Episode 31: I Tried to Solve My Own Problems.
Being summoned by the Marquis, of all things, was unexpected.
It was to the graveyard.
I was so surprised.
Why a graveyard of all places?
What business do I have in a graveyard? Is he going to bury me? I’ll give him a taste of his own medicine!
I met the Marquis at the graveyard.
He told me to come alone, so I borrowed a horse and came all by myself.
Is this a duel? I accept your challenge!
However, the Marquis, standing at the entrance of the graveyard, was unarmed.
What?
It wasn’t a duel.
The Marquis silently gestured with his chin, so I obediently followed him.
We proceeded deeper and deeper into the graveyard.
And the place we arrived at was—
Ati’s mother’s grave, the Marquis’s late wife.
He gently placed the flowers he held before the tombstone. Then, he knelt down, placed his hands before his chest, closed his eyes, and offered a prayer.
I just stood behind him, watching the whole time.
What is this about?
Was I just supposed to accompany him on a grave visit?
If so, I would have brought flowers instead of a sword. He should have told me beforehand.
Why, really, does this man never explain anything?
Does he mistake me for some kind of psychic?
After a considerably long prayer, the Marquis stood up and turned around.
He quietly looked down at me.
I didn’t understand the Marquis’s purpose or anything, so I just silently stared back at his face for the time being.
I won’t lose in a staring contest.
Without breaking eye contact, the Marquis quietly opened his mouth.
“Just now, I reported to her. Do you know what I reported?”
I don’t know. There’s no way I could know. I’m not a psychic.
I swallowed the words that almost escaped my throat.
And instead of speaking, I shook my head.
Then, the Marquis gave a slightly shy smile.
“I told her I was sorry for all the hardships until now. That I was sorry for neglecting Ati.
And—”
Saying that much, he hesitated slightly, his eyes darting around, before opening his mouth again.
“That I will love you eternally.”
“Huh?”
What?
What am I being shown? What is he reporting to me?
Is he bragging about his deceased late wife?
Is there any point in showing that to me?
Just report it on your own.
There’s no need to show me, right?
I won’t be jealous. Not even a little bit.
“And, I thought I’d get permission.”
“Huh?”
I haven’t understood what the Marquis has been trying to say at all since a while ago.
There’s no explanation leading up to this, no explanation!
Someone, please explain it to me.
“Permission to love a new wife.”
“Huh… What?!”
The moment he uttered those words, the Marquis blushed and gazed at me.
Stop it.
Don’t look at me with those eyes.
Don’t give me that expectant look.
I took a step back, feeling a sense of danger.
Then, the Marquis approached me with a cheerful yet embarrassed expression.
Stop it, don’t come closer.
“I reconsidered my own thoughts based on your words.
Indeed, I only saw you as an appendage of that Sergios.
Thanks to you repeatedly telling me that you have your own will, I took another look at you as a person.”
I see. That’s good.
But what does that have to do with what you just said?
Did you forget?
Did you forget that I said whatever I wanted, like I’d crush your manhood?!
I insulted you to your face, you know?!
I was faced with something unbelievable, and various retorts floated in my head, but I couldn’t put them into words well.
That’s how confused my head was.
“You have pointed out my flaws many times.
You have also improved my relationship with Ati.
Samuel (the tutor) and Maggie (the Head Nanny) also speak highly of you. They said that you do some outrageous things, but you love Ati from the bottom of your heart.”
Well, yes. I love Ati from the bottom of my heart. I adore her. I dote on her.
“You loved Ati. Normally, it’s difficult to love one’s late wife’s daughter. But you did it—”
No, anyone would love that child. She had the qualities for it from the start.
You just didn’t see it.
“—for my sake.”
“Huh?!”
I reflexively blurted out those words to the current statement.
What is this guy saying?! How could you interpret it that way?!
“I only love Ati because it’s Ati! It’s not for the Marquis-sama’s sake at all, though?!”
Scary!!
Is this the retribution for me lecturing Ilias the other day about self-affirmation and self-esteem?!
What is this way of thinking, the opposite of Ilias!
Does he think everything is for his sake?! Is he out of his mind?!
“What I’ve been saying to you all along isn’t because I want you to love me, okay?! I was telling you to treat me as a person! Do you understand that?!”
“Ah. And so, I took another look at you as a person, and I thought you were lovely.”
“What? That doesn’t make any sense!!”
Why such a leap from the topic of treating me like a human?!
What is this guy, I really don’t know what he’s thinking! This guy is scary!
I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I stepped back with a rustle and drew my sword.
I couldn’t take it anymore!
My whole body is rejecting it!
The Marquis looked at my reaction with a puzzled expression.
Why are you the one with the puzzled expression?
You’re the one who’s strange!
Eh?! That’s right, isn’t it?! I’m starting to feel uneasy?!
“Won’t you accept me?”
“Yes! Impossible!!”
I immediately denied the Marquis’s words.
Rather, I can’t believe he believed I would accept him!
“…I understand. Well, I’m not saying it has to be right away. It’s only natural that you can’t accept me right away after the way I treated you.”
The Marquis chuckled self-deprecatingly.
That self-absorbed feeling is unbearable!
However…
Now that my existence is finally being recognized in the mansion, and Ati’s surroundings have been improved, it would honestly hurt to be severed here.
I searched for the most gentle words possible and somehow managed to open my mouth.
“W-Well… I don’t know anything about the Marquis-sama yet.
Certainly, I was taught that bearing children is a woman’s duty, and love is secondary, but I honestly disagree with that idea.
No, let’s put love and romance aside for a moment… um…”
“Tsanis.”
“Huh?!”
“Tsanis. Tsanis Theo Karamanlis. That’s my name.
You always call me ‘Marquis-sama.’ From now on, you can call me by my name. Tsanis.”
Come to think of it.
I didn’t know the Marquis-sama’s first name.
I wasn’t interested, so I didn’t want to know.
Maybe we were both not treating each other like human beings.
“Tsanis-sama…”
I called his name with a sense of self-reflection.
Then, the Marquis—Marquis Tsanis—gave a radiant smile, as if a flower was blooming.
Ah, no good—
“It’s still impossible!!!”
I shouted my rejection with all my might.
My sorrowful cry echoed emptily in the graveyard and faded away.
Chapter 1: End