W1.A1-30: Conclusion [Arc End]

Expecting to gain his master's praise for the phenomenal work he had done in managing the crowd, the poor sod was quite frightened when I showed him his master's body.

Well, although I called it a body, Vilet was still alive. Just his confession about the difficulties he had caused for my mother had me reacting a bit over the top, hence his half-dead appearance.

Intimidating the butler was quite easy, as now that his master was already captured, he didn't want the same outcome for himself. Hence, he cooperated quite easily.

After settling all the guests, Lena and I finally freed the innocent ones that were staying obediently in a separate room.

As for those that were captured, they would have to wait until I called people to take care of them.

"Danny." My mother called me, a bit worried.

"What is it, Mom?"

"Isn't this too risky?" She had taken off her mask, so I could clearly see the worry on her face. "All these people have a noble family or similar people as their backing, and arresting so many of them at once…"

But I chuckled. "You don't have to worry about that, as although it will come as quite a shock to many in the capital, the people here have all given us the proof necessary to incriminate them."

They had all come here in hopes of forming connections with a royal, so they all brought information about their networks and businesses, legal or otherwise. I had already kept it safe with Lena and would give it to my master, who was the only person capable enough to handle the consequences.

"Besides, these people here are only a small part of the whole system that works in the dark for the noble families; they'll only feel a bit hurt, but it's nowhere enough to wound them deeply." I shared my thoughts with her to let her have a deeper perspective on the kingdom's political situation.

"Shall we go home now?" I looked at her thoughtful expression and couldn't help but smile when I thought about her coming with me to the capital.

My mother nodded, and then a playful grin appeared on her face as she pushed me back. "You're such a child, hugging your mother in front of your girlfriend." She smirked. "Aren't you afraid of her getting jealous?"

"Actually, I don't mind!" Lena suddenly came forward, unintentionally tackling the teasing jab my mother had directed at me. "You two share such a precious bond that even I'm a bit envious; how can I even dare to think about getting between you two?"

"Furthermore…" An amused look could be seen in Lena's eyes. "You could even do what you did a while ago, you know? That when you two kiss-"

"STOP!" "DON'T SPEAK ABOUT IT!"

I tried to keep my expression straight while looking at Lena with reproach, while my mother was also trying to hide the slight flush on her face as she turned her head sideways.

Lena was frightened by our sudden outburst. She took a step back while looking at us in indignation.

"Uh, let's go back then." I suddenly changed the topic.

"Yes, let's go." My mother also nodded her head while trying to avert her gaze from any of us.

Amidst an awkward silence, we finally left the mansion.

Coming outside, we could see the already empty parking lot. The people we released earlier had taken them away. The carriages were smaller in quantity than the number of guests to begin with.

But that wasn't a problem for us, as there was still Vilet's personal ride parked beside the manor.

Lena and I would have been faster on foot, but my mother had to be considered too.

Therefore, embarking on the luxurious carriage, our trio started our journey back home.

...

When we arrived at home, Aunt Yena was quite shocked when she saw us all coming back together. But my mother told her to go back to her room to rest, as the explanation could be left for the morning.

It went without saying that she herself was quite tired after the emotional roller coaster she had gone through earlier.

But when I told her to go to sleep and was about to leave with Lena…

"Nuh-uh-uh!" My mother suddenly stopped us. Looking at us two with a teasing glance, she said, "Lena will be sleeping with me today."

Hearing her words, a shocked expression appeared on my face. "Mom, I can't let you lay hands on my girlfriend!"

Thwack!

"What nonsense are you spouting?" My mother looked at me with her fist still clenched. "I just want to have a talk with her."

"Oh." I nodded while rubbing my head. "Then we can all sleep-"

"No." "Go away."

Before I could even finish my words, I suddenly found myself standing outside my mother's room.

I sighed as I looked back at the closed door before walking towards my room to go and sleep with my loneliness.

…

The next morning, as I walked out after freshening myself up, I stumbled into my mother and Lena, who were also coming out of their room.

"Had a good sleep?" My mother looked at me with an amused smile.

"Of course." I smiled. "I hope you also had a pleasant talk."

Lena was looking at us with interest when I suddenly turned toward her.

"Mom, you can go ahead for breakfast; I have something to discuss with Lena." Seeing her look at me in doubt, I could only say, "It's about work."

Only then did she walk ahead, leaving me and Lena alone.

Just as my mother's figure disappeared around the corner, Lena gave me a smug look. "I'm not going to tell you what we talked about!"

"Is that so?" I smirked. She knew me too well to have already guessed that what I said to my mother was only an excuse.

Pushing her against the wall, I lifted her chin with my finger. "You're not?"

"No." Lena didn't get intimidated as she glared at me unflinchingly.

I could only shrug. "You asked for it." Then, without giving her a chance, I moved forward to kiss her cherry lips, while my hands also selected their respective targets as they descended down her body.

The empty hallway echoed with muffled sounds for the next five minutes.

"Huff… I… Huff… I'm going to… huu… tell your mother." Lena was leaning against my chest while breathing hard. Her legs were also shaking, as if she had suffered from some kind of stimulus.

"Go ahead." I smiled while showing her my wet fingers. Giving them a lick, I said, "Don't forget to tell her not to add honey to my pancakes, as I already had some."

"Damn it!"

…

After our breakfast was over, I left Lena with my mother and mounted Bert to visit a nearby city.

It was not the large city that oversaw our town, but it was still better than nothing, as it also had a small platoon of the kingdom's soldiers stationed there.

I had already hidden my identity again and donned the persona of my master's personal disciple. The badge that came with it commanded enough respect for the officer in charge of the city unit to come running forward while still in his casual clothes.

After he had apologized profusely, I finally told him the reason for my visit.

He was quite nervous at first, as any mission from a master swordsman would not be easy to handle. But when he came to know that he only had to take care of some already captured criminals, he agreed very quickly and assured me to do it properly while thumping his chest.

I had only taken about two hours while going to the city, but the return journey took us more time; after all, we had to take a whole team of guards with us. A lot of carriages for holding the prisoners were also brought along. Furthermore, I could not hope for them to match the speed of my mount.

It was almost night when we reached the mansion outside my town.

When the officer finally saw the faces of the "criminals" I had mentioned, all color drained from his face. If not for being more afraid of my identity as Sword Saint's disciple, the man would have already run away with his troops.

Luckily, I foresaw such a situation. So after bringing him to an empty room in the manor, I gave him a sizable chunk of money and treasures that my mother had sent here secretly.

Of course, it didn't come from our own resources, as it was all out of the money we had confiscated from Vilet's Manor in town.

After knowing about his capture, most of his servants had already left while stealing some of the items. But my mother and I didn't care for the chump change and only took over his property. After all, it was nice to have some extra land in our own home town in case we decided to move back here.

The officer was astounded when he saw the "gift" I had given him, but he was still afraid of the consequences of getting involved in something that major.

At that point, I had no choice but to take out my sword.

So, after gaining some wealth that he could spend a comfortable life with and a small wound on his neck that he could use to define my coercion, the guy left quite gratefully.

Seeing them leave with the carriages full of captives, I also left to go back home.

…

The atmosphere at home was quite lively. Lena seemed to be mingling quite well with my mother and the maids.

A sumptuous dinner awaited me as I headed inside. The maids had prepared it after knowing about my mother's departure to the capital.

They were quite sad at first, but when my mother offered them to come with us the next time we came back, they all perked up and became lively again.

We went back to sleep early, as we had decided to leave before dawn the next day.

…

"Please take care of madam and yourself, young master." Aunt Yena had some tears gathering in her eyes as she looked at us all, ready to leave. She shared a close relationship with my mother, and it was her first time being away from her for so long.

"Don't worry, Yena." My mother came forward and gave her sister-like maid a hug. "You only need to take care of yourself and this manor I'm leaving in your care, alright?"

Aunt Yena nodded, as her only consolation was the fact that we would bring her along the next time we came.

"Come on, Mom." Sitting on top of Bert, I extended my hand to my mother.

"Uh…" She looked hesitant as she looked at my strong black mount. "Can't we just take a carriage?" She didn't appear to be quite fond of riding a horse.

"We can't do that, mom." But I had to refuse. "The route a carriage takes will require us to spend a month on the journey, while using my mount, we can reach there in only a week." I shrugged. "You can only be a bit brave."

"I-I'm not afraid." My mother frowned before agreeing. "Fine, then."

She took my hand, allowing me to pull her in front of me. Her legs hanging to one side, she sat while pressing her back on my chest.

Lena was sitting behind me as she didn't bring her mount with her and had come here while relying on her speed as a master-class expert. Even then, her stamina was commendable, which astonished my mother very much.

"You'll give birth to strong children," was what my mother said in context to that, making Lena freeze and me amused.

After greeting Aunt Yena and the maids for the last time, I urged my mount as we started riding out of town.

"Alright, we are about to speed up," I declared as I urged my mount to speed up, as its previous speed was insufficient for us to cover the distance in one week.

But we had only advanced for a few minutes when I suddenly noticed my mother squirming in her seat, appearing uncomfortable.

I felt like slapping myself as I remembered that my mother was only a normal person. The speed and shocks our ride generated were not something she could bear for long.

Admonishing myself inwardly, I hurriedly picked her up before making her sit on my lap.

"Ah!" She was shocked to be suddenly shifted from her position while traveling at such high speeds, almost thinking that she was falling.

"You should tell me if you're not feeling fine, Mom." I lowered my head and rubbed my face against hers.

My mother looked embarrassed, but she still nodded.

Meanwhile, Lena had a smile on her face as she witnessed the scene by stretching her neck to the side.

"This journey is going to be fun," she commented. "Isn't that right, mother?"

"Huh?" I was astonished. "When did you start calling her that?"

"Oh, Mother has told me to call her that from now on."

"Oh."

"Are you jealous?"

"Why would I be?"

"Hehe~ After all, you won't be able to sleep with your mother from now on!"

"Dang it, Mom! You even told her about that!"

"What, so you find sleeping with me to be shameful?"

"Uh, that's not what I meant-"

"Lena, dear, we'll be sleeping together again tonight, alright?"

"Okay, Mother~!"

"Damn it!"

[Arc-1 - End]