Chapter 46
#46. What Was Gained from the War2022.02.06.
That night.
“……?”
Returning to the bedroom, Sir Arthur handed Reina a thick bundle of documents. His hair was wet from washing, and droplets of water still fell from the damp strands. Reina accepted them in a daze, then widened her eyes in shock upon realizing what they were. They were documents related to his assets. Flustered, she looked up at him.
“Ah…… Sir Arthur? This is…….”
Rubbing his hair with a towel, Sir Arthur pointed to each document one by one.
“The pension documents I mentioned. This is the money received from the Julius family. This is the reward from the imperial family.”
“…….”
“This is the wealth gained during the war. Mostly ransom from prisoners.”
“…….”
“And this is the payroll ledger for the knights under my command.”
Sir Arthur explained each one as he pointed them out.
“…….”
“You can open them and take a look.”
Though he said that, Reina’s hands trembled so much she couldn’t bring herself to unfold them. Even without opening them, she could gauge the scale of Sir Arthur’s wealth just from the first pages. Surprisingly, the money from the Julius family wasn’t even his largest source of income. Aren’t some of these confidential? I shouldn’t be seeing these documents. Reina’s eyes shook with bewilderment.
“And this one.”
“…….”
Setting the towel aside, Sir Arthur paused, looking at Reina with a smile. Seeing that made her even more flustered. 【 Marriage Contract 】 Her heart sank.
“Our marriage contract.”
Sir Arthur said calmly with a smile.
“It includes the dowry list that was finalized by my return alive from the war.”
Reina’s face flushed hot. The moment she saw the contract, her chest tightened and began to pound. As payment for this marriage contract, Sir Arthur had gone to war and was supposed to marry Lady Christina, but I got in the way and turned it into a sham marriage. Sir Arthur paused briefly before continuing.
“I didn’t plan on laying it all out so crudely like this.”
Sir Arthur fiddled with the towel, his brow slightly furrowed. Then he flicked his finger, tapping Reina’s forehead. He smiled as if embarrassed.
“I’m a petty small-minded man, but only toward my wife. As you well know.”
“…….”
Reina stared at him blankly, touching her forehead. She couldn’t understand why he was wearing an expression that didn’t match what she’d thought upon seeing the marriage contract. Sir Arthur gazed at her with a gentle smile.
“You don’t seem to believe me. So, proof.”
Reina looked at the documents with a sense of unreality.
“…….”
He’s showing me this because I didn’t seem to believe in his assets and proposal? Not condemnation for the sham marriage…… But to earn my trust?
“…….”
As he rubbed his hair with the towel again, Sir Arthur suddenly added as if something had just occurred to him, “Ah.”
“The marriage contract is a copy.”
Reina looked up at him in a daze.
“The original on my side is kept by the imperial family. As for the marquis’s…… well.”
Sir Arthur glanced at his nails, pretending nonchalance as he tossed out casually.
“It’s probably in the marquis’s safe?”
“…….”
Sir Arthur said it as if it were nothing.
“You take that one. I have another copy.”
Reina jumped in surprise.
“Yes?”
Shaking his wet hair lightly, Sir Arthur said,
“You already know the contents, but it’s good to take a look at least once.”
Reina didn’t know what to do with her hands clutching the documents. She had personally signed the “marriage vows” symbolically sworn before the priest, but this was her first time seeing the “marriage contract” that contained the actual substantive details of the marriage. She had never imagined she’d have occasion to lay eyes on it……
“…….”
Reina couldn’t bring herself to flip through the documents and just fidgeted with them anxiously. Sir Arthur watched her for a moment. Then, setting the towel aside, he smiled and personally opened the marriage contract right in front of her eyes, which were fixed only on the cover.
“Go on, take a look and think it over. All the other documents too.”
“…….”
He nodded toward the documents again with a smile.
“Check carefully the assets I’ve accumulated over five years.”
“…….”
He claimed it was embarrassing to boast about his asset list, yet as he tousled his slightly damp hair, he wore a smile that was a little proud, as if he wanted to show off. * * * Outer walls of Julius Territory, Tristan’s house. Tristan sat in a chair, hunched over. His clasped hands rested against his furrowed brow, casting a dark shadow.
“…….”
Noticing his unusual atmosphere after putting their son to bed and returning, his wife approached, sat in the chair in front of Tristan, and spoke to him.
“Honey.”
“…….”
“You seem off today. What’s wrong?”
Tristan was a devoted husband. Over the past five years, as if to make up for the time he couldn’t spend with his child, he stuck to their five-year-old son Benjamin like glue whenever he came home. He always responded eagerly as a good father to the boy’s calls.
「Daddy! Daddy’s the knight closest to Sir Arthur, right? Right?」
Answering that question was Tristan’s first routine upon returning from work. The moment he walked in, Benjamin would cling to his neck with sparkling eyes and ask his daily question. Tristan would always scoop the child up in his sturdy arms and
「That’s right! Daddy’s the closest to Sir Arthur! All the other knights know it too!」
boastfully regale him with stories of his time with Sir Arthur, proudly showing off his shining medal like a trophy, playing the proud daddy his son admired. But today was somehow off. · · ·
“Daddy! Daddy! Can I bring my friends over next week and brag about you? Can I tell them you’re the knight closest to Sir Arthur?”
A bit later than usual, he scooped up the dancing Benjamin as always and gave him a big smile. But today, suddenly, “That’s right! ……Daddy……” he trailed off, his lips trembling as a tearful expression crossed his face. A couple of steps behind, his wife—who had been watching with arms crossed and a smile as if she couldn’t stop him—sharply noticed his odd behavior, hurried over, took Benjamin from Tristan, and fussed.
“Benjamin! You’re trying to brag to your friends again, aren’t you?”
She hugged the child and tickled his side.
“I get that you want to brag, but if you do it every day, your friends will get jealous and say, ‘He’s just the kid who brags about his dad all the time.’”
The son burst into giggles and pushed at his tickling mother’s face.
“Mommy! That tickles!”
His wife kissed the child and carried him toward the kitchen.
“You little rascal! You little rascal! If you brag outside about your daddy getting a barony, His Imperial Majesty will say, ‘That rascal bragging about a title he hasn’t even received!’ and take the title away!”
“Kyahahak! I didn’t say it!”
“Our son! You promised to help Daddy with dinner prep today, didn’t you!”
“Yeah! I did! It tickles, stop, Mommy!”
Holding the child who was laughing so hard he could barely breathe, she headed to the kitchen.
“…….”
Tristan stood there blankly, watching his young son’s giggling laughter fade into the distance.
「You’re the closest to Sir Arthur, right?」
Chewing over the words he heard every day. Tristan stood dazed before the peace Sir Arthur had returned to them. It felt like something was caught in his throat. · · ·
“……What’s wrong? Did something happen out there?”
“…….”
Though his wife asked again, Tristan had no answer. Cautiously, she laid her hand over the back of his.
“Honey…… What’s wrong? You’re scaring me. Did something happen? Tell me. Is something wrong?”
Tristan bit his lip, shook his head, and grasped her hand. Then he quickly looked up to reassure her.
“……No. Nothing’s wrong. Sorry for worrying you.”
It was a forced smile.
“Nothing happened.”
“Honey.”
Tristan’s lips trembled again. In the end, he confessed part of the truth.
“……It’s not that nothing happened. But it doesn’t involve you or our family. Just…….”
And he bowed his head at last. Shocked, Tristan’s wife embraced him.
“What’s wrong, honey? Hmm?”
Tristan couldn’t hide his crumbling heart. It was a sadness he hadn’t been able to show in front of Sir Arthur. * * * ……Tristan. Don’t panic and listen. It’s not serious. There’s one thing I haven’t told you about myself yet. I’m facing a bit of a difficulty right now. It’s not a grave problem. It’s not your fault. Promise me you won’t be too sad or blame yourself? I might need to ask for your help in the future. So that I won’t hesitate to tell you about my difficulties each time. * * *
“…….”
He couldn’t remember what the documents were. Sir Arthur had silently watched Tristan, who had been handed some kind of document from him and was passionately ranting about it for a while, with a smiling face. Then, lowering his gaze quietly, he smiled. He pushed the documents aside. Sitting at the desk, he prefaced with a few words to prepare Tristan mentally. And calmly confessed that he had gone blind.
