“So, Derus, how do you find our dining table after so long?”
“U-um, it’s… nostalgic… Well then, I’ll be eating.”
It was lunchtime here, and the seaweed salad was piled high like a mountain.
Well, it’s my staple food, so I can’t really complain, but this is just too much.
Especially since I consider this my late-night snack, or rather, my midnight snack.
(Good, Nina and the others have normal seafood.)
Is it because only Camilla, the slave, is getting meat-centric?
Perhaps it’s because she looks particularly carnivorous, or maybe it’s to build strength because she’s a slave.
Or maybe they deliberately chose meat over expensive seafood, but it doesn’t matter.
“Speaking of which, Derus and Clarice, you’ve both used the bath here, I presume?”
“Ah, yes. Since Nina’s story seemed likely to be long, I took the opportunity while I was feeling nostalgic.”
“It was a wonderful bath, especially with the view of the sea.”
Come to think of it, the bath at Zazam’s villa was facing the garden.
Well, soaking while looking out at such a rough sea would probably make one feel quite savage.
“So, Nina, it seems you had quite a lengthy discussion.”
“Ah, the negotiation failed, but it doesn’t change the fact that I will marry Derus.”
“What exactly were you discussing?”
“It’s that we both have things we can’t give up.”
“Brother-in-law Illion…”
What could it be? Now that my brother-in-law has recovered his health,
There shouldn’t be any reason to have a child between Nina and me now for succession.
Of course, the biggest reason I was brought here was to have a successor for the Avakane family with Ric Older Sister.
(I wonder how the situation is regarding that.)
“Um, Brother-in-law Illion, did you have a fiancé(e)?”
“The previous, merely nominal, engagement was dissolved when I was given my prognosis. She has already married into another Count family.”
“So soon?”
“I chose to interpret it as her concern for me to pass away peacefully.”
He’s looking at things in a positive light.
Yes, it’s not a bad thing, and no one is at fault.
“Um, then, a new fiancé(e)?”
“There were several items among the gifts sent from the Dwarf Country that Her Majesty would likely appreciate, though the Avakane family had no use for them.
When I went to present them directly, I ended up engaged to the daughter of the Marquis Stoneliver family.”
“Whaaaaat?!”
The noble family known as a quasi-Duke family?!
This is a significant upgrade in his fiancée!
“That’s amazing! Oh, and isn’t the daughter from there…”
“Ah, she’s over thirty. She has a reputation for breaking various promises, but surely she wouldn’t go against His Majesty’s wishes.”
“N-no, she’s quite a bit older.”
“I don’t mind. It’s not so much that I mind the age difference between Derus and Clarice over there.”
If he brings that up, yes, I can’t say anything.
“C-congratulations, Brother-in-law.”
“Yes, I’d like you to attend the wedding. I won’t be inviting Ric.”
“B-but…”
“Derus, we could even invite her on purpose to flaunt our relationship, you know.”
Is this what Nina means by “payback”?
“Older Sister Ric, how is she being treated, ultimately?”
“She’s still a daughter of the Avakane family as her bloodline remains, but that’s all. There’s nothing more.”
“Nothing more?”
“I won’t arrange a fiancé(e) for her either. I’ll keep her room, but if she wants to get married, she can get out.”
Ah, it seems like a lot happened when the False Hero was revealed.
At what point did it happen? Did she perhaps only realize it after I sent her a letter?
“Ah, in that case, the rooms of Frau Older Sister and the others?”
“Because their engagements were broken off, their rooms are technically still available, so I’ve let them stay as guests.
However, once I’m officially married and simultaneously become a Marquis, I’ll have them leave before I take in concubines.”
Eh? Become a Marquis? I’ve never heard of that!
“When did you become a Marquis?”
“Thanks to you, Derus. Some of the gifts from the Dwarf Country were incredibly valuable, though they were items we had no use for.”
“Ah… It feels a bit awkward to give away gifts to others.”
“I’m presenting them to His Majesty, so it should be an honor for the Dwarf Country as well.”
If there’s any rudeness here, I’ll have to apologize.
But I thought I had abandoned this family already.
If I’m causing them any strange trouble, then I suppose I have no choice.
(This might be my soft spot.)
“More importantly, Lady Nina, it seems you were having some sort of dispute with Lord Illion?”
“Eh? Clarice, is that so?!”
“Nastasia and Camilla reported it.”
Come to think of it, they were guarding that door, weren’t they.
“Ah, there was indeed a bit of a scuffle. Shall I explain?”
“If Lord Derus wishes to hear it.”
“Um, is it something I should hear?”
“If you want to hear it, Illion-dono.”
“Well, yes.”
It seems the content is something they’ll tell me if I want to hear it.
“Um, then please tell me.”
“Hmm. My apologies if it offends you.”
Saying that, Nina gulped down the water in her glass. Head Maid Stella quickly refilled it.
“First, to put it briefly: when I proposed to take Derus, I offered an Elixir as a gift, but it was refused.”
“Ehh? Brother-in-law Illion, that’s such a waste!”
“You already received one from Derus!”
“But this is from Nina!”
“My life was saved by an Elixir, and thanks to the many materials from the Dwarf Country, I’ve been able to raise my rank. I can’t possibly ask for more.”
Yes, I understand what he’s trying to say.
But it has nothing to do with Nina.
“I wish you would accept Nina’s feelings.”
“To receive an Elixir on top of cleaning up my sister’s mess! Besides, it feels like a severance payment from Derus, and I don’t like that.”
Ah, I understand that too.
And by “my sister’s mess,” does she mean me, who was taken in after my engagement was broken?
(In that case, Nina is like a gluttonous monster who eats leftovers!)
But let’s set that aside.
“The Elixir I sent was basically a severance payment.”
“…Don’t be mean. If I had to choose between Ric and Derus, I would choose Derus first.”
“Even if she’s your real sister?”
“Ah. If you wish, I can make Ric’s room, and Frau’s room too, into rooms for Derus’s fiancée right now.”
…If that happened, then what about Brother-in-law Illion’s main wife and concubines’ rooms? But
It seems like they could build additions or new ones indefinitely at this rate. Still, Nina probably wants to give something tangible.
“So, Nina, what did you decide to give him?”
“No, I will give the Elixir. And of course, other items as well, but…”
“Is it the high-class monaka?”
“I already sent that. Not that.”
Nina once again downed the water with gusto.
I’ll just ignore Camilla on the side, happily munching on her meat.
“Then, will the Elixir be presented to His Majesty?”
“No, to Derus’s parents.”
“Ehh? Father-in-law and Mother-in-law?”
“No, to the ones in Tarukki Village, his birth parents.”
“Aaaaah…”
So it’s them.
“Derus, I told Nina not to do that.”
“Because it won’t end well?”
“Ah. They’ll probably sell it immediately for cash, squander it within a few months, and then demand more money.”
…Just how terrible are my own parents?
Well, I’ve heard it countless times since I was little!
“…In this regard, Brother-in-law Illion is probably more correct.”
“Is that so, Derus?”
“Yes. Even if the person themselves uses it poorly, it’s wrong to give it to them knowing they’ll end up like that.”
“But I am grateful to you for giving birth to me and selling me to this family.”
“Doesn’t that just make Nina satisfied, then?”
Oh, Nina looks a bit down, which is unusual!
It’s been a while, maybe since I scolded her when she went overboard with her kink towards a young boy.
“Alright, if Derus says so…”
“Besides, wasn’t the contract when you bought me for a large sum of money ‘this is the last time’?”
“That’s right. I’ll reconfirm with Father Maccorin tonight, just in case.”
“That’s what it is.”
But if that’s the case, then the Elixir will be left over.
Should I put it up for auction… No, wait! Here…!!
“Then, what will I do?”
“Nina, wait a moment. I just remembered something important.”
“What is it?”
“What to do with the Elixir. I mean, it’s not like it’s leftover just because, but…
There’s another place that deserves a gift.”
“What, His Majesty of this country?”
“No, that’s incorrect. That is…”
Under the gazes of Nina and Brother-in-law Illion,
The recipient of my Elixir gift is…!!
“Nina’s, birth family!!!”
