Episode 35

“Yes, now that I see you like this, I can really see my sister-in-law’s face in you. That uniquely annoying aura too… Still, she was just adopted daughter of a lowly Baron, but she was always been so full of vigor.”

“Oh dear, young master, you’ve had too much to drink. Please go to your room. What if the Lord sees you…”

“Let go of me! How dare you order me around! Do you want to die?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“Please, keep your drunkenness in check, Uncle. Isn’t it embarrassing in front of the servants?”

At that moment, Orzen was in no state to care about the glances of the whispering servants from afar.

Yet, usually, he seemed to try to keep quiet within the family, but just my luck to run into him on a day he was heavily drunk.

I smirked slightly.

“The Butler is like the cornerstone of our house, having been loyal to our family even longer than uncle. Treating him like that tarnishes the name of our Drenihan family.”

“What, you believe you and brother can disrespect me now?”

“Are you saying that, as someone who competes with my father for the head of the house, you have nothing else to say but to raise your voice at your niece?”

“You, you little brat!”

“What is this commotion!”

Just as Orzen was shouting, a thunderous scolding came from behind.

‘He’s here.’

From a distance, grandfather was walking towards us.

He took his walks at the same time every day.

Once in the morning, once at midnight. And now was his second walk time.

It was also why I had indulged Orzen’s drunken ranting, which I would normally ignore, just to kill time.

“Ah, father!”

Orzen, seeing the angry face of his father, sobered up and his eyes widened.

“What have you been doing that you just got home now, and instead of heading straight to your room as you ought to, you are causing a drunken scene with your niece?

“No! That’s not what I was trying to do… I was just reprimanding Sierra because she was disrespectfully laughing at her elder!”

“I was on my way for a night walk when I ran into uncle. He seemed unable to control himself, so out of concern, I suggested he should head to his room…”

At my words, grandfather roared in anger at Orzen.

“Can a drunkard like you even lecture others? You can’t even manage yourself, how dare you hold on to and cause a scene with a frail child!”

“Father…!”

“Before I am your father, I am the head of the Drenihan family! I’m not some old man confined to the back room, just looking after a son who can’t fulfill his duties!”

Grandfather, evidently having had enough of Orzen’s behavior built up over time, shook his head in disappointment and spoke to the chief steward who had come with him.

“From today, cut off all financial support to Orzen.”

“Father! Not that, please…!”

For Orzen, who hadn’t even recovered his original stake in gambling and couldn’t live without alcohol and entertainment, it was like a death sentence.

“Just shut up and butler, get Orzen into his room right away.”

“Yes, yes! Master!”

The butler, staggering a bit, hurriedly grabbed Orzen, who seemed about to cling to grandfather’s legs, and dragged him away.

Even as he was being taken away, Orzen cried out not to cut off his allowance.

“How did he turn out to be such a disgrace… Tsk.”

Any lingering trust he had for his son had long since vanished from his aged eyes.

“Are you alright, Sierra? You must have been quite startled by running into him unexpectedly.”

I tried to appear alright, forcing a placating expression.

“I was a bit startled, but… I’m fine, Grandfather. It’s not the first time this has happened, after all.”

“What, you mean this isn’t the first time?”

Of course, it was the first time he had been drunkenly belligerent towards me.

I had always managed to avoid him when he came home drunk before.

But to the steward and the other servants, it was a common occurrence.

I didn’t correct him and simply nodded.

“This Orzen, I should have…”

Grandfather’s hand trembled as he gripped his cane, clearly upset.

To him, who had never been able to let go of Orzen due to their blood ties, the recent incident was a stark warning.

It was also the first time Grandfather had personally witnessed such behavior from Orzen, who had always pretended to be a responsible person in front of him.

In the original story, Drenihan fell due to Jena’s revenge.

It was Orzen who had given Jena the biggest handle to destroy the Duchy.

Attached to his father, who was the head of the family, Orzen committed embezzlement and ran gambling houses under the guise of acting as a deputy head, involving himself in all kinds of illegal activities.

Later, he was even caught dabbling in dark magic, influenced by a nefarious group, which became the decisive factor in the family’s downfall.

‘It can’t be bad to get rid of a bomb in advance.’

I had to let Grandfather know what a scoundrel he was, preventing him from even getting the position of acting head of the family.

‘It seems to have worked to some extent.’

I spoke to Grandfather, whose face was flushed with anger.

“Besides, you were just about to take a walk, right? May I join you?”

“Ah, yes. Let’s do that.”

The Drenihan garden under the moonlight was truly beautiful.

Even the quiet sounds of the insects felt like a concert.

Grandfather and I walked together through the garden, and the chief butler followed a step behind to attend to us.

Despite being over 190 cm tall and having a much larger stride, Grandfather adjusted his pace to match mine.

“I think I understand why you like walking at night, Grandfather. The garden looks completely different than during the day.”

“The colors of the flowers and trees change completely as darkness falls. You can see things in the sky that weren’t visible during the day.”

It seemed like a completely different world, even though only the sun had set.

The sky was filled with stars and the Milky Way seemed to pour down.

“I didn’t expect you to readily agree to a walk with me. You used to be so scared of me when you were little, but now you seem quite tough.”

He chuckled playfully.

“That’s right. You always worked hard to appear as a strong head of the family. To a child, that must have seemed quite scary.”

“And now?”

“Now I know that it was a demeanor armed with concerns for the safety of Drenihan.”

“You’ve seen correctly.”

Grandfather said, smiling wistfully.

The perfect successor but a ticking time bomb, the first son. The utterly reckless second son.

These were still inadequate to entrust and rely on for the Drenihan family that Thergon Drenihan loved dearly.

But he was getting old and frail. The succession could no longer be delayed.

“You will surely make a wise choice, as always, Grandfather. I hope you don’t suffer too much from this fleeting anguish.”

Eventually, my father will become the head of the family, and I will prevent Orzen from becoming the acting head.

Then I can protect the comfortable home, the family where I was born and raised.

Upon hearing my words, Grandfather chuckled and replied.

“You will always make a wise choice, as you used to say…. There was someone bold enough to say that to me before.”

He stopped walking and said,

“Blood doesn’t lie. Hearing you speak, it reminds me of Sionna.”

Today, particularly, I heard a lot about how much I resemble my mother.

I am someone who does not remember.

They are the ones who still remember, even after so many years have passed.

My mother existed in everyone’s memories.

It seems she left a strong impression that remained vivid even as other memories faded with time.

“The child Serkan brought was full of confidence, uncharacteristic for someone adopted into a mediocre family. Her eyes shone so brightly, yes, just like yours.”

It was the first time I heard about my mother from Grandfather.

“We all called Sionna the child of fortune. Whenever the family faced troublesome issues, following her advice always smoothly resolved them, hence the nickname.”

He reminisced for a moment, then spoke with a face full of regret,

“If it weren’t for that incident, Sionna wouldn’t have had to leave you, still just an infant, and ascend to the heavens.”