Crassius - 4
I'm terrified. This encirclement, this loneliness with nowhere to turn—it's all too much.
When my fiancées came pouring in alongside Father and Mother, I thought they were just sticking close to the steward for too long. Here I'd finally come home to my in-laws, and my future husband was off playing somewhere he shouldn't be—so of course they meant to drag me off. I greeted them with a smile.
I was wrong. Far from dragging me away, they formed a perfect circle around me in an instant and started beating me with words.
"I believed every word Karl said. So it was all just excuses."
"No, Mar, that's—"
"It's a good thing a mage treated the baby. If it had been a priest, the whole matter would have been buried forever."
"W-well, um—"
Mar with tears welling in her eyes and Beatrix muttering in that bitter voice closed in from both sides until I thought I would lose my mind.
I'm finished. While I was talking about something else with the steward, a truth that should never have seen the light of day spilled out into the world. I had never intended to reveal the injury. I had only meant to keep the ugly truth buried as long as possible—and now they had caught me.
"Brother... I hate that you got hurt, but I hate even more that you didn't even know you were hurt."
"But Oppa did tell the truth in the end, so we were the ones who misunderstood, right? You were going to tell us from the start, weren't you?"
On top of that, Luise and Irina started prodding at my conscience until I couldn't even open my mouth. If they had just exploded in rage I could have accepted it with humility, but the fact that they still held onto their faith and affection for me right to the end was enough to drive me crazy.
The one small mercy was that only four of them were thrashing me instead of all six.
Damn it.
The moment I glanced at the two who had stepped back a few paces to watch, I abandoned all hope. Erzebet was smirking as if she found the whole spectacle entertaining, while Penelia's eyes darted about frantically, clearly not knowing what to do with herself.
When I looked even farther off I could see Father being tormented by Mother as well. Erich and Sera were not even worth mentioning, and the steward who had been standing nearby had already fled down the far end of the corridor.
It's hopeless. In this hell I have no allies.
I was far too careless.
Only after the situation had already reached this state did I realize it. Hiding the truth would have required a far more meticulous plan.
If I had tried to cover it up alone, there would have been fewer variables to worry about. But this cover-up had been a joint operation between Father and me. And yet our communication had been so poor that I only learned today that Father had already been found out by Mother. Of course a catastrophe like this would erupt.
We were complacent. Neither Father nor I have much experience working as equals with a partner. The rare times we have cooperated, it was always a subordinate adjusting to us; true equal collaboration is almost entirely foreign. Is this a side effect of high rank?
"...I'm sorry."
In the end, battered by attacks from every direction, I bowed at the waist and declared my surrender.
I am a sinner. I will accept my wives' judgment...
My desperate declaration of surrender allowed the impromptu hearing to wrap up without further incident.
They had grilled me because they found it unforgivable that I had tried to conceal the injury, and that on top of that I had brazenly bluffed with lines like "I was saving it so I could tell you face-to-face." But in the end I had told the truth. The process had been full of problems, yet the result itself was fine.
So my fiancées sighed and withdrew once more to Mother's side. If I had kept my mouth shut to the bitter end and then been caught, I would have been turned into Karl-C-r-a-s-s-i-u-s scraps. Surviving this was a win.
Thank goodness.
I felt genuine relief. One slightly worse choice and I would have been fried by Beatrix's Thunderbolt.
"I'm sorry."
Father, who had somehow drawn up beside me, spoke in a heavy voice.
"It's all right. I didn't handle things well either."
I shook my head slightly as I answered.
It would be a lie to say I had not felt even a flicker of resentment, but once the storm had passed I could understand. Just as I am completely helpless against my fiancées, Father is weak against Mother. Looking at my own future, I have no desire to cast blame.
Besides, Father being found out by Mother was a variable I never saw coming either. Mother's independent intelligence network is far more formidable than I imagined. My injury was practically a military secret—how on earth did she learn of it?
"...Ideally we would never have anything to hide in the first place, but from now on it would be best if we simply spoke about whatever comes up."
"Yes. I'll do that."
I agreed without the slightest hesitation to his heartfelt suggestion. Mother's mysterious intelligence network, plus the networks of six fiancées that include a duke—I have zero confidence I could maintain a secret against all of that. If I could, I would already be the head of intelligence.
Father nodded at my answer, then took a communication orb from his breast pocket and began writing something.
A moment later my own orb vibrated briefly.
"You should know this as well."
"Yes?"
Curious, I took out my orb and found that Father had sent a message. Why bother with a text when he was standing right in front of me?
What is this?
The content was cryptic as well. Nothing but a short string of teleport coordinates—no other words.
"It's a lake near the Imperial Capital. The scenery is excellent and the water is clear—perfect for fishing. Only members of the Imperial Diet frequent the place, so there's no need to worry about prying eyes."
As if reading my confusion, he quickly added an explanation. Close enough to the capital for easy access, lovely scenery for catching one's breath, visited only by Imperial Diet members so no one else would notice... He listed several plausible advantages, but the summary was simple.
A refuge. A place Father and the other assemblymen flee to whenever something happens.
Fishing.
My gaze instinctively dropped to Father's shoes.
Come to think of it, earlier this year, wasn't it? Father had been off fishing and failed to greet me and my fiancées when we visited the estate. Even though it had been unavoidable because of work, Mother had scolded him thoroughly—and if I recall correctly, that sort of thing had happened more than once or twice.
I see. So this refuge has quite a long and storied tradition.
"I'll have to learn how to fish first."
"I'll teach you, so don't worry. We can go together whenever our schedules line up."
A slightly frightening statement. I have no idea whether our free time as men of leisure will align first, or whether both of us will get kicked out and be forced to meet that way first.
If it's the latter, I might actually cry.
The banquet celebrating Billy and Karl's safe return proceeded on a grand scale. Invitations had not even been sent to other houses, yet the affair was larger than any banquet the Crassius family had prepared in recent years.
There were few people actually present in the hall, but that was fine. It was a banquet for family, so family alone was enough—and the servants who had devoted themselves to the Crassius household had already been told to take turns enjoying the celebration.
Of course, even a sparsely attended banquet is still a banquet. As the lady of the house who had prepared it, I needed to look after the handful of guests and see to their comfort—yet watching Billy and Karl whispering together off to one side made me feel a sigh coming on.
It's a relief they've grown closer, but...
A complicated, indescribable emotion welled up. A father and son who could not even be called close by any stretch of the imagination were finally showing the ordinary face of a father and son. Whether Billy had drawn nearer with greater warmth, or Karl had finally opened his heart to us imperfect parents, I could not say—but it was a positive thing.
Yet as the two grew closer, as their relationship became that of an ordinary father and son, a peculiar drawback also came into sharper focus.
Blood really is thicker than water.
A bitter smile escaped me before I knew it. Black hair, black eyes, a somewhat taciturn disposition—there had always been plenty of proof that Karl was Billy's son.
And now I could see Billy's carelessness in strange places reflected in Karl as well.
He didn't need to inherit that particular trait.
Billy is Billy, but Karl is careless too. If the two of them were going to join forces to hide something, they should have hidden it properly. What were they thinking, telling completely different stories?
They're far too alike.
Yet before long the bitter smile softened into a natural one. Until now I had never truly faced Karl, so I had not known this side of his personality. Learning it now meant I was finally meeting the complete Karl.
Today truly is a joyous day. There had been a tiny bit of commotion along the way, but with a feeling like this I can laugh it off.
"Nia."
While I was watching Billy and Karl clustered together, Laura approached and whispered softly.
"What are you doing all alone? Go talk with your daughters-in-law a little."
"I already spoke with them enough earlier. If I overdo it they'll only feel burdened."
Laura pondered something at those words, then carefully nodded.
Perhaps she was remembering the time when she herself had just married? Wanting to grow close to one's mother-in-law while still finding everything awkward—that is how daughters-in-law are at that stage.
"You're one to talk. It's been a while since you last saw Sera."
When I turned the question back on her—"And why are you here instead of with your daughter?"—Laura let out a soft laugh and cast her gaze to one side.
Following her eyes, I found myself smiling even more deeply.
"If I insert myself between them I'll only earn resentment."
I nodded at Laura's words. Erich and Sera were laughing together over simple desserts. If Laura wedged herself between them, she would be on the receiving end of Sera's resentment for quite some time.
"If only Erich would find a partner as well, that would be nice."
"Karl is only just getting married now, so let's not rush."
I was about to nod again when a sense of wrongness made me turn my gaze to Laura. Laura knows that Sera has feelings for Erich; she would never respond so leisurely under normal circumstances.
At my puzzled look, Laura offered a bitter smile and shook her head.
"I don't think Erich realizes yet."
"Ah."
The admission that there was no point in hurrying drew a sigh from me.
Honestly.
I let out a small breath. My husband, my eldest son, my second son—every one of them is strange somewhere. They are all a family I can proudly present anywhere without shame, and yet somehow each of them has a flaw.
It's a good thing she's at the Academy.
The thought came to me suddenly. At least Sera being at the Academy is fortunate. If the physical distance between Erich and Sera had been great as well, there might have been no hope at all. Could Sera have known that and forced herself into the Academy for that reason?
It's a plausible theory. When Sera first announced she was entering the Academy I had been terribly worried, but thinking of it now as a decision made for the future makes me proud of her.
By contrast, only a heavy feeling settled over me regarding Erich's complete lack of awareness.
What is it with the Crassius men...
Please, let this particular flaw not be passed down to the next generation.