40 - Not Your Son, But Your Father
Chapter 40
“Pardon?”
I pretended not to notice the Count's bewildered gaze and looked at Edith.
“Edith, do you remember me asking if I could go with you to tour the territory?”
“I do remember, but…”
“Your Grace? Excuse me, but the Star Lord has never officially gone on a tour of the territory…”
I didn’t even look at the Count, and raised my index finger.
Shh, be quiet.
“But?”
For some reason, I was starting to hate the word ‘but’ ever since coming to the North.
Edith gestured with his chin towards the window. The wind was blowing so hard that it felt like snow was falling upside down.
Another blizzard and cold wave already.
“Would you be able to go out?”
“……”
Oh, my god. Why is the weather like this?!
Without realizing it, I defensively pulled up the blanket.
I knew that the environment in the North was harsh on people. That’s why I prepared myself mentally. But still, this is a bit much!
The specially treated windows absorbed most of the noise, making the outside scenery feel even more surreal.
It was a silent disaster. It felt like I was watching the outside from inside the eye of the storm.
The problem was that everyone except me seemed to take it for granted.
“I didn’t know the weather in the North would be this harsh every day.”
How am I supposed to break through that? I can’t do it.
At my overly quick surrender, Edith spoke in a voice that seemed somewhat apologetic.
“It will calm down in a few days.”
“Does it usually snow a lot around this time?”
I asked, thinking there must be a reason for his confidence.
While Edith was choosing his words, the Count couldn’t stand it and jumped in again.
“That is not the case…”
The Count glanced at Edith.
“While the Star Lord was away, the weather here was quite mild.”
“What does that have to do with the weather…”
My head turned towards the Count. The Count, receiving Edith's fierce gaze, floundered like a fish dragged onto land.
“I shall take my leave now! Please forgive my rudeness!”
The Count, who was claiming that the weather was mild when Edith wasn’t around, ran away, and I glanced at Edith.
He subtly avoided my gaze.
There’s something going on here.
Suddenly, I remembered the day of the imperial ball, when the wind was unusually fierce.
Sera was worried that a storm was coming.
That was also the day I first met Edith.
Could it be that this man is loved by the cold wave?
“Edith?”
He replied in a tone that suggested he knew what I was thinking.
“It’s not something I can control at will. It’s a temporary phenomenon, so that’s a relief.”
What is it, I don’t know, it’s scary.
“So, is that why you stayed in the North? Because it’s less noticeable due to the environmental characteristics?”
“It is one of the complex reasons.”
In the end, being by Edith’s side meant I had to endure the surrounding temperature dropping drastically.
I felt like my life expectancy was decreasing in real time.
I had a fateful premonition that I should never let go of this knee blanket for the rest of my life.
But is Edith really human?
If he ever claims to be human later, I feel like the words ‘don’t lie’ will automatically come out of my mouth.
Anyway, I have no choice but to adapt. I decided to collect the best knee blankets I could find from now on, and Edith, who was carefully watching my shaking eyes, spat out the words.
“Escort, backing, hair care.”
What is he suddenly saying?
I made a sour face, and Edith gave me a friendly smile.
“I’ll do everything for you, so please don’t hate me too much, my lady.”
…Okay, a handsome and well-built person might unintentionally lower the surrounding temperature a bit. It’s a temporary phenomenon, they say.
I resigned myself to Edith’s destructive beauty.
* * *
I woke up excessively early. Not dawn, not morning, but somewhere in between. A fleeting moment that passes in an instant.
Edith was in the study, and I tossed and turned endlessly.
It was a very unusual day.
I’m usually not myself all day if I wake up before nine in the morning. Even if I vaguely wake up in the early morning, I quickly fall back asleep.
I have a bad feeling. My luck might be bad today.
I roughly fixed my messy hair and took the knee blanket, and Raven, who had woken up with me, looked at me with bleary eyes.
“Caw?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I’m going out for a bit.”
I dissuaded the head butler, who was trying to follow me, and walked alone. The sound of the wind hitting the windows and roaring like a Magical Beast was strange.
I didn’t really have a specific destination. I was just thinking of clearing my head and going back to the bedroom, or if I was really bored, I would go find Edith.
In a daze, I leaned against the railing between the first and second floors.
The huge front gate, which was blocking the fierce cold wave, came into view. It was very reliable because it never rattled no matter how hard the storm hit it.
Cyclamen Castle was so large that it might be possible to accommodate all the people of the territory. So, I didn’t feel too suffocated yet, but it was uncertain how long I could endure it.
…Should I go out once?
I’ll just take three steps.
It was around the time I was seized by a reckless spirit of challenge. I heard voices murmuring from below the stairs.
“I’ll sell it to you for 100,000 marca, especially for you.”
“Isn’t that too expensive, Captain?”
Vega must be nearby. He’s a knight, so he’s diligent from the morning.
“Hey, you have to think about the transportation costs. If you don’t buy it at this price, it’s a loss for you.”
“……”
“Alright, I’ll give you a discount of 2,000 marca out of generosity. I can’t do any more.”
Because the castle was as quiet as a mouse, I could hear Vega’s voice clearly as he was scamming his subordinate from the morning.
The other voice was unfamiliar, but unfortunately, it was full of hesitation.
“Is it really a popular item in the capital?”
“Don’t you trust me? Fine. I’ll just have to sell it to Sir Castor…”
“Ah, I’ll buy it!”
They’re having fun.
Vega had enjoyed sightseeing in the capital with Procyon. He bought anything that looked pretty as a souvenir.
The purpose was revealed at that moment.
If I was in good condition, I would have gone and interfered, but I was too lazy right now.
As I stared at the tightly closed castle gate with an indifferent face, I heard footsteps approaching.
I tried to ignore them at first, but they were clearly coming towards me, so I looked over.
Procyon smiled brightly as he looked up at me leaning against the railing.
“Grand Duchess!”
Procyon’s voice was quite loud, so Vega must have heard it too.
I think I just heard the sound of a pile of gold coins falling.
Procyon ran up the stairs in an instant. His thin clothes were soaked with sweat.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“I just couldn’t sleep. What about you, Sir?”
Hmm, the first floor must be mainly occupied by the royal guard at this hour.
“Do you have any worries?”
“I don’t know.”
Even to my ears, it was a listless answer.
It would be useless to tell a knight who exercises lightly in this weather about the hardships of the cold.
No sooner had I thought that than Procyon spoke like a large dog wagging its tail.
“Wouldn’t you feel better if you confided in a loyal subject?”
“……I was thinking about how to adapt to the weather here.”
Suddenly, Procyon was horrified.
“Ew, don’t think about it so hastily. The environment here is so different from the capital that something really bad could happen if you overdo it.”
“But I also have to tour the territory…”
“That’s the last thing you should rush, isn’t it? It’s not something that will take a day or two, so it would be better to go when Your Grace’s health is at its best. And of course, you’ll take me with you when you go on the tour, right? I’m Your Grace’s number one loyal subject.”
“Putting aside whether I’ll accept you, are you really okay with becoming my loyal subject?”
Procyon readily nodded his head.
“Of course! I like lords or people like Your Grace. Because you take care of your people for sure. In that respect, the former captain of the royal guard was the worst.”
This time, I was a little curious.
“The former captain of the royal guard?”
“Yes, the captain who is downstairs right now hasn’t been promoted for long. His skills are nothing compared to the former captain.”
I heard someone clearing their throat somewhere, but we ignored it.
“Is that person that strong?”
Procyon narrowed his brow slightly.
“She was the only one who could compete with the First Prince on equal terms. She was my teacher and like an older sister to me… well, her hobby was murder, her specialty was murder, and she would go crazy when she saw blood. If something bothered her, she would attack regardless of whether they were on the same side or not. In the end, she was kicked out.”
Oh… a boss whose hobby and specialty is murder and who even team-kills, it would be difficult no matter how skilled she was.
Procyon muttered with a sad face.
“I wonder what she’s doing now. I was quite fond of her. I’m worried about whether she’s doing well, or whether she’s massacred a country and is being treated as a Magical Beast and being subjugated.”
It was too serious a voice to dismiss as a joke.
If Procyon said that much, she must be as strong as Gilbert and as crazy as to laugh at Gilbert.
But there was no story in the novel about such an extraordinary psychopath running around.
