My Fiancée Hates Me novel Chapter 125

[Gale's perspective]

My mother is the most beautiful person in the kingdom. I am not just talking about her appearance. She is beautiful from the inside out.

My father is a stern looking man who hardly smiles or shows emotions compared to Mother who is almost always seen smiling by his side. The two seemed to contrast each other like polar opposites. It is a wonder how I was born.

"Gale, you have something on your cheek," Mother said as she wiped my cheek with a handkerchief.

After wiping my cheek, she gave me a kiss where she just wiped me.

"Thank you, Mother," I said.

"You should not reward him every time he does something wrong," Father said.

"I was not rewarding him. I saw a perfectly squishy cheek and wanted to kiss it," Mother said.

"He will not become a man if you keep smothering him, Arielle," Father said sharply.

"I am not smothering him...I am just raising him with care and affection," Mother said with a disheartened expression.

Father made Mother sad, but he is right about my education...I will one day become Mother's successor, so I must be perfect one day.

"Father is right...Mother must be stricter with me if I am ever to become a man. I have to become strong enough to protect Mother one day," I said seriously.

"I look forward to the day that you can surpass me," Mother said with a smile.

"Duchess, it is time to leave," Stella said.

"...I see. It is already time for me to leave. Good day, Gale," Mother said as she kissed me on my cheeks. She soon turned to Father and seemed as if she were going to kiss him as well but gave up soon afterwards. "I will be back soon, Husband."

"...You should not make the other party wait too long," Father said stiffly.

"I won't," Mother said as she made her exit.

A few minutes later, my best friend Carl came by. Carl was my friend of the same age and also my Mother's best friend Countess Charlotte Castile's first child. He had light purple hair like his mother and light blue eyes from his father.

I found his outgoing personality likable since he was my opposite and would drag me with him in his quests for what he finds interesting. I never once got in trouble until I met this person. He provides me with things to disrupt mundaneness.

"The Duchess and your father are not very open with their affection," Carl said.

"...You think so too?" I asked.

"Have you not heard? The Duchess and your father are most well known for their modesty. Even I myself have yet to see them act close with one another. My parents give each other a kiss every time they part from each other. I suspect that your parents are not really in love with each other," Carl surmised.

"H-How is that possible? I was born from their union!" I said in a fluster.

"Maybe the Duchess has gotten tired of your father! My mother said that women tend to get bored of men who do not act like they love them and expect love in return," Carl said.

"My father has showered Mother in lots of affection!" I argued.

"Is that so? What has he done?" Carl asked excitedly.

I was at a loss for words when I tried remembering back to when he was particularly affectionate with Mother.

"...I thought so," Carl said as he held me by my shoulders. "You are now in a peril."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"The only things keeping your parents together now are their marriage document and you. What do you think will happen to you once your parents decide to divorce?" Carl asked.

"...You are right! What should I do?" I asked.

"My mother said that the most important thing to a relationship is giving them enough time alone for feelings to grow," Carl said.

"That makes sense...but Mother does not usually have days off from her work. Even when she does, she spends all her time with me," I said.

"I thought the Duchess had a day off today," Carl said.

"She is going to see her friend today," I said.

"...Hm? Her friend does not seem too worrisome, but what happens if she is left alone?" Carl asked.

"Mother usually goes out and comes home by herself..." I said.

"That is when other men can swoop down!" Carl said.

"Will that really happen?" I asked.

"Of course! Your mother is very beautiful. It is only a matter of time before someone tries to court her," Carl said.

"What should I do?" I asked.

"Let's go find her now! We can protect your Mother from men bugging her," Carl said.

"We cannot leave that easily. We have to find a way elude the Guards surrounding the manor," I said.

Carl and I soon shared a moment of silence as we thought about what we could do.

"...I have a plan," I said.

"What is it?" Carl asked.

"We play Hide-and-Seek," I said.

"What good is it if we have adults crawling all around looking for us?" Carl asked.

"We will have adults looking for us anyways if we suddenly disappear without a word. They would find out that we left the confounds much earlier. If we give them a reason to think that we are hiding somewhere in the manor, the search would begin there and give us plenty of time to sneak out and make them think that we are still hiding here," I explained.

"That's genius!" Carl said as he smacked my shoulder.

I called over Stella and a few adults to begin our game.

Everything went better than I expected. Carl and I found our way out within just minutes.

"I heard that Mother was going to the Florist today," I said.

"I thought the Duchess has plenty of flowers at home?" Carl asked.

"Mother likes to support the local businesses by occasionally purchasing products from them," I explained.

Carl suddenly pulled me by my arm behind the corner of a building.

"I found the Duchess!" Carl whispered loudly as he pointed towards my mother at the Florist shop.

A man dressed in a brown hat and a long coat went up to Mother with a bouquet of yellow daffodils in his hands.

"A man really did approach Mother!" I said as I tried to stop the man from approaching my mother.

"Wait," Carl said as he held me back.

"Why should I wait? My dear mother is being approached by a homewrecker!" I shouted.

"We don't know that yet," Carl said. "He does not seem like he is giving her the bouquet but rather holding it for her."

"I see...Maybe it is for someone else," I said.

I suddenly saw Mother leaning down a bit to smell the flowers the mystery man was holding and smiled at him.

"Okay...maybe he is a homewrecker," Carl said.

"That's it...I am going in and saving my mother from that hideous man," I said.

"Why did you automatically assume that man is hideous?" Carl asked.

"For my mother to take pity on..."

"What would you do if he is handsome?" Carl asked.

"I doubt that he could be more handsome than my father," I said.

"Is it not your father's fault that we are in this place to begin with?" Carl asked.