Chapter 025
Evelyn had been quite averse to her son during that time.
The fact that she had only one child did not affect her. The reason was that half of that one son came from a man she despised.
In his childhood, Sioden, who did not even know that Evelyn hated Lerox, had tried to get along with his mother.
His peers were all close to their mothers. Naturally, he began to wish for something similar.
Evelyn did not agree with her son’s hopes.
She expressed her opposition in a passive and typical manner. Each time her son approached, her face would contort.
At one point, Sioden sought the cause externally. Was she not in the mood to meet someone today? Was she feeling unwell? Had something upset her?
Evelyn did not tell her confused son to look in the mirror.
Thanks to that, Sioden realized quite late that her hatred originated from Lerox.
He learned about Lerox’s infidelity at the beginning of his teens, after he had learned about marriage vows and what followed.
It was an age when even the acts between a couple felt disgusting.
Upon discovering that his father engaged in such acts outside, Sioden felt a deep revulsion that day. Evelyn came to his room, glanced at the ten-year-old child who was sick in bed, and said,
“Be careful not to resemble your father.”
From that day on, whenever he washed his body, he scrubbed himself until his skin was raw.
The paranoia of his childhood faded as he grew older.
A few years later, Sioden became numb enough to make lowly jabs at his father.
However, he could not become numb regarding Evelyn.
After learning about what had transpired between his parents, he felt a tightening sensation in his chest every time he saw his mother.
He could only name that feeling after eavesdropping on conversations among the castle servants.
“Madam, you really have it tough. It just had to be when the young master was born…”
This was said not to dismiss him, but rather out of sympathy for Evelyn’s situation.
Imperial law allowed for easy annulment of marriage if there were no children, but if a child existed between a couple, they could not separate.
The reason Evelyn had to endure her husband’s infidelity was because they had a child together.
Only then did Sioden realize why Evelyn’s expression changed every time she looked at him.
He himself was the chain that bound Evelyn.
The truth he became aware of soon became a shackle named guilt, hanging around his neck.
After that, Sioden did not approach his mother until he turned sixteen, passing through the ages of twelve, thirteen, and fourteen.
Evelyn, who never left the castle, always seemed to wander in unhappiness.
It was a misfortune that would have ended long ago if he had not been there.
Evelyn seemed not to notice the change in her son’s attitude. She was always the same as he first remembered: wary of her son, contemptuous of her husband, and mostly indifferent to everything else.
This was true until the year her son turned sixteen.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
That day, a banquet was held in the castle to celebrate the New Year.
As he did every year, Sioden danced the first dance with Merwen.
As she comfortably took his hand and twirled, Merwen asked,
“When are you going back to the border?”
“Soon.”
It was a vague answer.
At that time, he enjoyed leaving abruptly without notice. There was a sense of relief that could only be felt when making a decision late at night and departing before dawn.
‘Should I leave tonight?’ Sioden thought as he grasped the hand of his partner again, which he had briefly released to the music. The banquet would last until tomorrow, but he could easily come up with an excuse for not attending.
Merwen, who was indifferent in both dance and conversation, said to him,
“You should start heading back to the castle soon.”
She sighed.
“It seems like the lord has calmed down.”
“……”
“Huh? Sioden, Raslet Castle is your home, isn’t it?”
Home.
Amidst the half-hearted listening, that particular word struck his ears.
It was said that home is the space where one always measures the time to leave.
Sioden suppressed a scoff.
He hid his thoughts well until the dance ended and then let go of his childhood friend’s hand.
He scanned the banquet hall in search of his two steady accomplices for his wall-climbing escapade. He intended to ask them if they should return today since the topic had come up.
It was then that he unexpectedly locked eyes with someone.
Seeing a pair of black eyes that he hadn’t chased after for years, Sioden froze. Just as he was about to look away, Evelyn slightly raised the corners of her mouth.
‘Did my mother just smile at me?’ As Sioden doubted his own vision, she approached him.
“Mother.”
“You dance well.”
It was a soft voice that could be believed to be addressing either Merwen or the maid, Sezna, rather than him.
In reality, Evelyn was kind to those close to her. Sioden could see his mother engaging in pleasant conversation with Merwen or Sezna, who shared no blood relation, while she wouldn’t even respond to his greetings.
Sioden looked down at his mother in a daze.
Evelyn looked up at him with gentle eyes, as if to prove that all of this was not an illusion.
“You’ve grown a lot.”
It felt as if she had been waiting for her son’s growth like an ordinary mother.
Evelyn said,
“I have something I want to show you.”
‘Me?’
Are you mistaken about who I am?
Such words rose to his throat.
But before he could question his mother’s judgment, Evelyn suggested,
“Do you want to follow me?”
Sioden nodded as if entranced.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Evelyn took him to the annex where she primarily stayed.
Sioden stepped into the hallway he had been avoiding since he grew older. He still didn’t quite understand what was happening.
While he blinked blankly, Evelyn inserted a key into the door of a room. It was a splendid key adorned with silver and jewels.
She opened the door to the room.
Inside, there was a large instrument. It was made up of several tiers of keys and decorated with silver and jewels.
It was an organ.
That instrument, completely different from the northern style, was something Evelyn had brought with her when she got married.
She sat in front of the playing stand. Sioden approached the instrument, following his mother.
