Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: A Mother's Request
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I was sitting gloomily in the greenhouse garden.
A delegation had arrived from the East.
My heart had been uneasy ever since I heard the news. To be precise, I felt deeply unsettled.
I suspected the reason the Roisar family wanted me back was not a good one.
"Haaah."
As I lay on the grass and let out a heavy sigh, I heard Kaide's voice.
"You'll sigh a hole through the ground."
"Dada?"
What was Kaide doing here at this hour?
I thought he'd be busy welcoming the delegation.
I shot up in surprise, and Kaide, taking a seat in a chair, gestured for me to come over.
"What are you doing here, moping all by yourself?"
"I'm not moping."
"Yes, you are."
"I said I'm not moping."
"If you say so."
It's not 'if I say so,' it's true! I'm not moping!
Honestly, I had been brooding, but he didn't have to say it like that.
I looked at Kaide with a pouting face.
He gazed at me silently, as if lost in thought, and said nothing.
Is something wrong?
A little worried, I relaxed my expression and walked over to him.
"Dada, is something wrong?"
"No."
"But why do you look so glum?"
At a glance, he seemed normal, but I could tell. Kaide was not himself.
Having watched him from his side for a good while now, I could say that with certainty.
I sat down next to Kaide.
*Come on, tell me. I'll listen to everything.*
As I sat up straight and looked at him, he seemed taken aback.
"I'm not sure who should be worrying about whom."
"I'll listen to your worries, Dada!"
"As I recall, you were the one sighing."
"Ah."
Right, I was. My shoulders slumped again. Kaide watched me with an amused expression.
After hesitating several times, I decided to speak.
"I don't like being stuck inside."
"Why not just go out?"
"I don't wanna. I don't wanna run into them."
"So it was because of the Roisar clan."
"Yeah."
Kasana's words kept coming back to me. She said I must never let anyone find out I have two pheromones.
If I ran into them and accidentally revealed it, it would be a disaster.
Because I still couldn't control my pheromones easily.
"If not today, you won't have another chance to see them. Are you sure you don't want to?"
"I kinda wanna see them a little, but... I don't know."
I didn't know what this feeling was.
I wanted to see them, but at the same time, I didn't. It was a strange feeling.
Seeing my conflicted expression, Kaide fell silent. He seemed to be contemplating what to say.
He's acting really strange today.
I met Kaide's gaze and stared at him intently.
We looked at each other for a long moment before he finally spoke.
"Aileen."
"Yeah."
"What would you think if the mother who gave birth to you were alive?"
"......Why are you asking me that?"
It was such a sudden question.
As if the mother who gave birth to me were really alive.
As I frowned at the unsettling question, Kaide gently smoothed my brow.
"I'm just asking. Feel free to speak your mind."
A lie.
I knew it instantly. So this was why he'd been acting differently.
I pulled my head back.
Kaide's hand, which had been touching my forehead, stopped in mid-air.
"Dada, why are you lying?"
"......."
"She's alive, isn't she?"
Kaide lowered his hand and admitted it calmly.
"Yes. She's alive."
"......So? Why are you telling me?"
You could have just kept it to yourself. Why bother telling me?
What do you want to hear?
I clenched my fists tightly under the table.
My eyes grew hot. I bit my lip hard and looked at him. Kaide showed no sign of emotion.
"Because it's something you should know."
"I'm not curious! I don't need to know!"
"This morning, she requested a meeting with you."
"So what did you say?"
Don't tell me you gave her permission.
A seed of anxiety sprouted within me.
Kaide's expression remained unreadable.
"I will not interfere with whatever choice you make, Aileen."
"......Why?"
"Because we've all decided to abide by your decision."
I was at a loss for words.
What is that supposed to mean? That if I said I wanted to go to the East, you wouldn't stop me?
I shot up from my seat.
"You don't understand how I feel at all, Dada! You're an idiot!"
Tears welled up. They trickled down my cheeks, drop by drop. My emotions surged.
"You don't care if I meet her or not, if I leave or not!"
Is that all I mean to you?
I looked up at Kaide resentfully. He looked startled, as if he hadn't expected me to cry.
Kaide quickly came over to comfort me.
"Shh, stop crying."
"Huu... Waaah. Dada, you're a stupid idiot!"
"Yes. Yes."
Bending down, Kaide lifted me into his arms and patted my back several times.
Despite the awkward pats, I slowly began to calm down. He kept repeating words of apology.
"I was wrong, Aileen."
"...*Hic*...."
"I was wrong."
Kaide's apology eased my heart a little, and as I sniffled quietly in his arms, he gently wiped at my eyes.
"I shouldn't have asked something like that. It was my mistake."
"*Hic*... Don't ever say that again."
"I understand. I didn't realize it would make you so anxious."
Kaide muttered, patting me earnestly.
I leaned my cheek against his shoulder and sniffled. The lingering sorrow threatened to well up again.
As I pouted and lay still in his arms, Kaide's hand slowed.
I held onto his shoulder tightly and rubbed my eyes.
My tears were ruining his clothes, but Kaide said nothing.
Hmph. This time, it's Kaide's fault. I'm not going to apologize for getting his clothes dirty.
"Dada."
"Yes."
"......Do I have to meet that person?"
"No."
"I heard we're meeting with the delegation later."
Everyone was hush-hush about it in front of me, but that didn't mean I hadn't heard anything.
I knew the South was in a difficult position.
If I refused to meet my birth mother, that could also become a problem.
Even if they claimed to follow my wishes, the other side could suspect them of preventing a meeting with her.
"A child shouldn't worry about such things."
"But it's about me."
"This is what guardians are for, to handle things like this."
"......I'll meet her."
Kaide's expression hardened. He seemed to be asking if I was serious.
Truthfully, I wasn't very curious about the person who gave birth to me.
The memory was already fading completely, but I hadn't had parents in my previous life either.
I wasn't curious about who my parents were then, so there was no reason to be curious now.
If anything, Kaide was my real parent.
He was the first to call me by my name and make me feel what it was like to have a family.
"You don't have to force yourself. You don't have to meet her."
"I'm just going to see her, that's all."
"They won't be content with that. They're people who want to take you with them."
"You'll stop them for me, won't you, Dada?"
When I answered so brazenly, Kaide was speechless.
As long as I was in this house, I would be safe. Besides, I always had an escort following me.
Kaide, who was looking down at me, let out a soft laugh.
"I've thought this for a while, but you have a real knack for toying with people's emotions."
"I don't know how to do that, though."
"The fact that you don't know is the bigger problem."
*If that brat knew about this, he'd be even more restless. But I can't hide it forever.*
Kaide muttered with a displeased look on his face.
At the sudden mention of a 'brat,' I tilted my head. Who was he talking about?
"Who's the brat?"
"There is... someone."
"Who is it? Tell me!"
"From now on, stay away from anyone with a tail."
"A tail?"
At the word 'tail,' I leaned back to face Kaide.
Is he talking about Sage?
Sage and I are just friends. Why does everyone seem to misunderstand our relationship? I puffed out my cheeks.
"Sage and I are friends."
"Yes, friends."
"Yeah."
"Are you going to be just friends forever?"
"Of course we'll be friends forever."
Why was he asking something so obvious?
I nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. For the first time, the corners of Kaide's tightly pressed lips lifted into a pleased smile.
"Good. Be friends forever."
Kaide patted my head as if praising me and walked down the hallway.
The hallway was unusually quiet.
As I looked around awkwardly, Kaide told me not to worry.
"It'll get noisy again once the meeting with the delegation is over, so don't worry."
"Okay."
"Well then, let's go in."
"Okay."
Kaide set me down. I took his hand and took a deep breath.
*Click.*
The doorknob turned and the door opened. As if on cue, everyone turned their heads toward us.
Among them sat a woman with the same white-silver hair as mine.