Episode 68. Mount Bern (3)

“Hehe, my nephew. Why would you say something so disheartening?”

Though Franchello was chuckling, his eyes were narrowed with displeasure. His expression was like… not quite like looking at a bug. More like the face you’d make if your pet rabbit bit you. Like, ‘I was trying to be nice and think you’re cute, but you dare bare your teeth at me?’ A look that plainly revealed his amusement, disregard, and displeasure.

Expressing his emotions so openly was, in itself, a sign of how much he looked down on me. For a sneaky old fox who usually hid his true feelings, like an unknightly bastard, to openly disregard me like this. It was as if he thought it wouldn’t matter if he showed me his true colors.

“Did you perhaps misread it, having not learned to read for very long? And such impudence to your uncle…”

“No, I have made my intentions very clear, Lord Franchello.”

Franchello’s caterpillar-like eyebrows twitched.

“I will not sign this paper… this contract that relinquishes my rights. And did you forget what His Excellency the Count said earlier? I would appreciate it if you used the proper titles.”

“Hehe, I shall. Lord Edward Yulstain. Indeed…”

Franchello took a deep drag of his cigar, as if displeased. He exhaled a cloud of smoke and said in an imposing voice,

“I cherish Lord Edward very much as family. This proposal I’m making is the best possible choice to prevent Lord Edward from facing difficulties or inconveniences. It would be sad if it doesn’t sit well with you…”

“I can decide what is best for me.”

At least, it’s not something for you to decide.

“…Marriage has made you grow quite a bit, hasn’t it? A clear and powerful voice, appropriate vocabulary. Right down to the attitude of someone who’s gotten a bit too big for their britches and thrown away all manners.”

“What did you just say?”

Speaking like that was Franchello’s specialty. Using polite and calm language while mixing in insults. It was a frustrating way of speaking that took time to understand.

“Oh dear, my apologies. Did you happen to hear that? Being a brute who only knows how to swing a sword, sometimes my thoughts slip out. I simply meant that since you’ve paired off well with someone similar, don’t bother thinking about coming back and just live well here.”

I didn’t have any good memories of the Mountberne County. They say that memories weather and become idealized over time, turning into nostalgia, but even though Mountberne was a memory from far longer ago than Yulstain, there was nothing idealized about it. I had no intention of returning to such a place, where no one welcomed me.

But the desire to get back at Franchello was even greater. He had insulted me by saying Monica and I were well-matched, that we were similar, so I was even less inclined to play along with his tune.

“I have made my decision.”

Buuuk-

I grabbed the contract and tore it in half. Then I folded the halves and tore them again, and again. I scattered the shredded contract in his face and said,

“I will go to the Mountberne Family myself and exercise my right of succession. As the current Head of the Family’s own younger brother, surely this is something I can do, no, something I must do, wouldn’t you agree?”

Franchello stormed out of the room, slamming the table.

The atmosphere in the Mountberne Family was extremely chaotic. Even the common villagers, who usually paid little attention to the affairs of the high-ranking, could tell that something unusual had happened to the nobles. In such situations, the best thing to do was to stay out of sight, keep a low profile, and wait for the storm to pass.

“Hoo…”

And here was a woman who couldn’t do that. A woman who, if she did nothing in this storm, would be swept away like a kite with a severed string. That woman was Marie Mountberne, the Countess Mountberne, wife of Count Henry Mountberne.

“What should I do…”

Kind-hearted, or rather, meek, as she was, this situation was far too cruel for her. The misfortune that had befallen her husband, who had been her pillar of support. The sight of Count Henry Mountberne lying motionless, unable to open his eyes, in a vegetative state, brought tears to her eyes.

She buried her face in her husband’s stomach and wept silently. She placed her ample breasts on him and rubbed, hoping for a reaction, but he had never shown much interest in her body even when he was awake, so he was even less responsive now that he was unconscious.

Ttokttok-

“Who is it…?”

“It’s me, Ma’am. Allen.”

“Come in, Lord Allen.”

Beolkeok-

The door opened and a knight called Lord Allen entered. Relatively small in stature for a knight, Marie buried her face in his chest as he approached.

“Please calm down, Ma’am. First, I have told the retainers outside that you have decided to care for His Excellency the Count alone.”

“Thank you, thank you, Allen. If it weren’t for you, I would really… heuheuk.”

Allen simply held the sobbing Marie tightly. After some time passed in silence, Marie seemed to have calmed down a little and pulled away, looking embarrassed.

” Heup, I’m sorry for showing such a disgraceful sight, Lord Allen.”

“It’s nothing. It is my duty as a guard knight, so please don’t worry about it too much.”

” Keung. What, what happened at the retainer meeting?”

Among the retainers of the Mountberne Family, meetings were being held every day to decide who would perform the duties of the lord in place of the Count. Of course, as she had not even had a child with her husband, let alone many intimate moments, she would not be guaranteed her position regardless of the outcome. When she thought of the lecherous gazes directed at her, it wouldn’t be strange if they took her as a plaything after seizing power.

“Fortunately, it was accepted. They said they would bring a midwife in a month to confirm.”

In that situation, the method Allen had come up with to protect his master was to claim that Marie was pregnant with Henry’s child. Since this situation had arisen because there was no heir with a legitimate claim, the idea was to create that heir. The retainers couldn’t simply dismiss it with suspicion, so they would confirm the pregnancy through a midwife in a month. Of course, the problem was that the child didn’t actually exist.

“So, we have a month?”

None of her relatives who would take her side had arrived. If it was a month, she would be able to contact her family and receive help.

“That’s right. So, in the meantime…”

Allen unfastened Henry’s trousers. Pulling down the loosened pants, Henry’s small member popped out.

“We must somehow make that claim a reality.”

“W, will this really work?”

Her husband’s unaroused member was really small. It was nice that she had never felt any pain during their few sexual encounters, but in this situation, she was worried about whether she could even get semen inside her.

“It’s not a matter of whether it will work or not. You must do it.”

Allen said, looking at the small, soft member.

“Even if you have to somehow collect the semen and insert it inside with your fingers, you must do it. Otherwise…”

“…I know what will happen.”

This was a task of tying a thread to Marie, who was like a kite with a severed string. She had to have a child, for her sake and for her husband’s sake. She could receive the seed of a healthy man and have a child, but she still loved her husband and didn’t want to do that. Her face wasn’t thick enough to claim another man’s child as her husband’s. Marie reaffirmed her love for Henry and steeled her resolve.

“What if someone comes in?”

Even after making that resolution, she had a worry. What if someone discovered her doing such a thing? Putting aside the fact that her claim of having a child would lose credibility, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to bear the shame before that.

“I will be guarding. So that no one can pass. If someone appears who I cannot stop,”

Ttallang-

“I will ring this bell, so stop when you hear the sound.”

“…I understand. I, I’ll do my best.”

Allen was worried because Marie was so frail, but he decided to trust in his master’s will. After confirming that Marie was straddling Henry, Allen went outside and stood guard in front of the door.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“This time, I’m going to the Mountberne territory…”

“Hah…”

Monica sighed and took her eyes off the documents. Before facing Franchello alone, Monica had made this request of me.

‘Since it’s a matter within the Family, I won’t directly interfere from the side. But tell me what happens and what results from it.’

That’s why I was reporting to her now as if I were a criminal.

“Don’t you have wanderlust or something…?”

Even I thought the interval was too short. Usually, a knight would only leave the territory for a little over a month a year, but if I went to the Mountberne territory this time, it would take at least a month.

“Is it something you absolutely have to do?”

“…Yes.”

Monica looked at me with a displeased expression.