Unmarried, Twenty-One, and Powerful - 5
Life has its stretches when nothing goes right at all, and then the opposite arrives—times when everything falls into place so smoothly you almost feel guilty. This is one of those times. I still haven’t grown used to the small happiness that found me, yet a far greater one I never dared imagine has come knocking. Could it be that Enen Himself is doting on me?
Being invited to Karl’s private residence was only the first small step when I thought of the life we would share. Still, knowing that only progress lay ahead made it easy to accept with joy. After all, the one who would stand at Karl’s side was me; there was no need to rush.
Yet Enen seemed to scold me for being satisfied with so little. Nothing else could explain what happened next.
I found myself in Tailglehen County, invited by Karl’s mother. Even now it feels like a dream. I never imagined I would come here at the Countess’s invitation rather than Karl’s own.
The progress is far too fast.
And that is exactly why I like it.
I left the room Karl had shown me and walked the corridor. I could not let this chance slip away in vain.
This is a good sign, isn’t it? A positive one, right? Then the proper thing is to go greet Mother first. Yes—expressing gratitude to the one who invited you is only natural for a guest.
After asking a servant the way, I set out for Mother’s chambers—
“…and make sure you write and call more often. Mother seems to worry about you.”
—only to find Karl mid-lecture, scolding someone for all he was worth.
It felt awkward to interrupt, so I quietly tucked myself out of sight. The brothers’ conversation continued without pause. Honestly it was less a conversation than Karl’s one-sided nagging.
So they don’t keep in touch much.
I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but the distance was short enough that I heard everything. Both brothers rarely contacted their parents.
That explained the strange feeling I’d had ever since meeting Karl’s parents at the castle gates. Karl’s father was famously taciturn even in high society, and Karl himself had mentioned it a few times, so that was no surprise.
Mother, however, had been different. Not cold, yet not warm either. She kept glancing toward Karl or Young Master Erich, so it wasn’t lack of interest—yet she never took the first step herself.
I’d wondered what was going on, but if it was simply poor communication, everything made sense. I’d worried that the stiff father-son relationship might have extended to mother and son as well. That would have been too pitiful for Karl.
They’re just awkward with each other.
If the problem is only a lack of talk, then it’s a relief. Even the Valenti ducal house once grew distant from one another for the same reason.
Brother, who effectively ran the duchy in place of our retired father, and Sister-in-law, who supported him, were simply too busy. They never had enough time left for their own child.
“Has she ever actually cared what I do?”
That was why the eldest grandson of House Valenti had once been on the verge of turning bitter. Fortunately Father had a long talk with him in the place he called the Room of Truth, and Brother and Sister-in-law began showing proper affection. The matter resolved itself.
So if Karl simply spoke with Mother more often, the awkward air would clear. Besides, he didn’t seem to hold any real resentment toward her.
Karl is surprisingly honest with his feelings. If he truly disliked Mother, he would have complained about her more than once already.
What should I do? Suggest that Karl talk with Mother more often? Or, while greeting her, casually mention that Karl is a little shy?
“A youngest son ought to show some warmth.”
“I know I was wrong, so just stop…”
While I was still deliberating, Karl’s lecture only grew fiercer. That, too, must come from brotherly concern.
Watching Young Master Erich shrink further and further, I finally stepped forward. He was going to be my young lord someday; I could at least lend a hand.
“Young Master Karl, Young Master Erich.”
“Mar?”
“My lady.”
The moment I appeared the scolding cut off, and Young Master Erich’s face brightened at once. You owe me one, young lord.
In the middle of my noble effort to reform a wicked unfilial son, Margreta’s voice came from behind me.
“I heard Young Master Karl’s voice and came to see. Is something the matter?”
“Ah—was I that loud?”
Apparently the only thing that grew while I served as Audit Department Chief was the volume of my voice. Living around ministers has left me shouting even when I don’t mean to.
Feeling oddly embarrassed, I gave an awkward smile and glanced at Erich. The flow had already broken; better to wrap it up here.
“Just a bit of brotherly advice.”
“Did I interrupt?”
“Not at all. Not in the slightest.”
Erich answered hurriedly the moment Margreta tilted her head. He must have been terrified that once she left I would start scolding him again.
Looking at her, a new thought struck me. House Valenti is a large family spanning three generations. Wouldn’t advice about family contact and affection carry more weight coming from Margreta than from me? Objectively speaking, I’m an unfilial son who left home and never writes either.
In truth I can’t really claim the title of “son,” so I’m dumping the chance for filial piety onto Erich—yet from everyone else’s view I am a perfectly legitimate son. A greater unfilial child browbeating a lesser one into being filial. The dissonance is quietly intense.
“Young Master Karl?”
Ah. I stared too long.
“Mar. Do you get along well with His Grace the Duke?”
“Pardon?”
The question came so out of nowhere that Margreta’s eyes widened; then a small smile bloomed. I felt a little embarrassed at how abrupt I’d been, but I was genuinely curious.
The age gap between Margreta and the Iron Blood Duke is considerable. Yet I have never heard that she finds him awkward, or that he is indifferent to her. On the contrary, they are close.
They are more like grandfather and granddaughter than father and daughter, and still their bond is solid. Meanwhile Erich and Mother are only twenty-two years apart, and look at them.
“Why wouldn’t we get along? When you live together you naturally grow close.”
“Is that so?”
“And even if you’re apart, you can simply speak through a communication orb every day.”
Exactly the words I wanted to hear. Yes, that is how it should be. Erich somehow never figured that out.
“Parents would be delighted if their children did that.”
Now it was no longer merely my opinion; Margreta supported it as well. If Erich had any sense, he would not neglect contact from now on.
“And if the eldest does it, they would be even more delighted.”
And just like that the blade turned on me.
Margreta’s smiling face left me awkward. So even in her eyes Erich and I are cut from the same cloth.
“From a parent’s perspective the first child always draws the most attention. And once the first moves, the younger ones follow. That is how it was in Valenti.”
“Truly wise words.”
After taking a one-sided beating until now, Erich finally had a chance to counterattack; he chimed in supportively from the side, subtly backing Margreta.
The same Margreta who had been my reliable ally a moment ago had just become a lethal dagger. Worse, nothing she said was wrong, which made it even more troublesome.
“Of course that is only how it was in Valenti. House Krasius will have its own way.”
“We don’t have a way, which is why we live like this.”
“Hee-hee, is that so?”
Watching Margreta hide her mouth behind her fan and laugh softly only made my head more complicated.
I already knew. Before scolding Erich I should move first, and then he would follow. If the older brother himself never pays Mother any mind, why would the younger be different?
If I don’t understand that, there’s something wrong with my intelligence.
But how am I supposed to approach Mother when the very idea makes me reluctant? Part of it is that she is not my real mother, yet the larger reason is that I am not her real son. Pretending to be genuine when I am a fake feels too much like fraud.
Mother is not a particularly assertive person, yet she still worries about my marriage prospects and health, still thinks about finding Erich a match. She at least intends to fulfill a mother’s role.
Deceiving someone like that sits poorly with me. So I had been relying on my pre-possession memories and keeping the same polite distance as before. I never expected Erich to build a wall as well, which is why I am belatedly trying to push the two of them together.
Pretty despicable of me, isn’t it?
How is “I don’t want to, but you have to” any different? I had already thought that to myself, yet hearing something similar from Margreta made me squirm with embarrassment.
“Come to think of it, I was on my way to pay my respects to Mother.”
Just as I was starting to feel a little sorry for all the scolding I had poured on Erich, Margreta continued.
“As an invited guest I ought to greet her properly.”
“Is that so? Mother will be pleased.”
She has been suffering among royals and princes lately. A greeting from a fellow imperial noble should be quietly welcome.
“Will Young Master Karl come with us? And Young Master Erich as well?”
I hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
“Mother was in the rear garden earlier. She may still be there.”
After receiving such good advice I could hardly wipe my mouth and run away.
When we reached the garden, Mother and the head maid were still there. The other maids had vanished, so the two of them must have been about to enjoy a little air before going inside.
“Mother.”
Mother, who had been gazing at the flowerbeds with the head maid, flinched and turned. The head maid looked equally startled; clearly neither of them had expected the fellow who just left to come back so soon.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected to come back either. Meeting again right after parting felt awkward; I had half-hoped they would already be gone.
“Oh, Nanny’s here too?”
Erich, following behind, waved at the head maid, and her eyes grew even rounder.
“Our guest wished to offer her greetings, so I brought her.”
I watched that exchange for a moment, then turned my gaze back to Mother. She nodded with a dazed look, yet her eyes drifted past me toward Margreta.
After confirming that Margreta bowed demurely and Mother returned the greeting, I spoke again.
“Our guest said she does not mind if we stay as well. Mother, are you all right with that?”
Having just finished a tea party, asking for more of her time took more courage than I expected.
“I never know when I will next visit the territory, so I would like to spend a little longer with you, Mother.”
At those words the head maid hurriedly declared she would prepare refreshments and dashed off.