Husband Material
They had been sharing light banter over finger foods when Kael suddenly spoke up.
“Mother, what about me?”
“What on earth are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Compared to Father, who do you think is the better man? I’m curious about your honest opinion.”
“Huh? Um…”
She sank into a brief moment of thought. Had the question sprung from a son’s competitive urge to surpass his father?
Darin couldn’t bring herself to answer too quickly. She certainly loved her children more than her husband, yet as a proper noblewoman she felt she ought to maintain some neutrality.
“I’m simply not certain whether I could ever make a good husband for someone.”
“…?”
The mother who had kept her silence slowly turned her son’s words over in her mind.
“Ah!”
She let out a small cry of realization. Her eldest wasn’t merely airing resentment toward his father; he wanted to know whether he himself measured up as “husband material” for someone.
Her son had mentioned, after returning from the expedition, that he already had a girl in mind for his bride. Kael simply wanted confirmation—from the objective eyes of his mother—that he could be a groom worthy of satisfying her.
But why choose his father as the point of comparison? There were plenty of young nobles in the Imperial Capital. Perhaps this, too, was a form of defiance.
“Of course you’re the better husband material, Kael. Your father is decent enough for a nobleman, but he lacks your consideration.”
“…Could you be a little more specific?”
“Hmm, more specific…? Give me a moment.”
Now that she understood the heart of the question, the vermilion-haired young woman’s mind began to work in earnest. Kael was no longer a child; any answer needed solid grounds if it was to carry weight.
Press, press.
She began to list sincere praises while gently kneading the ear of her son, whose head rested in her lap.
“You’re a war hero who has already surpassed the Viscount of Bayorn’s achievements…”
“And you’re quite handsome, aren’t you? Even compared to your father in his youth, you don’t fall short at all.”
“Despite being born in the rough North, you’re as gentle and refined as any young noble from the capital. You’re popular at social gatherings, too, aren’t you?”
“There’s no longer any need for you to remain bound to the family name. Once you receive a count’s title for this campaign, your status will rise even higher.”
Even if he failed to receive a count’s title and was granted only a viscountcy, there was still the option of elevating the Bayorn house itself to a countcy. Granting a viscountcy required bestowing land as well, so from the Empire’s perspective that might even be preferable—an equal exchange of honor for wealth.
Either way, her son was certain to become a count. The Bayorn family was truly blessed to have produced such an outstanding hero in this generation.
My son really is something special, isn’t he?
And so, even as she praised her own flesh and blood, Darin felt a quiet swell of pride. Not a single word she had spoken was untrue.
The son she had raised with every ounce of her strength was, as a husband candidate, superior not only to his father but to anyone else in the Empire.
In his own generation, the only ones who might outrank him were perhaps the Hero, the eldest sons of the grand ducal houses, and the Crown Prince who carried the Emperor’s blood. But even that hardly mattered. To her, her own child was the finest of all.
Press, press.
Kael, pleasantly accepting the delicate fingers carefully massaging his ear, wore a faint smile.
It pleased him that the woman he loved most thought so highly of him. Spending such a peaceful stretch of time together after so long was pleasant as well.
But the next words out of the young man’s mouth threw his mother into confusion.
“Then… what about the marriage bed?”
“…The marriage bed?”
“Yes, Mother. To satisfy a bride, one must also be skilled at night, mustn’t one?”
“……”
It was a shameless remark that shattered the tranquil atmosphere. Yet Kael was not wrong. Noblewomen who were expected to look only to one man for the rest of their lives placed great importance on their husband’s prowess.
“…How would I know? That’s something you can’t tell without trying. And it isn’t something that automatically follows from outward appearance, either.”
It was mortifying beyond words, yet her own flesh and blood was curious, so she answered somehow.
Darin knew that children did not normally bring sexual topics to their parents, but she and Kael were no ordinary mother and son. It must mean the boy trusted her that deeply.
“Anyway, I don’t really know, but my son has always excelled at everything he set his mind to… so I’m sure you’ll manage just fine…”
The question had been so absurd at first hearing that her reaction had come out a little sharp. In moments like these, one had to pivot immediately into praise so the air would not grow awkward.
Darin was a woman skilled in social maneuvering. Perhaps that skill had been honed by constantly catering to her husband’s moods.
“I’m glad to hear you think so, Mother.”
An invisible question mark floated above the vermilion hair. Why would a parent be expected to anticipate her son’s sexual ability?
Am I being too sensitive?
She simply brushed it off, deciding her son was merely happy to have received his mother’s approval.
“…Still, women are often delicate of heart. Consideration is the most important thing. If you rush in just because your blood is up, you’ll only hurt her.”
Recalling the times her husband had forced himself on her, Darin offered her son sincere advice. These days he took her feelings into account when they shared a bed, but in his younger years he had burrowed between her legs at every opportunity. No matter how she pushed him away and said she didn’t want it, it had been useless.
It must have been truly overwhelming. And yet she had never been able to push her husband away completely. There were the children, and the long years of shared “affection.” He claimed to love her so much that constant refusal felt awkward; even if she did push him away, he was not a man who would quietly accept it.
Above all, there was the difference in their positions. She was a commoner; he was a noble. She had not come of her own free will, yet the fact remained that she enjoyed wealth and status as his legal wife. If she did nothing but complain, she would never escape the criticism of “a commoner who doesn’t know her place and has grown too full of herself.”
And so Darin, without loving her husband, had spread her legs. The more readily she accepted him, the better he treated the children, so it had not been pure misery. Looking back, finding a sense of fulfillment in offering her body was almost laughable.
The viscountess had sometimes regarded herself as a whore—a prostitute who sold her body to her husband in exchange for her children’s security. That was exactly what it had been.
But she no longer thought of it so bleakly. Through the “medievalization” she had come to understand her husband’s heart, if only a little.
“As a side note, from a woman’s perspective the most important thing is sharing the act with someone she loves. Regardless of prowess, she’ll prefer a man who truly cherishes her.”
Darin thought to herself how ridiculous it was for someone who had never loved another as a man to say such things.
Even so, she hoped her son at least would experience the love she herself had never known. And that he would meet a woman who truly loved him. Was that not a parent’s heart?
“Of course. I intend to love her sincerely and care for her with all my heart.”
“Really? That’s a relief. But who exactly is this bride you’ve set your sights on? Can’t you just whisper it to your mother?”
The vermilion-haired woman leaned her head toward her son with a thoroughly mischievous expression. It was simply fascinating that the boy who had once known only his mother was now completely smitten with someone else.
More than that, had he not already declared her his chosen bride? Asking outright was a little undignified, yet in Darin’s position she could not help but be curious.
“Are you that curious?”
“Of course I am. I’m your mother, after all.”
“You’ll find out soon enough anyway.”
I’ll find out soon…? Gasp! Don’t tell me—
“Is she one of the women attending the victory celebration?”
Had the young woman’s intuition struck true? Kael looked a little surprised, then soon nodded with a languid smile.
“That’s right. She will definitely attend the victory celebration. Despite her family’s attempts to stop her, she insisted she would be there no matter what.”
“Really…?”
“Yes, really. She said she wanted to congratulate me somehow.”
“Wow…”
Darin let out a sigh of pure admiration. Rather than simply realizing her son’s popularity, she felt that this must be a truly kind woman who genuinely cared for him, and she found herself looking forward to the meeting. She was proud of her son for having chosen such a woman as his bride.
“I’ll seek her out the moment we arrive.”
“She’ll be hard to find, you know.”
“I’ll find her somehow. No—I’ll definitely find her!”
“Hahaha…”
The married woman’s curious demeanor looked no different from that of a teenage girl. That unadorned nature was Darin’s true self. How lovable she was. Kael could not help laughing as he gazed at her.
Blink, blink. The vermilion-haired girl stared at her son, eyes wide. She felt she would not be satisfied until she heard the answer to at least this one question.
“Kael… but does that woman truly love you?”
Her son wore a faintly puzzled expression for the briefest moment, then—
“Yes, of course.”
—smiled and answered with absolute conviction.