Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 80
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 80
For the first time in a while, Lion was genuinely taken aback.
Wasn’t this how you did it?
Wasn’t this normal?
“Anyway, thank you so very much! Mudu will surely be delighted to hear news of the family so vividly! Oh, dear! I’ve kept you far too long. I’ll get the luggage ready at once!”
“Right. Take it slowly. You’ve overexerted yourself.”
At Andrie’s words, Lion promptly regained his composure.
‘Well… they were happy about it, so doesn’t that make it fine?’
From Lion’s perspective, it was also his first time seeing so many dwarves at once.
And since they were Mudu’s family, you couldn’t exactly send someone over to hand off a single ring and nothing else.
At the very least, you’d want to tell them how Mudu was doing, whether anyone was ill, what sort of things had been going on. Wouldn’t you?
Something had actually happened, for that matter.
On top of that.
‘Honestly, I had wanted to indulge a bit of romanticism.’
Things like stopping by an old tavern in the Bydantis territory, buried deep in snow-covered mountains, or a village where dwarves lived gathered together.
To be honest… even without the request, it was an experience he would have wanted to try.
It was an experience he couldn’t have had back at the Asteri mansion.
Lion was satisfied.
That was enough.
“Well, then, shall we set off as soon as you’re ready?”
“…Yes. I’ll be ready in no time.”
Elvia, who had been watching a pensive Lion, hastily balled up her fist and laughed silently to herself before leaving the room to prepare.
Shortly after, Lion’s party set out for their destination: the Bydantis lord’s castle, where Clarentia lived.
“Young master. Please put on these clothes from now on.”
Lion changed into the clothes Elvia handed him.
After all, he had entered the House of Bydantis as the eldest son of House Asteri, so he had to observe a certain degree of formality.
However…
“Isn’t this a bit too dressed up?”
“The other young masters all do at least this much.”
Elvia promptly refuted Lion’s opinion.
Was… that so?
Lion examined his outfit.
It was appropriate for the occasion… no, if anything, he looked even more dressed up than when he was at home.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Though a little uncomfortable, he had to bear with it, given the public impression he needed to maintain.
It would only be for a short while, anyway, and once he had met the Marquis of Bydantis, he could change back into comfortable clothes.
“Peep.”
Lion wasn’t the only one uncomfortable.
Nature also seemed displeased, as they had been moved from the pocket that had served as their nest into new clothes.
“Let’s bear with it a little.”
“Hmph.”
“…”
Did the bird beak just say “hmph”?
…Let’s just let that slide.
They were cute, after all.
‘Could this be considered growing up?’
Nature hadn’t grown in size at all since their first summoning.
This was despite being given an excess of spirit water and spirit stones.
So the only way to recognize any sort of growth was through interactions like this.
“Peeep.”
As if sulking about their new nest, Nature pecked a few times at the stitching as if to rip it out, then gave up and flopped down.
“Just bear with it a bit.”
Just as the change of clothes was finished and he was idly chitchatting with Nature, the carriage came to a halt.
A moment later.
“Young master. We have arrived.”
Hearing Elvia’s voice, Lion stepped down from the carriage.
At that.
Boom!
The knight order of the marquisate stamped their feet in a disciplined motion and lined up in neat, orderly ranks as if to escort the path Lion was walking.
It was a remarkably high honor for a son of the house who was not even a titled noble.
“…Oh.”
Lion accepted the welcome naturally and moved forward.
At the end of the path, a head butler with a delicate face, wearing a monocle, greeted Lion with due formality.
“We sincerely welcome you to the House of Bydantis. Lord Lion Asteri. I am the head butler, Jasper. The day is cold, so please allow me to escort you this way.”
The head butler, who introduced himself as Jasper, looked at Lion with his eyes faintly sparkling.
He was openly showing goodwill.
“Have I met that man before?”
He didn’t think he’d done anything in particular.
“No. You and that man are meeting for the first time.”
Then why was he so pleased? While Lion was puzzling over it…
‘Come to think of it.’
Lion surveyed his surroundings.
The House of Bydantis had one peculiar feature.
It was quiet.
That is, not a single sound—of footsteps or rustling clothes, things you inevitably hear when many people are around—could be heard.
Just as if Nature had covered their ears when they were summoned.
In fact, there were no servants to be seen, either.
“…”
Seeing Lion’s bemusement, the head butler wiped his cold sweat with a handkerchief.
For a member of another house it might be different, but to Lion—who was from the equally ranked marquisate of Asteri—it must have looked extremely odd.
What’s more, this was none other than a member of the Asteri family, a prestigious mage house!
They were reputed to employ servants in more than ample numbers, and those servants’ skills were said to be outstanding, too.
‘Oh dear… I mustn’t let the young master be startled.’
Jasper kept wiping his cold sweat, stealing glances at Lion.
His worry was immense.
Wasn’t he a guest of similar age who had come to the castle for the first time in a while?
And of all people, someone whom the marquis himself had personally permitted to be invited.
Lion Asteri!
It would not do for him to be spooked by this place’s eerie atmosphere and leave early.
“Ah, we do not yet have many servants to manage the mansion. O-of course, it is not so few that we cannot attend to our guests’ comfort, so please do not worry.”
That was probably why Jasper was making excuses as if covering for something.
“Hm? Is that right. I see.”
“…”
Jasper was flustered by Lion’s easy-going reply in a completely different way.
It was because Lion Asteri’s reaction had a nuance that said it wasn’t an issue at all.
Could it be that he hadn’t come across any of the rumors or information going around? Jasper wondered as he stared into Lion’s purple eyes, but…
He flinched.
Realizing he had been rude, Jasper hastily averted his gaze and looked straight ahead.
The calm purple eyes, characteristic of the Asteri family—eyes that seemed to see through everything—were composed.
‘A-as expected, one must be at least at this level…’
To be a match for the young lady—no, the marquis.
‘Now that it’s come to this, I hope that through this meeting, a close relationship will be formed with the marquis.’
Since the marquis wouldn’t pay the matter any mind, Jasper decided he, as the head butler, must put in the effort, and he opened the door to the drawing room.
“This is the drawing room.”
“Oh.”
“If you will enjoy some light refreshments for a moment, I shall escort the marquis here.”
Lion nodded and took his seat.
Click.
As soon as the door closed.
“The young butler is making an effort.”
Elvia remarked to herself, as if she found it commendable.
“Hm?”
“From the look of it, he is not skilled enough to have risen to the position of head butler. He seems rather timid. However, his loyalty to his family head appears to be remarkable.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. At the very least, he will never do anything untoward.”
In any case, it meant he was trustworthy in his own way.
Lion rose from his seat and looked around.
The small, elite handful of servants that remained seemed to have put in their effort, as the mansion itself was kept neat and tidy.
The problem was that this seemed to be about the extent of it, though.
Lion examined the curtains and carpets, which looked as if they had been hanging there for a very long time, then returned to his seat and sat down.
“The low number of servants is because of the succession issue, right?”
“Judging by the fact that the smell of blood has still not entirely left the mansion, that seems to be the case.”
“…Hic!”
Andrie flinched in surprise and got the hiccups.
He’d been trying his best to pretend he wasn’t hearing any of this sort of talk, and it seemed the mention of blood had startled him.
Lion soothed Andrie and took a sip of the tea before him.
“It’s all right. It’ll be safe now.”
It was a stark, cold-feeling castle, but the tea was warm and smooth.
Even if there weren’t many servants left, it seemed every single one of them was quite devoted to and worried about Clarentia.
“I-is that so?”
“Yes. So please, make yourself comfortable.”
“If you say so, young master, then I shall.”
And so, Andrie, who had been inwardly sighing, was following Lion’s lead and about to bite into an adorable little sword-shaped cookie. That was when.
“…”
Right in front of them, Clarentia appeared.
“Huh?”
At the sudden entrance, Andrie stared at the doorway.
The door was, unmistakably, still closed.
Instead.
Flutter!
The window was wide open.
‘What… how in the world had she done that?’
It was widely known that the Marquis of Bydantis possessed exceptional swordsmanship, but this was a situation incomprehensible from the perspective of an ordinary person.
After all, this drawing room was located in quite a high place.
Not that a lower place would have made it any less unimaginable that the marquis of a famed swordsmanship house would arrive through the window.
Even so, the marquis surveyed her surroundings with an expressionless face.
She appeared to be looking for something…
‘Oh no! This is no time for that!’
Collecting his wits, Andrie rose from his seat and gave a greeting in the noble etiquette.
“I greet the Marquis of Bydantis!”
The marquis nodded and strode right over, asking without preamble.
“Where are the clothes?”
“Yes, yes. Ah, just a moment, please.”
Andrie scrambled to his feet and brought over the clothes.
To an ordinary person, this was normal.
Andrie wasn’t the only one who was especially tense.
Clarentia Bydantis carried all manner of epithets.
The most exalted of all Bydantis.
The terminator who ended the bloody struggle.
…Of course, if the epithets stopped there, Andrie wouldn’t be this frightened.
A blood-crazed slaughterer, one who gained power by contracting with demons and lost her emotions.
And a host of other explicitly condemnatory nicknames.
Her reputation was close to being extremely poor… but.
Even so, the House of Bydantis remained standing firmly.
The reason for that was none other than Clarentia’s ability.
She had ended the bloody succession war and swiftly set the reeling house back on its feet in a short time.
And that wasn’t all? Though never precisely confirmed, there were widespread rumors that she was approaching the level of Sword Master!
No matter how young she was, and no matter that she was a marquis who had cut down all her own family, she had become a transcendent existence whom none dared to approach recklessly.
Andrie therefore had no choice but to be so cautious… however.
“You’ve come. Marquis.”
Lion, unbothered, rose from his seat and gave a light greeting.
The Marquis of Bydantis stared fixedly at Lion before asking.
“You are not in disguise today?”
“There’s no need for a disguise anymore, is there? I’ve come into the safest possible place, after all.”
“I see.”
Clarentia came and sat down as if she accepted that.
And at that very moment.
“My apologies. The marquis is not yet ready… Ah, my lady Marquis…!”
Jasper, who had returned, came running over in quick strides and took his place before the marquis.
He immediately began making excuses on her behalf.
“I-it appears that because I was slow, the marquis came straight here without even having time to change her attire. I am terribly sorry, but could you allow her the time to put on her garments?”
Lion didn’t mind in the slightest, but the head butler seemed terribly self-conscious.
‘Now that he mentioned it, the clothes.’
She must have come straight from training, as she was wearing practice attire rather than a dress or formal uniform.
‘They were all blotched.’
The servants seemed to have done their best to remove them, but those were clearly bloodstains.
Perhaps she had been wearing those clothes the day of the bloody purge.
“Ah, my lady Marquis? Allow me to escort you.”
Knowing all that only too well, Jasper naturally had no choice but to be on edge.
Still, it was a little pitiful to see him sweating so profusely.
Lion put down the cookie he had been nibbling and backed him up with a few words.
“It seems the marquis came just as she was because of the new clothes. Ah, now that it’s come to this, how about trying on the new clothes?”
“I shall do so.”
Before the butler could say anything to dissuade her, Clarentia accepted Lion’s suggestion.
But…
Why did the butler’s expression seem to be turning even more pale and ill?
‘Was this wrong?’
In that instant.
Marquis Clarentia casually flung off the outer garment of her training clothes.