Even between mother and son, strolling the streets together without a single servant in tow was considered eccentric — almost improper. But the bond between these two was no secret. The household retainers knew it, and so did the people of Bayorn. No one raised an objection.
Others thought nothing of it. Darin, however — the one who actually had to go — wanted no part of the outing. Not that she had any real choice left. That had been stripped from her long ago. All she could do was pick the least terrible option from the ones her son laid before her.
Outdoor sex in the Bayorn family gardens.
A date through the Bayorn territory.
Naturally, Darin chose the latter.
It wasn't that she hated the forced excursion entirely. If anything, it had exceeded her low expectations. Once they were out, Kael neither handled her roughly nor tried to force himself on her. He simply held her pale hand and guided her this way and that.
"You look especially lovely today."
"…Get away from me."
"Mother, why won't you even talk to me?"
"Don't speak to me. And don't call me Mother."
Relief was one thing. Anger was another. Darin was furious — still raw from the realization, only days ago, that Kael had never seen her as anything but a woman. In the end, she had never truly had a son. Biology and feeling were different things. By the latter measure, she had raised only half a child.
"Why am I not allowed to call you Mother?"
"You said it yourself. That you never treated me as a parent — that you only ever saw me as a broodmare to bear your children."
A flicker of hurt crossed Kael's face. She wasn't entirely wrong, but the wording was far too harsh.
"Not a broodmare. A woman I have loved for a very long time."
"From where I'm standing — as your mother — there's no difference."
Kael found her relentless negativity almost pitiable. Simple persuasion would never soothe this temper.
Well. Her sulking isn't entirely unpleasant.
Darin may have wanted to put her son in an awkward position, but what Kael felt was something far more tender — the fresh, almost giddy sensation of a lovers' quarrel. He was, after all, a novice at romance. Everything about it was new and fascinating.
How can she be this adorable?
This woman with the vermilion hair would be his bride one day. Spending quiet time together like this, learning to match each other's hearts along the way — that wasn't so bad.
Kael slowly stroked his mother's hand. The restraint in his touch was partly for the watching eyes around them, but mostly it was calculated to soothe her. The beast intended to win her over gradually. Push too hard and he would never claim her heart. He was following the push-and-pull strategy she herself had always preached.
"It's a little chilly today."
Chilly? Under this blazing sun? The moment Darin's face went blank with confusion, the man pulled her slender waist against him. The barbarian's gaze, looking down at the girl, burned hotter than the sunlight itself.
"K-Kael, that's too close. Everyone can see us."
Under those brazen eyes, her lips kept growing hot. She was terrified he might kiss her right there in front of everyone — and the strange, swelling anticipation that came with that fear only made her angrier.
"You were the one who told me not to call you Mother."
"…"
"Then shall I call you Darin?"
"…What?"
"Please spare me any lectures about disrespect. You're the one who discarded the title of Mother."
"No — w-wait, Kael, when did I—?"
Her amber eyes flew wide, panic flooding them. Yes, she had told him not to call her Mother — she had been too furious to stop herself. But abandon the title entirely? That had never been her intention. She had only wanted him to reflect a little, to look at her as his mother even a fraction more. A tantrum. Nothing more.
"Am I wrong?"
"That's not… but…"
"Then from now on, I'll call you Darin. Outside or at the manor — it makes no difference."
"W-wait! Hold on!"
The Viscountess's voice rose, and more of the townsfolk began to glance their way. Darin struck at her son's forearm, but his resolve was absolute. Neither blows nor scolding would sway him.
"Ka-Kael… please don't…"
The way she hung her head was almost pitiful. Desperate, she began stroking the back of his hand and his arm, coaxing him gently. She knew how twisted it was — the victim soothing the aggressor — but she had no other cards to play.
A man calling a woman by her given name meant one of two things: she was his sister, or she was his lover. Among complete strangers it might pass unnoticed, but the people of Bayorn all knew exactly what these two were to each other. If he used her name, they would find it deeply strange.
And he intended to do this inside the manor as well?
Call his own mother by name — in front of the servants?
The vermilion-haired girl could not bear the thought of enduring that.
"Call me Mother."
Darin whispered it softly against her son's ear. Even that single phrase sounded so strangely alluring to Kael that a sweet smile rose unbidden to his lips.
"Didn't you say you hated being called Mother?"
"I-I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
"Just words? I'm still hurt, you know."
"Then what do you want me to do?"
The girl looked up at her son with frantic eyes. He clearly had no intention of stopping, so restoring the proper title was the first priority.
Kael broke off the argument and surveyed the scenery around them. This was a place where tourism and leisure blended together — the sole sightseeing district in the Bayorn territory, known as the Lake of Blood.
It was said that the Blood Axe, progenitor of Bayorn, had once descended here as a war god beyond human comprehension. But that was nothing more than legend now. Even the old tales about a place that governed souls felt hollow. To Kael, it was simply a resort thick with childhood memories of his mother.
Whenever he dipped his hand into the water, the surface around his fingers would turn red — a curious phenomenon invisible to anyone else. But that was all it was.
The glittering artificial lake and the frost-laced trees made a beautiful sight. Compared to the capital's deliberate tourist attractions it was nothing special, yet to the people of a provincial territory, it held a certain cherished weight.
And this was the place the vermilion-haired woman had brought him every year on his birthday.
Making one more memory here wouldn't be so bad.
"Mother, do you remember? Under that evergreen over there — you and I used to build snowmen."
"…I remember."
Bewilderment bloomed across the vermilion-haired woman's face. He had wounded her, and now he was suddenly playing at nostalgia?
But Kael paid no mind to how she looked at him. He simply voiced his wish.
"I'm all grown up now. I'd like to make a new memory under that evergreen."
"What…? You — don't tell me—?"
In the Viscountess's mind, her son's desire took vivid shape. Outdoor sex in broad daylight? Under this evergreen, with people walking past in plain sight?
"Hahaha!"
The earthquake of panic in those amber eyes made Kael laugh out loud. He could see exactly what the adorable woman was imagining.
"W-why are you laughing?"
"Haha — it's nothing like what you're thinking, Mother. How improper of you. Have I corrupted you this thoroughly?"
"…Nngh!"
At her son's scolding, the girl's face flushed as red as a ripe tomato. Beyond the shame, she felt a sharp injustice. She wasn't some wanton woman — it was this boy who tormented her without rest, day and night.
Kael rose slowly from the bench and walked toward the great evergreen. The weather had begun to warm, so there wasn't much snow left — but enough to build one snowman for his mother to see.
Within minutes, a rather tidy snowman stood complete. Her son waved and called out, asking if she wouldn't like to make one with him.
"Huh…?"
Darin stared blankly for a moment — then broke into a run, joyfully trampling through the snow.
Just as Kael went mad for the feminine side of his mother, Darin found his son-like side endlessly, desperately welcome.
"Hehehe…"
Grinning from ear to ear at the thought that her son had finally understood her heart, Darin busied her hands with a snowball. As long as he didn't look at her with those filthy eyes, she had no reason not to play along.
Looking closely, Darin's behavior was slowly losing its consistency. She laughed and cried without grasping the full shape of a situation — more and more often. It might have been the early signs of manic swings. Or perhaps her mind had already begun to fray, and she was simply refusing to show it.
For her spirit to find any stability, she would need her son's complete care — treating her wholly as a mother, for instance.
Not that Kael would ever do such a thing.
"Kael~! Look at this! Isn't my snowman pret— ah!?"
Darin, her face blooming with laughter at the simple pleasure of time spent with her son, held up her finished snowman. She had meant to challenge him the way she used to — a contest over whose was prettier — but the moment was shattered.
"L-let go of me!"
Her son was dragging her into the woods. The carefully shaped snowman hit the ground and was crushed flat. Darin was pulled deeper and deeper into the forest, far from any watching eyes.
Unable to restrain his lust any longer, her son devoured her mouth with greedy, ravenous kisses. Darin could only blink her vermilion eyes in stunned confusion. Only moments ago they had been sharing such a wholesome afternoon…
Then she felt the sly, indecent hand sliding between her thighs, and she understood.
This was the new memory Kael had wanted.
She had been fooled by her son again — like a complete fool.
Ah… what is this…
Sorrow bloomed beneath the girl's eyes, too deep to hide. Still, she would have to be careful not to let any sound escape.
After all, she was this child's mother.