84
[Marion. In front.]
At Blade’s words, I raised my head and saw Marquis Fernandi pacing in the hallway. He was clearly waiting for me.
‘…Is this the only corridor to the Grand Duke’s room?’
[I don’t know. If it’s uncomfortable, let’s avoid him for now and find another way. If worse comes to worst, we can enter through the window.]
I was tempted by Blade’s suggestion because meeting the marquis alone felt burdensome. But while I was hesitating, our eyes met.
It seemed too late to avoid him, so I gave a simple awkward bow and tried to pass by.
“Sir Marion.”
“Yes, Marquis.”
I answered in a straight posture at his call. Since I still couldn’t feel the reality that he was my biological grandfather, I decided to treat him as a superior, just like I usually do with high nobles.
“…Have you had dinner?”
Come to think of it, it was already past dinner time. I hadn’t even realized I was hungry because I was crying outside and lost track of time.
“I’m fine.”
“You skipped lunch too, didn’t you. Follow me.”
I was flustered by the marquis trying to guide me personally. I couldn’t possibly use a marquis as a guide.
“Ah, later I’ll ask a servant separately….”
“I’ve already prepared it a long time ago. And I skipped dinner too.”
At those words, I had no choice but to close my mouth.
The current time must be well past 9 p.m. Judging from the Grand Duke, high nobles of that age usually have dinner by 6 p.m. at the latest and go to bed by 11 p.m.
Yet not having eaten yet meant he had been purely waiting for me.
With a slight uncomfortable feeling, I followed him and asked.
“…Have the others eaten?”
“Yes.”
The marquis nodded and glanced at me.
“Prince Lucas arrived leading a large army. He seems to have prepared thoroughly.”
“Ah….”
It seems Lucas, who was coming as reinforcements in case things went wrong, has also arrived. The reason it’s a large army is naturally to wage an all-out war in case the Demon King goes berserk.
“It was a headache hurriedly preparing meals for them.”
I scratched the back of my head with an awkward expression. The marquis must have been flustered by the sudden appearance of 10,000 troops. Still, it was fortunate that war was avoided since it was revealed that I am the Demon King’s daughter.
“The Grand Duke also ate a little and fell asleep. He used to only get nutrition from medicine before, so it’s fortunate.”
“!”
I felt relief at the news that Kaiden had eaten. Stella’s holy power must be effective. The marquis looked at me like that and said.
“You should eat too so the Grand Duke can be at ease.”
I looked at him with slightly widened eyes. I could see that the wrinkled corners of the marquis’s eyes were slightly swollen.
The scene of him crying came to mind. It was the first time I saw an elderly nobleman cry like that.
I averted my gaze and answered.
“…Yes. I understand.”
The dining hall of the old castle was quiet and beautiful. A lavish spread of food was served at this hour, and I felt sorry for the servants who prepared all this.
In contrast to the gorgeous table, the meal with the marquis was extremely awkward. He sat at the head seat, and I sat to his right, silently clinking spoons and forks as we put food in our mouths.
[What a quiet meal.]
At Blade’s mutter, I slightly nodded.
‘Yeah. But the food is delicious. Is this meat a specialty of the Fernandi region?’
[That’s probably monster meat.]
‘What…?’
At the moment I stopped cutting in surprise, the marquis spoke to me.
“If you’re okay with it, may I call you just by name?”
I looked at him with wide eyes. I could see tension on the face of the elderly high noble.
For him to drop the ‘Sir’ and call me by name—me, a knight recognized by the emperor and one of only two Sword Masters in the empire—had two meanings.
One was a challenge to fight, and the other was a desire to get closer. Naturally, the marquis meant the latter.
I barely restrained the urge to scratch the back of my head and answered.
“Yes. Please call me as you feel comfortable.”
The marquis unnecessarily cleared his throat with a “Ahem.” and said.
“Alright. Marion.”
For some reason, I felt strange too, and my fingertips tingled.
“If you want, you can stay here anytime.”
“…Please take good care of the Grand Duke until he recovers.”
Since I was planning to stay until Kaiden recovers anyway, when I answered like this, the marquis seemed inwardly disappointed and started to say something but stopped.
He probably hoped I would stay at the marquis’s castle permanently.
But since Kaiden and I are like one body, I had no choice but to indirectly refuse. I unnecessarily stuffed meat into my mouth. I wanted to finish the meal quickly and go to Kaiden.
“If there’s anything you’re curious about, ask me anything.”
“Anything I’m curious about?”
When I asked with a puzzled face, he showed a faint smile.
“I mean, if there’s anything you want to know about Charles …, that is, your mother, I’ll tell you anything.”
“…….”
My whole body stiffened in an instant.
The word ‘mother’ was so unfamiliar. I had thought it was a word that didn’t exist in my life….
After hesitating for a long time, I difficultly said my honest feelings.
“…In fact, I had no idea there was a mother, so… I don’t really know what to ask.”
The marquis looked at me for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“Anything is fine, even trivial things like appearance or personality.”
At those words, I newly realized the obvious fact that my appearance and nature were inherited from my parents.
I recalled the appearance of the Demon King, my biological father. Black hair, red eyes, a coldly sculpted face. He didn’t resemble me even a bit.
Then….
“Wh-What color… was Mother’s hair?”
I unknowingly stammered. I was nervous because I had never said the word mother out loud. While inwardly scolding myself for acting foolish, the marquis smiled gently and answered.
“Marion, it’s the same red hair as yours. But her eyes were blue. Your eyes seem to resemble mine, gray.”
“Ah….”
“The eye corners resemble too. It’s inherited from my wife, that is, your grandmother. She passed away before you were born. When Charles was 8 years old.”
The marquis briefly showed a bitter smile recalling his wife’s death. But he soon composed his expression and recommended to me.
“After the meal, I’ll show you the portraits of the Fernandi family. You’ll be able to see Charles and your grandmother too.”
“…Yes.”
There are portraits. Well, as high nobles, they would have had portraits painted on important days.
I recalled that Kaiden once said he had seen a portrait of a woman who resembled me. Could that perhaps be my mother’s portrait that he saw at the marquis’s castle?
“Marion.”
“Ah, yes.”
At the marquis’s call, I snapped out of it and looked at him. He hesitated for a moment and then said in a tense voice unbefitting a high noble.
“It must be bewildering to have someone suddenly appear claiming to be your grandfather, but… when difficult things happen, or when you need a place to go, in moments when you need help, please remember that Fernandi is always behind you.”
“…….”
I felt strange. My heart thumped heavily, my toes tingled, and it felt like my mind was floating. I didn’t know what to say.
“You resemble Charles so much… and I didn’t recognize it, I’ve grown old too.”
The marquis laughed self-deprecatingly. I quietly listened to him and just smiled awkwardly.
* * *
After the awkward meal with the marquis ended, I saw my mother’s portrait. Her beautifully waving red hair and the sight of her in an expensive dress felt only unfamiliar to me.
Noticing my awkwardness, the marquis said that the mouth shape and bold personality resembled.
After spending quite a bit of time with him, it became quite late at night. The marquis asked if I should go in and sleep, but I chose to nurse Kaiden by his side all night.
After parting with the marquis, I headed to the room where Kaiden was staying. Who would have thought I had family too. I walked down the hallway with a blank face.
‘Blade.’
[What?]
‘How does it feel to float in the sky?’
[Suddenly why?]
‘No, just. Because it feels somehow floating.’
[Aha.]
Blade sat on my shoulder and snickered.
[Well, it might be awkward at first, but get along well with the marquis. Because you’re blood-related.]
‘Yeah….’
Blood-related. Is there another word this unfamiliar? While savoring it, before I knew it, I had arrived in front of Kaiden’s door.
I wanted to tell him all about this quickly. There were many things I wanted to ask too. I was curious how he was certain that I was the Demon King’s daughter. There were so many stories to share once he recovered.
I carefully turned the doorknob. To not wake the sleeping Kaiden, I moved as quietly as possible.
“I don’t know if His Grace the Grand Duke will wake up.”
Stella’s voice pierced my ears.
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
