As soon as he had finished filling his glass, the count tried to bring it back to his mouth, but his attempt was thwarted when Byron grabbed the glass.
“Why, why do you do this, Lord Byron?”
Every time he fills his glass, he prevents him from drinking. He even started to wonder if he was doing it because he felt it was a waste to drink it all after giving it to him as a gift.
But fortunately, that was not the reason.
“Why are you so angry? What does it matter whether the prince becomes crown prince or not?”
“yes? What do you mean… … .”
“Oh dear. Have you already forgotten your promise to me?”
He promised that when Byron became emperor, he would place Count Senospon on the throne. He didn’t say anything specific, but the count’s face immediately brightened as if he remembered it at that moment.
“iced coffee… … “There’s no way I could have forgotten that promise. I showed myself in a bad light for no reason, right.”
He was truly simple and easy to handle. That’s why he liked him.
Byron grinned, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs. Now it was time to talk about the count’s son who dared to touch his belongings.
“I also have something to discuss with the Count.”
“What is it? Please feel free to speak.”
When Byron elegantly took a sip of his drink and opened his mouth, the Count lowered his posture and asked as if he would listen to anything he said.
“… … “Do you know that your son is obsessed with my pet dog?”
Byron asked with a gloomy expression. It was a voice filled with displeasure that he could not quite hide.
“yes? “A pet dog?”
Did he bring a dog? The clueless count seemed lost in thought for a moment but then realized that it meant the girl who was said to be the count’s daughter and played with his lips nervously.
“Well, is he still like that? I told him clearly that it wasn’t necessary, no, he shouldn’t be like that… … .”
The Count tried to say, ‘There is no need to do that,’ but realized his mistake and changed his words, but it was already too late. This was because Byron heard those words and instantly understood the Count’s intentions.
‘… … It seems the position of the emperor’s in-laws was coveted.’
Isn’t he truly a man who shows his inner self transparently? He doesn’t even know how to hide his ugly inner self, full of greed for fame.
Still, it was quite possible for Ayla to have mistakenly thought that she was his real daughter, so Byron decided to just laugh it off.
What’s important is not what happened in the past, but how to control his son in the future.
“It would be better for your son’s future if you controlled it well.”
“… … Of course, I will tell you well. I am sorry for putting pressure on you, my poor son.”
After a conversation with Byron, the upset over the appointment of the crown prince quickly subsided, but the Count, who had other concerns, drank alcohol nervously.
And, after drinking with Byron, the Count returned to the main house and, despite his wife’s dissuasion, woke up his son from bed and made him sit in front of him.
Gerald, wearing pajamas and a magpie’s nest perched on his head, was just yawning with sleepy eyes, as if he had not yet grasped the situation.
“… … Gerald, you. “Didn’t this father clearly say that there was no need to impress the girl from the outbuilding?”
Less than a day after he said, ‘Take care of that child,’ he changed his mind and said that it was not necessary as soon as he heard from Byron that the child was not his biological daughter.
He couldn’t figure out why he was still fussing around that kid.
“I heard about the chef, and he told me to bake a new chocolate cake so that he could eat it with the child. What on earth were you thinking?”
And Gerald, who finally woke up to his father’s yelling, puffed out his mouth with a very upset face.
“Father said, ‘You don’t have to do it,’ but didn’t say, ‘Don’t do it,’ right? Isn’t it my freedom to do whatever I do?”
It was a very crooked reaction. He was already an adolescent and was prone to crooked responses from one to ten, but he seemed to be in a very bad mood when he was woken up from his sleep and said something rude to him.
“… … What kind of speech habit are you talking about? Is this father going to make you do something bad? Just get off his hands. He can’t do it!”
The count’s face, which had been made worse by drinking, was now so angry that it seemed as if it would explode at any moment. It felt fortunate that steam was not coming out of his ears.
“Father, what’s wrong with you? It’s like this and that. Are you asking me to play to a certain tune? At one point, I told him to look good, but not even a day later, he just said there was no need for that! “You didn’t even explain why!”
However, Gerald also had no intention of backing down like this. He didn’t even know who the ‘precious guest in the annex’ was, but he told her to be nice to his daughter and then said that there was no need for that.
He was angry and frustrated because there were so many things he didn’t know.
“Well, that is. It’s a secret even for this father… … .”
“If you’re going to do that, shouldn’t you at least explain it to me properly? If you don’t want me to approach that kid, at least tell me why. That way, you won’t have to worry about whether I understand or not. I’m not a kid anymore!”
When he was young, he obediently followed his father without knowing why, but now he had no intention of doing so, so he crossed his arms and glared at his father.
Seeing that, the Count felt that even the little alcohol he had left was disappearing and he held his head. It was because of his son that he had a headache.
“… … There’s a reason, anyway! If you have to get away from him, get away!”
“No, I do not want!!”
They were glaring at each other for a long time, and it was a tense fight with no one willing to back down.
And after a long period of silence, the winner was decided.
No parent always wins over their child. In the end, the count raised the white flag.
“Therefore… … “Are you saying you’ll listen if I just tell you the reason?”
“Just listen first.”
The Count asked while shaking his head, and Gerald answered with his lower jaw sticking out. His face was still furrowed.
“… … “If your father tells you a secret, can you keep it?”
The Count lowered his voice and asked, and Gerald, intrigued by the word ‘secret’, nodded without even crossing his arms.
“So, that’s… … .”
Count Senospon began to explain, leaving out anything about Byron’s identity.
Since he was such an important guest, he told him to keep a close eye on him because he might end up marrying the family’s daughter later, but he said there was no need to do so because he said the child was not his biological daughter.
“… … You must not tell this to anyone. The girl said she didn’t know either, so she didn’t know either. okay?”
The Count pretended to keep his mouth shut, and Gerald nodded with an awkward look on his face.
“Now you understand, right? Why shouldn’t you be close to that kid?”
After finishing his story, the Count asked seriously. He was hoping that he would understand this much. But those vague expectations were shattered.
“No?”
It was because Gerald said this in a crooked manner.
“Why why? “What’s the problem again?”
“… … “If she’s not your biological daughter, what difference does it make? I like that girl!”
Of course, Gerald’s mindset had to change a little. ‘Is it really that expensive for something that isn’t even your biological daughter?’ The thought began to bloom in his mind.
In fact, it may have been a good thing. He had a hard time approaching her carefully because she was the daughter of an important person, but since she was not his biological daughter, it might have been easy to play around with her.
“Gerald, you… … ! “Are you really not going to listen?”
The count raised blood in his throat and screamed, but Gerald picked his ears with an annoyed expression, as if a fly had landed in his ear, and stood up.
“I’m going to go to bed first. If you want to grow taller, you have to go to bed early. It’s still a growth period.”
At one point, he got angry and said, ‘I’m not a child anymore.’ The count felt like he was going to burst out laughing at the way he pulled out of a good time and said, ‘I’m still growing up.’
At the same time, He felt sorry for his late father, wondering how he could have wasted his youth like that.
“I don’t know where the hell something like that came from.”
The Countess, who was quietly listening to the story next to him, glared at her husband and said. She spoke in a voice that seemed to know the source very well.
* * *
Duke Roderick Weishafen was pacing in front of the cabin with an anxious look.
There were still two weeks left until the due date, but labor had already begun, so the birth room was hastily prepared.
It wasn’t anything new as it wasn’t his first child, but the tension was still there. No, it seemed to have gotten even bigger.
When he gave birth to his first child, Ayla, the child was very healthy and the mother was young. Now, 13 years have passed since then. Despite the utmost care from the wizard Candice Epocher, the baby was small and weak.
Ophelia’s painful moans came from inside. At first, they were intermittent, but the cycle became shorter and shorter, and there was no way it would end.
“Not yet?”
Roderick asked nervously as he heard his wife’s shattering screams. He couldn’t tell how many times he had already asked this question.
“Calm down, Roderick. It’ll be okay. I’m here.”
Candice, who was waiting right next to him in case something happened, tapped Rodrick’s arm and said.
It was true that Candice’s presence was a comfort. Thanks to her magic that helped her deliver an easy birth and the wonderful potion she prepared, anything that goes wrong between mother and baby is unlikely to happen.
Even so, his anxious feelings did not go away easily, so Roderick buried his face in his palms and sighed.
And at that moment, a small crying sound of a child came from the birth room…
