Will You Just Set Me Free?

"I have some business here in Welahan," Empress Marozia Castelof said to her son. "Though you won't be happy to see me, I just can't leave without seeing you."

"You should -"

"I won't take much of your time," the Empress said before Karium could even finish talking. "Let me just sit here with you. It's been so long."

Feeling the pressure once again, Karium Maselli squeezed his clothes while his mother sat just beside him.

It was always hard for him when she was around, but... why did it appear so easy for her?

He didn't understand.

Some part of him wanted to leave the place but another part wanted to stay. After what seemed to be forever, he sat down without saying anything.

"I can see that you're still the same," his mother promptly spoke up. "You still love spending time with nature."

"I never change," he replied. "If there is someone who changed, it will be you."