Embracing, Dwelling, and Being Born (13)
I had a strong feeling that if I stayed here even one more day, I’d end up pulverized like a pork tenderloin pounded by a tonkatsu mallet. So I immediately started preparing to leave with my wives plus Tirsi.
⟨You should at least stay for dinner.⟩
The old man spoke with clear regret, but when I told him I’d look forward to the next opportunity, he graciously let it go. Looks like even this old-timer is starting to sound like a grandfather trying to feed his grandson. Did I successfully raise his favorability? I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
Next, I went to see Primor. If I didn’t show my face, she’d come looking for me herself, but I couldn’t make a pregnant woman move around. The old man would probably shoot sparks from his eyes if I did.
“Oh my, you’ve come.”
“Ah, h-hello……”
Larilura answered the greeting from Primor, who was sitting in a rocking chair knitting. Even though it was her own native language, our junior sounded so timid it came across as awkward. I knew exactly how she felt.
⟨So you’re the young lady who played ‘that person’ back then?⟩
Primor smiled kindly as she spoke. Back when I was pretending to be Yesugei, Larilura had pretended to be Tirsi’s family member and stormed the mafia’s headquarters with us. This time, we had come to say our goodbyes and talk about what had happened.
“I’m truly sorry for deceiving you back then, Lady Primor……”
“It’s alright. I already received an apology from Sir Norde on your behalf as well.”
Primor set down her ball of yarn as she spoke. Leaning back in the wooden rocking chair woven like a basket while she knitted, she looked—perhaps because of her clothes—like a truly warm and affectionate noblewoman. Was it just my imagination, or was her belly starting to show a little? It was a relief to hear that both she and the fetus were healthy with no complications.
“I was a little curious, you see. Finding Lady Tirsi might have been a convenient excuse, but I wondered if there really were any other survivors of the Arma Shunas lineage left~”
Since there were no servants around, she asked the question comfortably. Larilura and I could only smile awkwardly. It was a difficult question to answer, and I didn’t want to pry into Tirsi’s past behind her back.
“Lady Tirsi refused my father-in-law’s offer of support.”
Apparently Primor had intended to bring this up from the start. Even though our reactions were vague, she continued without hesitation. She lowered her eyes slightly.
“I wonder why. Could it be that our family also appears to her as being in league with her enemies?”
“Hmm. I don’t think that’s the case.”
It was a rather honest worry, but one that made perfect sense. After all, she had lost her husband and was now carrying only his child. Since it was a perfectly understandable concern, I explained in order to reassure her.
“The reason she refused was probably because she thought it would do more harm than good to both sides. She told me she has no desire for revenge. Please speak with her openly next time.”
If nobles who shared Primor’s worries started appearing, rumors would spread within the Armaals family: ‘What the hell are those guys trying to do with the Arma Shunas survivor???’ For Tirsi, it wasn’t exactly a tempting offer. She’d probably feel sorry too, like she was bringing disaster upon them.
“If you’d like, I can stay by your side as well. I’m not sure if I’ll be of any help, though.”
“……Thank you. I keep owing you favors, Sir Norde.”
I shrugged. From now on, I was the one who would be taking advantage of this family’s name, so what was she talking about?
“By the way, did the family head also make a support offer to Tirsi?”
That part actually surprised me quite a bit. ‘Did he make the proposal on the way here, inside the carriage?’ I recalled the events of a few days ago and spun my elite brain into overdrive.
The reason I’d been able to enjoy Veronica’s lap pillow in the carriage was because Tirsi had ridden in a different one from us. Had something been discussed between her and the old man at that time? But there were parts that didn’t make sense. At a glance, the people the old man was backing were all quite famous. Even setting me aside, just looking at the knight commander’s armor, it was clearly made by a first-rate blacksmith. It was hard to say out loud, but it was difficult to imagine that Tirsi, who had lost the mana of ‘Arma Shunas,’ would meet that standard.
Did he want to build a deeper connection with me? No, if that were the case, he would have offered it to my wives. Dana alone was a doctor and research institute director who wouldn’t look strange at all receiving sponsorship.
“……This is something I heard back when I was still engaged.”
Perhaps Primor trusted me that much, because she lowered her voice and shared a secret. Maybe because the story was intriguing from the very beginning, I could sense Larilura growing slightly interested.
“The story takes a bit of a detour, but they say that before Father became the family head, he wandered the world honing his swordsmanship.”
“Swordsmanship?”
So that’s why his sword skills were so insanely good. There was a proper reason after all. ‘Is that also why the knight commander got hired here? A sense of kinship?’ Since he too had wandered the world before pledging loyalty to the family head, there must be some connection.
The old man was someone who judged things coldly yet harbored a burning machismo in his chest. Even recalling the calculating yet bold way he had granted me the family crest, it was clear. The pattern of a macho man suppressing his fiery temperament with a cool head while carrying a heavy burden on his back. That’s why I hadn’t taken any particular interest in their pasts.
Everyone has a past. Even if someone is nothing more than an extra in my life, I shouldn’t assume their life has no ups and downs or behind-the-scenes stories. ‘For the same reason, there’s no need to take interest in that behind-the-scenes story either.’ Other people’s pasts are nothing more than side branches to my own life. There’s even a saying that curiosity killed the cat. Keeping only moderate interest in other people’s lives and pasts—this was the secret to living faithfully for family and life that I had inherited from my father. The only problem was deciding where the line between ‘other people’ and myself lay.
“They say it was only possible because he hadn’t yet been chosen as the next family head at the time. Apparently there was a woman he promised to marry back then. My husband mentioned it in passing.”
“Is that woman the current lady of the house?”
“No. Because Father was chosen as family head, they say he only had a brief meeting with that woman before parting ways…… but I suspect she might have been someone from the Arma Shunas family.”
“Pardon?”
“Hehe, it’s just my personal thought.”
Primor, sharing her secret, looked exactly like a noblewoman who enjoyed high society and tea time. It was quite different from my first impression of her, but perhaps this was the appearance that truly suited her.
“If the person he once loved had been purged, Father would never have stayed silent…… Considering their ages, wouldn’t Tirsi be about the age of a granddaughter?”
Larilura and I sat there with our mouths open, until suddenly I received a telepathic message from her.
Larilura’s words brought back the memory of when I had disguised myself as Yesugei and Tirsi as my older sister. At that time, Primor had clearly murmured the name Arma Shunas before accepting us. Perhaps that background had influenced her decision to some degree.
Thinking that way brought something else to mind. During the welcome banquet last time, the old man had sternly told me that Tirsi was lacking in vitality and needed to eat well. He had even specifically pointed out which foods were good for the body—especially duck meat—and had stepped aside, saying it would be difficult for her to eat if he were present.
‘But…… isn’t that going a bit too far for normal courtesy?’
That kind of behavior was quite far from the refined consideration one would expect from a great noble. It didn’t match the man who had been so concerned with face that he couldn’t even apologize to me directly. Instead, it felt closer to how my own grandparents back home would pile my rice bowl high while scolding me for being too skinny. The way elderly people look at their grandchildren is the same everywhere, east or west.
“I don’t really have anything to say if you ask what difference that makes, but……”
After briefly sharing the story, Primor gave a bitter smile.
“If neither Lady Tirsi nor Sir Norde hold any bad memories toward us, I hope you won’t think too poorly of my father-in-law.”
“Yes. There’s no need to worry about that.”
I returned the exact same bitter smile as Primor and answered.
“It’s quite common for stiff, upright people to be clumsy when expressing kindness, isn’t it?”
A girl who had lost her family at a young age, and a noble playing the role of godfather to the granddaughter of his long-dead former lover. It was a ‘girl and macho man’ combo straight out of a Hollywood movie. Though both of them were a bit older than the standard pairing.