Ep 96. It''s Not Too Late. (3)
Once the matter was settled between Rozerre and the two dragons, he was quick to rush back to the shed his mother was at. It was an odd sight to see a thousand-year-old entity tugging on their mother’s robe, but at the same time, it seemed only right given his small stature.
“Mother, the dragons are crazy! They’re going to invade the capital!”
Aldrid merely sighed in response, grinning sarcastically at her own son. She turned towards the two dragons walking into the shed behind Rozerre, and neither of them seemed keen on denying the boy’s words.
“…Lord Serenis. You’re decided on your next destination? Is that where Aymeia is?”
“No, unfortunately not. But we may be able to find someone that does know of their whereabouts at this…capital.”
“…Is that so? Well, I…better prepare to leave, then.”
At Aldrid’s declaration, Rozerre stared at his mother wide-eyed. He pulled on her sleeves even harder, preventing the deity of life from taking a single a step away from him.
“Mother, what are you talking about?! You’re not thinking of going with them, are you?!”
“It’ll be okay, Rozerre. I’m quite well-known, even among the Twelve. I’m sure the people will be far more willing to speak in my presence.”
“I could care less what humans normally do, but this time the empire’s looking to march right into Aymeia’s lair to kill her! What guarantee is there that they won’t do the same to you?!”
“…I’m sure Lord Serenis will keep me safe. If I can help, I should.”
“In what world?! You’re not a dragon, you have no obligation to help them!”
“Well…”
Serenis watched the two deities argue in silence. Although their topic of conversation was somewhat farfetched, it was still just another form of a child nagging their parent to stay with them; given that they’d been separate for hundreds of years, it may have been a reasonable response for Rozerre. If anything, the dragonlord was surprised the boy was at least trying to persuade his mother instead of throwing an incoherent tantrum about it.
But what caught her attention most was the reluctance in Aldrid was showing. Even if others failed to catch the odd shadow in the deity’s eyes, it didn’t take long for the dragonlord to take note of it.
And finally, Serenis broke their argument with a simple solution.
“Stay, Aldrid.”
“…Huh?”
Both deities blankly stared at the dragonlord. Both their mouths were open, though one was out of joy, the other out of shock.
“…Lord Serenis, I can come! I’ll talk matters out with Rozerre, so-”
“I will not repeat myself again. You will stay with your son.”
“But…”
“And take your son outside. I’ve more questions to ask these soldiers in private.”
“…”
This time, it was Rozerre who stared at the dragonlord with a quizzical gaze.
“Wait, what do you mean? Don’t you need me here to ask them things? If I leave, they won’t- woah!”
It wasn’t long until the boy was felt his mother’s arm wrapping around his waist to lift him into the air. She then left the shed with nary a word, closing the door behind them.
Raizel stared at the shut door for a while longer before turning to her lord. As far as she could tell, Serenis was doing nothing but staring at the other wall.
“…Lord? Weren’t you going to ask them things?”
“…”
When Serenis turned towards the four soldiers, two were fast asleep. One was facing the corner in brooding silence, and the lead officer was staring at them with crossed arms and sealed lips.
“…No. I’ve nothing further to ask of them.”
“? Then why’d you kick ‘em out?”
“…”Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Serenis smiled back at the questioning steel dragon. She gently rubbed Raizel on her head, returning a rather vague answer to the question.
“They needed it.”
? ? ?
When they were sufficiently far away from the shed, Aldrid put Rozerre back down on the ground. By the time she thought to scan her surroundings, the deity of life belatedly realized she’d long left Hilia’s parameters without realizing.
But Rozerre didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. Instead, the boy’s glimmering eyes were worriedly gazing upon his mother.
“Mother…you’re not still thinking of leaving, are you?”
“…I suppose not. Lord Serenis has told me to stay, after all.”
“So you’d leave if you could.”
“…”
Rozerre crossed his arms, sulking eyes turning away from Aldrid. He kicked the dirt in frustration, watching its bits fly into the distance.
“You didn’t even miss me, did you? You clearly have other things that take priority.”
“Rozerre. That’s not…”
“It’s small wonder you told me to leave your side all those years ago. You never wanted me around to begin with. I bet you never would’ve come if your stupid lord wasn’t after my shard.”
“…”
After a soft thud, Aldrid knelt to the ground, arms gently wrapping around Rozerre’s figure – not to take him away or reprimand him in any way, but to simply embrace her son.
“…I’m sorry. You must’ve been disappointed.”
“Disappointed?”
Rozerre threw his mother’s arms off his side, turning to face her once more. A hint of malice was mixed into his angered voice.
“That’s all you have to say? You cast me away centuries ago, and you think I was just ‘disappointed’?”
“…Rozerre…I had to back then. I didn’t tell you at the time, but I was…”
“Being threatened by the Reaper?”
Aldrid’s words were cut short when her son finished the sentence for her. Her thoughts completely blanked out at her son’s abrupt interruption.
“…You…knew?”
“That the Reaper was threatening to kill me if you didn’t listen to him? Of course I did. When you told me to flee to Hilia, did you seriously think I listened just because I was being a good son?”
“…I…”
“I knew exactly what was going on, mother. I’m not stupid. But, I thought…”
Rozerre bit his lips. The boy’s gaze fell to the ground, hesitantly admitting to what’d disappointed him the most about their reunion.
“When we saw each other again…I thought it’d be because you missed me. Not because you needed me to serve your stupid lord.”
“…”
A long silence followed thereafter.
In truth, Rozerre had anticipated his mother to retort back with a series of lectures on how he shouldn’t be behaving like a child, that serving the dragonlord was only natural given her birthplace. He’d expected to be reprimanded, but still spoke out of line regardless.
But when the silence stretched on for far too long, Rozerre cautiously raised his gaze back up to see a pair of teary eyes staring back at him.
“Wh…mother?!”
“…ry...”
“Huh?”
“…I’m sorry…”
“…”
At the mere age of 10, her son had been given his divinity. He hadn’t even known what it was at the time.
On the other hand, Aldrid had known exactly what would happen. She knew Rozerre would never grow to be an adult, and she knew he’d never be able to make friends of his age. She knew he’d become an unaging oddity that would never have a connection to anyone outside of his mother – the very mother who’d later cast him aside for centuries, only to return without so much as a ‘I missed you.’
“…I wanted to keep you safe.”
Rozerre’s eyes darted from side to side in a small panic; making Aldrid burst into tears wasn’t what he’d been aiming for at all. He frantically came back to his mother’s side, trying to look into her eyes.
“And you did! I know you meant well, I, I didn’t mean to make you cry, I just…”
Aldrid shook her head. A heavy sigh escaped her lips, her gaze fixed on the ground beneath.
“…I was being foolish, wasn’t I.”
“No, you…made the right choice. The Reaper was at our throats. You had to send me away.”
“But you didn’t want to be sent away, did you?”
“…No.”
“Then it wasn’t the right choice.”
Unlike Rozerre, Aldrid could not read emotions at will. Their one-sided understanding was inevitable the moment her son attained his divinity.
Rozerre couldn’t have cared less for his own safety. He’d only remained in Hilia for his mother’s sake – for his poor mother who had once been torn between her son and her duties as a deity. Staying apart for centuries was perfectly worthwhile for him if it meant his one and only family could be happier.
But from the opposing perspective, Aldrid had pushed her son away – against his will – to better her own position. Keeping Rozerre safe was something she’d wanted, not him; her son had wanted to remain at her side, even if it meant he’d die for it. Unfortunately, such thoughts hadn’t even crossed her mind at the time.
Finally, the deity of life faced her son once more with her usual warmth.
“I’m sorry I forced you.”
“…”
“…I’m sorry I failed you.”
In her haste to keep the boy safe, Aldrid had overlooked how important her son’s happiness had once meant to her. In her duties as deity and dragonkin, she’d overlooked how important it was to be a mother to her son..
A miserable survival wasn’t what she’d wished for in her son.
Making him feel cast aside and unimportant wasn’t what she’d wished for in her son.
No, what she’d really wanted to say was…
“…I missed you.”
When Death was no more, all I wanted was to see you again.
When I saw you, all I wanted was to hold you again.
I missed you, so very much.
? ? ?
“Lord.”
“Yes, child?”
“Are we just gonna sit here all day?”
“Just a while longer.”
At this point, Raizel was slouching on the floor, back against the wall and eyes fixed on the ceiling. The youngling was almost jealous of how indifferent Serenis could be.
“…What’re we even doing here?”
“Waiting for the parent to speak to their child.”
“You mean goldie? Wait, is that why you told them to leave?”
“Perhaps.”
Raizel snorted at her lord’s gesture. Though, it was a shame the youngling had to remain trapped in a tiny shed for that gesture to be made.
“Pft. What’s she gonna say now, ‘you can’t talk back to your elders’? I used to hear that one a lot.”
“…Not quite. I’m sure she has more to speak on how she feels about her child.”
“What’s there to say? She loves the kid. It’s practically dripping out of her eyes.”
“It may not be so obvious to those involved.”
The youngling rolled her eyes at first, only to realize that Serenis had actually meant what she said. The steel dragon then tilted her head quizzically while asking her next question.
“Really? You think that kid can’t tell?”
“Likely not.”
Of course they wouldn’t know. Reading and understanding what was being read was a completely different matter; even if one could read another’s emotions, some things still remained out of reach.
Serenis closed her eyes, curving her lips in a reminiscent smile.
“…If the parent never shows it, how will their children ever know?”