Chapter 21
Chapter 21
An unexpected guest arrived at the Bellarque estate.
…An unexpected guest?
No, even that phrase felt too weak to describe this bizarre situation.
At least in my opinion, this was someone who should have had absolutely no connection to a backwater countryside like this.
“Your Highness, it’s been such a long time. Have you been well? Ah! No, I suppose I should greet you properly instead.”
A beautiful young woman knelt before Eden and bowed respectfully.
Her platinum-blonde hair was tied into a neat ponytail, soft brows resting beneath it gracefully. Her green eyes sparkled like star-shaped jewels.
And on top of that, her delicate and elegant facial features were absurdly pretty.
To put it simply?
She was beautiful.
Ridiculously beautiful.
Honestly, beautiful enough to make me want to get married.
Across both my current and previous life, she was the prettiest woman I had ever seen.
I lowered my gaze and looked at Anna.
“Why, Sera?”
“……”
Even at ten years old, she still loved that teddy bear.
So much that she carried it hanging from her scabbard like a keychain.
At this rate, she would probably still be carrying it around ten years from now.
…I was the one who made it for her, though.
That part did make me happy, but still…
“Sorry, Anna.”
“Huh? For what?”
“I think this is where we part ways.”
“What are you talking about?”
You’re cute too, but compared to that lady, you only feel like a little sister now.
Farewell, tiny gremlin. Unfortunately, the position of my future wife now belongs to… wait, what was that lady’s name again?
“I, Celine Rochester of House Rochester, greet my long-serving lord.”
Right. Future Lady Celine Rochester.
As expected, she was a noble lady.
No wonder elegance practically dripped from her from head to toe.
People like Eden really did radiate noble upbringing naturally.
And judging by how she called him “Your Majesty” like Sir Recun did, her family must have been one of Bellarque’s old loyal retainers from its glory days.
Rochester…
Wait a second. Rochester?
That name sounded incredibly familiar.
To me, it was the second most familiar family name after Bellarque itself.
Which made sense because—
“Sir Recun.”
“What is it?”
“Did you… have a daughter? No, a granddaughter?”
For ten whole years, not a single relative had visited him, so I assumed he didn’t have children.
Turns out the old man had been busy all along.
Was he some kind of medieval long-distance father?
“Granddaughter? I have no grandchildren. Only a daughter.”
…Huh?
Only a daughter?
But she looked barely in her late teens.
‘Whoa, this old man…’
Did he seriously have a kid in his seventies?
Otherwise, there was no way his daughter would look that young.
…Unless she was adopted.
Honestly, that seemed more likely.
“You must’ve suffered a lot because he’s so stubborn.”
“N-Not at all. Sir Recun is incredibly considerate.”
…“He”?
“He,” she said?
“Sir Recun.”
“What now?”
“Do people in Bellarque call their grandfathers ‘dear’?”
“What nonsense are you suddenly spouting? Did you eat something strange?”
I didn’t eat anything strange.
I stuffed myself with rye bread and soup at lunch, and it was delicious.
The harvest must’ve been decent too because there was even a bit of wheat mixed in this time, so the bread was softer than usual.
Honestly, the one eating strange things here was probably—
…Never mind.
Anyway, Eden, say something already. Why are you just going along with this insanity?
……
…Ah.
I finally understood.
That was the situation.
I looked at Sir Recun’s granddaughter with pity in my eyes.
She had traded her sanity for beauty.
Calling her own grandfather “dear”…
Unfortunately, accepting a mentally unstable woman as my future wife would be a bit difficult, so she was disqualified.
“Celine is my longtime wife. Naturally she calls me ‘dear.’”
“……”
I might need to reconsider making this man my master.
There was no longer any doubt.
Sir Recun’s senility was getting worse by the day.
The signs had already appeared when he started giving me bizarre advice about repaying kindness, but I guess age catches up to everyone eventually.
“Darling~!”
After finishing her greeting to her lord, the beautiful woman walked over to us.
But this beautiful woman called her grandfather “dear.”
And that grandfather called his granddaughter “wife.”
Now she was even calling him darling.
What an incredible family.
House Rochester.
I didn’t know much about them, but I definitely couldn’t form a positive opinion.
At this point, they might genuinely be some horrifying family where grandfathers dated their granddaughters.
…God, my head hurts.
Whether both of them had lost their minds or whether the family itself was rotten, I suddenly wanted to crawl into bed and take a nap.
Why was I even here in the first place?
I should just go back and sleep.
“Celine, now that we’re inside the castle, couldn’t you remove the perception-hindering magic? This little one seems to be misunderstanding things.”
“Ah, should I?”
Perception-hindering magic?
And what misunderstanding was I supposedly having?
“Little one. Or should I say Sera? Would you like to take another look at my face?”
Her voice was so sweet that I unconsciously nodded.
‘Holy shit—!’
She looked even prettier up close.
How could someone this gorgeous be mentally unstable? What a waste. I was just about to sigh in disappointment when—
“Huh…?”
Something strange caught my eye.
Celine’s ears weren’t normal.
Rather than strange, they were long and pointed, just like—
“An elf?”
“Correct~!”
The woman smiled brightly and slowly stepped back.
“That should clear things up, right, Recun?”
And then she wrapped her arms around the man who looked old enough to be her grandfather—or great-grandfather.
“Do you understand now?”
Sir Recun stroked his beard with a smug grin.
And that grin clearly belonged to a victor.
This woman is mine.
Meanwhile, I swallowed my resentment.
Why didn’t I have an elf childhood friend?
“I even told you before that my wife’s name was Celine. Kids these days never listen properly to their elders.”
I remembered the name!
I just thought he named his granddaughter after his wife!
Still, if his wife was an elf, then things finally made sense.
But there was still one thing I couldn’t understand.
A ninety-year-old stubborn fossil.
A rigid old man obsessed with rules and principles.
That was Sir Recun.
And yet that man’s partner was a glamorous elf?
Not only that, they were childhood sweethearts!?
And judging by how warm and cheerful she seemed, her personality was amazing too.
“No way.”
This couldn’t be real.
Even if it was true, I refused to accept it.
“How could Sir Recun possibly…”
Normally I’d watch my words around him, but today was impossible.
If it were just a handsome man and beautiful woman together, I could ignore it as someone else’s business.
But this was more broken than the balance of a ruined game.
“That’s rather rude. I was quite handsome in my youth.”
“Mmm, I don’t think it was to that extent?”
“…Celine. If even you say things like that, the child will misunderstand.”
“Pfft, misunderstand what—!”
“Ahem!”
Sir, please stop lying.
What about the giant portrait hanging in the middle of the hall next to the former lord?
I admitted he looked strong and dignified.
But his face alone looked scary enough to make children cry.
Still, one thing was certain.
Compared to young Sir Recun, my past-life self was definitely more handsome.
“And I still don’t even have a wife…”
So yes, if it were Eden, I could understand.
But that old man having a wife like this?
There was a reason I couldn’t stop grieving internally.
“Don’t say ridiculous things. Of course someone your age wouldn’t have a wife. And what you should be looking for isn’t a wife, but a husband.”
“……”
I stared blankly at Sir Recun.
Despite his rapidly progressing senility, an elf beauty still stayed by his side.
Meanwhile, what was I doing with my life?
Forget dating women—I had become one.
Would women even date me anymore?
…Suddenly my stomach hurt.
Was this what inferiority felt like?
No, waitwaitwaitwait.
I used to be a top contender!
I was popular too, wasn’t I!?
“Grrgh—!”
Damn it.
What kind of world-transmigration bonus was this?
What kind of bullshit trait system was this?
I didn’t even have a girlfriend!
“Oh my, look at this. You’ve gotten even more wrinkles. Honestly, you should hurry back home and enjoy your retirement already.”
…Now that I thought about it, there were several strange things here.
One of them was how good their relationship seemed.
Previously, Sir Recun made it sound like things were awkward between them after their argument.
But now?
Their relationship wasn’t merely harmonious—
“By the way, dear, how do you feel after so long? Ella seems like she wants a younger sibling.”
“C-Celine! Watch your tongue in front of the children!”
“……”
—it was disgustingly affectionate.