Living as the Villainess Stepmother

Chapter 141 - Enjoying Training (2)

When Hizette nodded, Hir smiled so brightly it revealed all of his pearly whites. He swiftly put his wooden sword into its rightful place and started sprinting outside.

"Mother—!"

Hizette watched as the small figure ran out of the practice hall. When the boy was finally out of sight, the knight retreated as well.

*

"Mother!" a slightly muffled voice resounded, "...mother!"

Hm? What was that?

Holding Lacias' hand, Lila scanned the immediate area but couldn't find the source of the small voice. It was too faint for her to make out who called out for her.

"Did you hear that?" she asked while descending the carriage.

Lacias' lips curled up slightly in amusement after noticing her wandering eyes. In the end, he decided to satisfy her little curiosity.

"I think Hir is coming to welcome us."

Lila's face immediately lit up. "Really?!"

"Yes, and it sounds like he was pretty excited too, maybe he's finding swordsmanship class fun." Just like that, Lacias pinned the little boy's enthusiasm towards something other than his mother.

Lila's face showed a split second of disappointment before she caught herself. "Oh ... I see. Today's class was with Hizette, wasn't it? He must be a good teacher."

While she was talking Lila scanned the surroundings thoroughly to see if she could find him.

Which direction was he running from while he called my name?

All of a sudden, the image of an adorable little boy running towards her and jumping into her arms was all she could think of.

So cute! Ah!

Lila felt like her heart was going to burst from just imagining all the fluff in his head. Wanting to meet her son as soon as possible, she quickly jumped off the carriage steps, so she could squish his cheeks that were as soft as steamed buns.

Lacias noticed her form as she jumped and called out to her. "No, wait—"

She went a little off balance with the landing. But with Lacias' superior reflexes, he was able to hold her close before toppling over.

Buried in his chest, Lila blinked several times before she understood what had just happened.

"..." with one brow raised, he stared back at her in amusement.

Lila blushed uncontrollably. Glancing at the carriage and looking downwards in quick succession, she found that the gap between the foothold of the carriage and the ground was no higher than her knees.

After noticing it himself, he chuckled with a sheepish expression.

"Have you gone blind? I don't see anything remotely dangerous!" Embarrassed, Lila slapped Lacias on the broad shoulder. "Put me down!"

Perhaps, he was being too overprotective and it showed. Even Roxana and Lugar, who were simply watching from the sidelines, had uncomfortable looks on their faces.

"But I don't want to." he smirked, "Can't we just stick together like this all the way to the mansion?"

Lila let out a dry sigh, "Is it really your hobby to always let us become the center of attention?! The servants might gossip!"

His smirk turned into a cunning smile. "Then I'll make it a hobby from now on. And they can gossip all they want." He then eyed a few servants who were huddled together out of conflict. The maids felt a shiver run down their spine as they came eye to eye with the duke. They immediately scattered in different directions.

Lila was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to notice his little actions, "What are you going to do if Hir sees this? Really...."

"Hir would only think his parents are really close to each other."

Lila frowned and clenched her fist, she couldn't take it any longer. Noticing her expression, Lacias sighed in resignation and put her down.

Just as her feet made contact with the ground, Hir came into view, running towards her with his hands holding outwards. It was a scene straight out of her dreams, she momentarily forgot about her scandal with Lacias and turned to him.

"Mother!"

"Hir!" She threw her hands out to be ready for embracing him, after seeing this Hir started running with even more urgency.

"Be careful! Walk slower!" She exclaimed to him.

"You don't need to worry." Interrupted Lacias. "Hizette's behind him."

"Seeing that they're coming here together, he must've been the one who told Hir we've returned." He added.

Lila nodded her head gleefully, "Mm. I should praise him then."

He made me so happy by letting Hir come running to greet me, after all.

But Lacias's thoughts seemed to have strayed far from hers. "If you have the time to praise him, why don't you praise me instead?" Like an animal deprived of attention, Lacias glared at Hizette warningly then drew himself closer to Lila. He then proceeded to hug her shoulder and only then did his annoyed expression turn into a more satisfied one.

Lila inwardly tutted to herself. There are some times when he really becomes so childish.... Then she refuted her own thoughts. No, wait—I've already seen him being one quite often. So, there is definitely a more childish side of him that I'm not aware of.

"Mother!" After being caught in her own thoughts, Lila didn't notice how quickly Hir closed the distance between him and her.

He stood on his tippy-toes and stretched out his arms urging to be hugged and Lila joyfully complied.

"You look happy today, Hir." If a child, who didn't usually act his age, was the first to come forward asking for a hug, something good must have happened. "Did something happen?" She asked, mimicking her thoughts.

"Nooo—!" He pouted cutely.

"My wooden sword was very very heavy, the training made my arms hurt, and—" Held in Lila's arms, he hesitantly glanced at his knight instructor for a moment before whispering to his mother's ears. "—and Hizette is very scary."

Lila let out a small burst of laughter at the boy's lovable antics.

Hizette truly was a strict teacher. In the original story, it was he who pushed Hir to his limits. Thanks to this, Hir was able to develop his ring more quickly.

If that's the case, will I be able to see Hir's pretty ring soon? With my very own eyes?

Hizette glanced shortly towards Lila and smiled as a response to the boy's words. Hir puckered his bottom lip and quickly added, "B-but I like it. Please do your best to teach me—no. I mean, please teach me!"

He lowered his head into a slight, but respectful bow.

When she felt a distinct difference that could not be compared with his previous teachers, Lila could not hide her joy. "I see, my darling Hir likes his new classes."

From the moment Hir came to her side until now, she always had a smiling expression that made her cheek muscles hurt, but Lila didn't want it any other way.

"Did you just come from a practice session?"

"Yes, I was swinging the wooden sword! I'm working hard to show it to you, mother." He told her excitedly.

"That's amazing. I definitely want to witness my Hir's heroic sword skills!" She proudly cooed. " Can I see it now?"

Hir's smile turned to a nervous expression. "B-but it doesn't look amazing right now."

"That doesn't matter to me."

"But I only want to show you my wonderful side...." He insisted.

"That's- alright I guess." the corners of her lips lifted into a helpless smile. "There's nothing I can do then."

Lila didn't want to force Him to do something he was uncomfortable with. Trying to lift him, she noticed something.

Hm? Did Hir become a little heavier?