Before meeting Seiana, Raymond thought he might have had some liking for the Count, but he soon shook his head inwardly.
Because of Seiana, the Count was dealing with him; without her, the Count would have been someone who could easily fall apart.
Raymond still couldn’t forget the scene when the Count fervently ran away the first time he visited him.
“From the start, the Count’s family is a bit…
The Viscount and the second son fled seriously on horseback, and the Count’s wife locked herself in the bathroom with a child.”
Raymond had seen many people trembling and burying their heads in the ground when they saw him, but he was surprised to see people running away so openly for the first time.
Thinking they were truly unusual people and smiling, Raymond was shouted at by the Count, veins bulging in his neck:
“Why is my daughter! Being fed and put to sleep with the royal treasury’s money! I refuse! I will feed and put her to sleep with my own money! I don’t need a stranger’s money! Seiana’s travel expenses will all be borne by the Count family…”
“Count, that’s an order.”
“Damn it! Damn!”
At such a rude attitude, Raymond let out a bitter laugh. Isn’t it good if it’s free?
Others would be happy thinking it was a windfall.
The fortunate part was that the Count disliked the money not because it belonged to Raymond but because it was from an outsider’s money.
It meant the Count disliked not only Raymond but outsiders in general.
Since the Count insisted he would not fill the guards entirely with royal people, Raymond had to take a few knights from the Count’s family, but the discussion ended safely.
When Raymond left the Count’s study and headed to the carriage waiting for him, he saw Aries with a sullen face beside Seiana.
Raymond didn’t know why Aries had such an expression since there was no reason for him to look like that.
Seiana seemed to soothe Aries, who was struggling beside her, and when Raymond approached, she brightened up.
“Did you finish the discussion well?”
“Yeah, luckily. We’ll be leaving now.”
As they greeted and got into the carriage, Aries was receiving an apologetic hug from Seiana.
Raymond watched that scene with narrowed eyes.
“He’s doing that on purpose.”
Though he didn’t know why Aries was sulking, it was clear he was angry because Seiana was flustered and didn’t know what to do, hoping he would hug her first.
The proof was the softened expression.
Until just a moment ago, his face was full of barely concealed anger, but now it was filled with an unmistakable smile.
“How annoying.”
Raymond felt irritated as Aries glanced at him as if boasting about it.
The reason for his anger must be trivial.
He was only annoyed that Seiana was worried about such a trivial matter.
“I want to hug her too.”
Raymond envied Aries only at times like this. He wanted to hug Seiana, but he was shy, and more than that, if he showed such a scene, the Count might forget fear and rush out wielding a sword, so he couldn’t.
He couldn’t show Seiana a fight with her family.
“But I also can’t just quietly take a sword blow.”
Not only was his life precious, but Raymond was listed on the royal register, so such an act was treason.
He had to endure, even if it was regrettable.
Finally, the long hug ended, and Aries barely got into the carriage.
“The next time we see each other will be during the journey. I’m looking forward to it.”
Seiana smiled brightly, seeing them off. As the carriage rattled on, Aries suddenly said, “Seiana said you and I might get married.”
“What? Wha—no… why such a ridiculous thought?”
Raymond’s temper flared, his head almost exploding, but then he realized the person who said it was Seiana, and he quickly closed his mind again.
If it had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have stayed calm.
Since he had no outlet for his anger, Raymond took deep, rough breaths to calm himself.
“Why on earth?”
“The Empress apparently said so.”
“What…?”
Ding!
Raymond felt as if his head had been hit by something.
What the heck was this?
The soul state beside him had not heard such things.
He even had delusions that maybe the Empress used telepathy to tell something only to Seiana that didn’t reach him.
“Well, she didn’t say it outright but asked if he was seeing anyone while talking about the engagement. Then, hearing that I’m currently staying at the palace due to circumstances…”
“The Empress must have concluded that she should warn me (Seiana) not to have foolish thoughts about the son (Raymond) who is interested elsewhere, rather than the planned daughter-in-law (Aries)!”
Aries said.
Raymond covered his head with both hands after hearing that.
“Ah, Seiana…”
He was so angry his head felt hot.
He couldn’t understand how the Empress’s words, “I want you to become my daughter-in-law, forever,” could be interpreted like that.
“Why does Seiana firmly believe she could never be such a person?”
So pretty and loved.
Raymond didn’t understand but found that adorable, which made him laugh bitterly.
“Anyway, I was so upset I jumped up saying it was absolutely not true. Only then did she look like, ‘Is that so?’ but she didn’t fully believe it.”
Thanks to Aries denying it in a flustered way, the misunderstanding seemed to have somewhat cleared.
“Maybe I should say it outright.”
But he couldn’t do so freely, thinking Seiana might feel burdened. Raymond, who was a coward only regarding Seiana, found himself stuck.
Sighing deeply, Raymond looked outside, and Aries sighed too, then spoke again.
“You know…”
“Do you think Grandpa Violet will be okay?”
“It’s difficult.”
He was already 78 years old.
Even if not gifted with special powers, it was an age considered long-lived…
Though the wounds from the attack were not deep, the poison of the demon injected at that time caused him to collapse.
“Demonic poison is hard to cure with any treatment.”
Whether magic or herbs, nothing worked on demonic poison.
One could only hope for natural healing and rest, but since Grandpa Violet was both injured and old, it was difficult.
“Soon, someone else will inherit.”
Muttering this, Aries caused Raymond to fall into thought.
Who was the youngest in the Violet family, the Duke Violet family?
‘His condition must have already been reported to the Duke family… but since time is tight to produce the next successor.’
It was unfortunate that someone else would have to bear such a curse, but what could be done?
It’s not like they could say, “This ability user will die at such and such time, so prepare the next candidate in advance.”
That’s why all Raymond could do was pray on the day of succession that the successor wouldn’t be too emotionally scarred by the cold surroundings.
***
Time passed quickly, and finally the day of the journey arrived.
‘The travel theme being fairies is a bit odd… but does that really matter? The important thing is who is going together.’
I wasn’t interested in fairies, but since the scenery was supposed to be nice, I was looking forward to it.
Whether it was escort or service, Ray said he would prepare it, but for some reason, a few knights from our family were also going along.
I thought maybe because three kids were going on the trip, they added extra escort out of concern.
But the thing I was curious about was—
“Why is oppa going?”
Among them was my second older brother, Halo.
That person isn’t a knight of our family but a palace knight, and he looked like he was full of war spirit as if going to battle.
I turned to my father in disbelief, and he answered calmly.
“I didn’t put him in.”
“Really?”
“He came on his own. He even took leave and said he’d escort, so what can I do?”
My father looked just as bewildered.
No matter how much he said no, Halo seemed determined to come, so he was just watching it happen…
“If you come near, I’ll cut you! If you cause trouble, I’ll cut you!”
What did “cut” mean?
Hopefully, it wasn’t Ray.
I hoped they wouldn’t forget Ray is the son of their superior.
“I like the ‘cut you’ line. Very admirable.”
“Dad?”
“Ahem, it’s nothing.”
Even my father didn’t seem to want to stop him.
I was worried if it was really okay to take him, when in the distance the sound of many horses’ hooves came clattering.
It was definitely the carriage that Ray and Ari were riding.
“Oh?”
But the carriage was different from the usual one they used.
It was a simple wooden carriage without any decoration.
I was puzzled by the carriage, which didn’t seem fit for royalty, but suddenly understood.
‘Ah, they came in that to avoid being recognized as royalty.’
I wasn’t expecting a fancy carriage ride, so it was fine. In fact, I thought it was fortunate since it would attract less attention.
When the carriage stopped at the main gate, I lightly touched its surface.
‘It looks ordinary but it’s tougher than I thought. The small windows are a bit disappointing, but it would be advantageous if we were ambushed. As long as the doors are closed well, it’s like a barricade.’
Moreover, the carriage wheels had locks attached.
It seemed unlikely it would accidentally roll away when parked.
I admired how much attention was given to safety and hoped my brother wouldn’t ruin the mood with nonsense.
Luckily, the brother who was shouting “I’ll cut you if you breathe!” earlier seemed to have calmed down and was now silent.
“Shall we get off and rest for a bit?”
“No, I think we can just go.”
“I’m okay too.”
Though there was a portal gate, so it wasn’t far from the imperial capital to the count’s territory, and they must be tired from coming all this way, the two refused to get off.