299. Sibling Ep – The Groom

“Honey. Aren’t you going to greet him? We promised not to do this.”

“…Right.”

Count Gustave Peter only snapped back to reality after his wife nudged his arm lightly. He gulped down the hot tea with a slurp to buy himself some time.

Still, it wasn’t easy to regain his composure. What the heck is going on? The daughter who said she would bring back her future husband didn’t show up with some commoner but a royal.

A prince. No less than the direct heir of the Conrad Kingdom with a ‘de’ in his name.

Gustave recognized him at once as the supposedly dead Prince Lean de Yeriel. He would usually wear a mask of indifference, but the situation wasn’t conducive to that.

“Come on.”

Should I speak formally?

The prince’s “It’s been a while” only added to the confusion.

But he had only mouthed the words, and it seemed that his wife and daughter didn’t realize he was royalty.

Gustave opted for a casual tone.

“…I’m Gustave Peter.”

Ksenia let out a sigh of relief. Just yesterday, he had grumpily said,

“Sure. Bring him here.”

He had seemed intent only on getting his runaway daughter to return home, but perhaps his wife spoke kindly to him afterward; his demeanor wasn’t half bad.

Encouraged, she sat Lean on the sofa and took a seat beside him. “I love this man.” It seemed better to slowly reveal his good points rather than being direct.

…But what are this man’s good points?

His profession? I heard he used to be a beggar and now works as a servant somewhere.

Build? Small. He has a rather feminine figure, and he’s almost the same height as me.

Family? A beggar wouldn’t have such a thing. I heard he has a younger sibling.

There wasn’t a single thing he could proudly present to the outside world.

Pretty sad on the bed, but… I can’t brag to anyone about it.

Especially if it’s my father.

In the end, Ksenia only mentioned what was visible.

“Father, what do you think? He’s handsome, right?”

“…”

“Y-young men have to be good-looking these days. There’s that beauty device that sold like hotcakes the other day for both young and old, you know…”

“Oh? Wasn’t that complete nonsense? I heard it was a total defective product that caused a huge ruckus.”

“That’s right. They had a massive return. But that just shows how much people are interested in beauty. These days, even men wear powder.”

“Still, I don’t want to see such things. But looking at it, it seems your boyfriend doesn’t need that.”

Wink—

Edlyn chimed in gently.

Ksenia silently shouted, ‘Mom, nice!’ and tried to break the quiet atmosphere with her chatter.

Her father still said nothing, but that was perhaps better.

Simply not kicking them out was half the approval.

Riding the atmosphere, Ksenia began talking about this man’s character and poured tea for Lean.

Lean took a sip of tea, wiped the rim of the cup where his lips had touched with his thumb, and delicately placed it down with a clattering sound. The two were sitting across from each other, so their eyes naturally met.

‘Huh?’

The refined etiquette of cradling the teacup with both hands was one thing, but he didn’t use a saucer. He placed the teacup to his left and took pastries onto the empty saucer.

Ksenia and Edlyn observed this closely. It was a food-eating habit practiced only by nobles, one that had not yet spread to commoners.

Originally, a saucer was used to drink from, as teacups used to be without handles, making it hard to hold a hot cup, and the saucer served to cool the tea.

Such habits began to decline as teacups with handles became more common.

The saucer lost its function and was used merely for decoration, but for some reason, nobles began to use it as a small plate.

They hated crumbs falling while eating pastries, but a big gulp munching them seemed uncouth, leaving them unsure of where to place the leftovers.

The custom that began in the Aisel Kingdom spread carefully westward, and now it wasn’t strange for nobles not to be seen doing it.

Some nobles still do it, while others don’t.

Ksenia whispered softly.

– “Did you study?”

As Lean subtly nodded, she smiled brightly.

It hadn’t been long since I discovered he was a noble, but he must’ve tried hard.

However, it seemed he lacked a little in study. Placing the teacup to the left of the saucer was a mistake.

Nobles who pay attention to etiquette had rules set on where to place the teacup. It should be on the right.

To place it on the left…

‘That’s a privilege only royalty and clergy could do.’

He must have done so on purpose.

To provoke Count Gustave Peter, implying that he knew he was a prince.

I would eventually talk to him alone later, but for now, with Ksenia and Edlyn beside him, Lean held his tongue. No matter how indirectly he spoke, they would understand.

Lean faithfully played the role of a fiancé visiting his father-in-law.

He showed humility in response to Edlyn’s praise and behaved as respectfully as possible.

But to the Count, it all just looked the opposite. His daughter and wife seemed to think the commoner awkwardly using nobility was quite cute…

‘What are you trying to do?’

The Count was gradually getting annoyed.

It was shocking that the prince was alive. Remembering the time they met when he was very young was impressive, but that was all.

It looks like he had used my daughter to approach me to reclaim his bloodline, which felt quite contemptible.

While Lean, Ksenia, and Edlyn were chatting happily, Gustave waited for the pastries to be finished before speaking.

“Say, we need to talk privately.”

The atmosphere, which had just loosened, instantly turned cold. The daughter who had run away from home and declared she didn’t want to get married bit her lip, oblivious to her father’s thoughts.

“Father. I won’t go into long details. I like this man. I have no other choice.”

You’ve been used.

“I’m sure you’ll decide wisely, and you’ll discover he’s a good person, but please don’t think poorly of him as just a worthless commoner. Treat him as my fiancé, with respect. That’s… all I hope for.”

“Very well. I shall treat him respectfully. As much as I need to.”

With eyes brimming as if she might burst into tears, Ksenia glared at her father in frustration while Gustave sneered.

If this man knew he was a prince and realized he was being used… Gustave thought the prince was exceedingly cunning.

Edlyn comforted her shivering daughter as they exited the reception room, leaving only Gustave and Lean with the disheveled plates of pastries and empty teacups remaining.

The Count served a sneering comment politely.

“My daughter has brought an excellent groom, I must say. I’m impressed.”

“You flatter me.”

“Why address me so formally? Speak comfortably now. You are indeed the legitimate heir to my great nation.”

“…I think you may have misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood? Ha!”

Gustave’s typically mundane anger flared up. The power his father, Cardinal Berg, had poured into him recklessly.

Anger boiling at the prince’s shamelessness, Gustave questioned, regardless of noble conversation.

“Why didn’t you just come to me directly? You seem to have forgotten your dignity wandering the streets, which is quite cowardly. Very well. Brilliant. Then what exactly would you like from me? What must I concede to have you break off with my daughter? A rebellion?”

“Your words are excessive.”

“It’s your words that are excessive. Do you really want to reclaim your position as a prince? Being chased out looks quite weak on you.”

– Bang!

Lean kicked the table.

With a crash! The teacup flew, and a startled knight burst through the door.

Lean walked up to the knight steadily.

“Wh-what…?”

Lean slowly extended his hand toward the knight’s collar.

As the knight took a step back, puzzled about what was happening, Lean swept his leg to trip him.

As the knight startled and avoided it, Lean swiftly drew the sword at his waist. He aimed it directly at the wide-open front door. And then,

With a crack! The door split neatly in half.

“Excuse me. Allow me to leave.”

Lean twirled the double-handed sword, catching it backward by the grip to present it to the knight.

The knight looked stunned, and so did Count Gustave Peter. The prince returned to the sofa, leaning casually.

When there were no memories of the past, he would resolve things through words. When Count Peter acted disrespectfully, he felt no need to address it because he had been at a loss too, but Lean was quite furious.

If he didn’t know he was a prince, that might be understandable, but how could he treat royalty like this?

He gazed at Count Gustave with golden eyes blazing. At last, the Count waved his hand.

“…You may leave. It’s nothing significant; keep everyone else away from this.”

“…Understood.”

The knight exited through the now split door, which moved awkwardly up and down.

What kind of sword wasn’t even especially great that could split like this? Lean was baffled.

At the very least, he knew he couldn’t pull that off even if he died and came back.

As the silence returned, Lean spoke.

“I apologize for breaking the door. But I felt a bit displeased.”

“…”

“I’m not here to reclaim my position, and while it may be hard for you to believe, I didn’t come here to use your daughter.”

“If that’s the case then…”

“I only came to seek consent to marry your daughter. Since you seem to remember me, if my playful antics upset you,”

Lean paused for a breath.

“Please forget it.”

What a bold statement. However, the Count did not show any reaction.

By all means, royals have the right to speak this way. All humans are equal under the sky, except when it comes to royals. Even nobles are no different from commoners before them.

Moreover, the prince’s recent actions hinted… Even without expertise in swordsmanship, the Count felt he could discern.

He seemed to know how exceptional this realm truly was.

He guessed the prince did not come because he needed something from him but rather that he had other goals in mind.

“Very well. I will forget. But, is that truly the only reason you sought me out?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you ask to meet? You could have simply eloped and married my run-away daughter.”

…He really was sharp.

Lean looked at the count, who seemed unable to move even a step back.

I’ll ask one day, but it doesn’t feel like the time to do so now.

“Ksenia was quite worried. She thought her ‘father’ would never allow a marriage with a commoner. Given my circumstances, I couldn’t reveal my identity, but I didn’t want her to suffer from such matters.”

“…Prince, do you truly intend to marry my daughter?”

Lean smirked softly.

“That’s what I came to ask for permission. Count Gustave Peter… or rather, Baron Monarch. Will you grant her to me? I won’t make her sad.”

“……”

Baron Monarch leaned back. Ksenia and the prince’s marriage…

In fact, there couldn’t be a better candidate as a groom or bloodline.

Moreover, this deal was quite tantalizing for him, who had insecurities regarding his bloodline.

His father, a bastard, Barik Monarch, and his mother, the infamous Grinen Monarch.

Gustave was born of incest. His father sent to the Monastery Church disappeared completely, leaving him to be born from a single mother, facing severe discrimination.

His uncle, Baron Bailey Monarch could not have children, so he adopted him, wiping his status clean, but the relatives of the Baron Monarch still looked down on him.

Gustave chose simply to leave the Barony.

That scummy father. He hadn’t spoken a word with Cardinal Berg either.

Ah- How absurd that his father returned as that esteemed Cardinal. Perhaps out of guilt, he poured his power into me on the day of my wedding to Edlyn.

If that was the case, he should have returned much sooner.

What face could he show after leaving my mother and I for nearly twenty years? Therefore, I didn’t invite him to the successor ceremony in Rutina. Even though he seemed to anticipate it greatly.

I planned to stay alone in Rutina Castle, quickly finish the ceremony, and come back, but then we had a massive fight.

Cardinal Berg, pretending to be a father, once wanted to see his legitimate son crowned as a baron.

I hated merely seeing that man.

– “Don’t act as if you know me, Cardinal. I have no father like you.”

– “…You’re arrogant. I’ve made my position clear. Your mother acknowledged it too. Do you think I had an easy time? If I had known she was pregnant, I would have returned no matter what.”

– “It sickens me to hear you call my mother ‘she’. Why not just call her ‘sister’?”

In the end, Cardinal Berg stormed away in rage. They hadn’t met again since then, but occasionally I heard through my mother.

He was thinking of overturning the kingdom. The cardinal was plotting to abolish the class system.

Of course, despite all that, noble Gustave couldn’t empathize at all.

In any case… my daughter marrying Lean de Yeriel, a prince.

If he wasn’t using my daughter, nor had he come to reclaim his position, that would be something to wholeheartedly welcome.

After all, he was royalty.

Sending Ksenia as the daughter-in-law of the scheming Marquis Benard Tatian wasn’t something to welcome with open arms, and marrying off to the infamous Gilbert Forte was a thought to dismiss, but my daughter came asking for the best groom ever.

Yet, there was something nagging at me, so I asked.

“Then, Prince, what are your plans moving forward? You’re going to return to the Conrad Kingdom, aren’t you?”

Lean firmly responded, “No, I won’t be going back.”

“But I also don’t intend to leave things as they are.”

“…What do you mean?”

“You will soon understand. The arrow I’ve shot has already taken flight.”

An arrow named ‘Reb.’

Before the bewildered Count, the prince revealed this and smiled.