I Became the Mother of a Sub-Male Son

child who was looking up at her from the side and said.

“I’m going to the village for a while, so keep an eye on the house, okay?”

She checked the nodding child and went outside.

The food ingredients were almost gone, so she had to get more.
She went down the mountain, lifting the bag slung over her shoulder.
Every time she felt sorry she had to get them from the villagers, but it couldn’t be helped.
Help was inevitable until they were fully settled.
In addition, the vegetable garden she cultivated to become self-sufficient was now damaged.

“…Well?”

Arriving at the village before she knew it, she looked around.
It was because the village atmosphere did not feel like usual.

She grabbed a villager who was just passing by and asked.

“Has something happened here?”

A villager who recognized her shook his head and said, “Don’t say a word.”

“It’s because the knights went there earlier.”

“Knights?”

“The duke’s son was kidnapped by a magician and is missing, so they searched the village.”

The duke’s son was kidnapped by a wizard and was missing?

“Uh, when did they arrive?”

“It was about an hour ago.
Anyway, it’s been a while.
Oh, and they found the kidnapper or something around here.”

The villager looked around for a moment before sticking his face out and whispering.
“Honestly, I can’t believe it, but they say the kidnapper was lying at the bottom of the cliff over there.”

Her mind went blank for a moment.

“…Under a cliff?”

“The knights also said that there is a high possibility that there are other abductees around here.
Oh, look at the time.
I have to pour water on my dog’s plate, then I’ll go.”

A villager passed her after saying that.

She couldn’t move from the place she was on.
In the first place, there was only one duke in that empire, so it must have been him.

Duke Kayden Nathan.

The fact that the duke’s son was kidnapped and was currently missing, and that the abductor was even found at the bottom of a cliff in that town…

“No.
It won’t be.
No way, it can’t be.”

She shook her head.

Yeah, that couldn’t be.
Concluding that the child might not be Delian Nathan, the son of the duke, I diligently moved to get food ingredients.

* * *

It was when she climbed the mountain with both hands full of luggage and arrived in front of the house that everything changed.

“…huh? I’m here again.”

Seeing a little bundle crouching in the middle of the yard, she hurriedly moved his legs.
The child who was squatting on the floor saw me and jumped up.

“Lian.
I told you to stay home.”

The child was sullen at her words and lowered his head.

“I didn’t mean to scold you.
I was afraid something dangerous would happen again.
I don’t want you to get hurt.”

The child raised his head again.
She smiled at the shy child and they entered the house together. 

She put the ingredients she got on the table and thought about what kind of food to make.
“Shall we make food together?”

Seeing the child snooping around the ingredients, she suddenly thought he may be bored because he was always at home

“Ah.”

“Yes, I like it!”

She headed to the kitchen with the flushed child.

“How about making some bread for us?”

“Bread?”

“Yeah.
I don’t know if I can make it well.”

“I like them all.”

There was a stove in that house, so she wondered if they could use it to make bread somehow.
She took out the bag of flour she had obtained earlier and poured it into a bowl.
Add water to it and mix it around with a spatula.
Then, in a small bowl, she scooped out a small portion of the dough and served it to the child.

“Come on, mix it up too.”

The child climbed onto the chair and thrust his hand into the tree trunk.
She started mixing her own portion of flour while watching the child handling his.
Flour was sprinkled on the table, and the finished dough was placed on it and shaped.
The child followed her actions and asked.

“Will it really be bread?”

“Um.
Maybe?”

“I want to make it quickly and eat it.”

“Me too.”

While chatting with the child, she put the finished dough on a flat wooden board and put it in the oven.
She cleaned up the messy kitchen and wiped the flour off the child’s hands with a cloth.

“It will take some time for the bread to be baked, so let’s rest until then.”

“Yeah.”

She walked over to the old sofa, sat down with the child, and stretched her body.
She was really thinking about taking a break, but the child was moving little by little next to her.
Was he still bored? After thinking about it for a while, she thought of something suitable and got up.

She was worried about the handle of the basket breaking a few days ago, but when she told the villagers, they gave her a thick string to thread it through.
She showed the child a basket and string and said,

“Look closely.
That’s how you do it.”

After teaching him how to tie the string, he hander started wiggling hard.
She was watching a child clumsily threading a string.
Suddenly, smoke rose unexpectedly from the stove.

She woke up as if something was slightly burnt.
Was the fire too strong?

She hurriedly walked over to the oven and inspected the dough inside.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like they were all burnt.
She let out a sigh of relief and pulled out some of the firewood she had stored underneath.
After confirming that the firepower was decreasing, she went back to the sofa.
The child was just blinking his eyes with a puzzled face.
He was tied with a string hanging around his body.
It was as if the child had tied the string to his body after twisting it hard.

She smiled and stretched out her hand.

“Wait.
I’ll release you soon.”

That was when she put her hand on the string tied around the child’s body.

Quaang!

The door bursts open, and knights armed with armor rushed in.

“I found Lord Delian!”

“Get that kidnapper right now!”

Being helpless captured by the knights, she had only one thought.

‘Ah, it’s ruined.’