“What brings you here today?”

Kasser dryly asked as it has long been unnecessary to exchange courtesies with her. He didn’t even bother to inquire after her either. It’s been long since he was healed from his past wounds.

Therefore, the woman before his eyes meant nothing to him except for the fact that she was his biological mother. There was nothing he could do but to accept as it was an undeniable fact that this woman had indeed kept him in her womb before he was brought into this world.

“It’s such a rare occasion for you to come all the way here by yourself.”

When he was still a boy, he had expected that his mother would come to see him someday. However, never once did she come to find him until he grew into a man.

It’s been a few years since he had reunited with his biological mother, who was now known as Lady Wallfred, after he came to manhood. Kasser had received a message from his mother that she wished to meet him, not long after he had ascended the throne after the late king’s passing.

And as it happened, Kasser had to travel to the Holy City to officially receive sacrament from Sang-je after his accession to the throne. So, on his way to see her, on the pretext of official business, he had somehow looked forward to meeting his mother, in the anticipation that she might have missed him too, even just a little.

But despite his initial expectations, it turns out that she only wanted to meet him as she was pressing for money. It was apparent that she was having a hard life, living in self-inflicted destitution.

Ever since then, Kasser has been giving financial assistance to his biological mother on a regular basis. It may have been possible for the late king to cut off his ties with her since they were nothing but strangers after divorce. But as for Kasser, he couldn’t just sit by and watch her lead a miserable life. Like it or not, half of his blood belonged to her. Moreover, this was more of a matter of his pride.

That was the first and the last time she had visited him in the royal manor. Since then, she only sent her steward to collect money from him. She never visited even when Kasser had come to the Holy City in search of a wife three years ago.

“Is this about money?”

Lady Wallfred flinched a little before she gave a hesitant nod and said it in a scarcely audible voice.

“I’m a little short of money..”historical

“I’ll take care of that. Is there anything else?”

Abashed, Lady Wallfred shook her head. It frustrated him for having to meet his biological mother over such trivial matters. However, this wasn’t something which he could just leave to others.

Even though the relationship between them had long been strained, there’s no change to the fact that she was the mother of a king. Hence, if she ever happens to abuse her power using her position as his mother, no one will dare raise their voice against her.

He knew he could never ignore her altogether, but Kasser had no intention of becoming her solid source of funds either, especially when she never once did her part as a mother. His financial assistance to her was solely for his honor’s sake.

Kasser then turned on his heel and left the parlor without giving her a second glance. Just like how they didn’t bother to exchange courtesies, there was no need for him to bid her farewell as well.

***

Dana’s eyes were all wet with tears again when she was finished. Her voice sank deep and cracked as she was overcome with emotion while she spoke.

She still couldn’t believe it despite having met her daughter’s eyes countless times today. All the years she had suffered alone, not understood by anyone, seem to have disappeared with the joy of reuniting instead.

Dana reached out to Eugene with her eyes fixed on her. Feeling hotness behind her lids, Eugene moved closer as she held tightly on to the hand of her mother. Indescribable feelings were shared through the eyes of mother and daughter, as they felt each other’s warmth.

‘Thank you. Mother.’

Eugene couldn’t express enough of her feelings of gratitude towards her mother. She had once heard of a saying that the purpose of a name is only fulfilled when it’s called. As the saying goes, she was able to get clarity of her self-existence thanks to her mother, as she never stopped calling her name even after all these years.

Until today, she had been living in a state of confusion without knowing who she was or where she truly belonged. Her underlying anxiety and guilt had always weighed on her mind as if she was being pulled by a heavy rock at the bottom of her heart. But now, she felt like her feet, which kept floundering while scrabbling for a foothold, had finally found a firm ground to stand on.

Eugene could finally say with confidence that she has a right to live in this part of the world.

Having a family’s support had given her a boost of self-confidence.

“Now everyone. I want you all to welcome Jin who has finally returned home to us. This is my real daughter Jin,”

The father and sons were at a loss for words alike, looking confused. Unlike Dana, who had waited her whole life for her daughter’s return with unwavering conviction, the three men were dumbfounded by what they just heard as it was such an unlikely story to believe in.

Most people would first doubt Dana’s sanity should they hear her. However, her husband and her two sons were different, as they had an implicit faith in Dana since her influence was absolute in the family.

While her two sons had the implicit trust of their mother’s judgment, Patrick was the only one who can fully understand his wife more than anyone in the world. He had always known that his wife was gifted with a unique ability.