Chapter 303: Chapter 303: A Promise from a Son to his Mommy (END)

Kael made his way back to the Queen’s courtyard. He wanted to rest and sleep on his wife’s bed immediately with his children. He wasn’t tired physically, but he was emotionally drained every second he thought about his wife.

On top of that, Vivi had been crying nonstop right after they left the throne room. She rarely cried except when she was hungry or wanted to rest.

However, Jojo jumped out of his father’s arms and said, "Daddy, I will plant this seed in the garden first!"

Kael looked at the golden seed in Jojo’s hand and remembered what his son said about the fireflies turning into this golden seed.

He also wanted to help his son plant the seed, but Vivi had been crying even louder, so he sighed, "I will come back to you once Vivi falls asleep, alright?"

"Ah, it’s okay, Daddy. I know you want to spend more time in Mommy’s bed! I will do this myself!"

Kael was a little reluctant at first, but Vivi’s cries finally forced him to nod. "Alright, tell me where you are planting it later, alright? I will make sure to mark it."

"Un!"

As his father entered the main chamber, Jojo made his way to the garden.

The garden in the Queen’s courtyard was well maintained even after nine months of their absence, but it still felt desolate for Jojo because he recalled his mother, who would walk around the garden with him, sit in the pavilion knitting while drinking tea, and also play on the swing with him under a tree in the middle of the garden.

Unfortunately, his mother was gone now, and so was the tree where they used to play on the swing.

Jojo walked to the spot where the tree once stood and began to dig the soil until it was deep enough.

Then, he took out the golden seed from his pocket and carefully placed it inside.

He kept staring at it for a while until his golden tears fell and wet the seed.

"Mommy, you saved me when I was all alone, took care of me when I needed a Mommy the most, and saved me when I was blind. I promised to grow big and strong like Daddy, so I can take care of you," Jojo murmured. "But why would you leave me so quickly? I’ve never been a bad boy, right?"

"But don’t worry, Mommy. I will take care of you now. I don’t need to grow big and strong—I will raise this seed and make it a huge tree!" Jojo vowed. "And then... and then you will come back to me, right, Mommy?"

Jojo had been acting strong ever since Grandma Tree handed his baby sister into his arms. But now he felt weak again in front of his Mommy.

He wiped his tears with his arm before burying the golden seed until there was only a small mound.

He sat in front of the mound for a long time before getting up and scooping some water from the pond into his small hands and pouring it onto the mound.

Jojo knew that it would take a long time for a tree to grow. But he promised to take care of this tree with his life!

However, a little stalk with a small leaf suddenly sprouted from the ground at that very moment.

Jojo’s eyes widened as he stared at it for a while before Crush Tutu, who had been watching from afar, flew down and landed right on top of Jojo’s head.

"Jojo, Grandma Tree said that the seed is special. It feeds on water and love! As long as you take care of it carefully and lovingly, it will grow faster than a regular tree!"

"Uwaaahh! Then I’ll take care of it every day! Nobody else can touch the tree except Vivi, Daddy, and me!"

Jojo got up happily and rushed to find his father, wanting to inform him about this discovery.

**

[Three months later.]

"Jojo, Daddy will have to do morning court as usual. The nannies and maids are waiting outside the garden. You can just ask them if you need anything, alright?" Kael said while ruffling Jojo’s hair.

"Un! Don’t worry about me, Daddy! I will take care of Vivi like always!"

"Ooo! Aaa!" Vivi cooed happily while being carried by her big brother.

Three months had passed since their return to the Beast Kingdom. Spring had just ended, and Jojo had just celebrated his sixth birthday yesterday with his family and a few new friends he made—most of them children of the generals and ministers in the court.

Kael smiled at his son, who had been taking care of Vivi meticulously.

Vivi was three months old now. She could already form "oo" and "aa" sounds, and she refused to be taken care of by anyone except her father or big brother.

She actually looked a lot like Sisi—her eyes, her facial features, and the brown hair that reminded Jojo so much of his mother.

At first, Kael wanted to bring Vivi everywhere. But Vivi would cry loudly when they were about to go to the throne room, as if the sight of it scared her. That reminded Kael of his wife, who actually disliked being Queen but still did it for his and Jojo’s sake.

On top of that, Vivi would throw the loudest tantrum possible if she couldn’t be with her big brother.

She liked to sleep with her father at night, but preferred to spend more time during the day with her big brother. That also reminded Kael of how his wife always wanted to sleep beside him, but during the day preferred spending time with Jojo rather than dealing with kingdom matters.

Thus, Jojo became a great caregiver for Vivi despite being only six, and it was easy for him because Vivi was very obedient and attached to her big brother.

"Alright then, I’ll return for brunch. Take care of your little sister, Jojo."

Kael finally left the garden, leaving Jojo and Vivi as they sat on a stone slab right in front of the tree.

The tree that Jojo had planted turned out to be a cherry blossom tree. But it hadn’t bloomed any pink flowers yet, so it was just a tree with lush green leaves so far.

His father said that cherry blossom trees only bloomed at the start of spring, so he had to wait a whole year for it.

"Vivi, do you know that our Mommy will come back once we raise this tree right?" Jojo said while playing with Vivi’s tiny hand.

"Oo... aa?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Mhm! We can finally see Mommy again! She promised me that, so we have to believe it!" Jojo said.

"Aa!"

"Yes! Believe that Mommy will return, and she will return! She never let me down before!"

"Uu!"

Jojo giggled while rubbing his cheek against Vivi’s hair.

However, right after he did that, he noticed a pink petal slowly falling above Vivi’s head.

He gasped when he realized what it was and lifted his head immediately.

At that moment, he saw at least twenty faeries sitting on the branches of a fully bloomed cherry blossom tree. The green tree had turned pink, and petals kept falling like rain.

"Oo! Oo!" Vivi was excited seeing the pink petal rain, and so was Jojo, who didn’t expect this at all.

Then, he realized that Vivi was pointing toward the tree trunk, so Jojo followed her line of sight.

Then, he finally saw his mother wearing the same worn-down tunic she usually wore on a daily basis.

She was sitting right under the tree, leaning against the trunk while being surrounded by a few faeries.

She stared back at Jojo and Vivi with her violet eyes and smiled at them.

"Jojo, Vivi, Mommy’s home."

"Mommy..." Jojo bit his lower lip. He carried Vivi in his arm as he slowly walked toward his mother. He had seen his mother many times in his dreams and was afraid that this might be one of those dreams again.

"Come here, sit on my lap," Sisi said while patting her lap. "I know you must be tired, boy."

Jojo was trying his best not to cry, especially since he was responsible for protecting Vivi and becoming a strong figure for his little sister.

But once he sat on his mother’s lap and felt the real, familiar warmth coming from her, he couldn’t hold it anymore and broke down crying.

"Mommy... my Mommy..."

[THE END.]

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