One Day, I Picked Up a Mom - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One Day I Picked Up a Mother – Episode 17

“Why. Have you changed your mind now that it’s come to this?”

Before long, the woman’s eyelashes had become wet. Disgusting to the very end.

“This is your last chance to survive in this estate.”

Ludrio’s sharp voice pierced his ears. He briefly closed his mouth at his own savage voice that growled like a beast.

He had no intention of being swayed by their theatrics…

The thought that he had been manipulated by the Regent’s schemes instantly soured his mood.

Right. There was nothing good to come from showing emotions over something that would all be reported to him anyway.

“…Chase them away so they never dare to loiter around here again.”

Ludrio, who had quickly composed his emotions, quietly gestured with his hand.

No matter how much they screamed, the door wouldn’t open, yet the child continued to shriek while the woman kept looking back as she was dragged away.

Ludrio watched that farce for a moment before turning his back.

* * *

Rustle—.

Ludrio, who had sunk deep into the couch in his bedroom, quickly read through the documents.

It was a document containing the Dye Merchant Guild’s request to extend the monopoly rights for purple dye and silk distribution ahead of the upcoming Harvest Festival and year-end events.

In exchange, it stated conditions to raise the dye tax within the duchy by 7% and donate part of the profits.

It was when Ludrio was examining the previous year’s distribution revenue records.

Knock knock.

“Master, it’s the servant.”

“…Come in.”

With brief permission, the door quietly opened and the servant entered. Behind him, a maid came in carrying alcohol.

“The child?”

“About an hour ago, it became quiet as if he had fallen asleep.”

Ludrio turned his head to check the time.

So the child had been making a fuss for over 12 hours until 10 o’clock, demanding to be sent to his mother.

He suddenly wondered if this time the child had really fainted.

“Did he eat dinner?”

“He refused, so we simply prepared something and brought it to his room.”

“…Go check once.”

Ludrio, who had been quietly watching the maid pour the alcohol, flipped over the documents he was holding and gestured to the servant to leave.

Ludrio slowly swirled the whiskey poured into a thick glass tumbler, leaving the bowing servant behind.

When the ice clinked against the glass a few times, he heard the sound of the door closing carefully.

“You came earlier than expected.”

Ludrio put down the glass he was holding and looked at Jen, the knight dressed as a maid.

He had expected him to return around tomorrow afternoon, but it seemed the business in Marha had ended more easily than expected.

“Yes. When we went down, the entire 13th District where they had lived was buzzing with stories about the people you asked us to investigate. Thanks to that, it was easy to gather information.”

The stories that followed from Jen’s mouth were completely unexpected even for Ludrio.

A brooch embedded with a bright red ruby and another mother claiming her child had been stolen…

Neither Jen, who had gone there personally, nor Ludrio, who received the report, could readily grasp the full picture of this incident.

“Is the child that woman claims to have lost definitely Iban, who is now in this estate?”

“The lost child was said to have light blonde hair and highly saturated blue eyes. Since it’s not a common appearance, the child in the estate and the child they’re looking for must definitely be the same person.”

He wondered if perhaps the child had been switched somewhere along the way, but at Jen’s words, Ludrio quietly nodded.

Certainly, Iban didn’t have a common appearance. However…

“There was absolutely no interaction between the child and the kidnapper before that?”

“Yes. The villagers said the first time they saw that woman was a month ago.”

This was incomprehensible.

The child had even told the villagers that the woman was his aunt, his mother’s friend.

He had even shaken off the grandmother who was trying to save him in order to leave the village with that woman.

Based on the story Jen told, it definitely seemed like the child had followed the woman out of his own accord.

Could someone follow a person they’d just met to such an extent?

“Since they said the child had never left the village, there probably wasn’t any prior interaction…”

Ludrio, who had been concentrating on Jen’s words, suddenly raised his hand and cut off the conversation.

“Let go of me!”

Ludrio’s head turned toward the noisy door.

Knock knock.

“I said let go!”

With a light knock, the door opened and Kairon, a knight, entered.

Kairon, who grimaced with one eye as if annoyed by the noise, and a child with light blonde hair struggling at his waist.

“I brought him after finding him hanging on the building wall.”

Only then did Iban lift his head to look around.

The child’s eyes became much more fierce upon spotting Ludrio.

“You said you’d do what I want if I answered your questions!”

Iban, his face bright red, screamed and struggled again.

Since the child’s voice was already hoarse from shouting all day, no matter how much he raised his voice, only rough wind-like sounds came out.

“Send me to my mother!”

The child shrieked again, making rough wind-like sounds.

“Everyone leave.”

Ludrio gestured lightly as if to put the child down and spoke.

As the knights tried to leave the room, the child’s head reflexively followed them, as if he didn’t want to be left alone in this room with Ludrio.

“I want to go to my mother.”

The child, who had bitten his lips and stepped back several paces, stubbornly spoke again.

“By mother, do you mean Luna?”

Now that he was left alone, the child’s momentum seemed to deflate as if he was scared.

To such an Iban, Ludrio put on a rather gentle voice and offered him the seat in front of him.

Iban, who had been cautiously approaching while reading the situation, belatedly nodded his head.

Ludrio waited until the child climbed onto the couch, then took out a thin navy velvet box that had been stored deep inside a nearby drawer and placed it in front of Iban.

“Not Cherina, but you want to go to Luna.”

Iban, who had been staring at the chocolate box pushed toward him, suddenly lifted his head.

Deep shock appeared in the child’s eyes.

“Your real mother has been frantically searching for her stolen child and brooch for two weeks now.”

Ludrio looked at Iban, whose half-open mouth was twitching, then reached out again to pick up the box.

It was premium dark chocolate he had received as a gift recently.

As he opened the box, he thought it might not suit a child’s taste, but this was all there was for the child to eat in this room.

He took out a chocolate from inside and handed it over as he continued speaking.

“The neighborhood has already filed a case report saying a thief who steals children has appeared.”

“…”

“But the child actually wants to return to that thief. How strange.”

Iban’s blue eyes shook rapidly.

“Right?”

As if trying to find some way to get out of this situation.

“…Mother, no, where is Luna? What happened to her?”

“I sent people to bring her in.”

The child’s face contorted greatly. Ludrio’s brow also furrowed slightly as he watched the child.

‘What on earth is this…’

The trembling hands and welling tears—that was definitely fear born from worry.

Ludrio watched Iban’s breathing become rough and added a comment.

It was to find out who exactly the child was worried about when everything had been discovered.

“And to make sure she never does this kind of thing again, I’ll break at least one of her legs…”

“No!”

The child quickly jumped down from the couch and shook his head rapidly.

“That woman did nothing wrong. I’m the one who deceived her. I, I deceived her so she was fooled by me and thinks I’m her son.”

Drip, drip drop,

Heavy teardrops fell without pause.

“Luna is crazy, she’s a fool so she was just deceived. So please don’t do that.”

“Crazy, you say…”

“It’s all my fault, so break my legs instead.”

The child who had been scheming to deceive the adult until the end finally seemed to give up and burst into tears.

Soon his eyes turned red and swollen, his breathing became rough.

Whether from fear, the child could no longer make loud sounds and struggled to swallow down even his small sobs.

Ludrio frowned as he stood up from his seat.

Then he took out a handkerchief from the corner of the wardrobe and handed it to Iban.

“Sob sob.”

When the child didn’t take it, Ludrio forcibly pressed the handkerchief into the sadly crying Iban’s hand.

However, the child’s tears showed no sign of stopping.

It seemed there were still many stories left to hear.

‘I can’t ask him anything if he keeps crying like this.’

Ludrio felt uncomfortable looking at Iban’s face that had turned bright red and turned his head away.

The boy had been acting so boldly that he didn’t expect him to cry this much…

He considered patting the crying child’s shoulder but changed his mind.

“I won’t break your legs, so stop crying.”

“Sniff, sob.”

“If you stop crying now, I’ll let you see Luna again.”

When he mentioned the woman like that, the child immediately nodded as if he understood. Then he bit his own lips hard as if trying to hold back his tears.

How desperately devoted.

They were fake mother and son.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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