When a Well-Raised Son Grows Up - Chapter 78

Chapter 78

“Well, I’m not sure if I can go to the winter festival… My whole body aches because of someone,”

Abella said with a playful groan, lightly tapping her shoulder. It wasn’t entirely untrue—she was sore all over from the previous night’s activities.

She pulled back the curtain slightly and glanced outside, where the village was indeed covered in a blanket of white snow.

It seemed likely that the winter festival would begin soon.

Traditionally, the winter festival started just a few days after a heavy snowfall.

As she stared blankly out the window, Abella sensed Carlisle’s dejected presence. When she glanced back, she saw him with his head down, quietly moving his lips as if trying to say something.

The sight of him was so endearing that Abella couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, even though she had intended to tease him. When she laughed, Carlisle cautiously lifted his head.

“But… you said before… that you would go to the festival with me…”

He fidgeted with his hands and kept looking at Abella for reassurance. Abella patted his head gently and gave him a soft smile.

“Are you still going to call me ‘Mother’ at the festival?”

“W-What?”

“Don’t you think it might seem strange? Someone my age has a son as big as you. Plus, everyone in the village knows I’ve never been married.”

Carlisle blinked for a moment, then quickly understood what Abella was saying, his ears perking up in excitement. His fluffy tail wagged eagerly behind him, sending fur flying.

“So, that means we’re going to the festival together, right? That’s what you mean, right?”

Instead of replying, Abella gave a small nod. Carlisle’s face immediately lit up with joy, and Abella couldn’t help but giggle at his innocent expression.

Their eyes met in the air, and Carlisle, beaming with joy, began to smile along with Abella.

“Thank you, A… Bella.”

He carefully tried to use her name, still not quite comfortable with it, and watched her reaction. When Abella patted his head in agreement, he relaxed and repeated her name softly as he snuggled against her. Then, remembering the breakfast he had prepared, he quickly scooped her into his arms and stood up.

“Ca-Carlisle!”

Abella flailed in surprise as he lifted her, but Carlisle didn’t budge. With his long strides, he quickly carried her over and gently set her down in a chair at the table.

“First… let’s have breakfast, Abella.”

As Carlisle shyly handed her the spoon, his endearing manner brought a soft smile to Abella’s lips.

* * *

As expected, the winter festival began just a few days later. Although it was a modest event in the small village, Carlisle couldn’t hide his excitement.

From the early morning, the faint sound of music in the distance had Carlisle’s tail wagging eagerly, causing black fur to scatter throughout the house.

“We’re going today, right? Yes? We are, aren’t we, uh… Abella?”

Unable to contain his excitement, Carlisle almost called Abella “Mother” again, quickly correcting himself. Seeing this, Abella smiled and handed him a thick, hand-knit wool sweater, as if to say, ‘Get dressed first.’

“Put your clothes on first.”

In the blink of an eye, Carlisle had put on the clothes and even wrapped a scarf around his neck. He looked at Abella with wide, innocent eyes, like an excited child. He reminded her of how all the dogs in the village would run outside to play on snowy days, and Carlisle was no different.

He seemed barely able to contain his excitement as if he was ready to burst out the front door at any moment.

“You know the drill, right? Be careful with your ears and tail outside.”

“Yes! I’ll be careful, I promise they won’t pop out!”

Carlisle exclaimed confidently. Abella smiled warmly and simply tightened his coat even more securely.

* * *

The festival was quite lively. With visitors from nearby villages, the crowd was large. It was Carlisle’s first time being surrounded by so many people, and he was visibly overwhelmed.

“W-Wow… there are so many people…”

“Yes, it’s really crowded, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… it’s amazing,” he replied, clearly in awe.

Carlisle wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air, clearly fascinated by the various scents wafting around.

“Abella, what’s that meat on the stick over there?”

“Oh, that’s street food. Do you want to try it?”

“Really? Can I?” he asked eagerly.

Since it was practically his first real outing, Carlisle was completely absorbed in the festival.

The enticing street food, the unusually large crowds, and the lively music all captured his attention.

With skewers in both hands, bought by Abella, he eagerly munched on the meat while taking in the sights and sounds of the festival.

“It’s amazing, though. Incredibly, so many different things can be made just from snow…”

Carlisle marveled at the many snow sculptures set up around the festival.

“Didn’t your kind do things like this for fun?”

“No, we usually lived in our wolf form, and it’s hard to shape snow like this when you’re a wolf,” he explained.

Carlisle laughed softly as he replied. Abella smiled slightly as if she finally understood.

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Instead of answering, Carlisle took a big bite of the meat skewer she had bought for him. Even though a cold winter wind was blowing, it didn’t feel as chilly, perhaps because they were so close together.

“Have we been out too long?”

Even so, Abella couldn’t help but worry that Carlisle might catch a cold. She noticed his nose had turned slightly red and gave him a concerned look.

“Shall we head back now? The sun is setting. We can come back to explore more tomorrow. How does that sound?”

“Oh, already?”

“Yes, the sun has already set…”

“Is it because you’re cold, Abella?” he asked, concerned.

“No, I’m fine. I’m just worried you might catch a cold,” Abella said, gently touching his cold cheek.

“How about we finish this and head back? We can come out again tomorrow. What do you think?”

“But…”

“Hmm?”

“But in the evening, they light up the snow sculptures,” Carlisle explained.

Carlisle mumbled quietly, watching Abella’s reaction carefully.

“I… I wanted to see that…”

His big hands wriggled awkwardly. Seeing his slumped shoulders, Abella couldn’t help but smile even more.

“Aww, did you want to see it that badly?”

Carlisle eagerly nodded his large head. Abella gently stroked his dark hair, smiling softly as if she couldn’t help it.

“Hmm, but staying out here like this might not be the best idea…”

“Why?”

“It’s cold, and you might catch a cold.”

Carlisle’s pink eyes darted around, scanning the area. Then he spotted a small food stall in the distance and his eyes lit up.

“Carlisle! How about you go get us two cups of cocoa from over there?”

“Cocoa?”

“Yes, since it’s cold, we can warm up with something hot while we wait. How does that sound?”

Carlisle’s face brightened at the suggestion. He quickly nodded and jumped to his feet.

“I’ll be right back! Don’t go anywhere, stay right here!”

As Carlisle left to get the cocoa, he kept looking over his shoulder. Abella waved at him and he smiled, his eyes twinkling with happiness. Even though the distance between them had grown, it was clear that Carlisle kept looking back to check on her. This made it impossible for the smile to leave Abella’s face.

“Fool, watch where you’re going.”

What if he trips and falls?

Abella waved her hands, trying to signal him to pay attention to the front. Luckily, it seemed to work, as Carlisle nodded and turned his focus back to buying the cocoa.

Left alone, Abella took in the festival scene with a somewhat unusual expression.

‘I was always alone…’

It was the first time she had ever enjoyed a festival with someone else. In truth, Abella had never really liked festivals much.

Whenever she saw families gathered together in the streets, it made her feel an inexplicable emptiness, so she usually avoided going out on festival days. It wasn’t just that—the cheerful songs that everyone seemed to enjoy had always felt like an unpleasant noise to her.

But now, without even realizing it, Abella was quietly humming along to the music.

In the distance, she spotted Carlisle hurrying towards her with two cups of cocoa in his hands.

Maybe it was because he was so tall, but even in the crowd, Carlisle stood out easily.

But then, at that moment…

“Hey there, miss,” a voice called out.

The unfamiliar voices of some men came from behind Abella. Startled, she quickly turned around to see three men she didn’t recognize standing there, having somehow approached her unnoticed and now surrounding her.