Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Only when Cain disappeared did Fren look satisfied. He had accepted that Cain would be in his life –reluctantly– his presence wasn’t the least pleasant; he had accepted it purely out of necessity.

“Mom,” Fren called Yuria, trying to act cute, by clinging to Yuria’s arms and rubbing his cheek on her arm. It felt good to finally be alone with her.

“You did a great job, Fren.” Yuria complimented Fren, since she was a human, she didn’t know exactly what ‘Awakening’ was like or how difficult it was, but the mere fact that he had safely finished it made her proud.

“Now, Fren can protect mom.”

After his awakening Fren had instinctively noticed the changes in him. As Cain said, his energy control was still immature, but compared to before, he was much stronger. The child planned to use this newly acquired power and control exclusively for Yuria’s sake. Nothing, not even a small peddle, could harm her. All of Fren was dedicated solely to Yuria, and only Yuria was in his heart.

Yuria felt his sincerity and smiled warmly. “Thanks, Fren.”

Thank you so much. Yuria was truly grateful Fren held the hand she stretched out to him, and grateful for him loving her so.

Thanks to Fren, Yuria was able to find meaning in her life.

Upon waking the next day, a little child, shining with the sun’s rays behind him, filled Yuria’s sight. Staring back at her was Fren, with his big, round eyes.

Stroking his hair, Yuria asked tenderly, “Did you sleep well, Fren?”

“Fren loves mom the most in the world!” Fren exclaimed, Yuria’s arms were a true haven and home. He liked being encased in her arms so much that he hugged her and rubbed his cheek against her stomach in his happiness. Fren couldn’t fathom the warmth he felt, or the fact that such warmth could reach him.

If it wasn’t for Yuria, he’d still be wandering alone in the cold. Perhaps, he even might have given up on everything already. It was Yuria who filled Fren’s empty heart and brought meaning into his dull, deathly numb life.

“So do I,” Yuria replied while looking back into Fren’s eyes with an affectionate gaze. That action in itself made the day feel even better. Fren had finally woken up from his fever due to his awakening, and it seemed that the joy-filled days together had finally returned.

“Me too, Yuria, I like you the most in the world,” The calm voice of Cain, who had suddenly appeared, echoed through the sun-kissed wooden cabin.

“Oh, Cain, you came?” Yuria acknowledged while gently pulling Fren off her and getting up, taken aback by Cain’s sudden appearance in the early morning.

“Yuria, I too, like you the most in the world.” Cain, who was quietly looking at Yuria, spoke again, emphasizing his previous statement.

“What?” At Yuria’s puzzled expression, Cain looked rather sullen as if he had been hoping for some greater reaction. Cain looked upset and a bit pouty because she didn’t give him what he wanted. Yuria couldn’t understand why Cain was reacting like that, but Fren was well aware of why his attitude had changed.

Why did Cain say that? What exactly was he waiting for?

Cain wanted to hear Yuria say that she liked him the most in the world too, just as she told Fren. Fren knew this but he feigned ignorance. Silence fell between both adults. Cain kept staring at Yuria as if waiting for something, and Yuria didn’t know why Cain was just staring at her, so she just kept looking back at him. It was Fren who unintentionally broke the endless silence with a loud rumble coming from the child’s stomach.

Yuria looked at Fren and asked kindly, “Fren, are you hungry?”

For a moment, he was embarrassed by the sound of his own belly, but then he shyly nodded. If possible, he wished he could show Yuria only his good side, that’s why he was embarrassed for making such a loud sound. However, he was happy she turned her eyes to focus on him. In particular, he truly enjoyed Cain’s distorted expression as if he had lost something precious.

Yuria is mine. Yuria was his mom and his precious person. Thus, Fren didn’t want to share her with Cain, not even for a second. He wanted only himself to exist in Yuria’s heart.

“Wait a minute. I’ll prepare you a breakfast right away,” Yuria said softly, stroking Fren’s hair.

“You’re not cute at all, kiddo,” remarked Cain coldly, offended at Yuria’s lack of response, and that he had lost all her attention to.

Upset by his words, Yuria looked at Cain and snapped at him coldly, “What are you saying? There isn’t a kid as cute as our Fren in the whole world!”

“To me, everything about you is lovely, and everything you say is true. But I don’t think I can agree with that,” Cain replied, expressing his intention to stand by his opinion.

How can that cunning brat be cute? Seeing the way the child feigns ignorance, and acts like an innocent child in front of Yuria, despite having matured after the awakening, even fox cubs would be astonished.

“Who the hell does he take after…?” Cain pondered aloud, he, at least, didn’t recall being that cunning. Cain didn’t want to admit it but deep down he had long realized that Fren’s current appearance was exactly like him in his childhood.

“Well, Fren is my son, so if he resembles someone, it should be me,” Yuria said in response to Cain’s small muttering.

“Such a terrible thing to say. How can you compare such a cunning being with your lovely self?” Cain shook his head as if hearing utter nonsense.

At those words, Yuria’s eyes widened. She didn’t like hearing him refer to Fren as manipulative or cunning at all. “Don’t talk rudely about Fren. This child is more precious to me than anyone else.”

She didn’t want Cain to deny Fren. The child seemed unwilling to acknowledge Cain as his father, and if that was Fren’s will, Yuria had no intention of going against it. However, that didn’t mean she would allow Cain to talk carelessly about her child. Cain needed to develop more consideration for his child, even if it seemed like a temporary bond, it was a relationship that would continue into the future, even if Fren’s awakening didn’t force them together.

Yuria didn’t want Fren to be hurt by Cain’s attitude. Just because Fren didn’t recognize Cain as his father didn’t mean Cain couldn’t hurt his feelings. He was already a child who had been torn and cut countless times by the sharp and violent attitudes of adults, so she hoped that adults wouldn’t hurt him anymore.

Yuria’s words made him feel that it was unfair, but Cain, flinching at her gaze, begrudgingly apologized, “…I apologize.”

Perhaps that little boy, knowing that Cain was weak against Yuria, was acting arrogantly. But what to do? He had already knelt before Yuria and was ready to bow down in front of her at any time. Cain was willing to do anything for the lovely woman he’d met after years of solitude and disappointment, she was probably the only one for him. Furthermore, the more he got to know her, the more lovely she became, rendering him unable to leave her. Yuria was a woman who naturally shed her light with every breath. Once coming to his senses after being enchanted by that light, he had no choice but to blindly fall for her.

“You should apologize to Fren, not me,” Yuria spoke harshly, scolding Cain’s immature actions. Cain called Fren cunning, but maybe Yuria was the cunning one. Although Cain wasn’t pleased, she said he was helpful to Fren, so she kept him. She was only taking advantage of his kindness.

“…Brat, I’ll be careful from now on.” Cain apologized with a displeased expression on his face clearly implying that the apology was forced.

“Be careful.” Spoke Fren, despite Cain’s words not hurting him in the slightest.

The more Yuria thought of him as vulnerable and pitiful, the better. That way, he would be able to dig deeper into her heart. Fren wanted to completely occupy Yuria’s heart so that no one else could enter. If it was to win her over, acting hurt or weak wasn’t hard at all.

Cain was offended by Fren’s words but didn’t say anything. Getting mad at that kid now would only spell failure for him, because no matter what, his lovely Yuria would always side with Fren, and either way, wasn’t Fren his son? Cain never thought he would come to realize and meet his son this way, but excluding that short-tempered personality, he was actually a very good son, so as a father, he should cherish him a little. If Cain hadn’t known, he wouldn’t care, but now he knew, so he couldn’t pretend not to. In fact, children were meaningless to demons, but not to Yuria. Therefore, to stay with Yuria, he was willing to develop the heart of a father who cares for his son just as she wanted.

“Cain, please wait just a little bit longer.” Since it was impossible to prepare a meal for two without counting Cain, Yuria decided to prepare a meal for him as well.

“…Ah, I…” Cain’s stuttering was reflected in his shaking eyes, obviously troubled by something, causing Yuria to glance at him, puzzled.

“Mom, that thing, he hates the food you made.”

“It isn’t…” Cain, who tried to deny Fren’s words, paused for a moment. If he denied it, he would have to eat her food again without flinching. It wasn’t that he hated eating Yuria’s food. How could he possibly hate the food made by the lovely Yuria? However, that didn’t mean he wanted to eat it either. If he could, he wanted to avoid eating it.

Cain, who couldn’t deny or confirm, stared at Yuria with pleading eyes and a troubled expression.

“…Fren.” Yuria, the recipient of Cain’s gaze, quietly called for Fren. At that, Cain exhaled in relief, thinking that she had understood the meaning of his gaze. On the other hand, Yuria’s reasons for calling out the child weren’t related to the devil’s gaze, and did not answer Cain’s pleas.

“Mom?” Although she was smiling sweetly, Fren noticed Yuria’s slightly subdued expression. He flinched.

“You can’t call a person ‘that.’”

Last time, Fren had called Cain ‘that.’ At the time, the child had just come to his senses, so she didn’t really care about it, but it was different now. She knew that Fren didn’t like Cain and that he vehemently refused to call him father, even so, the expression ‘that’ wasn’t correct when referring to a person.

“…Not a person,” Fren muttered in a very small voice.

Fren didn’t want to do anything Yuria didn’t like. He wanted to hear and obey everything Yuria said or asked, but he couldn’t bear to call Cain ‘father.’ It seemed as if the moment Fren recognized him as his father, Cain wouldn’t miss the opportunity to dig between himself and Yuria.

Seeing Fren’s unwilling attitude Yuria attempted to explain further, “It’s not that I don’t know Fren’s feelings. But calling him ‘that’ is wrong. So what if…”

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