Side Story 2. Family Resemblance (2)

Thirty minutes earlier, upon hearing that Raphael had come to the tower, Camilla hurried from the Command Tower to the Francis Tower. She was worried her son might cause trouble again. But she was a step too late.

The Francis Tower was in chaos. A knight, spotting Camilla, quickly approached and reported.

“Young master, I’m sorry. While I was momentarily distracted, the young master entered Subspace Number 2.”

“Subspace Number 2?”

That place was a space where anything imagined could be materialized. It was a place where concepts that couldn’t be organized in the mind were implemented in subspace for experimentation, and once inside, no one could enter.

The only way out was for the person inside to come out on their own, but Raphael had no way of knowing that.

“I’ve already called the mages to dismantle the subspace.”

“If we try to dismantle it from the outside while Raphael is inside, he might get scared.”

“But…”

“I’ll go in myself. I’ve rescued someone from a malfunctioning subspace before.”

A few days ago, a mage who was absorbed in his research, had stayed too long in the subspace and got trapped.

Camilla had gone in and brought him out. It was possible because Camilla’s special ability was water. Since water exists everywhere, it could seep into the subspace.

“No need to apologize.”

“No, it’s likely our Raphael was pressing anything out of curiosity.”

When he was younger, the servants’ nostrils, ear holes, and mouths were never spared. The child would try to stick his fingers into every hole he could find.

Camilla approached the subspace. It had been about 15 minutes since Raphael went in, so he might have realized by now that he was trapped.

“I wonder what my son is doing in there.”

Hoping that the gruesome fairy tale he read last night wasn’t playing out, Camilla used her ability.

Swoosh—

Water sprayed around, and Camilla’s presence vanished.

* * *

Returning to the subspace, Camilla transformed into a cat to avoid startling Raphael. It was possible because they were in the subspace.

Since Raphael liked animals, she thought it would be a natural way to lead him to the exit.

However, she hadn’t expected the subspace to be this large. After searching for Raphael for quite some time, she finally found him.

And as soon as Raphael saw the cat, he pounced as if playing tag. Thanks to that, she thought it would be easy to lead him to the exit.

But when Raphael tripped over his own feet and fell, Camilla instinctively rushed to him.

“Gotcha!”

And she got caught. Raphael, not caring about his injury, was engrossed in observing the cat.

“You have fur just like my mom!”

“Meow.”

“But your eyes are different from mine!”

It seemed the child hadn’t realized it was her yet. Camilla glanced around the subspace again. It was a vast flower field with an endless plain. Even by eye, it was an extraordinary size.

The size of the subspace was proportional to the ability of the mage who entered it. The larger the subspace, the more mana the mage had.

‘Is my son a genius?’

Camilla was so impressed that she forgot she was there to bring Raphael back. Despite creating an endless plain, Raphael showed no signs of exhaustion.

Perhaps it was because he inherited the blood of both Francis and Blanche. Both families had extraordinary abilities, so she hadn’t expected Raphael to be ordinary.

She just wanted him to grow up normally until he was eleven, but it seemed he needed education sooner than she thought.

Camilla reflected on how she had neglected Raphael’s talent. She resolved to measure his mana capacity properly once they returned.

“Meow. (It’s time to go back, son.)”

She jumped out of Raphael’s arms and wagged her tail. Raphael keenly noticed and asked,

“Oh! Do you want me to follow you?”

When she nodded, Raphael’s eyes sparkled. Following the lead of her tail, he followed without hesitation. Soon, they reached the exit.

Camilla pointed to the floating brick in the air and meowed.

“Do you want this?”

Raphael seemed to understand it as asking him to take the brick and reached out for it. Though the intention was different, it succeeded in getting Raphael to touch the brick.

Swoosh—

The moment Raphael grabbed the brick, a white light surrounded him and Camilla. And in the blink of an eye, they were back inside the tower.

“Mom?”

“Did you have fun, my child?”

Camilla, now back in her human form, patted Raphael’s head at eye level. Sensing the faint residual mana flow, Raphael exclaimed,

“The cat was you, Mom!”

“Yes.”

“I thought it looked a lot like you.”

“You have good instincts, my son.”

Camilla smiled, and Raphael blushed. Covering his cheeks with both hands, Raphael mumbled,

“It was fun. Hehe.”

“I’m glad you had fun, but you can’t come to the tower without telling me. There are many dangerous devices here.”

“Did I bother you, Mom?”

Raphael asked, looking downcast. His lips moved as if he felt guilty for coming to the tower without permission.

Camilla softened her stern expression and said,

“Next time, if you want to come to the tower, tell me first, okay?”

“Okay!”

His spirits lifted, Raphael hugged Camilla tightly. And without another word, he fell asleep. It was the side effect of expanding the subspace so much.

“Sigh, I knew this would happen.”

Creating such a large space in a short time had understandably tired him out. As Camilla lifted the sleeping Raphael, the knights reached out their hands.

“I’ll carry him.”

“No, it’s okay. Thank you for looking after my son despite being busy. I’ll put him to bed and come back. Inform the Command Tower as well.”

With that, Camilla left the tower with Raphael and headed to the main castle. As they reached the entrance, an anxious Serri ran out. Judging by her expression, she seemed to have been worried about Raphael’s disappearance.

Since Raphael was born, Serri had been promoted from Camilla’s personal maid to Raphael’s nanny. Serri, who loved children, had volunteered for the role.

“Miss… I mean, Young master! Raphael has disappeared… huh?”

Serri stopped mid-sentence when she saw Raphael in Camilla’s arms and collapsed in relief. The tension had been released. Looking up with a tearful face, Camilla explained,

“He came to the tower.”

“Oh, I was so worried… Phew. I was so scared!”

Serri sighed in relief, tears welling up. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were disheveled, showing she had been searching frantically for Raphael.

She seemed exhausted from looking for Raphael, who had disappeared without a word. Yet, she still lowered her voice, worried about waking him.

“I’ll scold him properly later.”

“You must be busy. Leave the young master to me and go back to work.”

“Okay, I’ll leave him to you then.”

* * *

That evening, when Aster returned home, he massaged Camilla’s legs and mentioned the midday commotion.

“I heard Raphie went to the tower.”

“Yes. He accidentally entered the subspace, and I had a hard time bringing him back.”

“You must have had a tough time.”

“But thanks to that, I discovered Raphael has a significant amount of mana. Considering he was full of energy by the afternoon, our son must be very strong!”

“You used to scold me for treating Raphael like a genius.”

“Ahem. That’s that, and this is this.”

Camilla avoided Aster’s gaze with a guilty look, and Aster burst into laughter. They say couples grow alike, and they always reacted the same way when it came to issues conerning Raphael.

The fortunate thing was that when one of them became overly excited, the other would tighten the reins.

Aster lovingly looked down at Camilla, who was praising Raphael’s talent. As her chattering lips began to slow, Aster asked,

“Are you done?”

Camilla nodded, blushing. She was embarrassed not only because she had been rambling but also because of Aster’s deepening gaze.

“Now, will you focus on me?”

“When did I ever not?”

Camilla responded coyly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“It’s never enough.”

“Greedy.”

“It’s your fault for making me greedy.”

“So, it’s all my fault?”

Camilla looked at him incredulously, and Aster, bending down to kiss her nose, said,

“Yes. It’s because you’re too lovely, Camilla.”

“Fine, it’s my fault. Do as you please… mmph.”

With Camilla’s permission, Aster, who had been teasing, pressed closer with intensity. Rough groans and breaths mingled through their parted lips.

Her round shoulders trembled beneath the half-removed clothes, and the underwear hanging precariously fell to the floor in an instant.

“Looks like Raphael takes after you.”

“Me?”

Even while moving diligently, Aster responded promptly, and Camilla whispered in his ear,

“He rushes at me whenever he sees me.”

“True.”

Aster replied as if he couldn’t deny it and took his place above her.

“Blood doesn’t lie, I guess.”

“Hehe.”

“It’s also because you always accept him, making him more eager.”

With those words, Aster licked Camilla’s perky br*asts. The ticklish gesture left Camilla unable to continue their playful banter.

Soon, the sound of rustling movements, the swishing of sheets, and occasional trembling breaths filled the bedroom. This was the couple’s nightly ritual, a language of love, even after their contract marriage had ended.