Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

Translator and Editor: Effe and Lili

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Chapter 73

After all, Aedis had only started talking about getting a divorce because I’d found out about his secret.

“Your Grace!”

Regen arrived while I was struggling to move both from the chair to the bed and from the bed to the bathroom.

I was a bit confused though because Regen wasn’t supposed to be idle at this time.

“My Lord? Isn’t it class time right now?”

He couldn’t stop sniffling and his eyes were dyed red.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

“What?”

“I, I broke the seal…”

I don’t know which bastard was spreading rumors that I was sick because I had signed a contract with the spirit, but I’ll have to try to catch them.

I ordered Sarah and the maid chief to dispel the rumors, but it was to no avail.

“I’m not really sick because of that.”

I raised my hand to stroke Regen’s hair, then paused.

Regen, who was sobbing and crying, seemed to overlap with the image of Aedis from my dream.

Those empty eyes that couldn’t express any emotion wouldn’t leave my mind.

“…Lord.”

Feeling as if my chest was scratched with a hook, I smiled at Regen.

“I’m fine, so please don’t be sad. Seeing the Lord grieving makes my heart ache.”

“Your Grace…?”

“I’m truly fine.”

I was speaking to Regen, but it was like I was making a promise to myself.

* * *

I coaxed Regen to return and I put on my coat.

“Ugh. Sarah, come help me up.”

While supporting me, Sarah’s face was filled with concern.

Besides Aedis, Sarah was the only one who knew the real reason why I was sick.

“Can you walk?”

“It’s going to be hard to find my husband. Have you found out where Aedis is yet?”

“The butler said that he’s not even in the study.”

Aedis’s usual range of action was so narrow that I could picture all his usual places in my head. But as soon as I’d woken up, he’d disappeared and hasn’t been seen since.

Besides, the castle was bustling right now.

As I slowly descended the steps, I grabbed a maid I encountered and asked.

“What’s going on?”

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“It is said that the training ground was destroyed in an accident. The knights were also injured.”

“Accident?”

“That’s what the former Knight Commander…”

There was a hint of trouble in the maid’s words.

I glanced at Sarah.

“Sarah, you should go check it out too.”

“But….”

Sarah hesitated with a face that looked like she would die because of how worried she was about me.

“Go take a look at the situation and then let me know.”

“At least let me take you to the bedroom.”

I shook my head.

“I want to walk a little longer.”

If I just continue sitting in a room, don’t you think I’ll get even more worried about Aedis? Rehabilitation exercise is better for me.

After sending Sarah away and walking for about 20 minutes, I managed to arrive at the backyard, which was less crowded.

Ugh, this is my limit. I don’t think I can take another step.

When someone passes by, I’ll have to ask them for help.

I sat down on a bench to get some sun.

The weather was quite warm.

When winter comes, will it be super cold? I didn’t know I could feel so cold, so I just want to hibernate and wake up when springtime comes around.

I don’t know what Aedis is doing.

Did he leave the castle because I was occupying the space he was always confined to?

You left, now when will you come back?

…Will you come back?

Aedis didn’t explain it at all, but I know what I saw was his past.

I guess I’m just feeling terrible.

Suddenly, a shadow fell on my face and I opened my eyes.

“Has there ever been someone so weak in the castle before?”

In front of me stood a woman who had the same energy as a wild dog. Her upper body was bent down and yet she was still looking down at me.

She wasn’t very muscular, but she had a well-built body.

Her distinctive bluish-gray hair was ruffled and had varying lengths and thickness, like the mane of a wild animal.

However, it was strange because it wasn’t just unorganized sporadic hair.

The bayonet on her back was taller than a grown woman, probably over 180 centimeters. It looked very heavy too.

I tilted my head.

Her eyebrows are very thick, and once I looked at them, they left a strong impression that was hard to forget.

“Are you Shaula?”

She was the only woman in Cyclamen Castle who could exude such an atmosphere, one like a wild beast’s.

Shaula recognized me and grinned.

“Aha, you’re the new Grand Duchess.”

Blood dripped from her clothes, and it wasn’t her own.

“That blood.”“Is it Procyon’s blood or Pollux’s?”

When my expression changed unexpectedly, Shaula burst into laughter.

“Your Grace, why does your face look scary? Are you trying to attack me?”

Even though she called me Grand Duchess, she didn’t treat me like a Grand Duchess at all.

At first, she just appeared to be a little bad at socializing.

“Maybe it’s because the dog’s owner abandoned it, but it’s acting rude.”

“So the Grand Duchess is trying to tame it?”

Shaula leaned close to my face and looked at me.

“Well, I’m sorry.”

“…..”

“Whether it’s the Grand Duchess or whatever, I don’t listen to people who are weaker than me.”

“…..”

“You can try and force me to yield like the Grand Duke or go mobilize all of your subordinates to kill me. I don’t really know which side would be annihilated in the end though.”

Procyon, weren’t you quite naive when you described Shaula?

She’s as strong as Gilbert, and her toughness is also comparable to that of Gilbert’s.

Even this brief conversation was enough for me to grasp what kind of person she was.

The type that’s rather easy to handle.

Because to them, only power determines the rank.

She might even say something like that in front of the Emperor.

Anyway, Aedis must have brought her back for a reason. It’s hard to say.

I wish it was just buried in the quarry.

I nodded my head to Shaula, who was waiting for my reaction.

“Yes, sorry. I was wrong.”

You’re just a little bastard, aren’t you?

I tried to get up, knowing that talking to Shaula would give me nothing but high blood pressure.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hips off properly, so I had to sit back down.

Damn, my legs don’t have any strength left.

The criminal who made me into a wreck that couldn’t even stand up was just staring at me blankly.

This is all because of you!

Even though my teeth were gritted on the inside, I asked her nicely.

“Can you help me up?”

“What?”

Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. It’s hard to say it twice, okay?

“Even my maids had to run off to fix what you did.”

Cyclamen Castle was running without any extra manpower because of Tolyman Elliott. He said that the property of the Grand Duchy had to be saved even by one mark.

So in the event of a sudden accident like this one, the entire castle had no choice but to be busy.

A cold sweat formed on my forehead as I tried to force my impatient body to move.

Did I come to the backyard because I was too eager?

But the ashes did blow up in the central garden, so there was really nowhere else to go nearby.

“Are you asking me for help?”

Shaula asked in a funny tone.

“If you don’t pick me up, I’ll freeze to death here.”

Slightly dizzy, I narrowed my eyes and saw Shaula grin.

“Okay. I’ll help you.”

She lifted me up.

…This is a princess carry.

“All you had to do was help me up.”

Being held in the arms of a woman who looked like a wild beast, I felt a subtle emotion that was difficult to express with just words.

Shaula didn’t care at all.

“Your Grace, aren’t you too light? I can lift you with one finger.”

Not one hand, but one finger…

“And you’re really weak. I can sense the fire element, but it’s faint.”

If it’s the fire element, are you referring to Paimon?

Shaula, who lightly recognized my abilities, shrugged her shoulders.

“Anyway, I’ll apologize too. Because you’re the Lord’s wife, I thought you were a monster.”

I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing to be recognized by Shaula while at my weakest.

Holding back my complicated feelings, I directed Shaula to my room.

She kicked her foot and opened the door, and as soon as she took a step inside she asked.

“Is this not Your Grace’s room?”

“It is.”

“Your smell is faint here.”

I just thought she had the same energy as a wild dog, but now she’s talking like a real dog…

I don’t know if I wanted to explain it like this, but she seemed curious, so I finally said.

“Even though it’s my room, I don’t come here often. I share a bedroom with Aedis.”

She gave me a look of realization as she lowered me onto the bed.

“Ah, so that’s why the Lord was angry at that time.”

“At that time?”

“The Lord didn’t tell you? I was caught messing around in the land that Your Grace had bought.”

I…I have to control my facial expressions.

Nothing good would come from Shaula discovering my relationship with the body of the beast in the quarry.

“I broke a barrier there and he got very angry. But that won’t ever happen again because the Lord installed a new barrier himself.”

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