Recently, whenever Kael saw Durin and Mavis, a strange feeling always arose in his heart.
Of course, it wasn’t love, nor was it any good feeling.
Whenever he saw the two of them spending time together, he always thought of his own past.
The time when he had to grow up without receiving any love and protection from his family.
Sometimes, Kael always wondered why his mother abandoned him.
And of course, until now, he still couldn’t get a satisfactory answer.
"Hey Mavis, why can’t Durin speak even though he’s already 5 years old?"
Kael had noticed this for a long time.
And it was only now that he had the chance to ask her.
Normally, a child would be able to speak quite clearly at the age of 4, but Durin, despite being 5, could only make mumbling sounds.
Hearing that, Mavis’s hand that was knitting the sweater suddenly stopped.
Her expression gradually changed.
It wasn’t anger, but sadness.
"...He was traumatized from a very young age."
What exactly did he go through? ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel·fire·net
"...Can I ask what it was like?"
Mavis was silent for a long time, and finally, she shook her head.
"Sorry, it’s a sad story, for both me and Durin."
Not getting what he wanted, he could only sigh.
But then, his eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had just realized something.
"So is it because of that past event that you’ve always been overly concerned about Durin, and never let him out of the cave?"
"Yes, is there a problem?" Mavis asked back, looking at him with a bewildered gaze.
Feeling her gaze, Kael took a deep breath.
Honestly, he didn’t know whether to call Mavis an overprotective mother or an idiot.
"Listen, Mavis, if you want your son’s condition to improve, you should let him go out and enjoy this beautiful world, get to know more people."
"What? Out? To that dangerous place?"
For a moment, Kael really thought a gun was pointed at his temple.
But, he still had to say what he needed to say.
"Yes, according to many documents, that is the best way to improve the boy’s condition."
As if to prove that his words were true, Durin suddenly rushed over and hugged his leg.
Then, the boy looked at his mother earnestly.
"And you said that outside is a dangerous place? That’s literally nonsense. You’re clearly a dragon, what the hell are you afraid of?"
Durin nodded even more vigorously.
Seeing her son like that, Mavis couldn’t help but feel moved.
— Could it be that the thing I believed was helping Durin was actually making his condition worse?
— Could it be that, like what Kael said, I have to let him be a little more free?
Finally, as if she couldn’t bear it anymore, Mavis sighed.
Then, she approached Durin, and patted his head with a gentle smile.
"Fine... I’m not a cruel person, so I can’t keep you locked away from the outside world forever."
The boy’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
She didn’t say it outright, but that was crazy enough.
"And Kael, will you come with us?"
Why did Mavis suddenly drag him into this?
Hesitating for a moment, he then smiled apologetically.
"This is a time for mother and son to be together, so how can an outsider like me barge in?"
"You were the one who came up with the idea."
Kael was completely speechless.
That was a very reasonable reason.
But the next one was even more reasonable.
"Moreover, if something really happens, are you really going to let me handle it? I can really destroy that entire town, you know."
In the end, losing to Mavis’s two sharp reasons, Kael had no choice but to obey the mother and her son.
To be honest, they were very much like a harmonious family.
Mavis suddenly spoke up, and at the same time, strangled a bandit to death for trying to kidnap her son.
Kael asked again, the sword in his hand still not stopping, but even more fervent as time passed.
Finally, when all the bandits had been slaughtered, she answered him:
"For being with Durin during this time."
Kael was silent, he didn’t know if it was because of the guilt and remorse in his heart, or something else.
"You probably don’t know, but Durin was always gloomy and cold towards everything before. Even towards this mother."
Mavis smiled helplessly as she recalled the past.
But then, it turned into a gentle smile.
"But ever since you came here, he’s always been in a happier mood, more lively, and always clinging to you. Like a little tail."
Kael pursed his lips, but quickly stabilized his emotions.
"I am a person who loves children, and all the children love me. For some reason, they always treat me like a trustworthy older brother."
"Perhaps meeting you was Durin’s greatest luck."
"You’re exaggerating, I was just returning the favor, so thank you is unnecessary. If you hadn’t let me into the house back then, my corpse would have probably started to decompose by now."
Then, he glanced at the pile of corpses of those bandits.
"And what are these guys? Why are there so many of them?"
Following Kael’s gaze, Mavis retracted her smile.
"Dragons are very rare creatures, and can be used to create many weapons and medicines. So, who wouldn’t want to catch a dragon?"
And coincidentally, Mavis and Durin were the only two dragons that everyone could find.
No one dared to touch Mavis, because she was truly strong enough to destroy a kingdom.
So, they could only attack Durin, her son.
Simply because the boy was still young, making everyone mistakenly think that kidnapping him was easy.
But they didn’t know that Mavis was someone who valued her son more than her own life.
"By the way, Mavis, I think that you should spend more time with Durin recently."
Kael’s eyes flashed with calculation.
"Why?" She looked at him with a suspicious gaze.
But, Kael didn’t show any signs of agitation or anything.
His mood was still very calm, like the surface of a lake.
"Durin is getting better, and as a mother, the only relative to him, isn’t that the right thing to do?"
"...You have a point, but who will kill these bandits then?"
Kael smiled confidently.
Obviously, everything was part of his plan.
If Mavis continued to use her powers, then she would most likely realize that they were slowly fading away.
So, keeping her away from the battles was the best and only way Kael could think of.