Mommy Vyvyan placed a cup of tea in front of me. Curious, she said, “What’s wrong, Son? I heard you came to have me give you a check-up. Isn’t it better to come at night for this sort of stuff? It’s a bit sudden. Mommy actually needs to make some preparations.”
In a serious tone, I replied, “That’s not it, Mom. I came just for a body check-up, serious. Freya felt there might be something wrong with me, so I came to have my mana examined. I think the only thing I could have problems with is mana.”
Vyvyan touched my head. With a smile, she said, “Mana problem? Son, it’s very unlikely for you to have a problem with your mana, because you practically don’t expend mana; it’s impossible for you to experience lack of mana. In addition, virtually all of your mana is messy, so it shouldn’t be any messier. Therefore, your mana will be fine. Of course, I’ll check for you.”
Mom pointed to the bed: “Son, sit over there on the bed; then remove your upper-body clothing and then face your back to me. I’ll see if your mana is normal or not.”
I followed Mom’s instructions. I went over to sit on the bed, removed my clothing on my torso and faced my back to Mom. I earned a lot more wounds on my arms, chest and back after coming to this world. Fortunately, I didn’t have anything on my back. I hadn’t been betrayed and stabbed in the back, literally, yet.
Mom walked over and pressed her hand onto my back. I didn’t know what Mom could see; but nonetheless, I could seemingly feel a strange energy circulate inside my body. I didn’t know what the energy was doing. It seemed to be checking the paths in my body were normal or not.
A short moment later, Mom removed her hand and sat down next to me. She explained, “There’s no problem, Son. Your mana is fine. Still, as Mommy said, your body is still very weak. It won’t affect your daily life, but remember to never use magic again. You can’t control your power. Mommy is being serious. Son, did you come to have me check you because you’re unwell?”
I nodded. I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head: “I don’t feel unwell. It was my sister, Freya, who thought I looked bad. That’s why I came to have you take a look; however, since you said there’s no problem with my mana, I guess it means the problem lies with my physical body.”
“Correct. If you were a human, you could say so. That being said, Mommy doesn’t think that you’ve caught a cold or whatever, because you’re not human. Thus, you won’t contract human diseases. You don’t have any sicknesses that elves suffer from, either; therefore, you should be very healthy right now.”
Vyvyan stroked my head. She then smiled: “There’s no better feeling than seeing my son safe and sound. You do indeed look unwell. Having said that, I think you’ll be fine with some rest. To be honest, the North still isn’t a habitat quite suitable for elves. It’s much warmer, yes, but still inferior to the elven forests. How about it, Son? Do you want to return to Duargana for a vacation?”
“No, Mom. I should be preparing for my coronation. I don’t intend to conduct some national coronation tour for a ceremony. I’m just going to conduct the ceremony in the palace. I just need the nobles and what have you to acknowledge me as the ruler of the North.”
“What about the denizens? Do the denizens of your North acknowledge you?”
I shrugged: “I just need to provide them with land, food, hot water and a future, and they’ll acknowledge anything… That’s what Freya said.”
“Do you share the view?”
I shook my head with a helpless smile. I peered outside the window and replied, “I don’t. I think I need to let the people know me. I’d argue this nation wasn’t built by the nobles and wealthy. This nation is the peoples’ nation. I need to let them know who they are paying taxes to and who is providing them with protection. The problem is I don’t have money. I want to do a lap around the entire nation, since I still haven’t seen how all of the people in my nation and its vicinity look. I don’t have the money for that, though.”
Tone serious, Mom responded, “Mommy can give you money so that you can make a trip around this land. Still, Mommy is reluctant to let you leave. Mommy feels that Mommy will feel more reassured if you stay inside the palace. If you want to want to venture out on a tour for your coronation ceremony, however, Mommy can provide you with money.”
I shook my head: “You can’t, Mom. Mom, we’re now mother and son, very close mother and son, for that matter. But you’re still Queen Vyvyan, while I’m Troy Galadriel Rosvenor when it comes to national affairs… In the future, I’ll be addressed as a King… Hence, I can’t accept your gift. If I accepted money from you, wouldn’t that mean somebody else subsidised the costs for the King of the North’s coronation?”
“Elizabeth was definitely the one who taught you that.”
“I won’t deny that…”
Vexed, Mommy Vyvyan pouted: “Geez, that woman is always ruining everything nice around me, first my brother and now my child. Far out. She’s so boring. Now my son has become boring, too. In the past, my son wouldn’t have cared about any of that. What an annoying woman.”
I chuckled: “Mommy Vyvyan, I think that you should change the way you see me… I think that you can’t look at me with the gaze you’d use to pamper a child anymore.”
“No, I insist. Son, no matter how much you do, you’ll always be my son. You’ll always be my son. That won’t change even if you now have kids or your children have kids. That won’t ever change.”
Vyvyan pulled me into her embrace in a somewhat wilful manner. She then pinched my face and bit my ear. She whispered, “Since you want to have a good rest, come to Mommy’s room tonight. There is no crying children there or anybody who would cling to you…”
I cut Vyvyan off: “Mom, do you think I’d be able to get some ‘good rest’ tonight, with you in your room?”
“Mommy can put you to sleep with magic so that you don’t feel it, Son, and then you won’t need to do anything. Just leave it all to Mommy…”
“No! No! No! No!! That’s insane. I can’t accept it. I can’t…”
========
That night…
“Son?” Mommy Elizabeth was surprised to see me. She placed her book down and asked, “What are you here for so late at night?”
“Mom… For the sake of getting some quality sleep… Could I… sleep in your room for the night…? No… At least one week? It’s too dangerous with Nier and Mommy Vyvyan. The girls in Lucia’s room cry at night… so… you’re my only hope…”
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