Hearing her reluctance, Valen glared at her as if he were attempting to assert dominance. It looked as if he wanted to remind us of the authority he possessed.
Under the scrutiny of those authoritative eyes, Lina felt her legs go limp.
That fierce gaze reminded her of the fierceness possessed by the lord of the tribe.
Though there wasn't killing intent involved, she still couldn't help but shudder.
"I understand your concern…" Valen said without averting his gaze. "But please take me to her."
Lina couldn't refute. Hence, she nodded her head before leading Valen to his highness.
'I'm sorry, your highness. But I can't stop him…' She apologized as she led the way.
Cough! Cough!
The coughing intensified as they got near the abode where his mother rested.
The more he heard those violent coughs, the more concerned he felt. From the looks of it, his mother's condition was even worse than he had imagined.
Pushing the thin layer of veil aside, Lina led Valen to the abode.
Valen's pupils moistened as his brows furrowed upon seeing the state of his mother. Intense sadness welled up from deep inside his heart, and his heart felt heavy.
Tears were threatening to break free, but he held the urge to tear.
Clutching onto his scabbard, he stood there staring at her.
"Mother…" His voice cracked, his tone full of grief.
The elf lady, who was adorned in a silver-white robe, slowly lifted her gaze to look at him. Her complexion was pale, as if she were lacking vitality. Her frame was tiny, and there was hardly any meat on her bones.
She looked as thin as a twig, and her skeleton was visible even to the naked eye.
"Aeren…" words rasped from her blood-stained lips full of cracks.
"Cough! Cough!"
His full name was Aeren Valen. However, except for his mother and a few other people close to him, the others addressed him as Valen.
"Mother, don't force yourself…" Valen tried to stop her from speaking.
He could see that she couldn't even bring herself to speak. Her condition seemed even more miserable than he had anticipated.
She looked like she was on the brink of death.
Even so, he held the urge to tear. He didn't want to reveal his weak side to his mother. He didn't want to concern her when she was already in such a miserable state.
He didn't want to burden her with more worries.
Hence, even though he felt like bursting into tears, he refrained from doing so.
Then she rolled her eyes to look at Lina.
Lina lowered her head, unable to bring herself to face the lord's wife. She knew she had violated her instructions. Hence, she couldn't bring herself to look at her.
But Valen's mother could tell that she had tried her best. She could tell that she was powerless against Valen.
Hence, she didn't blame her.
But even so, she didn't want to be seen in such a miserable state. Just like Valen, she didn't want to inconvenience him with her state.
Valen was deemed to be the next leader of the village.
How could she distract him from his duties?
The less he knew about her, the more he could devote himself to his training, and the more stable his emotions would be.
"Valen… You shouldn't…. be here," she uttered with great difficulty.
Valen, however, wasn't willing to listen. How could he abandon her in such a state?
But he couldn't do anything for her either. He was helpless. This feeling of helplessness weighed a lot on him, and he couldn't help but tighten his knuckles to suppress this feeling.
His mother could see through his helplessness. She could tell he was struggling.
Precisely because she could see through him, she didn't want him to hold onto these emotions.
Her gaze softened as she forced herself to call out to him, "Valen… come here…"
Valen reached out to her, softly grabbing her hand. Her hands were sweaty and hot. He could feel the hotness coursing through his body.
It felt like holding a sizzling bowl full of hot water.
"I'm glad that you didn't inherit my trait. I'm grateful that you were born healthy. But I'm really sorry for not being there…"
Just speaking this much took a great toll on her body.
Valen wanted to stop her, but she wasn't willing to listen. Her tone was gentle and full of love and guilt.
"I couldn't be there to cheer you on. I couldn't be there to console you in your defeat. I'm really sorry, Aeren… Please forgive your mom."
No, what are you saying? Why are you apologizing?
Valen felt his heart getting even heavier than before. His eyes, which were holding so hard to hold back those tears, wavered.
"No mom… What are you saying? Why are you apologizing?"
Plop!
First, a single bead of tear fell from his eyes and landed on top of her hand. Then, just like a monsoon downpour, he began to shed tears.
Tears snaked down his face as he wept.
"Don't cry, my son…"
Though she herself wanted to shed tears, she didn't shed a single tear. Instead, she revealed a meek, warm smile on her face as she consoled Valen.
She knew her time was dawning.
It wouldn't be long before she leaves this world. But even so, she didn't want to leave her son worried until her final breath.
She didn't want to seem vulnerable.
The servants around the place couldn't hold back their tears either. However, none dared to make a sound. They wept silently, some with their palms pressed against their mouth.
Step! Step! Step!
Hurried footsteps echoed outside the room as someone made their way inside.
This sound of hurried footsteps alerted the people present in the room. Valen, though overwhelmed with grief, clutched his scabbard as he prepared to engage.
With eyes full of tears, he turned to face the entrance of the room.
"Did they manage to find their way here?"
Panic spread among the servants. Besides, Valen none could fight.