Chapter 24: I Am His Mother

The next day, the sun rose slowly.

The soft morning sunlight gently filtered into the room, illuminating the slightly disordered space.

A faint scent of red wine lingered throughout the room, and the cool breeze blowing in from the courtyard softly brushed against the woman’s cheek.

Sleepiness faded away, and Vesilia slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was a ceiling that looked somewhat unfamiliar.

“…Hmm?”

She paused for a moment, confusion flickering in her cold, pale golden eyes.

Supporting herself on the bed beneath her, she stood up.

Looking around, at the room that felt both strange and familiar, and at the scattered wine bottles nearby, Vesilia gradually recalled what had happened last night.

Hiss… Last night, she couldn’t fall asleep, so she thought of the times she had slept soundly in Leon’s room and decided to sleep there this time.

But unexpectedly, although she usually fell asleep quickly here, last night was filled with an uncontrollable restlessness.

Though she hated to admit it, she had to accept the fact that it wasn’t the room that helped her sleep peacefully—it was that person.

She didn’t want to believe her own deduction, so in a fit of stubbornness, she brought out many bottles from her wine collection, hoping that alcohol would help her sleep.

One bottle after another, she lost count of how much she drank, and now it seemed she’d overdone it…

Looking at the messy room, Vesilia felt a bit troubled.

This room was usually cleaned by Leon himself, but now that she forbade the maids from entering, naturally no one came to tidy up.

It seemed she would have to clean it herself…

Vesilia rubbed her temples and realized she had slept quite deeply last night.

Could it have been the alcohol?

She had also had a strange dream—her newly grown puppy in her arms, and she was holding him tight, saying many embarrassing things.

Thankfully… it was only a dream.

Vesilia stared blankly at the empty space in her arms, feeling an inexplicable loss.

In her heart, she half-wished last night hadn’t been just a dream.

Hiss… What am I thinking?

I was the one who drove him away.

How could he possibly come back on his own?

Vesilia shook her head in self-mockery, then took a deep breath and slowly got out of bed.

Suddenly, she felt an itch on the side of her thigh.

Reaching over, she picked up a strand of black hair about ten centimeters long.

Hmm?

This was definitely not her own hair.

Vesilia’s mind instantly cleared.

Before she could think about where the hair had come from, a commotion erupted in the hallway.

“Wait… Knight! You can’t go in here!”

The anxious voice of a maid echoed down the corridor.

Vesilia frowned and looked toward the door.

The room door was pushed open the next moment.

A figure clad in silver armor stood in the doorway, followed by a small maid who had been chasing after them.

The maid’s face fell in despair as she saw the young lady inside the room.

It’s over…

“I think we need to have a talk.”

A muffled voice came from beneath the knight’s helmet.

Vesilia looked at the knight before her, an inexplicable irritation rising inside her.

Strange—she was the one who had someone bring her back here, and she had searched for this person for so long.

Yet now, she didn’t want to see her at all.

Why was that?

But she was a duke’s daughter and had always followed her own will.

“I don’t want to talk to you right now…”

Vesilia thought the knight before her wasn’t nearly as adorable as her little puppy.

“No, you will want to talk.”

Immediately, the Blue Knight reached up and removed her helmet, golden hair cascading like a waterfall, revealing a delicate face.

“Why is it you?”

Vesilia was stunned.

Over the years, she had gathered quite a bit of information and naturally knew that the knight who saved her once had an apprentice—the girl standing before her.

Elvy turned and closed the door behind her, while the maid in the hallway wisely slipped away.

The golden-haired girl didn’t answer Vesilia’s question but instead scanned the room, frowning deeply—especially when her gaze landed on the collar hanging on the wall.

Coupled with the rumors she had just overheard from the maids, her eyes grew colder as she stared at Vesilia.

Vesilia naturally felt the hostility radiating from the girl.

Though strange, her pride kept her from showing any fear.

“So you disguised yourself as him to come find me. For what purpose?”

The thought of being deceived and losing her puppy made Vesilia even more upset.

Elvy found a chair and sat down, her gaze on Vesilia tinged with something strange.

Could it be… she didn’t know her master had long since died?

If that was the case, she must have thought that the Leon she took in and the master were two different people.

As this realization dawned on her, Elvy suddenly had an idea.

What if she didn’t tell Vesilia the truth… then she’d lose one less opponent.

After all, this woman clearly coveted the master’s position.

And the moment she saw Leon, Elvy was certain he was the master’s reincarnation.

Since he hadn’t yet regained memories of his previous life, she could seize the opportunity to strike first.

The girl tapped her armor as she quickly made up her mind, then feigned surprise and said, “You don’t know? My master… died long ago.”

After speaking, she even showed a touch of sadness, her acting perfectly measured.

“What?!”

Vesilia was utterly incredulous.

What shocked her even more was that her heart, aside from feeling a hint of sorrow, also let out a sigh of relief.

“No, why should I believe you?”

She frowned at the golden-haired girl before her, sensing something was off.

Elvy then took an old badge from her chest and, almost instinctively, wiped it before showing it to Vesilia.

Vesilia recognized it as the badge worn by the knight who had once saved her.

Later, she learned it was the Badge of the Royal Capital’s Order of Knights, each uniquely impossible to forge.

“After my master died, he entrusted it to me.”

Elvy carefully took it back and spoke quietly.

Vesilia’s eyes were filled with complexity—she hadn’t expected that the lifesaver she had searched for so long had already passed away.

“So, what do you want from me?”

“I heard that a few years ago you took in a child named Leon?”

Elvy’s true intentions became clear.

At the mention of Leon’s name, Vesilia’s hand clenched involuntarily.

She looked up, meeting the golden-haired woman’s eyes and nodded.

“That’s right. Without me, he would have died in the slums.”

Starting with moral high ground—that was clever. But…

Elvy’s expression turned sorrowful as she spoke slowly.

“Actually… he is my child…”

Huh?

Vesilia froze in place, her mind struck as if by lightning.

She opened her mouth but couldn’t utter a single word.

She had guessed Elvy’s intentions, but never imagined she would say something like this.

The weight of those words nearly overloaded her mind.

Elvy looked at Vesilia’s shocked expression and curled her lips into a sly smile.

Though it was somewhat taking advantage of her master, who had deceived her so badly in the past, she couldn’t help but feel smug.

Hmph.