Mommy Villainess

Chapter 339: The Unwanted Successor

"LORD KALEL, I'm thinking of naming our child 'Julian,'" Lucina Morganna excitedly told the father of her child. "What do you think?"

Kalel turned to her with a smile. "It sounds nice."

That made her heart flutter with delight.

Right now, she and Kalel were spending time inside their baby's room while having tea. Their son, on the other hand, was sleeping peacefully in his crib. If only she could immortalize this moment using a spirit stone, she would have done it.

But she was still a little awkward with Kalel since this was the first time that they had gotten this close.

[I'm quite nervous.]

"Is that what you expected to hear from me?"

She flinched when Kalel's voice turned from warm to taunting. Even his expression changed. He was now looking at her as if he found her disgusting. That sent shivers down her spine. "W-What do you mean by that, Lord Kalel?"

"The only reason why I'm doing this is because you safely gave birth to the Fire Mage successor," he said, then he sipped his tea before he continued. "But don't act like we're already in a relationship. Know your place, human."

She clenched her hands tight.

Auro Moonchester told him that Kalel lost his memories after he went "insane" when the Supreme Fire Mage died. But why was he acting this way?

"You didn't lose your memories, did you?" she accused him with a glare. "You're just probably fooling His Majesty." She slammed her hands on the table, spilling the tea in the process. Then, she got up and got ready to leave. "I will report you to the emperor in this instant!"

"What are you going to report to me?"

She flinched when Auro Moonchester entered the room.

It bothered her that she didn't feel his presence. But at the same time, she was glad that the emperor arrived just when she needed to see him.

"Your Majesty, I don't think Lord Kalel has lost his memories," she said urgently. "I believe he's trying to deceive you!"

Auro Moonchester didn't look surprised by her allegation. He simply raised an eyebrow at her. "And your basis for saying that is?"

She flinched because she suddenly realized that her claim would sound ridiculous. Nevertheless, she still gave it a shot. "I-I tried to get closer to Lord Kalel and he rudely told me to know my place"

Now she felt embarrassed after saying that herself.

"She acted like she was my wife when all she did was give birth to my child," Kalel added while looking at the emperor. "Was I wrong to put her in her place, Brother?"

"Of course not, Brother," His Majesty said, then he turned to her. "Lady Morganna, my brother lost his memories not his taste in women."

She wanted to die from embarrassment at that moment.

But it wasn't like she could retaliate against the two powerful men.

Therefore, Lucina had no choice but to walk out of the room, wishing that the ground would open up swallow her from the humiliation that she suffered.

***

"DID YOU have to be that cold to Lady Morganna?" Auro teased his "brother" when it was only the two of them left in the Fire Mage successor's room. "Nia is fond of that lady so please don't upset her too much."

"That woman already served her purpose," "Kalel" said haughtily. "I won't coddle her just because your sister favors her."

"Nia isn't my sister."

"Wasn't," he corrected him. "But didn't the Supreme bind your soul with Nia so the two of you would become real siblings in your next lives?"

He scowled when his "brother" reminded him of the curse that the Supreme Fire Mage apparently placed on him and Nia. His lover had been worried sick about the curse. In this lifetime, the curse wouldn't work yet.

Although Nia was pretending to be Elaine Moonchester (his real sister) to be accepted by their people as their empress, the truth was they weren't related by blood.

But the next time the two of them get reborn, they would be blood-related siblings then.

[It's too early to worry about that.]

Moreover, marrying within the royal family was normal to keep the bloodline pure. That was exactly the reason why he made Nia pretend to be Elaine Moonchester. In fact, before he killed his real sister, the nobles and his advisors were pushing him to marry Elaine. Of course, the purpose of that marriage was to conceive an heir with a pure bloodline.

[This custom wouldn't change no matter how many years have passed, right?]

Thus, Nia shouldn't be worried.

"It doesn't matter whether the curse would work or not," he said firmly. "Nia and I will always be in love with each other."

"How romantic," his "brother" said sarcastically. Then, he paused. "Now you're making me miss my dear wife."

He laughed while shaking his head. "Is Yumi still recovering?"

"Yes, she is," Kyro, whose soul was possessing Kalel's body, nodded. "But she has started preparing the things that she needs to create the perfect human bodies for the two of us."

That was the reason why Kyro needed to borrow Kalel's body first.

It worked for him because he didn't want his older brother to get in his way, but he also couldn't kill him.

[My soul is bind with my brother so if he dies, I will die as well.]

But everything was alright now that Kyro put Kalel into a deep slumber.

"Let me know if you need my help," he said, then he turned around and approached the baby in the crib. "For someone who claims that she desperately wants to be a mother, I can't believe Lucina Morganna just walked out on us while leaving her child here."

"Isn't it because she thinks I'm Kalel?" the Moon God asked, then he sipped his tea before he continued. "Maybe that woman trusts "me" to protect the child."

He carried the now awake baby in his arms as carefully as he could. Of course, he was fond of the child. After all, it was the son of his beloved brother. "Lord Kyro, don't speak coldly. This child is your real grandson."

"That child inherited his mother's flame," Kyro scoffed, then he put his teacup on the table. "Moreover, I don't like how he resembles the Red Phoenix."

He chuckled and nodded in agreement.

Kalel's son had bright red hair that reminded them of Winchell, the Red Phoenix. Aside from the child's appearance, the flame burning in his tiny body also screamed 'Rosenberg.' In short, this child was obviously the child of the late Supreme Fire Mage.

"Lord Kyro, shouldn't you give this child a name?" he asked, then he turned around to face the Moon God. "We should at least give him a name before we present him to the Fire Mage Clan."

"Ah, there's a name that keeps ringing in my head every time Kalel tries to take his consciousness back. I think it's the name that he and the Supreme had come up for their child," Kyro said, then he paused before speaking again. "I believe it's 'Julian.'"

"'Julian, huh?'" Auro said with a smile while looking at the child's clear eyes. "Nice to meet you, Julian," he said to his nephew. "Now, will you help your poor uncle gain the trust of the Fire Mage Clan?"

***

"OUR SUPREME Fire Mage didn't have a son."

Auro Moonchester almost rolled his eyes at Solaris, the current "king" of the Fire Mage Clan.

Right now, he was in a parlor room with "Kalel" and Solaris. He and his brother were seated side-by-side across from the Fire Archmage with a only table between them. A female knight was standing behind him and Kalel while carrying the sleeping Julian in her arms. On the other hand, there were two male Fire Mages behind Solaris.

[It seems like the news that the Sun Priestess Solenn has passed away is true.]

He planted a mole in the clan but of course, he wanted to verify the news by himself.

"Lord Solaris, the child is named Julian just like what Lady Rosenberg wished for her son to be called," Auro said as gently as he could. "Julian is the child of the Supreme Fire Mage."

"Solaris, Julian is my son with Soleil," Kyro, who was acting as Kalel, said in an indifferent tone just like how Kalel talked. "I know that you can tell that he is the child of the flame."

Anger crossed Solaris' eyes. "Don't fool me, Lord Kalel," he said in a low and irritate voice. "The child is the child of the flame because the woman who gave birth to him is the Supreme's traitorous Spirit Guardian. You betrayed Lady Rosenberg, didn't you?"

"I did no such thing," the Moon God denied in a firm voice, proving that a being like him who lived for so long knew how to act properly. "I'm certain that you can confirm if the child is Soleil's or not, Solaris."

"Enough," the Fire Archmage snarled at them. "If you're done with your nonsense, you may leave now," he said, then he turned to her. "I believe that I've been courteous enough to face you even if you have come unannounced, Your Majesty."

Ah, they were being kicked out.

It was true that he and his party came unannounced. He had no choice though. After all, Solaris had ignored all the letters that he sent to that small country. Thus, even if he knew that it would be rude for an emperor like him to visit a country unannounced, he still did so.

In return, he only brought a few people with him.

But he didn't want to anger Solaris because he was avoiding a war with the Fire Mage Clan. Therefore, he decided to concede for now.

"Very well," Auro said, giving up for now because he didn't want to cause a scene. After all, he had an image to uphold. "We'll be back again soon, Lord Solaris."

***

SOLARIS knew that the child that Auro Moonchester was the Supreme Fire Mage's stolen child. Now that Solenn was gone, only he knew the truth. The other Fire Mages thought that Kalel betrayed Lady Soleil Rosenberg with Lucina Morganna.

And he intended to keep it that way because of several heavy reasons.

First, he could tell that the Kalel he met wasn't his usual self so he couldn't trust him.

Second, he was aware that Auro Moonchester was trying to use the child to control the Fire Mage Clan.

Third, he had a feeling that there were traitors among them at the moment.

As the head of the Fire Mage Clan, he had to make sacrifices to protect his people.

"I'm sorry, Lord Julian," Solaris whispered to himself, then he closed his eyes while leaning against the door of the prayer room. "I have to deny your existence for our clan"

***

"YOU FAILED, child emperor."

Auro let out a frustrated sigh as a response to Kyro's mocking. "If you've put more effort into your acting, then maybe you could have moved the Fire Archmage's heart, Lord Kyro," he complained. "Julian is Kalel's child and the Fire Archmage knows it. He just refuses to acknowledge it since he and the entire clan blame you for Lady Rosenberg's death."

They were free to talk that way because only he and Kyro was seated face-to-face inside the fancy royal carriage. Julian, the unwanted successor, was in another carriage with the captain and vice-captain of the Royal Knights.

"Why are you nagging me?" the Moon God asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's not like you only came here to present the child to the Fire Archmage. Didn't you come here for the Fire Mages who sought an alliance with you?"

That reminder made him smile. "Ah, yes," he said while nodding his head. "With that, I can finally continue with my experiment."

Kyro sighed and shook his head. "You're crazy for trying to create your own Fire Mages by stealing the flame of the Fire Mages you've abducted."

"My test subjects won't be called 'Fire Mages,'" Auro said with a proud smile on his face. "Once my experiment succeeds, I will call them 'Fire Wielders.'"

***

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