101 – Episode 100
After my mother-in-law came to consciousness and explained…
[I’m sorry… I’m really sorry. It hurt a lot. Son-in-law?]
It was not nice to see a smiling adult bowing his head and apologizing, so I waved my hands and somehow the problem was resolved.
“Ha… If it wasn’t really you… What would have happened.”
As soon as I get to the bedroom, I get chills thinking about my hard day.
I, the grand duke, am having an affair with my sister-in-law…
Image The sound of going to the abyss can be heard up to here.
The Empire is a conservative country, so unlike Sardinia or the United Kingdom, men and women who have an affair are considered criminals.
Well… I have immunity, which is one of the emperor’s privileges, so there’s no problem…
The image will go to hell.
All countries within the continent, including the empire, adopt monogamy.
Exceptionally, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Sardinia have mistresses, but their children are not baptized, and their parents are so negative that they preach that no matter how baptized they are, they will go to hell when they die.
In addition, even in religious circles, people who hold government positions do not even hold funerals.
So in other countries, when kings are on their deathbed, they throw out the government.
It would have been better to have the government kicked out than to be insulted as a king who couldn’t even hold a funeral.
But in this conservative world, having an affair with your sister-in-law?
“Aww… It’s terrible just to imagine if there were rumors that you and your sister-in-law were in a relationship like that.”
Theodora glares at me and says.
“Then why do you do something that will be misunderstood?”
“That’s because Joey didn’t give me a ring.”
At first, Joy was reluctant to give it to her, but after seeing Theodora and her mother-in-law’s concerns, she reluctantly accepted it.
“Apart from that. “Aren’t you just taking too much care of Joey?”
I smiled bitterly at Theodora’s slightly upset appearance.
“That’s it… I’m sorry.”
Theodora, a question mark appears in my words.
She confides her inner thoughts to her.
“You and your mother-in-law… Joy was originally from a harmonious family. Because I ruined it.”
Actually, my plan is to kill Valorant and rule on behalf of the emperor…
I don’t remember when, but I had the idea when I was in my early teens.
Then, when I found out that the emperor’s family was in harmony.
I was very sorry.
I am working to prevent the resurrection of the Demon King, but they do not know that.
And in order to bring down Valorant, he has to accumulate sins himself so that there is a justification for bringing him down.
If he killed the innocent Valoran, would he have been able to ascend to the throne?
Rather, the emperor, the anti-emperor faction, the imperial faction, and even neutral forces would have criticized me as an immoral person and refused to recognize me as a grand duke.
“It’s not your fault, is it?”
Was it really not my fault? Was there another way?
If you look for it, you may find it.
If Valorant had leaked evidence of his treason, the emperor would have cooked Valorant himself.
And I would have become a grand duke.
But that might be all.
The anti-emperor faction will be ousted, and the Grand Duchy will be subject to strong checks from the central government.
In other words, a situation arises in which one must clearly watch as demon worshipers working for the resurrection of the demon king are active in the empire.
So… I was just taking advantage of the emperor or their family…
The sin of the heart.
That sin binds me and torments me.
Especially every time I see Joy.
“You don’t know… What if I had reported to the Emperor that Valorant would rebel? “Maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
That is why I confess my inner feelings to Theodora.
-Finch.
Theodora shrugs her shoulders at my words.
She speaks in a slightly trembling voice.
“Valorant is watching you….”
What Theodora said was wrong.
I just did it because then I could take control of Roman and rise to the core of power.
The new Archduke Devian who killed the traitor Valorant.
And because you can have the emperor by your side while resolving a chaotic situation.
But she can’t reveal her truth to her.
Because they have to look like a good couple on the outside.
I speak with ambiguous expressions, keeping my inner thoughts deeply hidden.
“Whatever it was… it couldn’t stop Valorant’s rebellion. “I feel sorry for Joey, my mother-in-law… and you.”
Theodora falls into my arms at my words.
“It’s okay. You… You did your best. So… You don’t have to be so sorry.”
Theodora’s comfort actually makes my heart heavy.
And in the end, she couldn’t answer that question.
***
A few weeks passed like that.
“aaam!”
A time when the cold winter has completely passed and flowers slowly bloom.
Is it because it’s already April?
Maybe it’s because it’s getting warmer little by little, but I’m especially sleepy today.
I need to sign this…
My eyes are barely closing.
-Squeak!
“What are you doing today?”
I was surprised by Theodora who suddenly came in…
“Hmm?”
-Drurrr.Pt.
Something falls off the desk.
Huh? What fell?
I quickly looked at the floor… The familiar fountain pen broke in two… And black ink flowed out.
“Ah…”
“What’s going on?”
Theodora suddenly comes to the seat next to me and looks at the fountain pen that has been broken in two.
“Huh? Is your fountain pen broken? “Did you do that because you were surprised because of me?”
I nod slightly at those words.
For… 15 Years? This is a fountain pen that I have a lot of affection for.
And… This thing…
[Debian. Because you will rule the Grand Duchy from now on. Ta-da~!]
[Huh? This…?]
When I was first writing, my mother bought me a fountain pen…
I look at that with a bitter expression.
“Uh… Was it something precious?”
“It’s a fountain pen that her mother bought for her when I was first writing.”
As he says that, he carefully lifts the fountain pen and looks at the broken part.
“I can’t use it. This…”
“I’m sorry…”
I say that with a chuckle.
“No, it’s okay. “But I don’t have a fountain pen to work with right now.”
When I said that, Theodora spoke hastily.
“Do you have any spare fountain pens?”
I nod my head at those words.
“Yes, I’ve been using this one my whole life.”
I usually keep a few fountain pens in case they break or the nib gets damaged, but I am someone who uses things carefully.
“I guess I’ll have to use a quill first. Lucius!”
When I call Lucius, he opens the door and comes in sobbing.
“Did you call me?”
“Yes. “Do you have a quill in the Grand Study Department?”
Since fountain pens are usually expensive, let’s say you usually have extra quills…
“Huh? “We don’t have any quills?”
“Huh? “Why don’t you have a quill?”
It seems like what I said was obvious.
“Everyone who works at the Ministry of Education uses fountain pens.”
Those words bring a wry smile to my face.
“Really? “Then I have to go out and buy it…”
Hearing my words, Lucius looks at the broken fountain pen on the desk.
“Huh? Did you break your fountain pen? “Would you like me to borrow your spare?”
I nod my head at those words.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Yes, I will have to use that first.”
The moment when I borrow Lucius’ fountain pen and start working.
“Oh, but Theodora. “Didn’t you come to see me earlier for urgent business?”
Theodora finally came to her senses after hearing my words and spoke.
“Ah… It’s my sister-in-law’s birthday and wedding soon. “I wanted to ask you what you would like to buy as a gift…”
Now that I think about it, Mary’s birthday is coming soon, right?
After her birthday, she was supposed to marry Agrippa.
I remember her birthday was next month, and her wedding was two weeks later.
There is still a lot of time left.
“But you already got a birthday present?”
It seems like what I said was obvious.
Nod your head.
“Of course. “It takes a week to get there, right?”
Even if it takes about a week to go by boat… Is there still a month left to take care of it already?
When I think of that, Theodora says with her eyes shining.
“Then, let’s go out today to buy a fountain pen and a gift for my sister-in-law.”
“Umm… I have a lot to do today. “How about tomorrow?”
Theodora nods her head willingly at my words.
“Okay. “Don’t forget tomorrow.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
I say that and focus on my work.
***
Debian fountain pen.
Your mother bought it for you.
Now that I think about it… Debian’s mother was when Debian was young. I believe she passed away.
Hmm…
Come to think of it, I don’t know much about Debian.
In the first place… She never thought she would marry him…
In the first place, the Grand Duchy of Francesco was famous for Valorant and Princess Mary, but Debian was not that famous… So it was impossible to know.
It has achieved great prominence now, but at the time, Debian did not stand out that much.
That’s right, he has outstanding genius and intelligence, but the thing he values most in the Ryan family, which is full of monsters, is force.
I have no choice but to not know.
And it’s not the Roman city nobles you see often…
“Hmm… Does your mother know anything?”
Come to think of it, I heard that her father and Valorant had a fight over her mother once.
She actually heard that her mother, who was reputed to be beautiful in the empire, never stopped courting her.
However, she met her father for the first time in her early teens and the two developed a love together…
But when I was in a secret relationship with my father. I heard that Valoran was once slapped by her mother for being so persistent in her courtship.
Perhaps because it was so famous, I heard it a few times when I visited my mother-in-law’s house.
The amazing(?) Legend of the mother who slapped the empire’s greatest knight…
Later, after my father passed away, I overheard the elders of my mother’s family talking to each other at the funeral.
There was an incident where his father gave Valoran a ‘warning’ before marrying his mother, and Valorant, who took that to heart, took revenge…
Anyway, my mother has known so much since she was young that there was no one in her social circle who did not know her, so I think she might know about Debian’s childhood.
Because she was the empress. She must have heard a lot about other nobles.
With that in mind, she heads to her mother’s bedroom.