章節 26: A Child’s Love
A few days had passed since the minor mental breakdown Zenith had after spending time with her cute son. During that time, she had managed to cheer herself up a bit and calm down.
...Even so, she started a habit of getting up when Paul got up now.
It wasn't because she doubted him or Lilia. It was... just in case.
But today, Paul left immediately after waking up because there was an incident. Apparently, some children had gone missing, so he and the village guardsmen were going out on a search in the forest and surrounding area.
That left just Zenith and Lilia home to see Rudy off on his usual adventure.
Zenith was worried though. Even if her sweet son was capable and smart, she couldn't help but think about the what-ifs of him disappearing...
But she didn't need to worry.
The living room area. Zenith had just started preparing some breakfast and was heading over to Rudy's room. But he was already awake.
Walking up to Zenith, Rudy grabbed her arm and said, "Mommy. Can we play today?"
Zenith's heart warmed and she pulled Rudy into a hug. "Of course we can, Rudy!"
As she said that though, Zenith caught a glimpse of Lilia standing in the back.
It was just for a brief moment, but Zenith caught the maid looking sad.
Seeing that, Zenith flinched and said, "But it's a bit boring with just us two, right? So-"
"No. I want it to be just Mommy today."
An instant shutdown. It seemed like Rudy knew exactly what Zenith was going to say and stopped it before she could speak the words.
A childish response. And coming from Rudy, it was a bit out of character.
...But it seemed like he had realized that Zenith was feeling down and was trying to cheer her up.
Zenith felt her eyes water again at that thought, but she took a deep breath and stopped that. Instead, she smiled and patted Rudy's head. "Fine, fine. Mommy can't win against Rudy after all."
Rudy let out a bright and wide-eyed smile. "Yes! Then let's go outside right now! I have something I want to show Mommy... Ah!" He turned to Lilia and said, "Miss Lilia! Can you help finish Mommy's cooking? It's going to take a while!"
Lilia let out a warm smile and bowed her head. "Of course, young master." She raised her head to look at Zenith and said, "Please, have fun with the young master, Zenny."
A sincere and genuine send-off. One without any ulterior motives, spite, or jealousy.
Zenith felt a pang of guilt when she realized that. But before she could think too much on that, Rudy dragged her away.
"A-Ah." Zenith blinked and waved at Lilia. "Thanks, Lily."
Lilia smiled back and bowed her head slightly.
Rudy frowned and tugged Zenith's arm. "Come on, Mommy!"
Zenith laughed. "Fine, fine. Mommy's hurrying up."
-LIV-
The hills just beyond the gates of their house. That was where Rudy dragged Zenith to.
Zenith looked around and then said, "So do you have something big to show Mommy, Rudy?"
"I do. But there's also something really important I want to talk with Mommy about."
"Of course." Zenith smiled and said, "Mommy's all ears, Rudy."
Rudy smiled and said, "Then first... the big surprise." He grabbed a tiny acorn from his pocket and placed it on the ground. "I know Mommy likes trees, so I wanted to show this to you."
"Hm?" Zenith blinked and said, "An acorn?"
Rudy drew his wand from the holster on his waist and said, "Just watch. It took me a lot of experimenting to get it right, but..." He swept his wand across the air.
A flash of golden light. For a split second, Zenith saw the six magic stones on Rudy's wand shine. And she thought she saw a brief glimpse of six magic circles floating above each stone.
But just as quickly as she saw them, they vanished. And then the ground started shaking.
"R-Rudy!?" Zenith's eyes widened. "W-What's going on?"
Rudy smiled and said, "The miracle of life... Well, one miracle of life." He walked over to stand beside Zenith and held her hand. "Like Mommy said, <Healing X> uses mana itself to heal. So I thought really hard about it and wondered what would happen if I used <Healing X> and mixed it with <Healing>. It didn't work really well on already living trees, but for new ones..."
A tiny sprout peeked out from the acorn. Then roots pierced into the ground, swiftly spreading. After that, the sprout began to grow before their very eyes.
Rudy looked at the tree and said, "But I did some more thinking after that. If <Healing X> used mana itself to help heal, I wondered if I could shape the mana to 'heal' in a certain way. It was really hard and I don't think I know enough about people to make it work, but for plants..."
The tree's branches spread out. As it did, leaves started to unfold along the edges. But instead of a pure green, they were an ethereal fluffy white with a golden tinge around the edge.
"...I managed to figure something out." Rudy spun around and smiled. Waving his arm out to the tree, he said, "This is my present to you, Mommy. A gift for being my mom and loving me this entire time."
Zenith's eyes were wide, slowly taking in the sight before her.
It was an oak tree. But at the same time, it wasn't.
Bark that looked like it was carved from bronze, fluffy leaves that looked like clouds with golden linings... and the familiar warm radiance of healing mana.
"...How did you do this, Rudy?" Zenith drew her eyes away from the incredible sight and then looked at the incredible person responsible for it. "Was there a spell like this in the book I gave you?"
That was the only explanation. But even so... she didn't remember a spell like this existing...
"Hm? No." Rudy shook his head and said, "I think there would be a lot more cool trees if there was. But I read and reread Mommy's gift a lot to figure it out. Do you like it?" A childish and shy smile. Rudy shifting in place with his head slightly lowered, as if waiting for praise.
Zenith stared at Rudy and then realized it.
The reason why his book was so worn out. Why so many pages had been dog-eared.
It was because of this. Because Rudy had been working hard on this project in secret to surprise her.
He was working so hard for something so sweet. A secret gift just for her to show how much he appreciated and loved her.
And she thought...!
Zenith's vision blurred.
"E-Eh?! Mommy!? Why are you crying!?"
Zenith covered her face and started sobbing. "Mommy's sorry! Mommy's so sorry!"
"U-Um... I forgive Mommy?"
Zenith wailed and pulled Rudy into a tight hug. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"I-It's fine! Don't cry. Please don't cry, Mommy!"
Zenith hugged Rudy and cried for a while. Eventually though, with Rudy hugging her back and saying that he loved her and forgave whatever she thought she was feeling sad about, Zenith calmed down.
"...Are you okay now, Mommy?"
"...Mm. Thank you, Rudy." Zenith brushed her tears aside and let out a weak smile. "I'm sorry."
Rudy smiled back and patted her head. "It's fine, Mommy."
Zenith's eyes started to water again. But she held back her tears and let out a long sigh. "...I don't deserve a son as good as you."
Rudy really was a miracle. A smart, sweet, and caring son. Someone who could tell how worried she was and tried his best to cheer her up...
Rudy shook his head and said, "That's wrong." He gave Zenith a soft smile and said, "Mommy deserves the best for being the best mom ever."
Zenith doubted that. But seeing that bright and adoring gaze, she couldn't say anything in response. Instead...
"...Can I hold you, Rudy?"
...She felt a bit selfish. She wanted to hold her son just like Lilia did.
"Of course!"
Zenith smiled and then stood up. "Here. Let's go sit under your tree."
"That's *your* tree, Mommy."
Zenith laughed, her heart feeling a bit lighter with Rudy's childish insistence. "Alright. Then let's go sit under my tree."
Rudy grabbed Zenith's right hand with his left.
It was tiny. Even though Rudy had grown up a bit, he was still just a child.
And yet it was that child who was making Zenith's troubled heart calm down.
"Mommy?" Rudy tilted his head.
He was waiting for her. Like the child he was, Rudy didn't move. Instead, he was waiting for Zenith to lead the way.
Zenith smiled and walked forward.
A soft wind blew, causing the tree's branches to shift. At the same time, the soft and sweet scent of vanilla filled the air.
Zenith sat down against the tree and then pulled Rudy into her lap.
For a brief moment, she thought he would squirm away, embarrassed.
But Rudy didn't move. Instead, he leaned back to look up at Zenith with a soft smile.
Zenith's heart warmed. Seeing that expression, she held Rudy tight and placed her head against his. "...Mommy's little baby grew up so fast."
"That's not true." Rudy shook his head and said, "I'm still a kid. I'm not grown up yet."
Zenith laughed and then started smoothing down Rudy's hair. "Even after becoming a Saint-ranked magician, my Rudy is still childish, isn't he?"
"Of course. Master Roxy told me about it, you know? It's a pain to grow up. Everyone starts looking at you different and expecting you to be things you aren't." Rudy lowered his head and looked out at the distant hills. "If I could, I wish I could just live like this forever. You, Dad, Miss Lilia... it would be nice if these peaceful days could keep going."
Zenith was quiet.
...Miss Lilia, huh?
Did Rudy sense her discomfort? He looked up and said, "Mom."
A change in the way he addressed her. Seeing that, it seemed like it was serious.
Zenith sighed and said, "Yes, Rudy?"
"Are you mad at Miss Lilia?"
"...No." Zenith shook her head. "I'm not mad."
And she wasn't.
Lilia did nothing wrong. Not only that, but she had only ever been good to them. To her.
Helping Zenith raise Rudy. Doing house chores when Zenith couldn't because she had to work. Preparing food for them, running errands even though she had an old injury that made it hard to walk...
Not to mention that she never complained about how often Zenith and Paul were intimate either.
No. Zenith wasn't mad at Lilia. She could never be. But...
"...It's complicated, Rudy." Zenith patted Rudy's head and said, "It's just-"
"Is it because Dad has been looking at Miss Lilia different now?"
Zenith flinched and looked down at Rudy.
His innocent gaze was gone, replaced by that analytical and judging look.
Zenith wanted to look away... but she sighed and nodded her head. "...That's right, Rudy." She hugged Rudy tight and muttered, "I don't want to worry, but..."
Paul was still young and handsome. And Zenith knew that if he walked out to the village, he could take any of those women out for a roll in the hay. Even the ones that were married.
Lilia was still young too. While a bit older than Zenith, she had a mature beauty that would draw anyone's eyes. And whenever they went down in the village together, Zenith noticed that more people looked at Lilia than her.
Then there was the fact that all this time, Zenith never got pregnant once...
She was worried.
Was it because she tried to tie Paul down? Was it because her love was selfish and didn't accept him for who he was? Was that why she couldn't have any more children?
Was that Milis saying that they weren't meant to be together?
...Was Zenith not good enough? Was that why Paul started looking to Lilia?
Zenith had to admit that she wasn't the best mother, but she tried. And she wasn't the best wife either, but she loved Paul. She really did.
So... So why was he...?!
"There's a reason why Dad's like that towards Miss Lilia, you know?"
Zenith froze.
"...What?"
She looked down at Rudy.
Rudy looked back at Zenith and said, "I know why Dad's been acting like that around Miss Lilia, Mom. Do you want to know?"
Zenith's heart throbbed.
A dozen different scenarios ran through her mind. But she didn't stop to think about them. No, she felt that her heart would break if she did.
So instead...
She held Rudy tight, as if he was her lifeboat while she was lost at sea. Then, lowering her head, she quietly said, "...Tell me, Rudy."
"Well..."
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