The Villainous Son Loves His Mother - Chapter 43

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“Does it hurt?”

“Not at all,”

I replied no to the healer’s question.

“Hmm, Lord Hein may look thin, but he’s well trained. To be honest, I was watching the match between Lord Hein and Lady Esmeralda, and to be honest, it looked like a fatal blow. I’m sure it was thanks to the strengthening of his body with heavenly magic, but even so, Esmeralda would have done the same thing. When it was over, screams could be heard from the stands. The loss of the young heirs of both the Duke of Aster and the Duke of Sarion at the same time is beyond the realm of tragedy.”

We were in the infirmary. I was here for treatment after being stabbed through the chest with a sword. While the wound was far from fatal, Miss Esmeralda’s blade had indeed pierced my skin and sunk into my flesh. Naturally, there was some pain, but I had already isolated it.
I treat pain not as a sensation, but as mere information.
For example, imagine mud clinging to your skin, rubbing against it, and leaving a stain.
The dirt might bother you, but what if you simply ignored it?
It wouldn’t disrupt your daily life in the slightest

I first learned this psychological technique from a book I read in my childhood.
The ability to process pain as external data, minimizing its mental impact, is essential for wielding Great Magic.
Without this technique, the overwhelming influx of information from Great Magic could drive one to madness.
Of course, it’s not a simple skill.
Achieving complete mastery over mind and body is a feat beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.
No matter what happens, I’m confident I can remain calm and composed, handling any situation with unwavering composure.
I am the calmest man in the Gaines Empire—no, in the entire world.

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“Hein!”

I thought the door had been flung open without a knock, but then Mother suddenly burst in.
Something was wrong.

“Mother?! What’s happened?!”

To say she was half-crazed would be an exaggeration.
If Mother were normally like a gentle spring breeze, she was now a raging storm.
I scrambled to my feet, but she rushed to my side.

“Hein! Don’t get up! I heard you were badly injured! You need to rest!”

“Y-yes…”

It wasn’t exactly a severe injury, but I couldn’t possibly argue with her in this state.

(This is bad… Instead of reassuring her, I’ve made her furious.)

I panicked inwardly.
Huh?
Isolating her from pain?
What a joke! That’s just pie-in-the-sky nonsense.
Which idiot came up with that idea?
Hearing my mother’s voice, on the verge of tears, I momentarily caught my breath.

“Mother… It’s just a scratch. The healers have treated it, so it doesn’t hurt anymore. Please stay calm.”

“A scratch? I heard you were stabbed through the chest…”

“That’s an exaggeration. I’m perfectly fine. I wasn’t even stabbed through. It’s just a minor cut on my skin… right?”

I turned to the Healer for confirmation.

“Yes, Lord Hein’s injury poses no cause for concern—”

“How can being stabbed through the chest not be serious?!”

“But Lord Hein wasn’t stabbed through the chest…”

“Silence! Even if it wasn’t pierced, he was stabbed through the chest with an unsharpened sword, even if it was for a match!? Even if it wasn’t pierced, it’s still a serious injury!”

This was bad.
My usually gentle mother was shouting at someone.
Moreover, the magical power leaking from her was radiating heat, noticeably raising the room’s temperature.

“Ugh!”

I exaggerated, clutching my chest.

“It seems my wound is throbbing again. May I rest for a while? I’m considering withdrawing from the tournament…”

“Ah… right… Of course, you should withdraw from the tournament. After that… after that…”

I had hoped to reassure her by suggesting I wouldn’t push myself, but instead, she grew even more flustered.
Calming her down proved quite difficult, but in the end, I returned to Duke Aster’s Mansion.
Well, I hadn’t been particularly enthusiastic about the Sword Tournament in the first place, so this was a convenient escape.
Even if I wanted to demonstrate the power of Aster to these inferiors, it would be inefficient without flashy magic.
Azel Sera Alphaid would likely win the tournament, but I saw some merit in his swordsmanship during the mock battles. I suppose I could let him have his moment.
While those inferiors played at sword fighting, I planned to enjoy my time with Mother—or so I thought.

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On the carriage ride back, I noticed a foul atmosphere hanging over the Imperial Capital.
No, more specifically, the Imperial Castle.
Dark clouds lingering high above were leaking magical power that smelled like rotting flesh.
This power seemed to be gradually seeping from the sky into the castle.
It was only a faint odor, one that most would have overlooked.
It appeared the master of this magic was exceptionally skilled at being secretive.

“Young Master, is something the matter?”

Feri, who had been accompanying me as Mother’s attendant, called out to me.
I know what this is about.

“Feri, please take care of Mother.”

I turned to face her.

“Mother, this is urgent. I must dispel the Calamity Cloud that’s engulfing the Imperial Capital. I’ll face your scolding later!”

“Wait! Hein?!”

I hated being scolded by Mother more than anything.
I hate to admit it, but if we leave that alone, I’ve got a feeling it’ll turn into a huge pain later.
Her worried voice tugged at my heart, but I couldn’t hesitate.
I leaped from the moving carriage and soared toward the Imperial Castle.

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In the “original history”, later historical documents say that it was around the time of the sword-fighting tournament that Hein Sera Aster showed signs of transformation.
Up until then, Hein had a reputation for being vicious, tyrannical, and shady, but in the end, he was just a “bad-tempered nobleman.”
Hein was content with his talent for magic and neglected to put in any effort, and he made no secret of his condescending attitude, but that didn’t mean he was behaving in a particularly insane way.
At most, he exploited and mocked many commoners and lower-ranking nobles, and used force to suppress their discontent.
However, it is said that Hein changed after the day of the swordsmanship tournament.
Those around him clearly sensed something was wrong when he began to dabble in forbidden magic, one after another

What exactly drove Hein to this?

One theory suggests that the incident at the Sword Tournament served as the decisive catalyst.
In the “original history,” Hein hadn’t even participated in the tournament.
He had realized that with his favored magic sealed, he stood little chance of defeating Azel, who would later become the Hero, or even other students like Esmeralda.
Rumors spread throughout the Imperial Capital that Hein had deliberately feigned illness to withdraw from the Academy’s Sword Tournament, despite being required to attend.
This incident dealt a severe blow not only to Hein himself but to the entire House Aster.
The once-prestigious noble family, already in decline, now bore the shameful reputation of “the heir who fled the Sword Tournament.” The nobles of the Imperial Capital collectively scorned House Aster.
The family’s reputation plummeted further, and there was even talk of their expulsion from the Twelve Ducal Houses.

It was precisely this disgraceful performance at the Sword Tournament that emboldened not only nobles but even commoners to mock Hein.
However, the most fatal blow to the House of Aster was undoubtedly Hein’s involvement in inhumane magical rituals.
Initially, he had supposedly selected “suitable targets” such as slaves.
But as time passed, the line blurred, and dark rumors persisted that even ordinary citizens had fallen victim.
Whispers began to circulate about Hein dragging corpses into his estate night after night, drawing sinister magic circles, carving out rare body parts, and performing dark rituals.
It was rumored that Hein sought to gain immense magical power by devouring human life force.
Less than six months after the Sword Tournament, the House of Aster was expelled from the Twelve Ducal Houses—at least, that’s how it happened in the “original timeline.”

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“I couldn’t care less what happens to the Imperial Capital—but…”

High above the Imperial Castle, the Hein of this timeline stood arrogantly with his arms crossed, gazing at the dark clouds.
No, not clouds.
They appeared like clouds, but in reality, they were swarms of tens of millions, even billions, of insects.

“The Imperial Castle will one day be Mother’s home. That’s why I don’t want it defiled by your foul magical power. Do you understand, you insect?”

The voice, brimming with pride and icy detachment, sliced through the air. The swarm of insects, resembling a mass of darkness, trembled in unison.
A billion tiny wings buzzed with the ferocity of a torrential downpour.

Unbeknownst to Hein, this swarm of insects was none other than the Demon King himself—Beelzebub.
The Demon King, who should have been slain by the previous Hero, had escaped death by transforming his dwindling magical power into a fly and fleeing.
Beelzebub’s true strength lay in his lack of a physical body. As a soul-infused magical entity, he could create countless clones to observe the world while slowly accumulating power over centuries.
During his period of dormancy, the Demon King orchestrated attacks by the Old Demon Lord’s Army across various regions. This was simply because war easily stirs up negative emotions.
By continuously sowing seeds of conflict in different areas, the Demon King had been searching for a suitable vessel to inhabit

Finally, he discovered Emperor Valfried of the Gaines Empire.

The Demon King already knew that the Emperor was in a precarious state, leaving most of his imperial duties to his attendants.
On this day, when the majority of the nobility had left to attend the Sword Tournament, the Demon King planned to seize Emperor Valfried’s body. This was the strategy he had devised.
Having learned from his bitter defeat at the hands of the Hero, the Demon King resolved not to underestimate humans. Instead of confronting them directly, he would undermine them from within.
But then, Hein Sera Aster appeared.
Hein had no intention of defeating the Demon King for the sake of humanity.
In fact, he didn’t even realize the insect before him was the Demon King.
Hein wasn’t here to protect the Imperial Capital or rescue the Emperor. He had come solely to ensure no one interfered with the Imperial Castle, where his mother, Helga, planned to reside.

“The entire world must be dedicated to Mother. This castle is a crucial foothold on her path to dominion. All inferiority must be utterly consumed by the Starfire.”

—[ La Ba Nura Venito (Come forth, Great Sun Wheel of the Dharma Realm) ]

“Ba” can also be read as “Ban.”
It signifies the divine protection of the sun god, capable of repelling all calamities.
Hein’s first act was to construct a barrier.
This wasn’t a barrier to protect himself.
It was a barrier to protect the world from his own Great Magic.