The New Son - A Diligent Handsome Man with a Wonderful Horse Cock
Only Nigilia had no idea what kind of conversation they had shared all night long. She had received a report on Roman's condition through a doctor controlled by Perpena before bed and lain down in her bedroom, but sleep refused to come.
"Princess Servilia is making her move… I knew it was coming, but it's faster than I expected…"
Thanks to that, she had fallen deep into thought. Especially shocking was the message that had flown in from the head maid, Perpena, around dusk. That Princess Servilia had broken the engagement and tried to kill Roman. That her son had suffered a massive shock and fallen into short-term memory loss. Either piece of news was enough to make her doubt her own ears.
He lost so much weight, too. The shock must have been that severe.
Though he wasn't her biological son, she had developed a certain affection for him, so her heart ached and she found herself thinking deeply about the matter.
They're finally targeting our family in earnest. If I were some noble young lady it might be different, but since I'm nothing but an unqualified whore, they think I'm easy prey… and honestly, they're right. Even the nobles who owe debts to the Cornelius family haven't lifted a finger to help.
The counts under her command had mostly stayed out of things except for the most formal orders. The nobles beneath them used the counts as excuses to only attend the most ceremonial events. That was why those who had sworn loyalty to the Cornelius family kept urging her to hand the seat over to Lord Roman as soon as possible, but…
In my heart, I want to dump everything on Roman too! But that boy is an idiot, even I can see that! That's why I had no choice but to act as his proxy! Aaaah, as if that could ever work! Even I know he's a problem child!
Despite being a former dancer, Nigilia had a reasonably sharp mind. That was how she knew. She knew about the cruel acts Roman committed, his thoughtless foolishness, how he had only pretended to mourn his father's death while having no real intention of inheriting the family. After all, he wasn't smart enough to rule the house and had no interest in his studies. He was simply trash who only wanted to live comfortably off the scraps she fed him.
Even Princess Servilia must have realized Roman wasn't normal.
The Cornelius family must have looked like easy prey right now. The current Cornelius family had no legitimacy with Nigilia as proxy. If the only blood heir, Roman, died, that would be the end. So they had waited for the moment when he would be most vulnerable, even accepting the criticism that would come from attacking him in the neutral zone of the academy—but—
Perpena saved us… If not for that girl, our family would already be…
She still felt affection for the late Marcus. In fact, it overflowed. He had loved a mere dancer like her so deeply and given her this position. As a woman, it had been the height of happiness. So she had repaid him with what she did best—night service—but she never dreamed it would become the source of such disaster.
His legal wife, consumed by jealousy, had died vomiting blood. The second child in her belly had been miscarried. Marcus followed them in death, leaving only Roman, who had inherited his father's weakness for lust and grown up into a fool who loved women.
"Uuu… Lord Marcus! Why did you leave me behind~!"
She barked the words without thinking, but the dead do not return. The sexual desire that accumulated in her still-young, vibrant body quickly twisted into anxiety.
"When Lord Marcus was alive, at least he maintained appearances… This won't do~! Once his memory returns, I have to force him to take successor classes even if I have to drag him! No matter how I think about it, nothing gets solved with me on top!!"
A new mother who had swallowed a family whole was supposed to be a wicked woman, yet this one knew her place extremely well. Since she wasn't wrong, she could even be called wise. If she hadn't been born at the very bottom but as the child of some noble, she might have become a much finer person.
Deciding to settle it tomorrow, she finally sought sleep.
And then, after the sun rose…
"Eh?"
"Mm, Mother. You've come?"
She came face to face with her son, who was already enjoying breakfast early in the morning.
"…Roman?"
"Yes, it's Roman. The weather is refreshing, my body is healthy, and it's a truly wonderful morning."
Wait, did he just call me Mother?
His response was more businesslike than usual. Feeling a sense of dissonance at the changed title as well, her eyes suddenly fell on the dining table.
What on earth is this?
He had always eaten a great deal, but this was beyond even that. The dishes he had used were stacked into a tower. It looked like it would collapse and spill everywhere if touched, yet it stood precariously like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
"Did Roman eat all of this?"
"Yes. He went for a light run at dawn and has been eating until just now…"
"It was an incredible pace. He looked like someone who hadn't eaten for days."
The cooks standing at a distance were also breaking out in cold sweat. It seemed they had all been bustling just to keep up with Roman's appetite.
"S-so, if he ran, that means he exercised in the morning?"
"We were surprised too. Someone who usually finds walking on two legs bothersome suddenly did that."
"And I heard he came back injured yesterday… He's lost so much weight too…"
"We're terribly worried about what exactly happened."
Listening to the cooks' testimony, she looked at her son while filled with suspicion. Instead of the flashy clothes he usually wore, he was dressed in a chiton today. The way he covered his body with cloth and carried himself like a Greek god suited him, perhaps because of the weight loss.
"So, about that part… doing it this way would be better…"
"You mean we should boldly deduct it?"
"Exactly… If we do it like this, the territory will…"
Even after greeting Nigilia, he didn't stop murmuring with Perpena beside him as if discussing something. Perpena was also using a different tone than usual, and the dissonance made Nigilia unconsciously interrupt.
"P-Perpena…! What about the memory loss? Our Roman is okay, right?!"
"Hm? Yes, I told you it was short-term."
"R-right… But for someone with memory loss, the two of you seem to be chatting quite well?"
"Aha. There are still many things he doesn't remember, but it's nothing that interferes with daily life. That's why we were having a little discussion."
"What kind of discussion?"
"Yes. It started with questions about basic common sense, but now we've moved on to matters concerning the family…"
"He's a patient. With memory loss, at that. Talking about the family to a child who never showed any interest in it before…!"
In response, Roman took a sip of the honey water Perpena had brought. She muttered something in a voice too small to hear—"No need to worry about diabetes, then—" in a dazed tone, but the words that came out next were extremely sensible.
"Mother, I'm fine."
"Roman?"
"It's not like the discussion was particularly difficult. I was simply receiving a report on the population issues within our territory. In our lands, labor is power. Recently, with the family shaken and ominous rumors spreading, there have been many migrants. It's a shame to leave such good land fallow, so Perpena and I were discussing how to stimulate the people's will to work."
"Just a moment… Why would you be talking about something like that?"
"…Is it strange?"
"Strange doesn't even begin to cover it…! I mean, Roman, you…!"
—You're a child who doesn't know anything about such things!
The moment she was about to shout, the cooks' idle chatter suddenly reached her ears.
The cooks had been present since dawn, so their conversation felt especially vivid. In other words, it didn't seem fabricated on the spot.
"……Then, exactly what were you discussing?"
So she asked again, and the answer was just as vivid.
"No, it's nothing special. We were talking about tax rates just now."
"Tax rates…"
She grew afraid. Afraid that this idiot might suggest raising them.
"Raising them, or…?"
She asked once more, but the reply was sensible again.
"Of course not. The current tax rates are sufficient as they are. Above all, in a land where people are money, how could we increase the number of corpses? Right now is the time to ease anxiety and gather people and labor, so we have no such plans. While it is about tax rates, the main topic was specifically tax deductions."
"Eh…"
"These days many families have a single breadwinner, so we plan to address that area as well. If workers are driven out because their aging family members can no longer labor, it creates a vicious cycle. Besides, since we are a state-appointed noble house, we must be especially careful not to let the granaries empty while the land lies fallow. It would be troublesome in many ways to get on Princess Servilia's bad side again while she's perpetually on her period. Ah, I'll ask Perpena to start properly working on dependent deductions, so could you send word to the nobles under us?"
"S-so that's what you—?!"
"After that, we must also improve the infrastructure. I looked over the reports from each region while eating. Petitions, I suppose you could call them—after the lord's passing, things here haven't been running smoothly, so many residents have left. There were also many skilled craftsmen who had served the Cornelius family for generations, but they're leaking out too. We need to bow our heads if necessary to bring them back. No matter what, raising that kind of talent takes both time and money, so it's the top priority to solve."
"That—?!"
"For regions where hands are immediately idle, shall we solve it by calling in the starving? There are many lands damaged by barbarian raids, so this should put out the urgent fires. Even if the commoners are uneducated, if they feel gratitude they will work with passion… Above all, the cost of living in our territory is an advantage, isn't it? We have grain to the point of rotting, so it would be ideal land for them. The cost of daily goods might rise since many skilled artisans have left, but if we succeed in calling them back…"
"Deductions… cost… a-and…?"
"Ah, speaking of deductions, we should talk about medical matters too. Since we have many workers who mainly do physical labor, there are naturally many injuries. Addressing this in advance would help with future territorial development and reputation—"
She cut him off and screamed.
"—Who the hell are you?!"
"Pardon?"
"My lady?"
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead and dripped down.
"Roman—our Roman! He doesn't have the talent to say things like that! How can he speak so fluently?!"
"I am a noble, however minor. I attended the academy for a year, and what I said wasn't anything remarkable. Everything just now was within the bounds of common sense."
"The story was that you only played around at that academy!!"
"Who said that?"
"Perpena… did…"
She blinked rapidly. Without even wiping her cold sweat, she looked at the head maid, but the woman herself reacted indifferently.
"Did I ever say such a thing?"
"What?"
As expected, the tone that seemed to betray Nigilia made her falter for a moment.
"B-but you did! Even though it was non-face-to-face, since he was engaged to Princess Servilia, you said you would go see his face through the academy! And while you were at it, you would look after him for about a year! That you would tell me everything that happened! After saying all that…?!"
"Yes. That is what I reported."
"Are you saying that report was a lie?!"
"Thinking about it calmly, I may have said some rather unpleasant things, just as Lady Nigilia claims. It is true that the young master's womanizing tendencies remain unchanged and that he caused incidents because of them, but he was diligent in his studies themselves."
"Wait… the story is different…?!"
"I don't understand what you mean. In reality, even after such an incident, the young master is worrying about the family. It is true that his poor behavior nearly got him killed by Princess Servilia, but… everyone here must have noticed, right? That she didn't try to kill Lord Roman for such a trivial reason alone."
"T-that's…"
"Princess Servilia coveted this family and tried to kill Lord Roman. His behavior was nothing but an excuse."
While Nigilia faltered, the servants whispered among themselves.
Therefore, such an excuse worked.
"The Roman who injured his head has decided to live diligently after hearing the current situation. That is all there is to it. Shouldn't Lady Nigilia rather be happy about it?"
"Why? What parent would be happy that their child is hurt?!"
"That's not what I mean."
"Then what? What exactly are you trying to say?"
When Nigilia sharply pressed forward, Roman, who had finished his honey water, smacked his lips lightly and spoke.
"I intend to take back the position of family head soon. With things as they are, leaving it to a proxy makes me uneasy. That would put Mother's mind at ease as well, wouldn't it?"
"……?! Roman! Suddenly—what on earth are you saying?!"
"It means Mother has done well until now. There must have been prying eyes around you, yet you never took out your anger on anyone. You didn't binge drink or eat, nor did you indulge in luxury… So please rest now. There is no need for you to suffer any further."
"Yes. Lady Nigilia has done well until now. That is a fact known to me and all the servants. Isn't that why everyone followed her regardless of her origins?"
"What is this…?!"
It was far too sudden. The child had returned injured, and the very next day he was acting like a different person and demanding the seat of family head. It was an extremely bizarre experience.
What on earth is happening? Roman is acting like a completely different person, and Perpena is defending him… Didn't she dislike Roman? She probably thought no one noticed, but I remember the rotten fish eyes she made every time she looked at him…
Now it was different. Starting from Roman's change, the two stood side by side like a harmonious married couple.
This is real… right…?
The sense of dissonance was too strong to be explained by weight loss alone. Only one year. It had been only one year. In such a short time, so much had changed. His appearance, speech, behavior—if that were all, perhaps, but holding such an important discussion at the dining table in front of the servants was also strange. At this point, even the excuse of memory loss became suspicious.
What is this dissonance?
Perhaps this wasn't Roman. She reached that thought—the correct answer—but soon shook her head.
But it's Perpena we're talking about? There's no way she would betray me…!! After all, after all, she helped so passionately?! After my husband died, the people who would ignore my words at least listened thanks to Perpena. When I was worried the royal family might reach for our house, it was Perpena who brought up the engagement. It was also Perpena who volunteered to manage Roman even though she hated him so much! On top of that, the servants follow Perpena more than me…!
Could it be that Perpena was being deceived? Her worry became footsteps. Wondering if he really was a fake, she wanted to see Roman from closer up. Yesterday had been too late at night, and since Perpena had volunteered to manage him, she hadn't been able to look closely.
"Lady Nigilia. It would be better if you didn't approach."
"Why?"
"Because Lord Roman's physical condition is not normal right now. Not only his memories, but certain parts of his body have also undergone changes…"
"So what is it?!"
Perpena tried to stop her, but it was too late. The cooks had already noticed it, but Nigilia only saw it now.
"…Huk?!"
As she approached Roman, an intense masculine scent hit her immediately. Naturally her gaze was drawn to his crotch, and because he wore only the light chiton, that part was emphasized even more.
"W-what is that? Something bulging between his legs?!"
She was a dancer and a whore who sold her body. She had seen men's cocks until she was sick of them, yet even she had never seen anything with such overwhelming presence. It can't be, it can't be, she shook her head again and again, but…
"You can tell just by looking. It's the young master's cock."
"C-cock!?"
"Don't say it like that. It's vulgar. More importantly, what are you so surprised about? If it were anyone else, fine, but someone who's handled men until she's sick of them…"
"That's not what I mean! I'm asking why Roman's thing became like that!"
"I don't know. It has been like this ever since the injury yesterday, so I changed him into clothes that are easy to move in. Since it became like this right after the incident, perhaps it is Princess Servilia's curse?"
"I've never heard that Princess Servilia handles curses! Besides, a curse? That's the blessing of an evil god!"
"I don't know the details either. One thing is certain: it became like this after that event. And that walking is extremely inconvenient for him."
Perpena lifted the hem of Roman's clothes and showed her his cock. A stallion cock covered in rugged triangular protrusions. A literal monster cock that should not be attached to a human, that should not be inserted into a woman—its scent alone was dizzying.
"Ugh, ah?!"
Thanks to that, heat surged through the body of the widow who had lost her husband. Sweat flowed from her entire body as if she had been stickily caressed for ten minutes. If she had gotten even a little closer, her reaction would have been even worse.
"Look at it. This absurdly huge thing. With a beast's member and those strange protrusions on top, his balls are about twice the size of my fist, you know? How pitifully he must have walked while carrying this… Even when he went for a run this morning, he was trying to get used to the clothing somehow."
"Ugh, u-uuugh?!"
"My, my, my lady? Your face is red. Is something the matter?"
"…Kk, u-uuuuuuu!!"
Nigilia shook her head several times before stepping back.
"K-kh, that…! Y-yesterday! The doctor didn't say anything?!"
"…He said it was fine. There is truly no threat to his life, and since I planned to show you directly in the morning, I told him to keep quiet. If I had let him speak honestly, you would have come back worried even at that late hour, wouldn't you?"
"That's only natural for a mother!"
"Then the talk will be quick. Although his movements have become somewhat inconvenient, there is no problem with work, so please make a formal announcement that you will yield the position of family head in the near future. That way, Lady Nigilia will no longer receive pointed fingers and can live quietly. …Does that sound good? Lord Roman?"
"Yes. You've worked hard until now. Starting from this moment, I will handle government affairs, so please rest comfortably, Mother. Ah, I would like the servants to inform those around us of this fact as well. I thought about gathering everyone at once, but there is a lot of work piled up."
Despite the sudden announcement, the servants' reactions were uniform.
They worried about how long Roman's change of heart would last, yet felt relieved that the family was stabilizing. Most of the servants had served this house their entire lives, and especially the cooks—who had served since the previous lord to prevent things like poisoning—were true loyalists, so their relief ran deep.
With this, the inside of the house was under control.
That was why Nigilia's fingertips trembled.
This… isn't Roman, is it?
The fact that he had brought up such a topic in a place where the servants—especially the cooks—were present made her think it was some kind of scheme. On top of that monstrous cock, anyone could see he had been cursed by an evil god.
We're in trouble…!
Nigilia thought that this was not Roman, and at the same time that he was a man possessed by the devil.