Gwendolyn's POV
Ever since I was a little girl… people have always had sayings, things I might have agreed with or not, but one in particular was that "A mother will always know what is best for her children."
In my mother's case, seeing my innate talent, she decided to give me the freedom to exploit it and aspire to greatness or have a quiet life as a peasant.
I will always be grateful to her for that, because she not only took a great weight off my shoulders, he also helped me take my time to enjoy my life…. Although if my mother had found out half of what she did when she wasn't studying magic, she would think a demon had possessed her daughter before she called a priest and tried to exorcise him, if she didn't call the inquisitors outright.
I always thought that she would regret it in such a case not for my decisions, but for allowing them in the first place.
And right now, I begin to understand how it would have felt….
"Whuaaahhhhhhh." The baby that had mysteriously appeared began to cry shortly after I ran away from Maria's house.
[Sorry, sorry, sorry, I don't know what to do!]
"Go to sleep, child, go to sleep now, because if you don't, you'll drive mom crazy." I tried to sing him a lullaby to calm him down, but the little one wasn't sleepy and I didn't know what to feed him if he was hungry.
"Babies drink milk, but where am I going to get milk now?"
[It's not like I can start lactating out of nowhere, what do I do?!]
I started walking around my living room trying to think of a solution while the little one kept crying in my arms.
I could go with Maria, but I'd be very suspicious if I asked her to nurse him and then expect her to do the same for gods who knows how long.
[Giving him cow's milk might help for now, but then what would he do? Now that I went with Maria to ask her for that favor, everyone in the town is going to find out about him, and if I buy cow's milk, people are going to realize that maybe the child isn't mine! .
"Should I run away? Life here is peaceful and I could easily find a new place-"
"B-Buahh… sob… sob"
"B-Baby?! What's the matter?!". The little one then began to stop crying like a normal baby and began to sob melancholy.
"D-Don't do that or you're going to make me sad too…." I sat on the sofa in the living room about to give up.
[Beating a dragon would be easier, I-I shouldn't have taken the baby in the first place!]
"I-If she was here she would know what to do….". I thought of my sister, always stoic, always confident.
[Although all she did was read all day... Wait!]
"Books!" .I quickly left the house to go through the small store where I put all the books that we had accumulated over the years.
[She has to have something on the subject, after all she was really into it!]
"Basic magical theory, the fundamentals of Mana, an elven herbalist, Tramigram Continent's Compilation of Tales and Novels… H-Here it is!"
I take the book with a triumphant smile.
["On mothers and infants"! I hope you have something useful!]
The baby noticed my excited face, and seemed to get a little motivated by it, because he immediately started crying.
"BUAAAAHHHHHHH". I was surprised because it seemed that he was doing it with all the force of his lungs.
Use the piles of books in the cellar as a seat and a desk. As soon as I settled in, I looked in the index for what concerned me.
"About possible substitutes... that's it!" I skipped to that page and finally found something useful.
The little boy kept crying, but now with less intensity. I ignored it as much as possible when I read what I was looking for.
"Goat milk does serve as a food substitute in the absence of a mother or wet nurse. Is it a measure that can only buy the little one a couple of weeks before he falls ill with some evil from the Dark God, Black-What?!" I stopped reading that line.
[N-It can't be… is it that serious?]
I shook my head to avoid thinking about tragedy scenarios, to think about solving the problem.
I won't let it end here, not now that I finally found something… Someone….
"That is why together with the best priests and archmagos available, we develop a magic that can well induce any woman to lactate if it is absolutely essential, in order to ensure adequate nutrition both nutritionally and spiritually for the infant." At that moment I knew that not even because it was a book about motherhood was it going to lack some spell.
[Yeah! YEAH! I knew it! Bless the magic!]
As soon as I read that, I quickly turned the page to show the instructions for the spell: the chant and the symbol standardized by the magic guild, totally ignoring the warning that came after the last paragraph I read.
Seeing on one page a chant written in the most elegant way possible, and on the other a circle with a beautiful intricate design that had a slightly eloquent design of female breasts, I began to recite.
"[Great mother goddess creator of life Geeern, do not abandon your children or forsake them]"
I felt how the mana from my body began to give me a slight tingle in my chest.
And the little boy began to cry for a moment, because he was surely amazed at what was happening before him and he was still too young to have the words to understand it.
[Fufu, yes baby, this is magic!]
The standard magic seal also began to glow with a pink hue.
"[Make your eternal grace fall on this source of life, make it a source of the closest thing to divine ragweed]"
My chest for some reason started to ache a bit, although it wasn't unusual for magic done by or with the help of the church.
[Holy as it is, it is full of masochistic fanatics]
"[Make it so! Fill her with it]"
Under my dress, then I felt a strange warmth on my breasts.
And for some reason… very hungry.
I then said the last line, the name of the spell.
"[Eternal lactation]"
[Wait what-?!]
And with the chant finished, and the mana processed by the standardized seal, I finally completed the spell.
"Fuuu~…is it ready…huh?" From one moment to the next I started to feel wet on my chest, and I could see two spots on my nipple section.
[I hope the name is just an exaggeration]
"Maaahh?" The baby made an intrigued sound as I watched him move his hand to my chest.
I could only smile at his tender action, because even if he was a baby, ultimately, he was a little boy who knew what he wanted.
[Hehe… foxy baby]
I lowered my dress and unhooked my bra, which was difficult without one of my hands available.
"Wow… I'm really… lactating…". Feeling milk coming out of my breasts was one thing, but seeing it in person was….
"Baaahhh~" The baby became restless when he saw my breasts dripping with milk, interrupting my thoughts.
"H-Here we go…". I brought the baby close to my chest, and he immediately began to drink.
"Ohh~… y-you were really hungry- Mmm~…". The stimulus was so familiar, yet different.
[Sorry baby, but this brings back memories….]
I could see the little one sucking as if his life depended on it, and at first, he was very anxious, but he quickly became gentler and sucked in a…peculiar way.
"Ahh~… keep it up~…" It's not like he understood my words, but I couldn't help but say it.
[I'll have to control myself better when he gets older, but for now… it won't hurt to let me be myself~]
I stuck it closer to my chest enjoying the feeling of his sucking so animated. Ignoring the sensation, I decided to look at suckling my own milk, and a very strange feeling suddenly came over me.
[He looks so cute…]
I couldn't help but smile watching him feed. With my free hand I began to caress her cheek as delicately and gently as humanly possible, memorizing every little detail of her beautiful little face.
[Is this how it feels to be a mother? Because I can get used to it]
Minutes passed, which felt like hours because of the beauty of the moment. So the baby stopped nursing me and separated from my breast, surely very satisfied.
"Wowahhhhh….". The baby yawned satisfied, and equally tired by his relaxed face.
"Hehe... Did you like mommy's milk?" I touched his nose with my finger with a huge smile.
"Muaahhhh." He followed my finger with his gaze, and took it in his own hands.
[I-It's so…beautiful….]
I couldn't resist it and tears came out of my eyes.
[So precious….]
"Maaahhh?" The baby made a noise that I interpreted as curiosity when he saw me cry.
"It´s okey... they're of hapiness, you don't have to worry." Speaking as motherly as I remembered mom, I reassured him.
And even if he didn't get it, I made sure to convey the sentiment.
[… He needs a name…]
I went from the warehouse to my room, to be able to lie down with him in a more appropriate place for a mother and her little one.
I turned it over in my head several times, until I found one that would fit.
"My precious Max…". I put him back on my chest in a hug with all the love I felt for him, all my warmth.
"Maaahh."
[I will protect you… this time…. I will not neglect you…. Not even a second]
Without realizing it, I fell asleep even though it was just after noon.
But it didn't bother me, in fact it made me happy.
Finally... finally I fell asleep again fo no apparent reason in the company of a loved one.
[Max… my little star….]
And for the first time in months, I dreamed again, and I dreamed well…very well.