Chapter 16 - Mother's Heart

My name is Adelina Dragus, wife of Lorvak Dragus, the mayor of this city. It has been two years since I gave birth to my son, Azalon Dragus. The love I feel for him is something I believe only a mother can truly understand—boundless and pure love for my son.

I still vividly remember the day he was born. He was such a small and cute child, with round eyes and tiny hands clenched into adorable little fists. I was overjoyed that from that day onward, I would be a mother. However, the midwife who assisted with my delivery was frowning when she saw him. I then recalled that babies typically cry the moment they’re born; my mother had told me that it was a sign they were healthy.

But my baby wasn’t crying. Before I could react, the midwife suddenly flipped him over and gave him a hard slap on his back.

My mind went blank, and a surge of rage swelled up from the depths of my heart. How dare this woman hurt my son? But then, he started crying loudly, and my anger instantly transformed into happiness. My son was healthy. Thank you, Spirits…

Suddenly, the doors to my room burst open, startling everyone, and a figure rushed into the room. I smiled when I saw who it was. He took me into his arms tenderly, and together, we looked over at our son, who was sleeping as though that cry had exhausted all his strength.

“HAHAHAHA, I’m a father now! I promise you, Adelina, I will be a great father to our son.” My husband started laughing loudly, a proud look on his face. He was always like this—straightforward, innocent, and loving. I fell in love with him the moment I saw him.

I smiled at him, remembering all those moments, and replied, “I know, dear.” But then I realized we hadn’t discussed what to name our baby. When I asked him about it, he replied with a smug look.

“Azalon. Azalon Dragus. What do you think?”

And so, that was the first day of our son, Azalon Dragus.

The days that followed were filled with taking care of him and watching him surprise me with his antics. He conjured up surprise after surprise—some shocking, some amusing, and some incredibly cute. He was a strange child, never crying or grumbling unless he was hungry. Even then, I felt as if he only did it because he couldn’t help it.

In the first few days after his birth, I noticed something that still makes me smile. Whenever I tried to feed him, he would widen his eyes for a moment before quickly looking away from my face. His fingers would fidget, and his whole body would go stiff, as if he were incomparably shy.

I giggle to myself whenever I think of those moments. And then there were other interesting times. About four months later, he was weaned off my milk, and we started feeding him mashed food. He ate without spilling a drop when we fed him. It was almost as if he understood my words, and I felt he could have fed himself if I’d given him a spoon. He was an extraordinary child. But no matter what, he was my son, and all my doubts vanished whenever I looked at his innocent, adorable face.

It seemed his development was faster than that of other babies. While I was happy about his rapid growth, a part of me selfishly wished he would develop a little more slowly. These were a mother’s feelings, and they were feelings I couldn’t easily dismiss.

From an outsider’s perspective, he might have seemed frightening, but to me, his behavior was simply extraordinary. I never found him frightening, not even a little. I believe that any mother who feels fear when looking at her child is a failure as a mother. A mother should love her child unconditionally, be someone they can turn to even when the whole world turns against them. That is how I feel a mother should be, and I think I act that way with Azalon, even without consciously thinking about it.

When he was five months old, the Elder of my clan came to our mansion to check his aptitude for Spirit energy. Spirit energy cultivation is one of the few ways one can make their name known throughout the country. I prayed to the Spirits to bless him—not with something extraordinary, but with just enough to pave his path.

My husband came to my room after seeing off the Elder, an excited expression on his face. He told me everything that had happened. He said our son had a unique physique, one that could absorb almost three times the normal amount of energy. I was elated to hear this; it seemed the Spirits had indeed blessed our son. He also mentioned how Azalon cried fearfully when he saw the Elder, and we both laughed at the memory.

I went to my son and saw him sleeping with a content and peaceful expression. I gently lifted him into my arms and kissed his forehead lovingly.

“Forge your own path with your own strength, Azalon. I promise you, whatever you do, I will be there to support you and love you for who you are. Remember, whatever you become, you will always be my son.”

I left him to his dreams and walked out silently, careful not to wake him. After that day, I often found him looking at his palm with a thoughtful expression, as if he didn’t know what to do with it. Whenever he did that, his left hand would rest on his chin, making him look like a small, cute scholar pondering the mysteries of the world.

Even though he often appeared serious, to me, he was incomparably cute whenever he adopted that pose. I had to resist the urge to rush over and cuddle him.

Within two months of that incident, he started crawling, and then he walked. A baby not even a year old was walking, albeit somewhat unsteadily. The maids and guards were shocked, but not me. I felt proud, believing that his rapid development was due to his unique physique. There were rumors in the capital that the first princess of the King and Queen also possessed a Unique Physique and started walking when she was a year and a half old.

My son walked before he was even a year old. My heart swelled with pride, knowing we were blessed with a son superior to those royals and nobles who boast about their blessings.

Once he could walk, something even more bizarre happened. He made a beeline for the library in the mansion. The maids reported that he would always be in the library with a book open in front of him. At first, I thought he was just looking at the pictures, but the maids told me that he would call them over and point to the words, asking them to read to him.

I stared at them, thinking they were joking, but after seeing their shocked expressions, I believed them. I then decided to take over his education, feeling that the maids might not be trustworthy enough for such a responsibility. He listened attentively to every word I read and tried to repeat after me. It took him only two months to fully learn the language, and soon he was conversing fluently with me.

The maids were all shocked to see a one-year-old speaking so fluently, but since my husband and I didn’t make a big deal of it, they eventually accepted it as something beyond their understanding.

I also noticed that Azalon never got annoyed or angry and always spoke politely, even with the maids and guards. They were surprised, as nobles and their children usually treated them like livestock. They were grateful that their young master was not like those other noble children. How could they compare my child to those nobles and their snotty offspring?

When he was nearly a year and a half old, we received news that the Head Elder of my Sect was coming to the city. This Head Elder was also my husband’s master. When my husband heard the news, he thought it would be a good idea to introduce Azalon to the Elder and get his advice for Azalon’s first steps into the world of cultivation. I agreed, as the Head Elder was known as a very powerful Spirit cultivator, even in the capital.

Father and son went to the Martial Arts Pavilion early in the morning to meet the Elder. I was confident that my son would amaze the Elder with his talent. I waited patiently at the mansion, but when they returned, my husband went straight to his study with a somewhat sluggish look on his face. I felt a knot of anxiety forming in my heart but decided not to follow him.

The next day, he seemed to have recovered somewhat and told me what had happened. The Elder had given Azalon two days to prove his talent. Even though I was concerned, I remained confident in my son’s abilities. After all, even though he had a Unique Physique, he was still a child who wasn’t even two years old. (What do I know, though? I’m not the Author, so naturally, I wouldn’t know… Hahahahaha…)

I told my husband that we couldn’t expect Azalon to understand the intricacies of cultivation right away, but I was sure that after two days, our son would shock the Elder. My husband brightened at my words, and we waited patiently for the two days to pass. After the allotted time, they went back to the Pavilion.

I waited anxiously at the front of the mansion for their return. My husband came back looking even more sluggish than before. He told me that the Head Elder had declared that Azalon had no talent for cultivation, that he could only aspire to become a Knight but never a true powerhouse.

I immediately broke down upon hearing those words. No,

it couldn’t be true. But then I thought of how Azalon must be feeling and immediately tried to find him. My husband stopped me, explaining that the Elder had given Azalon a Body Refining Technique, and our son had decided to start cultivating it immediately. We decided not to disturb him and let him be.

That night, my husband came to my room. He held me in his arms and confessed an astonishing secret he had been carrying all this time. He explained that he planned to reveal this secret to Azalon if he could reach the Red Knight Level within ten days. The next day, Azalon accepted the challenge and locked himself in his room for ten days.

After ten days, he appeared while we were having breakfast in the dining hall. I rushed to him and hugged him tightly, relieved to see him. I was a little angry with my husband for placing such a burden on our child, but I knew I had to harden my heart. This world is not compassionate enough to provide a place for the weak, and I never want my son to be one of them.

In the middle of eating, Lorvak asked Azalon about his progress. Azalon lifted his head and silently walked to the center of the room. Then, with a small smile on his face, he showed us that he had not only reached the Red Knight Level but had also cultivated to the third stage of the Spirit Sense Realm—in just ten days.

Joy filled my entire being, and immense relief washed away the concerns that had weighed on my heart. But Azalon was looking at his father with a puzzled expression. I then remembered the secret my husband had shared with me that night, and my mood turned somber. They both left for the study, and I went to the garden to calm my heart, as that place always brings me peace.

As I was looking at the sky, lost in thought, I felt my son’s presence behind me. I turned around and hugged him with a smile, and he hugged me back. He informed me that they were leaving in the late afternoon and that the journey would take at least twenty days. I was saddened but then remembered the promise I made to him all those days ago. I bid them farewell as they slowly walked towards the city gates.

Take care, Azalon…