novelraw Chapter 3 : Mother’s Secret Lesson
Chapter 3 : Mother’s Secret Lesson
I thought I was being subtle.
Every time Selene lit a candle with a flicker of fire, I’d freeze, eyes wide, arms reaching out.
Every time she cooled water with a breath of frost, I’d squeal like an idiot.
Apparently, not subtle enough.
One evening, when my sister was off training with Father and the house was quiet, Selene leaned over my crib. Her silver hair fell around us like a curtain, her expression soft and guilty all at once.
“You look at my magic,” she whispered, “the same way I once looked at your father’s sword.”
Her fingers hovered over my cheek, trembling just slightly. “He’ll be furious if he finds out. He wants you to grow strong like him… a proud swordsman of Valemont.”
She chuckled, bitter and warm at the same time. “But how could I stop myself, when you look at me like this?”
I gurgled on cue—half baby instinct, half actual excitement.
Her smile melted, and she pressed her forehead against mine. “All right, little Rooga. Just a secret between you and me. Mama will show you what mana really is.”
She held out her hand. A faint light shimmered in her palm, glowing like misty threads.
“This is mana,” she whispered. “It lives in everything. The air. The water. You. Me.”
My HUD flickered instantly.
[Mana Manipulation – Unlocked.]
[Condition to evolve: Circulate mana evenly through all limbs for 1 hour continuously.]
My heart skipped. Finally, a starting point.
Selene continued, unaware of the glowing words only I could see. “Close your eyes, little one. Breathe. Feel it moving inside you. Slow, steady, gentle.”
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Of course, as a baby, I couldn’t exactly “close my eyes and meditate.” My breathing was more like hiccups and snorts. But the HUD responded anyway—progress bar crawling forward by fractions.
Selene kissed my forehead again, her voice barely above a murmur. “Don’t tell your father, Rooga. This is ours.”
Her warmth, her scent, her words… for the first time, I felt like I had a place.
I wasn’t just the “second choice” anymore. I was her student. Her little magician.
And deep inside, my HUD whispered promises of skills and evolutions no one else in the world knew were possible.
It happened while Selene was feeding me.
The milk was hot—scalding, actually. Some careless maid. My gums burned, and instinct kicked in. I flailed my hands, and a faint chill spread through the cup.
The steam faded. The milk cooled.
Selene froze.
She stared at the cup, then at me. Her eyes widened, lips trembling. Then—just like that—tears filled her eyes.
Her whisper cracked, barely audible.
“…No. I’m a Valemont now. Not a magician anymore.”
She pressed her forehead against the cradle, shoulders shaking. For a moment, I thought she’d crush the idea right there, bury it.
But then she looked at me. Really looked—straight into my eyes.
Whatever she saw—purity, innocence, maybe just a baby who was happy not to burn his tongue—broke her. Her tears spilled down her cheeks as she whispered again, softer this time:
“…But how can I deny those eyes?”
She gathered me into her arms, clinging like I was her last tether. And I, with my tiny baby brain, could only coo and kick my legs in response.
The next morning, I woke to raised voices just outside my door.
“He will be a swordsman!” Father’s voice thundered. “The next in line for the Valemont title!”
Mother’s voice was sharp, almost breaking. “And what of Elara? Can she not be your successor?”
Elara. My sister. The prodigy.
Father’s silence was heavy before he answered. “…How I wish she could. But the world will mock us—mock Valemont—for putting a woman at the frontline.”
Mother’s reply was quick, desperate. “Rooga can be great. I see it already. A magician—greater than me, maybe greater than anyone alive!”
The room shook as Father’s fist hit the wall. “You are Selene Valemont now. You follow Valemont’s way. We are swordsmen, not magicians. Enough of this nonsense.”
The silence after was worse than the shouting.
A moment later, the door creaked. Mother stepped inside, her eyes red but her face composed. She came to my cradle, knelt, and forced a smile.
Her hand brushed my cheek. “I’m sorry, Rooga. I didn’t want you to hear that.”
Her voice cracked as her smile trembled. “…But I hope you understand your father one day.”
She kissed my forehead, her tears dripping onto my skin.
I didn’t cry. I couldn’t. All I could do was stare at her with the same pure eyes she seemed to see so much in.
Inside, though?
I was already thinking: Sword, magic… why not both?