Living as the Villain’s Stepmother - Chapter 190 – Awakened Ring

“Uh… Hm….”

Hir’s big, round eyes which were busy scanning the room eventually fell onto an awkwardly sitting Lila.

“This room… is my mother’s room, but why is….” He looked back and forth between Lacias and Lila with a puzzled expression.

He seemed to be wondering why Lacias was in his mother’s room so early in the morning. Lila fell into another fit of laughter after watching Hir’s tilted head. He looked so adorable to her.

Seeing as his wife was unavailable Lacias took the initiative to explain. “Now that Lila and I are officially married we’ll be sharing the same room. You cannot be this clueless at this age. You’d better learn basic etiquette again.”

Hir’s eyes almost instinctively began to water at the harsh words, but they were yet to trickle down his cheeks.

Oh, he’s not crying yet.

The old Hir would have shed tears immediately, but he was no longer the vulnerable kid.

“Why are you speaking like that to my child.” When Lila took her son’s side, Hir’s face grew brighter, and in contrast, Lacias’ face turned gloomier.

Lacias sulking because she opposed him in front of her son made Lila question his age. His complaining expression did not match his stature at all.

“Hir, what brought you here so early in the morning?” she asked, stroking his head ever so gently.

“I was wondering if you had a good night’s sleep. And I just wanted to greet you before I go for training.”

“Aww, thank you.” Lila ruffled his neatly combed hair ruining the straightness. He didn’t seem to mind.

“I’m so happy!”

“You are?” Asked Lila jokingly, she was a little confused at his sudden outburst.

“Yes! I want to stay here like this forever if I can.”

“If you’re happy, I’m happy,” said Lila warmly.

Why do I feel like there’s something different about him? Ah, It must be that he stutters less now.

In the original novel, Hir suffered a lot trying to fix his speaking habit, but things have changed, and he was naturally improving as he was now living a stable and healthy life.

A smile as beautiful as a new crescent moon appeared on her lips. She was happy to see positive changes in Hir.

“Smile for me, too. I think I’ve waited enough. I can’t bear watching you two talking like that without me,” Lacias was upset for being excluded from the family reunion.

Although he voiced his complaints, they didn’t hear it over Lila’s imposing question.

“How’s the training going?” she asked.

“Hizette’s been teaching me lots of things. I’m getting better at it, and it’s also fun. Really fun.”

“I’m glad you found something you enjoy.”

What was more important than being good at something was to enjoy it. No matter how talented one is, it’s always hard for them to beat those who enjoy doing it.

But my Hir even has talent! She was overjoyed at his mention of having fun.

Hir’s talent in the original novel was incredible. He was so talented that the word incredible alone was not enough to describe how amazing he was. No man could ever outrun Hir, even after his death.

Lila couldn’t stop smiling at the thought of her son making remarkable achievements in the future, but before she could ask Hir another question Lacias butted in.

“I heard that your ring training is still ongoing.” He asked Hir. “What have you achieved so far?”

“Uh… Uh, I….”

“I told Hizette to train you with a real sword instead of a wooden sword, but is he even giving you proper training?”

“Ah, It’s….”

“It’s been quite some time since your ring training started, but there hasn’t been any report from Hizette. Are you not practicing on your own time?”

“Uh, uh….”

Lila was lost for words much like her son. You should give him some time to answer before you start throwing questions like that!

Just when he started speaking properly Lacias’s intimidating demeanor made Hir stutter again. Lila gently patted her husband on the shoulder. It was a gesture telling him to give the child time to answer. Lacias, who immediately understood her signal, closed his mouth and waited for an answer.

After taking a deep breath, Hir faced Lacias and opened his mouth.

“H- Hizette told me that to become the heir of the Wipere family, I must be able to handle the ring. And… because I didn’t want to disappoint my mother, I constantly practiced it myself outside my training hours.”

Hir seemed nervous. His voice was slightly shaking, perhaps because he was afraid of Lacias. However, Both Lila and her husband could hear the improvements in his speaking.

Old Hir would have sought help from Lila with his eyes brimming with tears, unable to make eye contact with Lacias. But now, although he was trembling, he locked eyes with the duke and spoke comprehensively.

“And, and I’m training with a real sword. At first, it was too heavy for me to hold, but after some training, I became strong enough to hold it up straight.”

Lila was taken aback by this. Even she wasn’t informed that Hir began wielding a real sword. It really worried her.

What if he got hurt?

She had many questions to ask him, but she knew it was not the right time. Hir had to finish talking first

I can’t believe he’s stronger now.

She remembered how skinny his forearms used to be compared to how healthy they looked now.

Also, when did he grow so tall?

It became certain that the reason why Hir was small when he was young was due to undernourishment. Now that he was eating well, he was growing by leaps and bounds.

“Hizette also said I’m getting better at handling my ring!” Hir’s voice was full of excitement. “I even manifested my ring this morning!”