Chapter 8

“Mommy!”

The child ran over and hugged Carinne’s legs.

A faint smile appeared on Carinne’s expressionless lips. She lowered her arms and hugged the child.

“As of today, this is the house we will call home, Nittens.”

“Wow...! It’s just going to be you and me, Mom?”

“Yes. Just you and me.”

Carinne walked into the villa, watching the child excitedly swinging his feet while in her arms.

The villa was much smaller than the main manor, but it was more than enough for two people. Featuring fifteen rooms, an upper level, and a broad front entrance, the building was impressive.

She could tell that the villa was cleaned beforehand due to the orderly arrangement.

“Mommy, Mommy! Put me down!”

The child was hugging Carinne’s neck, but in the end, he couldn’t stand staying still, so he pulled on her collar and gestured downwards.

Suppressing her laugh, she bent down to lower the child to the ground.

Seeing him excitedly shout and smile brightly was a first for Carinne.

I never knew he could smile so brightly...

Like a mature adult, he always told her that he was fine.

Carinne was haunted by the memory of the boy, who persisted through hunger and pain, and always apologized for his bursts of irritability by covering his mouth.

As she watched the child playing in the distance, she looked at his newly acquired clothes and shoes. Those were his very first possessions since his birth. They were offered to him because she had finally capitulated completely to Viscount Tyrian.

“Nitty, let’s go and check out your room.”

Carinne’s words prompted the child to immediately come and stand in front of her. Wiggling his hands, he glanced up at her.

“What? If you have something to say, say it.”

“Umm...”

“It’s alright. Tell me,” Carinne said warmly, lowering herself to his eye level.

Encouraged by the warmth of her voice, the child’s red eyes wavered before his small lips parted.

“Uh... Nitty... Um... the sun, uh, um...”

He stuttered as if he couldn’t remember the words. Although he acted like an adult and spoke quite fluently most of the time, Nittens was still a child.

Carinne waited patiently for him to find the words.

“Oh! I’d like a room where I can say hello to the sun!”

“...”

His words made Carinne choke up with emotion. With a blank stare, she gazed at him, and a moment later, she dropped her head.

Not once had she been able to get Nittens out of the basement.

Carinne was well aware of the joy the child had felt when they moved from the basement to the second floor of Viscount Tyrian’s residence.

Feeling guilty and heartbroken, she silently clenched her fists.

“Oh... actually, it’s okay even if I can’t say hello t-to the sun, Mom.”

Stuttering, Nittens tried to gauge Carinne’s emotional state. When Carinne kept her head down, with tears in her eyes, he held onto her sleeve and shook his head.

“Uh... Mommy, please don’t cry...”

Only then did Carinne slowly raise her head.

Nittens knew that whenever Carinne covered her face or lowered her head, tears were falling down her cheeks.

Carinne glanced up and noticed tears brimming in the child’s eyes.

She quickly smiled and hugged Nittens.

“Mom’s not crying. I was just thinking. You’ll definitely have a room where you can say hello to the sun every day.”

With Nittens in her arms, she carefully climbed the stairs, making sure not to trip on her dress.

Thankfully, the central staircase was straight, so she could ascend by just looking down.

“You’re not crying?”

“No. I’m not crying.”

“Heehee. I love you Mom,” Nittens said, nuzzling his face into the crook of Carinne’s neck.

After the child’s shy confession, Carinne tenderly stroked Nittens’ small head.

“I love you too, Nittens.”

“Heehee.”

Smiling innocently, the child hugged Carinne’s neck.

Once they ascended to the second floor, they quickly found the room. The servants must have arranged her luggage, as the room already felt cozy.

“Nitty, can you pull hard on the straps on the back of my dress to loosen them?”

Nittens liked being helpful, so Carinne often asked him to help her with things she could do on her own.

“Okay!” Nittens replied with great enthusiasm, his eyes filled with eagerness.

With a serious look on his face, he stretched his arm and pulled the strings with both hands, exerting all his force.

Thud. Suddenly, he dropped to the ground on his butt while pulling the straps.

“Huh?”

Nittens shook his head, looking at the string that had slipped out of his hand.

Then, he cautiously rose to his feet, approached his mother once more, and, with eager eyes, grabbed the straps one more time, pulling with all his might.

Thud. The child fell backward again.

With an awkward smile, Carinne was about to reassure Nittens that he didn’t have to do it, but he approached her with a determined look in his eyes and took hold of the strings again.

“I can do it!”

“Mommy can find another way...”

“Mommy, stay still!”

Nittens’ burning gaze left Carinne no choice but to squat down again.

Nittens landed on his rear end approximately ten additional times before finally managing to loosen the straps.

My legs hurt.

Carinne groaned as she struggled to get onto her feet. Her legs had started cramping from squatting for too long.

When she finally managed to take off her dress, she asked Nittens to face the other way momentarily to prevent him from seeing her.

After setting her dress aside, she grabbed a light nightgown from the closet and slipped into it quickly.

Luckily there was one for the child as well. It was fortunate that Viscount Tyrian was concerned about the perceptions of others.

“Nitty, let’s change clothes.”

“Okay.”

Nittens, who was lying on the floor appearing tired, rose to his feet and walked over to Carinne.

She took off his clothes and replaced them with a set of silk pajamas, which allowed for easier movement.

As he slipped his arms and legs in, the child let out a wide yawn.

“I’m sleepy...”

The sky had turned dark long ago. He was probably hungry by now. Carinne smiled bitterly while noticing that he didn’t mention being hungry.

“Nitty, are you hungry?”

“Um...” he replied, but he was already drifting off to sleep, his head bobbing forward before snapping back up in surprise, then bobbing down again.

Chuckling, Carinne picked him up and laid him on the bed. Then she gently tucked herself under the blanket.

“Are you gonna sleep next to me?”

“Yes, Mom is going to sleep next to you.”

“I love it,” Nittens mumbled drowsily, his eyes half-closed.

Lying next to the child, Carinne affectionately patted Nittens on the back.

“Nitty.”

“Yes...”

“Do you ever wonder who your dad is?”

Nittens’ half-closed eyes suddenly opened wide.

In light of recent events, she decided it was time to let him know about his biological father.

In any scenario, from an outside world standpoint, Nittens would soon be his son—even if it was unlikely that Vaster and Nittens would refer to one another as such.

“I have a dad?”

“Of course. If you promise to keep it a secret, Mom will tell you. It’s a secret you must not tell anyone.”

“Why?”

“Because when Mom met your dad, your dad was cursed by a monster.”

“Eeek! A-a monster?! With, like, big teeth?! And bite people?! Like this?”

Nittens became animated and waved his arms in excitement. She could picture the type of monster he was likely imagining.

Carinne chuckled softly. Upon seeing this, Nittens also smiled.

“Yes. So Daddy doesn’t remember Mommy. If you tell him, the monster will attack Daddy again.”

“Okay! Nitty will keep quiet! Shhh!”

“Good boy. Do you remember the man you met earlier? The man with eyes that are slanted like this and red like Nitty’s?”

Nittens nodded. His sparkling eyes were full of curiosity and anticipation.

Carinne gently stroked his head. It broke her heart to think that the boy was reluctant to ask about his father out of concern for her.

“That man is Nitty’s dad.”

“Wow... he’s my dad?”

“Yes. It’s a secret. Okay? We can only talk about Dad when Nitty and Mommy are alone by ourselves. Because Dad doesn’t remember Mommy, he also doesn’t know about Nitty.”

The child’s mouth gaped in surprise, only to slump down in a disappointed manner.

With a bitter smile, Carinne tenderly caressed his hair. Perhaps one day, she might find the courage to tell Vaster too.

“Dad doesn’t know about me?”

“No. Let’s wait until Nitty is older and a fully grown adult before we tell him. Dad is so busy right now, he says he can’t have a family.”

Nittens smiled and acknowledged Carinne’s explanation with a nod. It would be natural for him to complain a little at times like these, but he often acted more mature than his own mother.

So much so that it broke her heart.

If I tell Vaster now, he might decide to kill me.

The man she interacted with earlier gave off the impression of a well-fed beast. His apathetic and weary eyes looked completely disinterested in people.