The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family - Chapter 89

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 89
“So that’s why we need your help, Master.”
Clover continued, her eyes fixed on Ziteia’s.
“Peson won’t survive otherwise.”
“……The Summoned Creature told you this?”
“Mm-hmm, yes.”
Clover nodded. The child reached out and grasped Ziteia’s knee. “And the Summoned Creature is sick too. It hurts.”
“Where?”
“If you look closely, its tail is broken.”
At Clover’s words, Ziteia’s head turned reflexively toward where Peson lay.
But the Summoned Creature was invisible to her. With Peson unconscious, it gave no answer.
Still, Clover’s words didn’t sound false.
‘The condition was worse than I thought.’
Ziteia stared blankly at her fallen son.
For some time now, she’d been so caught up in watching Peson grow stronger that she’d convinced herself it was simply a phase all children his age went through.
She hadn’t considered that Manela might be scheming behind it all.
Nenia had certainly disliked Manela, but Nenia disliked most people anyway.
It was difficult to believe there’d be such a clear, specific reason.
‘No. That’s not it.’
The truth was, all of this was just excuse-making.
Ziteia Aive’s excuses to herself—for failing to care for her children properly, for not noticing the terrible things Manela the nursemaid had been doing to them all this time.
Excuses to herself.
But they shouldn’t have been made. A parent cannot hide behind such shallow justifications.
Ziteia moved closer to Peson. Kalid, noting the end of Clover and Ziteia’s conversation, stepped to his side, still holding Nenia.
“He’ll be fine.”
In Kalid’s eyes, Peson’s Authority flowed in its proper course once more.
If that Seed had truly been twisting the flow of his Authority, then removing it should set things right.
As if to prove that suspicion correct, Peson’s condition was slowly improving even without a physician. Ziteia could see it too.
“Mm.”
She gazed blankly at her son.
“I know.”
Peson was still young.
Only ten years old.
Still a child—at an age when he could be deeply influenced and swayed by his primary caregiver’s words. So Peson’s being swayed wasn’t his fault.
It was the fault of the adults who failed to notice.
“What exactly is that Seed?”
Kalid muttered. What had they been trying to accomplish by feeding it to Peson?
“We’ll find out if we investigate.”
Ziteia replied. If Manela wouldn’t tell them, Ziteia was prepared to dig through Manela’s relatives until she uncovered the Seed’s true nature and its origins.
That was when Peson’s face twisted.
“Uh…….”
“Peson! Are you alright?”
Ziteia asked urgently. Peson blinked his eyes slowly as consciousness returned.
The pain seemed to have eased somewhat; he blinked slowly, his voice hoarse and hesitant as he spoke.
“What…… happened…….”
“You collapsed suddenly while you were with Clover, so the servants brought you here. But you’ll be fine now—it’s all resolved.”
Resolved?
What?
Peson stared at Ziteia, still bewildered by her words.
“Mother……? What’s been resolved…….”
“Peson, do you know what this is?”
Ziteia took the Seed from Kalid and showed it to Peson. His eyes widened at the sight of it.
“This, is…….”
“It came from inside your body. This is what’s been hurting you all this time.”
As soon as Ziteia finished speaking, Peson jerked upright in shock.
The boy stared at his mother and asked, “Then…… what about Manela……?”
At Peson’s reaction, Ziteia laughed weakly.
“My son, you knew all along, didn’t you.”

“…….”
“You know yourself that you fell ill because of what she fed you.”
Before Sone left, she had given Ziteia a hint—that Peson seemed to have known he was sick.
At first, it had puzzled her. If he knew he was ill, why hadn’t he said so at once?
But watching Peson’s reaction now, certain things became clear while others grew murky. What was certain was that Peson had known and yet allowed himself to be deceived by Manela. Inside Ziteia’s chest, something that had been carefully contained came crumbling down, and she blinked back the flood of emotion.
“Mother, I…….”
“I won’t scold you. Tell me—did you know all along?”
That Manela fed you something strange and told you strange things.
At Ziteia’s question, Peson crumpled the blanket in his fists. After gazing at her for a long moment, the boy averted his eyes and spoke.
“……Yes.”
“……Why?”
“…….”
Ziteia waited quietly for Peson to open his mouth. Clover and Nenia and Kalid in the room did the same.
Heavy silence hung in the air, and Peson hesitated before speaking at last.
“……Because I wanted to be loved.”
“…….”
“Love. I wanted to be loved. Because Manela cared for me…….”
Peson’s ears flushed scarlet. The boy stammered on, his expression one of unbearable shame.
“Manela said that if I grew stronger, you would love me more.”
“……Peson.”
“That if I became stronger, you would cherish me and love me. That you would look at me. She said you only love Nenia now, because she has a stronger Power.”
At Peson’s words, Nenia, who had been quiet until then, suddenly let out an indignant cry.
“Idiot!”
“……Nenia.”
“Mother loves us both equally! Why didn’t you know that?”
Nenia spoke.
“The only one who never saw us as equal was Manela!”
“……!”
“She compared me and you and made you feel small! That woman ranked us and judged us both!”
Tears spilled down Nenia’s cheeks once more.
“You’re an idiot, brother. I told you I hated Manela…….”
“…….”
Peson’s lips trembled as if to say something, then pressed shut again.
Ziteia looked at her son in silence, then laid a hand on his hunched shoulders.
“Peson, I love you both equally.”
“…….”
“I swear by the Divine—not once have I ever measured the two of you by your Power. From the moment you were born, you have always been equally precious to me.”
The voice of the Duke—she who had waded through the blood of tens of thousands of enemies without blinking once—trembled finely.
“It is my fault for being too busy to care for you both properly. I apologize to you.”
“Mother…….”
“Why would I favor one of you over the other? You are both the most precious son and daughter I have brought into this world……I have never once thought you were lacking. You have always been a source of pride and excellence to me.”
She continued.
“I am sorry too for not noticing while Manela twisted your heart with her cunning serpent’s tongue. Peson, Mother loves you. I would have loved you just the same even if you were not strong, even if you had no Power at all.”
At Ziteia’s words, Clover, who had been listening quietly from below, cast a sidelong glance at her.
She spoke on.
“Manela will be punished for feeding you something strange and for emotionally abusing you.”
“But……!”
“That is something I cannot forgive, even for your sake. It is Manela’s sin. You will not see her again.”
At Ziteia’s words, the young boy’s pupils trembled faintly. And as Peson hung his head low.
“Instead, I will do my best to fill that place.”
“……!”
“If you have endured all the violence she wielded against you by using her affection as a tool, all because you craved that love, then I will care for you more devotedly and give you affection beyond measure.”
Ziteia Eib settled on the edge of the bed and drew Peson into her arms. The boy fell into his mother’s embrace.
“Peson, I’m sorry.”
“……Y-yes, Mother.”
“For not noticing. For not knowing while your body was being destroyed.”
At Ziteia’s words, a single tear traced down Peson’s cheek.
The boy hesitantly reached out and pulled Ziteia into his arms.
He had once believed that only his nanny loved him. As Manela had said, he thought no one but her could ever care for him.
But hearing Ziteia’s sincere apology, he finally understood that every word Manela had spoken was a lie.
‘It was a lie.’
Mother loves me.
Even without a strong Power, even if I don’t struggle to become stronger, she loves me.
“Hgh, wahhhhh……!”
The boy’s tears finally broke free.
And in that instant, crimson smoke billowed forth between Peson’s body and Ziteia’s body.
Clover and Lucky, who knew what that smoke was, both snapped their eyes wide open.
[Smoke!]
“Smoke!”

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