**Chapter 121: Choosing a Family Name**
“Family name… a family name, huh…”
Rest, who had just been appointed the head of a newly established noble family, muttered to himself as he walked down the corridor. He needed to decide on a family name to use before the upcoming conferment ceremony, but what kind of name would be suitable?
(If I were to use my name from when I was Japanese, it would end up being Honda… but that’s out of the question. Absolutely impossible.)
Rest Honda. Clearly not an option. It was a name that was more than just unsuitable.
(Then how about the name of a protagonist from a novel I liked? Siegfried or Pendragon, perhaps?)
However, when he checked the noble name directory he had retrieved from the library, he found that both names were already in use. He couldn’t use the same family name as anyone else.
(To think such over-the-top names are actually in use… Could it be that I’m not the only reincarnator here?)
“Oh, Rest. What’s wrong? You look troubled.”
“Viola.”
As he pondered while walking down the corridor, he ran into Viola, who had just come out of the bath. Behind her were Primula and Yuri. All three were dressed in nothing but cardigans over their negligées. While it was perfectly fine to wear whatever they liked at home, as a young man, Rest found it somewhat overwhelming.
(Viola and Primula are fine; I’m used to them since they’re my fiancées. But… Yuri’s outfit feels a bit inappropriate…)
“This girl doesn’t seem to have any nightwear, so I lent her one of mine,” Viola explained.
Yuri, still flushed from her bath, smiled brightly at him.
“Ah, in the Catreia Marquisate, my brothers used to walk around the house naked after their baths. For some reason, I was the only one who wasn’t allowed to do that… But since leaving home, I’ve been spending time in my room without clothes. I couldn’t just walk around like that in someone else’s house, so I borrowed some nightwear.”
Yuri explained without being asked. It seemed that the Catreia family had a penchant for nudity. It was information that Rest found utterly irrelevant.
“How do I look? Does it suit me?”
“Uh… I think it looks good on you?”
Yuri posed with her hands on her hips, showing off her negligée. Rest tried not to look directly at her and offered a safe compliment.
“More importantly… Rest, what’s bothering you? You seemed deep in thought…”
“Ah… I was just thinking about something.”
Responding to Primula’s question, Rest led the three of them down the corridor. Standing around chatting after a bath would only leave them chilled. He took them to the parlor and had them sit on the sofa while he explained his situation.
“Hmmm, a family name… What about ‘Rosemary’?”
“Since it would be a different family from the House of Marquis Rosemary, it’s better to choose a different name. It could get complicated otherwise.”
“How annoying… Even if I’m ennobled, I’d still be a member of the House of Marquis Rosemary, so it would be fine to use the same name.”
“Well, among higher nobles, it’s not uncommon for them to hold multiple titles or family names. My father has several titles, after all.”
Primula added as she pouted. Yuri, who had been listening, pondered and raised her index finger.
“Then how about ‘Giant’? Doesn’t that sound strong?”
“It does sound strong, but honestly, it doesn’t feel like it suits me.”
“I see… Then how about names of strong animals? Lion, tiger, buffalo, hawk, or eagle? They all have a nice ring to them and sound cool, don’t you think?”
“Are you saying that on purpose?”
Rest furrowed his brow at the odd suggestion, but Yuri looked genuinely puzzled. The unusual consistency in naming made him suspect that Yuri might also be a reincarnator.
“By the way… there are a lot of nobles in this country with flower names. Is there a reason for that?”
Rosemary, Catreia, Crocus—each was a name of a flower. He recalled that several of his classmates at the academy also bore flower names.
“Well… it’s said that the first king of the Aiwood Kingdom and his queen had a hobby of cultivating flowers. She apparently gave flower names to her favorite vassals, and that tradition has continued to this day.”
“Really? That’s interesting.”
Rest nodded at Primula’s explanation.
“So, nobles with flower names were favorites of the first queen… Hearing that makes it feel oddly relatable.”
“Not every noble with a flower name is a favorite, though. Some later adopted flower names to follow that trend. If you’re struggling with a family name, you could consider that.”
“A flower name, huh…”
Unfortunately, Rest wasn’t very knowledgeable about flowers. The only ones that came to mind were cherry blossoms, plums, and chrysanthemums—Japanese flowers.
“Primula, do you have any names in mind?”
“Well… how about Tulip, Hyacinth, or Peach? I don’t think any of those have been used as family names yet…”
“Hmmm…”
Rest Tulip. Rest Hyacinth. Rest Peach. None of those names felt particularly appealing. He didn’t have the confidence to turn around when called from behind. Flipping through the noble name directory, he found that many of the famous flowers he knew were already taken.
(If I’m going to choose a name, I’d prefer one that brings good fortune… After all, I can choose my own surname. A name that’s auspicious, a flower of good luck…)
“Ah! How about ‘Clover’?”
Rest suddenly blurted out a name that came to him. Rest Clover. It had a nice ring to it. It also evoked the image of a four-leaf clover, which was considered lucky.
“Clover… that’s nice. I don’t think there’s a noble with that name.”
“That sounds good. I think it suits Rest well.”
Primula and Viola agreed with him.
“Viola Clover… yes, that’s not bad.”
“Primula Clover… yes, I like it.”
“Wait… you two don’t need to adopt that name, do you?”
Rest was set to be ennobled as a new noble, but he would still be marrying into the House of Marquis Rosemary. There was no need for the daughters of his fiancée’s family to take on the name ‘Clover.’
“Yuri Clover, huh? Yes, yes, that sounds good. I like it too.”
““What!?””
Yuri suddenly dropped a bombshell, causing Viola and Primula to spring up from the sofa in unison.