Myself Before Others - 4
A damp sensation spread across my face, so I slowly opened my eyes. Was water leaking from the ceiling? That would be a problem.
"Wang!"
"So it was you."
The moment I opened my eyes I found myself staring straight into Titi's, who was diligently licking my face.
Sunlight was just beginning to slip through the curtains, so it must have been early morning, yet this little creature had somehow gotten into the room and was waking its master in person. Who needed a biological alarm clock?
"I'm getting up, so stop licking."
I scooped Titi into my arms and glanced toward the door. The firmly shut door was far too large for Titi—who was only about the size of a rice cake—to open. Someone passing by must have taken pity on the puppy whining outside and let it in.
And the one who let Titi in was most likely Yuris. Being the youngest of the servants, she was especially fond of the little dog. Or it could have been Sophia.
Maybe I should just raise it in the room.
I mulled it over while Titi continued to lick my cheek. The pup was still too small to be left loose in the garden, so we kept it inside the mansion, yet whenever it was free to roam the halls it often ended up whining outside a door. We had let it wander so it could enjoy its freedom, and now we were stuck with this inconvenience.
Leaving it locked in a room all the time felt like animal cruelty, which made me feel guilty, but keeping the bedroom door open around the clock would mean the complete end of my privacy.
...I should just install a pet door.
After a brief deliberation I settled on that solution. If I put in a small hatch like the milk chute on the front door, Titi would be able to come and go without trouble.
Of course, making such a slapdash alteration to a mansion steeped in history and tradition was unthinkable—but what did that matter to me? It was the Aesilon family's tradition, not mine.
Knock, knock.
"My lord, have you risen?"
"Yeah, I just woke up."
At the sound of the butler's voice and the knock, I set Titi on the floor; the puppy immediately scampered over and began scratching at the door.
When it was outside it wanted in; when it was inside it wanted out... what a complicated child.
"Breakfast has been prepared as you instructed."
"Good. Thank you."
I nodded at the butler's report.
Ordinarily the servants handled breakfast without any need for my orders, but today was different. Today Mother was visiting the mansion.
"She'll be here soon, so have everything ready to bring out at once."
"Yes, my lord."
And she was coming first thing in the morning, no less.
This feels strange.
An awkward feeling made me rub the back of my neck for no reason. This was the first time I would be the one hosting Mother rather than the other way around.
But there was no help for it. She had said she wanted to see the wedding venue herself before her eldest son married, and the ceremony was to be held in the Imperial Capital. We could hardly move the cathedral to the Tailglehen county, so Mother had to come here.
From the moment her visit was confirmed I had wracked my brains for every scrap of memory I could find—what foods she liked, which teas she preferred.
"Ah, Mother prefers seafood to meat. And she always enjoyed herbal tea after meals."
Yet Mar's recollections had been far more detailed than anything I managed to dredge up. Things even her own son had forgotten, Mar listed off without hesitation.
I felt a twinge of self-reproach, but forced myself to take a positive view of it. Mar must think of Mother with genuine devotion, I decided.
That was the version I chose to believe. Between a daughter-in-law who felt like a true daughter and a burning filial son, any man of sense would pick the former.
Before long Mother arrived with her head lady-in-waiting and a few maids.
She had brought only the bare minimum of attendants, enough that even the guards flinched a little at the sight. For the mistress of an Imperial Count's household, the procession was indeed far too modest and plain.
Of course, no one was going to criticize Mother for traveling lightly. With a former Imperial Count for a husband and me for a son, anyone who did complain would at least deserve high marks for sheer courage.
"It's cold out—why are you standing outside like this? You should have waited indoors."
Mother hurried over the moment she spotted me waiting at the main gate and cupped my cheek in her hand.
I nearly laughed at the words. Coming from the woman who always came all the way out to the gate whenever I visited the estate, they rang a little hollow.
"I'm quite sturdy, as you know. This much is nothing."
"That may be so, but..."
Mother's voice trailed off as her gaze slid past me.
I followed her eyes and saw my fiancées standing in front of the servants.
Ah.
I understood at once. This was the familiar pattern—worrying less about her sturdy son and more about her delicate future daughters-in-law.
"Let us go inside quickly. Catching a cold right before such a happy occasion would be disastrous."
"Ah—yes. Of course."
At Mother's firm tone I found myself nodding automatically.
The meal with Mother proceeded in a warm, intimate atmosphere.
"The chef's skill is truly outstanding."
"Father said the same thing."
"Did he? After more than twenty years together, it seems our tastes have grown alike."
Watching Mother smile softly while speaking with Karl filled me with quiet happiness.
I'm so glad.
Glad that their relationship had finally settled into something resembling an ordinary family.
Two years ago, when I first met Mother, the mood had been nothing like this. Karl had treated her with stiff reserve, and Mother's longing to grow closer to him had been painfully obvious.
For a mother-and-son relationship that awkward to become this warm... as the future eldest daughter-in-law of House Crassius, I could only feel joy.
"Ah, the cooking is the kitchen's work, of course, but Mar played a big part as well. She carefully chose every dish to match Mother's tastes."
"Is that true?"
The moment Karl mentioned my name, Mother's eyes turned to me. The way they sparkled with emotion made pride and embarrassment surge through me at the same time.
"I-I just happen to have similar tastes, so I remembered. I prefer seafood myself."
"Even so, remembering someone else's preferences is no small thing. Thank you."
The direct praise made the corners of my mouth twitch.
Hold it in, lips. If I grin like an idiot, what will Mother think of me? I had been steadily earning good marks; ruining everything at the last moment would be a disaster.
"Oh dear, I've been talking only with Mar."
Fortunately Mother's gaze moved elsewhere, sparing me from showing my flushed face.
"It's quite all right. Looking after a soon-to-be daughter-in-law is only natural. When our turns come, we trust you will look after us just as kindly."
"Heh heh. Of course I will."
Listening to Beatrix and Mother converse, I hurriedly wiped the corner of my mouth. If I missed this chance I really would burst out laughing.
...That was close.
I carefully composed my expression and took a cautious sip of water—only to lock eyes with Karl, who was giving me a thumbs-up.
The smile I had just managed to suppress twitched again.
After the meal, Karl and I escorted Mother to St. Paronas Cathedral.
The head lady-in-waiting Mother had brought and the other fiancées remained at the mansion; only the three of us went. Even this small arrangement made my heart pound, as though it were quietly announcing that the wedding was truly near.
"I never thought I would set foot here again."
Mother murmured softly once we arrived at the cathedral.
"And I certainly never imagined I would come for my son's wedding."
Karl and I both nodded. What noble could ever have imagined holding a wedding in this cathedral? Anyone who dared entertain such a thought would have been either a megalomaniac or a traitor.
"Your names will remain forever. The first nobles ever to make use of a space reserved for the Imperial Family."
"The honor is so excessive I feel almost embarrassed."
Karl's heartfelt grumble drew a gentle smile from Mother.
"Minister of the Inspectorate Ministry?"
Suddenly someone called out to Karl.
I quickly scanned the man's appearance, but he was a complete stranger. Since he had addressed Karl rather than me, he was presumably an acquaintance of Karl's—yet anyone important enough to speak to the Minister-designate should have been someone I recognized.
"Director of the Imperial Household?"
"So it really is Your Excellency the Minister."
Karl's reply cleared up my confusion. So this was the new Director of the Imperial Household.
That explained why I did not know him. After the previous director had been promoted to Minister of Palace Affairs, this official had been newly elevated to fill the post.
"What are you doing here? The Ministry of Palace Affairs wouldn't have given you leave."
"Haha, I wish it were leave, but I'm on duty. I've been placed in overall charge of Your Excellency's wedding preparations."
"...His Majesty certainly chose an extravagantly high-ranking overseer."
Karl offered a wry smile at the laughing director.
Good heavens.
Even I was astonished. Not only had the Director of the Imperial Household—the man responsible for all imperial affairs—been assigned to Karl's wedding, but the person in overall charge was personally on site. That was no ordinary matter.
"Ah, I haven't yet greeted the ladies. I am Pizera Dobeln of Rineang, undeservingly honored by His Majesty the Emperor. Please simply call me Baron Rineang!"
"Ah, yes. It's a pleasure, Baron Rineang."
His greeting was so energetic that I found myself bowing my head before I could stop. For a titled noble who was also Director of the Imperial Household, he seemed rather lighthearted...
Of course I had no intention of underestimating him simply because of outward mannerisms. A man who was nothing but frivolous would never have risen to that position.
"By the way, Your Excellency—there is a matter on which I would very much like the opinion of the groom himself. Might you spare a little time?"
"My opinion?"
Karl's eyes flicked toward Mother. We had come to escort her, after all; launching into work talk would be—
"I'm perfectly fine. Mar and I will stay here, so go speak comfortably."
"Thank you for your consideration, my lady!"
With Mother's swift permission, Karl and the director headed off toward a corner of the cathedral.
"How convenient. I was hoping to get him out of the way for a moment anyway."
"Pardon?"
I couldn't help blurting out a question at Mother's words. "Convenient"? Hadn't she come to look over the wedding venue together with Karl?
Mother smiled again at my reaction, drew a ring from her bosom, and pressed it into my hand.
"This is the mistress's business, after all. Having the head of the house watching would be awkward. There are things women prefer to settle among themselves."
Her voice carried a faint note of mischief, yet I could only blink blankly.
She had called it the mistress's business, so it was clearly related to House Crassius, but receiving a ring out of the blue left me completely at a loss.
"That ring is the one Billy gave me when I officially became Countess of Tailglehen."
?
My mind froze solid. The ring Mother had received when she became a countess? A gift from Father, no less?
...
"M-Mother! Something so precious—"
"Don't misunderstand. My wedding ring is a separate piece."
I tried in a panic to return the ring, but Mother shook her head firmly, as though she had expected exactly that reaction.
Thank goodness... I had almost thought it was a wedding ring.
"The previous previous Count of Tailglehen—Karl's paternal grandfather—kept several wives. Billy, on the other hand, had only me, and he gave me this ring saying that the countess would always be me alone. It was less a gift between lovers and more a gift to the woman charged with the family's internal support—the true countess."
No, hearing it again, the ring was every bit as important as a wedding ring.
My hands began to tremble. Why give something so precious to me...?
"Karl, unlike us, is going to end up with six wives, so I considered having six identical rings made—yet no matter how I thought about it, I wanted to pass my own ring on to you and you alone."
"M-Mother, this is far too much for me..."
"Don't say such things. If the first wife is no different from the others, her dignity will not stand. Fairness in love is important, but so is the authority of the first wife."
Then she took the ring that still lay in my palm and slipped it onto my finger herself.
"The other girls would feel left out if they saw, so I'm giving it to you in secret here. Just say it was a wedding gift and never mention that I used to wear it. Understood?"
At Mother's gentle smile I could only nod in a daze.
The ring Mother used to wear.
The ring she had worn as the one and only countess.
My blank mind gradually returned to life. I could no longer control the corners of my mouth that kept curling upward.
"You look lovely when you smile like that. Keep smiling often from now on."
I had received the greatest gift of all.