Chapter 262 — A Conversation Between Father-in-law and Son

“…How should I put this… things have gotten pretty wild for you, haven’t they?”

“I-I’m very sorry…”

While the three girls were noisily making a fuss in the bath, Rest had been summoned to the study by his father-in-law, Albert Rosemary, and now sat there, shrinking in his chair.

Albert sat across the desk from him, hands folded, watching.

Behind Rest, the butler Dible stood by the door as if blocking any escape route.

It was an unbearably awkward situation. An unexplainable sense of guilt weighed heavily on Rest.

(N-No… actually, the cause is pretty clear, isn’t it…)

Rest was currently engaged to both Viola and Primula — Albert’s beloved daughters and daughters of a prestigious marquis family.

And yet, despite being entrusted with not one, but two noble fiancées, he was now also in the middle of getting engaged to Celestine, and even Yuri had proposed marriage to him.

There was no way his stepfather Albert was happy about this.

“Ugh, ngh…”

“Now, now — relax. I’m not angry or anything.” 

Albert said, though his expression was a complicated one.

“I understand the matter with Lady Celestine of House Crocus isn’t something you could refuse. After all, the engagement was arranged under the royal family’s orders. They’ve already said they don’t mind whether Viola or Primula becomes the legal wife, so you had no real choice but to accept.”

“R-Right… I see.”

“As for Lady Catreya, that was unexpected, but… I’ll check directly with the Knight Commander about that. My wife seems intent on pushing a whole parade of concubines onto you, so at the very least, I won’t object.”

“Thank you… I think?”

Not sure whether thanks were appropriate or not, Rest just bowed his head in confusion.

“Um… If I may ask, why is your wife being so generous with me? I’ve never heard of a mother-in-law preparing mistresses for her son-in-law…”

“Ah… yes, I suppose it would seem strange.” 

Albert replied, massaging the deep furrow in his brow as if struggling to find the words.

“Eilish is… well, she’s concerned about the future of this country.”

“T-The future of the country? That sounds like a pretty grand-scale concern…”

“It is, indeed… but the reality is, the nation has no shortage of problems. I’m sure you’ve noticed, haven’t you? Our kingdom is beset with troubles both internal and external.”

Internal strife referred to the existence of Rodel, the Third Prince — a tyrant — and the faction supporting him, known as the Dowager Queen’s camp.

The external threat came from hostile tribes in the north, and more recently, the increasingly suspicious Gaizel Empire to the east — a supposed ally.

“Thanks to your efforts, the internal problems are slowly being resolved. However… the external threats are only growing stronger.”

“…………”

“And while this isn’t public knowledge yet… the northern tribes, the so-called ‘demihumans,’ have started to stir. There’s a real chance they may launch a large-scale invasion within a few years.”

“…………!”

The northern demihumans — those who had long lain dormant — now seemed to be moving once again.

“The only small mercy is that the Empire, which has been acting suspicious as well, seems to have turned its attention to the north too…”

“…Are we headed for another war?”

“No, not immediately. But that’s precisely why the royal family is trying to secure you — their trump card — by tying you to House Crocus. That’s also why they’re pushing so hard to develop the Sabnock Plains.”

“…………”

“It’s as if a dam has burst, and all the pent-up pressure is flooding out at once. And you, I suspect, are one of the sparks that triggered it.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize. But in exchange, you’ll be carrying quite a burden from here on.”

Albert looked at Rest with something like pity in his eyes.

They say life’s blessings and misfortunes always balance out, and it seemed Rest’s reward for winning the hearts of such beautiful girls came at the cost of shouldering a very heavy load.

“Eilish preparing concubines for you is part of that, I imagine. She believes that if you father many children, it will strengthen the kingdom’s future fighting force.”

“…I see.”

While he couldn’t say he fully understood, it was clear this was no situation where Rest had much say in the matter of love or marriage.

(Well… as long as Viola and Primula are okay with it, then I shouldn’t complain. Yeah.)

If the two girls who, above all others, should have the most to say about his love life were fine with it, then Rest couldn’t really argue.

In fact, he was probably in an incredibly lucky position.

(I’m a lucky man… I became a noble and I’m about to marry beautiful girls. What’s there to complain about…)

Muttering those words to convince himself, Rest left Albert’s study.

And, incidentally — the moment he stepped into the hallway, Viola and Primula were waiting to ambush him, and immediately started grilling him about Urla Lavender.

But that, of course, was another story.

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