Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Breakfast was as grand as yesterday’s dinner.

It was noon before I could resist my mother’s urgings and ate all the food on the table.

I was so full and it was hard to breathe, so I leaned back on the sofa and took a deep breath.

“If I ate like this for one more week, I would have to roll around.”

Helios, who was flipping through the newspapers, chuckled.

“That would be cute too.”

“I’m not kidding. —Is Escal okay?”

I grabbed my bloated belly and asked, looking at Escal.

Escal shook his head and puffed out his cheeks.

“I’m full….”

I’m surprised he’s still alive because my mother shoves food down his throat.

Helios put down the newspaper and asked.

“When you’re full, shall we go out for a walk?”

“Sure.”

I quickly got up and took Escal’s hand and went outside.

The sun was hot like early summer, but it was bearable.

We headed towards the lake shore, feeling the gentle breeze blowing.

“Wow….”

Escal exclaimed as he looked at the wide, blue lake.

As if lost in the sight he saw for the first time in his life, his open mouth could hardly close.

A fish that jumped out of the water, rippled through the calm lake.

The sun was shining beautifully on the clear, mirror-like water surface.

“It’s pretty.”

Helios, who was quietly staring at the scenery, whispered to me.

I nodded in agreement and walked slowly along the shore of the lake.

“Wait a minute.”

Helios, who was walking slowly, stopped and bowed his back.

Then he picked up a bunch of wild flowers on one side of the lake and put them on my head.

“It suits you.”

My heart sank at the gentle smile. I couldn’t look at him for some reason, so I turned around, fiddling with the flower in my head.

“What kind of flower is this?”

“Well. It’s the first time I’ve seen this flower, so I don’t know.”

Helios shook his head.

Escal looked at the flower. I was wondering if I could ask my mother.

“It’s forget-me-not.”

“Forget-me-not?”

Escal replied softly.

“How do you know?”

“Tia taught me.”

“Tia?”

Helios asked, not knowing Tiaris, at the question Escal’s expression quickly turned pale.

He’d grown so close to her during their time together that it pained him to even mention her name.

“Do you want to see Tia?”

“… Yes.”

Escal pursed his lips in a small smile.

“Tia was very sick….”

There was concern on his face.

He’s only six years old, and he’s already suffering from a love fever.

Realizing that I was about to become a mother who had to let her son go to the woman he loved, I comforted him with mixed feelings.

“When we get home, let’s go see her.”

“… Really?”

“So, have you seen your mother lying to you?”

As soon as I put my finger on the promise, a bright smile spread across Escal’s face.

Love is scary.

*****

“Who is Tia?”

Helios, who was having tea time after returning from a walk, asked abruptly.

I put down my teacup and answered it.

“Tiaris Hazel, and she’s Baron Hazel’s granddaughter.”

“Ah, the one who said he needed the magic stone…?”

“Right.”

“He already got a girlfriend?”

Helios jokingly took the teacup to his mouth.

“You know how precocious Escal is.”

I replied lightly and changed the topic.

“Oh, did you repay Baron Hazel?”

“He didn’t want me to pay him anything, so I just gave him a bunch of the spirit stones. I offered him a mansion if he wanted it, but he said the spirit stones would be enough.”

“So he’ll be staying there instead of coming to the capital?”

“I think so. From what I found out, he had been living in the mountains with his granddaughter ever since his daughter and her husband were attacked by monsters and lost their life.”

“By a monster?”

“Hmm. There are a lot of demons in that place.”

“Still, it’s not common to attack private houses, right?”

“Sometimes they come down to a private house if they run out of food or are kicked out after fighting with each other.”

He said it wasn’t surprising, but it was new to me.

This is natural considering that the reason Escal was able to regain the Duke’s family in the original was to subdue monsters.

“But don’t worry, they won’t attack you.”

Helios smiled mischievously as he looked at me in deep thought.

He’s serious about teasing me.

I rolled my eyes and picked up the teacup.

While savoring the fragrant tea scent, my mother came out wearing an outdoor outfit.

“Mom, where are you going?”

“I want to go out and do some shopping.”

“You have maids, do you have to go there by yourself?”

“It’s better to go and see with my own eyes, and it’s not fair to buy it for me.”

“Then I will go.”

Helios came forward. My mother asked with her eyes wide open.

“Duke… Do you want to go shopping?”

“I don’t have an eye to choose things, but why not buy the most expensive one? Please write down what you need.”

What is this man talking about?

“I’ll come with you.”

“No thanks, you can rest, I’ve got enough to do on my own….”

“I don’t want you to go alone, you know how shrewd merchants are.”

I got up, sat my mom on the sofa, and casually snatched the note from her hand.

“I will be back. I just need to buy only what is written here, right?”

“It is, but… What are you going to shop for when you come here to rest?”

“I can’t take a break like this. I’ll be back soon, so please bring some when Escal wakes up.”

After getting ready to go out, I left the mansion with Helios.

*****

“… Hm?”

After waking up from his nap, Escal blinked and looked around.

There was nobody in the room.

When I got out of bed and opened the door, the Viscountess sewing in the living room noticed him and turned her head.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. Uh, where’s my mom?”

“Your mom and dad went grocery shopping.”

“Ah…”

The child licked his lips when he realized he had been left alone in an unfamiliar mansion.

Seeing this, Viscountess Evelyn put down her sewing thread and beckoned to Escal.

“Come here.”

Escal sulked and plopped down on the sofa.

Viscountess Evelyn gently rolled up the sleeve of Escal’s right hand.

“Let’s see.”

She examined his arm with a careful touch.

In the rush to patch up the broken bones, he hadn’t healed the chafing wounds in time, leaving a faint scar.

“It must have been very painful.”

“It doesn’t hurt at all now.”

“It’s unfortunate that the little one has already suffered so much.”

The Viscountess patted the child as if pitiful.

“Still, you resemble your father, so you have a tough character.”

At those words, Escal’s complexion darkened.

The Viscountess opened her mouth again.

“Is your mother good to you, Escal?”

“Yes. Very very very good. But…”

“But?”

“Because Escal doesn’t look like mom….”

“… … .”

“… I’m a little scared that mom will hate Escal.”

The voice, which was getting smaller and smaller, crawled in.

Viscountess, who was looking at Escal, hugged the child and patted him quietly.

“There are no parents in the world who hate their children. If there is such a person, they are not parents.”

“…….”

“Whether the face is similar or not, that does not matter. What matters is the heart.”

Escal, who had been lying in the Viscountess’ arms, raised his face.

She made eye contact with the child and continued.

“Lena has been very kind and gentle since she was young. You’re just as kind and gentle as your mother, aren’t you?”

Escal nodded.

“Look at that, even though your faces are not the same, you have the same personality. No matter what anyone says, Lenia is Escal’s mother.”

A smile spread across the child’s face as Viscountess finished speaking.

“You are such a pretty kid.”

Viscountess Evelyn kissed Escal’s forehead.

“What are you doing to someone else’s child?”

Viscount Evelyn came out of the room and said heartily.

The Viscountess said with a frown.

“Can’t you behave in front of a child? You’ve gotten so grumpy in your old age.”

“Who says I’m not grumpy? I know that, I’ll go out.”

“Where are you going?”

“Fishing.”

“You can’t even catch a fish, but you went fishing every day…”

Viscount Evelyn was furious at the wife’s self-talk.

“Not catching anything, you’ll see. I’ll catch a big carp today and put it on the table.”

“They went shopping for groceries, but if I wanted to eat it, I would have to buy it anyway. Someone will catch it.”

“Can’t you just wish me good luck?”

Viscount Evelyn groaned as he left the front door, and Viscountess took Escal’s hand and followed him outside.

“Why are you coming out?”

“Take Escal with you.”

“What? Me?”

When Viscount Evelyn asked the question with wide eyes, the Viscountess answered in a stern tone.

“You’re not fit to go alone. Take Escal and go fishing with him.”

“Then, what are you doing?”

“I don’t have time to take care of Escal because I have to sew your clothes, prepare dinner, and change flowers in a vase.”

“I’m busy too.”

“What are you busy with? Just throw the fishing rod and that’s it.”

Viscountess Evelyn spoke firmly and placed Escal’s hand into Viscount’s.

“Huh?”

Escal blinked his eyes in embarrassment, and she smiled broadly and waved her hand.

“Be careful where you go.”