I Became a Mother of a Sub-Male Son

Swee.

The opening was easier than expected. It was darker inside than the hallway, so she couldn’t see what was ahead. That was the moment she stepped in.

Bang!

Suddenly, the door closed violently. Surprised, she moved its handle around, but it didn’t budge. Finally, she gave up, took her hand away, and looked around the room again. It’s still dark and hard to see.

She moved her legs gingerly, groping for the wall with her hands. She was thinking of looking to see if there was a candle somewhere. Her fingertips touched something hard, something slippery and cold that looked like a table. The moment she thought she had found the candle in the lot, the light came on with a click sound. Did it turn on on its own because it was a dream?

She took a close look inside the room, which was now clearly visible. If she didn’t know it was a corporal punishment room, there was nothing special about the inside that she would have thought it was just an ordinary room. The room was not large, and only the small furniture was high. For something that bothered her, surprisingly, she didn’t feel much.

As she was quietly looking around the room, something subtle caught her eye. Even though there was a separate sofa and table, there was one chair sitting in the corner. She was particularly concerned about the size of the small chair. She walked straight to the chair. But when she looked closely, she couldn’t see anything special other than its small size.

But why was she so concerned?

Beep.

It was then. It was faint, but sh heard a small bird song… This must have been the cry of a white bird.

She quickly looked around. But the white bird could not be found anywhere. What appeared to be white bird feathers were lying on top of a chair that had been empty until a moment ago. It was the moment she unconsciously picked up a feather. A corner of the room suddenly became bright and some kind of illusion began to appear.

Without any surprise, she took her breath in at the sight unfolding before her eyes. A young-looking boy was sitting on a small chair. And in front of him was a man with a strangely familiar face.

He had a very creepy face and she quickly realized who that man was. That man’s face seemed strangely familiar because it was one of the portraits hanging in the hallway. So that man must have been ‘Hale Nathan’, the Duke’s predecessor. In that case, the child sitting on that chair like a doll was probably the current Duke, Kayden Nathan. The man was looking down at the child in front of him with harsh eyes, as if he was going to hit him at any moment.

She became anxious without knowing why. It was a time to watch with bated breath. A voice came from the man.

[What did I say?]

[—]

[Don’t make me ask twice.]

The child answered slowly with dead eyes in his eyes.

[You told me to get to the top in this academy exam.]

[But what happened?]

[Below the top…]

All the child’s words could not come out. It was because the man’s large hand had scrawled the child’s cheek. And twice in a row.

Surprised, she stretched out her hand toward the illusion, but her hand passed right through his body. There was a huge difference between hearing that the Duke had been abused by his father and actually seeing it.

Her breathing was heavy and her fingertips were trembling. Why on earth would you treat your own child like that?

[This time too, the Marquis’ son, young marter Dior, ascended to the top rank.]

The man looked down at the child, whose cheeks were stained red, with a still cool expression.

[You are pathetic. Do you really want to become a useless piece of trash?]

[…No, father.]

When the man saw the child answering, his mouth twitched. His eyes did not look like he was looking at his own child, but rather as if he was looking at an object.

[Until tomorrow, reflect on how pathetic you are. You know what happens if you move even a little, right?]

[…yes.]

The man, who looked at the child who was still answering with dead black eyes, soon turned around and walked out. Even after the man left, the child did not move at all. He just sat in his chair as if he were a doll, staring into space. Even she couldn’t breathe when she saw that. The child in front of her looked so familiar.

His posture was not disturbed at all, as if he had experienced it many times, no, dozens of times. Anger surged towards the man who left the child here.

While she was glaring at the closed door, she heard a small breathing sound. When she turned her head again, the child’s lips were softly shining. At first, she thought he was just spitting out his breasts, but when she looked closer, she saw that his lips were repeating the same shape.

As she watched the scene closely a few more times, she realized what the shape of his mouth was indicating.

[Sorry, father.]

And the moment she realized those words, she had a huge headache. Her head suddenly felt like it was going to explode. To the point where she wondered if her anger was causing her to lose control and cause pain. Even her vision began to blur as the pain assaulted her entire body. She saw the child sitting like a doll, and then and again.

Her consciousness became blurred and her eyelids gradually became heavy.

“Kayden.”

As soon as she blurted out the child’s name without realizing it, she completely lost consciousness. It was a dark battle.

* * *

“Wow, wow…”

Her vision opened and a dark yet familiar ceiling came into view. Heavy breathing flowed out of her mouth nonstop, as if she had been running for a long time. Could it be that there was a little more from the dream? When she felt that her breathing had stabilized, she finally got up. 

Without hesitation, she headed to the door. The moment she was about to leave, she heard a child’s voice from behind.

“Ugh, Elia, where are you going?”

“Oh, did you wake me up because of me? I’m sorry.”

When she turned her head, she saw a child waking up in a dazed state.

“No, I just woke up for a moment. I’m going for a… walk?? Yeah, I just can’t sleep. Lian, you should sleep some more.”

“Can’t I go with you too?”

“But it’s too dark outside? It’s dangerous for you to go out.”

“You want to take a walk in the garden, right? There are plenty of escorts.”

When she saw the unusually stubborn child, she blinked for a moment. When she didn’t say anything, the child came down from the bed. Then he walked towards her and grabbed her by the collar.

“Can’t we go together? Elia’s face doesn’t look good.”

“You think my face looks bad?”

“Yes.”

She raised her hand and slowly smoothed her face. Was it so obvious?

“…Actually, I had a nightmare. It was a bad one.”

“…What kind of nightmare?”

The child’s expression immediately worsened, perhaps because he had a nightmare the other day. But she could not bear to tell the child exactly what she had seen in her dream. Even though the child knew that the Duke had been abused, she could not bear to speak.

“It’s okay, so tell me. When I had a nightmare before, I told it all to my father and Elia, and I felt a lot better.”

“Come on, okay?”

She cooed for a moment and eventually spit out the truth.

“In my dream, I saw a man stabbing a child.”

“Stabbing? Were they hitting a child?”

She nodded quietly.

“Where?”

“In the room at the end of the hallway where the portrait hangs.”

The child’s eyes opened wide at her answer.

“Then could it be that the child in Elia’s dream was my father?”

“I’m not sure, but I think so.”

The child was silent for a moment. And she regretted saying that because his expression didn’t look very good.

“It’s just a dream, so don’t worry too much.”

“…”

“Okay, Lian?”

“…yes.”

“I’m fine, so don’t worry too much, go to sleep first, I’ll take a short walk, okay?”

She lowered her head to be at eye level with the child and whispered softly.

“Yes, I understand. Still, if Elia comes, I’ll sleep with her.”

“Okay. I’ll come back quickly.”

After picking up the child and putting him on the bed, she left the room.

“I’m going to take a walk.”

After saying that to Jade and Richard, she walked away. Actually, the destination wasn’t a walk, but she didn’t think there was a need to make the situation worse by saying it in advance. She headed straight to the hallway where the portrait would be hanging. Before arriving there, she was thinking about how to persuade those two.

After all, she guessed she had no choice but to just go out recklessly? Since she couldn’t think of a suitable number, it seemed like there was nothing she could do. It was almost like she had reached her destination.

Richard and Jade seemed to have noticed something strange and blocked her path.

“Are you sure you want to go for a walk?”

“Well, for now?”

“This is not the road to the garden. I think I took the wrong path in the dark. I have to go the other way. I’m going to go for a walk this way. I didn’t take a wrong turn.”

“What?”

In response to Richard’s question, she felt like she had to tell it now.

“That’s the place I was told I shouldn’t go in before. I want to go there.”

Richard and Jade’s faces immediately hardened at her words. It didn’t seem like it would be as easy as expected. She was aware that she was being rude.

She also knew that the natural order was to ask a favor after the Duke returned to the mansion after completing his inspection. However, she was anxious. Without knowing why, she felt like it would be a good idea to check it out quickly. She didn’t know the exact reason why she did this, but it was like that anyway.

“I’m begging you. I’ll take full responsibility for everything, so I won’t cause any harm to you…”

“Why on earth do you want to go in there?”

She hesitated for a moment in response to Richard’s question. It was because she couldn’t figure out what excuse she should make to convince them.

“That…”

“If I can’t answer right away, I can’t go any further.”

“Okay. Anyway, that place is a place where His Excellency has forbidden entry. So not now.”

Jade and Richard took turns answering. Both still showed a strong attitude. She was sighing inwardly as she glanced into the dark hallway, wondering if she had no choice but to wait until the Duke came. Suddenly, Richard, Jade, and the two remaining escorts fell to the floor.

She blinked for a moment out of embarrassment.

“You look like you’re in trouble, so I just put you to sleep for a little while to help.”

Allegro suddenly burst out from behind the pillar. She was surprised for a moment, but she felt uncomfortable as she wondered if they had been watching her the whole time.

“Have you been watching me the whole time?”

“No way. I was just taking a walk to check if the barrier was properly secured, and I saw the lady.”

“Then what is this situation now?”

“Didn’t I just tell you that I put him to sleep for a moment because I wanted to help him?”

“Why are you suddenly helping me? Do you know what I can do?”

Even though she overheard the conversation, she didn’t know what his intention was to help her without getting anything in return. By any chance, was he using this as an excuse to ask for information about Regarden territory? She looked at the man with suspicion, but he lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“There’s nothing to look at like that. Just think of it as helping, and take it easy.”

“No. I know you want something. Do you know what Lian’s eyes look like right now?”

One corner of Allegro’s mouth twitched slightly at her words. As if it were the correct answer.

 

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Translator Note: