Chapter: 385
As soon as I saw my mother, I hugged her and apologized for my late visit. Compared to my father, who fought alongside me, and my quickly confessing girlfriends, I had only contacted my mother through the communication hub. Circumstances due to work couldn’t be helped, but still, I felt like a burning filial son.
However, when my mother gently patted my shoulder, even that guilt and filial piety flinched a bit. If there were physical insurance in this world, my shoulder would have become the little Gold Duke due to the amount it had to endure. It’s not just toughness; lately, it had experienced more than just hard work, almost suffering from work-related death.
So, while I was initially taken aback by my mother’s touch, I soon relaxed. I hadn’t mentioned my injuries to her, so my heightened sensitivity…
“It’s alright. Healing is more important than forcing yourself to come with an injured body.”
…wasn’t sensitivity after all. It was my instincts warning me.
I unconsciously swallowed hard. Though my mother spoke softly, I felt chills.
‘How does she know without me saying anything?’
It was confusing. Someone who shouldn’t know the truth is aware of it.
As I quickly brainstormed, my thoughts suddenly jumped to my father. I hadn’t asked him about the reasons behind his expulsion out of respect for his honor, but given the context, I could naturally make assumptions.
‘You got found out.’
An unfortunate event where my father lost his right arm after fighting on the front lines and his left arm became immobile. Together, we concluded to ‘keep it under wraps and reveal it at the appropriate time.’ Right after the war ended, we decided to rejoice in his safe return and disclose the truth when the time felt right.
However, Dad was promptly found out by my mother, and it seemed his banishment was due to her anger. It was quite clear.
‘I’m alive.’
With a mix of regret and relief, I felt grateful. Thankfully, I had confessed to my girlfriends, so it wasn’t in my mother’s hearing that she discovered my injuries but rather that it was a situation already known by my mouth. I wasn’t at risk of being grilled like my father for hiding it.
The only problem was that my mother found out the truth through routes other than me. But there was still a justification; I intended to talk to her face-to-face like I did with my girlfriends. Since I had already told my girlfriends the truth when I saw them, it seemed persuasive.
“Thank you for understanding. I’m fine now, thanks to your care, Mother.”
That’s why I responded in the most natural voice I could. I wanted to convey that I was not trying to hide this matter, as if to say I had nothing to feel guilty about.
“What have I done…”
Whether it was effective or not, my mother murmured with a voice slightly mixed with moisture.
Seeing her like that unsettled my heart. Even now, I felt this way; it must have been agonizing for her when she first found out about my injury. Still, she waited until now without contacting me.
“I think I recovered faster than usual because I wanted to see you, Mother. It’s all thanks to you.”
In truth, I had been fully healed from the moment I received treatment from the mage, but still, it was thanks to my mother. I decided to think of it that way from today onwards.
Ignoring the steward’s warm gaze, I made that commitment to myself.
“Lady, I can see you’re glad to see Carl again after a long time, but now that other kids are here, wouldn’t it be time to go inside?”
Amidst this, I heard my father’s voice behind me. My mother fell silent for a brief, very brief moment after his words.
But was it just my feeling? Despite the happenings that were clearly unfolding behind me, I imagined my father sweating coldly and my mother glaring silently. I seemed to have developed a sixth sense for noticing when my father was sweating behind me or something—maybe I had awakened an understanding.
“Right. With precious guests here, I was thoughtless.”
Breaking the seemingly eternal silence, my mother cautiously pulled away from my embrace.
“Billy, the host should be the one welcoming the guests, not staying next to them.”
“I acted thoughtlessly. I apologize.”
Then, even though she reprimanded my father, the declaration that his ban was lifted was essentially like a royal decree, so my father stepped lightly beside my mother.
‘Father…’
I could feel tears starting to well up. Outside the home, he was the imperial count trusted by the emperor, a strong warrior, but inside the house, he was a lovelorn man endlessly weak to his wife. That’s quite the extreme contrast, isn’t it?
Besides, although my father only had one wife, I have six of them—what’s going to happen to me…?
‘Should I buy a secret villa or something?’
It wasn’t like the residences of my wives were even close, so I had no proper places to escape to.
The castle’s atmosphere was light and vibrant this time, unlike when I visited right before the war.
That makes sense. Back then, I had to send off the patriarch and the heir, along with the territory’s soldiers going to war, whereas now, we were celebrating their victory upon return. Apparently, the number of soldier casualties had been low too, so we could celebrate without hesitation.
“Congratulations on becoming a noble! From now on, we should refer to you as Your Grace instead of the sub-lord!”
“Just call me the sub-lord. Nothing’s changed in my being a member of the Krasius house.”
The late congratulations from the chamberlain brought an unexpected chuckle from me.
It’s a different issue for an already titled noble to gain another title versus a mere heir achieving one. For the latter, it’s almost equivalent to the family’s glory, while mine had been buried under war so much that I hadn’t even received congratulations for it; it was only a few months later that I finally received acknowledgment.
Perhaps that’s why it felt strange to refer to my title. When writing my full name, I would write it as Carl Krasius, not Carl Krasius of Weiridia.
“I’m relieved. I was worried you might abandon the family for a side branch now that you’ve received your title.”
“The heir becoming a side branch? Nonsense.”
“Haha, fair point. I must have been foolish to think that.”
He let out a sigh of relief, as if he was genuinely concerned.
What’s this? While I have no intention of becoming a side branch, it’s not like it really matters if the heir changes—after all, the chamberlain serves my father, the head of the Krasius count family, not me.
Noticing the puzzled look on my face, the chamberlain spoke with a wry smile.
“Although the sub-lord spends most of his time in the capital, the territory tasks you handle are no small matter. If you leave, I’ll have to fill in your absence.”
His words were as terrifying as they were convincing, and I nodded in agreement.
Of course, Erich could fill the position in my absence, but until he received proper heir training and could prove himself, the steward would be stuck doing the emotional one-man show. That’s quite the dreadful situation.
“…I’ll accept the title of Count of Tailglehen, so don’t worry.”
“I appreciate that; it’s reassuring to know.”
“If the day comes when I separate from you, the steward of Weiridia will…”
Suddenly, the steward’s expression turned serious.
My bad. I got carried away joking, but even I think that was over the line.
*
While Carl stepped back to converse with the steward of Tailglehen, we proceeded along the hallway with my father and mother.
“I was worried that this war could last two years like the last one, but I held myself back from voicing those thoughts, fearing it might worry the ones departing.”
“I understand, Mother. I felt the same.”
I nodded in agreement with my mother’s heartfelt words that she expressed much later.
I could relate. I had worried about that too when Carl was headed north. What if this war stretched on for years again? What if I wouldn’t see Carl after graduation?
“Right, since you were born in a military household, you understand my feelings.”
The warm gaze of my mother shifted subtly to look at my father.
At that moment, the warmth in her gaze carried a faint chill.
“Warriors don’t understand the feelings of those left behind. While I can’t blame the ones who fight a mortal battle, it can feel a bit heartless.”
Those words hit harder than any straightforward insult, causing my father to subtly lower his gaze.
It was awkward. As a daughter-in-law, I should intervene in this family dispute, but I understand my mother’s feelings too well to know what to say. The stiff and rough nature of warriors is also the same with Valenti.
“I-I’m sorry, Mother.”
The one that broke the awkward cold war was Penelia. As Carl’s lover and a fellow soldier, her words seemed to make my mother snap out of it.
“It’s not true. I know you did your best to protect him; it’s not your fault.”
“No, it’s my fault for not keeping him safe, resulting in…”
As bitter self-reproach continued, my mother gently embraced her. Though that wasn’t the atmosphere to engage in this, it felt somewhat envious to see her comforting someone like a mother.
“Let’s not say such things. No one has the right to blame someone who has given their all, not even themselves.”
After saying that, my mother let out a small sigh.
“While my husband and son may keep silent, at least I should be thankful that my daughter-in-law is diligent…”
At her words, I couldn’t help but smile wryly along with everyone else. There’s really no statement more relatable than that about people with tight lips.
But right now, I needed to defend Carl and my father. They hadn’t directly communicated because they intended to be thoughtful about the situation. They would rather speak face-to-face than relay it through the communication hub.
“Carl said he kept it secret because he wanted to tell you directly. He intended to mention it first, so please understand, Mother.”
“First?”
My mother tilted her head in confusion and directed her gaze back at my father.
“Billy, what does that mean? This doesn’t align with what I heard.”
?
“I heard you were worried about mentioning past events since it could cause concern for those venturing forth, stating you’d reveal the truth at a more natural time.”
???
My mind went blank for a moment. What is this saying?
Carl had clearly stated that he intended to speak the truth when we met, and he did indeed reveal everything as it was.
“…Ah, did you also have something else to hide from me?”
As my mother pressed my father, Beatrix whispered under her breath.
“He probably intended to keep it from us initially, but knowing he’d get caught, he changed his mind quickly.”
“Ah…”
Unintentionally, I found my gaze shifting to Carl, who was following behind the steward.
Even though he had stated the truth, knowing he had briefly considered hiding such an important fact made feelings of annoyance well up.
*
Wow.
‘What a mess.’
That was the instinctual thought that hit me. My mother interrogating the patriarch, while my brother was surrounded by fiancées, undergoing a non-official inquiry.
It was unbelievable how such a situation could unfold in the same space.
“Are the Krasius men cursed or something?”
I muttered without thinking, catching the attention of a certain someone.
It was Sara.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing, it just seems like a curse if it exists.”
“Is that so?”
It seems even an outsider thought the same.
How unfortunate.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.