One Day, I Picked Up a Mom - Chapter 33

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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 33

 

When our eyes met, Iban lowered his head, and I let out a silent sigh at his appearance.

 

‘What am I even doing.’

 

No matter how much I racked my brain thinking about it, I couldn’t definitively determine whether this was inside a novel, and if so, whether it was actually a romance fantasy.

 

So now wasn’t the time to be buried in such vague possibilities.

 

What I needed to focus on now was the fact itself that Ludrio had proposed the position of duchess to me.

 

The most certain position that would allow me to stay with Iban for a long time without being separated.

 

“Iban.”

 

I sat down next to the child and quietly called his name. Iban’s face looked sad as he slowly raised his head.

 

“Shall we talk for a moment after we finish eating?”

 

I carefully took hold of the child’s small hand.

 

As the child had said, living alone in this world would be dangerous for me. Especially since I lacked basic common sense about this world.

 

To such a me, Ludrio had proposed the position of duchess.

 

Saying he would give me a position where no one would dare question me even if my past were discovered.

 

“If you’re hesitating because you’re worried I might touch you like you mentioned before, I’ll handle even that part however you want.”

 

He said he would accommodate my convenience without expecting anything else in return.

 

So without any need for deliberation, my answer should have been acceptance.

 

Even if I only thought about myself, excluding the child.

 

“Your Grace, I’m finished eating.”

 

Iban, who wouldn’t even look at me, lowered his head even further as he spoke.

 

“May I leave now?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Ludrio tilted his head sideways as if finding it strange and looked at me.

 

As if asking for an explanation of why the child was acting so coldly.

 

Though it wasn’t such a significant matter to warrant keeping quiet about, Iban, who was hiding his face even more, seemed unwilling to reveal what had happened earlier.

 

Moreover, I was worried that if Ludrio heard about the situation, he might misunderstand that Iban disliked him.

 

“Your Grace. May I give you the answer you asked me to bring by tomorrow morning right now?”

 

At Iban’s stubborn refusal to raise his head, I gripped the child’s hand more firmly.

 

“As you wish.”

 

“I also want to marry Your Grace. I want to live here.”

 

Only then did Iban raise his head, and Ludrio’s gaze shifted from me to the child.

 

“What… what does that mean…”

 

While Ludrio only nodded silently, Iban asked in a dazed voice, completely drained of energy.

 

“Mother is going to get married?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“With His Grace?”

 

Marrying Ludrio. That was the best choice I could make for now.

 

“That’s right. Now Iban and I can continue living here.”

 

I definitely thought Iban would be happy about it too.

 

The child, who had his mouth half open, soon furrowed his brow deeply.

 

“You seemed to have many demands earlier. Are they all unnecessary now?”

 

Just as I was about to ask Iban if he wasn’t happy, Ludrio spoke up.

 

“Ah, may I think about the details until tomorrow morning?”

 

“Sure. I also have things to tell you about your new status.”

 

Ludrio, who had cut his meat into bite-sized pieces, took his first bite and once again turned his gaze toward Iban.

 

“More importantly, Iban.”

 

Only then did the child raise his head toward Ludrio. It seemed like a creaking sound came from the child’s neck, as if he was quite startled.

 

“I thought you’d be very happy. Is this news not welcome?”

 

“…I’m surprised. I’m so surprised.”

 

Iban slowly shook his head and silently took my hand.

 

“I’m so happy.”

 

The child who looked up at me finally showed a smile.

 

“I like it too, Mother.”

 

His cheeks rose plumply and his eyes folded beautifully. The child’s pupils were filled with excited light.

 

“Me too.”

 

I gently stroked Iban’s soft cheek.

 

* * *

 

Ludrio Rharhart, who was said to enjoy playing around with women.

 

After observing such a duke for about a week, that was Iban’s impression.

 

An unpredictable, fickle noble whose true thoughts were unknowable.

 

Of course, he knew that the man was being generous to them, covering for his lies and letting him stay with Luna.

 

But Iban also already knew that the kindness he showed was nothing more than momentary sympathy or curiosity.

 

Patting his head, offering handkerchiefs, or giving him chocolate.

 

Those were like the meowing sounds he would imitate when calling a frightened cat.

 

Whether out of boredom or pity, they were things that would end after a few pats.

 

So Iban didn’t think too deeply about Ludrio.

 

‘You’re quite naturally good at fainting.’

 

Even though he knew that unlike the rumors, the man was clever and quick to grasp situations.

 

Anyway, Luna would soon be kicked out, and when that happened, he would also run away from this estate.

 

What thoughts the duke, whom he would soon part ways with, was hiding inside wasn’t Iban’s concern.

 

But then…

 

Marriage.

 

For an hour after dinner ended, Iban circled around his room endlessly like a dog chasing its tail.

 

The duke was going to marry Luna.

 

What on earth was he scheming?

 

But no matter how much he circled the room, there was no way to know what the duke was thinking, and eventually Iban found himself in front of Rharhart’s bedroom.

 

Knock knock.

 

“Your Grace, are you there? I have something I’d like to ask.”

 

The marriage between Luna and Rharhart was a scenario he had never once imagined.

 

It was something that made no sense to anyone.

 

‘If I take you with me, I’ll be rich now. You’re a very expensive child.’

 

Iban’s mother was a very greedy person.

 

When the master wasn’t looking, she would secretly take more things, and very often she would steal other people’s belongings.

 

But even such a mother didn’t think she could become that man’s wife by taking the brooch to find the father.

 

‘If she had known she could become a wife, she wouldn’t have tried to hand me over just for money.’

 

Even on days when she was drunk and in a good mood, she had never voiced such hopes.

 

…So why did things turn out this way?

 

Iban thought there was no way Ludrio Rharhart would just hand over the position of duchess without any compensation.

 

So surely, really…

 

Knock knock.

 

“It’s me, Iban.”

 

When there was no answer despite knocking on the door, Iban knocked once more on the unresponsive room owner’s door.

 

“What business do you have?”

 

At Ludrio’s voice coming from nearby, Iban’s shoulders shot up.

 

When the startled child turned around, he saw Ludrio Rharhart standing close behind him.

 

He silently opened the bedroom door.

 

“I knew you’d come running right away, but you’re later than I expected.”

 

Then he gestured as if telling him to come in.

 

“I have something I’d like to ask.”

 

If he could follow his heart, he wanted to demand answers. To honestly confess why exactly he had talked to Luna about marriage.

 

Even though he knows she’s not my real mother. Even though he already knows everything about me being a fool, why.

 

However, even in his deeply troubled state, Iban chose the most pleasant voice to hear.

 

“Sit somewhere comfortable.”

 

A leisurely voice. An expression free of worry.

 

Looking at such a Ludrio, so completely different from himself, irritation flared up.

 

The fist gripping his clothes turned white.

 

Iban had never once wanted to have a father.

 

No, to be truthful, for quite a long time he had wished he too had a father.

 

Like that man who effortlessly lifted the chubby Hank, he had wished he too had such a father.

 

Then he wouldn’t have to receive pointless scolding from adults for no particular reason.

 

Mother wouldn’t have to work. And then maybe they could live a little more happily.

 

He often longed for a father, and did so, but.

 

Not anymore.

 

As long as he had Luna, he didn’t need something like a father.

 

If only Luna was there, he no longer desired anything else.

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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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