TN: Being a motherlover will only be a storywide gag so there won’t be any sister leveling type of things in this novel. Well, at least nothing for now. Nothing yet… well, it’s not r18 so there shouldn’t be any.
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I was born into the House of Count Eldenbloom. At sixteen, I caught the eye of Damian of the House of Duke Aster, and was married off to him.
It was a political marriage.
According to Damian, it was because I had good magic power quality.
There was no love between us. For two years, I was violated solely for the purpose of bearing a child.
It’s not that I felt nothing about being treated that way.
On the contrary, I felt a strong sense of resistance.
But neither I nor my Eldenbloom family could defy the Aster house.
Things changed after Hein was born.
My son, Hein, had been special from the moment he was born.
The magic power residing in his small body was immense. Damian, the head of House Aster and my husband, looked at the infant Hein as if he were staring at an enemy.
But more than the way Damian looked at him, what struck me was Hein’s own gaze.
That was the gaze of a born ruler.
Arrogant eyes that took it for granted that all things in this world would kneel before him.
「Kill ‘that’ thing. He will bring great calamity」
I trembled at Damian’s words.
Thinking back, perhaps Damian was afraid of Hein.
To be honest, I was afraid of Hein too.
Even as a newborn, his eyes gleamed with a haughty light, already looking down on others.
With such immense magic power from birth, what kind of person would he become as he grew? I almost found myself agreeing with Damian.
But then, I suddenly became aware of the warmth of Hein’s body against my skin.
No matter what calamity he might bring, Hein was my child.
I could understand Damian’s fears.
This child was dangerously unstable.
He might one day become a demon that will go down in history.
That’s how wicked and powerful he felt.
But even so, he was my child.
Damian, his father, felt no love for him.
Then if not his mother, who else would love him? That’s why I said it.
「I refuse, my lord」
「What did you say, Helga」
Damian glared at me.
I had never defied Damian before.
I had never even considered it.
But in that moment, I decided that even if it cost me my life, I would protect Hein.
「…I see. Then I shall inform the House of Eldenbloom that you died of childbirth」
As he spoke, Damian conjured four spheres of white, blazing flame.
He had so easily decided to kill me, but even then, I did not yield.
As a daughter of the Eldenbloom family, I was no stranger to magic.
I cast a protective spell over myself and Hein.
「…As the mother of one who bears my blood, your body was not a bad vessel. It must be that your magic power quality was high. No matter how much of it there is, rotten water will never make a fine dish. But that thing turned out too well. I’ll ask you one last time. You truly won’t hand it over?」
「I will not. If you cannot love Hein, then I will. Hein is my son」
「I see. A shame」
With that, Damian raised his arm—
・
・
Please, God… I closed my eyes and poured all my magic power into the protective spell, praying as I did. But deep down, I knew—I wouldn’t be able to block even a single blow.
The gap in strength between Damian, the patriarch of the Ducal House of Aster, and a mere daughter of a count like me was beyond description.
And yet, the ruin I had braced myself for never came, leaving me confused.
Had Damian changed his mind?
No, that couldn’t be.
I gathered my courage and looked in Damian’s direction—his arms and legs were twisted and bent.
「Guh… nuh… Y-you… monster…!」
I saw Hein, pointing his tiny palm at Damian, laughing.
「My… my barrier, undone so easily… no! I-I see, he’s casting magic ‘inside’ the barrier! Guh… guhhh! K-kill him, Helga! Kill that thing! If you don’t, the Empire will—」
Each time Hein slowly curled his outstretched fingers, Damian shrank further.
The sounds of snapping and squishing echoed as Damian’s body twisted and shriveled.
At last, he had been reduced to a size no larger than a bean. Toward that tiny Damian, Hein—
「Pa..a. pa」
—spoke, and laughed more joyfully than ever.
It might have been a grotesque and horrifying sight.
But I was simply glad that Hein had survived.
So I stroked his head and held him in my arms.
Then Hein nuzzled his cheek against my chest and, this time, smiled like an ordinary baby.
◇
“The S.u.d.d.e.n. D.i.s.a.p.p.e.a.r.a.n.c.e. of Damian, Patriarch of the Ducal House of Aster.”
The incident caused a considerable stir throughout the Guynes Empire, and I was questioned about it numerous times.
But no matter how much they investigated, they would never uncover the truth.
After all, Damian had been reduced to the size of a bean—and Hein had eaten him.
When I saw that tiny form floating up and flying into Hein’s mouth, my heart nearly stopped.
Even if he was a special child, surely something like that would upset his stomach.
I desperately told him to spit it out, but it was already far too late.
Afterward, I carefully watched for any signs that Hein might fall ill, but he never showed the slightest change, which brought me some relief.
But I digress.
After Damian’s death, I was appointed head of the Aster household until Hein came of age.
Thus passed over ten peaceful years, and then—
That d.a.y. finally arrived.
◇
This happened when Hein was twelve.
Late at night, while I was lying in bed, I heard a knock at the bedroom door.
「Come in」
When I called out, Hein stepped in hesitantly.
It wasn’t suspicious.
Hein had never wanted to be away from me since he was little, and he had always been quite clingy.
I assumed he had come, like many times before, to ask if he could sleep with me.
「Hein, can’t sleep? Or are you feeling a little cold… come here. Let’s sleep together」
As I spoke, Hein slowly came closer.
He was still young but prideful, and often couldn’t bring himself to ask for things directly. That’s why I had to say it for him.
But tonight, Hein didn’t try to get into bed.
「What’s wrong, Hein? Are you feeling unwell?」
I asked, and he replied in a hoarse voice.
「Mother-sama, when I think about you, my chest hurts. I hate it when you talk to anyone else. I hate it when you look at anyone else. I want you to think only of me」
But then, Hein continued.
「I understand that it’s strange to feel this way… but I—」
He lowered his head, and tears began to fall, dripping silently.
「…My」
「Mother-sama, is there something wrong with me? Am I sick?」
Hein, who normally behaves so well, now wore a troubled expression filled with uncertainty.
Seeing him like that tugged at my heart. I couldn’t bear it. I felt I had to do something—anything—to help him.
「Well… no, it’s not an illness. Come here. Mother-sama will make it better」
I swear, those words didn’t come from any strange feelings.
One day, when he’s older, this will become necessary knowledge.
Hein is very mature for his age. The day will soon come when he no longer needs me.
Before that day arrives, I want to do everything I can for him.
So I embraced Hein.
◇
Perhaps Hein sees me not only as a mother, but also as a woman.
I won’t say that’s wrong.
But I also don’t think it’s something that should be left as it is.
Still—even so.
I couldn’t bring myself to push Hein away as he cried.
Maybe it’s vanity speaking, but I felt that if I were to reject Hein’s feelings outright, something truly terrible might happen.
So I didn’t deny him. I simply accepted him.
Besides, Hein seems to remember the moment of his birth quite clearly.
『Mother-sama, do I have bad feelings toward you? I read about it in a book. Am I doing something that makes you suffer? If so, please tell me. I won’t come near you again』
『Mother-sama, Mother-sama, I want to be loved by you. You’re the only one who loves me. That man tried to kill me. But you, you tried to protect me. That was the first time I ever felt love』
『So I don’t want to do anything that you would hate』
How could I possibly push away a boy who cried as he said such things?
I know this isn’t the proper shape of a parent and child.
But even so, I was happy to receive Hein’s sincere love.
◆◆◆
In the original history, Hein’s mother, Helga, agreed to his execution.
The Helga of that world was terrified of Hein’s abnormal nature.
However, Damian reconsidered, thinking Hein might still be useful, and decided to raise him within the Aster household.
At that time, no one realized Hein already understood the things his parents were saying, and the feelings they held toward him.
But in this parallel world, Hein came to know a mother’s love.
How that love will reshape the world—
That remains to be seen.
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