If there was ever a moment when people wanted to witness a massive crowd turning dead silent… then they needed to visit this place called Frostblade Mansion in the Naiadae Empire.
Because right now, the very people who had gathered to uphold the honour of their Saviour, to carry out Mortimer’s last words with unwavering loyalty… had finally turned silent.
But it wasn’t because of the weight of their Saviour’s final words or some profound wisdom he had left behind… No. It was something else entirely… something so ridiculous, so outrageous, that it left everyone speechless.
A boy—a mere Servant—was standing in front of an older woman, openly, boldly, shamelessly confessing his feelings to her… And not just any woman.
A woman who had children almost his age!!
The sheer audacity of it sent shockwaves through the crowd.
Xara’s face flushed a deep, burning red—not from excitement or joy—but from pure, unfiltered embarrassment. She wanted to dig a hole and bury herself alive. This little brat… this insane, reckless brat had just proposed to her in front of everyone as if he were making some grand romantic declaration to the whole damn world!!
And not just any audience—oh no, that would be too easy.
He did it in front of her daughter!
In front of her ex-husband!!
She could already feel the judgment, the stares boring into her from every direction.
And the worst part? Aether, that shameless little devil, was looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world. His warm eyes, his soft, affectionate smile—it was enough to make any woman’s heart flutter.
But not Xara’s.
No. She was far too horrified to feel anything remotely romantic about this situation.
‘He did NOT just do that! This little shit!!’ Xara screamed internally, her hands trembling at her sides.
Trying to salvage whatever remained of her dignity, she forced a shaky, motherly smile and stammered, “Y-You mean like a M-Mother, right?”
She had barely finished her sentence when Aether’s lips curved into a small, teasing smile. He didn’t answer. He just stared at her, his expression unreadable, yet somehow infuriatingly smug.
‘Oh, hell no.’ his face says everything…
Xara clenched her fists, her mind racing as she scrambled to take control of the situation. Panicked, she turned to the crowd and, with a forced chuckle, quickly added, “H-He meant as a M-Mother! I’ve been taking care of him all this time, you know… He loves me as his mother, that’s all!!”
Her forehead was practically sweating bullets as she desperately tried to steer the conversation in a non-scandalous direction.
A few beats of silence followed. Then—
“I see… just a Mother’s love.”
“Hahah… I almost thought it was something else!”
“Man, that scared me for a second!”
“Pfft, that boy really has a hilarious sense of humour… ahaha!!”
The once-stunned crowd finally erupted into laughter, their tension dissolving into amusement.
Xara nearly collapsed from relief, ‘Thank the gods, they bought it…’
But then she turned to look at Aether again—
And nearly had a stroke.
That little menace was SMIRKING at her.
Her lips twitched violently.
‘He’s doing this on purpose, isn’t he?!’
The innocent, adorable Aether she once knew was long gone.
In his place stood a devious little devil who was hell-bent on making her suffer.
Determined to get her.
‘What the hell happened to him?!’ Xara’s mind was spinning. ‘Was this because of my disappearance?!’
For a fleeting moment, she wondered if her presence in his life would have straightened him out. But now?
Now he was a whole damn threat!!
Heck, she had left home, so that her house escaped danger!
But now—
The danger was hunting her!!
‘ARRGHHH!!’ Xara screamed internally, barely restraining herself from throttling the boy on the spot.
Just as she was about to regain control of the situation, a mild yet mocking voice echoed from the crowd—
“How can we trust you when you didn’t even give him a hug? You must be disgusted to touch a servant, right?”
Xara’s entire body stiffened.
Her sharp eyes darted across the sea of people, scanning for the source of the voice. But whoever it was had already vanished, slipping away in the blink of an eye.
‘Those bastards… who the hell are they?!’
The crowd, of course, being the easily swayed fools they were, immediately latched onto the statement.
Masses of people were always like that!
Whispers spread like wildfire.
Now that they thought about it… there was a subtle distance between Aether and Xara. As if… as if she was deliberately keeping away from him.
New suspicions arose. Was she just calling him her son by name? In reality, was he still just a servant to her?
Doubt crept onto their faces.
Xara noticed the shift instantly. Her lips twitched violently.
She turned to glare at Aether… But that little devil—
That MENACE—
Had the audacity to just stand there, smiling like an innocent angel.
He wasn’t involved in this chaos, nooo.
All he could see was her.
Xara gulped, feeling a headache forming.
With no other choice, she begrudgingly spread her arms wide and forced out the words—
“C-Come, hug me… m-my son.”
Aether smiled.
And then, with a single step forward—
Xara instinctively took a step back.
Silence.
Aether grinned inwardly.
Oh, he was getting to her in one way or another…
Seeing Xara move back in a cautious step, the crowd frowned.
“See! I told you she was just lying to us!” The mild voice echoed again, carrying a smugness that made Xara’s eye twitch violently.
That shitty bastard!
Her teeth clenched so hard she swore she could hear them grinding. If she ever got her hands on the sneaky little rat manipulating this entire situation from the shadows, she would make sure they regretted being born. She wasn’t just angry—she was fuming.
But right now, she had bigger problems.
Forcing herself to move, Xara took slow, hesitant steps toward Aether. The very air around her felt suffocating as she unwillingly lifted her arms and, after what felt like an eternity, finally wrapped them around him.
“S-See… I’m hugging him!” she declared stiffly, her voice slightly strained as she gestured toward the crowd, praying they would just accept this and move on.
The gathered people watched intently before nodding in satisfaction, murmuring amongst themselves as their suspicions started to ease.
Xara sighed in relief. Good. Now all she had to do was push him off and—
“Hmm… I missed this feeling,” Aether murmured, suddenly snuggling even deeper into her embrace, his body pressing against hers like he belonged there.
Xara froze.
What?
The crowd’s expressions softened in an instant.
“Aww…”
“Poor child… he must have longed for a mother’s warmth all this time…”
“He must have been so lonely…”
“Xara is truly blessed to have such a devoted son!”
Blessed?
Blessed?!
Xara was far from blessed!
She was currently using every ounce of her strength to push him off, but the brat was rooted in place, completely unmovable.
“H-Haha… H-How sweet of you, Aether! N-Now you need to let me g-go,” she stammered, her voice nearly cracking as she shoved harder. ‘Get off me, brat!!’ she screamed internally, but despite all her efforts, he still would not budge.
What the hell is wrong with him?! she shrieked inwardly, her heartbeat quickening. Just when she thought things couldn’t get worse—
“I LOVE YOU!!”
Aether shouted at the top of his lungs before pressing himself even closer, his face now completely buried in her bosom.
A loud gasp rippled through the crowd.
!~Ding~!
[+—]
Xara’s heart nearly stopped.
Her face turned a deep shade of crimson as she fought to keep her composure, forcing an awkward, painfully strained smile onto her lips.
“H-Haha… Y-Yes, A-Aether… is really attached to me… haha…” she stammered, her laugh sounding anything but natural while inwardly screaming, ‘Get off me, brat!!’
Desperate, she discreetly pinched his sides, hoping to make him jump away.
But—
“Hehe…”
He didn’t even flinch.
Instead, he held on tighter, as if he was actively challenging her to pry him off.
Xara’s lips twitched.
Aether knew exactly what he was doing.
He wasn’t just being clingy—he was deliberately provoking her. Most people believed anger wasn’t the right way to break into someone’s heart, but Aether? He disagreed.
Anger was the perfect weapon to tear down walls. It was raw. It was real. It forced people to react emotionally, without logic.
And right now, he was forcing her to react.
Meanwhile, the crowd was now openly sobbing, completely consumed by the beautiful moment unfolding before them.
Mothers of other children wiped their tears with their sleeves.
“Such a pure bond…”
“I wish my son loved me this much…”
“Why is my kid always running away from me?!”
A few fathers in the crowd secretly scowled, cursing their own children for not being as devoted.
The once-silent crowd had now transformed into an emotional mess, murmuring about the strong, unbreakable love between a mother and her adopted son.
Meanwhile—
‘Let me go, you bastard!!’ Xara screamed inwardly, still desperately trying to shake him off.
Aether, on the other hand, was having the time of his life.
‘Nope… I’m hugging even tighter.’
He latched onto her like glue, completely ignoring the silent threats in her trembling fingers.
Velc narrowed his eyes, watching carefully. Something felt… off. He couldn’t quite place it, but his instincts told him there was more to this than what met the eye.
Meanwhile—
“Damn, my husband is really good at this…” Selene muttered absentmindedly, her arms crossed as she observed the scene with an oddly proud expression.
Then—
She blinked.
Wait!
Something was wrong.
Husband?
Seducing her mother?!
Her entire face turned horrified as if a part of her soul had just left her body.
‘WAIT! WHY THE HELL AM I PROUD OF THIS?!’
______
[Author’s Note: 01/02/2025: The code can be redeemed by 10 different users with 10 FPs/user. Your code number is <ABDHYJEAEFDNAFAYB> and you can find the redeem centre at Profile-Redeem.]