A Mother's Love

I was back in my room, working on my big puppet. I was focusing on one of its arms. Holding out my hand, new substance and matter began to form on its hand, slowly making a gauntlet. But the creation was slow.

With the use of my power, Puppeteer, I could conjure physical matter. However, as it was a permanent matter, creating it would be slow. That was why I couldn’t just spawn puppets whenever I wanted or in emergencies. Every puppet must be pre-made. The bright side of it, given enough time and talent, I could create an army. The best side, I could materialize and dematerialize them at will. But Avenelle had not kept a lot of them in her, most of them left in this room. She just liked them displayed, proud of her creations.

And none of them could be used for combat yet. Avenelle had never been a combat-oriented person. I still had plenty of things to do. I may not have all the time in the world to create many units, but I’d make the best quality.

And the first goal for now was finishing my personal guard. One that I would have beside me at all times to protect me at every moment. This would at least give me a sense of safety, as I myself didn’t know how to fight. Well, not literally by my side.

However, when facing the people here, especially my brothers, my puppets alone wouldn’t be enough. I had to be smart in my approach. Brute force was absolutely not an option.

Remember, the main objective is to escape, not to defeat them.

I had to keep reminding myself. Sometimes, people just lose sight of what truly mattered. Even I wouldn’t be an exception. If I lost focus, that would be my undoing, they’d kill me. And I still had no idea of the true reason for it. I discovered nothing during my research at the library. But in this case, the reason mattered little. It would have been a nice bonus just to learn the truth.

I needed to be stronger.

What can I do aside from making more puppets?

There must be more. Make allies? No, the staff here were loyal to the crown. There was no one I could trust. Set up traps? That might work, but I’d need to survey the palace first. To plan my movements and put traps where people wouldn’t see them, where they’d be effective. There was still the part where I needed to figure out what traps I’d make. But what else? I was alone, with no one to rely on…

Where do I get more power? I also couldn’t cast any magic spells, I was stuck in the puppeteer line. If only I could use something else besides puppets, that would have been nice.

Wait…!

I paused the conjuration upon realizing something. I sprang up and started pacing around the room, a hand under my chin, thinking if what I was thinking could work. It had something to do with getting magic. I recalled the book I had read yesterday, and even the basic knowledge I had from memory.

Only by committing your soul to their grace could you possess a class of magic.

Committing one’s soul. From what I knew, it was basically committing your soul to the magic you receive. Meaning, the divine put your magic into your soul. That was why people couldn’t just switch to another class of magic, or learn something else entirely from the path they’d taken.

Now then, what was it that got me worked up about this?

If I were not mistaken, I was not only one soul, but two. Avenelle, and me from Earth. I was not one person, but two… blended into one. Surely both souls were still present. But what if it were just memories from Earth that came here? No, memories felt different from actual experiences. I would know. I had Avenelle’s memories after all, and I was still the me from Earth. And souls don’t just disappear.

I had a feeling that Avenelle’s soul and mine were coexisting or had merged. But they were still different souls. One plus one equals two, right?

I need to think about this.

No, I needed to learn more about this. To make sure how certain I was, and how safe it would be. But considering the time, I might have to do it tomorrow. First, I had to prepare myself for dinner. The dinner yesterday after learning of my planned demise was a bit awkward. But I managed to keep it normal. And I had to do it again. It was tiring to do, but missing dinner would be strange.

I took a deep breath. I needed a moment to prepare myself.

***

I entered the dining hall, my heart throbbing hard as I walked to my seat. What should have been a pleasant dinner where I got to enjoy delicious food had become some sort of nightmare for me. I sat down in my chair, glancing at my family members. This time though, Saviel was absent, he was a busy man.

But as I watched them, I couldn’t help but wonder who had already known. I doubted Alaric could keep such a thing a secret without being obvious, especially to me. Therefore, he should be the last one you’d tell secrets to.

I glanced at my eldest sister. Unlike before, she had been less… in a word… receptive to me. She had not talked to me before we started eating, just like the last dinner. Like it was awkward for her, which was absolutely surprising for Vivienne. Usually, she would be clinging all over me. And she seemed to avoid my eyes.

Alaric for a moment glanced at Vivienne with slightly narrowed eyes, noticing the oddness of the situation.

“Are you unwell, Vivienne?” He asked.

“Hm? Uh, no.” She glanced at me for a second before turning to look at Alaric. “Unlike you, I have a lot of work on my mind.”

“Uh-huh, screw you then.”

“Don’t start fighting now,” I said, trying to act as normally as I could.

Alaric scoffed with a smirk. “Vivienne started it.”

Vivienne scowled at him. “Let’s just start eating.”

Well, at least that confirmed they hadn’t told him yet. He would definitely be the last person they would tell it to. Worst case for them was Alaric accidentally telling me or something. Anyway, we started eating.

As usual, the food was delicious. But I was of course unable to completely enjoy it as I was quite uneasy being surrounded by… enemies… Hm, I was still hesitant using that word. They were not exactly enemies to me…

Ugh, I don’t know.

“How was your day?” Mother asked.

As usual, I’d be the first.

Oh, nothing noteworthy. Just preparing to counter your attempt on my life and finding a way to escape this place.

Truth be told, I was quite disappointed that things ended up this way.

“I was busy with my puppets. Working on arming my Puppets just as Father said.”

“Oh?” Father raised his eyes to look at me. “How’s your progress?”

“It is slow. I’m still working on my one main puppet.”

“I see. Good. Once you are done, we shall give it a try.”

I slightly tilted my head. “Give it a try?”

“In battle. We must know how effective it will be. If it is not tested, it might fail you in times of need.”

Yeah, there’s no way it can beat any of you.

There was a reason rarely anyone picks the puppeteer magic class. No, I was the only one. If only Avenelle hadn’t freaking chosen this crappy magic! Maybe I would have less of a problem to think of. But nooooo, she picked puppets. You know the reason she picked it? It was because she thought it would be cute! Cute! Can you believe that?!

Puppetry was far from practical. Puppet creation was slow, and durability was unreliable depending on the caster. A knight could quickly shatter them if you don’t work on them properly. And working on them properly requires time. Yeah, it was a time-consuming magic type. That’s why it’s not a very good option compared to the others.

“... I understand, Father.”

“I shall assign a knight when the time comes. When you’re finished, tell me.”

“Best you finish it before the ritual you’re about to perform, Avenelle,” Mother added. “It’s not always safe for us royals to go outside the protection of our city walls.”

“You cannot always rely on your guards, daughter. You must know how to protect yourself.”

Indeed, it wasn’t always safe. There was always risk, people coming after our lives. Our kingdom had plenty of enemies willing to do just that. The Moon Blessing Ritual, it might be an opening for me. However, I’d always be guarded constantly, so it might be harder than I imagined. Plus, they’d only chase me down if I didn’t plan my route right.

I’d have only one try at this. Because if I fail, they would definitely lock me up. Therefore, I must pick the locations wisely where I’d start to escape. And ultimately, I must be fully prepared.

“Understood.”

***

I was leaving the dining hall after dinner was over when my mother came up to me. I was baffled, of course.

“Avenelle… Have you been sleeping well?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Do not lie to me, daughter.” She placed a soft hand on my cheek. “I know you don’t.”

Yeah, well, it is kinda hard to sleep when your own family seeks to kill you one day.

But I said nothing, only averting my eyes. I might have a hard time hiding my feelings if I didn’t. Not that I resented her or anything, rather, I was more cautious… and afraid. I subtly clenched my fists, resisting the emotions I was trying to hide.

“Therefore,” my mother smiled, in contrast to the usual stoic face she showed. “I shall see to it myself that you sleep early and properly tonight.”

“Huh?”

“I shall read you a story.”

I didn’t know how to react to that, so I just stood there, speechless. Never did I ever expect she would do something like this. But in my memories, I remembered she had done it to Avenelle a few times. But that was when she was still young. And she had not done it for years now.

“W-What brought this on?” I managed to ask. I really didn’t want her near me as I slept.

“I realized I had not spent time with you alone, just the two of us.”

“...”

“Come.”

Having no choice, Mother and I headed to my room. I was feeling a bit tense, fearing for my life. But I reminded myself that she was not here to kill me. She wouldn’t kill me, at least not now. I often glanced at her until we arrived in my room.

I’m gonna be fine.

My mother peered around my room before checking out the dolls scattered around. She went to my desk and picked up a small doll, a smile forming on her face.

“Adorable. But, dear daughter, you should be more organized. You puppets are scattered all over.”

“... I’m sorry…” I lowered my head.

Well, that was true. They were just put everywhere they would fit. My mother walked over to the bookshelves, searching for a book to read.

“Have you read all of them?”

“... No, Mother.”

Eventually, she pulled out a book and showed it to me. “What about this?”

“That I have not read.”

It was not like Avenelle was the one who put them there. The books were just there to fill the bookshelf, and Avenelle couldn’t really read them all. At any rate, most of them were fictional books.

“Alright then, I shall read this to you.”

Even though I was feeling awkward, ‌I still went to bed. I removed my shoes, just as Mother did. I lay down on the bed, and she sat up beside me, her back resting on the bed’s headboard. She opened the book.

“Hm, I had also not read this before…”

“I’m still full, so it might take a while before I fall asleep.”

She gently stroked my head, and it was so tender that I was quite… pleased by it. It felt good.

“In that case, sit beside me, and read it with me. Come.”

I sat up close beside her, and she pulled me in close, having me lean on her shoulder. Her arm was wrapped around me, it was pleasantly warm. She kissed me on the side of my head. I was feeling overwhelmed by what was happening.

What is this…?

I could feel my heart race, and my chest growing hot. This kind of thing was strange to me, I had never experienced something like this before. Being read a story, sitting beside a mother on my bed, her arms all around me. Involuntarily, I stared into her face, perhaps checking if this was really happening…

“Now then, let’s read.”

Her smile… It was different from what I had seen during dinners. It was like… the mask had been removed. And from the memories as well, she was like this with Avenelle in private. A mother. It almost made me feel conflicted as to why she would let me perish.

Why? Why would you let this happen to me, Mother?

I wanted to ask her, but I couldn’t.

As she started reading, I leaned in closer, savoring the sensation of her warmth and gentleness. I closed my eyes as I listened. For a long time, throughout my whole life, I longed for the love of my parents.

Now… I had a glimpse of what it was like. The love of a mother.

And it was good.