The boy who stood next to his dying mother was now shedding tears of joy at her full recovery. He was overjoyed at the sight of his healthy mother. 

“Oh, great fairy! Thank you! I thank you with all my heart for saving my dear mother!”

“My child. Do not fret. My duty as the fairy of youth is to help children in need.”

“Oh, great fairy! My name is Lennox and my mother’s name is Sienna. May I know what we could call you?”

“My name is Lydia Everberry, my child. You may call me the fairy of youth.”

“I understand—the fairy of youth. I shall do anything for you to save my dear mother. Please tell me anything you want me to do, Miss Fairy. I shall do anything for you.”

“Do not worry about it, my child. When the time comes, I shall seek you. I want you to live happily with your dear mother from now on.”

The fairy bid the young boy; Lennox farewell and left the village. The boy dreamed of living a happy life, just as the fairy wished. But unfortunately for him and his mother, those words never came true. 

When Lennox’s mother left the house the next day, the villagers questioned her on how she suddenly got healthy and how she was younger than she used to be. The boy explained to the villagers as best as he could that the fairy of youth had saved his mother's life. 

But the villagers didn’t believe him. They called Sienna a witch; they were afraid of her sudden change. The villagers were afraid of change, and they were afraid of anything which they did not understand. 

Normally, they would just call such events a miracle by God, but since Sienna had also gotten younger, they feared that it was the work of evil magic. They thought of her as a witch.

And that was how their hardships started. Sienna was dragged to the village square and tied up on the poll. They burned the poor girl at the stake. Her screams resounded throughout the whole village.

“N-no! Please! A-Aaaaah! Gyaaaah!”

They made Lennox; her son watch her burn to death. The boy begged them to stop, but they did not listen. They held the boy back while he helplessly watched his mother burning right in front of his eyes.

“I beg of you…please…let me take her place…please!”

The boy tried to convince them in any way he could. But the people didn’t care, they ignored his pleas and cheered on while his mother was being burned.

Sienna burned at the stake for hours. She had already lost consciousness, and the villagers thought that she was already dead. They dowsed down the flames and left the body hanging on the stake.

Sienna’s skin was burnt, and not a trace of her angelic face was visible. Lennox lowered the poll and untied his mother from the stake. It was obvious that she was dead, but the boy still hoped for her to be alive. But deep down even he knew that she couldn't survive such a fire…

But to the boy’s surprise, his mother was still breathing. It was faint, but the boy could still feel Sienna’s pulse and hear her heartbeat. He carried his mother back home and covered her whole body with bandages, and he did everything he knew to keep his mother alive. 

He knew that if the villagers found out that his mother was still alive, they would try to kill her once more. The sun was already setting, it was almost night. He knew that ferocious beasts were constantly surrounding these forests, but he didn’t have the time to worry about that. He knew that his mother wouldn’t be safe in this village.

He tied her to his back and picked up some things to survive in the woods and an axe to protect his mother from wild beasts. He ran as fast as he could, and some of the villagers noticed the boy running away. They picked up their hoes, axes and any farming tools they could find and ran behind the boy. 

“The witches’ child is running away!!!”

“Catch him! Don’t let him escape!”

“He’s the descendant of the witch. We should’ve killed him with his mother!”

But the boy didn’t stop. He ran into the woods desperately, breathing heavily. He knew that what lay ahead of him was a living hell, but if he turned back now, the chances of his mother surviving were zero. There was no way those rotten villagers would let her live. 

The boy was filled with anger, he clenched his axe and gritted his teeth at the sight of the villagers who chased him down. He despised them for betraying his dear mother, even though his parents had done so much for them. 

Even though my father had given his own life for the village. How could they be so ungrateful?!... Is what he thought to himself.

But there was no one to hear his pleas. And if his mother were to see the state he was in, she would feel horrible. But she couldn’t see her son. Her eyes melted from the flames, her skin was burnt to a crisp and her nails and teeth were black. 

The beauty she shunned a while ago had disappeared in mere hours. The boy could hardly look at his mother. He tended to her needs and moved from place to place with his mother on his back. He travelled from town to town while killing any monster he came across. And he sold their corpses in towns and villages to get some money to feed himself and his mother. 

He was desperate…

Desperate to save his mother…

And that was when a power hidden within him had awakened: the power to heal his mother’s wounds at the cost of harming his own body. He travelled all over the country, searching for ways to heal her wounds. But found no hope, his desperation resulted in awakening this hidden power within him.

He finally found some hope. He used this power to slowly heal his mother’s wounds while travelling to find a place for the two of them to live in peace. He slowly healed her, and he also injured himself in the process. Before the fairy left, she also offered him her blessings. He could heal any injury he had; it was a regenerative power. 

Every time he healed his mother’s injuries, he could feel the burning sensation within him. It was painful as hell, but he didn’t care…he continued healing his mother on his search for his new home. 

After venturing from place to place, he finally reached the place he could call home…

The Blooming Ice Mountains. The boy built his own house in this barren land, cultivated his land and lived happily with his mother. It took years for him to heal his mother completely, the boy used his power to heal his mother every day. And as time passed, he made friends and comrades, he made a family and a home…he built an Ice Castle in the snowy mountains. And Lennox gave himself the name of Winterberry, honouring the fairy, Lydia Everberry who saved his and his mother's lives.

That was how… the Dukedom of Winterberry was formed.

Aoi Here, 

Sorry for not posting anything for the past few days. Hope you like the chapter!