Reborn in another world as a Hermaphrodite

"The rest of the story you already know... Now be a good boy and go back to your room, okay?"

Alex sat in silence, unsure of how to react to Katherine's story as his brain was still processing the information.

"Mom..."

For a second, Alex had an idea, but he hesitated when she gently touched his cheek.

"It's time for you to sleep, Alex. Don't worry about Mommy, okay? I know what I am doing——"

Before Katherine could finish, Alex suddenly pushed her hand away to the side, with his face turning cold.

"Mom. I really mean it. You shouldn't think about us so much. Think about yourself for a second."

"Myself?"

Katherine looked down at Alex's face, slightly intrigued by what he was trying to say.

"The emperor's family had never been good to us at all. I'm not saying Grandma has been bad to us.

But the current emperor is the person that you rejected. He could do anything to us after Grandpa is gone."

Hearing Alex's point, Katherine let out a chuckle.

"I know that. There's a reason why your grandma wants me to put our feuds aside.

She knows we don't have any allies... She's not some fool who just threw her daughter into a fire pit."

Alex was now the one confused, as it now looked like Katherine was jumping into a trap.

More importantly, it now starts to paint Ava as a good person who is doing it for her daughter's sake, not just for her grandkids.

"Then why didn't you turn down Grandma's offer at the table? Mom, do you really want to marry someone who's had hundreds of lovers?"

Alex argued as his mind drifted back to the rumors that had spread like wildfire at school.

"If the emperor wants me, who am I to resist?"

Alex fell into silence once again, as he didn't have any solution to the question that he had just come up with.

He finally understood his mom's despair, a trap with no way out and all sides surrounded by chains.

"Mom... I'd rather see you happy. I don't care about the prize or learn magic at all.

If leaving the capital forever means freedom, then I'm willing never come back here."

Katherine seemed a little stunned by Alex's answer, but he wasn't done yet.

"I'm sure Sophia and Mary would do the same, too... Mom, don't you remember why you ran in the first place?"

Alex paused for a second. However, seeing her sitting in silence, he continued.

"What would Dad think if he sees you about sacrificing yourself for us to be free?"

"He——"

"Mom, you remember Dad made himself free first before he tried to help others be freed of nobility, right?

You're doing the opposite. You can't help others if you don't even help yourself first."

"It's not that simple, Alex——"

"It is that simple, Mom. We'll go to Grandma and tell her we are not going to be allying with the emperor.

Then we'll go on from there. Even if we die, at least we die with honor and dignity."

Seeing Alex's stubborn attitude, Katherine couldn't help but smile as it reminded her of something.

"Okay, okay. Mommy is going to tell Grandma and refuse her offer. You happy?"

"You swear?"

Alex questioned, staring right into Katherine's eye as he kneeled on the bed to make himself taller.

Their faces were inches away from each other, yet he wasn't about to back down until she said it.

"I swear."

After a short standoff, the atmosphere became a little awkward as Alex didn't know how to end it.

"Muah! This is a kiss for you being a good mother."

Seeing Alex kiss her on the cheek like she had done to him yesterday, Katherine couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Stop laughing..." Alex murmured as he shyly looked down to his lap.

"A good mother! I had never heard a kid kissing their mother for that."

Katherine continued to laugh, as her heart had softened completely from how cute Alex looked despite her attempts to comfort her.

"Hmph!"

Alex childishly crossed his arms in anger as he now felt a little insulted by the laughter.

"Okay, okay, I won't laugh... I'll go to grandma and tell her no like you wanted."

As Katherine got up from the bed, Alex was a little surprised that she was willing to do it right now.

Alex quickly followed her out of the room until they arrived at the central hallway of the house.

With Katherine Knocking on the door, Alex quickly hid himself around the corner as the door opened.

"Mom, I want to tell you that I'm not going to sacrifice myself for some stupid alliance."

"Is that all?"

"Yep. That's all."

"Okay? You didn't really need to come up to tell me that... You already told me this at the dining table."

"Good night."

Katherine turned back around, leaving a confused Ava as she headed back to where Alex stood.

"You happy now?" Katherine asked as they began heading back to their hallway.

Alex nodded, but a question suddenly appeared in his head.

"Mom, can I ask something?"

"What?"

"If Grandma is the former emperor's sister, wouldn't that make you and the current emperor cousins?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Then wouldn't it be too close for marriage?"

Katherine froze for a second before her face started to change as if she suddenly realized something disgusting.

"I never thought of it like that... Well, that's one reason to say no even more."

As the two arrived back at Katherine's bedroom, they looked at each other with happiness.

"Thank you for helping me today," Katherine said as she gently rubbed Alex's hair with her hand.

"I should be the one saying that for all the things you had done for us. Sophia, Mary, and I could never be more thankful to you."

Alex replied as he pushed her hand away before heading towards the door.

"You guys better! Well, good night, Alex."

"Good night, Mom."

Alex left the room before closing the door, heading back to his room before lying on the bed.

"So much stuff happened the last two days..." Alex murmured as he leaned down on the bed.

He could feel his body starting to feel a little sore, especially with his legs walking so much while still on his period.

After lying for a bit, he soon fell asleep on the bed.

---

The next day...

For the first time during the winter break, Alex wasn't being woken up by someone else.

Instead, he finally woke up with the urge to go to the bathroom.

After taking care of business, he was too awake to go back to sleep, so he decided to brush his teeth and wash his face.

With everything taken care of, he changed into a fresh pair of clothes before removing his pad to put on another pair of panties.

"Crap..."

Alex quickly headed back into the bathroom, washing his old dirty panties before casting a dry spell.

Next, he hid it inside his other underwear, making it impossible to find unless someone dug through it.

After that, Alex was finally able to head out into the hallway before running into Luqing.

"Good morning, Mr.Alex."

"Good morning, Luqing. You don't have to call me Mister when we are alone. I don't like it," Alex suddenly stated.

Luqing only smiled back at Alex, not saying anything else to him.

"Never mind. Just keep calling whatever you want... Just never call me Lord Alex if that day comes."

As the two headed to the living room, Fredrick and Ava were already up and eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Alex."

"Good morning... Grandpa and Grandma."

Alex thought of rejecting to call them so closely, but he knew the two didn't want to hurt Katherine.

It wasn't their fault for giving up their daughters, as Fredrick was only merely a duke while Ava was just a woman.

Especially as Fredrick ultimately gives his mother and auntie the chance to run away in the first place if it wasn't for him stalling long enough.

Still, he was a little grumpy inside because they had kept her in the dark at the start and denounced her afterward.

Sitting down and eating the food, Ava noticed the change in Alex's face, which made her a little worried.

"Alex, is the food not good enough?"

"No, the breakfast is amazing. I love the egg and sausage. It's just salty enough to feel it.

The perfectly sweet pancake, I had never seen something so perfectly made in the morning."

Alex's face quickly shifted, putting up the usual warm smile that looks cute initially while looking dead if you stare at it long enough.

"That's good to hear," Fredrick murmured this time, ending the conversation as the three of them resumed eating.

"Lord Fredrick, your tea."

Luqing said as she gently put a cup filled with something that looked like it had a small hint of golden hue.

"Where's my coffee?" Ava impatiently asked.

"It's still brewing, Lady Ava." Luqing calmly replied, seemingly not to be affected by her attitude at all.

"Geez, Ava, why do you look so mad today?" Fredrick asked as she took a sip of the tea.

"All because of your stubborn daughter. I knew I should have never married you if I had endured all these problems."

Ava complained as she cut a small piece of pancake before putting it into her mouth.

---

(Read the auxiliary chapter. I have a question set up there for you)