Chapter 181 – Blood and Blood
As is the case with privileged tribes.
The so-called blue-blooded nobles of the empire also place great importance on their families.
There may be individual differences, but without any exaggeration, to the point where you can seriously weigh your own life against the standards of value judgment as an ordinary aristocrat.
It was widely known common knowledge that the undisputed number one reason for disputes between aristocrats was ‘insulting the family’.
‘How dare you insult our family?’
Roughly, even if the quarrel started in this way, wouldn’t it happen a hundred more times a day throughout the empire?
I had experienced something similar as soon as I took office as the leader of the Black Lion Knights.
However, there are of course ‘unusual’ cases.
Whether the internal circumstances of the family are complicated, whether it is from a bastard, or whether it is out of sight of the head of the household, or if family love has faded after being far away for a long time…
There are many collections of exemplary family breakdown cases out there.
No matter how noble he is, he is only a human being after all.
If the family’s family was ruined, there would be no such thing as pride in one’s family.
Of course, the examples given above are all my stories, but…
It’s been almost 20 years since I experienced it when I was so young, so it’s been a long time since such trivial feelings have been diluted. Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten into the habit of not spending unnecessary emotions while fighting a war.
Other than that, the reason why my awareness of my family was actually vague wasn’t particularly far away.
My birth mother, an unfortunate woman, passed away not long after I was born without leaving a single portrait behind.
My father, a man named Gaju, is not a great man to be respected, and he left me as an infant, perhaps because he made his concubine die.
For me, the existence of family and parents is nothing more than a gene carrier.
There is no connection between my family and me other than blood.
Even so, don’t you miss your mother?
Well, when I was young and couldn’t speak properly, my traveling master came to pick me up.
I don’t particularly miss my mother because she served as my mother, friend, and teacher at the same time.
If I had to point out one regretful thing, it would be that, by chance, I committed the immoral act of repaying the same grace as Hahae bestowed by my teacher with my lower body.
Anyway, it seemed that the relationship with the family was cut off forever.
Still, they are related by blood, and after I grew up, the Schwartz family began to annoy me little by little in one way or another as I had a place of my own.
But again, this is where things get really awkward.
Denying the family at all, honestly, I didn’t suffer that severely by saying it wasn’t.
The status of being the son of a count, not a commoner, has certainly helped me a lot in my life.
A subtle relationship continued, in which the small merchant moderately accepted his request as if he were paying the landlord rent or signage.
[I want to see your face for the first time in a while]
I didn’t expect that it would come out so openly.
Should I go for this or not?
Of course I don’t want to go.
What do I do
It’s better to have one more date with your lovers at that time.
If you roll with your special power, everyone except Ophelia might be able to see you again someday.
Let’s just ignore it like we normally do.
Recently, I received information that my name was being sold and sold in a dispute with a neighboring territory, but it should be enough to tolerate it moderately.
The family’s reputation was originally bad, so there’s no point to worry about anymore.
A family that provided the offspring and lineage of a strong concubine that could be used to intimidate others.
That would be enough for the relationship between Count Schwartz and me.
After all, if he marries Alicia later, he will be admitted to the imperial family as a son-in-law, so even such a faint relationship will naturally break over time.
But… Is this correct?
Still, they are related by blood, so is it okay to shake them off like this?
Like that, staring blankly into space with a feeling of not being refreshed.
“… Sir!”
“Huh?”
—Sue
“Master. Is something bad happening?”
Alicia, who was sitting across from her, brought her hands together as she lightly touched them.
Her face, as white as a bisque stone and beautiful, was stained with deep concern.
It must have seemed strange to me to suddenly fall into silence instead of being together.
“Nothing.”
“It’s nothing! Anyone can see that it’s a face full of pensiveness!”
— Kwakak
I felt the warmth as I held her outstretched hand.
Let’s enjoy the small and soft touch, and peace comes to our hearts, albeit a little.
“Are you really okay?”
“Actually, I was in a bad mood. It’s okay now thanks to you, so don’t worry.”
Now this place is the roof of the Palace of Light.
Alicia’s Hanging Gardens.
This place, which has a mystery that has been passed down through generations, maintains warm spring weather all year round.
Thanks to that, I can enjoy the special experience of having tea time outdoors in the middle of winter.
As soon as he saw her letter, he came to Alicia to appease her distraught mood.
Again, this was a luxury that exceeded expectations.
“Master. If you have any concerns, feel free to tell me anything.”
“…It is.”
With my head clearer, I thought about it again.
The thought of not going or not goes deeper and deeper.
No matter how close the Schwartz estate is to the islands, the rest of the holiday will be blown away if I go there.
It would be possible somehow with the teleport gate, but I didn’t want to put in such a grandiose effort for family matters.
If you want to see my face like that, the family head will come personally.
Let’s spend today with Alicia, and tomorrow let’s go to Master’s house and help organize the garden.
Ophelia will always be with you anyway, so you won’t have to go looking for her.
Agnes is probably busy right now.
It’s her first day as the leader of the knights, and she’s nervous, so I wonder if she’ll make a mistake, but if she’s her, she’ll figure it out.
-Hoot…
I closed her eyes tightly and looked at Snow and Alicia, her sympathy, with her kind eyes.
Her love of eagle owls as white as her eyes was not a masterpiece.
However.
“Master.”
“Why?”
Alicia suddenly opened her eyes and slowly turned her head in this direction.
In my experience, that expression is never a positive signal, so it naturally becomes tense.
“No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong with you, but is it something related to your family?”
“…”
“There are so many children who are my eyes in the sky. I’ve taken a rough look at what’s happened around Master over the past 48 hours, but that’s the only thing I’m suspicious of.”
The cold blue eyes emit a bright light as if looking right through me.
Also, when I met Alicia’s eyes, I could feel it intuitively.
“I can’t help it if the owner really doesn’t want to say it… But I’m the owner’s bitch, right? And, I’m going to get engaged soon… After that, I’ll get lots of the owner’s seeds in the nursery without contraceptive magic and make a lot of pretty babies…”
“No, wait. The story seems to flow a little strangely from the middle.”
“Uh-huh…! Let’s not worry about trivial things like that.”
He said there would be no point in telling her lies in front of her.
Also, come to think of it, she didn’t have anything to hide.
She just didn’t want to cause her any worries.
“It’s not really a big deal. That’s…”
I confided everything to Alicia.
Everything from a fairly complicated family history to being called by the family after a few years.
“Huh…”
It wasn’t a short story, but she listened calmly while holding my hand tightly.
It was a bit reluctant to tell others. It seems that her heart is relieved when she says it openly.
“So… Honestly, I don’t know what to do. My head thinks I can just ignore it, but at the same time I keep hesitating.”
—Prison
“That’s right. You’ve had a lot of trouble worrying alone until now, master.”
Then, let’s hold Alicia in her arms as she leans on her while saying warm words to me.
For some reason, her chest tickled, and she felt like something was rising inside her.
Ah, my benevolent and lovely princess.
She has a special ability to stabilize her mind and body just by being with her.
Alicia was the most perfect lady in this empire when she wasn’t perverting either.
Is this why her man should meet women well?
Motherly love overflows. I’m sure Alicia will be a good mother.
The children who will be born between us will surely be able to spend a happy childhood different from mine.
In the midst of such a happy imagination, he was spending an intimate time with Alicia.
“Then let’s go together, Master.”
A word came that made her doubt her ears.
