Chapter 389: I Love You, Cari
"Cari... Cari..."
Ignoring Albe, who was confused and did not understand what was happening, he repeatedly called Cari’s name.
"I thought Mama would worry..."
"Yes. I was very worried when I saw you collapsed."
Of course he would be worried.
His precious child had been lying collapsed.
"It did not hurt that mu—"
"Cari?"
Calling his name firmly cut off any such excuses.
Cari’s tears increased.
But Qiong Xing still did not touch him yet.
"I, I thought I could... I could endure it. So I said I was fine..."
"When did it start?"
"A little while ago. My hand was shaking. But it was only that... and Mama said it hurt too..."
From the trauma of being hurt, his hands had begun to tremble, and he could no longer sleep at night.
Because of that, Cari had likely stopped being able to talk about it.
At first there was no pain, only trembling hands, so he must have thought it would go away after a while.
Qiong Xing was furious at himself for not noticing.
It was true that at that time, he also had no emotional room to spare, but that was no excuse.
"I started having only scary dreams. But I am the older brother."
Because of his strong sense of responsibility, he likely could not tell anyone.
When asked what kind of dreams they were, as expected, he had repeatedly seen Qiong Xing collapsing and bleeding.
Gradually, as if being cornered, his physical condition had worsened little by little.
"Cari... Cari, come here."
"I am sorry."
"It is fine now. You have told me everything. So... come here, Cari."
With a gentle smile and open arms, he held the small body that jumped into him tightly.
"I am sorry I did not notice it earlier. You must have been suffering all this time."
"No. I am sorry too. Because of me, Mama got hurt so many times—"
"It is not your fault. It is not Cari’s fault. The one at fault is that man, not Cari. And you came to protect me, did you not? You tried to save me."
He stroked Cari’s back while saying how happy he had been.
Even if that man was his biological father, what Cari had done was protect Qiong Xing.
He had done nothing wrong.
"What hurts me most is that you did not tell me anything. Even if you were trying to protect me, even if you thought it would trouble me, I am still sad that you kept it to yourself until you collapsed. As your Mama, I am most saddened that I could not do anything for you. I am sorry, I am so sorry, Cari."
"No, no. I... I am sorry. I am sorry, Mama."
Cari insisted that he was the one at fault, but Qiong Xing gently denied it.
"I am not saying you must tell me everything. But painful things, sad and hurtful things, please tell Mama too."
Everyone has things they cannot tell others.
He did not deny Cari for trying his best and enduring it.
But if it reached the point where he collapsed from it, then he should have said something.
"I do not want to see Cari suffering. I want you to keep smiling. Because I love you very much."
"I love Mama too. I am sorry."
Cari promised that he would tell him from now on, and Qiong Xing smiled softly and held him close in gratitude.
...
"...Mama."
"It is alright. Come here."
Since then, Cari’s condition had gradually begun to improve.
However, the tremor in his hands still remained, and at those times, Qiong Xing would gently take his hands and soothe him with a soft touch.
Until then, whenever Cari mentioned the nightmares he had been seeing, Qiong Xing would gently hold him and sleep beside him until morning.
The disturbed flow of magic was something he and Albe were still trying to stabilize together.
There was not much Qiong Xing could do, but if it helped Cari calm down, he was willing to do anything.
"Shall we make doria today, Cari’s favorite? Will you help me cook?"
As he said this while gently stroking the hand he was holding, Cari smiled happily and nodded.
"I will help too!"
A small body clung to him, insisting on joining as well, and Cari also nodded, agreeing that they should all do it together.
Among the siblings, Lian was the most attached to Cari.
Whether it was because he had sensed something even while still in the womb and kept reassuring him that everything would be alright, or because of some deeper connection between them, no one knew.
The exact reason was unclear, but whenever Cari did something, Lian often insisted on doing it together.
"Then I will have Lian help Cari put lots of cheese on top."
"I will! Let’s go, Brother Cari!"
With Cari in the middle, the three of them held hands and headed to the kitchen.
Lian was in a very good mood, happy to be together with his beloved mother and brother.
"I love Mama’s food!"
"I do too."
The children smiling and agreeing together were simply too adorable.
"Were Papa’s cooking not tasty?"
During the few days Qiong Xing had been away from home, he asked how the meals prepared by Elias and the others had been.
After much hesitation, they answered that it had been delicious.
"Papa only eats meat."
"I wanted vegetables."
"Hmm."
That was concerning.
Even though he had repeatedly told them to eat vegetables along with meat, especially to Elias.
It might be fine for them as beastmen, but Cari was a demon, and Lian was human.
Their jaw strength was not particularly strong, so a meat-only diet would likely become tiresome.
"That is a waste. Lian has started being able to eat vegetables properly now."
Lian who had been quite a picky eater had recently started to gradually eat vegetables he disliked.
"I like tomatoes."
He said it proudly.
Unlike Albe, Cari loved tomatoes.
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