A Mother’s Love Knows No Conditions

"The ground... heh..." Karyan clenched his fist and then released it. "I see how it is," in a calm tone, he answered.

In this life, he meant nothing, and the glory of his previous life was already gone and vanished.

But something unexpected happened; a maid who was so full of herself got slammed into the wall.

"How dare you treat my son like that?"

Another slam into the wall.

Karyan's eyes widened when he saw Barbara in front of him.

Once flawless and well-cared-for, her lovely pearly skin now carried a lasting scar on her right side, ruining its once-perfect beauty.

"Barba-" Karyan tried to mutter but was cut off by her aggressive actions towards the maid.

"Don't you dare forget who pays for your food here!" Barbara slammed Rosa's face for the third time into the wall.

Back in his previous life, Karyan was never interested in her, nor was he interested in any woman in particular, but seeing this fierce view of Barbara, he was left speechless.

It awakened something inside him.

Admiration? No.

It was something more than that, inspiration?

The way she was slamming that maid into the wall made Karyan imagine that it was his hand, slapping the maid.

Since Rosa had no rights, no one would even care if a small slap was going to bless her face.

"I dare you to talk to him like that one more time!"

Barbara released the maid's hair, and Karyan saw how red liquid was coming down from her forehead. "This will require a stitch," he whispered silently.

Without waiting any longer, Rosa ran outside to the hall, sobbing and sniffing the air as loud as possible.

"Mother…?"

"Don't say anything... And I'm sorry that you had to see this; I lost my control."

"No, thank you…" He replied, standing speechless.

Pointing at his bed, Barbara asked, "You don't mind?"

"No, please sit."

Without hesitation, Barbara lay on Karyan's bed. "You know, this family is crazy…" a short chuckle escaped from her lips.

"I don't understand."

"Of course, you won't. You're only five…even if sometimes you talk like a grown-up, you're still five years old."

'I really need to watch my cover,' he thought, realizing that he could get exposed any time if he keeps behaving like this.

"After yesterday, I was going to set the whole mansion on fire. I thought they went to kill you too."

"They didn't. That maniac just sealed my element."

"Yes. The firehouse we were called…" Barbara paused and then continued, "they said that fire can't burn and hurt its wielder, but yet, somehow it's the only thing that continues destroying this family."

"Ba-, ahem, mother, then why don't you leave?"

"I can't…" she replied immediately while staring at the dark wooden ceiling.

"You can; you just need to-"

"How could a mother abandon her children, my dear son…"

Before he was able to say anything, he stopped.

"Did you eat anything today?"

"No appetite."

"Again?"

"And until I die…"

"Mother, at this point, you will just turn into a wooden stick and die."

"I will not die just yet; I can't."

Even if Karyan was planning to kill his mother, to end her suffering, somehow, he still cared for her and hesitated to touch her.

"You know, I always thought that it was you, the snake guy that my father hated so much," Barbara spoke again.

Karyan paid his full attention to her words now, observed.

"But when I saw Karlin talking to the snake, I had no doubts it was him."

"Don't you feel sad for Karlin?"

"Haha, of course! He's my son!"

"But he was the snake; do you still care for him?"

"Even if he was that snake or a demon, I gave birth to him, just like how I did to you."

"So you don't hate him for everything he made you go through then?"

"I don't. And I never will."

Karyan breathed out; he felt happy to hear that.

"So why did you never pay attention to us then?"

Barbara turned to him, and even from 4 meters away, Karyan noticed her collarbones standing out.

Her jaw looked thin, and her once plump cheeks were gone, a result of being forced to starve.

She wore a black velvet dress that highlighted the visible cleavage, drawing attention to the stark contrast of her fading beauty.

On the side of her face where Mateo burnt her yesterday, wrinkles appeared.

Karyan could smell the herbs and medicine applied by her maids, trying to heal the scar underneath the graying patch that covered the burn.

"Because of attachment…" She calmly replied.

Her tone was gentle, kind, and fair.

Karyan knew she wasn't lying, as even in the dark days, where Maiko was abusing them, starving and beating them, Barbara was still protecting them from both her brother and her father.

"Do you feel attached now?"

"Yes."

"So would you forgive Karlin for being born as the devil like everyone wants to portray him now?"

"The devil…" Barbara laughed, "he isn't the devil in this life, nor was he in his previous one."

Karyan raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

"You're just five years old; you will not understand anything."

"Mother, living in this mansion made me grow up too fast; you can trust me. I will always be on your side!"

Karyan walked closer and sat on the edge of the bed. "Of course, I trust you, my dear, Karyan. But some things are meant to be kept as secrets."

"Mother, did you perhaps like that snake guy?"