Chapter 9

The man’s aversion to relationships made her ponder how she had even managed to survive three years earlier.

Thus, it was prudent to wait until Nittens had grown and become self-reliant before revealing the truth.

“So it’s a secret.”

“Okay… Um, did Dad love you, Mom?”

“What?”

“You had me, so, uh, did Dad love you?”

Hearing the child’s words, Carinne tilted her head.

However, after a moment of confusion, she quickly grasped the meaning.

“Oh. Umm...”

The child was questioning whether his parents’ love for each other was the catalyst for his birth.

Is he mature enough to understand this? Carinne was honestly a little taken aback.

Nittens’ advanced speaking abilities might have been attributed to Carinne telling him stories, since she couldn’t give him any storybooks.

“Umm.”

But how would she even begin to describe the situation?

Carinne paused to think before offering a hesitant smile as she met Nittens’ twinkling eyes.

“When Dad was struggling from a monster attack, Mom helped him.”

“Oh my gosh! You did?! Did you get hurt?”

With a gasp of surprise, the child kicked his feet under the blanket. The child’s tight grip on her arm caused Carinne to chuckle.

“No, Mommy was fine.”

“Phew.”

“So Mommy rescued Dad. But Mommy was also in danger because of an evil toad monster.”

She was accustomed to telling him fairy tales, so she altered her story to make it easier for him to understand. There was no way she could tell him the truth.

“No, Mommy!!”

The child’s hands pressed his cheeks tightly as he shook his head with lips pushed out. It was clear he was engrossed in the story.

“In order to break Dad’s curse and flee from the toad monster, Mom and Dad made a promise.”

“Oh.” With his eyes sparkling, he nodded.

“Yes. Mom and Dad decided to love each other just for one day.”

“Just one day...?”

Nittens tilted his head.

After receiving good care over the past few days, his silky hair was now soft and shiny. Running her fingers through the child’s smooth hair, she smiled softly.

“Uh-huh. Yes. To break the monster’s curse on Dad, and for Mom to escape the toad monster, Mom and Dad had to love each other just for one day.”

Nittens was mesmerized by Carinne’s voice, whispering in the dark of the night.

Even though her stories were generally ordinary, Nittens always listened with interest.

Carinne found it pleasing, so contrary to her usual behavior, she regularly concocted stories for him.

“Yes. But the monster cast another spell on Dad before it perished.”

“Eek.”

“And because of that curse, Dad doesn’t remember Mom. If Dad remembers Mom, he’ll be taken away by the monster.”

The child’s mouth gaped.

Carinne was consumed by guilt as she stared into the child’s eyes, deeply affected by the tragic tale. He was adorable. She sympathized with him, and cherished his innocence.

“That’s why we must keep this a secret until Nitty is all grown up and capable of defeating the monster that will come for Dad.”

“Okay! Shhh!” The child covered his mouth with his tiny hand.

Carinne tenderly patted Nittens’ back.

“So we can only talk about Dad when only you and I are in the room. You must not tell anyone. Because we don’t want the monsters to come for Dad, okay?”

“Okay! Nitty will be a warrior!” the child said, clenching his fist.

After passionate storytelling, she felt hungry. Torn between annoyance and a growling hunger, she groaned audibly.

Growl.

Carinne was surprised by the sound of the growling. It wasn’t coming from her stomach. Upon glancing down, she saw Nittens with his head lowered and his cheeks blushing.

It wasn’t a sin to be hungry, yet he carried himself as if he were guilty of something.

That was another thing she felt terrible about.

“Shall we explore the mansion to find something to eat?”

“Explore the mansion?”

“Yes, let’s go explore. Let’s go and make sure there’s nothing dangerous in this villa.”

The child’s face brightened. He got up from the bed at once.

Holding hands, they walked around the dark mansion.

“Mommy!”

“Yes, what?”

“I’ll protect you!”

“Nitty will protect Mommy? Then Mom will hide behind Nitty, okay?”

“Okay!”

They had a lit candle, as the mansion was still shrouded in darkness at night. But the moonlight filtering through the windows helped them see better.

Holding her hand, Nittens slowly walked forward. His stiff body revealed he was feeling tense.

Rustle.

The child’s body trembled at the sound of the wind.

After rubbing his eyes with his other hand, Nitten took another step forward.

“Um. Mommy.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not scared!”

“Of course. Nitty is very brave.”

Carinne’s soothing voice encouraged Nittens and he walked forward into the darkness with a sparkle in his eyes. A smile appeared on Carinne’s lips.

The layouts of noble mansions were generally alike. There was a dining room located not too far from the main entrance on the first floor, with a kitchen situated close by.

Carinne proceeded forward in sync with Nittens.

Ultimately, the expedition ended with Nittens bursting into tears after he was startled by a rat that jumped out of a corner.

***

“Mommy!”

“Yes... just ten more minutes.”

“I’ve been waiting!”

Atop the bed, Nittens sat on Carinne’s stomach and gave her a shake.

With cheeks puffed out, Nittens shook her once more, looking dissatisfied.

Carinne, who had her face buried in the blanket, groaned before finally opening her eyes.

“We stayed up late last night because we were exploring the mansion.”

“Yes! Let’s go explore again!”

“What?”

The bright light was blinding to her, but the child who had fallen asleep next to her was already fully awake.

Carinne suddenly realized the age difference between her and Nittens and sighed deeply. More than age, their contrast in physical fitness was probably the key factor.

They fell asleep at the same time, but Nittens was already lively while Carinne felt like a flaccid mollusk.

“Go where?”

“Go explore!”

“But Mommy is sleepy...”

“No! The sun is saying hello!”

Ugh, where did this nagging child come from?

Carinne didn’t nag much, but Nittens consistently made nagging comments to her.

Unable to face the sun’s rays, Carinne burrowed deeper into the blanket, prompting the child’s fern-like hands to grab her cheek. It was then that she reluctantly got up with a groan.

“Yes... you’re right. But I think the sun says hello too early.”

“The sun said hello like... um, ten times!” The child extended his hands and wiggled his fingers.

Nittens did try to wake her up a few times before. But because she was only partially conscious, she couldn’t discern if it was a dream or reality.

Oh, that wasn’t a dream.

She mistakenly thought it was a dream, so she had attempted to cradle the child in her arms and calm him. Upon further consideration, she realized she felt warm in her dream.

After glancing at the time, she buried her face in the pillow, her expression filled with despair.

“Nitty... It’s only nine o’clock...”

“Let’s go explore!”

Looking in Nittens’ direction, she noticed him sitting comfortably on the bed.

She just wanted to sleep. She wanted to sleep a little longer. Remembering how they went to bed at dawn, she groaned.

“There’s big water!”

“Big water?”

“Yes! Nitty went exploring!”

Big water...

She thought for a moment and her eyelids grew heavy once more. She had been locked in the basement most of the time, so sleeping was one of her daily routines. Perhaps it had become a pattern. To her, the morning sun felt like a weapon of death.

“What do you mean by ‘big water’...?”

“Um... um. There’s a big water!”

Carinne reluctantly got up. The soft rug greeted her feet as she lowered them to the ground. The contrast with the basement left her feeling completely out of place.

Nittens pulled on the hem of her dress with his tiny hands. Carinne trudged along, guided by the child’s hand.

As Nittens crouched down to descend the staircase, Carinne swiftly grabbed the child.

Nittens tilted his head as he noticed Carinne’s eyes grow big in surprise.

“Mommy?”