A Joyful Year-End - 2
I just sat there blankly on the bed. Ever since hearing Billy's words, I couldn't even find the strength to move.
Karl had gotten engaged, they said. To Lady Margareta, no less—the girl who was now, beyond any doubt, the prospective daughter-in-law. At last the engagement was sealed.
The child who, even with the Magic Lord appearing as a variable, had still managed to walk the path of the first wife. The child who had spent over twenty years alone and had finally found a partner. They were children who deserved congratulations more than anyone. Children more than worthy of everyone's blessings.
But not me.
Yet there was no place for me among those offering congratulations. Even if the whole world celebrated them, I had no right.
Of course not. What right did I have to stand between them—
No.
I hurriedly shook my head against the endless flood of gloomy thoughts.
Karl must have had his reasons for not contacting me. Hadn't Billy said as much? That it was a sudden engagement, one that had only just concluded. There simply hadn't been any time to get in touch.
Yes, Karl was a busy child. He just… he just hadn't found the time to tell me yet.
Suddenly, I'm sorry, but what would be a good gift for the lady?
Recalling the conversation I'd had with Karl not long ago, a smile came unbidden.
I believe in him. Even though I did something unforgivable to that child, even though he would have every right to hate me, our relationship is still growing closer little by little.
Because that child, more mature than I am, is still reaching out a hand even to a mother like me.
Don't dwell on it.
As Billy had said, it was a rumor that would spread even if they tried to hide it. If they'd meant to keep it secret, they would have handled the engagement differently.
So don't dwell on it. Trust that child. If I can't even trust him, what right do I have to call myself his mother?
Mother.
And that trust soon turned into happiness.
So he really was just busy.
I almost laughed at the look of pure bewilderment on Karl's face. I shouldn't have, but that flustered expression was so novel and welcome.
A child who had rarely shown emotion since he was young was now displaying his feelings in front of me. He was rushing to inform me of his own engagement.
If you thought about it, it was the picture of an ordinary family. Wasn't it only natural for a child to show emotion to his parents and share news of an engagement?
But we weren't ordinary.
For over twenty years, we had lived without knowing that "ordinary."
But the ordinary had ridden the winds of miracle and come to my side.
"Yes, Karl. What is it?"
And so I could smile. The road ahead was still long, but at least we were walking it.
Something felt off—a lingering unease. Fortunately, it didn't take long to figure out what it was.
"Once the New Year's Audience is over, let's go to Tailglehen as well. I'd like to pay my respects to your parents again."
Margareta said it with her face faintly flushed. I stroked her hair and nodded.
"Very well. Since the eldest son has finally gotten engaged, they should know… too…"
As I spoke, I noticed the dissonance.
The eldest son. The heir who would carry the family. The engagement of such a successor. Marriage among nobles was an extension of politics. In fact, even setting nobility aside, any person would inform their family of a marriage. An engagement was a promise of marriage, so it fell under that as well.
But had I… told the family about the engagement?
Oh, fuck.
I hadn't. Not to the family head, not to Mother, not even to Erich.
To be honest, my marrying Margareta was a foregone conclusion, but staying silent even after getting engaged was a separate issue entirely.
"Karl?"
And when I froze with my hand still stroking her hair, Margareta tilted her head. So did Luise and Irina, who were walking with us.
"Mar."
"Yes, go ahead."
"If a child never mentions their engagement, how do you think the parents would feel?"
At those words, Margareta froze as well. Her eyes said she couldn't believe it.
"…You still haven't told them?"
"Yes…"
"Not even once while we were staying in Ulken?"
"Yes…"
My gaze gradually dropped to the floor.
The engagement had been officially finalized today, but wasn't the whole reason we went to Ulken for the engagement? There had been plenty of time to speak up.
But I hadn't. The reason was nothing special. I just forgot.
"I was so busy while we were in Ulken that…"
"You know that's just an excuse, right?"
I couldn't argue with Margareta's firm words. Even I thought it was a cowardly excuse.
Guilt kept my eyes glued to the floor. Margareta's gaze, usually so warm and gentle, felt sharp right now.
The Valenti family valued family above all. As a member of that family, Margareta must have found a son who kept even his engagement secret to be a culture shock of an existence.
"Tell them now. These things shouldn't be put off."
Since it was the obvious thing to do, I quickly took out the communication crystal. If I put this off and forgot again, wouldn't I go down in imperial history as the ultimate unfilial son?
No, this went beyond unfilial—this was super-unfilial. Super-unfilial son Karl Crassius. My chest felt tight.
Under the three women's inscrutable gazes, I placed the call to Mother. Properly speaking, this should be reported to the family head, but as a fellow civil servant, I knew well the hassle of year-end work. You don't bother people at year-end.
So automatically, only Mother was left.
"Yes, Karl. What is it?"
And seeing Mother's faint smile, the triangle deep in my heart began thrashing violently.
I'm crying… The super-unfilial son is crying…
"Well, Mother, it's—"
But separate from the thrashing triangle, my mouth simply wouldn't move.
Realistically, how many kids could boldly say, "I finished my engagement today, but I forgot to tell you. Just so you know now"?
"I've heard. You got engaged to Lady Margareta?"
"…Yes."
If the son hadn't even spoken and the mother had already heard the engagement news through someone else, it was even harder to lift one's head.
"That's wonderful news. The future of the Crassius family is finally looking bright."
Yet Mother offered no rebuke at all. I had honestly braced myself to be scolded for treating the family like a joke, but she simply spoke with a smile.
That only made my heart ache more. I would have rather taken her anger gladly.
As if she knew my feelings, Mother continued calmly.
"Don't take it so much to heart. From your perspective, it was a sudden engagement, so you must not have had the presence of mind to speak of it. Even Erich thought you were just heading to the capital."
I almost nodded unconsciously at the warm words, but I held back when I felt Margareta's gaze.
If I just let it slide smoothly here, Margareta would scold me in Mother's place.
"No. I should have told you at least as soon as the engagement was finalized. I'm sorry. I won't let something like this happen again."
At that, Mother let out a small laugh.
"All right. When it comes to the wedding, tell me first."
"…Yes."
There was a slight delay in my reply. Just now I'd been thinking of the engagement ceremonies I'd probably have about four more of, not the wedding.
Of course, I couldn't say that at this timing. I had some sense of the situation.
"When you have time, can you come to the fief?"
"Of course. As it happens, Mar and I were just talking about that."
"My daughter-in-law is already thinking of her mother-in-law."
I laughed awkwardly at the words that seemed to carry a subtle barb.
Quietly tucking the communication crystal into my coat, I turned my gaze to Margareta. She nodded with solemn gravity.
"Well done."
It was so much like a judge delivering a not-guilty verdict that a small laugh escaped me.
"But as you said, Karl, we can't have this happen again. Understood?"
"Of course. Don't worry."
I deliberately made a grand declaration, but Margareta's gaze remained complex and subtle.
Since I'd already made the mistake once, she probably thought I was capable of a second. It wasn't a wrong assessment, so my chest ached a little.
"Even Oppa makes mistakes sometimes."
"I'm only human, after all."
And thanks to Luise's intervention, the pain in my chest could end quickly. If I'd just had to endure the silence and the sharp looks, I wouldn't have held out—thank you.
"Hehe, I thought Oppa was someone who did everything well from the start."
The words were so pure that laughter burst out of me again. If she'd seen my early days as a bureaucrat, she wouldn't have said that.
The me who had just become a civil servant, the me who had just become a director—I'd left a truly bizarre trail of footprints. Looking back now, I wonder how I even survived this long.
"No one does everything well from the start. We all grow through experience."
Yes, we grow through experience. This whole incident happened because family was new to me, engagement was new to me. But now I'd gotten engaged. I'd also tried reporting it to the family.
So when it came time for the engagements with the Magic Lord, Luise, Irina, and the 1st Division Chief, I had to do it properly. Repeating the same mistake twice wouldn't be a mistake—it would be an intelligence problem.
I'm not lacking in sense—am I lacking a brain?
This time it was a temporary brain-disappearance mistake, but there would be no more of the same going forward. I would become the Engagement Ceremony Specialist—Karl Crassius.
Making that resolution as we walked, the mansion gradually came into view.
"You all go in first. I've already told the butler we'd be coming, so he'll guide you."
Since they could find their way fine without me now, I casually stepped back.
"…You're not going to kneel again this time, are you?"
At my words, Margareta flinched and asked in an uneasy voice.
Certainly, it had been the same pattern in the Ulken Duchy. At a spot where the main gate was visible, I'd told them to go in first, then promptly dropped to my knees. From Margareta's perspective, it was the stuff of PTSD.
"Would I do that at my own mansion?"
But it was an excessive worry. That castle was the Demon King's castle where the Iron Blood Duke resided, but this mansion was my own property. What kind of guy kneels in front of his own house?
"I just have somewhere to stop by briefly. It's not far, so I'll be right back."
"Really right back?"
"Of course. If it looks like I'll be late, I'll contact you."
Only then did Margareta's vibrating body settle down. Saying it so confidently, she must have thought it was no big deal.
Unfortunately, though, it was a big deal. As Margareta feared, I wouldn't be kneeling or prostrating myself, but it wasn't an ordinary matter either.
Well, a ring will be about the same no matter where you buy it. The shops in the capital are all pretty much equally high-quality.
"But there's still got to be a ranking among them, right?"
That's true, but…
The decent ring shop I'd asked the 2nd Division Chief about last time.
Oh, it's right near the Director's mansion. Is this fate or what?
The four rings I planned to give as gifts when accepting the confessions.
If you keep walking down Akala Street, you'll come to a three-story building. They use the whole place.
Now I had to go buy them.