Episode 3
When I heard my mother’s bitter voice, I didn’t know what to say.
It’s not Mom’s fault…
Many marriage proposals had come to my mother before.
That was natural. My mother was very beautiful, and although the Arno family only held the rank of baron, it was one of the wealthiest families.
But my mother rejected all of them.
“I still can’t forget him.”
She would say that.
Of course, it was true that my mother still loved my father. Sometimes she would look at my purple eyes, which people said looked like his, with a distant expression.
But I had matured early, so I knew there was another reason.
It was because of me.
My mother was worried that if she remarried, she might neglect me. She was also worried that I might feel uncomfortable around a stepfather or his family.
In fact, some people who proposed to her even said that I should be left behind in the Arno family.
So my mother should never feel guilty about what was happening now.
If anything, I felt sorry.
If it weren’t for me, my mother could have lived more freely.
Or if I had at least been a son who could inherit the Arno family, maybe she wouldn’t be facing this problem.
Feeling guilty, I rubbed my cheek against my mother.
Only then did she react.
“Vivi, my baby.”
My mother hugged me tightly with a very sad face. I could feel her body trembling.
Because I had memories of my previous life, I understood very well what Uncle Pascal meant yesterday.
But I pretended not to understand and asked.
“Mom, what’s wrong? Are you crying because of what Uncle Pascal said? Was it something bad?”
“No, Vivi. It’s nothing. You don’t need to worry.”
“But…”
“I’m just sad because your grandfather is gone. Vivi, you’re sad too, right?”
“Mm.”
As my mother said, without Uncle Dietrich and Grandfather, the mansion felt unusually big and quiet.
“My daughter must be tired. Little angels should be sleeping now. I’ll read you a story. Let’s go to bed.”
We lay next to each other in bed, and my mother read me a story like usual.
Her soft voice sounded almost like a lullaby, and before I knew it, I fell asleep.
“I’ll protect you no matter what happens.”
I think I heard my mother whisper that while kissing me goodnight.
—
The next day, my mother gathered some trusted people and held a private meeting.
In my grandfather’s office, there were three people besides my mother and me.
Albert, the head butler, Christopher, my grandfather’s former assistant, and Susan, the head maid.
Of course, my mother didn’t want me to join the adults’ discussion.
But I insisted that I wanted to stay with her.
I need to know what’s happening so I can prepare!
When I started crying and saying I was scared to stay alone, my mother couldn’t refuse.
The others probably thought I wouldn’t understand the adults’ conversation, so they didn’t ask me to leave.
So I sat next to my mother, pretending to focus on drinking my hot chocolate.
But in reality, my ears were fully focused on the adults’ conversation.
“How could Young Master Pascal say something like that…”
“We need to take action.”
The three adults looked shocked after hearing my mother explain the situation.
“The Arno family should obviously be inherited by Dietrich. We cannot let Pascal take it.”
“That’s right. The master worked so hard to build the Arno family! Even if it’s Young Master Pascal, he shouldn’t do something like this.”
Albert spoke angrily.
The Arno family had not always been wealthy.
Until my great-grandfather’s generation, it was just a small noble family with little importance.
A baron family located in a small territory in the southern empire.
It wasn’t an old prestigious family, and it wasn’t rich.
But my grandfather had great business skills and started many successful businesses.
Because of that, the Arno family became quite wealthy in the empire.
Of course, Uncle Dietrich helped a lot too!
And now Uncle Pascal wanted to swallow that entire family just because he was a male relative.
“But what should we do? It would be best if Dietrich returned within three months, but we must prepare for the possibility that he doesn’t. From what I saw yesterday, if Pascal inherits the title first, he won’t willingly give it back to Dietrich later. So I need to temporarily inherit the family.”
“There are three possible methods.”
Christopher finally spoke.
“First, we can send a petition to His Majesty the Emperor and request that the law be changed so that women can inherit titles regardless of marriage.”
He paused.
“That would be the cleanest solution. However, realistically, it would be very difficult to change the law within three months.”
He continued.
“Second, you could adopt a son. Then that child would become the second heir after Young Master Dietrich. However, the family retainers would strongly oppose it. And even if Dietrich returns later, it would be difficult to transfer the title back to him.”
“What’s the third method?”
When my mother asked that, Christopher and I answered at the same time.
“You get married and inherit the title yourself.”
“Wouldn’t it work if Mom gets married?”
Christopher looked at me in surprise.
Realizing what I had just said, I quickly hid my face behind my mug of hot chocolate.
He probably thought it was just something an eight-year-old said without thinking.
So he looked away from me and continued explaining to my mother.
“If you get married, you will become the second heir after Young Master Dietrich. That is why Young Master Pascal suggested marriage after inheriting the title. If he marries you before the inheritance process is complete, you will automatically gain inheritance rights.”
My mother listened quietly and then spoke seriously.
“So, Christopher, are you suggesting the third method?”
“First we will send the petition to the Emperor. We will also collect statements from nobles who support this proposal. However, that alone is not enough. So yes, I believe arranging your marriage would be wise.”
My mother still looked troubled.
“But can we really find someone trustworthy within three months? It sounds almost as difficult as adopting a child.”
“I agree it’s difficult. But if we create a legally binding marriage contract, it may solve some of the problems.”
“Hmm…”
My mother looked at me while I was sipping my cocoa.
She gently wiped the chocolate from my lips with a handkerchief.
“Is that really the only way?”
“If you truly dislike the idea of marriage, you could include a condition that you will divorce after Young Master Dietrich returns and inherits the title. If the late master were still alive, he would probably be furious hearing this…”
“Is that really the best solution?”
“For now, yes. Of course, if Young Master Dietrich returns before then, that would solve everything.”
My mother thought silently for a long time.
Finally, she spoke with determination.
“Alright. Even if it’s only a contract marriage, I must entrust it to someone reliable. Instead of asking another noble family, it would be better to find someone close to us. Please gather trustworthy people from among our retainers.”
“Yes, understood.”
—
However, our plan did not go smoothly.
“Another refusal?”
When my mother asked, Christopher lowered his head awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, but yes.”
“That’s strange. Last time we contacted him, he said he would consider it positively.”
“That’s true. But recently he was attacked by unknown assailants and almost lost his life.”
“…Could it be…”
“Yes. It seems likely that Young Master Pascal was involved.”
That Pascal again.
I muttered inside my head and gripped my mug tightly.
This is already the fifth time.
Uncle Pascal kept interfering with every potential husband that my mother and Christopher carefully chose.
I didn’t know what kind of deals he made with them, but no matter how good the conditions my mother offered, they refused.
Even when we carefully tried to keep the information secret about the last two candidates, Pascal still acted first.
And now there had even been an attack.
It seemed like he would use any method to stop my mother’s plan.
It looks like there might be a spy planted by Uncle Pascal inside the mansion.
