Rough Means, If Necessary
p>Gautier Serpine stood in front of his father, Count Treven Serpine, for a full hour.
p>The Count sat him down as he always did but said nothing, tapping the desk with his fingers while lost in thought. His complexion was dark, his overall appearance disheveled—unlike his usual self.
p>The maid who had been seated between his legs like a favorite dog whenever he entered the study was nowhere to be seen. Only the Count and Gautier remained in the Count’s private office.
p>Normally even the lowest servants would have been as common as air, but today they had all been dismissed.
p>Although the Serpine Count’s Palace and the Count’s residence were connected by passageways, they felt like separate buildings. Normally the atmosphere between them differed.
p>But now it pressed down on both sides as if their father and son had been lost together in a war.
p>The silence was so heavy it felt suffocating, wrapping itself in darkness.
p>“Well then, Gautier.”
p>The Count, who had summoned him, looked up at Gautier as if only now realizing he was there.
p>Sitting in a chair decorated with the pelt of a rare furred beast, he studied Gautier from head to toe once more before speaking.
p>“How was you and Arian Danier’s daughter?”
p>“Pardon?”
p>“Don’t play ignorant. She showed favor toward you, didn’t she?”
p>Gautier recalled Arian.
p>Two years younger than he thought, yet her frame looked even smaller. Tiny body, tiny face. Somehow it felt miraculous that her large eyes, straight nose, and bright red lips all fit into that small face.
p>Her body seemed frail, but her spirit was terrifyingly strong. Even when Amori threatened her, she didn’t blink once.
p>At that moment Gautier first understood.
p>Ah, Amori isn’t as strong as I thought. That girl bound Amori with just a few words. I didn’t suffer because I was weak—I suffered because I was stupid.
p>The realization brought shame. Gautier had grown angry with the girl who helped him and ended up receiving only contempt. She probably thought him a worthless little boy.
p>But to him, Arian was different.
p>“Gautier?”
p>The Count urged him to answer, and Gautier replied slowly.
p>“I’m sorry. I was thinking. Danier-nim merely helped a passing girl who had fallen to her side out of habit born from morality rather than kindness. It seemed more like a moral obligation than a favor.”
p>“Amori is not one to act on impulse. If she chose to rescue you despite that temper, it is a favor, not just manners. And even in this age when women are becoming dukes, how could a woman save a man? It is a man who saves a woman.”
p>“Yes.”
p>Gautier’s answer came too quickly, as if he were trying to silence the Count rather than agreeing.
p>The Count narrowed his eyes and looked at his second son.
p>“What did you think of Arian’s daughter?”
p>“She appears physically frail, but her spirit seems strong.”
p>“Indeed. At twelve she should be showing signs of womanhood, yet she seemed more like a child.”
p>The Count’s fingers tapped the desk again. He clicked his tongue.
p>“But even if frail, a woman who cannot bear children is useless. If there are no complications in childbirth, I would consider her a suitable wife for you.”
p>“That means… you are speaking of marriage?”
p>“Yes. While she is bold and irritating, her intelligence is enough to cover those flaws, so I find her acceptable.”
p>Marriage or engagement was not a decision he could make himself. The Count, who knew this better than anyone, was speaking to him as if he held the final say.
p>Gautier felt a surge of caution, yet he answered without showing it.
p>“I will only obey you.”
p>The Count gazed at him in silence. Then, with a meaningless smile, he rose.
p>“Gautier, I know you have worked hard since joining the Serpine family. Unlike your mother, you carry no trace of common blood. It is probably because more of my own blood flows in you.”
p>“….”
p>“It is also thanks to Gisela raising you. Although she is the illegitimate daughter of the Spoot ducal house, raising my child was a great sacrifice for her. You must never forget this grace.”
p>Gautier thought blankly. What had Gisela done for him?
p>No matter how he thought, it seemed Gisela had done nothing. Feeding, clothing, bathing him as a child had been the responsibility of the nanny.
p>And even then, the nanny under Gisela’s strong influence beat him, scolded him, and starved him whenever she felt like it.
p>Things improved only after Gautier became a knight. When he worked as a squire, he ate with the other squires and escaped the nanny’s grasp.
p>Gisela gave him no allowance, and since he could not receive one as a knight like the others, Gautier was poorer and hungrier than any other squire.
p>Amori beat him often. It was not just beating— he was horribly humiliated.
p>He was stripped naked and hung upside down, then whipped. When Gautier curled his legs to protect his sensitive parts, Amori spat insults calling him a girl.
p>What had Gisela, Amori, and the Count before him ever done for him?
p>“You were born with lowly blood, but also with a heavy heart. I value that in you, Gautier.”
p>“….”
p>“Only you know this. Arian Danier’s daughter may be able to receive the gods’ revelation.”
p>The Count nodded as he saw Gautier’s eyes widen.
p>“I am telling you this because I wish you to understand the gravity of the situation.”
p>Gautier did not ask what he meant. He simply waited for the Count to continue.
p>That was why Gautier was considered wise. He knew he was in a position where he could not press the Count.
p>Treven Serpine thought of Amori.
p>Could he disqualify Amori as heir?
p>It would not be easy. Amori was Gisela’s only child.
p>Gisela had always struggled with the intimate relationship at night. A woman who should be pure and proper found it psychologically painful to offer herself to someone else.
p>Like most noble ladies, Gisela endured the pain and shame while pretending to enjoy the pleasure, throwing all her strength into it. Treven grew tired of sleeping with his wife.
p>He wanted to spend a passionate night with a woman who desired him, not force himself on one who barely endured him.
p>Someone might enjoy the thrill of coercion, but not Treven. When with Gisela he always felt like a beggar. Even though she did not love him.
p>When Treven brought home a bastard child he had fathered with another woman, Gisela’s face turned pale with humiliation. But when he said he would accept the child as his own son and raise it if she allowed him to enter her bed, she agreed.
p>It seemed more painful for her to share a bed with Treven than to raise a child with tainted blood.
p>And she believed that sacrifice was an act of her kindness and devotion.
p>Because of that, Treven came to hate her even more. She probably did not realize he disliked her. In her mind she was the wife he should love.
p>Since Gisela had no more children in mind, she doted on Amori.
p>Unlike heirs from other territories, Amori had never served as a squire. He had done no dirty or hard labor—only “education.”
p>If Amori received even a bruise, the servants who cared for him were whipped harshly. Though it was excessive, Treven refrained from interfering in Amori’s education to consider Gisela’s position.
p>The result was this mess today.
p>Amori had been branded immoral, and no woman with succession rights would marry him. His only possible match was a woman of lesser value but without claim to the throne.
p>The nobles had been greatly disappointed with Amori. Gisela, however, defended him, claiming he had been hurt.
p>Treven looked at his second son as a last resort. It was meant as a backup, but he had never expected to actually use him.
p>A lowly-born child raised in such hardship was better than Amori, who had everything handed to him.
p>“Next year you will receive your knighthood. Immediately after, I will place you in the palace. Arian Danier will almost certainly join the queen’s maid service within a few years. I will bring that clever girl to Serpine by any means. Your task will be.”
p>Treven briefly recalled Pythia’s face. His beautiful Pythia, the disciple he cherished.
p>It was unpleasant to have to tell her the news. But this was the fate of an adult.
p>“The Chamberlain’s consent to your marriage and bringing her in as a lady would be ideal. But if the Chamberlain attempts to send her to another territory.”
p>He could not steal away a woman chosen by the gods. The gods had chosen him as Serpine’s bloodline, and the gods’ favor was now even stronger given his enmity with the royal family.
p>“You must own her. Rough means are acceptable.”
p>At those words Gautier’s eyes widened. He was too young to fully understand what “rough means” meant.
p>He blinked, then lowered his eyes sadly, as if accepting fate.
p>“I understand.”
p>The sunset outside had grown far deeper and redder than usual.