My eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“How can you believe that?”
“Whether you believe it or not, I have absolutely no interest in the position of marquis. Rather, I am trying to help Fjord become a capable marquis.”
“…You’re even helping Fjord?”
Lu grinned. It was the brightest smile I’ve ever seen.
“Yes. I want Fjord to become a marquis.”
“Can I tell you why?” “It’s the reason….”
This is going to be a long story. He muttered softly, then lifted his teacup and quenched his throat.
“When I first came to Marquis after my mother, who had raised me alone, died of an illness, I was terrified.”
I guess so.
Because I lost my mother, whom I depended on, and ended up alone in an unfamiliar place.
“On the one hand, I think I was happy. I thought that even though I would be criticized for being an illegitimate child, I would not be hungry.”
He lowered his eyelashes with a dark expression.
“But that idea was shattered within a few days.”
Have you been discriminated against and ignored by the Marquis’ people?
It was common for illegitimate children to be discriminated against. As a result, fights between half-brothers often broke out.
It’s a little different from mine, but Erhan didn’t accept me as family until the end.
“The people of the Marquis were very kind to me, and I was at a loss for what to do because it was my first time experiencing such excessive kindness.”
…But this twist?
I looked at him with a sullen expression.
Why did you lower your eyelashes as if you had a bad story to tell?
“The Marquis also accepted me, an illegitimate child, without hesitation, and thanks to that, I was able to quickly integrate into the Marquis.”
The Marchioness is such a great person….
If my husband had had a child outside, we would have divorced right away.
Lu added after seeing my clouded expression.
“In case you misunderstand, I was born before you two got married. The Marchioness knew of my existence and married my father.”
…Did you know that you got married? Then there’s no problem. I argued with an expression that I couldn’t understand.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that everyone’s expectations were directed towards me, not the fjord. Everyone was happy that a good successor had appeared.”
Why?
I don’t want to judge it based on blood, but strictly speaking, the Marquis’s legitimate children are blood.
Usually, in these cases, unless there was a big problem, the position would go to the fittest.
Fjord had a good personality and was very intelligent.
There are no corners anywhere, so why did everyone’s expectations go to Rue and not Fjord?
Unable to hide his puzzled eyes, Lu burst out laughing.
“Miss Lien doesn’t seem to know about Fjord’s childhood. Well, it’s quite old.”
I looked for someone who could tell me this honestly.
I’m sure Carsion said that he and Fjord were friends before they entered the academy.
“What was the fjord like in the past?”
Carsion had been diligently following my orders to stay still and do nothing.
He raised his eyebrows as if an interesting topic had come up.
“He was famous as a bad boy. No, was he called a little devil? If you go by the rumors, it would have been worse than mine.”
Fjord was a famous person with a broken personality…? Really?
Lu continued speaking without even having time to look at the shock.
“Fjord didn’t hate me from the beginning. In fact, they were happy because they said they had a brother.”
“Then why is Fjor keeping Lou in check now? If Mr. Lu had expressed that he was not interested in the title, the situation would not have turned out like this.”
“I didn’t inform you on purpose.”
Lu did not deny that he was the cause.
“Fjord needs to be conscious of me and keep me in check, so he can correct his wrong attitude.”
“Are you saying you intentionally incurred Fjord’s hatred?”
“I mean, on purpose, falling out was as easy as breathing.” Lu said with a sigh.
“No matter what accidents Fjord had, my parents covered him up with love and without any bitterness. It was natural for Fjord, so he probably thought I would get over it smoothly.”
He lightly shrugged his shoulders and his mouth pressed together resolutely.
“But I didn’t do that. I thought we needed to correct Fjord’s character.”
…Oh my god.
“Then it means that everything you’ve treated Fjord so harshly up until now was all for his sake.”
“Yes. He used his competitive spirit to keep me in check and encouraged him to develop his own abilities.”
“Then why did you force Fjord into the academy…?”
“That’s why I sent the academy. The academy is like a small society, so I thought it would be a good educational environment.”
In the end, the story goes that it was Lu who made Fjord like a human.
But I didn’t think his method was good.
“Mr. Lu. Fjord wanted to spend time with his family at the Marquis, not at the Academy.”
“…I know. But I think my choice was not wrong.”
“Why?”
“Miss Lien. What is Fjord’s image at the Academy now?”
“With flawless appearance and status, good at studying and good personality…. It is an elite image that is loved not only by students but also by professors.”
As Fjord’s public image was listed, Lu’s eyes softened. He seemed happy.
“I wanted that. Fjord had such a dirty temper that the only friend he had was Prince Carsion.”
“It’s not that Fjord didn’t make friends, it’s that he couldn’t make friends?”
“I used to beat up kids my age around me with a wooden sword to spar with them….”
Lu’s gaze briefly landed on Carsion.
“The only one who didn’t fall victim to that was Prince Carsion.”
I was wondering how the two became friends, and it turns out they were just hanging out together…?
Now that I think about it, starting with Karsion, it seemed like there were no kids around me with normal personalities.
Suddenly, I remembered hearing that children born in my generation were particularly uncouth.
Around the time when the long war with the two empires was over and material stability was achieved.
War and had a difficult childhood, are raising their own children….
It is said that the children raised that way are teenagers around my age today.
When I heard that, I thought, ‘Where could something like that exist?’ I thought it was the same statement.
When I thought about it again, it seemed true that our generation had a lot of kids with unusual personalities.
I stared ahead, pushing the thoughts that had strayed into a corner into a corner.
As I looked at his stubborn eyes, I couldn’t help but sigh.
It was a good thing that Fjord’s older brother wasn’t as twisted as I thought.
But I still had something to say to him.
“I knew that Lu was caring for Fjord.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
“But Lu, do you know that?”
I said, looking clearly into his eyes.
“Like Lu, Fjord was not at all interested in the position of marquis.”
“…This doesn’t make sense. Then, no matter how much Fior wanted revenge on me, there’s no way he would grit his teeth like this and get good grades.”
He spoke at length, probably because he wanted to prove me wrong.
“Do you know that, except for when he first entered the school, Fjord has never once missed being valedictorian or runner-up? If I told you how many awards I have received, it would fill a living room. From what I remember….”
As if it wasn’t a joke, Lou began reciting all the awards Fjord had received so far.
The longer he spoke, the bigger my pupils gradually became. Wow, that guy really seems to like Fjord.
I like you so much, so how could you ever think of volunteering to be hated?
Seeing no sign of his bragging about my brother ending, I cut him off mid-sentence.
“That’s why I said it in the past tense, ‘I wasn’t interested.’”
Lu stopped what he was saying and looked at me intently. I was told to continue speaking.
“Right now, I’m trying not to lose my position as Marquis because of the rivalry and revenge created by Lu.”
“I can’t deny it.”
“But what Fjord really wants is not the position of marquis. They are families who like them.”
Lu’s eyes wavered at my words.
“And…. Fjord has the happiest face when he is holding his sword. Not while holding a pen.”
“I knew you liked swords. But that doesn’t help in the least when it comes to inheriting the title.”
“Mr. Lu. Once again, what Fjord wants is not a title. Fjord told me he didn’t want the position of marquis.”
“You’re still young, so you don’t know how valuable that position is.” It was astounding.
This stubbornness is really….
I patted my forehead and responded coldly.
“Then Lu can take that valuable position.”
“Miss Lien. The position of marquis belongs to that child.”
“No. Lu is also worthy as he is a descendant of Marquis Ananas. Why are you asserting that it is not your place?”
“That….”
He couldn’t easily give a reason, as if it was something he had never thought about before.
“For the true sake of Fjord, I think it’s right to let him draw the future himself.”
I didn’t miss the moment when he hesitated and spoke at once.
“Obviously, thanks to Lu, Fjord has become someone loved by everyone. If he continues like this, he can become a respected marquis. But if you ask me if I look happy…. Well.”
I stood up and shook out my last words.
“Actually, the reason I said I wouldn’t stop grade skipping earlier was because I was wary of Lu. We will try to persuade Fjord, so I hope Lu will think about it carefully.”
I looked away from him without regret and dragged Carsion’s sleeve.
“Let’s go, Kaon.”
Carsion smiled slowly and willingly took my hand. “Huh.”
* * *
As soon as we left the living room, Fjord practically dragged us to his room.
“What did you talk about with your brother?”
Don’t invite them to sit down and get straight to the point, but they’re also harsh.
“I lost all my pride and put my ear to the door, but I couldn’t hear anything because of Carsion’s magic.”
Thinking about it again, Fjord must have felt a sense of injustice and glared resentfully at Carsion.
“Is there anything you actually walk when you ask for it? If I had asked, you wouldn’t have even listened!”
Carsion pretended to pick his ears as if he was annoyed.
“It’s your fault for trying to eavesdrop. I was just doing your brother a favor.”
“You could have just pretended.”
“Then I would have had to cast a spell to erase your presence, but it’s a hassle.”
“Can’t you do that much for your friend?”
“What’s so beautiful about the guy who treated Lien so rudely?” It was a fighting structure I saw often.
