TISND Chapter 53

Chapter 53

I had always wanted a younger sibling.

It didn’t matter if it was a little sister or a little brother.

If I got one, I’d take care of them diligently. I’d hold their hand wherever we went, feed them, and even tuck them in at night.

No matter what happened, I’d always be by their side.

That’s what I promised myself deep in my heart.

But…

“Young Master, is something troubling you?” Jane, who had been assigned to look after Jeremy at Seantilien, asked cautiously.

“Jane.”

“Yes?”

“Is it always this hard to make a baby?”

“…”

Jane’s face turned pale. She couldn’t bring herself to respond.

Why were the people in Frantor all so extraordinary?

From Helena to the twin young masters, every one of them had managed to bewilder her.

Unaware of her growing distress, Jeremy asked again, his expression serious.

“Is it as hard as solving a math problem or something?”

“Why… why are you suddenly asking about that…?”

“Joshua told me. He said if I want a sibling, I shouldn’t make a fuss and should behave when Father and Helena go out alone.”

“…”

“I was annoyed, but I stayed quiet like he said. And yet, both Father and Helena came back with such serious faces.”

“…”

“They were supposed to come back all smiles and laughs. Why did they come back looking so grim? Or… does a sibling just suddenly appear out of nowhere if I wait here a bit longer?”

“Well, um… Young Master…”

Jane vaguely understood why they had come to Seantilien.

She didn’t know the details, but it seemed to involve Joshua, and things hadn’t gone smoothly.

It wasn’t something a servant should meddle in, so she had kept her distance.

But she hadn’t expected Jeremy to ask such questions.

“Do siblings appear after a fight or something?”

Jane had no idea how to respond. She couldn’t reveal why the master and mistress had gone out, nor could she explain how babies were made in detail.

“Why won’t you answer? What am I supposed to do? How do I get a sibling?”

Jane’s face looked like she was biting her tongue as she stammered out a response.

“Th-they’ll figure it out, Young Master.”

“Figure out what?”

“…”

The situation was spiraling deeper into chaos.

“This is so frustrating!”

Finally, Jeremy gave up on getting an answer and sprawled across the sofa.

Waiting patiently didn’t suit his personality.

“What if the two of them end up splitting up?”

“That won’t happen, Young Master.”

“I can’t just sit around.”

Barely a few seconds after lying down, Jeremy sprang to his feet.

“Take me, Jane.”

“Take you? Where to?”

“Where else? To Father and Helena, of course.”

“…Excuse me?”

“They must be struggling with something when they’re alone.”

Jeremy declared with great confidence.
“I guess I’ll have to step in and help.”

“…”

“That way, I’ll finally get a sibling.”

So lead the way.

Listening to Jeremy, Jane sighed inwardly, feeling as though the amount of gray hairs she had was increasing ever since she came to Frantor.

—

It seemed Caligo had tried to talk to Joshua again.

But from what she heard, it hadn’t gone well.

Even after calling others to figure out what had happened, it was hard to grasp the full picture.

This was something the adults couldn’t understand unless Joshua spoke up himself.

The problem was that Joshua had firmly shut himself off, making communication nearly impossible.

Joshua must have respected Caligo. But being forced to leave Seantilien by his father must have made him angry.

He likely resented him and, in his frustration, had lashed out with hurtful words like saying he wasn’t his real father.

Joshua was probably struggling to process his own confused thoughts and emotions, making it difficult for him to open up.

It’s hard enough for adults to sort through their emotions and thoughts. How much harder must it be for a child to express them?

Still, something had to be done.

If left alone, the misunderstanding and conflict would only grow worse.

“Hey there, Lady of the House. You’re here again.”

So Helena decided to do what she could.

She would stay by Joshua’s side as much as possible, creating opportunities to talk.

“Hello.”

When she visited the mercenary guild, Bahen greeted her.

Though he maintained a friendly demeanor, his sharp eyes observed her cautiously.

She had something to discuss with the mercenary guild leader, but that would have to wait.

“What brings you here? If you’re looking for Joshua, he’s not here.”

“No, I just wanted to see the place where he’s been staying.”

“A devoted mother, aren’t you? Must be hard looking after someone else’s child.”

His words carried a hint of sarcasm.

“Oh dear, did I say something wrong? If I offended you, I apologize.”

“There’s no need. If I heard a friend of mine had married Eskel, I’d probably worry too.”

“What? Hahaha!”

Bahen burst into laughter.

“You’re more bold than I thought.”

He seemed a bit intrigued as he approached Helena, but his sharp gaze didn’t waver.

“Even using honorifics for a lowly man like me. Why’s that? Are you scared of me?”

“I’m not scared. I’m just showing respect since I heard you’re a close friend of the Duke.”

“Caligo and I aren’t friends. If anything, we’re rivals.”

No matter how she looked at it, they seemed more like close friends than rivals, but Helena chose not to comment further.

“Well, you said you wanted to look around the guild? Go ahead.”

Bahen offered to show her around the building himself, leading her from place to place.

“You know, this building wasn’t originally ours! Some wealthy noble decided to gift it to us. We had no choice but to settle down here.”

“Settle down?”

“Yeah, we used to be wanderers.”

Bahen replied with a big yawn.

“We’re mercenaries, but overall, we enjoy adventures! Crossing borders, heading towards beautiful places, the romance of it all! Isn’t it cool?”

As she looked around the building and listened to Bahen’s words, Helena’s face grew pale.

Eventually, she made a request.

“First, I’d like to see Joshua’s room.”

“His room?”

Joshua was said to live alone, with even the servants being dismissed. From what Helena heard, he did this intentionally to develop self-reliance and independence.

“Good.”

Helena muttered quietly as she looked around the room.

“Huh? Good? What do you mean?”

She chose not to respond.

“Hey, Lady of the House of Frantor! What do you think of touring the headquarters of the great Primrose Guild?”

Finally finishing the tour of the building, Bahen asked proudly.

“Boss! There’s no need to ask her!”

“This is where the best mercenaries in the Empire live!”

Bahen seemed eager to hear Helena’s opinion, so he pressed her for an answer.

“Hm? Isn’t it great? We’re all lonely men with no families or children, but still, this place is good enough for raising a child.”

“Well, since we heard a noble was joining our guild, we made sure to clean up a bit.”

“I’m dying to know, so hurry up and tell me, Lady of the House!”

“Do you really want the honest opinion?”

Helena asked, her face showing clear discomfort.

Bahen crossed his arms and nodded proudly.

“Of course! If you don’t speak from the heart, I’ll be truly disappointed.”

“It smells.”

“What?”

Bahen, who had been full of confidence, immediately fell silent.

The mercenaries, who had been noisy before, grew quiet as well.

Unlike the mercenaries, Helena gave her honest opinion with an expressionless face.

“Well, if I were to describe it, I’d say it smells awful.”

“….”

“….”

Helena continued.

“When I first entered the headquarters and saw the alcohol and torn clothes, I had an idea of what it might be like, but actually looking around, it’s shocking.”

This was supposedly the best guild in the Empire. But in reality, it was no different from a homeless shelter.

These people seemed to only know how to drink and fight.

Even though they received large commissions from the nobility, they slept on newspapers found in the streets.

Really. They slept on newspapers. The greatest mercenary of the Empire.

They spent their days drinking, eating when hungry, and sleeping.

“The only fortunate thing is that Joshua seems to keep his place neat. He does his own ironing and laundry, I think…”

He wore torn clothes and clothes that were never dried properly. In short, these people, including the building itself, received no care at all.

Joshua had lived in these conditions. It was shocking that he had lived quietly despite the complaints and frustrations that might have arisen.

It was almost a blessing that he grew up healthily in such an environment.

“By the way, there’s one thing I want to ask.”

“What? What is it?”

“Do you have any cleaning tools?”

Eh? The mercenaries tilted their heads in confusion at Helena’s unexpected question.

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