episode_0164

Crown Prince Leonhard approached Raoul, who was quietly reading a book, and spoke.

“Master, I have something to ask you.”

“Please feel free to ask. We are not in a position to be formal.”

As he grew older, Raoul became the personification of calm serenity, rather than bluntness or coldness.

It wasn’t like he was laughing a lot or anything, but it seemed like the stiffness from before had been forgotten and only a relaxed atmosphere remained.

“What kind of person was Confucius?”

“…”

Raul’s face became hard and frozen in ten years.

“… A little bit. A very, very special child. ”

Raoul almost clicked his tongue as he thought of his son’s face. He was supposed to be a cute son, but… he couldn’t laugh when he thought of the accidents his son would cause.

Of course, if my son caused an accident directly, I could scold him as a parent at any time, and my wife, Camilla, was not the type of person to tolerate that… but I couldn’t scold her for causing an accident by indirectly intervening.

Because he was a child who cleverly hid the truth from people, told them different facts, manipulated them with words that were not just lies, and picked fights or manipulated them to get his own way.

There was even a time when he cleverly sowed discord between the noble young ladies in the capital and started a fight, then demanded information from both young ladies by promising to tell them what the other young lady was talking about.

He was born with a tongue like a snake, absorbing even the verbal skills that Raoul and Sharia should have had.

“…… It’s so unique and cunning that it’s a problem.”

Raoul, who had been in trouble about twenty times because of his son, suddenly seemed to have aged a little.

“Compared to that, Sharia, who hunts demons at best, is just a little cute.”

“That’s strange. No matter how cunning you are, Camilla is not someone you can tolerate.”

“He only shows us a little bit of his true nature. He pretends to be a good kid to the people around him…”

“I don’t know, but it seems like you’ve had a hard time.”

“Still, I feel a little better when I think about it as my job.”

The Crown Prince seemed to be peeking into an abyss beyond Raoul’s eyes.

The crown prince again asked his fiancée Sharia, who was also oiling the bowstring.

“What kind of person is Confucius that makes you sigh like that?”

“…… Trash.”

“I feel bad because it feels like I’m being directly cursed at. Can you briefly explain what I did to deserve this?”

“A human being who kills people with just his tongue. Although his strength is not as strong as that of a newborn goat.”

The boy who destroyed a bandit camp that had been built up to a fence with just a piece of gold and a piece of paper was Raoul’s son.

At dawn, he secretly placed a gold bar and a piece of paper with random words that appeared to be a complex code in a hole in a tree next to the bandits’ fence.

And he ordered that a signal fire be lit periodically every night at dawn from the watchtower near the bandit camp.

That alone was enough to create a hellish situation where suspicion was spread among the bandits and they killed each other.

‘Little brother. Isn’t it funny? I just opened the book and wrote down the first few words I saw… and you’re assuming meaning and doubting it.’

‘… Dad said he would arrest them soon.’

‘Yes. If it were my father, he would have peacefully defeated them even if I hadn’t intervened. Without anyone dying.’

Camilla clearly remembered her brother, who had stopped smiling the moment he imagined that sight.

‘But that’s no fun.’

‘what?’

‘If the result is the same anyway, wouldn’t it be natural to choose a more fun and dramatic process?’

As he spoke, he covered the mouth of the bandit who was begging for his life with a bloody cloth.

‘You ignored the pleas of those who asked you to save your life, so why should I?’

From that day on, Raul’s son was recognized for his achievements and became the successor to the post of Minister of the Armed Forces, but his relationship with his sister became worst.

Even Raul seriously scolded his son that day. It was okay to suppress bandits, but it was a problem to treat people’s lives and emotions as entertainment.

The crown prince, who had briefly heard the story, clicked his tongue and began to worry.

He said that if such a person were to become the Minister of Defense in the future, he would not feel comfortable either.

Towards evening, lightning struck the head of the Crown Prince, who was quietly analyzing Raoul’s family in his head.

“Long time no see, kid.”

Camilla greeted the Crown Prince briefly, patting his head.

Stroking the head of the crown prince of a country is something that is usually unimaginable.

To Camilla, he was just her friend’s loser son.

“… Long time no see, Camilla.”

“This is not fun.”

“I don’t think manners are more important than fun.”

“If you’re going to say hello, wouldn’t it be better to make it a little more interesting?”

The crown prince could now tell who the Confucius resembled.

“… They say blood is thicker than water.”

“Why? Did Sharia do something wrong?”

The crown prince wanted to break off this damn engagement as soon as possible.

Not only was my fiancée abnormal, but her family was also abnormal.

The daughter inherited Raoul’s eloquence and Camilla’s violence, and the son inherited Camilla’s self-interested nature and Raoul’s stubbornness.

He had inherited only things that should not have been inherited, and even that combination was the worst.

“… Are Asher and Penelope doing well?”

“Well, I don’t know what to say since it’s been three months since we last spoke face to face.”

“What?”

“I know you’re so busy, but all I could say was to ask for your understanding.”

“……”

Those words were enough to touch Camilla’s sensitive spot, having suffered under her indifferent father.

“… Well, I’m not young enough to say anything now. I don’t want to make you worry by throwing a tantrum. It’s okay. But in the end, nothing will change.”

” …… These chews are really.

“Yes?”

“Just stay still and play with Sharia and Raoul. I have business to attend to in the capital.”

There were four people who swore that they would not raise their children like themselves.

It was only natural that Camilla would be angry, since he had broken his promise not to make her feel the loneliness of being left out or the fear of having to face the world alone.

“The distance from here to the capital is…”

“You can get there in half a day.”

“Yes…? The palace is in disarray these days because of assassins, so it would be better to go later…”

Camilla threw her spear in the direction of the capital, and immediately jumped up and climbed onto the spear.

“Something scarier than an assassin will be coming to the palace today.”

Even though we don’t know who is behind this assassination, it seems certain that their plot will cause enough of a fuss to be worth it.

The Crown Prince sighed as he watched Camilla walk away on his window.

A daughter who pulls the bowstring silently, a son who is a conman and enjoys ruining others, and a wife who is unreasonable.

It was a sigh that implied that there were no decent people around Raoul Bergé. Of course, those who knew Raoul’s past would have laughed if they heard it.

“… Is this what a family is?”

To the crown prince, who had only studied how to become an ideal emperor, family ties were nothing more than a concept he occasionally read in books when he had free time.

If I had to be specific, it would be closer to a fantasy, like a unicorn or a kind fairy, and I had decided that it was something I would never see in my entire life.

“… I don’t completely hate it.”

He didn’t want to become a member of this place even if it meant dying, but if he could, it didn’t seem like there were any advantages to it.

“And how about coming out? Because of my status, I really hate it when someone hides and watches me.”

“… How did you know?”

The Sharia that emerged from the bushes was covered in leaves and dirt, making it look like a mess.

“I don’t have the same strength as you, nor the same cleverness as your brother, but I do have one ability: seeing and analyzing things.”

The broken branches around the bushes, the fact that one bush was particularly messy, the sense of discomfort in the shadow of the bushes… If only I could see that, it would have been enough.

“… It’s different.”

“Does that mean you’re different from nobles who don’t have the ability to do anything? Plus, it means you’re different from your older brother who’s arrogant and only believes in his own ability.”

“Are there any other interpretations?”

“… Sigh.”

The crown prince began to hate himself for understanding what the crazy young lady was saying thanks to his unique analytical skills.

I was worried that I might become part of this crazy scene, and I resolved to constantly doubt myself to make sure that didn’t happen.

And to do that, I also realized that I had to break off this crazy engagement somehow.

“…”

But, to his dismay, Raoul was watching the scene from afar, his fists clenched.

Raoul was already feeling sorry for his daughter who was always misunderstood because she was not as talkative as he was.

I’ve introduced friends to them a few times, but… because of the words around them, the results have always been ruin.

Just when I was worried whether my daughter would ever be able to have a proper human relationship, let alone get engaged, she appeared.

Someone who can really understand what my daughter is saying.

Contrary to the Crown Prince’s wishes, the engagement was becoming more and more certain.

Of course, before Raoul could bring up the subject of marriage, Camilla would arrive first and brandish her spear, talking about her parental duties.