Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 162: Children of Nobility, Continued
We drank tea and helped ourselves to the sweets.
Yes, these were clearly top-quality confections. A restrained sweetness spread through my mouth, followed by the flavour of strawberry jam.
It felt as though the sugar was soaking straight into my exhausted body.
“Lord Julius?”
I turned towards the voice and found Caro standing there.
Three girls around her age were with her. At first I thought they might be Caro’s followers, but they were probably members of Princess Chloe’s circle instead.
One of them blushed the moment she saw me.
Being handsome really was a sin, wasn’t it?
“Good day, Lady Carolina. I see you’ve come to the castle today.”
“Yes. I come to the castle every day. I heard that you would start visiting from today, Lord Julius, but I never expected to run into you here.”
“What a coincidence.”
She said it with an innocent expression, but I suspected she’d known perfectly well that we were nearby.
Princess Chloe had probably told her where we were going after lunch.
“I’m about to have tea with Princess Chloe. A few other people will be joining us as well. Would you like to come too, Lord Julius?”
“I’d like to, but I’d better not. I need to return to the townhouse and prepare for tomorrow’s work.”
“I see. That’s a shame.”
Of course, that was a lie.
Nobody had told me that I needed to prepare anything.
I intended to bring my white coat when I visited the Royal Magic Pharmacists’ Corps, but that hardly required any preparation.
I simply didn’t want to go.
Caro probably guessed at least some of that from the way I declined.
We exchanged a few more polite words, then Brother Alex and I took our leave.
How should I deal with Caro from now on?
That was the question.
Was an engagement between Caro and me politically possible or not?
This wasn’t something I could discuss with Brother Alex here in public. I’d ask him after we returned to the townhouse.
By the time we got home, Brother Alex and I were both exhausted. We dropped onto the sofa almost as soon as we entered the sitting room.
Then Brother Cain came back looking cheerful, energetic, and extremely satisfied.
Apparently he’d had a wonderful time.
I looked at him with envy.
He flinched slightly.
“What’s wrong with you two? You look exhausted. Weren’t you just going around making formal visits? Did something happen?”
Brother Alex seemed to be looking at him with exactly the same envy I was.
And Brother Cain clearly had no idea what had happened on our side.
Well, there was no point keeping him ignorant forever.
“I envy you, Cain,” Brother Alex said. “I hope you can keep growing up exactly as you are.”
“What does that mean?”
Brother Cain looked utterly confused.
Should we tell him?
I glanced at Brother Alex. Our eyes met, and he gave a small nod.
“Cain, I think this is something you need to know. As a child of a noble house, you must keep it firmly in mind.”
“O-Okay.”
Brother Cain’s face went a little pale.
He probably didn’t particularly want to learn what hid behind the polite smiles of aristocrats.
Brother Alex explained the situation in a way Brother Cain could easily understand.
Listening to him helped me organise my own feelings as well.
“So that’s what was happening… I had no idea. Then surely-“
“Don’t go any further, Cain. I’m sure Julius didn’t enjoy it either.”
That was probably true.
I’d always thought there was almost no chance of anything happening between Princess Chloe and me. If anything, I’d even thought it would be troublesome if it did.
Even so, when the reality of her political engagement was placed directly in front of me, I couldn’t deny that it unsettled me.
I’d allowed myself to become a little too close to Princess Chloe.
“Brother Alex, what do you think about Lady Carolina? Has Father ever said anything to you about her?”
“Father never seemed interested in encouraging a match between Lady Hilda and me, so I doubt he’d be interested in encouraging one between her younger sister Carolina and you. I know it sounds cold when I put it this way, but there would be very little political advantage for either house.”
“That’s true.”
Engagements between noble children were generally decided according to political benefit.
A love marriage was a dream within a dream.
If someone wanted complete freedom to marry for love, becoming a commoner might be the only reliable way.
If that was the case, it was probably better not to deepen my relationship with Caro any further.
“Um… what about me?”
Brother Cain must have become anxious listening to us. His face had gone pale.
The high spirits he’d had only minutes earlier had vanished completely. He looked as though he’d just broken Brother Alex’s treasured fountain pen.
“I don’t think there will be any problem with Viscount Raniemi’s daughter,” Brother Alex said. “Viscount Raniemi doesn’t hold territory, but he has considerable political influence in the royal capital. A connection like that would be valuable to House Heine, since our ties to the central government tend to be weak.”
Brother Cain let out a huge sigh of relief.
It looked as though he might actually get a love marriage.
I wanted to join that club too.
“Then what about Julius?”
“Julius already has a great deal of influence. Giving him too much additional power could become a problem, so we’ll have to take that into account when choosing his fiancée.”
I see.
Brother Alex was worried that if I married into an exceptionally powerful noble family, the balance within House Heine itself could be shaken.
In that case, Caro was impossible.
Her backing was far too strong.
From that point of view, there was no problem with Lady Fabienne.
“I think Julius already has some idea what I’m talking about,” Brother Alex said.
He raised one eyebrow with exactly the same dexterity Father did.
“The proof is that he doesn’t seem particularly panicked.”
So Brother Alex had probably received some information about me from Father.
Maybe this was his roundabout way of telling me that Lady Fabienne would be acceptable.
Ugh… I really don’t like this protagonist and how he so easily complies with these dumb aristocratic rules , I mean if I wanted a protagonist like this I would just read a plain fantasy story instead of an isekai
It’s kinda ridiculous actually. The story is up to the author obviously, but the fact that the MC being a modern ADULT man makes all of this insanely jarring to the reader.
1st. Even considering marriage with children even at the age of 15 feels gross.
2nd. As you say, he’s just going along the whims of everyone around him as, again, a modern ADULT.
3rd. The sheer lack of understanding yet also knowing how ridiculously OP he himself is yet acting like he doesn’t understand it is off putting to say the least.
All in all the MCs actual mental age in comparison to how he acts is so off balance that as a reader it physically keeps me from being able to immerse myself into the story.
Regarding 1, that’s just normal aristocrat settings. Especially, with people dying a lot easier than now. Granted, this is a slice-of-life so the only people to die were the grandparents but there was a reason we had young marriages (besides political reasoning and perversion from those in power).
Right now, the MC is in a good spot and without more info on how to bring potions to the forefront, has to maintain his current balance. If he just ran away to become a commoner, there’s no guarantee he would be able to survive on his own. He wouldn’t have the backing of his noble background anymore to fight against thieves or another, stronger noble who could kidnap him and force him to only make potions for that territory.
MC has some understanding that he is strong but he doesn’t know the exact strength. When it comes to situations that might get him in trouble, he ties to downplay it but remember that he thought he would be faster than Nero. He also was mentally thinking that Lionel wasn’t taking him serious during their mock battle without a little bloodlust or something.
As far as modern adult, I don’t remember his age but they usually are only mid or early 20’s when they get sent back in time.