The Emperor's Omega Is An Extra-Chapter 213: Loyalty Vs. Filial Piety (4)

At this moment, when his mind was extremely shaken by such a horrendous sight, Levin suddenly recalled the days when he was still an innocent child and often cared for by his mother. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Princess Coreen was never a bad mother to Levin; she was even the best mother for him in the world. Since they were often the only ones in their home, they were usually together, and Levin was much more open to her when he was a child.

He remembered when he was five and his mother, who usually told him bedtime stories, asked him a question after the story ended.

"Levin, baby. Princess Coreen’s soothing voice instantly calmed him down, making him sleepy as she caressed his head fondly. "Which one do you want after you grow up? Is it the knight or the... king?"

The story was about the monarch and his loyal knight, who slew the dragon to keep his liege safe.

The young Levin blinked his eyes and looked at his mother before he fell silent, as though pondering the answer. Princess Coreen only smiled and kissed his forehead while waiting for his answer.

As he thought of the story and was reminded of his favorite cousin, Spade, whom he adored so much, he smiled widely and answered proudly.

"Mom! I want to be the loyal knight who will protect his king!" Young Levin exclaimed. His answer might have carried the innocence of a five-year-old child, but determination and adoration were already evident in it.

Princess Coreen was taken aback for a moment, but eventually, a genuine motherly smile appeared on his lips, and she kissed her son on the cheek as though proud of Levin’s answer.

"My child will be a loyal knight!" She laughed and tickled Levin, giving him kisses before she stared straight into his eyes. "Levin, sweetheart, I hope you’ll achieve whatever you want in this life. Mom will only support you."

As he recalled these memories with his mother, he knew she was still normal and didn’t have a tendency for violence. When did it start? Levin’s expression twisted as he tried to remember what he had missed through these years that might be a sign of the deteriorating condition of his mother.

He ignored the current situation first, or it was accurate to say his mind was still rejecting accepting that what he was seeing was real and not just another nightmare created by him from all his fear and confusion these past few weeks.

His mind wandered again, and he searched for his memories, ignoring his headache and the pain he was feeling. When he was in his teens, that was when he started to feel the pressure of his identity. He often stayed in the palace around this time and was escaping the whispers around him.

It became even louder when he was in his twenties, since chaos surrounded the capital around this time after the late emperor passed away and Empress Liviera became a regent ruler. Levin was often in the talks about the fight for the throne, which was something he couldn’t accept.

As the year passed, he told his parents his decision and was immediately sent to train in the royal elite guard. Perhaps it was around this time that he never checked on the status of his parents as he was busy with himself... busy being selfish and a coward.

Levin stopped; the crease between his brows deepened. He lifted his head and looked at his mother, who was still smiling at him and waiting for him to say something like she usually did.

A memory flashed in his mind; it was when he had his first fight with his father after telling them about his decision not to inherit the noble title. He could understand the anger of his father, as he was their only child and the direct line to the title, but he was resolute in his decision.

It was days before he would enlist in elite training when his mother came into his room and helped him pack his luggage. Princess Coreen, who wasn’t adept at folding the clothes, still helped him, even if it was a bit messy.

"Mom, are you also mad at me?" Levin, who couldn’t take it anymore, finally asked his mother, who was silent and never said her opinion on Levin’s decision.

Princess Coreen stopped and raised her head, making eye contact with her son. It had been a while since they managed to have a talk like this; truthfully, they weren’t that open to each other, unlike when he was a child or in his teens.

Levin stared at his mother, even if she was still beautiful. As before, there were now faint wrinkles around her eyes, but they could never conceal her beauty.

"Am I?" his mother smiled and asked jokingly. She then held Levin’s hand and became solemn, clutching his hand in her gentle hands. "Just do what you want, son, Mother will support you."

He froze, and he suddenly didn’t dare to stare into his mother’s eyes and became guilty, but what she said next was what made him raise his head again in slight shock.

"It’s enough that it’s me; I’ll help you escape... from your destiny." His mother uttered these words that made him stunned but also incomprehensible for him.

When he asked what his mother meant by that, Princess Coreen only smiled at him and caressed his head like when he was still a child, which he missed so much.

At that time, Levin had so many things on his mind and so much fear for his future that he forgot them later on. After all, he also didn’t know what it meant to always think of what they could mean.

Now that he was reminded again, what was his destiny? Was it destined for him to become miserable? When his mother let him escape, was the price ... herself?

Levin didn’t realize that he was already crying; he was now being slapped by his own harsh reality that he was desperate to escape from.

Only after his mother, who was now before him, wiped his cheeks with care, was he snapped out of his memories. Levin, amidst his tears and blurry vision, stared at the face of his mother.

"Son, why are you crying?" Princess Coreen worriedly asked, trying to wipe his tears. He frowned as though confused. "Did you hate my masterpiece?" she asked innocently, and Levin really couldn’t help it anymore as he engulfed his mother in his embrace as he sobbed uncontrollably.

"Aww, my baby, don’t cry." Princess Coreen rubbed his back as she soothed him, but Levin shook his head and tightened his embrace with his mother’s body, which seemed extremely small compared to his figure.

A few minutes later, Levin’s tears gradually ceased, but the pain in his heart kept on tormenting him. His eyes landed on the corpses, which he also personally knew, which made him even more conflicted.

"Son, are you now okay?" Princess Coreen withdrew from the embrace and looked at his face. Levin shook his head. He wasn’t okay, and he didn’t know when he could recover from this incident.

"Mom," Levin managed to utter after a while of difficulty.

"What is it?" his mother gently responded. It gave him pain to see her act so normal when... She was not.

"Mom, did you..." Levin paused; it was truly hard for him to acknowledge it, and his chest heaved from how it was getting harder for him to breathe. "D-Did you... kill all of them?"

It was a question that already horrified him in his mind but only intensified when he said it out loud. Levin was scared of the answer, even if it was obvious in his eyes.

Princess Coreen seemed confused for a second about who or what he was talking about; she even traced where he was looking earlier, and a realization seemed to dawn on her. She laughed as though her son’s question was the biggest joke she had heard for a while.

"I don’t!" she answered, but that didn’t abate Levin’s fear as she continued with her next words: "Why do I need to kill them? They volunteered themselves to become my masterpiece. Son, that’s part of their honor as well." Princess Coreen giggled and seemed to be recalling a wonderful memory.

Levin’s mouth parted, his expression contorted with pain, and he shut his eyes and sighed. Why... He couldn’t formulate a question even in his mind. He opened his eyes and looked at his mother, who still looked similar to the gentle mother in his memory but was completely different in her demeanor.

His lips clenched, and a new round of tears threatened to come out of his eyes. Who made his mother like this? Why... Her mind had become twisted to this extent.

"Mom, they are not a masterpiece." Levin didn’t know if it was a good course of action, but he just wanted to wake up his mother. He held his mother in place and clutched her arms desperately. "Mom, it’s not an art! T-They are human corpses!" he yelled in frustration.

He was truly angry with himself. How... How did everything come to this point?

With his shout, Princess Coreen only blinked before she laughed again.

"Son, I’m not blind; I know what they are." And then a wicked grin crept on her lips. "But isn’t that what made it more special?"