The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 74
“…”
In the case of Vilkanos, having a child born outside marriage wouldn’t be a significant flaw. Especially since the child could only resemble Aseph and even possessed Vilkanos’s unique abilities.
Some say a child like him was a fruit of love. Though the meaning might be slightly different, Aseph felt he could cherish and love this child as a remnant of Bea.
“Love…”
Homun’s eyes half-closed. Aseph really liked that expression on Bea.
Ruslan called it the typical expression of a cold alchemist, but not to Aseph. It was the expression Bea usually wore when expressing love.
Aseph asked to confirm.
“You dislike it?”
“I. Um.”
Homun hesitated to speak, his lips quivering. This was not something seen in Bea. Aseph could only guess that Bea might have shown such a demeanor when she was younger.
“I dislike you, Aseph Vilkanos.”
“Didn’t I tell you? You should call me Father.”
“…”
“Hm?”
“…”
When Aseph gently prodded, the child looked perplexed. No matter how much Homun resembled Bea in knowledge and careful personality, a child is still a child.
Aseph was aware that his behavior often disconcerted Bea, but it was much easier to understand this with the child. Despite saying he disliked it, the child’s flushed face and blinking eyes did not seem to indicate so at all.
Soon, the child stated firmly.
“I dislike you, Father.”
That wasn’t true. The child was just a bit awkward.
“Can you tell me why?”
“…Because Master dislikes you.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Aseph tilted his head.
“…Just like you?”
“Yes.”
In this conversation, Aseph felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Talking with Homun alone about dislikes. They had had a similar conversation before, but the feeling was different this time.
“Before, you told me… what Bea dislikes. Wild boar meat. Mushroom soup. Jerky… things like that.”
All were things Aseph had prepared in the forest laboratory.
“Yes.”
“…What else does Bea dislike?”
“Me, Aseph Vilkanos.”
It felt like a blow to the head.
While Aseph was pondering the meaning, Homun coughed. It seemed his body was still weak.
Aseph stopped patting his head, laid Homun down on the bed, covered him with a blanket, then stood up.
“I shouldn’t be here while you’re sleeping, at least for tonight. Your condition might worsen.”
“…I see.”
But while agreeing obediently, Homun didn’t close his eyes. It seemed he had something to say, so Aseph nodded and waited. Soon, the child hesitantly spoke.
“I’m not yet sleepy. Fa… Aseph Vilkanos.”
“Call me Father.”
“Yes… Father.”
Homun looked up blankly. Despite his words, Aseph saw his actions as nothing less than a child throwing a tantrum before sleep.
“Do you dislike having me beside you?”
“…I dislike it.”
While saying this, Homun coughed softly again. As Aseph hugged him and patted his back, the coughing gradually subsided.
When he tried to lay him back down in bed, Homun clutched tightly at his clothes. Aseph felt he knew the kind of response he would get if he suggested they sleep together. Surely, the child would look at him disdainfully and refuse. And he knew it shouldn’t be that way.
Yet strangely, even as the child acted moodily, Aseph was reminded of Bea.
Bleeding from the ears, wearing a perplexed expression, hesitating, and stepping back as if to run away.
Could this… also be something he inherited from Bea?
“Since you keep coughing, it won’t do. I’ll have to watch over you until you fall asleep.”
Saying this as if making a declaration, Aseph watched the child’s reaction. The child relaxed the grip on his clothes.
“I guess there’s no helping it. But you are dangerous, so please lie down far away from me, Aseph Vilkanos.”
“Come now, call me Father.”
“…”
“And Bea isn’t ‘Master’—you should call her ‘Mother’. Make sure to call her that when you see her next.”
“…”
Aseph had to hold back his smile at Homun, who clamped his mouth shut like a clam.
After lying down together, Homun awkwardly shifted his body away, lying as far from Aseph as possible. Stubbornly turning his back, he soon started breathing softly in sleep.
Aseph closed his eyes, thinking of Bea. What she disliked. What she liked. What should have been his actions the last time he saw her? Thinking only of the child and Bea, Aseph too fell asleep.
❖
Aseph awoke suddenly in the middle of the night.
Homun, who had been turned away until the light was turned off, had now snuggled close.
Seeing the child like this made Aseph reminisce about why he had helplessly fallen for Bea.
In that small forest laboratory.
A cold demeanor with a ruthless expression. A person who seemed to bear the weight of the world alone, without any gaps. Yet, one who didn’t know how to refuse when approached, might push away when embraced, but would seek warmth and stay close when the cold night fell.
When Aseph covered the child with a blanket fearing he might be cold, Homun snuggled his face into Aseph’s chest and whimpered.
“Master…”
A homunculus.
He was said to be a clone. Certainly, his appearance was identical to Aseph. Then, what about the temperament? Although it couldn’t be said just yet, perhaps similar traits could be discovered in his personality as he grew.
However, from what Aseph felt, this child more closely resembled Bea’s personality. A person’s character is shaped by their life experiences.
Naturally, this made Aseph wonder about how Bea had lived her life.
Gently patting the child’s back, Homun sleepily mumbled in a whine.
“Master… I’ll protect you.”
Slumber eluded Aseph for the rest of the night.
