I Became The Mother Of The Strongest Villain

r>So, she was thinking of cutting down a bigger tree than usual, even if it was harder.
That way she wouldn’t have to leave Fren for a while.
Yuria hurriedly started searching for a good tree.
If she kept dawdling, the day might end.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long before she saw a tree of the size she wanted.
Yuria approached the tree and swung her axe without hesitation, felling the tree with one sharp swing.
She lifted the fallen tree now familiar with the process.
The disparity between Yuria and the ginormous tree made it hard to tell whether she was picking up the tree or the tree was picking her up, yet, she seemed fine.
Due to the size of the tree, which was much larger than usual, she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to lift it, yet, the tree felt lighter than she thought.
It felt the same as picking up a rock from the street.
Yuria neatly carried the tree over her shoulders and headed home.

* * *

Upon arriving home, what greeted Yuria was a barefoot Fren, crying out loud in front of the cabin, looking as if he had lost the world.

“Fren.” Yuria called to him in shock.
Aside from being barefoot in this cold weather, Fren wasn’t wearing a proper coat either.
Since when on earth he had been waiting? Fren’s face was frozen blue and red from the cold.
Yuria was startled and threw the tree she was holding onto the ground with a loud thud and rushed towards him, causing the ground to vibrate for a moment.

Thankfully, Fren’s condition was better up close than from afar and her worries subsided.
His feet were clean, without any visible wounds.
Nonetheless, his feet were as frozen as his cheeks.
It was heartbreaking to think that he had stood on the hard ground and endured the cold with those puny, soft feet.
She didn’t ask why he came out crying without waiting patiently inside the cabin.
In his young mind, he must have been worried and anxious that she would never come back.
Left wondering if she had abandoned him or suffered something terrible.
He must have been thinking all kinds of things with that little head. It was not the child’s fault he lacked trust in me or waited patiently.
It was my fault to have worried the child to such an extent he would walk out barefoot in the cold.
How anxious must he have felt since I was sick yesterday? It was impossible to guess how much anxiety and worry had accumulated in this little child’s heart.
Yuria hugged Fren tightly in her arms, feeling sorry.

“Yuri didn’t- Fren waited.
But it was scary.
But, here… thump thump a lot.” Fren, intermittently, with difficulty, explained how he had felt.
Yuria promised she would be back soon and Yuria is a good person, so he thought she wouldn’t break her promise.
However, seeing that she didn’t return, the anxiety that had budded in his heart slowly grew.
Every minute felt like a year, every hour an eternity.
Fren had never waited for anyone in fact, there were more days he wished they would not come than did.
Regardless, Fren waited for Yuria, because he wanted to be with her; he wanted her to be by his side for the rest of his life.
He felt happy when he was with Yuria like he was floating in clouds.
So he got anxious when the time she was gone prolonged, afraid that Yuria might have abandoned him and disappeared.
It was a feeling he’d never felt before, many had abandoned him in the past, but he’d never felt anything like this.
It didn’t hurt, it was rather relieving.
It meant that they wouldn’t hurt him anymore.
However, the mere thought of Yuria abandoning him made it difficult to breathe, as if all the darkness had searched him out and swallowed him.
There was a difference between losing and being thrown away.
Losing and letting go are two different things.
It was sad to lose things, but being abandoned and thrown away was much more painful and sorrowful.
It felt like his heart was being shattered in the flames of pain, the shards burning to ash then disappearing without a trace.

Being thrown away, I hate it. At least from Yuria.
It didn’t matter if he was abandoned by another.

“…Don’t throw me away.” Fren whimpered, inside Yuria’s arms, with a voice so frail it seemed as if he was about to collapse.
Yuria was so cozy and warm like a spring day, yet the sun could easily be overshadowed by the clouds, making him even more anxious.

“I will never leave Fren.” Even if, despite her own efforts, Fren becomes a darkened villain that will destroy the world as in the novel, Yuria vowed to stay by his side.

I can’t do much for him because I don’t have anything of value, so I just want to alleviate his loneliness. If it hadn’t been for Fren, her life would have flown by without purpose.
If she could dedicate her life to giving someone a little warmth and shelter, that was enough to give reason to her existence.
It’s not that death wasn’t scary, but it wasn’t difficult to sacrifice her own life for Fren.
The moment of her death, she would be confident by his side.

Fren only grabbed the hem of Yuri’s clothes.
He believed Yuria, but it was hard to believe again.
Everything was new and unfamiliar to Fren, and even small hopes and expectations felt unsure and terrifying.

What should I do? What should I say to make Fren feel safe? I can’t let him be this anxious forever. She would spend her life with Fren, but that didn’t mean she could always be with Fren.
She would need to leave to chop trees again someday and like today she would have no choice but to leave him alone.
Then, in the meantime, Fren would be restless, afraid, and anxious again.
Yuria knew how hard it was, anxiety was a seed that ate and gnawed at people’s minds.
Once it bloomed, it wasn’t easy to get rid of it.
So, somehow, she wanted to relieve Fren’s anxiety.
After much contemplation, Yuria carefully opened her mouth.

“Fren, will you be my family?”