Translator: Nox

Chapter 30

Episode 30

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"Yes, thanks to Bestia, I feel like I'm going crazy too."”

I feel the same way.

I feel like I'm about to lose my mind right now.

The House of Duke Russell is hopeless….

“…But what is Mary writing?”

“Ah, it’s just at an interesting part right now.”

I glared at the notebook Mary was holding.

It was a hunch that this unknown notebook was somehow connected to me.

I’ll definitely see what’s in it someday.

“Anyway, I won’t do it, I can’t do it! It’s too much pressure!”

“Tsk, tsk… If the new bride feels that way, then there’s nothing we can do. We’ve already invited the Emperor.”

“What?”

He must just be someone named ‘Emperor,’ right?

Duke Russell, you wouldn’t go that far, would you?

“New bride, you don’t really need to be that surprised.”

“In what way am I supposed to not be surprised?”

The Duke spoke in a warm voice, as if trying to calm me.

“We’ve held an annual event on that day every year, so it’s not a big deal.”

So, it’s not that he invited the Emperor for my birthday?

“That’s a relief. In that case, let’s just pretend my birthday party isn’t happening!”

“Beth, even if we don’t hold a birthday party, please accept our congratulations.”

“That’s right! New bride! Isn’t it sad to not receive congratulations for your birth just because you don’t know your birthday?”

To think there are people who want to celebrate my birthday this much.

My heart softened, and I asked the Duke,

“When are your and the Young Duke’s birthdays?”

“My birthday is in winter, so it’s still a long way off. And our Fitz…”

“……”

“…When was it?”

Where did the person who just said it’s sad not to receive birthday congratulations go?

Your own son has just become a very sad person!

“Young Duke, when is your birthday?”

“……”

What is this? Why doesn’t he know either?

“You don’t know your own birthday? Why wouldn’t you know that?”

It was astonishing that he would try to celebrate someone else’s birthday without even knowing his own.

However, the Young Duke replied as if it were nothing.

“Well, isn’t it possible not to know?”

“What?”

“You don’t know either, Bestia.”

“……Huh?”

That’s because I’m an orphan.

But you’re the Empire’s only Young Duke, aren’t you?

I sent him a silent look that said, ‘Does that even make sense?’ and the Young Duke calmly replied,

“Seeing as you’re looking at my face like this, are you perhaps considering my proposal from earlier?”

You mean the proposal that offered a handsome husband as a bonus?

“…No, I was just genuinely surprised.”

“My face?”

At this point, it seemed more plausible that I had learned the Imperial language incorrectly and was misinterpreting things.

Or perhaps my ears were truly malfunctioning.

“Anyway! You have no intention of backing down, do you?”

“Back down? New bride, such a word doesn’t exist in my vocabulary.”

This is bad. The Duke has a personality where he must do something once he sets his mind to it.

“Duke, let’s find a compromise then.”

“It’s a shame, but if it’s the new bride’s request…”

It was clear it would take a long time to find a middle ground that would satisfy both the Duke and me.

In that case, it would be better to talk about what happened before.

“First, I’ll tell you about what happened when I went out to investigate.”

I placed the red bead the Young Duke had given me on the table.

“You heard from the Young Duke what this is, right?”

“Yes, new bride. However, I couldn’t sense anything strange about it.”

As expected. Those without magic power couldn’t sense the aura emanating from the bead.

“I feel an unsettling aura from this bead.”

“Yes, I heard. They say you can bewitch people with that bead, right?”

I placed my hand on the bead and infused a small amount of magic power.

The white light that momentarily appeared on the red bead quickly vanished.

“I don’t know what this is, but it seems like it can be offset to some extent with Healing Magic.”

“Then, new bride, do you think this red aura is also magic power?”

At the Duke’s words, I shook my head.

“No. It feels too strange to be magic power.”

“This is getting quite complicated.”

“That’s why I need your help, Duke.”

I expected the Duke to exclaim, but he replied with surprising calmness.

“I am glad if I can be of help to the new bride. Yes, what kind of help do you need?”

“Duke, you know a lot about gods, don’t you?”

The Duke’s expression, which had been gently smiling a moment ago, showed a subtle crack.

“…Yes, that’s right. I like gods very much.”

“Then, do you perhaps know of the ‘God of Contracts’?”

Honestly, I didn’t think he wouldn’t know the ‘God of Contracts.’

He had said he was a friend of ‘Bestia’ from mythology.

“…Hmm, it feels like I’ve heard of it, and yet I haven’t.”

Does the Duke truly not know the ‘God of Contracts’?

But considering the information I saw about him at the mine, I couldn’t help but be suspicious.

The Duke had two children, and he had been searching for those with Healing Magic even though they weren’t sick.

Could another child, not the Young Duke, be ill?

In any case, it was certain that the Duke was hiding many things.

If only I had had a little more time then, I could have found a clue.

“New bride, thinking about it, I had something to discuss with my son.”

“What? But we haven’t finished talking…”

“I’m sorry. Let’s finish it next time.”

Taken aback by the sudden dismissal, I looked at the Young Duke.

“Beth, please go back first.”

Even though they don’t know each other’s birthdays, they get along so well when it comes to things like this.

Abruptly kicked out, I stared blankly at the closed door before trudging towards the study.

Aristelle, seeing this, seemed to feel sorry for me and followed, asking,

“Neither of you usually acts like that, so you must have had something urgent to discuss.”

“Rather than that, it felt like they were unilaterally hiding something from me.”

Aristelle also seemed to sense that they were suspicious and couldn’t offer much of a response.

“I feel frustrated like this, so Aristelle must be having a hard time too.”

“As for me, I’m just glad that you two have such a special relationship.”

I used to think their relationship was good too.

But now, it felt different.

A father who doesn’t know his son’s birthday.

And a son who seems to care for his father but is also indifferent.

Their relationship seemed more subtle than special.

“Bestia, I may not know about gods, but I might be able to help with other matters related to this incident.”

Aristelle spoke in a cautious voice, perhaps worried about offending me.

“Thank you. Come to think of it, something just occurred to me.”

“What is it?”

“The priest who seemed to be the leader gave me his name. He said it was ‘Kellen’.”

Upon hearing that, Aristelle furrowed his brow.

“…Kellen?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Yes, that name belongs to Royalty.”

A Royal name? So, was he impersonating someone?

“Aristelle, how do you know the names of Royalty?”

The Emperor, who was practically a libertine, had over seventy children.

Even among Princes and Princesses, except for a few who held actual power, their names were not even known.

“When your Master is the Young Duke, you can’t help but memorize them.”

“Aristelle, you have a good memory.”

At my compliment, Aristelle let out a deep sigh.

“It can’t be helped. My Master has no interest in the first place, but I have to bring him information.”

Today, Aristelle’s under-eye circles looked particularly dark.

“…Anyway, thanks to my Master, who doesn’t even care about Royalty, I’ve memorized all the Royal names, half voluntarily and half involuntarily.”

“So that’s why you immediately recognized that ‘Kellen’ might be a Prince?”

“Yes, in the end, that’s it.”

However, the probability of him being Royalty is slim, isn’t it?

According to Imperial law, as long as one avoids the Emperor’s name, it’s not impossible to have the same name as another Royal.

“Then he might be lying, or he could just be a namesake.”

“I think so too… but, what was the approximate age of that priest?”

I recalled the priest’s appearance, which was like that of a gentle deer.

“Probably late teens to early twenties? He looked about the same age as the Young Duke.”

Hearing that, Aristelle let out a low groan and rubbed his eyes.

“It’s unlikely, but it’s suspiciously similar in age too.”

“What about his appearance? He looked incredibly gentle and pure on the outside.”

“Ugh, unfortunately, all that’s known about him is his name, age, and background. He’s a Prince who…”

“Even a powerless Prince wouldn’t offer humans to gods, would they?”

At my words, Aristelle’s face brightened.

“Surely not, right? Unless he’s driven by greed for power or wealth, or is just a lunatic.”

“That’s right, who in the world would go around causing strange trouble because they’re obsessed with gods…”

Or rather, the master of this house is like that, isn’t he?

I looked up at Aristelle, and he seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“…Surely not, right?”

“I can’t say it’s entirely impossible.”

Come to think of it, the Duke had said he caused a commotion about designating a new national religion.

In that case, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to be a Prince.

“Are you curious about that Prince?”

Turning my head at the familiar voice, the Young Duke had squeezed himself between me and Aristelle.

“Young Duke, you’re here early?”

“Yes, because all you were saying was pointless chatter.”

The Young Duke pushed Aristelle completely aside and said in a detached tone,

“It saddens me that Beth is curious about other men, but there are ways.”

“A way to know about Kellen?”

“Yes, that way is…”

To be continued in the next episode ▶