Young Family Head - 4

These days, when I came home from work, Mother was often there.

I didn't mind—she was doting on her grandson, after all—but I worried about Mar. However warm Mar was toward Mother, she was still, strictly speaking, a senior rather than her own mother. Looking after Pedi while entertaining Mother on top of that… wouldn't that leave her completely frazzled?

"I'm so glad Mother is here."

Well, that settles that.

Thankfully, no. Or rather—she was frazzled, but not because of Mother.

As a first-time mother, Mar jumped every time Pedi cried and had no idea what to do. He cried when he ate, cried when his diaper was changed, cried when held, cried when set down in the crib. Faced with tears of utterly mysterious origin, Mar looked ready to cry herself.

The Varenti ducal house had offered to send a nanny to care for Pedi, so Mar need not have borne this hardship—but she had insisted she couldn't entrust a newborn to someone else's hands just yet. She would care for him herself for the first year or two, she said.

And this was the result. First-time mother Mar had shown courage bordering on recklessness, and only after the veteran—Mother—had stepped in could she catch her breath, going from near death to merely near collapse.

Veteran.

I found myself watching Mother as she accepted Mar's heartfelt thanks.

Mother isn't really a veteran either.

Regrettably, while Mother might be Mar's senior in terms of childbirth experience, her childcare experience was still that of a beginner who could give Mar a decent contest. She had married and given birth at an even younger age than Mar was now, after all—so of course. As a result, the still-inexperienced Mother had left the care of Erich and me to a nanny.

"I haven't done anything worth thanking me for."

Perhaps that was why Mother's expression, as she received those thanks, was complicated, and she kept stealing glances at me. As if she felt awkward and guilty having this conversation in front of the son who had been raised on automatic nanny-care.

"How can you say that? Every time I left Mar and Pedi to go to work, it felt like my heart was being torn out. Having Mother here has put my mind so much at ease—I can't even begin to tell you."

I spoke with a smile, looking at her.

Yes, Mother had left us brothers to a nanny—but that was ordinary behavior for the wife of a noble house. There was nothing strange about a noble lady lacking childcare experience.

And she hadn't left us with just anyone; she had entrusted us to her own friend, and even after handing us over to the nanny, she had looked after us from behind the scenes in ways we never fully noticed. Mother had no reason to feel self-conscious around me.

"R-really…?"

"Yes. So please come by often from now on. Pedi will be happy whenever Grandmother visits."

At my firm reply, Mother's eyes darted about, and then she broke into a soft, bashful smile.

That should put her mind a little more at ease.

It was the kind of smile that made a son feel warm just looking at it, and I felt much lighter myself.

I had enough sense to know the regret Mother carried. She must still feel the weight of not having cared for Erich and me herself. Even if things between her and her children were fine now, a good present doesn't erase the past.

Still, I hoped that looking after Pedi would help her erase a little of that memory. If she poured the care and affection she couldn't give her own children into her grandson, it would be good for everyone.

Of course, I had no intention of stopping at one grandson. A second grandson, a new granddaughter—I would shower her with them in abundance.

"Thank you for coming even though you must be busy, Nanny."

After comforting Mother, I made sure to thank the nanny who was actually looking after Pedi. Embarrassing as it was to say, one nanny was more help with childcare than ten mothers.

"What could be more important than caring for the Young Lord of the Crassius family?"

"I just thought Nanny should be focusing on other children besides mine."

At that, the nanny's eyes went round, then she burst out laughing. Being the nanny, she would have understood at once what I meant.

Nanny needs to look after her nephews and nieces.

Erich's children—the ones who had set the nanny's insides burning in more ways than one.

No matter how I thought about it, Nanny would be better off worrying about those kids yet to be born than about ours. It would be a problem if she poured her energy into my children and then collapsed from exhaustion.

I wonder if they'll avoid a shotgun wedding.

Then a thought struck me. For me to finish my sixth wedding would take two years, which put Erich's marriage three years out. Considering the schedules of the guests who kept getting dragged to our ceremonies, that much spacing was necessary.

But then again, Sera was graduating from the Academy this year, wasn't she? So what if they jumped the gun a little? Strictly speaking, Trixie and I had a child before we were married, I think.

Or did we?

Never mind.

The sound of Mother and Father arguing shook the ducal castle.

No—calling it an argument wasn't quite right. It was more accurate to say Mother was throwing a one-sided tantrum.

"Whyyyyyy! Honey! I wanna see our little nephew!"

"Not right now. We'll go in a few weeks."

"Uwaaah! Nooo! Babies are cutest right nooow!"

Mother—who was practically sprawled on the floor, no, who had actually flopped down on the floor—flailed her arms and legs, protesting with her whole body.

It was a sight I could barely stand to watch, so I quietly turned my head away. Strange. Mother handled all the work related to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the duchy with dazzling perfection—so why, outside of work, was this the only side of her she ever showed?

And why did Father's expression not change one bit even looking at Mother like that…?

"If a duke visits, we have to give a grand welcome, but our nephew's wife is still recovering. It would be hard on her."

"I don't need no grand welcome! I just wanna see the cute wittle baby!"

"That's only what you're thinking. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠There's no way our nephew would slight his maternal aunt who's a duke. You know that as well as I do."

"Hiiing…"

Even so, Father's calm, steady persuasion slowly chipped away at Mother's stubbornness.

A baby…

Listening blankly to their conversation, I drifted into my own thoughts.

A baby—my cousin, the first child of the Count of Tailglehen, who was also the Minister-designate of the Inspectorate Ministry.

The child born to the young lady of the Varenti ducal house, whom I had first met last year.

She was such a pretty older sister.

I still remembered her vividly—red hair and green eyes. The pretty, kind sister who had smiled gently and held my hand as we walked.

And that sister had given birth? To a brand-new baby?

"He must be so cute…"

The murmur slipped out before I could stop it, and I hastily ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠covered my mouth.

But it was already too late. Mother and Father, having heard my voice, both turned their gazes on me.

"Lili wants to see ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him too!"

"Oh dear."

Seizing the opportunity, Mother hurriedly pointed at me, while Father rubbed his chin with a troubled smile.

This was bad. The atmosphere that had finally been calming down was about to flare up again because of me.

"N-no! I'm fine!"

"No! If our Lili wants to see him, we have to go!"

I spoke urgently, but Mother's heart already seemed to have flown off to our cousin's residence in the Imperial Capital.

"It's been a long time since Lili said she wanted to go out first."

Even Father had begun to seriously consider it.

Wh-what do I do…? Am I going to end up bothering my cousin and his wife because of me…?

"Hic…"

"Ue?"

"Lili?"

The thought that the sister who had just given birth would be exhausted because of me brought tears to my eyes.

Contact had come from my maternal uncle—congratulations on the safe delivery of the child, and well-wishes that Mar, who had exhausted her strength, would recover soon.

"Yes, understood."

In the midst of all that, I had also received the despairing news that the Wise Duke herself intended to descend upon us in person—but one way or another, the Wise Duke and I were relatives. There was nothing particularly strange about a relative coming in person to celebrate a family joy.

Besides, it wouldn't just be the Wise Duke; my uncle and the Young Duke were coming as well. There probably wouldn't be much of a fuss.

Probably.

"Next weekend should be fine."

After turning it over in my head for a moment and naming a suitable time, my uncle had sounded a little surprised.

It was certainly sooner than expected. Still, Mar's recovery had been faster than average, and with Trixie—the pinnacle of magic—staying in the same residence, that much was more than enough. If anything, I was already giving us generous leeway.

And with other guests already visiting the residence, there was neither justification nor reason to put off a relative's visit any further.

"I'm here."

That other guest—the Minister—strode into the residence with a flourish of his hand, looking thoroughly grand about it.

"You've arrived? You were so late I thought you'd collapsed on the way."

"My wife was picking out a gift for you, so it took a little longer."

"There's no time quite so thrilling as waiting for a guest."

At my lightning-fast change of tone, the Minister snickered, then bowed his head politely toward Mar, who stood beside me.

"It's been some time, my lady. I'm relieved to see you looking well."

"You're too kind. Thanks to everyone's concern, I recovered quickly."

Mar answered the Minister's greeting with the perfect bearing of a noble lady.

It felt strangely off. This man who called me this bastard and that bastard treated Mar with such courtesy. It was only proper, of course, but somehow it still felt unfamiliar.

"But where is your wife? Did you come alone?"

"She's explaining the gifts to the butler. There are rather a lot of them."

Just hearing that made my chest swell with awe. Exactly how much had he brought for the words "rather a lot" to leave the mouth of a man who handled the Imperial budget and didn't so much as blink at ordinary numbers?

"At this rate I'm already fretting over what to give in return."

"Forget it. You taking those subordinates of yours and going independent was already more gift than I could ever receive in a lifetime."

What was with this old man?

The Minister and his wife had come to our residence under the pretext of a dinner invitation—just sharing a meal together.

There had been a time when, eyes bloodshot with fury at the Minister, I had considered paying a visit to his residence instead. That might have counted as revenge against him, but it would have been far too harsh on his wife. If I went with Mar, a duke's daughter would be arriving; if I went with Trixie, a duke herself would be arriving. Either way, they were not easy guests.

So I had invited the Minister and his wife as guests instead. Guests need only receive their host's hospitality and go home—his wife wouldn't have to fret.

"Hey. Spit it out already."

"Pardon?"

"Don't give me 'pardon.' You're not the type to call someone for no reason."

And as the Minister said, I was the one who had business with him. So I had no choice but to treat him as a guest.

"Dear. This isn't a private conversation—you're being far too rough."

"Ahem."

Just as I was about to open my mouth at the Minister's demand, his wife shot him a look for his blunt manner.

I hadn't particularly minded, but I was satisfied all the same, since it meant the Minister was getting scolded. Wives truly were the best.

"It's quite all right, my lady. After all the years I've spent with His Excellency, I understand perfectly. My own wife knows of our acquaintance, so please don't concern yourself."

Of course, since I was the one who needed a favor, I backed the Minister up just enough. Besides, a polite Minister would have been horrifying in its own right.

"And as His Excellency said, I do have a request to make of him."

At that, his wife gave a gentle nod and withdrew. With this, I had placed a small debt on the Minister—

"What kind of business is it? If it's something strange, I'm turning right around."

This damn—it wasn't that at all.

…Should I take it back even now?

No. Hold it in. Reason, stay with me.

No matter how I looked at it, the request I was about to make was something I couldn't easily ask of anyone but the Minister.