“Eh?”
“Eh?!!!!”
Flaf was completely lost in confusion and helplessness for a moment.
She knew that Alet was probably delirious from the fever and spouting nonsense, but she hadn’t expected things to take such a turn.
When she heard those two words, it was as if she’d been struck by lightning, her pupils contracting and her whole body trembling.
“Mo…Mother?!”
At this moment, in Alet’s blurred vision, what he saw wasn’t Flaf.
But his mother, who had long since passed away.
Alet could no longer remember what his mother looked like.
Now, with the warm atmosphere in the room, he mistook Flaf for his own mother.
In that instant, the longing that had accumulated over ten years poured into that single word—“Mother.”
Being called “Mother” by him, Flaf felt as uncomfortable as if ants were crawling all over her body.
Even though she was an elf, she was still a maiden! She’d never even been in love, nor had she ever had a crush before!
If a child on the street called her “auntie,” she’d probably feel depressed for days.
Now, suddenly being called “mother”—who could stand that?
“No, no, he’s completely out of it! I can’t just leave him like this!”
With this thought, Flaf steeled herself and looked over at the table nearby.
On it were some common medicines left behind by the guards—effective for external injuries and somewhat helpful for colds and fevers as well.
“Even if Sir Knight ends up hating me…”
Her brows furrowed tightly, and a burning resolve thumped fiercely in her chest.
“Even if I get kicked out of the adventurer team for this, I must get Sir Knight to take his medicine!”
“I can’t just watch him ruin his body like this!!”
Flaf’s clear eyes shimmered as she glanced toward Alet.
“So, next…”
“I need to figure out how to get Sir Knight to take the medicine.”
Because of Mero, Alet deeply resisted taking medicine.
Even now, though he was a little more lucid and wouldn’t choke, he still needed to cooperate.
As Flaf wracked her brains, Alet weakly called out to her again:
“Don’t go so far…Mother…”
That cry instantly became inspiration, shooting straight through Flaf’s mind.
“That’s right…”
Muttering to herself, she looked at Alet lying in bed, gazing at her.
“Right now, in his eyes, I’m ‘Mother.’”
From his scattered words earlier, Flaf could roughly guess how Alet treated his mother.
“If I use this fake identity to coax him…”
“I can definitely get him to take the medicine!”
She decided to put her plan into action, but…
How exactly was she supposed to fake being his mother?
Flaf had no experience as a mother at all!
If she didn’t play the part well and gave herself away, she’d probably have to grab a carriage and flee to another continent overnight.
“Forget it. Every second I delay, Sir Knight’s illness could get worse.”
“Whether I can do it or not—just try first!”
Thinking this, she tiptoed to Alet’s bedside, trying hard to recall how her own mother used to comfort her as a child.
“Ah-ya, ah-ya, little Alet, does it feel bad?”
Flaf did her best to speak in a mature and gentle tone, full of “motherly” warmth.
Though, of course, her youthful, girlish voice didn’t change at all.
But, as it turned out, this seemed to work.
“Mm.”
“My head’s spinning, and my body won’t listen to me.”
“Poor thing, does little Alet want to feel better?”
“Mm.”
With Flaf’s gentle guidance, the muddle-headed Alet responded step by step, moving closer to her goal.
Seeing that success was near, her heart leapt.
To strengthen the motherly feeling, she reached out gently and stroked Alet’s head.
“Then, Mother has a way to help you feel better.”
“Mother has a magical little pill here—if you take it, you’ll feel much better. Will little Alet be good and take it?”
Just one step away from success, Flaf’s heartbeat sped up even more.
But then, something went wrong.
When he heard the word “medicine,” Alet fell silent.
He didn’t immediately respond to Flaf, but instead furrowed his brow as if trying hard to remember something.
Alet remembered that he wasn’t supposed to take medicine, but under the haze of a high fever, he couldn’t recall why.
Now, he was racking his brains, searching for the reason.
“Crap! I can’t let Sir Knight remember!”
“If he does, everything will be ruined!”
“There’s no other way—I’ll just have to take a gamble!”
Just as Alet was about to remember why he couldn’t take medicine, Flaf suddenly spoke in a stern voice, utterly different from before:
“Alet, are you not even going to listen to Mother now?”
“If you keep this up, Mother won’t want you anymore.”
The moment these words reached his ears, Alet reacted as if struck by lightning.
Those usually deep and calm blue eyes were now filled with panic.
He even struggled on the bed, trying with all his might to sit up despite his illness, afraid Flaf would disappear from his sight the next second.
Flaf had never imagined she’d see such emotion in Alet’s eyes.
“No, don’t go.”
“I’ll take the medicine…I’ll take the medicine.”
“Don’t leave. Don’t…”
Flaf knew her words might work, but Alet’s reaction was far beyond what she’d expected.
A flash of panic flickered in Flaf’s eyes.
“Um, well…”
“Little Alet, Mother’s not leaving, Mother’s not leaving.”
“Be good and take your medicine, okay? As long as you do, Mother will stay with you.”
“…Okay.”
Seeing Alet like this, Flaf suddenly felt as if she’d committed a crime—a wave of guilt and heartache surged in her chest.
“Sir Knight, I’m sorry.”
“I…I really can’t just watch you destroy your health like this.”
At this moment, outside the inn.
After an afternoon of recovery, Dice Town had almost completely returned to its original state—as if the earlier attack had never happened.
The place was as lively as ever, except there were a lot more guards now.
A tall, beautiful figure appeared in the twilight.
It was the leader of the Crystal Thorn Adventurer Team, the master whom Alet served—the Blood Clan girl, Mero.
Within just a few dozen minutes, she’d already arrived in Dice Town.
Her pair of blood-red eyes swept over the town again and again, constantly sensing the signal released by Alet’s Blood Clan mark.
Soon, Mero locked onto the inn where Flaf and Alet were staying.
“Still haven’t come back by now? Went out to get a room?”
In that moment, a flicker of inexpressible anger flashed in her eyes.