The Villainess Wants To Retire-Chapter 396: A good father

Rael was sitting on his small, carved bed. He looked tiny amidst the silk hangings and stuffed toys. Beside him sat an elderly woman with a weathered face that was currently etched with deep-seated worry.

The boy was unnervingly quiet. He wasn’t playing. He wasn’t moving. He was just staring at a spot on the floor, his small shoulders hunched.

The nanny saw them and scrambled to her feet, bowing quickly. "Your Majesties, " The relief on her face was palpable, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Thank the gods you’ve returned."

The sound of the nanny’s voice caused Rael’s head to snap up. His eyes, red-rimmed and swollen from days of weeping, lifted until they found Eris.

For a heartbeat, the room was still. Then, Rael’s face transformed. The dull mask of shock shattered into a thousand pieces of raw, childhood longing.

"MAMA!"

He scrambled off the bed, his small boots thudding against the rugs as he ran toward her, his arms reaching up desperately.

Eris dropped to her knees, ignoring the protest of her joints and the sharp pinch in her chest. She caught him in mid-air, pulling him into her lap and lifting him up against her.

She held him so tight she could feel the frantic, rapid thrum of his heart against her own. She buried her face in his hair, kissing the top of his head, his tear-streaked cheeks, and his small, grasping hands.

"I’m here, baby. I’m here. Mama’s here," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Rael’s response was a tidal wave of grief. He began to sob, not the quiet whimpering he’d been doing, but loud, soul-shaking wails that tore at Eris’s heart.

"Where did you GO?" he cried through the tears, his small fists clutching the leather of her tunic. "You were GONE so long! I thought... I thought you left me again!"

Eris felt her heart breaking in her chest. The fear of abandonment was raw and real in his voice, a lingering shadow from the turmoil of their past.

"Oh no, no, no, sweetheart," she said, pulling back just enough to look at his face. She used her thumbs to wipe away the fresh stream of tears.

"I would NEVER abandon you. Never. I promise you, Rael. I will always come back."

"But you were gone for SO MANY DAYS!" he sobbed, clinging to her neck with a strength that surprised her. He buried his face in her shoulder, his tears hot against her skin. "You didn’t even say goodbye."

"I know," Eris said softly, rocking him back and forth. She had wanted to say goodbye before the hunt but Rael had been sleeping peacefully and she couldn’t bring herself to wake him. She simply whispered soft words and kisses she hoped would reach him in his dreams.

"I went on a trip with Emperor Soren. We had to take care of something important. I’m so sorry I was gone so long, Rael. But I came back. I’ll always come back to you."

Rael pulled back slightly, his face a mess of tears and mucus. He looked over at Soren, who was standing a few paces back, his expression unreadable but his eyes softened with a rare, quiet empathy. Rael didn’t care about the Emperor’s power; he only cared about the information he held.

"Mama... Papa..." Rael started, and then the sobbing intensified, becoming so violent he could barely get the words out.

Eris held him closer, her hand stroking his back in steady circles. "I know, Rael. I know about Papa."

"Papa won’t wake up!" Rael wailed, his voice rising in panic. "He... he fell down and he just stayed there! He didn’t move! I yelled at him to get up but he didn’t! What if... what if something happened to Papa?! What if he doesn’t wake up?!"

Eris felt a profound, aching pain that had nothing to do with her magic. Watching her son cry for his father, the man who, in this life, had been nothing but a steady, loving presence for the boy, was a unique kind of torture.

She looked at Rael’s distraught face and saw the genuine, uncomplicated love he had for Caelen. Whatever had happened in her first life, whatever sins Caelen had committed against her, to Rael, he was simply Papa. The man who adores him. The man he needs.

"Your papa will wake up," Eris said. Her voice was firm, resonant with a certainty she didn’t actually feel, but she knew Rael needed an anchor. She met his eyes, her gaze unwavering. "He is strong, Rael. Stronger than most. He’s just resting very deeply. He’ll be okay."

Rael looked at her, his bottom lip trembling. "Promise?"

Eris felt the weight of that word. She knew the danger of making a promise she couldn’t control, but looking at the desperation in her son’s eyes, she couldn’t give him anything less. "I promise, sweetheart."

She pulled him back into a hug, praying to whatever gods were left in this world that she wasn’t lying.

As she held him, Eris felt a cold, sharp resolve settling over her. She watched Rael cry, felt the weight of his small body, and realized the truth of the situation. Caelen was a good father. He had given Rael the stability and affection she had been too broken to provide in the beginning. Rael deserved his father.

Whatever had happened between her and Caelen in the past, the sword, the betrayal, the burning, it didn’t matter right now. What mattered was the boy in her arms.

She would figure out what was wrong with Caelen. She would delve into the magic, she would challenge the healers, and she would find the source of this unconsciousness. She would do it for Rael’s sake, if nothing else.

She caught Soren’s eye over Rael’s shoulder. He was watching her, his hand still resting near the hilt of his sword, his face grim. He saw the resolve in her eyes and gave a single, slow nod of understanding.

Eris held Rael tighter, her mind already turning toward the dark room where the King Consort lay, searching for a way to bring him back from the void.