Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 196
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 196
Despite Rickshel’s reaction, Petrick continued speaking.
“Indeed. Even a family head cannot escape punishment. I should cancel all my appointments right now, enter the dungeon, and repent of my wrongs… ahem, do penance.”
That, of course, was because his second grandson’s reaction was far too cute and entertaining.
It likely also reminded him of his own naive, younger self.
The only problem, if any, was that he’d gotten so carried away he couldn’t hold back his laughter.
“…Family Head.”
“Ahem.”
Regrettably, Rickshel was no fool—he’d noticed.
“I see that there is no issue whatsoever, so I shall take my leave.”
“Now, now. As the heir, shouldn’t you witness me receiving punishment with your own eyes?”
“Furthermore, from now until the Emperor’s Birthday, reports will be submitted through someone else.”
“…Pardon?”
“Then.”
Answering in a voice that had turned thoroughly curt, Rickshel spun on his heel and walked out of the family head’s office.
“Hoh.”
Petrick let out a low sigh; he apparently hadn’t expected Rickshel to react that way.
‘I teased him too much.’
Still, the boy was sharp—he’d have properly grasped the meaning of his words.
The point being: do not be crushed by the weight of the words “family head” and “responsibility,” but see the process and the outcome with your own eyes, and then judge.
‘It was something I could have taught him like this all along.’
Petrick belatedly replayed what he had just done.
By any standard of conversation between the head of House Asteri and its heir, it had been nothing but lighthearted banter.
Yet it was also the sort of exchange that could easily happen between any ordinary grandfather and grandson.
Did that mean there’d been no lesson in it?
Not at all.
Between those joking words, teaching and learning had certainly been present.
‘…It was the first time.’
Never once had he chosen this approach before.
It was a slightly bitter thing to say, but until now they hadn’t had that kind of relationship.
Their bond had been more that of a family head and his successor than that of a grandfather and his youngest grandson.
‘If Lion hadn’t changed the atmosphere of the household…’
He likely wouldn’t have managed it even now.
And besides…
‘Neither that child nor I would have noticed.’
The anxiety lodged in a corner of Rickshel’s heart.
Though, of course, the price was losing his private meeting time with his youngest grandson.
Petrick was feeling the loss yet thinking he ought to loosen the mood like this more often, when—
“…I will see you at the training grounds tomorrow at dawn. Grandfather.”
Rickshel came back in, tossed out that one line, and vanished in a flash.
“Now, now…”
Petrick made an odd sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.
That was because he’d caught the faint smile on Rickshel’s face just before he disappeared through the door.
Well now, this really…
‘Both the boy and I have been thoroughly steeped in Lion.’
Petrick chuckled to himself.
It was only the briefest instant, but the laugh looked exactly like Rickshel’s smile and Lion’s smile cut precisely in half and merged together.
* * *
Two days passed rather quickly, and as scheduled, Lion’s guest arrived at House Asteri.
“Well now…”
A man clad in clothes so gaudy they bordered on ostentatious stepped down from the carriage and stretched his neck from side to side.
“They truly are giving me a magnificent welcome.”
The Criminal Underworld Leader, who had come disguised as a merchant guild head, swiftly swept his gaze over the people who had come out to greet him, then put on a genial smile.
They were knights and servants, every one of them handpicked elites.
And the person who had led them out was—
“Goodness, it has been a long time!”
“It shouldn’t be all that long.”
—not Lion Asteri, but Rickshel.
‘I expected this much.’
After all, the man was excessively devoted to his older brother.
‘I bear no ill will toward that fellow.’
He excelled in both the literary and martial arts, and except for the exceptional case named Lion, he lacked even a spare scrap of sentiment—hardly a disagreeable presence to have beside Kyle.
Jack—no, the guild head Jade—smiled affably and answered with smooth nonchalance.
“Hah ha. You feel that way because we’ve grown that much closer, wouldn’t you say? By the way, where might our client, Young Master Lion, be…”
“First, I will show you to the reception room.”
Rickshel gave no answer to Jade’s question and led the way.
‘Has something gone wrong?’
Or perhaps he had come out to greet him on his own arbitrary decision.
Well, either way didn’t matter.
Since he’d been personally invited like this, Jack had no intention of leaving before he got what he wanted.
Wasn’t that why he’d indulged in a little mischief here and there?
“To be escorted by the next Marquis Asteri himself! This is treatment far above my station.”
Rickshel eyed Jack, who was deliberately playing the clown even more wildly, with a look of exasperation, then began walking.
Since the Family Head had given permission and his older brother wished it, he would do it, but for some reason he felt as though he were doing something wrong.
It felt as though the Criminal Underworld Leader would stain his brother, a pure white canvas, black.
‘…Of course, knowing my brother.’
He trusted without a doubt that he would adroitly sidestep it, but still.
‘This is the only way—applying some external pressure.’
The silent pressure: the message that House Asteri was watching him, and that if anything happened to his older brother, they would not let it pass.
Arriving in front of the reception room, Rickshel stopped walking and turned to Jade.
“A single warning.”
“Anything at all.”
“Keep it firmly in mind at all times that you are in House Asteri, and act accordingly.”
At those words, Jade simply gazed at Rickshel with a deeply composed smile.
‘Has he grown a little in that short time?’
Rickshel Asteri’s aura had sharpened a bit more than it had been at Easter.
If he were to spar with Kyle in his current state, it might produce quite an entertaining spectacle.
‘Though, of course, Kyle would win.’
To his eye, the two were evenly matched in pure skill.
However, a decisive difference was present.
‘The young master hasn’t experienced real combat.’
No. Was the issue with House Asteri’s policy of never throwing the prodigiously talented Rickshel into real combat?
‘Damn nobles.’
A flash of disillusionment flickered and died in Jack’s eyes.
At any rate, it was only natural that Kyle, who had fought with his life on the line, would win.
And as a threat to himself, who surpassed even Kyle…
He was still nothing more than a young hedgehog.
“Thank you for the advice. Well then.”
Jade belatedly replied, then opened the reception room door and stepped inside.
Fortunately, no matter how much of an older-brother devotee Rickshel Asteri was, he did not follow him into the reception room.
“Hmm.”
Jade instinctively swept the room.
He saw no concealed weapons or magical tools, nor did it seem as though any notable barrier had been erected.
It appeared only magic for everyday convenience had been used here and there.
Jade shrugged and settled comfortably into a plush sofa to wait for Lion.
Thankfully, as befitting the great noble house of Asteri, their level of hospitality was quite satisfying.
Rare tea of the sort that commanded high prices even in the Criminal Underworld, and cookies of flawless, perfect shape.
As if considering the guest’s safety, knights of outstanding skill stood guard outside the reception room.
The same went for outside the window, through which a cool breeze gently wafted.
Perhaps this excessive guard detail was the work of Rickshel Asteri.
It seemed that when it came to protecting family, whether a brother or a younger brother, they were equally severe.
While he was thinking that—
“Ha ha ha. I’m late.”
The door opened along with a smooth, easygoing voice.
And Lion Asteri strode inside, dressed more lightly than usual.
“Oh my, I am the one who arrived early.”
Without revealing his true nature, Jade rose from his seat and greeted Lion with a laughing face.
No, rather, he even showed a slightly more amicable mien.
“…”
Caught off guard by the unexpectedly cordial treatment, Lion was momentarily perplexed.
‘What’s with him?’
Although he hadn’t intended to, he’d met Rickshel before coming to the reception room and had heard Jack’s condition described.
In Rickshel’s eyes, the man had seemed thoroughly steeped in venom.
In truth, other people’s testimonies had been similar.
He hadn’t openly displayed hostility, they said, but neither was he by any stretch of the imagination friendly.
And didn’t his past actions speak the same?
The magic-goods shop owner had vanished, and Freyania, who had been diligently building up her alchemy skills, had been half-forcibly dragged away on the pretext of a regular report.
“I’ll tell you in case you’re curious, but I am perfectly~ fine, so you needn’t worry.”
“Is that so.”
However, Lion held back the question of why that was.
There had to be a reason his counterpart’s attitude had suddenly changed.
He thought it over carefully…
‘Hss, I’ve got nothing?’
If anything, hadn’t he just jabbed a sensitive spot once more?
Namely, regarding things like the “rules of the Criminal Underworld.”
Seeing that Lion’s wariness did not seem to ease, Jack let out a hearty laugh.
“You really needn’t be so guarded. This time, none of that unsavory atmosphere from the last time will arise!”
For someone who says such things, it’s rare that unsavory events don’t occur.
“If anything, I’d like to apologize for that incident last time. Wasn’t I more than a little insolent? Ha ha.”
Jade answered his own question by saying it had happened because he’d had absolutely no presence of mind back then.
“I thought you would have a bad influence on the Second Prince, you see!”
“A bad influence, you say.”
“Yes. I misunderstood. I acted on my own preconceived assumption that you were simply a weak, soft person. By way of apology, I shall simply give you the item you requested, regardless of the ‘rules.’”
When Jack finished speaking and snapped his fingers, a subordinate of the Criminal Underworld who had been waiting outside came in and carefully set down a massive jar beside Lion.
His face was familiar, though.
‘Isn’t he the coachman who drove the carriage when we went to the Bydantis Territory?’
He’d roughly assumed there was a connection when Rickshel said he’d been handpicked and brought along, but the man appeared to be a closer aide than he’d thought.
The man met Lion’s eyes, gave a brief silent nod of greeting, and withdrew.
“Please, examine it for yourself.”
[Reclusive Potter’s Fermentation Crock (★★★)]
-The new masterpiece of a reclusive, loner potter who has been doing nothing but firing crockery for decades, somewhere.
-He very much wishes to meet the person who brought him this idea.
-If you were to ferment a sauce in this, it seems it would mature extremely well, wouldn’t you say?
The moment Lion saw the crock, he nodded.
He didn’t know how the potter had fired a fermentation crock in mere weeks, but it was excellent.
“I am grateful for the gift… but wouldn’t that mean you’d be unable to find out what you’re curious about?”
Surely Jack would be curious.
Namely, how Lion knew of the relationship between the Second Prince and Jack.
Wasn’t Jack the sort of man who held a pathological obsession, at least where the Second Prince’s personal safety was concerned?
“Yes. Please, do not feel burdened, and accept it.”
“…”
At this, it was rather Lion who grew uneasy.
He wasn’t the type for this.
Though this was only his second meeting with Jack, didn’t he have a certain personal big data he’d built up dealing with people thus far?
Guys like that typically… don’t back down this easily.
“May I ask the reason?”
“Ha ha. The reason, you ask? It’s extremely simple! You see, I am currying favor right now.”
Still wearing his smile, Jack lightly continued.
“With the new Hero who will appear after Kyle becomes Emperor.”
…It wasn’t a light matter in the slightest.