From the dining table, they could hear a commotion coming from the living room.
"Mom, please not now! Tomorrow, okay?"
"I told you, DON'T PROTEST!" Duchess Larina snapped loudly.
Kazien immediately fell silent. He had no intention of protesting since his mother had yelled at him in a loud voice.
My mother was really angry with me. This was the first time I had seen her so angry with me.
As soon as they arrived at the dining table, everyone immediately looked at Kazien. He could only lower his head as all eyes were on him. However, Alvin was shocked when he saw Kazien's left cheek was red as if it had been slapped.
"Mom, why is his face so red?"
"Because he is a coward who cannot admit his mistakes and I slapped him hard on the cheek!"
They all did not expect Duchess Larina to slap Kazien's face.
Alvin, who was initially angry with him, now felt very sorry after learning that Kazien had been punished very harshly by his mother.
"Alvin, next month you and Kazien will not be engaged but you two will be married!"
"Larina! What do you mean? He's only 13 years old! That's absolutely impossible to do, let alone ignore the rules like—"
Duchess Larina immediately cut her husband off in a very threatening tone.
"You said rules? What rules? He's already breaking the rules just by wanting to marry a man! What rules are you talking about?"
Suddenly, the dining room became as hot as a frying pan. Sweat began to pour down their bodies due to the high temperature. Kazien was terrified by the extreme temperature.
"Elgard! Do you want our son to become a coward who can't prove his seriousness to Alvin?"
"I understand... I understand! Calm down! Look! All our children are scared because of you!"
The temperature in the dining room returned to normal as Duchess Larina calmed down.
"Mom, I won't force him. If he only wants to be engaged to me, I won't have a problem with it. But please, don't make Kazien even more depressed! I'm begging you, mom."
"Why are you like this, Alvin? I never wanted you to spoil him like that! What's the point of you understanding his feelings if he doesn't understand yours?"
"But mom, I don't want him to marry me out of necessity. I want him to propose to me himself without being forced by anyone."
Duchess Larina sighed and then held Kazien's face. And Kazien could see his mother's sharp gaze. He was increasingly helpless seeing that angry gaze.
"You heard it yourself, right? He was so sincere to you, but you played with him feelings! Are you really this mean to the person you've chosen?"
His mother's words felt like a slap to him. He wanted to speak, but his mouth wouldn't let him. Kazien struggled to answer his mother's words.
After struggling for a long time to strengthen his mind, he finally managed to say it out loud.
"I swear to Goddess, I had no intention of hurting him! I just didn't want to tarnish him purity! I do want to marry him! But I'm still 13 years old!"
"What's the difference? If he were a girl, I could have waited until you were 16! But he's a boy! If you're serious about choosing him, don't be a coward! I never raised you to be that kind of person!"
That firmness put Kazien in a corner.
I really want to marry him, and that's my goal! But, I'm still young. How will everyone think of this family if I marry someone at the age of 13? Has my mother thought about all that?
But, this was the first time I saw my mother this angry and I also didn't want to deny everything I had said to him!
"I will marry him, but not at my age! I don't want to ruin the purity of his cute face!"
"Do you understand what you mean?" Duchess Larina asked firmly.
"It's precisely because I understand that I'm telling you! I don't want to marry Alvin under duress just because of this argument!"
Then he looked at Alvin with her sharp gaze.
"If you want to do it now, I'll do it for you! But remember what I said to you back then!"
Kazien walked away from the dining room in disappointment. But Alvin immediately stopped him. He hugged Kazien tightly so he wouldn't leave him alone.
"Why are you holding me? Please let me go! I don't want to provoke you anymore!"
"I won't let you go! I'm sorry. You know how much I love you. And I only want to be with you forever!"
"If you wanted to be with me, why didn't you stop me when I started to lose control?"
"I-It's because I wanted it so badly!"
"But we're not married yet! When you and I are married, I'll be happy to do it with you! Can't you be patient?"
"Is it just about my chastity that you keep rejecting me?"
"Yes! Because your chastity is more valuable than my life! Please let me go!"
His hug tightened even more, not caring what Kazien said to him.
"What else do you want, Alvin?"
"Apologize to your mother! Do you want to make her think of you? I, who have lost a mother figure, can no longer hear her voice."
Alvin's words immediately stunned him into silence. The absolute future that would soon come to him flashed back in his mind.
He was right! We are both immortal. My parents are not. What have I done to my mother? I have hurt her feelings by going against everything she said.
Kazien let go of Alvin's embrace and went to his mother. He hugged her tightly.
"Mom, I'm sorry for shouting at you. Please punish me, but please don't force me to marry Alvin."
Unexpectedly, Duchess Larina returned her youngest son's hug.
"I also apologize to you for forcing you and even having the heart to slap you so hard."
"No Mom! You're not wrong! I'm the one at fault here! You don't need to apologize to me! I deserved your slap!"
The son and mother hugged each other for quite a while.
A few moments later, Kazien approached Alvin and hugged him.
"Alvin, I'm sorry if you feel like I'm playing with you. But I beg of you, be patient! I will definitely marry you because that's the reason I chose you!"
"I'm also sorry for acting like a child by getting angry at you like that. I'll wait for the day we get married."
They both hugged each other in front of everyone. The whole family was relieved because now Alvin and Kazien had reconciled.
But suddenly Kazien remembered Alvin's parents who had passed away. He let go of the hug and pulled Alvin so Alvin could feel the warmth of a mother's hug.
"Why are you pulling me?"
"Hug her! I also want you to feel the warmth of a mother's hug."
Without thinking, Alvin hugged her tightly and the hug was returned by Duchess Larina.
Warm! Warm! This hug feels warm. I miss this hug so much! I remember when my mother always hugged me with so much love. My biological mother is gone. And in the future, I will also be separated by death from my second mother. It feels really suffocating. Was this the suffocation he always felt about his family?
"Sob… Sob…"
The sound of sobbing that escaped Alvin's mouth had silenced everyone. Kazien didn't even dare to disturb him.
"Alvin, do you remember your mother?"
"Yes, I miss her so much. I remember when she hugged me like this. That moment I can never feel again."
Duchess Larina stroked his hair gently. She understood his feelings very well.
"As long as I'm alive, I'll always think of you as my own son. If you want to hug me, just hug me whenever you want!"
"But! But, it feels suffocating! Now I understand what Kazien has been feeling all this time. That shadow of the future keeps haunting me!"
"Alvin, don't think about that! Every living thing will die. Life goes on and we can't turn back time. I hope you and he can continue living even though we're no longer in this world."
Alvin didn't answer and just hugged his second mother very tightly.
Rosalia wondered what had really happened to them.
What were they talking about? Why did they look so tortured by their own feelings?
Kazien realized that Rosalia was wondering about what she was currently witnessing.
"It seems I can't hide it from you. Maybe it's time for you to know the truth."
"What's wrong?"
"Sis Rosalia, Alvin is feeling suffocated like that because he's thinking about us being separated by death!"
"Aren't we all going to die someday?"
"Death will never happen to us! Because Alvin and I are immortal!"
Rosalia, Raliana, and Ritalia were shocked after learning the truth about their immortality.
"Are you serious?"
"Why would I joke with you? Even if we wanted to, he and I could never die."
"I finally understand why you always spend so much time with your entire family. You're even willing to spend your time with Ritalia."