Chapter Two Hundred and Forty-Seven: Secret Talk (Julius’s POV)
“—That’s what the knight captain said, but Mr. Julius, is he holding some weakness over you? Are you all right?”
Asked in a whisper while covering her mouth with her hand, Julius paled and stopped his hand.
In the dining hall, Karen and Julius were having dinner together.
Helfried, Sieg, and Alise were on-site, preparing for the hunting festival. A year after Julius’s dungeon conquest, quite a few monsters had returned. This hunting festival would likely be held on a grand scale.
Thor and his adventurer party had gone down to Ehlertt town and had not returned. They seemed to be gathering information about the dungeon, spreading their presence at various places like the Adventurers’ Guild, taverns, and inns.
The next conquerors of the Ehlertt dungeon might be Thor’s Crimson Thunder party. If that happened, Karen’s status in Ehlertt territory would rise even higher—however inconvenient that might be for others.
So perhaps it was actually good that he had been refused instruction of the knights’ order. That was what Julius had been thinking when Karen brought up the topic.
Gottfried was certainly not an enemy. But he had acted behind the scenes in a way disadvantageous to Julius. Fortunately, Karen hadn’t taken the deal Gottfried had proposed and had readily told Julius about it—but that itself left Julius puzzled.
“…Are you sure that’s wise, Karen? If you tell me that, I’ll have to act to prevent any leaks. Aren’t you curious about my secret? It’s the kind that might make you reconsider your engagement to me if you knew it.”
If she wanted to know before the engagement was announced at the New Year’s Festival, it would be wiser to keep quiet. To Julius’s question, Karen swallowed the potato salad in her mouth before speaking:
“Of course I’m curious. Just the sound of the words ‘Mr. Julius’s secret’ makes my meal go down better! But saying that means you don’t want me to know that secret, right?”
Since it was a secret, that was natural.
When Julius nodded, Karen said with a resolute expression:
“If someone is trying to reveal a secret you don’t want known, it’s only natural to tell you, Mr. Julius. And if you don’t want me to know it, I’m fine staying in the dark. I am curious, though.”
Was that just a front, or her true feelings?
Karen casually changed the topic:
“Still, why would he ask me to help people from the former earl’s faction?”
Though confused, Julius decided to go along with it. He was the one who most wanted to avoid this topic.
“That’s probably because Brother Helfried intends to abandon them. Just like this mansion, he wants to completely remove our father’s influence. Sister-in-law Alise supports him, so she can’t be relied on. Sieg is far too young, of course. And he probably can’t ask me either.”
“So I’m the horse when you are the general?”
Karen looked understanding. She was probably just seen as the easiest to approach, but Karen seemed satisfied, saying, "He must’ve figured striking me would bring you along, Mr. Julius.”
Though he should have just gone along with the topic Karen had changed and let the conversation flow, Julius inadvertently brought it back:
“…Is it all right not to know the true identity of the man you’re trying to get engaged to? Karen.”
“Let me ask you instead.”
Karen looked up at Julius, who had brought the topic back, and tilted her head.
“If I did know that so-called secret, do you really think I would reconsider my engagement to you for that reason?”
Karen’s question was far too confident and self-assured. Julius looked dumbfounded at Karen, who continued:
“I can’t imagine myself doing that at all.”
Eventually, Julius chuckled softly.
“True, perhaps you wouldn’t care no matter what you learned about me.”
Yet, that might not be the case. Nevertheless, Julius raised his hand, signaling the servants to leave the room. After watching the servants, including Sara, exit, Julius turned back to Karen.
Gazed at by Karen’s clear sky-blue eyes, Julius smiled wryly as if resigned.
“It’s simply that I was born as a result of my father wanting a child with high magical power. Brother Helfried, who was born first, fortunately didn’t have magical power high enough to suffer from the Bloodline Blessing. But my father wanted a strong child, not caring if the child would suffer. As a result, he forced a woman with high magical power from the common people to bear me.”
Julius began speaking matter-of-factly. Taking utmost care not to let emotion mix in, Julius revealed the secret he hadn’t wanted Karen to know.
…Even though he didn’t want it known, he couldn’t help but speak. That his very existence was proof of a crime. No matter how much he didn’t want Karen to know, keeping it from her seemed like a more hideous sin against Karen.
“Brother Helfried doesn’t know this. Naturally, neither do Sister-in-law Alise nor Sieg. But the knight captain knows. Everyone who knows of my birth thinks it’s defiled. Isn’t that true for you as well?”
“—To be honest, I’ve lost my appetite.”
Karen set down her utensils and spoke. Julius deepened his bitter smile.
“It wasn’t something to discuss during a meal. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I was the one who brought it up.”
Karen sighed. Julius watched Karen’s reaction closely.
“Still, even though he’s your father, Mr. Julius, it’s terrible, isn’t it!?”
“You don’t need to hold back because he’s my father. I also think it’s an evil act that makes me nauseous.”
Heavy silence settled, and Julius was already beginning to regret having spoken. He belatedly began thinking about what would happen if Karen said she wanted to reconsider the engagement. But his hypothetical thoughts didn’t progress any further.
The option of breaking up for Karen’s sake didn’t exist within Julius. But then, what would he do?
—In every way, he resembled his father.
When Julius cut off his thoughts, not wanting to think any further, Karen opened her mouth with a dark expression.
“I don’t know if I should ask this, but… what about your mother?”
“She abandoned me and escaped. She saw a gap when the surveillance loosened.”
“That’s terrible, but…”
“In that situation, she probably had her hands full just protecting herself. I’m glad she managed to escape.”
In his mind, Julius silently added: “Now, at least.”
Unspoken, Karen did not notice the movement of his lips.
Karen crossed her arms and pressed her lips together with a frown.
At her expression of serious consideration, Julius gulped.
What words those lips would weave next, Julius waited with bated breath.
“This, too, I don’t know if I should ask.”
“You can ask anything, Karen, if it’s you.”
“—Could this lead to the secret that might make me reconsider my engagement to you, Mr. Julius?”
At Karen’s absurd question, Julius’s eyes widened.
No comments:
Post a Comment