#2 Responsibilities and Obligations (1)
Three days have passed.
As if humans are also animals of adaptation, Elric began to adapt to some extent, even though Wibin’s life was in a form that was so different from the past 10 years.
He was still wandering around the battlefield in his dreams and struggled to find a dagger when he opened his eyes, but other than that, it was a pretty satisfying life.
“young master.”
Elric got out of bed at Aldio’s voice today as well.
After briefly washing and changing clothes, I headed to the restaurant using a cane.
Then Tyria was in the restaurant.
“Did you cough?”
Elric answered with a brief bow of his head.
“Good morning.”
I was still awkward with her.
She is a woman of few words, and since we spend most of the day in different places, we can hardly get close.
But again, it wasn’t as uncomfortable as the first time.
This too was an adaptation. Now Elric was ready to gobble up his food and not leave.
“Are you going to see the wheat field again today?”
“yes.”
“I’m sorry. My legs can’t help me with this.”
“it’s okay. I’m used to it.”
It was a gut-wrenching word.
Looking back, it was such a shameless statement. If he was the one who left her alone, he apologized to Yi Je.
While Elric was scolding him for another ugly mouth, Tyria stopped moving.
She looked at the plate and was silent for a moment, then added a word.
“… I was saying that I was used to it because I had been taught by the family head.”
Oh, that’s right.
out of breath briefly
It was only then that I realized something.
‘… It’s definitely my father’s way.’
He was the kind of person who always had to see the important things with his own eyes to solve his intuition.
Wheat fields will do the same.
All the businesses are closed, and now the Portmans are left with just one wheat farm.
I don’t know why he made that choice, but if that was the only remaining business, he would have taken over from her father’s personality.
Elric thought about such a thing and asked casually.
“By the way.”
“yes.”
“… How have you been with your father?”
I said it out of anger, but I have no regrets.
It would be true that curiosity is greater than regret.
I want to know the intentions of my father, who left only an inheritance without a will, but there is no clue, so I don’t think I want to lean on her at least.
Tyria answered right away.
“I learned to work. Other than that, I don’t remember much.”
“… Didn’t you say something about me?”
“None.”
I am speechless at the affirmation.
Elric, about to ask if he was sure, soon gave up on the job.
For some reason, it was because it was realistic.
the scene is drawn.
The cold-blooded father who doesn’t even look like a human being and that woman with little words are sitting at the table like this.
Even the rattling sound would have disappeared, and a suffocating silence would have wandered the space.
At best, the conversation would have ended with her father’s “do this” and Tyria’s “yes” answer.
Elric felt goosebumps all over his body.
‘It’s terrible.’
I shouldn’t have felt this way, but it was so uncomfortable that I felt fortunate to have run away.
Elric laughed blankly.
The dinner table was over.
“Then I will go.”
Like the first time, Tyria bowed her head briefly and greeted.
Elric answered as he stood up on his staff.
“Cheer up.”
So I left the restaurant.
*
Although he was the owner’s son, Elric’s position in the mansion was more like a guest.
It was natural.
Since he ran away from home at the age of 14 and hasn’t visited this place for 10 years, he had no way of knowing how things were going on in the family, and even if he tried to do something, his legs were like this, so he couldn’t even help with chores.
So in the end, all he does is sit in the garden like a hanryang and watch people pass by.
It is to look at the fountain, look at the people, and greet them with eyes while receiving the coolness of autumn with your whole body.
As I did so, I realized something.
‘There are a lot of newcomers.’
The core manpower leading the mansion remains the same.
However, among those who did chores, not many remained in Elric’s memory.
He was a perfect stranger. As such, they did not look as welcoming to Elric as the head maid, butler, or coachman.
It was a subtle line that was not hostile but not friendly, the gaze looking at a stranger.
“What are you looking at?”
It was Aldio.
He approached from behind, holding a small wooden box in his arms.
Elric said with a small smile.
“Ah, I was looking at the servants. There are many unknown faces.”
“It is. It must have been 10 years.”
Aldio took a seat next to the bench.
“Did you disrespect the young master?”
“Can it be? A person like that cannot be in this mansion.”
From noble mtl dot com
No matter how much my father passed away, this place was still the land he cultivated.
He was a man who was extremely averse to the disloyalty of his subordinates to his master, and he always put such things first when hiring servants.
You could say that I saw humans as parts.
No matter what they say behind the scenes, on the outside, they have to act sincere for the smooth operation of the mansion.
Isn’t it too funny to judge that such a trend would have disappeared in just one year?
Elric said, clearing out the thoughts that came to his mind.
“But what is the purpose?”
“Ah, these are the letters addressed to the lady.”
“To him?”
“Yes, it is harvest season, isn’t it? There are scattered things to take care of here and there.”
It is true. Even in Elric’s memory, harvest season was a time when his father did not show his face.
“What kind of correspondence?”
“I do not know.”
“hmm?”
“Where is the servant in the world who first sees a letter the master has not seen?”
The words he spat out with a small smile showed his unchanging loyalty.
Elric chuckled at the consistency.
“I can see why you couldn’t be close.”
“I am working diligently. After all, I wasn’t even close with the late master.”
It is. Although his father considered him an integral part, he did not consider him a human companion.
Rdio realized this well and showed only respect for his father.
Elric changed the topic.
“Then he sees wheat by day and papers by night?”
“It is.”
“I must have suffered a lot.”
Compassion and guilt came flooding in.
All of this was Elric’s role if he hadn’t run away.
How embarrassing it is to pass on one’s responsibilities to others and live leisurely like this.
It would make her feel at ease if she resented her, but Tyria had never once complained until today.
Elric pondered for a while, then spat out the words.
“May I receive those letters?”
If it was just reading, it was possible with these legs.
Of course, I didn’t really know how things were going, but I should be able to categorize the correspondence or briefly organize the contents.
I don’t know, but maybe I can relieve her fatigue a little.
It was a matter of passion.
“Um… .”
A hesitation appeared on Aldio’s face.
Elric said playfully.
“I am also the owner. You deserve to see that letter.”
It’s a pretty shameless statement, but it’s true.
Aldio made a dazed face at those words, then burst into laughter.
“… Yes, I see.”
A wooden box was handed over to Elric.
“The office is where it was 10 years ago.”
“It’s in the middle of the second floor. The heart of the mansion.”
“you’re right.”
“Okay. See you.”
“yes.”
Elric put the wooden box around his waist and headed for the office.
*
Apart from the motivation, of course, of course, there was no correspondence that Elric could understand.
A certain business of a certain customer, statistics on the relationship between the yield of wheat and the profit, etc. were scattered all over the place.
A solution is impossible.
Fortunately, since I was young, I was good at seeing context, so I was able to classify as I initially planned.
Elric has three main points.
The contents of the wooden box were neatly organized by categorizing correspondence from outside, correspondence related to the guild, and personal correspondence.
It was in the middle of that that I found the letter.
『To my beloved daughter.』
It was a letter with the phrase
The seal on it belonged to the Yubin family.
It was Tyria’s family.
Elric’s gaze seldom moved away from the letter.
It was a curiosity.
If you think about it, you still don’t know why she is still here.
I’m not sure if her intentions were good or bad, but after seeing her for a few days, she was working hard for Portman’s event.
If you look at it, it’s a stranger.
Although he knows that reading other people’s letters is very rude, Elric could hardly shake off the curiosity that arose immediately.
If you look at it with a thought close to self-justification, maybe, really, maybe there is a clue about your father in this letter.
It was just like that thought came to my mind.
His hand naturally moved to the wax pressing the letter.
I scratched the surface with my fingernails, then sighed and glared at the letter.
Elric, who was doing such a thing, eventually closed his eyes tightly and broke the seal.
The power of action did the job.
After a brief moment of regret, Elric shook his head.
‘I’ll have to check the contents of the ones I’ve already ripped off.’
Wouldn’t it be less unfair if I apologized for peeking into personal details?
I’m more sorry, but that’s for later.
Anyway, the contents of the letter were cast in front of Elric’s eyes.
Right after Elric, feeling the throbbing between anticipation and guilt like a boy committing a bad deed,
‘This… .’
I narrowed my eyebrows.