The Villainous Son Loves His Mother - Chapter 28

◆

Several days had passed since then.

“Good morning, Young Master.”

When I woke up, I was in Feri’s arms.
This had become a daily occurrence.
At first, I considered punishing her for such disrespect, but when she explained, “Madam has entrusted me with your care, Young Master,” I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
I hesitated to ask my mother why she would assign such a task to Feri.
So, I asked Feri instead—

“With all due respect, Young Master, by holding you like this, you sleep soundly through the night without waking up. The warmth of human skin has been shown to promote restful sleep.”

That was her explanation.
If this were baseless nonsense, I might have considered punishment or even dismissal. But since I was sleeping deeply, I couldn’t argue.
Come to think of it, Feri’s chest size was similar to Mother’s, which might be why my body could relax and fall asleep so easily.
I sat up and stood motionless on the floor.
Feri then removed my nightgown, wiped my entire body with a clean cloth, and helped me put on my school uniform.

It would have been easier to change myself, but entrusting such tasks to servants was part of a noble’s demeanor.
The real reason I had never allowed it before was that I didn’t want to expose my skin to anyone but Mother.
It felt like betraying her.
But since that day, those feelings had subtly shifted.
It wasn’t out of resentment for not being loved enough by Mother, but because I had decided to first maintain proper appearances as a noble.
By the way, as for how my relationship with Mother had changed—

◆

“Good morning, Mother.”

“Oh, Hein. You must be tired from your morning training.”

Bathing in my mother’s smile first thing in the morning gave me the energy to endure another day with the academy’s inferiors.
Yes, Mother and I might have grown a little awkward, but our bond remained as strong as ever.

“Speaking of which, the swordsmanship tournament is coming up soon. Even for you, Hein, it must be difficult to defeat upperclassmen with just a sword, right?”

“Well, I don’t know. To be honest, I’m not that good with the sword.”

Whether it’s swordsmanship or magic, I don’t believe I’m the best in the world.
But even so, I doubt I’d suffer a crushing defeat, given the gap between my accumulated training and natural talent.
However, that man Azel…
Defeating him with just a sword might be quite challenging.
Regardless, I can’t afford to embarrass myself in front of Mother, so I’ve been honing my swordsmanship relentlessly lately.

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

As I said this, Mother embraced me and replied, “Safe travels.”
Her demeanor made it clear that she hadn’t stopped caring about me.
For some reason, Mother believed I needed to experience this accursed independence from my parents and was reluctantly acting accordingly.
As her son, I needed to fully understand her intentions.
Yes, her intentions!
Mother had her reasons, but she couldn’t reveal them herself.
That meant I had to figure it out on my own.
What was obstructing the love between Mother and me?

A person?
A country?
Or something else entirely?
Whatever it was, it was undoubtedly an enemy that had to be defeated.
And after crushing this hateful foe, I would achieve our love.
This was why I said I would maintain the proper appearance of a noble.
Mother knows my strength.
She knows my violence.

Yet if she still felt some discomfort with me remaining as I am, it must be because she believed the problem couldn’t be solved through violence alone.
Violence is the most crucial tool for enforcing my will, but I also need to enhance my power as a noble.
I will win love through violence and authority.
That’s what I’ve decided.

◆

Now, the academy life is necessary to maintain the proper appearance of a noble… It’s utterly tiresome.
Especially this Azel.
He seems to have no sense of personal space whatsoever.
Still, there’s something amusing about it, so I won’t lower my evaluation.
Not that it makes him any less annoying.

“Hey, Hein! It’s finally the day after tomorrow! I’m really looking forward to it! We were having a good match last time, but it got interrupted. Too bad, but there shouldn’t be any interruptions this time!”

I don’t mind them boasting about being evenly matched with me in swordsmanship.
It’s true, after all.
But—

“Lord Azel, Lord Hein seems to want to spend his time quietly. Your voice is too loud. Shouldn’t you act with a bit more restraint as a noble?”

“What’s wrong, Emi? Men become friends after crossing swords, right? That’s what the Sword Saint said!”

“Azel-kun! Do you know His Excellency the Duke of Orléans?!”

“No, not… not yet.”

What’s with Sarionmes, Azel, and Fafnir all chiming in one after another?
Well, if I compressed time through meditation and delved deep into my mental world, I wouldn’t be bothered by their noise. But the fact that these three are near me still irritates me.
If this were during class, I could just knock them all down for disrupting the lesson. But during break, that’s not an option.
The academy has no rule against whispering during breaks.

To be honest, it feels strange.

It’s hard to put into words, but I don’t fully understand my own true feelings.
Part of me sees absolutely no reason to follow such a trivial rule.
Yet, in reality, I do follow it.
That’s because I don’t want to upset my Mother.
Of course, that sentiment is genuine.
But that, too, is just another part of me.

This feeling is difficult to explain—I’ve been experiencing it more frequently since I began meditating as a mental discipline.
I’m aware that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of “me’s” exist within me.
The Bloodline Magic of Duke Aster’s House is passed down orally, never written down.
Yet I can wield it because the “me’s” within me possess that knowledge.
Naturally, mastering it required considerable training.

・

・

・

“Hey, Hein, are you even listening?”

Azel, who had been chattering away just moments ago, said this with a hint of dissatisfaction.
He gets upset just because I’m not listening? This guy really is out of touch.
But after our match in the recent mock battle, I had come to see him in a new light.
That’s why I decided not to ignore him as I had before.

“No, I wasn’t listening at all. Shut your mouth, you inferior being. The academy is a place for learning, not for trivial chatter. If you’re the eldest son of the Count’s House, shouldn’t you set a better example for others?”

I gave him a stern lecture.
But—

“…You’re really… No, Hein’s just like that, huh…”

Azel muttered this, his shoulders slumping as he walked away.