Chapter 29: Background
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29: Background
Late that night, after the welcome party.
Count Dakuus and his wife were finally sharing a moment alone.
With only light refreshments and a bottle of strong wine between them, they exchanged suggestive glances as if they might devour each other, taking a sip whenever the mood struck.
The mature atmosphere of the old couple, which required no words, was ripening on its own. Just as Count Dakuus, flushed with desire, was about to lean in closer—
“I have a report.”
“Ahem! Harrumph!”
A maid clad in black materialized from thin air and landed softly on the floor. The Count, startled, jerked upright and adjusted his posture.
“I have been waiting, Aslet. Report the progress.”
While the Count maintained a stoic expression, the Countess, caught between him and the maid, merely raised her wine glass with a look of dissatisfaction.
However, since this was the report she had been anticipating, she issued her requirements in a languid tone.
“Don’t start with the conclusion. Tell us everything that happened today in chronological order, focusing on anything noteworthy.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
The short-haired maid in black, called Aslet, lightly straightened her clothes.
“From early this morning, Lady Airune showed a great deal of interest and care in grooming herself for the outing.”
“Ho-ho.”
At this auspicious sign, Count Dakuus stroked his mustache with satisfaction.
It had only been a week, yet things were proceeding so smoothly that he couldn’t hide his smile.
“Specifically, how?”
“She put on a pair of baggy shorts with an elastic waistband and expressed her determination to make the most of the day.”
“Hmph…”
His excitement vanished instantly.
“However, while choosing a top, she happened to catch her reflection in the mirror and muttered that she didn’t look pretty. She then searched the wardrobe further and chose a light blue dress.”
Normally, the maids would have assisted her, but after becoming an adventurer, Airune had begun to expand the things she did for herself.
She had refused to remain a flower in a greenhouse.
“By the time she finished doing her own makeup and even applied lipstick, the lunch hour had already passed.”
“To think she knows how to do her own makeup… where did she learn that? When did she grow up so much…?”
Seeing Airune, who had always felt like a mere child, blossom past girlhood into a true young lady, Count Dakuus dabbed at his dry eyes with a finger.
“I taught her. You seem to have forgotten what I told you last time.”
“My dear, every time I look at you, I am so dazzled that I forget many things.”
“And every time you say things like that, I find myself losing the many, many things I wanted to say to you.”
Waiting for the old couple’s bickering to subside, Aslet carefully recalled the next events.
“I plan to give her bridal lessons regarding the… intimate affairs between men and women soon.”
“Isn’t it too early?”
“The Young Lady is all grown up. If what you say is true, Sir Alto will be inexperienced in physical relations, so the Young Lady must be able to lead him properly. That is the only way we will see grandchildren soon—grandchildren who will inherit the Young Lady’s bloodline and become the masters of this land.”
“Mmm…”
Grandchildren.
They all closed their eyes and imagined a young girl who looked just like Airune.
Smiles naturally formed on their faces.
And at the same time, a thought occurred to them.
‘What if she looks like Alto?’
No one allowed their imagination to take flight based on such a tragic assumption.
They pointedly ignored it.
In the first place, Airune had grown into an exquisite beauty because she took after her mother; Marquis Dakuren and Janks were rugged, horse-faced men through and through.
“The Young Lady arrived at the plaza fountain much earlier than the appointed time. Consequently, just as when she wanders alone, men approached her and attempted pathetic flirtations.”
“What! What was Alto doing to allow such a thing to happen!”
“Dear, she went out earlier than the promised time, so of course she was alone.”
“To think he made the Young Lady wait and even allowed such an unpleasant incident to occur!”
Whenever he heard news of flirting, Count Dakuus would make a fuss, threatening to go and cut the men down immediately. This was why Aslet preferred to give such reports only to the Countess whenever possible.
“Among a group of three men, one who looked quite pretty but was clearly thin, short, and weak-looking invited the Young Lady to a cafe. The Young Lady ignored him, but when he persisted, she rejected him firmly.”
“Mmm!”
“Just as the man, his pride wounded, showed signs of causing a scene, Sir Alto arrived.”
“He was late!”
“Dear, just listen.”
The important part started now.
Aslet composed herself, recalling the image of Alto, who had been faintly exuding the scent of blood.
“The men assumed Sir Alto was the Young Lady’s lover and spoke insultingly. Some of their remarks even treated the Young Lady like an object.”
“What! What on earth did Alto…”
“In that moment, Sir Alto’s atmosphere changed.”
Aslet took great care to describe Alto’s appearance in detail.
The changed look in his eyes and the red glow within them.
The corners of his mouth, which had been quivering, barely suppressing a cruel and sinister smile.
But his eyes were definitely not smiling, causing everyone gathered at the fountain to freeze.
Even Aslet herself, a combat maid.
The only person who moved naturally in front of such an Alto was Airune.
“The Bloodhound…”
“Did he react to the Young Lady’s crisis and the insult?”
Despite the Countess’s question, the Count could not remove his thumb from the bridge of his nose.
“He was always like that. Once he considers someone his own, he steps forward as if it were his own business. He was a hunting dog who was like fire, never knowing where he might bounce or who he might bite.”
The only one who had ever truly held his leash was Marquis Dakuren.
Could Airune Dakuren truly seize the leash of Alto Bertrand?
Count Dakuus did not consider Alto a dangerous person.
But the Bloodhound was a different story.
In the explosion of the Final War, the Count had been robbed of his ambition, and Alto had gained the Bloodhound’s slumber.
Yet, Alto’s anger over a relatively minor matter had awakened the beast quite easily.
“I wonder if the change of heart in Lukart acted as some kind of trigger…”
Marquis Dakuren had once said this about Alto after he became the Bloodhound:
‘He is a lonely fellow. A void has twisted him so.’
What on earth had happened in Lukart?
Dakuus felt the need to accelerate his information gathering.
Come to think of it, he had heard from Nasian, the bank manager, that Alto was forty million Dalk in debt.
A man who didn’t even bother to buy daily necessities, let alone spend money on luxuries, was in debt?
It was a headache in many ways.
He also had to negotiate with the royal palace as soon as possible regarding the Victory Commemoration Ceremony of the Final War.
“So, the Young Lady and Alto went to a restaurant’s private room for dinner and enjoyed themselves, is that it?”
“They have already finished.”
“Eh? Finished already?”
“Oh my? Have they already gone to Sir Alto’s house for the deed?”
The Countess asked with an expectant face, even clapping her hands, but Aslet shook her head firmly.
“The fact that I am here means the Young Lady has already gone up to her room, washed, and is lying in bed.”
“She returned to the castle?”
Count Dakuus couldn’t believe it.
“I specifically told the head chef to prepare foods good for stamina and blood circulation!”
“And I ordered the room interior to be decorated to relax the mind and create a subtle mood.”
“Aslet, surely the whiskey we ordered wasn’t missing?”
That whiskey was famous for being as intoxicating as its fiery burn.
“Every request from the Count and Countess was perfectly prepared.”
“Then why did she just come home?”
Aslet recalled the scene again.
“Ahahaha! It’s been so long since I’ve had this much fun!”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I think it’s the first time since my father and brother passed away.”
At Airune’s words, shouted loudly in her drunken state, Alto wore a bitter smile.
Airune tried to refill her empty glass, but the whiskey was already gone.
Alto took the bottle away and spoke to her gently.
“It’s all gone. Let’s go home.”
“Let’s play more. Shall we move? I’m really happy today.”
“Thank you for saying you’re happy to be with me.”
“I’m just saying I’m happy because I am, what’s with you~?”
Seeing Airune’s face growing increasingly flushed, Alto stepped out to wash his hands before helping her out.
He couldn’t touch Airune with sweaty hands.
Or so Aslet had thought.
“Sloppy.”
Until Alto’s voice reached her ears.
“Are you the Young Lady’s escort?”
“…Yes, I am.”
“Why did you allow those men to approach her in the plaza earlier?”
The voice piercing through her was cold and chilling.
Aslet swallowed hard and explained slowly.
“It was a very crowded space. And since I am the only escort, I would have had to take my eyes off the Young Lady to deal with those men quietly without killing them.”
“You should improve your skills enough so that you don’t have to take your eyes off her.”
“And the Count and Countess told me to maintain some distance so that she doesn’t view the world too softly.”
“Hmm.”
Alto, pondering Aslet’s explanation, soon accepted it and backed off.
Only after he withdrew could Aslet exhale the breath she had been holding.
“If you need help, call me anytime.”
Alto gave Aslet a final instruction before opening the door to the room where Airune was dozing.
“And let me know exactly how much help you need.”
The request from the hunting dog, who knew nothing but how to lung and bite, seemed somehow plaintive.