Chapter 270: The Reason I Knelt Was... (4)[R-18]
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 270: The Reason I Knelt Was... (4)[R-18]
“Lady Evelyn. The Family Head is calling for you.”
“...Okay.”
Evelyn’s steps were heavy as she followed behind the maid.
“Family Head. I have brought Lady Evelyn.”
—Let her in.
“Yes. Please, go inside, Lady Evelyn.”
Creeeeak—
The moment the firmly shut door opened, the thick scent of tobacco smoke and medicinal herbs wafted out.
“─── Phew.”
Through the dense haze, she saw a blonde elf buried in the Family Head’s seat, smoking a pipe.
Her sharp eyes and tightly set lips stood out.
Above all, her expression, filled with a deep sense of ennui, poignantly revealed the weight of the years she had endured.
「Elena Yellow Pansy」
The current Family Head of the Yellow Pansy family and Evelyn’s great-grandmother.
“You’ve worked hard to come all this way, Evelyn.”
A husky voice spoke, accompanied by the sound of ash being tapped into an ivory ashtray.
“It has been a long time... Great-grandmother.”
“Drop the ‘great’ and just call me Grandmother. And I’d rather not hear that it’s been a long time. ...It only reminds me of what happened back then.”
“...I’m sorry.”
Evelyn bowed her head.
She could fully understand her grandmother’s feelings.
The last time she had seen her was at the funeral of her uncle, ‘Alet Yellow Pansy.’
“—Phew. So, Evelyn, I assume you didn’t come all this way just to see this old woman’s face?”
“...No, I came because I have a favor to ask of you, Grandmother.”
“A favor...? Do you need some pocket money?”
There was a faint trace of affection for her great-granddaughter mixed in her voice.
Feeling a spark of hope from that kindness, Evelyn swallowed hard and answered.
“No. It’s a much bigger favor. The upcoming 100-Man Council. I want you to pass the legislative amendment proposed by the Second Princess... I’ve organized the details here.”
“Hmm...”
Evelyn pulled a bundle of documents she had prepared from her bodice and handed them to Elena.
Tap, tap—
However, instead of reading the documents, Elena tapped the remaining embers from her pipe onto them.
Whoosh!
The papers caught fire and instantly scattered into ash.
“G-Grandmother! You didn’t even read them!”
“My answer would be the same whether I read them or not. Impossible.”
“But still...!”
“Evelyn, surely you know the principles of the Yellow Pansy family?”
“...Yes, I know.”
—The Yellow Pansy does not interfere with the Empire. Therefore, the Empire shall not interfere with the Yellow Pansy.
In essence, they were an independent kingdom existing within the Empire.
Naturally, the Empire didn’t care for this attitude from the Yellow Pansy family...
But as long as they didn’t cross the line, the Empire chose to maintain the status quo rather than go looking for trouble.
“Even so, I really need your help, Grandmother. That’s why... I’m going to try a bit of ‘Forced Compliance.’”
“Ho... and in what way?”
Elena leaned forward slightly, appearing intrigued by Evelyn’s words.
‘For... for Ian!... For Ian...!! ...Just close your eyes and do it!!’
Grip—
Forcing herself to swallow the gut-wrenching shame, Evelyn brought her index fingers to her cheeks and thinned her voice as much as possible.
“Graaaand-maaa~! Evelyn would be sooooo happy if Grandma helped her~ Mmm? Pleease? Can’t you just do it this once~? If you do this for me~ Evelyn will love Grandma so, so, so much~!”
She had said she would try Forced Compliance, but who would have thought it would be in this manner?
At her great-granddaughter’s unimaginable display of aegyo, a hollow laugh escaped Elena’s lips.
“Fine, I’ll admit it. My great-granddaughter’s charms are quite a sight to behold.”
“Mmm... r-right? Then...”
“But I cannot give in to ‘Forced Compliance.’”
Elena drew a firm line.
“—Phew... Right now, I am the Family Head of the Yellow Pansy. I cannot change the family’s principles for a mere display of cuteness.”
“T-then... if I do it twice... no, three times... will you change it...?”
“Evelyn, did you come here to play word games with this old woman?”
“.......No. I suppose this isn’t enough, is it?”
“Indeed. However... it would be a different story if you presented a benefit to the family great enough to ignore our principles.”
“That is...”
“You already know what I’m talking about, don’t you? ─── Phew.”
Exhaling a long plume of smoke, Elena looked into Evelyn’s blue eyes.
‘Honestly... her eyes look so much like his.’
The Yellow Pansy family possessed the most fertile land and the largest population among the Three Primary Colors Families, but paradoxically, they were cursed when it came to children.
No matter how good the relationship between a couple was, only one child was ever born.
In the history of the family, the only exception to that law was the twins Elena had birthed.
Sss—
Elena stroked her lower abdomen as she thought of her first child.
「Orland Marigold」
The eldest of the twins Elena had birthed, the first Family Head of the Marigold family, and Evelyn’s grandfather.
Even if they were twins, the eldest was the eldest.
Originally, the seat of the Yellow Pansy Family Head should have belonged to Orland.
However, Orland yielded the position to his younger sibling and branched off to form the Marigold family.
It was because Grace, the childhood friend both he and his twin sibling loved, had chosen Orland.
He had given up the family in exchange for love.
And the child born between Orland and Grace was ‘Audrey Marigold,’ Evelyn’s mother.
“Now that I think about it, I heard you also intend to marry your childhood friend? His name was... ah, right. Was it Ian?”
“...Yes.”
“Ha, three generations marrying their childhood friends. You lot certainly have a desperate obsession with them.”
—I won’t marry anyone but Robert!
Robert, the current Family Head of the Marigold family and Evelyn’s father, had also been Audrey’s escort knight and childhood friend.
“...Yes, I suppose so. I like Ian very much... no, I love him.”
“I see... I’m glad I won’t have to worry about a successor then. Heh.”
After a short laugh, Elena put the pipe back to her lips.
“—Phew. So... Evelyn. If you’re willing to resort to ‘Forced Compliance,’ can I assume you’re ready to accept my proposal?”
“...That is.”
“I know I was too hasty back then. But... you’re not a child anymore, and I believe it’s time you made a decision of your own will.”
The day of Alet Yellow Pansy’s funeral.
Suppressing the grief of losing her grandson, Elena had demanded that Evelyn be sent to the Yellow Pansy family for adoption to fill the vacant seat of the Family Head.
She had thought there would be no problem.
She would pay a sufficient price for the adoption, and while the Marigold family was respectable in its own right...
It naturally couldn't compare to the Yellow Pansy, one of the Three Primary Colors Families.
Evelyn would have to live away from her parents, but wouldn't she become the Family Head of the Yellow Pansy regardless?
It was a proposal that should have satisfied everyone.
Elena had taken it for granted that Audrey would accept.
‘...That was the first time. The first time Audrey had ever been that angry. Did she tell me never to visit again...?’
She had never seen that girl, who was always beaming with smiles, as furious as she was then.
“—Phew. Evelyn, though I am not a High Elf, I have somehow lived for 240 years. That means my remaining time isn’t very long. Twenty years at the shortest, forty if I’m lucky.”
“....”
While the lifespan of a High Elf is around 500 years, a regular elf lives to be in their mid-to-late 200s.
Of course, to Evelyn, even twenty years felt long enough...
“Or, since you already have a partner chosen, I can wait for a successor one more time. ...However, while it is a proposal now, it won’t be a proposal then. If you refuse, I will move heaven and earth to make that child the Family Head of the Yellow Pansy.”
“Grandmother...”
Sss—
Hearing the mix of emotions in Evelyn’s voice, Elena closed her eyes to avoid her gaze.
Even if they had branched off, Evelyn was still of Elena’s blood.
In truth, she always wished for her life to be filled with happiness and joy.
But... Elena was the Family Head of the Yellow Pansy.
‘Elena... the children... the Yellow Pansy... I’m counting on you.’
The final words her beloved husband had whispered while caressing her cheek.
To keep that promise, Elena had to ensure the ‘Yellow Pansy’ continued.
“Evelyn, you are free to deliberate as much as you wish. But keep in mind that you cannot drag this out for long if you want to meet the deadline for the 100-Man Council.”
“....”
Evelyn bit her lip hard.
This was her grandmother’s ultimatum.
If she refused, her ‘Forced Compliance’ would not be granted.
And more than anything...
If she rejected the proposal now and later had a child with Ian, the Yellow Pansy family would truly pour all their resources into taking that child away.
If that happened, her relationship with her grandmother would be fractured beyond repair.
‘...I don’t want that.’
The relationship between the Marigold and Yellow Pansy families had become awkward after her uncle’s funeral...
But before that, her grandmother was someone who would travel all the way to the Marigold estate just to see Evelyn and dote on her.
Evelyn did not want a future where she was completely at odds with her grandmother.
‘...I’m sorry, Ian.’
She always wanted to be by his side, but the world rarely goes exactly as one wishes.
“Grandmother. ...Please promise me one thing.”
“....And what would that be?”
“My husband will only ever be Ian. If you ever mention marrying another man for the sake of the family or anything like that...”
“Ha...!”
Elena laughed as if Evelyn’s words were absurd.
“Do you think I would ever do that? I saw exactly what kind of trouble your mother, Audrey, caused just to marry Robert.”
The parents had made a pact that if their children weren't married by the age of 18, they would marry each other's children.
Upon hearing of this pact, Audrey had caused all sorts of incidents before she turned 18 just to get a proposal out of the straight-laced Robert.
Once, things had gotten so tangled that her life was actually in danger...
—Robert, I’ll make you happy.
In the end, having overcome all hardships and adversity, Audrey succeeded in marrying Robert.
“If necessary, I will personally hold the wedding for you and Ian.”
“Phew... In that case...”
The moment Evelyn took a deep breath and swept her hair back, Elena felt it instinctively.
The agonizing vacancy of the Family Head was finally over.
“I will become the Family Head of the Yellow Pansy.”
