Chapter 89
Chapter 89
Translator: XZY
Chapter 89: Baron (2)
***
Dealing with a drunk was a headache.
Still, it couldn’t be helped. When you lived your life walking through slums and tavern streets, it was common to run into people staggering, unable to handle their liquor.
In truth, when living in a harsh reality, it wasn’t so strange to relieve one’s sorrows by drinking a few glasses of alcohol.
Therefore, Derek didn’t have any particular aversion to dealing with drunks.
“This great Linus… ugh… phew… I don’t make empty promises… I’ll reward you, even if I have to stake my name on it, so Deril… just one favor… ugh…”
“It’s Derek, not Deril.”
“Aigo, hahaha. Look at my mind. Right. Denin.”
“…”
Who knows when they had met for him to be so pleased to see him, but Linus once again threw an arm around Derek’s shoulders and raised his beer mug higher.
His frame was slender, so he wasn’t very heavy, and Derek didn’t pay it much mind, but he wished this unidentified noble would just get to the point.
“Derek.”
After Linus had been drunk and disorderly for a long while and then collapsed on the bar table again, Jayden, who had been watching with a hardened expression from the bartender’s seat, quickly came over to Derek’s side and whispered quietly.
“From the looks of it, he seems to be no ordinary person.”
“Is that so? To my eyes, he just looks like a drunk.”
“He introduced himself as Linus earlier, right? As far as I know, there’s only one person in the Ebelstein noble circle who could go by the name Linus.”
Since Jayden managed a variety of clients, he often had the members of families that gave large-scale requests memorized.
If he was a person Jayden knew, then he was indeed no ordinary person.
“If you say Linus, it’s the eldest son who left the Belmeade house.”
“…Excuse me? The Belmeade family?”
He was a bigger shot than he had thought, so he couldn’t help but be momentarily flustered, but when he recalled a bit about the Belmeade family’s domestic affairs, there was another part that became subtle.
The eldest son of the Belmeade family, Linus Rugel Belmeade, might have once been the heir of the Belmeade county who wielded great authority as the family head’s successor, but now he was famous as a profligate who had cast aside all secular authority and was lost in drinking, singing, and womanizing.
They said the one thing the otherwise perfect Margrave of Belmeade lacked was luck with his children.
It was a good thing that at least Elente had her head screwed on straight; if she hadn’t been there, there would have been nothing to say but that the Belmeade family’s child-rearing was a complete disaster.
The cause of such gossip was none other than the profligate Linus, who was collapsed on the bar table next to Derek.
That Linus, who had possessed an intellectual and sharp appearance when he was receiving his heir’s education in his childhood, had now become an idler who just roamed the taverns, with his shaggy hair tied back and without a thought of tidying his prickly beard.
A mixture of stale sweat and thick alcohol smell wafted from his body, and there was dirt under his broken fingernails.
Derek looked at him and tilted his head for a moment, then finally said to Jayden.
“I heard the eldest son of the Belmeade county left Ebelstein.”
However, the answer came not from Jayden’s side.
“A man’s life is like a gust of wind, so he can be here and then go there, and be there and then come here. Ugh…”
“You heard everything?”
“I have sharp ears. I can tell just by the sound of cards being dealt whether someone is pulling a fast one or not.”
“I apologize if I was rude.”
“Rude, what! Our dear Denim is curious, so if you have anything else to ask, ask away! No, was it Deril…? Right, Derek. It was Derek.”
After speaking boisterously and ordering another beer from the master of the house, Linus opened his half-closed eyes blearily and casually placed his arm on Derek’s shoulder.
“Kahak. What’s in a name? Once men have clinked glasses together, they are companions for life!”
“What is the request you wish to ask of me?”
“Well, how should I put it? It’s not something I can say right now.”
“…?”
What on earth did this man want to say?
As Derek stared at him as if he were dumbfounded, Linus let out another burp with his drunken face… and then continued speaking.
“Still, I’m a guy with business ethics. If you grant my request, I’ll never let it pass with just empty words.”
“…”
“You look like you don’t trust me. Right, you probably aren’t sure if you can get the request fee from a profligate scoundrel who runs up a tab for his drinks. Don’t worry, I’ll give it to you upfront.”
Linus once again smiled blearily and took another sip of beer.
He slammed the cup down with a ‘puhaak’ sound, then once again patted Derek’s shoulder and acted friendly.
“If you will give it to me upfront, I don’t have any particular complaints. Though I will have to hear the details of the request, of course.”
“Of course I’ll give it to you upfront… but the problem is that it’s not money.”
“…Excuse me?”
Wondering what other strange things he was about to spout, Derek looked at Linus.
Linus grinned, then finally waved his hand near his mouth, mimicking a chattering motion.
“I’ll give you words.”
“…If it’s not money, I won’t accept. I’m sorry.”
“No, you don’t have to dismiss it like that. You’re about to be conferred a barony, right? I heard a letter asking for their opinion on the matter was sent to the Belmeade side as well.”
At those words, Derek’s ears perked up.
Currently, Derek’s long-cherished project was to receive that barony without any problems.
“If you are trying to persuade me with that matter of opinion… well. I’m not so sure.”
“Hahaha. I’m no fool either. The decision-making authority of the Belmeade family is primarily held by my younger sister, Elente. Even our father, the final decision-maker, always respects Elente’s opinion… so there’s no room for me to interfere. The Belmeade family will approve of your title conferment.”
Elente would approve of Derek’s title conferment. Therefore, whatever Linus thought was not very important to Derek.
Linus, as if he knew that fact well, placed his forearm on the bar table and spoke.
“The real problem isn’t me, but that Beltus ahjussi.”
“…Do you mean His Grace, the Grand Duke of Beltus?”
“Right. That ahjussi is so venomous, he won’t be very happy about the emergence of a new territorial noble bordering his own lands. I’ll make that ahjussi approve.”
Linus propped his chin on his fist and said with a hearty laugh.
“Deril… no, Derek, you might have connections with the young lady of the Beltus family, but that girl is like a puppet, so she can’t really raise a loud voice in that Beltus ahjussi’s decision-making.”
“…Even so, the idea that you, Lord Linus, could influence the decision-making of the Beltus family also feels a bit unrealistic.”
“Right. I can’t. But my best friend, Robenalt, is a different story.”
Robenalt. When he searched his mind for where he had heard that name, it was the name of the eldest son of the Beltus family.
It seemed Linus had a separate friendship with Robenalt. Of course, it was hard to believe his words at face value, but feeling that it was right to at least hear him out, Derek corrected his posture.
“Unlike our father, who doesn’t even give a second glance if he thinks someone isn’t up to snuff, regardless of being the eldest son or whatever, that Beltus ahjussi has some old-fashioned ideas about the principle of primogeniture. He adores his eldest son so much, he barely even looks at his other children.”
“…It seems he places a lot of weight on the opinion of that eldest son, Robenalt.”
“Right, because in any case, he intends to hand over the Beltus family to him.”
Linus once again made a chattering gesture with his hand near his mouth, then took a hearty drink of alcohol and spoke.
“I’m good at one thing, and that’s talking. I’ll set things up so that Robenalt supports you, so all you have to do is wait quietly, receive the barony, and maybe wiggle your butt and do a little dance.”
“Is that what you meant by an upfront payment?”
“Right. Once you’ve sat on the baron’s seat without any problems like that, you just take care of one request for me.”
Derek quietly stroked his chin, then finally looked at Linus again and spoke.
“Listening to you, it sounds as if that request is of such a difficult nature that one would need to at least hold the position of a baron to carry it out. If you need an influential person, don’t you know many others besides me?”
“Well… I won’t strongly deny it. But, looking at the situation, it seems you, Deris, are the most suitable person… ugh..”
“It’s Derek, not Deris.”
“Sorry, Deril. Ugh, phew…”
“It’s Derek, not Deril.”
“Sorry, Deren.”
“…”
Derek stared blankly at Linus with a vacant look in his eyes.
Linus chuckled awkwardly, ‘kekeke,’ then once again slammed his head onto the bar table.
“Ooh~ I’m drunk~. Ugh, phew…”
“…What makes you make such an offer, when I could just take the title and then ignore you?”
“Then I just made a bad bet. Isn’t that right?”
“…”
As he himself had said, Linus was no fool.
There was a high possibility that there was some kind of conviction mixed into making such a one-sidedly advantageous offer to Derek.
A conviction that Derek would grant the request Linus would make in the future.
As for what that request was─
“Elente will die if left alone.”
“…”
“Help her so she isn’t pushed out of the successor’s position.”
He didn’t know what the circumstances of the Belmeade family were, but this ousted eldest son was predicting that something was going to happen in the future.
At those words, Derek just held his breath for a moment.
Linus was lost in his drunkenness, but when he spoke about his younger sister, Elente, his expression had hardened seriously.
<><><>
“Something like that happened in the north? I knew Derek had a tendency to be a bit reckless, but I never thought it would be to that extent…”
The next morning.
In the noble district of Ebelstein, three people were gathered in a corner of the garden at Aiseline’s mansion.
One was the master of the mansion, Aiseline, another was her younger sister, Diella, and the other was her not-biological-but-still-sister, Siern.
“Yes. But Lord Melverot gave us a lot of cash. For the time being, we won’t have to worry about the servants’ salaries being late.”
“That… is something to be thankful for, but…”
Diella had a strangely dispirited expression. Anyone who saw that expression would be surprised, saying it was unexpected. This was because she always had a strained look on her face as if she were putting up a fight.
However, she didn’t try so hard in front of Aiseline. After all, she was her beloved older sister.
“I never thought even Lady Siern would come along…”
“Ahaha…”
Cradled in the arms of the awkwardly laughing Aiseline was the young lady of the Rochest family, Siern.
She had the appearance of a cold ice princess, but her actions had a strangely wild animal-like quality… she was sleeping soundly in Aiseline’s arms.
Diella and Siern.
They were girls who would make any of the Ebelstein nobles click their tongues, no matter who they were.
Both had the disposition of mad dogs that no one could handle, but they were also individuals who became gentle young lambs, especially in front of Derek or Aiseline.
As for Aiseline, with the two of them on either side, even the arrogant Lady Trisha had been so intimidated that she had swallowed dryly and taken a step back.
“I should have slapped that impudent Trisha’s cheek a few more times…”
Diella, who was still grinding her teeth at the thought of Trisha, finally took a deep breath to calm down and sat down at the tea table again.
Seeing the fuming Diella, it finally felt like she had returned home, and Aiseline felt a strange sense of stability.
“By the way, what were you doing there when the salon meeting should have been over? Lady Denise and Lady Elente were there as well…”
“Ah… come to think of it, I haven’t told Diella the news yet. Since I was visiting the salon, I thought it would be good to let you know about some news…”
“News? It’s not like you’re a messenger, Aiseline Unnie, is there any reason for you to be running around so busily just to deliver news…”
Seeing the even more light-footed Aiseline, Diella’s heart ached.
After all, when Duplein’s prestige was at its peak, people from all over the world had come to the mansion to meet Aiseline.
For her to now have to run around with her feet on fire just to deliver a piece of news… that fact ached her heart, but she decided not to show it.
Thus, Diella took a sip of black tea to calm herself down.
“Derek-ssi is getting married, you see.”
“Pffft—!”
Of course, that black tea did not go down her throat.
In front of Aiseline, who had dropped the bombshell as naturally as flowing water, the utterly disgraced Diella gasped for breath and spoke again.
“M-my ears must be strange… the words you just said… I think I heard them wrong…”
“Derek-ssi is getting married. I heard he’s starting a family with a mercenary archer named Felinne of the Veldern Mercenary Corps…”
“What? Derek? Derek is seeing a woman? No, just the fact that he’s seeing someone is hard to believe… but he’s getting m-married?”
“Y-yes.”
The Derek that Diella knew was just a person crazy about magic.
Of course, he was a proper man, so he wouldn’t be without the desire to meet a good partner and start a lovely family, but she never thought he would make a decision so suddenly.
In the first place, even though he was a commoner, wasn’t he a person who associated a lot with people from high society?
He was a person who had lived his life meeting all sorts of noble young ladies like not only Diella, but also Aiseline, Elente, and Denise—people one would have a hard time even meeting once in the lower echelons of society—as naturally as breathing. It was inevitable that his standards would become high.
At that point, there was no way a female mercenary from the slums would catch his eye. Thinking that, there was a strange sense of relief.
Thinking this far, Diella herself felt a sense of strangeness. Relief, why on earth was she relieved? Derek had his own life.
Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but be engulfed in a great shock, as if a hole had been punched through her chest.
“…”
She wondered if it was a bad joke, but Aiseline was not the type of person to make such jokes.
Diella could only stare at Aiseline’s expression, her hand holding the empty teacup trembling.
Aiseline was awkwardly averting her gaze. It seemed she knew that Diella would be strangely shocked by this news.
However, for Aiseline, it was also awkward to reveal the whole truth.
The fact that Derek’s marriage was a hollow one just to receive a title… there was no reason she couldn’t tell a precious family member like Diella the truth.
However, Derek had strictly requested it. The fewer people who knew that this marriage was a hollow contract marriage, the better.
It was a trick in the first place, so there was no way it could be considered something to be proud of.
Not to mention in the rumor-mongering noble social circle. The fact of this contract marriage had to be known only by the parties involved.
Aiseline’s deep loyalty was certainly something to be admired, but because of it, from Diella’s perspective, the situation was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
‘W-wasn’t Derek married to magic…?’
She tried such a nonsensical monologue, but it wasn’t as if his marriage would be called off now.
Since it was Aiseline who had said it, it was credible enough, but still, Diella felt she had to see it with her own two eyes.
Scrape—
Diella stood up from her seat.
“…I-I’ll be going for today. Aiseline Unnie.”
“D-Diella… y-your expression isn’t good… are you really alright?”
“That… what was that mercenary’s name? Fe-Felinne?”
“…Why her name? Y-you’re not going to look for her, are you?”
As Aiseline asked with a sense of unease, Diella just shook her head without giving a loud reply and left the spot.
Watching her, Aiseline also felt a strange sense of anxiety and couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.
zzz~
Only Siern, who was sleeping comfortably in Aiseline’s arms for the first time in a while, was having it easy.
<><><>
Swoosh—!
Thwack! Thwack!
Kyaaaak!
A hard arrowhead pierced a goblin’s eye.
The goblin, which had been thrashing around spewing blood, finally collapsed on the grassy ground and breathed its last.
Trudge, trudge—
Thwack!
The girl in light mercenary attire with a cloak had her platinum-blonde hair tied back.
She stepped on the goblin’s face, pulled out the arrow, and then flicked the blood off the tip of her boot.
The surroundings were filled with goblin corpses. A slender, petite girl had killed them all.
The scene was so unrealistic that anyone seeing it for the first time would be left speechless.
“This side is pretty much done. It ended a bit early, so after settling the request fee, maybe I’ll go to Veldern’s Tear and have some honey wine~.”
Felinne, who was cracking her shoulders with a good-natured tone, slung her bow back onto her back and stretched.
It had been an easier request than expected, so the sun was still high in the sky.
She was momentarily lost in the warm scenery of the meadow, then finally shook her head and quickly made her way toward the central gate of Ebelstein.
She was, in name and reality, Derek’s wife.
It was a status that gave her goosebumps to the point of shuddering, but at least she was getting a lot of money, so it was a relief. Thinking so lightly, Felinne quickened her pace.
“♪♬♪”
In truth, there was no way to know at this point.
What it meant to have in her hands as a spouse the magic teacher that Duplein, Beltus, and Belmeade had fought over… was something one wouldn’t know until they experienced it.
If one had to say, all that was left for her was nothing but trials.