299 - Beggar Sibling : The Groom-to-Be
“Dear, aren’t you going to greet our guest? You promised not to behave like this.”
“...You’re right.”
Count Gustav Peter snapped back to his senses only after his wife lightly nudged his arm in mild rebuke. He took a quick sip of his hot tea, trying to buy himself so ti.
Even then, it wasn’t easy to collect his thoughts. What on earth was happening? The man his daughter had brought ho was not so commoner of no consequence.
He was royalty. More precisely, he was the legitimate heir of the Kingdom of Conrad, whose na even included the prestigious “de.”
Gustav instantly recognized him as the supposedly deceased Prince Lean de Yeriel. Normally, he would have hidden his emotions behind a mask of indifference, but the circumstances made that impossible.
“Hurry up.”
Should he address him formally?
The prince’s casual “It’s been a while,” only added to the confusion.
However, he had only mouthed the words, and neither his wife nor daughter seed to recognize that this person was royalty.
Gustav chose to speak informally.
“...I am Gustav Peter.”
Jenia let out a sigh of relief. Just yesterday, her father had been curt.
“Fine. Bring him in and let see.”
He had spoken bluntly, seemingly only wanting his runaway daughter to return ho. Perhaps her mother had talked to him afterward, as his current attitude didn’t seem too bad.
Encouraged, Jenia seated Lean on the sofa and sat beside him herself. Instead of bluntly stating, “I love this man,” she thought it might be better to slowly reveal his rits.
...But what rits did this man have?
Occupation? He had been a beggar and was now working as a servant sowhere, she had heard.
Physique? He was small. Rather than manly, his figure was more feminine, and his height was almost the sa as hers.
Family background? A beggar wouldn’t have such a thing. She had heard he had a sibling, though.
There was nothing she could proudly present to others.
He was amazing in bed, but... that wasn’t sothing she could boast about.
Especially not to her father.
In the end, Jenia resorted to stating the obvious.
“Father, what do you think? He’s handso, isn’t he?”
“...”
“L-Looks are important these days, even for n. You know, there was that costic device that sold like crazy because it could be used by n and won of all ages...”
“Oh my, wasn’t that a complete scam? I heard it was such a defective product that it caused a huge uproar.”
“Yes, everyone was returning them, it was a ss. But that shows just how much people care about appearances. These days, even n wear makeup.”
“No matter how popular it gets, I still don’t like it. But it seems your boyfriend wouldn’t need any of that, right?”
Wink—
Edlin chid in, lending her support.
Jenia cheered internally, ‘Mom, nice one!’ as she chattered away, trying to break the awkward atmosphere.
Her father still hadn’t said much, but that was better.
The fact that he hadn’t imdiately kicked them out was half an approval.
Feeling more at ease, Jenia began talking about this man’s character while serving Lean so tea.
Lean took a sip, then wiped the rim of the teacup with his thumb before gently placing it down with a soft clink. The attention of the room was drawn to the delicate, elegant movent.
‘Huh?’
Not only was he using a refined etiquette to hold the cup with both hands, but he also didn’t use the saucer. Instead, he placed the teacup to his left and put so snacks on the empty saucer.
Jenia and Edlin noticed this. It was a dining custom used by nobility who enjoyed tea, a practice that had not yet spread to commoners.
Originally, a saucer was used to drink tea. In the past, teacups didn’t have handles, making it difficult to hold the hot cups, and saucers were used to cool the tea.
As cups began to have handles, that custom faded.
Saucers lost their original function and beca re decoration, but at so point, nobles started using them as individual plates.
They didn’t like crumbs falling everywhere when eating sweets, and they also didn’t want to appear gluttonous by taking a large bite. And there wasn’t always a proper place to set things down.
This custom, which started in the Kingdom of Aisel, gradually spread westward, now being so common among the nobility that it wasn’t considered unusual.
So nobles still practiced it, while others did not.
Jenia whispered softly.
“Did you study?”
Lean gave a slight nod, and she bead.
He had only known he was of noble birth for a few days, yet he had made such an effort.
Though it seed his studies were a bit lacking. Placing the teacup to the left of the saucer was incorrect.
For nobles concerned with etiquette, there was already a rule on where to place the teacup. It should be on the right.
Placing it on the left...
‘That’s sothing only royalty and clergy can do.’
He did it on purpose.
To provoke Count Gustav Peter, saying, ‘You know I’m a prince, don’t you?’
They would have a private conversation later, but for now, with Jenia and Edlin present, Lean refrained from speaking. No matter how obliquely he spoke, they would understand.
Lean remained focused on his role as the prospective son-in-law eting his future father-in-law.
He showed humility in response to Edlin’s praise, and as much as possible, maintained a polite deanor.
But to Count Peter, everything looked the opposite. His daughter and wife seed to think that this commoner’s awkwardly learned manners were charming, but...
‘What is he trying to do?’
The Count was starting to get irritated.
The prince being alive was surprising. It was remarkable that he even rembered eting him once as a very young boy. But that was all.
It seed he had used his daughter to approach him in order to reclaim his birthright, and that infuriated him.
While Lean, Jenia, and Edlin continued their lively chatter, Gustav waited for the refreshnts to run out before speaking.
“You, co talk to alone.”
The recently relaxed atmosphere instantly turned cold. His daughter, who had run away from ho saying she didn’t want to get married, bit her lip, not understanding her father’s heart.
“Father, I won’t say muChapter I like this person. I have no other choice.”
You’ve been used.
“I’m sure you’ll make a wise decision and see that he’s a good person once you talk, but please don’t think of him as so lowly commoner. Consider him as my husband, and treat him with respect. T-That’s... all I ask.”
“Of course. I’ll treat him with respect. As much as you like.”
Annoyed by his daughter’s tearful glare, Gustav sneered.
He wondered how she would react when she found out that this man was actually a prince and that she had been used. He thought the prince was very cunning.
Edlin gently comforted her trembling daughter and led her out, leaving only the ssy refreshnt plates, empty teacups, Gustav, and Lean in the drawing room.
The Count made a mocking comnt, maintaining a veneer of civility.
“My daughter has brought ho quite an exceptional groom-to-be. I’m surprised.”
“You flatter .”
“Why are you addressing so formally? You may as well speak comfortably. As the rightful heir to our great holand, you have every right.”
“...It seems you’ve misunderstood.”
“Misunderstood? Ha!”
Gustav’s intensely secular divine power began to boil. It was a power forcibly bestowed upon him by his father, Cardinal Verke.
Gustav, furious at the prince’s brazen attitude, ignored any semblance of “noble conversation” and glared with eyes burning white with anger.
“Why didn’t you just co directly to ? You seem to have forgotten your dignity while wandering the streets. How cowardly. Fine, very fine. What do you want from ? What will it take for you to leave my daughter? Rebellion?”
“You’re going too far.”
“You’re the one going too far. Do you really want to reclaim your position as a prince so badly? Even though you were driven out for lacking power?”
- Bang!
Lean kicked the table.
Crash! The teacup went flying, and a startled knight burst through the door.
Lean calmly walked over to the knight.
“Wh-What…?”
Lean slowly reached for the knight’s collar. The knight, stepping back in confusion to assess the situation, was suddenly tripped by a quick inward sweep of Lean’s leg.
By the ti the knight managed to dodge, Lean had already drawn the sword from his waist. Without a word, he swung the sword at the wide-open door. Then,
Slice! With a tearing sound, the door split horizontally into two.
“Excuse . You may leave.”
Lean spun the sword halfway around and reversed his grip, handing the hilt back to the knight.
The knight, standing there dumbfounded, and Count Gustav Peter both stared in shock as the prince returned to the sofa and perched on its edge.
When he had no mories of the past, he tried to solve everything with words. Even when Count Peter was disrespectful, he hadn’t known it was disrespectful, as it was him who needed to be cautious. But now, Lean was truly angry.
If they didn’t know he was a prince, that was one thing, but how dare they treat royalty like this?
He glared at Count Peter with his golden eyes flashing. Eventually, the Count waved his hand.
“...Leave us. It’s nothing serious, so make sure no one cos near.”
“...Understood.”
The knight left through the broken door, now moving separately in its upper and lower halves.
How did he manage to slice it like that, with an ordinary sword? The knight clicked his tongue in disbelief.
He himself wouldn’t be able to accomplish that, not even if he were to die and be reborn.
Once the room quieted down again, Lean spoke.
“I apologize for breaking the door. But I was rather offended.”
“...”
“I did not co to you to reclaim my position. Hard as it may be to believe, I didn’t use your daughter either. I have no such intentions.”
“Then...”
“I’ve co only to receive your blessing for marriage to your daughter. If it displeased you that I was joking, since you seem to recognize ,”
Lean paused for a mont, then spoke slowly.
“Forget about it.”
It was an almost arrogant statent. But the Count didn’t react.
Any royalty had the right to speak this way. Under heaven, all humans were equal. Except for royalty. Even the nobility were no different from commoners in front of them.
Moreover, the movents the prince had just displayed... Even though the Count was no expert in swordsmanship, he could tell.
How extraordinary they were.
He speculated that the prince might not have co to him just because he needed him, but rather for so other reason.
“Understood. I will forget about it. But is that truly the only reason you sought out?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you ask to et? You could have simply eloped with my runaway daughter.”
...He’s quite perceptive.
Lean looked at the Count, feeling complicated.
He thought he’d have to ask eventually, but now wasn’t the ti.
“Jenia was very worried. She was afraid that ‘Father’ would never approve of her marrying a commoner. Given my circumstances, I couldn’t reveal my identity, but I didn’t want to cause her more heartache.”
“...Do you truly intend to marry my daughter, Your Highness?”
Lean chuckled.
“That’s why I’m here. Gustav Peter... No, Baron MonarChapter Would you give your daughter’s hand in marriage? I won’t let her be unhappy.”
“......”
Baron Monarch leaned back in his chair. Marriage between Jenia and the prince...
In fact, there would be no better match, whether as a groom or in terms of lineage.
Furthermore, it was a very tempting proposition for soone who harbored a deep inferiority complex regarding his bloodline.
His father, Baric Monarch, who was an illegitimate child, and his aunt, who was also his mother, Grainen Monarch.
Gustav was born from an incestuous relationship. His father, who had been sent to the capital church, ran away sowhere, and he, born to an unwed mother, suffered severe discrimination.
It was only because his uncle, Baron Bailey Monarch, could not have children that he was adopted and had his status cleaned up to beco the heir. Even so, the relatives in the Monach barony continued to despise him.
Gustav chose to leave the barony altogether.
He detested his father. He had never spoken a word to Verke.
Ha—how ironic. His father had returned as the renowned Cardinal. Perhaps out of guilt, on the day of his wedding to Edlin, he poured his divine power into him.
If he was going to do that, he should have co back earlier.
He couldn’t understand the nerve of the man who had abandoned him and his mother for nearly twenty years. He didn’t invite him to his succession ceremony in Lutetia. Even though his father had high hopes for it.
He had planned to stay alone in Castle and then quickly leave after the ceremony, but they had a huge argunt then.
Cardinal Verke, who still fancied himself as his father, had wanted to see his son, who was once an illegitimate child of the Monarch family, ascend to the baronial title.
But Gustav simply didn’t want to see him.
- “Don’t pretend to be my father, Cardinal. I have no such father.”
- “...You’re being arrogant. I’ve made my position clear. Your mother has also acknowledged it. Do you think it was easy for ? If I had known she was pregnant, I would have returned no matter what.”
- “It disgusts to even hear you call my mother ‘her’. Why don’t you just call her ‘sister’?”
Cardinal Verke left in a rage. They hadn’t t since, but Gustav heard about him occasionally through his mother, whom he visited now and then.
That he was plotting to turn the kingdom upside down. The Cardinal was planning to abolish the class system.
Of course, as a noble himself, Gustav couldn’t sympathize with that at all.
Anyway... marriage between my daughter and Prince Lean de Yeriel.
If he wasn’t using my daughter, and if he hadn’t co to to reclaim his position, then I would welco it with open arms.
He was royalty, after all.
Even though Marquis Benar Tatian was a close friend, he wasn’t too thrilled about sending his daughter to be his daughter-in-law. Nor did he want to marry her off to Gilbert Forte, infamous as a scoundrel, so it was as if his daughter had brought ho the best groom in history.
But he still had a lingering question.
“So, what are your plans, Your Highness? Aren’t you going to return to the Kingdom of Conrad?”
Lean firmly shook his head.
“I won’t go back. But I won’t leave things as they are, either.”
“...Then?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. The arrow I’ve shot has already flown.”
An arrow nad ‘Rev.’
The prince bared his teeth in a smile as the Baron looked at him, bewildered.
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