5 - Not Your Son, But Your Father
Episode 5
The stench of alcohol was overwhelming. Callen clicked his tongue at the sight of Gilbert's trashed bedroom.
The floor was littered with broken glass shards. There were also traces of blood that hadn't dried yet, but Callen noticed it wasn't Gilbert's blood.
It was always like this when Gilbert was angry. Servants would die as if they were the targets of his rage.
Ever since he volunteered to be Gilbert's right-hand man, cleaning up the mess had been Callen's responsibility.
"I told you not to underestimate her."
At the sighing remark, Gilbert, who was slumped down, gritted his teeth.
"Shut up."
Callen knew why Gilbert was so furious. And he also knew that there was no way to change things unless Gilbert changed his mind.
In high society, Maybia Morgana was a celebrity.
She was generally good at everything, the pride of the Morgana Marquess family, and had excellent social skills.
No matter what she said or did, she was the most beautiful being under the heavens.
A devastatingly lethal beauty. It was as if she arrogantly received all the love of the gods.
Her hair, reaching down to her waist, was as radiant as if only the finest colors of the flowers had been delicately extracted, giving the feeling of bringing spring itself.
Her eyes sparkled as if the shimmering starlight of dawn had seeped into them.
Even Callen, who was extremely wary of her, was momentarily captivated, mistaking her for the goddess of spring.
The nobles liked Maybia Morgana.
But that was also because they didn't dare to be hated by her.
Maybia smiled often. She had a natural talent for screwing people over with her melting smile and affable voice.
The anecdote of a prince getting his head shaved because of a single word from Maybia was enough for even the nobles of neighboring countries to gossip about.
The problem was that the prince still hadn't come to his senses.
Moreover, Maybia committed some kind of crazy act every year.
The fact that Charles Morgoz's younger sister had kicked the Count she was deeply infatuated with into the river, and that she had watched him swim for his life while bursting into laughter, made people question her character.
But the most frightening thing about her was something else.
Even after doing all those things, she was perfectly fine. It meant she hadn't received any retaliation.
No, far from retaliation, she was too popular.
Thanks to that, she seemed to gain confidence, and the scale of her accidents grew larger with each passing year.
Recently, rumors had been circulating that Maybia Morgana had bought a closed quarry for a huge sum of money.
It was a forbidden area where a considerable number of Magical Beasts had taken over, making it impossible to even approach, though not as much as in the north.
Maybia had purchased a place that wouldn't sell even if it was offered at a bargain price, simply to show off her wealth.
She was certainly impressive. Even with a good family backing her, she only chose actions that most people wouldn't dare to do.
When Gilbert came to the capital with the marriage contract, Callen had warned him.
That she wasn't just crazy, but a crazy person that everyone liked.
But Gilbert ignored it. Because there had never been a woman he had approached who hadn't shown him favor.
Gilbert had expected that Maybia would also blush and be shy when she saw him.
"Let's clean up the room first. What a mess."
At Callen's gesture, the servants who had been standing far away hesitated. Their faces were filled with fear.
Gilbert, who was the one who had driven the servants into terror, was busy drinking alcohol straight from the bottle.
Gilbert remembered the words his stepfather had said when he threw the marriage contract written by their predecessors at him.
—Take care of it.
Edith Callakis was an arrogant and autocratic man.
But no one could defy him.
It had been that way before, and it would be that way in the future as well.
Gilbert had heard the anecdote that when the previous Grand Duke Callakis disguised Edith as a collateral relative and passed on the title, there wasn't a single murmur.
It wasn't because they believed the previous Grand Duke's words.
Everyone knew that not a drop of Callakis blood flowed in Edith.
However, the vassals feared Edith so much that even the greed for the Grand Duke's position couldn't raise its head.
'He might not be human.'
They must have had the same thought as Gilbert.
'Even inferring what his true nature is is terrifying.'
He didn't expect anything from his stepson.
He just looked down at Gilbert from a high place, as if he was pathetic.
At one time, he had struggled to change that merciless gaze into something like affection.
But it was all in vain.
The only time Edith Callakis showed even a slight warmth was when he was dealing with Rigen.
If he couldn't take care of the contract, it was obvious how pathetic his stepfather, who already looked down on him, would see him.
Even if a toothless beast bit, it would still sting.
He had been planning to appease him appropriately and smoothly inherit the title, but that woman had ruined everything.
She was treating him like an idiot with a bright smile on her face.
The moment Maybia's face came to mind, Gilbert felt the anger he had barely suppressed finally explode.
He threw the bottle he was drinking from and shouted.
"If it wasn't for that woman! It's all because of that damn bitch!"
She was a woman he didn't like from the start.
The beauty that everyone was mesmerized by, and the clear voice like a clear sky, were just annoying.
—Marriage contract? Ah, you don't need to answer because you didn't ask me to explain it.
At that time, Maybia was clearly mocking him.
The eyes fixed on him shone coldly.
—So... what part of you, the talented young master, should I fall in love with enough to demand marriage so recklessly? You seem to have a lot, so why don't you brag about it to your heart's content?
Gilbert frowned as much as he could.
Now, even seeing the color reminiscent of Maybia Morgana's flowing hair made him nauseous.
Everything that made her up made him uncomfortable.
In particular, the arrogance that didn't hide her contempt for him made him feel like he was standing in front of Edith Callakis.
They looked down on Gilbert with the same gaze.
"...Ha, who does she think she is going to marry? Does she think Edith Callakis would even give her a glance?"
Eventually, Gilbert began to chuckle. He wiped the alcohol from his mouth and brightened his eyes with anger.
"I'll make sure she never looks down on me like that again. I'll show her exactly what happens when a princess who grew up pampered and doesn't know the ways of the world looks down on a commoner."
Even though the servants were listening, Gilbert plotted without any care.
At his careless attitude, Callen frowned without realizing it.
Currently, Gilbert was the most skilled swordsman in the Ravena Empire.
No matter how Maybia treated him, that fact wouldn't change easily in the future. Moreover, he was young and had a fairly handsome appearance.
But Gilbert couldn't overcome his inferiority complex about his status.
He blindly believed in the skills he had honed and looked down on what was innate.
He would never admit that nobles might be better than him in some ways.
'Maybia won't give in so easily.'
If she had even said that she would marry Grand Duke Callakis, it meant that she hated Gilbert as well.
Because the image that came to mind when you thought of Edith Callakis in the capital was usually an old man with a lot of white hair.
It seemed like he had chosen the wrong side.
Callen was starting to think that he should distance himself from Gilbert.
* * *
On a lazy afternoon, an invitation from the Imperial Palace arrived.
Sera read the invitation for me while I was lying in bed playing with Raven.
"An imperial ball."
Raven pecked my finger with his beak, not hurting me.
Sera carefully folded the invitation and put it in the envelope.
"It's the first ball held by the Imperial Family in a long time, so it seems like it will be quite large. I heard that not only His Majesty the Emperor, but also His Highness the Prince will be attending."
"Ew."
"Lady, you shouldn't say things like that."
I didn't pretend to listen. Sera didn't really expect it.
"He'll wear a wig, right?"
"Wouldn't he dress up to the best of his ability? He wants to look good to you, Lady."
"I haven't said I'm going yet."
Perhaps it was because my reaction was too indifferent, Sera was flustered.
"B-but didn't you order a dress from Camellia's Atelier for the imperial ball?"
"Hmm, no? I don't remember setting such a specific goal."
I just bought it because it was fun to spend money.
I changed the subject and spoke to Raven.
"Raven, you don't want to go to such a bothersome place either, do you?"
"Caw! Caw!"
The baby bird cried out as if answering my call and spread its wings.
Soon, it began to fly diligently somewhere, flapping its small wings.
The destination was the invitation, which was adorned with flashy gold leaf, seemingly conscious of the rumors that the Imperial Family was in financial difficulties.
Raven puffed out his chest while stomping on the invitation with his feet.
"...Don't tell me that means I should go?"
