Kays Translations

Chapter 50: The Unfavorable Position

In the reception room, besides myself, only Stefana and Rugena remained. On the other side, representing the Viscount family, were the head of the house, Bosman, and his second son, Ditnell.

It was frightening to think about handing over information to these people, yet keeping completely silent seemed equally impossible.

“Now then,” Bosman began, his tone measured but authoritative, “there are many things I wish to ask, but first, tell me what you know about the glass.”

“No,” I countered firmly, my voice steady despite the tension in the room. “First, explain why my mother is under suspicion. Without that, I cannot even begin to know what I should answer.”

“You will disclose the information about the glass as you were instructed. Once I have that, I will verify the truth regarding Martine.”

Judging the process only after seeing the results—this was putting the cart before the horse.

“I’m afraid I’ve already handed over all information regarding the glass to the Baron Merlot family. If you require it, you will need to negotiate with them directly,” I replied.

“That will not be necessary. The matter can be resolved if you simply speak,” he said, his words leaving no room for argument.

There was no opening, no foothold at all. I needed at least some kind of leverage, some thread to grasp.

“…By the way,” I ventured, feeling for a crack in the armor of this conversation, “what became of the letter of disinheritance?”

“For you… perhaps it concerns you. Well, it does not matter. A letter of disinheritance issued by a child to a parent is easily revoked. At any time, it can be undone.”

Kingdom law, after all, was written for the benefit of royalty and nobility. Between parent and child, the parent always held the advantage, and among nobles, the higher title carried more weight.

“Then why was it never revoked until now?” I pressed.

“…There was no point in going that far,” the Viscount admitted, hesitating slightly before answering.

But that didn’t add up. When my mother left the house, there had been marriage discussions just like this time. The glass business wasn’t involved back then, but arranging her marriage would surely have benefited the Viscount family. Yet they hadn’t acted. Perhaps they had requested Marquis Vahenal’s confirmation regarding the disinheritance letter.

“Enough of that. Tell me about the glass production,” Bosman said, shifting the topic.

“No, as I said, that information has already been given to Baron Merlot… but—oh, speaking of which, Ditnell, why did you come all the way to Baron Merlot’s territory with the Sanders Trading Company people?”

I framed it as if I had just remembered something, casually shifting the conversation toward Ditnell.

“—You knew?” Ditnell’s surprise was immediate, sharp.

“Huh? I heard it from my mother, but didn’t anyone tell you?”

I hadn’t expected Ditnell to be so taken aback. Having spent three weeks together with my mother, I had assumed they had spoken about it—but apparently, neither had said a word.

“Zernike offered to provide ‘escort and attendants for the move,’ did he not?” Bosman asked.

“Yes, Father,” Ditnell replied. “He said it was to avoid placing any burden on our household.”

So Zernike had suggested it, Ditnell had accepted it, and the Viscount had approved it. If the Viscount knew Zernike was providing support, it wasn’t something to hide. Yet we had been left in the dark.

There had to be another purpose, something they wanted to conceal.

I recalled something that had puzzled me about Ditnell’s actions: he had stayed in Meluestat for an entire month.

Mother had told me that the role of regional administrative aide was hardly one with idle time. A month-long stay was, in itself, suspicious.

A month in Meluestat, lodged in the guesthouse on Baron Merlot’s estate, and a hidden agenda… It seemed likely that Zernike had taken on Ditnell’s protection because a member of the Kaupels family could easily enter the Baron’s estate.

In other words, Zernike may have been using Ditnell as a cover to gather intelligence on the glass business. Ditnell might even have been aware of this.

Could it be that Rosanne-sama had been confined to her private residence to monitor the underground meeting room?

Mother had said from the start that Ditnell’s guards and maid were not from the Viscount household, so perhaps she had instructed the Barons to strengthen security.

“Because Zernike helped, you intend to arrange marriage with my mother?” I asked cautiously.

“That depends on the circumstances. If she is guilty, she must be punished,” Bosman replied.

Punishment if guilty. Marriage if innocent. No mercy either way.

If she lacked knowledge of the glass business, she would likely be innocent—but then she would be handed over to Zernike for assistance. If she possessed information, she would be deemed guilty, punished, and her knowledge seized. Either outcome favored the Viscount family.

“So why is my mother suspected of betrayal?” I asked.

“…You ask far too many questions,” Bosman muttered.

“Viscount, I ask because I don’t understand. My mother was suddenly taken under suspicion for reasons that don’t exist, and we weren’t even allowed to see her. All they said was to tell you about the glass. How else am I supposed to act but ask?”

They answered questions when pressed, but they never offered explanations voluntarily. It was obvious they wanted the glass information, yet I needed to know why my mother was under suspicion—not guesses, but clear facts, lest they deny it later.

“You’ve been raised rather insolently,” the Viscount said with a sharp edge. “It almost sounds as if I were framing my own daughter.”

“Are you?” I challenged. “Mother and I lived quietly in Helvendorp. Suddenly she is accused of betrayal as if it were obvious wrongdoing. Anyone hearing that would find it strange.”

“It is not strange. Martine sold the glass business to Baron Merlot without my permission and profited from it,” he said flatly.

“Without your permission? How is that your concern?”

“Of course it is. Martine learned the methods of glass production in our house.”

The Viscount smirked, then began to explain the sequence of events.

The glass business had been introduced to my mother by Zernike of the Sanders Trading Company. He had learned that Baron Merlot sold transparent glass cheaply and had initiated an investigation.

They discovered that the Merlot family had bought the manufacturing method from another source to start their own business. While tracing the origin of that information, the story of the dwarven glass mask came up—a mask made of extremely transparent glass, used by people with poor eyesight.

From further inquiries among townsfolk, the trail led to Rugena—and ultimately to my mother as the apparent owner.

I was technically the master of Rugena, yet to outsiders, it seemed otherwise. We hadn’t hidden ourselves, so all this could be discovered through investigation. The problem lay in what happened afterward.

Zernike had reportedly protested subtly, wishing Martine had sold the glass method to the Sanders Trading Company instead of a remote Baron.

But the Viscount knew nothing of this. If my mother possessed the method and hadn’t disclosed it, she could be considered deliberately withholding benefit from the Viscount family—a crime of betrayal.

And Bosman had his suspicions.

After returning to the Viscount household, my mother had become emotionally unstable, overburdening me with studies as an infant.

To the Viscount family, it must have appeared strange: a mother reading vast tomes aloud to a child who barely understood language, the child listening obediently.

From books she read during that time, they assumed she had sold the method of producing transparent glass to Baron Merlot.

“That seems like a stretch. There is no physical evidence, only circumstantial,” I said.

“Ha. It is no stretch. Our investigation found books on transparent glass production leaving our household,” he said, eyes glinting.

“What?!”

“Whether parent or child, disinherited or not, any information gained while affiliated with our house, if sold without permission, is actionable. That is why we even issued a summons.”

I could hardly believe it—the method for producing transparent glass was in the Kaupels family’s possession.

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