Chapter 6
Three days had passed.
Perhaps it was because humans are creatures of habit, but despite how far removed life in Wibin was from his past ten years, Elric had begun to adjust to some extent.
He still wandered battlefields in his dreams and woke up fumbling for a dagger, but aside from those moments, life was quite satisfying.
“Young Master.”
Today, as well, Elric left his bed at the sound of Aldio’s voice.
After a quick wash and a change of clothes, he leaned on his cane and headed toward the dining hall.
There, he found Tiria.
“Have you risen?”
She gave a short nod of her head, and Elric replied.
“Good morning.”
Things were still awkward with her.
She was a woman of few words, and since they spent most of the day in different places, it was difficult to grow close.
However, it wasn’t as uncomfortable as it had been at first.
This, too, was adaptation. Elric had reached a point where he no longer bolted from his seat after wolfing down his food.
“Are you going to see the wheat fields again today?”
“Yes.”
“I am sorry. My leg being like this prevents me from helping with the work.”
“It is fine. I have grown used to it.”
Her words stung his conscience.
Thinking back, it was a shameless thing for him to say. He was the one who had left her alone, yet here he was, offering apologies now of all times.
While Elric was busy berating his own clumsy mouth, Tiria stopped her movements.
She stared at her plate in silence for a moment before adding a single sentence.
“……I meant that I grew used to it because I learned from the head of the family.”
Ah, I see.
A short breath escaped him.
Only then did he realize something.
‘……It certainly is Father’s way.’
He was a man who was never satisfied unless he confirmed important matters with his own eyes.
The wheat fields would have been no different.
Having liquidated all other businesses, only a single wheat farm remained for the Portman family.
He didn’t know why such a choice had been made, but if that was the only business left, it was just like his father’s personality to have finished the handover to her.
Lost in these thoughts, Elric asked impulsively.
“By the way.”
“Yes.”
“……How did you get along with my father?”
The words had slipped out in the heat of the moment, but he didn’t regret them.
It would be more accurate to say his curiosity outweighed any regret.
He wanted to know the intentions of a father who had left behind only an inheritance without a will, but since there were no clues, he felt inclined to lean on her for answers.
Tiria replied immediately.
“I learned the work. Other than that, I do not recall much else.”
“……Was there no mention of me?”
“There was not.”
The firm confirmation left him speechless.
Elric considered asking if she was sure, but he soon gave up on the idea.
For some reason, it felt realistic.
He could picture the scene.
His cold-blooded father, who lacked even a shred of humanity, and this woman of few words sitting at this very table.
The silence would have been so suffocating that even the clatter of cutlery would have vanished.
The most they would have shared was his father saying, “Do this,” and Tiria answering, “Yes.”
Elric felt a chill run down his spine.
‘How dreadful.’
He shouldn’t feel this way, but the discomfort was such that he almost felt it was a relief he had run away.
Elric let out a hollow laugh.
And so, breakfast ended.
“Then, I shall be on my way.”
Tiria bowed her head slightly in greeting, just as she had at the start.
Elric stood up, leaning on his cane, and replied.
“Good luck today.”
With that, he left the dining hall.
Though he was the son of the master, Elric’s position in the manor was closer to that of a guest.
It was only natural.
Having run away at fourteen and not having set foot here for ten years, there was no way he could know how the household was run. Even if he tried to do something, his leg was in such a state that he couldn’t even help with chores.
In the end, all he did was sit in the garden like a loafer and watch people coming and going.
Feeling the autumn chill with his whole body, he watched the fountain, watched the people, and exchanged nods with them.
In doing so, he came to realize something.
‘There are many new faces.’
The core staff managing the manor remained the same.
However, among those doing the manual labor, there weren’t many left in Elric’s memory.
They were complete strangers. As such, they did not show signs of welcoming Elric like the head maid, the butler, or the coachman did.
It was a subtle line—not hostile, but not affectionate either—the gaze one gives to a stranger.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
It was Aldio.
He had approached from behind, cradling a small wooden box in his arms.
Elric smiled slightly and said.
“Ah, I was watching the servants. There are many faces I don’t recognize.”
“That is true. Ten years have passed, after all.”
Aldio sat on the bench beside him.
“Did anyone happen to be disrespectful to you, Young Master?”
“How could that be? Such a person couldn’t possibly stay in this manor.”
No matter that his father had passed away, this was still the land he had cultivated.
His father was a man who utterly loathed any sign of disloyalty from subordinates to their master, and he always prioritized that trait when hiring servants.
One could say he viewed humans as replaceable parts.
Regardless of what they said behind his back, they had to act out a performance of diligence on the surface for the smooth operation of the manor.
It would be foolish to think such a tone would vanish in just a single year.
Elric brushed the thought aside and asked.
“But what is that wooden box?”
“Ah, these are letters addressed to Madam.”
“To her?”
“Yes, it is harvest season, is it not? There are matters requiring attention scattered all over.”
That made sense. Even in Elric’s memory, harvest season was a time when his father rarely showed his face.
“What kind of letters are they?”
“I do not know.”
“Hmm?”
“Where in the world is there a servant who reads letters before their master has seen them?”
The words he spoke with a small smile revealed his unchanging loyalty.
Elric chuckled at that consistency.
“I can see why you two didn’t get close.”
“I am performing my duties faithfully. If you think about it, I wasn’t exactly close with the late master either.”
That was true. His father might have viewed him as a vital component, but he never saw him as a human companion.
Aldio had also long since realized this and showed his father nothing but strict politeness.
Elric changed the subject.
“So she looks at the wheat by day and documents by night?”
“That is correct.”
“She is going through a lot of trouble.”
A wave of pity and guilt washed over him.
Had he not run away, all of this would have been Elric’s role.
How shameful it was to pass his own responsibilities onto someone else while he lived so leisurely.
It would be easier on his heart if she resented him, but Tiria had never once complained since he arrived.
Elric pondered for a moment, then spoke.
“Would it be alright if I took a look at those letters?”
If it was just reading, he could manage even with his leg.
Of course, he didn’t properly know how things worked, but he should at least be able to sort the letters or summarize their contents.
He didn’t know much, but surely he could relieve some of her fatigue.
It was a task that sparked his motivation.
“Mmm……”
Hesitation appeared on Aldio’s face.
Elric said jokingly.
“I am technically the master as well. I have the right to see those letters.”
It was a rather shameless thing to say, but it was the truth.
Aldio’s face went blank at those words, but he soon let out a soft laugh.
“……Yes, that is true.”
The wooden box was handed over to Elric.
“The office is in the same place as it was ten years ago.”
“The center of the second floor. The heart of the manor.”
“Correct.”
“I understand. Go back to your work.”
“Yes.”
Elric tucked the wooden box under his arm and headed toward the office.
Regardless of his motivation, naturally—quite naturally—there were no letters Elric could easily understand.
Documents concerning various errands for clients, statistics on wheat yields and profits, and the like were scattered in disarray.
Finding solutions was impossible.
Fortunately, since he had possessed a good eye for context since he was young, he was able to perform the sorting he had originally planned.
Elric organized the contents of the wooden box into three main categories: external correspondence, letters regarding the merchant group, and personal letters.
It was during this process that he found the letter.
[To my beloved daughter.]
It was a letter with those words written on it.
The seal stamped upon it belonged to the Wibin family.
It was Tiria’s maiden home.
Elric’s gaze couldn’t seem to pull away from the letter.
It was curiosity.
When he thought about it, he still didn’t know the reason why she remained here.
Whether her intentions were good or bad, he wasn’t entirely sure, but for the past few days, he had seen her working truly diligently for the Portman family’s affairs.
Technically, she was a stranger.
Though he knew reading someone else’s mail was quite boorish, Elric couldn’t easily shake off the curiosity that had just surfaced.
Based on thoughts bordering on self-justification, he thought that perhaps—just perhaps—this letter might contain a clue about his father.
Once that thought occurred to him, it was over.
His hand naturally moved toward the wax seal pressing down on the letter.
He scratched the surface with his fingernail, then sighed and stared at the letter again.
After repeating this several times, Elric finally squeezed his eyes shut and peeled off the seal.
His impulsiveness had done the deed.
After a brief moment of regret, Elric shook his head.
‘Since I’ve already opened it, I might as well check the contents.’
Even if he ended up apologizing for peeking at personal matters, he might as well feel less cheated by actually knowing.
He would feel more sorry, but that was a problem for later.
At any rate, the contents of the letter were revealed before Elric’s eyes.
Feeling his heart throb between anticipation and guilt like a boy committing a misdeed, Elric immediately—
‘This is…….’
Furrowed his brow.
The Wife Waited in the Wheat Field (Serial)
