After the meal, Rosa called out to Jared.
“Waalthe wants to speak with you tomorrow. Can you make some time?”
“Sorry, but I refuse—Aunt.”
Jared’s refusal, with that added remark, froze the surrounding air.
Then,
“…Pfft, hehe.”
Yeny was the first to let out a small snicker. Olivier and Trane followed suit, bursting into laughter.
“––W-w-w-w-…”
Seeing Rosa, speechless and unable to form words at his unexpected remark, Pfeil, who had been holding back, also snorted.
If Waalthe is Jared’s grandfather, then Rosa is Liz Murphy’s sister. In other words, she’s Jared’s considerably older aunt.
However, would a woman not yet twenty years old be pleased to be called “Aunt”? Absolutely not.
“Y-you! How dare you treat me as your aunt… Hey! Pfeil! Don’t you laugh too!”
“I’m sorry… *Snicker*, hahaha.”
Despite Rosa’s glare, Pfeil showed no sign of remorse. Veins bulged on her forehead.
Her face turned red, clearly indicating her anger.
“Y-yes, that’s right. If I’m Older Brother’s Mother’s sister, then Rosa is my aunt – heh, hehehe…”
Yeny’s words, unable to suppress her laughter, were met with nods from Olivier and the others.
“Then should I call you Aunt as well?”
“Stop it, stop it! Even if you’re my aunt by blood, I don’t want to be called that! Besides, I’m not old enough to be called an aunt! If I’m treated as an aunt, what about Olivier Alway over there! Aren’t you older than me!”
“–Huh?”
“That was a slip of the tongue, I apologize.”
Rosa had impulsively brought Olivier into the conversation but instantly apologized when he emitted a low, threatening voice, unbecoming of a noble young lady.
She looked to her colleague for help, but the boy with light blue hair, still laughing though suppressing it, felt like a betrayal.
She vowed to get revenge someday.
Hannelore and Almeida watched such a scene with amusement, while Rio, who had shown interest once, was now engrossed in her dessert.
“Y-you bastard, Jared Murphy… Because of you – come outside!”
Rosa snapped at Jared, who had been watching the unfolding events with amusement.
However, she also felt a sense of relief deep down.
Being called an aunt was utterly unacceptable, but if he considered her his aunt, it might mean he acknowledged Waalthe as his grandfather.
She didn’t know his true feelings, but she was slightly relieved that he hadn’t completely rejected the idea.
She had heard about Liz Murphy, whom she didn’t remember, from her father. From the words and expressions he used when talking about the past, she understood how much he had loved her.
She didn’t know why Jared hadn’t met his grandfather for a long time, but she sensed that her father considered him like a son.
As for Rosa, she had fought with Jared, and although the matter wasn’t settled, she held no ill will. She found the idea of a nephew close to her age difficult to accept, but she didn’t dislike the blood relation itself.
“Calm down, Aunt.”
“–I’ll kill you!”
Correction. She did have ill will after all.
Rosa vowed to make the sister’s son, who treated a woman younger than his fiancé as an aunt, cry.
“It’s about time to stop. It’s fun to tease Rosa, but the conversation isn’t progressing,” Olivier interrupted, still with a smile.
Rosa took a deep breath and suppressed her anger. Jared also responded to his fiancé’s words.
“In any case, Father wants to talk to you.”
“I have nothing to say to him.”
“Is that so?”
“Is that so? What do you mean?”
Rosa couldn’t find the right words for Jared’s clear unwillingness to engage with Waalthe, though it wasn’t outright refusal.
The others stopped laughing and watched Jared’s rejections.
“He is your grandfather.”
“Perhaps. But does that matter?”
Perhaps Jared had his own feelings about Waalthe. Or maybe he simply hadn’t accepted the sudden appearance of a grandfather yet.
At least, for now, Jared didn’t seem inclined to face Waalthe.
“Jared, is that really okay?”
“Even you, Olivier-sama, saying such things…”
“I have my thoughts too, but he is still your grandfather. He is Mother, Liz Murphy-sama’s father, you know?”
Olivier also had her own feelings about Waalthe, the leader of the assassination organization that had targeted her and her mother. But that was a thing of the past. After the recent incident with Dolf Ein, they learned that Waalthe was not the one leading Waalthe as an assassination organization. No, Waalthe had acted as the organization’s leader, but he wasn’t a villain like Dolf. Of course, he couldn’t be called a good person either.
More importantly, now that Pfeil and Rosa, who had directly attacked her, were living together, it felt strange to harbor anger towards Waalthe.
Cornelia Alway, the root cause, had been apprehended and she would likely never see her again. It was all over.
Therefore, Olivier wished Jared would consider more before reaching a conclusion. She didn’t mind him refusing. But she couldn’t help but wish he would reach an answer after careful consideration, without being swayed by emotion.
“Rosa, it’s too sudden. Jared needs time to accept it, doesn’t he?”
“That’s right. I understand. I’ll tell Father that as well.”
“Please do. By the way, Jared, you had plans for tomorrow, didn’t you?”
“…Yes, I was summoned by my stepmother.”
When Jared returned home after parting with Luzer, he had received a letter from his stepmother, who had since become the main wife, asking to discuss something. Jared, who cherished his stepmother, who had treated him like her own son after his mother’s death, had written back immediately to say he would visit.
“If you have prior engagements, then that cannot be helped. However, I’ll ask you too. Please meet with Waalthe once.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Please do. Also, Olivier and Yeny, Waalthe has also summoned you.”
“Me too?”
“What do you mean, Rosa?”
“I don’t know the details, but he wants to talk with Duke Alway, Baron Daum – and Grandfather.”
Jared, as well as Olivier and Yeny, couldn’t hide their surprise at being summoned.
While they had no intention of remaining uninvolved, they hadn’t expected Waalthe to summon them himself. And with the Duke and Baron involved, no less.
Olivier thought, perhaps Baron Daum also knew everything.
This would include not only Jared’s parentage but also why Liz Murphy had to die –
Thinking about it, Jared might eventually learn the truth behind his mother’s death. Olivier was overcome with dread at this prospect.
