Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

Immediately, accusations from the other tutors burst out upon Viscount Cates.

“Please refrain from such frivolous remarks, Viscount!”

“Why are you doing this? Can you take responsibility for that?”

“Stop.”

All noise stopped at my cold warning.

I glanced at the Viscount.

She inhaled and continued.

“The Lord cannot concentrate in class for more than 30 minutes, and sometimes sitting quietly in a chair is considered torture. Still, I felt that he was very eager, so I thought he was born with a lack of attention. But the premise was wrong from the beginning. He wasn’t trying to keep up, he was desperately trying to pretend he couldn’t keep up.”

I heard someone sniff loudly, but I only looked in that direction and continued to ignore it.

“It was only recently that I became convinced…… He asked if he could finish the class early for the time being if he made a noticeable difference. It’s a secret that others have come to know.”

“Did he tell you why?”

“He said he has to watch out for some precious person to him so that they won’t be in danger. He didn’t tell me who it was.”

Precious person?

Without realizing it, I glared at Aedis. He had a look on his face that asked if he needed a reason.

I’m pretty sure it’s not Aedis in the part where ‘so they won’t be in danger.’

Viscount Cates’ class starts after lunch.

At that time I enjoy dessert and tea time.

And used to go for light walks.

Well….

Let’s think about who Regen’s precious person is later.

What if Viscount Cates’ claims were true?

Why did Regen pretend that the class was difficult?

…… I couldn’t help but think of a certain man at once.

Gilbert always kept Regen in check.

If he had known that Regen had tremendous potential and was even brilliant, it would have bothered him several times more than it does now.

Of course, even in 〈Esmeralda’s Crescent Moon〉, it was described how the male lead had excellent situation-judging ability and his brain rotated quickly, as if he was a man who chewed the magic tower alone.

However, it was an ability gained by rolling around his head and taking heart aches, and then awakening saying that it is impossible to lose everything like this.

That’s why I also didn’t take it seriously that Regen put on a puzzled expression every time he looked at his homework.

I thought it was just because it was hard to concentrate.

Even in the novel, it was said that before awakening, he was nothing but an ordinary boy.

I rolled my eyes.

At that moment, my eyes met the old baron who was in charge of Regen’s history class.

The baron had been staring at my head since before.

It was clearly the head, not the face. I tilted my head, wondering if it was something he should look at with such a piercing focus although my husband decorated it with all his heart.

“Baron? Do you have anything to say to me?”

“That is……”

The baron suddenly trembled as if doused in cold water.

It was due to the fact that Aedis was staring at him with sharp eyes, overshadowing his hidden presence.

“Oh, no. Please forgive my disrespect, Your Grace.”

The baron had a very complicated face.

But I sent the baron and other tutors away without asking, because my feelings were more complex than those of the baron. And lay face down on the table.

“There are still many things I don’t know about Regen.”

“It has been less than half a year since the wife came here. So, of course.” Aedis said frankly.

After all, no matter how young he was, he was a person like me, and it would be impossible to grasp everything in a short time.

Maybe it’s also because I’ve never been close with children.

“Why did Regen do that?”

“I think you should ask the question again, Eve. You shouldn’t ask why, you should ask why he started making it obvious. I don’t think he woke up and his brain suddenly improved. If he had changed in such an instant, there’s no way the wife wouldn’t have felt uncomfortable.”

“Huh……”

My limp body lifted lightly.

Aedis sat me on his lap and asked.

“Eve, what do you think Regen thinks of Gilbert?”

“His only blood in the world?”

“Regen knows. How much Gilbert hates himself. However, in the meantime, it must have been nothing more than pretending not to know anything voluntarily or by force from his father.”

“…..”

“When Gilbert first resorted to violence, Regen asked me not to interfere. He said he could handle it. In fact, Gilbert behaved much more violently in the capital without Regen. But the brainwashing has been cleared up, and Gilbert has gone so far as to blatantly target the wife, so I don’t feel the need to put up with it any longer. So it must have been obvious enough for the tutor to notice.”

“……”

“I know that it will eventually reach the wife, whether it is late or early.”

I covered the nape of my neck with both hands.

Aedis’s breath occasionally brushed against my neck that was not covered, as bitter as it was sweet.

Ooh, we should focus on the conversation now.

“It sounds like Regen looked after Gilbert.”

“After all, it’s his child. As I said, Regen is not normal. It doesn’t mean they’re the same, though.”

Aedis blinked as I pulled back.

He continued explaining with a bewildered look.

“Even if the wife is not in a hurry, Regen will come first. After removing Gilbert from the list of priorities, he seems to have both a sense of duty to protect the wife and a desire to be praised.”

Come to think of it, Regen made it clear that I needed protection because I was weaker than Aedis or Madame Theresa. He acted like he would never compromise on that part.

“I don’t know if it’s good or bad to be treated like the weakest by Regen.”

“But the wife is not just being treated as the weakest by Regen?”

Hey, don’t hit me with words, okay.

***

While I was paying attention to Regen, the weather was getting colder.

In the north, the four seasons have no meaning at all, but autumn was coming to an end anyway.

My birthday was approaching day by day.

That morning, a letter arrived from my parents early in the morning.

I had written in a letter sent the other day that I was going to dismiss Gilbert, so it was a fairly quick reply.

My parents were very happy with the decision and informed me that they were going to visit the North for my birthday.

However, it was difficult to make time long enough to travel, so they hired magicians from the magic tower to use space movement magic.

Because the distance from the capital to the north was far, they would have to use space movement magic at least five times.

Aside from the fact that it will cost them a lot, they’ll probably suffer from motion sickness for a few days.

I finished reading the letter with tender and warm feelings.

On the last line, instead of saying that Mother would like to see me soon, she wrote a message of encouragement.

‘Monica and the daughter of the Morgoz family set off ahead of time, but I think they will arrive soon. She wanted to see you a lot, so welcome her warmly.’

“Pft!”

When I suddenly tried to spit out the tea, the butler was startled.

“Your Grace?”

It was an emergency.

And Mother, what do you mean Monica?!

Since when we were close enough to call each other by name…… ！

My mother even urged me to warmly welcome her.

My mother, Diana Morgana, was notorious for being cold-blooded, so she wasn’t one to say this idly.

I don’t know how often Monica went in and out of the mansion while I was away.

“You have to close the gate…… ”

“Yes?”

I took a deep breath.

“Unplanned…… No, because I expected a guest who I didn’t want to come to curse, no, congratulate me on my birthday.”

The butler looked down at me as I said something that I would not normally have said.

“Your Grace, how about increasing the size of the party to celebrate Your Grace’s birthday? Invite not only northern retainers but also central nobles. Wouldn’t it be better to invite the royal family?”

It was an unprecedented offer that did not fit the position of the butler, so when I stared at him, he coughed.

“It was a proposal from the Master.”

What.

It was as shocking as when I heard Aedis say I was frugal.

I haven’t attended a social party since becoming Grand Duchess.

So, if he cared, it’s not impossible to understand…… The emphasis was on having Aedis act as my partner.

When I entered the ballroom with Aedis in the capital, the reaction of the nobles was consistent.

They looked at Aedis like the devil from hell.

I wondered if Aedis will receive that kind of gaze again.

Also on my birthday.

Although my husband’s attitude was happy, I didn’t want him to have to go through such an unpleasant experience again, so I found an excuse.

“But now, isn’t it too late to scale up?”

“There were a lot of people who would want to forfeit. We have a good budget.”

“Please don’t make me a bad employer. No, do you have more money than that?”

Do you want to invite the royal family and the central nobles?

The butler and I looked at each other and tilted our heads.

“Your Grace, didn’t you budget it for 10 billion marks?”

What?

10 billion?

I’ve never heard of this?!

“What nonsense, cough cough!”

I shouted and beat my chest.

“The one I approved was 10 million marks?!”

How many zeros did you suddenly multiply?

It was on a scale comparable to that of the emperor’s birthday party, which was held throughout the full moon.

Recently, the financial condition of the imperial family is not good, so maybe more.

“But exactly 10 billion marks were stated.”

“Who manipulated the paperwork…… Of course it would be Aedis.”

I should have known when he told me I was frugal.

It was an amount that I couldn’t even afford to spend with my normal habits, so he had the illusion that I had been living frugally.