The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 102

Chapter 102: Northern Folktales 1

From there, a bit more argument ensued over who would talk to Melfina.

Since August, being a knight, was not allowed to enter Melfina’s bedroom, Marie firmly stated that she would handle it herself. However, August was not willing to give an inch.

“It’s not that I don’t trust Lady Marie, but this is a matter concerning my lord. It’s only fair that I be involved as well.”

August said.

“That’s not the kind of discussion a vassal should be involved in. Besides, Lord August will end up siding with the Duke in any case.”

“Although I would like to say I’m in a neutral position, emotionally that might be the case. However, it would be better to hear both sides. I have been serving as a page beside the Duke even before Lady Marie came to the Duke’s family.”

Marie, usually reserved with her words, was now speaking firmly, while August, who usually avoided confrontation, was maintaining a resolute stance.

As the two of them behaved differently from their usual selves, Melfina’s feelings gradually began to calm down.

Looking back at what happened, it wasn’t actually a major issue. She was simply angered by Alexis’s words and attitude, which were caused by his surprise at the closeness between her and Serleine.

In hindsight, it wasn’t so difficult to handle calmly. She should have been able to do it, if it were herself.

— How embarrassing.

Since coming to the Enkar region, there have been many joys, but on the other hand, there have also been many times when she had to hide her emotions and maintain her composure.

This was something Melfina, who had received education as a noble, should naturally be able to do.

No matter how many traumas she had, she couldn’t let them disturb her every time. If she put it in a harsh way, she should have been used to such an atmosphere.

“Both of you, I’m already calm, and it’s not exactly a pleasant topic, is it? You don’t have to force yourselves to talk about it, you know?”

Smiling as if to mediate the still-arguing pair, she turned towards them with a sudden, intense gaze.

“…Actually, we should have had this conversation much earlier. The reason we didn’t was my own cowardice.”

“Marie?”

“I’ve enjoyed living in the Enkar region so much, and being beside Lady Melfina has been so comfortable that I found myself wishing this life could continue forever without saying anything.”

It’s somewhat clear that the topic Marie wants to discuss is related to Alexis’s previous attitude. And it’s probably something from her own past that she’d rather not revisit.

It’s easy to say she doesn’t need to talk about something she doesn’t want to, even with such a look on her face.

However, I also don’t want to leave Marie, who seems to be carrying a sense of guilt I don’t understand, in this state.

“Marie, you’re not going to discuss something you don’t want August to hear, are you?”

“Of course not. I’m just concerned that his information might lead Lady Melfina to have biased preconceptions.”

“Then I’ll listen to August’s side as well. But first, let Marie speak, and August, promise me you won’t interrupt.”

This seems to be a reasonable compromise. Both of them exchanged glances and nodded.

They moved to the parlor, where Marie took a seat next to Melfina and August sat across from them. Although there was some tension, it seemed she had regained a bit of composure, and her voice had returned to a calm tone.

“Lady Melfina, I believe you should know this information as long as you are using the name of Oldrand. — The reason I haven’t been able to discuss this until now is partly because I haven’t had the chance, but also because it’s not a pleasant topic.”

When Melfina nodded, Marie’s gaze shifted as if searching for the right words.

“…How much do you know about the Duke’s nephew, Lady Melfina?”

“I understand he is the son of the Duke’s younger brother and the one who will inherit the Oldrand family.”

In the game, most of the Alexis route unfolds within the royal palace, and the depiction of the northern region is limited to a scene of Enkar region rescue in hard mode.

After the two characters are united, the villainous noble lady Melfina falls from grace and is sent to a cold, harsh monastery. The scene ends with the two gazing at each other amidst sparkling, radiant ice crystals, with the words “Happy End” written in a blue-silver ribbon roll.

In other words, there was no mention of Alexis’s nephew at all.

All she knew was what she had heard immediately after the wedding, and that was enough for Melfina.

“His name and age?”

“It’s Lord William. Although I never had the chance to meet him, I received the family tree of the Duke’s family before the wedding.”

The family tree is essentially a genealogical chart summarizing the family up to around the third or fourth degree of kinship. However, by the time of the wedding, most of the Oldrand family, except for Alexis and his nephew William, had already passed away.

“Yes. Lord William von Oldrand. He will turn nine this year.”

This information was surprising.

Since he was the son of Alexis’s younger brother, she had assumed he was still quite young.

She placed a finger on her forehead and pondered for a moment, but it still felt odd.

Alexis was twenty-six this year. If William is nine, that would mean Alexis was seventeen when William was born.

Marriages in this world are such that there’s no need to cite Melfina’s case as an example. As in Melfina’s case, marriage is considered possible at sixteen, and having a fiancé decided by one’s father before that is a normal practice among nobles.

So, theoretically, it shouldn’t be impossible.

However, given that Alexis, the eldest son, remained single until his marriage to Melfina, it seems unlikely that his younger brother would have officially married and had a child nine years ago. This doesn’t seem like a natural course of events according to noble customs.

“It’s hard to ask, but Marie, how many years apart were the Duke and his younger brother?”

“At that time, Lord Christoph had just turned thirteen.”

“…Ah, I see.”

It’s true that the closeness between Melfina and Serleine exceeded the usual roles of a host and a guest. Whether in her role as a wife or as a client, if there was any fault to be found, Alexis would clearly have the right on his side.

However, it was still puzzling to hear the term “able to have children” applied to someone who looked like Serleine.

Serleine appeared much younger than her actual age due to the large amount of magical power she possessed, which hindered her growth. Without prior information, one would judge her to be around ten years old based solely on her appearance.

She looked like someone for whom the idea of having children with a woman wouldn’t even come to mind.

“I heard the Duke’s younger brother was a knight. …Is it true that the nephew is a child born out of wedlock?”

“To be precise, he was born from the Duke’s fiancée. …However, his mother, Lady Margaret, was engaged to the Duke at that time.”

Marie’s voice was calm and steady, with no sign of wavering. It almost seemed as if she was trying to suppress her emotions, treating it as merely past information.

“…That is quite something.”

It was a scandal of enormous proportions. It would dwarf any suspicions Melfina might have had.

“Oddly enough, in the northern region, even children born out of wedlock or outside of marriage can obtain inheritance rights if they are adopted.”

August’s tone was as light as usual, but his expression was much more serious than usual.

“The notoriously rigid church accepts such exceptions?”

In this world, church ceremonies are governed by what is known as church law, a set of regulations established by the church.

Divorce is not allowed, inheritance rights can only be granted to children born from a formal marriage, and white marriages can be annulled—all of these are rules set by the church.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that only the Oldrand bloodline can govern the northern region, so the church is likely reluctantly accepting it. That said, every time a child is adopted, a pretty significant donation is requested, so it might be a profitable ritual for them.”

“Lord August.”

“I don’t like the church, you see. Even though the temples are essentially the same thing, those people are protected by the northern region, yet they stay in a safe place and act all high and mighty.”

August shrugged off Marie’s reproachful tone and spat out his words.

According to August, only those with similarly strong magical resistance can deal the final blow to Pluina, who emits an overwhelming amount of magical power. Other people merely approaching her would experience mental disarray, leading them to be attacked by Pluina’s minions, resulting in self-harm or even death.

While the details were glossed over, it was clear that the heads of the Oldrand family and their bloodline had been fighting on the front lines, and many of them did not survive to retire as knights.

“It seems that although the Oldrand family has children born with strong magical power, surprisingly, few of them develop magical excess. I was permitted to serve as a companion to the Duke from a young age, and both the Duke and Lord Christoph were robust children. They possessed strong magical resistance and spent their childhood honing their skills as knights. It’s almost as if they were tailor-made to be rulers of the northern region.”

There was an unusual sense of unease in August’s words. When Melfina looked at him intently, he quickly noticed her gaze and softened his expression.

“Well, speaking of which, I don’t really like the way the northern region is either. It’s cold, dark, and heavy. When I was a child, I used to dream of being tossed aside and living as a bard in the southern region, traveling from place to place. When I told my father that, I was beaten so hard my baby teeth flew out. But the Duke… Alexis told me that if I ever wanted to do that, I should tell him first. He’s always had a rather unreadable expression and was sparse with words, and that’s all he said at the time.”

“So, August took it as him giving you a push?”

“By then, we had already been together for quite a while. Well, you get used to it.”

A page with a swollen face and Alexis, who was just as emotionally reserved in his younger days.

They must have had a bond that only they could understand.