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201. Beggar Siblings – The Wife Who Left

The morning air sank heavily. A thin ray of sunlight crept through the window cracks. The princess, who usually enjoyed sleeping in, groggily lifted her eyelids.

She had been uncomfortable in bed. The soft yet rough pillow had disturbed her sleep, and as she tossed and turned, she closed her eyes again, only to suddenly open them wide, her golden eyes rolling around in her lying position.

‘Have I been kidnapped?’

Right now, it was wartime. Knights from the Orun Kingdom had infiltrated the rear and were roaming all over the territory. It was possible that while I slept, I had been taken hostage.

Tensing up, the princess hesitated to move for a moment. Wiggling her toes to check her own condition, she carefully turned her head to look around.

It was a room. A room filled with a sweet perfume and the mingled scent of flowers. It was a place tinged with faint memories.

The princess was bewildered.

But the moment she quietly got up, Lena, now awake, realized where she was.

It was Ksenia’s room.

Last night, her sister had laid bedding on the floor for her, and she had fallen asleep there. It seemed Ksenia had done as she always did—tucked her into bed and then gone out for her morning exercise.

‘Always like that?’

This had to be her first time here…

Confused, Lena began to tidy up the blankets. By the time she was folding the bedding on the floor, she forgot where to put it—she couldn’t remember the wardrobe’s location.

“Oh my, you’re awake?”

Just as Lena was wandering around with a blanket taller than herself, Ksenia opened the door. Freshly sweating, she greeted her and began to change clothes.

Lena also nodded her head in response. However, she simply lowered her head lightly, unlike the deeply respectful bows she used to do. The gracefulness of her hand brushing down her clothes was quite unusual.

Ksenia flinched. She scanned the girl, who seemed somehow different compared to last night, but Lena just turned away with a blank stare.

Yet, something felt…

Ksenia shook her head, thinking it was just an overreaction, and led the girl—now radiating uncontrolled dignity—into the shower. After washing up and eating, they returned to the theater, and it was still morning.

“What should we do about Sister? She has to work now. Hey, if you can read, how about sitting here and reading a book?”

“I’ll just sit around.”

In one corner of the dressing room where actors had begun to gather, there were piles of books. Although they were tattered in places, Lena sat down on an old, soft sofa and blankly looked around.

An oil-treated wooden building.

Various theatrical props scattered about, and the passionate movements of actors were unending; Lena found this dressing room familiar, almost nostalgic, yet something was nagging at her mind…

It felt cramped.

At the same time, it felt too trivial for her to be there, making it rather claustrophobic. Why am I feeling like this? Pondering, Lena concluded it was probably because her older brother wasn’t around, and she was acting sulky.

She hadn’t had a proper bed to sleep in for a long time and had just gotten a warm meal, so acting sulky seemed unreasonable, but there was no other reason she could think of.

Fortunately, when Leo arrived, her worries faded away. Lena yelled, “Brother!” and rushed over.

“Oh my, my little sister. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah. How about you, brother?”

“I slept well.”

He responded vaguely.

After all the thinking she had on her mind led him to almost face some trouble, he narrowly avoided it by evading the building owner.

In fact, Leo wasn’t the one who would be in trouble if he ran into someone. However, he didn’t particularly want to cause any incidents.

“Ksenia?”

“Sister is over there.”

On the other side of the dressing room, Ksenia was rehearsing with other actors.

Lena waved her hand, but Ksenia, absorbed in the rehearsal, didn’t catch on. Leo also had no intention of interrupting and turned his attention back to his sister.

“What were you doing here?”

“I was just sitting around. By the way, brother, I had a dream! It was super vivid. I can’t quite remember, though…”

“…Really? What was it about?”

“I don’t know. But I felt like I was really busy with something.”

Lena gently tapped her forehead. She was trying to recall the memory, while Leo felt a sense of anxiety watching his sister’s matured physical movements.

Lena’s growth varied significantly depending on the environment she was in. Unlike her childhood friend Leah, who had a clear dream of becoming engaged, or Lena Ainar, who also had dreams, Lena didn’t have any prospects and wanted to grasp anything immediately available.

When cared for by Kasia, she became a shoemaker, and when under Ksenia’s care, she became an actress. When she learned she was a princess, she had an experience of becoming a Duke all on her own.

A talent that excelled at everything but was overshadowed by the poor conditions of the Beggar Siblings scenario, which made blooming difficult. However, once a crack began to form, it was uncontrollable. Furthermore, where that current would lead was in Leo’s hands.

If he could harness this well, it would surely aid in clearing the game.

But Leo didn’t want to do that at all. He didn’t want to use his sister, nor could he handle the repercussions if something went wrong. The “Red-light District” ending. He still couldn’t forget the picture of his alluring sister reaching out gorgeously beyond the frame.

“Please… can’t you just live normally and happily?”

He had to make Lena a princess to clear the game, but honestly, deep down, he wished his sister would just remain as she was.

However, even that meager wish of Minseo was in jeopardy. Twenty pictures. In just one day, his sister had changed, and he couldn’t simply accept that joyfully.

Moreover, how could he predict what kind of dream she would have next? What am I even supposed to do? Her sweet dreams might all turn out to be nightmares spawned from his own faults…

“Hmm? Brother? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Leo swallowed a sigh. Setting aside thoughts he could do nothing about, he spent some time playing with his sister.

If he could, he wanted to keep playing like this. But he had to leave Oberg in a few days, and there were many things he needed to take care of before that.

‘It’s time to gradually head out.’ Just as he thought this, he spotted a boy in the distance, wriggling and unable to come closer, and he smiled.

“Lena, I have to go now. I’ll be back later for dinner. But isn’t that your friend over there? What is he doing?”

“Huh? It’s Tian! Tian~!”

His little sister ran off.

Thanks to that, Leo was able to leave the theater without worry. As he passed by, he left behind a message, “Aren’t you Santian? You must play nicely with Lena.” — whether it was a warning or encouragement, it was unclear.

*

“I haven’t seen you before, are you here on an errand? What’s this? You’re carrying a sword? A squire?”

Soon Leo arrived at Count Peter’s mansion. The guard blocking the entrance demanded credentials or an entry pass that an errand boy should have brought, but Leo had nothing to show.

However, he didn’t have the time to waste making that kind of thing. Leo unsheathed his sword without a word.

“What are you doing…?!”

Leo’s sword flared up with a sizzling glow. The guard’s eyes widened, and Leo had no intention of taking a long detour with this convenient method.

There might be some issues because of showing off the Oblivion Blade, but anyway, he would be leaving soon. To the petrified guard, Leo said,

“Tell Count Gustave Peter that Leo has come. He’ll understand if you describe my appearance.”

It would have been convenient if he could meet the count right away, but Leo had to undergo one more inspection.

The guard, not daring to approach the count, brought the butler. “This is who I am.” Leo showed off the Oblivion Blade to the butler, and only then was he guided to the reception room.

A few knights rushed over to throw shocked and wary glances at him, but all in all, it could be said that he passed through easily. Unlike the past where one needed some kind of token to meet nobility, he could now storm into the mansion anytime—even peacefully.

“P-please wait a moment. I’ll fetch the count. But what’s your business…?”

“I will speak to the count. Go tell him that Leo has come. If he doesn’t understand, show him this necklace.”

Will Count Gustave recognize my necklace? It was a question, but Leo handed over the necklace engraved with the symbol of his mother, Ainass de Yeriel. It would be fine as long as he got it back later; he had nothing to lose.

The butler quickly took the necklace and hurried out. He shouted for a maid to bring refreshments and then vanished in a hurry.

Leo comfortably leaned back on a sofa covered in plush embroidery. The knights were still watching him, but he didn’t care.

This was only his second time here. The first time, he had met Cardinal Berg, and considering that relationship and Count Gustave’s earlier behavior, he had tried to win over Count Gustave Peter.

During the time he had become a royal knight, earning the achievement of meeting the prince and having the {Bracelet of Barbatos}, he thought he wouldn’t have any difficulties convincing him, but there was a problem.

[ Achievement: Baptism of the Holy Woman – Leo receives the ability {Divine Insight}. ]

Count Gustave Monarch was a human endowed with divine power, like a priest. Who wouldn’t suspect that he was Cardinal Berg’s son? Because of that, the bracelet based on Barbatos’ power became useless, and when his father’s story came up, Count Gustave also showed a very provocative attitude just like Cardinal Berg did.

Then, what should he do this time?

While deliberating, Leo wasn’t overly worried. The failure during the previous encounter was due to him kissing Princess Chloe and meeting the king of the Belita Kingdom, the ancient Ashin, Astroth—it wasn’t because he failed to sway the count. He had said he would help me.

However, the behavior of both the count and the cardinal remained baffling. Despite their father-son relationship, the two seemed to have a very poor connection.

Given the characteristics of the Beggar Siblings scenario, which requires defeating Oriax to reclaim {bloodline}, it seemed necessary to gain the cardinal’s assistance, and since he was linked to the starting point of the Beggar Siblings scenario, which was in Oberg, it was clear that Leo had to go through the count…

‘What happened? Why don’t they like each other?’

This time, it felt necessary to figure this out. Since I am a Swordmaster, I should start with a conversation rather than trying to intimidate him.

So, how should I begin…

Leo rubbed his five fingers together and recalled information about the Noble Society. Just as he was waiting, before the refreshments were served, Count Gustave Peter arrived in the reception room, and Leo smiled brightly and skipped the formalities.

“Baron Monarch, it’s been a while.”

*

Count Gustave Peter was writing a letter to his estranged wife. A year ago, the countess had exclaimed,

“What’s wrong with you! Can’t you even speak to the child properly? Even if you don’t like it, do you think I liked you from the first time I met you?”

She had left on a journey, declaring she wouldn’t return until she resolved her anger.

What a tiresome situation. How could both the child and the mother act so similarly… Still, Peter count continued to send her letters. Recently, he had received a reply indicating she was beginning to cool down, and he was currently writing his response.

In truth, it was not a world where a woman could act so boldly towards her husband. However, it was possible due to the somewhat ambiguous position of Gustave Monarch in the Peter family.

To put it simply, he was a son-in-law. An aristocrat from the Conrad Kingdom, but married to the only daughter of Count Peter’s house in the Belita Kingdom, he bore his wife’s surname.

So strictly speaking, the head of the count’s house was the countess, and Gustave Monarch merely acted as her husband, so he had no authority to do anything when his wife had left.

Even if he tried to divorce her to kick her out of the count’s house, it would only lead to him being ousted, not her.

Of course, neither of them had any such intentions. The two still loved each other, and they were now simply quarreling over child issues.

Count Gustave had considered writing, “I will prepare eighteen flowers for your return,” but wondered if it would be better to gather paintings that his wife liked instead. He pondered over the last sentence.

It was then that the butler barged in.

“C-count! The Swordmaster has come to see you.”

“Is it Count Hermann Forte? What does he want without so much as a word? Tell him to wait a moment. I’ll finish up soon.”

“It’s not Count Forte! It’s a young man whose name is…”

What?

The butler looked startled by the appearance of a blue-haired young Swordmaster, but Gustave was surprised for a different reason. It wasn’t the time to be writing letters; he hurried towards the reception room.

As he soon came face-to-face with the young man, it was indeed someone he had not anticipated at all, but he had subconsciously suspected it might be true.

Leo de Yeriel.

The prince of his native land, thought to be dead, was right in front of him. Count Gustave attempted to mask his expression with a neutral facade, but the prince wouldn’t allow it.

“Baron Monarch, it’s been a while.”

“…You remember me?”

He should have asked, ‘Who are you?’

Surprised, Leo seized upon the jumbled words that the count let slip.

“Oh, you remember me too. I also remember the baron. Since we met when I was so young, I was worried but, thankfully, here you are. Should we sit and chat?”

“…Sure.”

A silence ensued.

As they waited for refreshments to be served, Count Gustave contemplated how he should treat this overly dry prince, while Leo opened the conversation with light banter.