Chapter 99

"I'm sorry for my rudeness, Duke Kadaklan. And thank you for helping me to save my Mom."Ludger bowed his head and apologised he saw his mother's condition getting better after receiving Darius whose real name is Kismet's magic.

"Hey, I have told you to not act like that!" Kismet said while feeling disappointed with Ludger's tone.

"Hmm, I know you would not like it but I have promised you that I will do anything for your help to save my Mom's life. And I can't act rude to someone who saved my Mom. So please get used to how I act." Ludger said with a polite and respectful tone.

"Haa...So, you want me to tell you what I want from you and you will keep acting like this if I don't tell you what I want from you." Kismet sighed and rephrased Ludger's words.

"It was up to you for the interpretation of what I said but I won't feel comfortable if I still have debt and didn't even pay some of it. It was to show my sincerity after being helped when I had lost all of the hope." Ludger continued to talk with a polite and respectful tone.

Kismet looks at Ludger's serious expression. "If you keep acting like this, then I want you to..." 

***

The door was opened and Ludger and Darius came out from the room. Both of them look at the worried faces of Caron and Doctor Mehri who waiting outside of the room. When they see both of them smile, they feel relieved because they know that Katarina is all right. 

"How is your mother's condition, Lil Ludger?" Caron asked with a gentle smile as she saw that Ludger was acting like his usual self again.

"After you get out of the room, my Mom suddenly gets better. But Mr. Darius scolded me because I talked about the Duke like before and warned me to keep my calm if similar things happen in the future. I never thought that he would be almost as scary as my Mom when he got angry." Ludger timidly said.

"Of course, it was because I was angry to substitute your mother. If you don't believe in my words, how about you tell her about what happened when she woke up later?" Darius proudly said.

"It makes me feel a bit reluctant to support your relationship with my Mom. I don't want to have two people to scare me when I do something wrong later. It will be twice of the torture." Ludger said with a reluctant expression.

"Hey, you, this little one! How can you take back the promise that you made before that you won't do anything about it and let your mother decide it? You are really not cute." Darius protests at Ludger's words and starts bantering.

"Mr. Darius, I am a boy. Not a little girl. So your words are correct because I am not cute but rather cool and handsome." Ludger proudly and confidently said.

"Why are you praising yourself like that?!" Darius shook his head at Ludger's confident answer.

"I just said what the kind and beautiful Sisters always told me. If you don't believe me, let's go to the restaurant and ask them." Ludger said with a wicked grin on his face.

"You little...!" Darius was extremely angry but he couldn't say anything because if they really asked them about it, Darius most likely to be hit by them if not killed.

"Hahaha! Both of you are really close with each other." Caron laughed at Ludger and Darius bantering.

"But, Ludger, why do you ask the Duke to help you to save your mother?" Doctor Mehri asked with a confused expression.

"...That was because I heard that the Duke had a great power so I thoughtlessly said that. I never knew that the power was not like what I imagined and his power was not related to my Mom's condition. But my Mom's condition suddenly gets better. Mr. Darius said that it might be caused by the effects of the potion and magic that reacted late in her body." Ludger explains with the (fake) explanation that both of them have made before they get out of the room.

"Oh, right! There are some similar cases that happened before and remember that it was related to the low magic power capability. It was strange and rare that your mother have such a low magic power capability but you have a high magic power capability. Is this related to your father's magic capability?" Doctor Mehri ask with an interest expression.

"I don't want to talk about the person who tortured us before. So never ask or speak about that person in front of me or my mother." Ludger said with a low tone and grim expression.

"I-I'm sorry to ask you and make you remember those horrible memories." Doctor Mehri quickly apologised for his thoughtless question. 

Darius and Caron also give Ludger a pitiful gaze when they hear about it. They realized that both of the parent and child always try to hide their identity and they also think that Ludger is not Katarina's a real child. But after hearing Ludger's words, they realized that both of them might be hiding from their pursuer. And they started to imagine how horrible they were being treated in the place where they come from by the person who should be their family member. 

"How could they do something like that when the Empire rule forbade such cruel things especially if they were part of the nobles from the empire? But I don't know if it was the same in other countries or the temple. They have different rules and regulations." Darius angrily said and explained to Ludger.

"Let's not talk about that thing. Even if they beg us, I will never return to that place. Besides I'm happy that I could meet everyone in this city. I don't want to have any relationship with that hell-like place again. Right, how about we go back to the restaurant and tell everyone that my Mom is alright? They must be want to know about it and wait at the restaurant." Ludger said and took the three of them to the restaurant. 

'Is this what Shia and Kadaklan prepare to help me? Is this the right way to avoid my horrible future? But I am really glad that I come to this city... But will it be alright for Lord Kismet to do that to help my Mom? From Shia knowledge, fate magic is unique magic that has a high price for the caster to be able to pay with his lifespan.' Ludger thought about everything that had happened to him and remembered about something related to the fate magic that only Kadaklan's bloodline was able to use.

"Are you going to be alright? Did you feel any discomfort?" Ludger said in a small voice to Darius when the other entered the restaurant. 

"What are you worried about? Of course, I am alright. Why do you make that kind of expression?" Darius said with an easygoing expression as if there was nothing wrong with him.

"I know a bit about that magic. I also know that it uses the user lifespan as the price, unlike other magic. So you don't have to hide it from me." Ludger said with a serious expression as he looked straight into Darius's blue eyes. 

"It was because you got some knowledge from the first Duke Kadaklan, right? Although it was what really happened in his time, but after he died, his descendants tried to make some improvements to the spells and create the new ones where that allowed us to be able to tie other people's fate with our fate. Right now, your mother will be able to live as long as my life. I will try my best to be able to live a long life." Darius explains with a calm expression.

"Thank you. Thank you very much for your help. I will never forget about my promise and I will help you with anything that I am able to do. I will also answer all of your questions that I am able to answer." Ludger bowed as he promised him.

"Hey, stop that. Do you forget about what you just promised me before? I hope you will always remember what you promised me." Darius said as he patted Ludger's head.

As they enter the restaurant, the people who are waiting for the news about Katarina and Ludger's condition. They know that Ludger was sad when he saw his mother collapse but they are also unable to do anything to help him. That's why they decide to wait for him in the restaurant. And some of them pray for Katarina's safety or for the Goddess to give her protection.

"Master Ludger, how is Madam Katarina's condition?" One of the customers asked.

"Please be strong Lord Ludger! If you find it difficult to face it, you can tell me about everything. I can also hug you if you feel like crying." Another fan said with a strange and dangerous expression.

"How dare you to use the current situation to hug Lord Ludger! Shameless!" The fan beside her angrily said with a red face.

But when they are only able to say something like that,  someone has already gotten closer to Ludger and hugged him while carrying his head.

"It was alright. Nothing bad will happen." Half-elf with blonde hair hugged Ludger to her chest.

Both of them look wonderful as if they a beautiful paintings and it makes them feel mesmerised by it. Ludger ended his birthday party because of the accident that happened and finally, he was able to take good care of his mother.