The next day. Since I wouldn’t be going to the palace until the afternoon, I headed to the Archiam residence in the morning.
Patrick had to continue pretending to cooperate with the Marquis to deceive me. Because of this, he had gone to the palace early to discuss matters with the Marquis.
Eleonora-chan was staying behind. So I had to meet with Count Archiam alone.
I was led into the usual reception room to meet with the head of the household.
He looked like he already knew why I was here, his face looking gloomy. He must not have slept well lately; the dark circles under his eyes were terrible. I forced out my words.
“…I apologize for not greeting you yesterday.”
“I’m simply grateful you attended the party. However, it’s become troublesome.”
“It was my carelessness, so please don’t worry about it.”
“I wouldn’t say that’s entirely true. The moment we sought Count Dolknes’s cooperation and gained your consent, however small, it was already too late. If a precedent is set for our house, everyone will start putting their hopes in you.”
Ah, I see. Even without the Marquis pulling any nasty tricks, I’d still have gotten tangled up in something similar.
It’s unfortunate, but he’ll have to give up his position.
In the heavy silence, we bowed our heads and apologized to each other.
“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more I can do.”
“The fault is mine for dragging you into this mess.”
Continuing this conversation will only make us both feel worse.
While I was timing my exit, a third voice reached my ears. It was Kevin, the steward waiting in the reception room… the scheming old man from the Count’s household.
“Wait a moment. Can we truly thwart the Marquis’s scheme? If the agenda itself isn’t raised at the upcoming meeting, support for Lord Dorkness will surely grow.”
“Ah, that won’t be a problem. Patrick will…”
I started to mention Patrick’s situation, intending to say there was no need to worry, but I caught myself and shut my mouth.
Seeing Kevin smile brightly, I realized I’d said something unnecessary.
“I’ve heard that Marquis Prynan has changed his plan to install Count Dorkness as the leader of the opposition faction. If that’s the case, the optimal solution is to say nothing at the meeting. However, the Count insists it’s not a problem. Could it be that Patrick is pretending to cooperate with the Marquis—”
This isn’t good. I forgot there are people here who won’t hesitate to sacrifice their conscience for their goals.
Even if the information’s source is unclear, if the Marquis starts suspecting Patrick, it’s all over. He could stay silent at the meeting and still get a 70% result. It’s precisely because he wants me to officially help the Count and aim for a perfect 100% that things seem manageable.
That scheming old man over there seems to abandon perfection at the slightest hint of unease, opting instead for solid choices.
I’m alone here. What do I do in this situation where I can’t even count on Patrick’s help? While I’m thinking this, listening to Kevin’s relentless barrage of words, someone enters the room from outside.
Standing beyond the open door was my fellow plastic model enthusiast, Dorothea. A quiet and indoor person like me, she raised her voice.
“Stop it already! Dad, make Kevin stop!”
“Dorothea, don’t meddle in adult matters—”
“Is being a central noble really that important!? Causing nothing but trouble for Eleanora-sama and Yumiera-san, all to protect some useless position?”
Dorothy confronted her father and unleashed all her anger at once.
Um, could you please have your family fights when I’m not around? Without success, the father scowls and retorts.
“Don’t you know how much I’ve struggled to keep this position!?”
“Why do you cling to status so desperately!?”
The father and daughter’s argument heats up even more. Kevin, don’t just stand there—stop them!
“What?! I needed status and money to secure a good marriage for you! Don’t take my parental love lightly!”
“I don’t need a good marriage! I just want to make dolls and live my life!”
“Dolls again? Do you realize we might lose our place in the capital!?”
“I don’t mind living in the territory. You’re the one obsessed with the capital, aren’t you!?”
“How could that be? I want to test the new construction methods’ durability on the vast lands of the territory too!”
The conversation broke off there, but they glared at each other, neither showing any sign of backing down.
I could understand their desire to focus on what they wanted to do in their own domains, away from the whirlwind of intrigue in the capital. Neither of them was willing to compromise on that point. To defend their unyielding lines, both engaged in a war of words…
Huh? There’s no need for this, right?
Since the verbal sparring seemed about to restart at any moment, I made a precautionary check.
“Does anyone need a Defense Lord?”
The father and daughter, faced with this obvious question, turned to look at me.
Then they looked at each other again.
“We don’t need one.”
“We don’t need one.”
The earlier bravado had vanished.
Father tilted his head in confusion, and the daughter gaped in disbelief. They couldn’t fathom this shared conviction that no title was necessary.
A moment of silence fell.
Count Archiam spoke as if suddenly remembering.
“My son. …I must leave him a position among the central nobility.”
“Older brother is the one who thinks he’s the least needed, right?”
“Ah, it was a mistake teaching him trigonometry just because it’s useful for architecture.”
“Mom… she stays at the estate during the warm seasons, doesn’t she?”
“She has to tend to the flowers, so it can’t be helped.”
This family has no one with a noble sensibility.
Instead of cooling down, the heat of the parent-child argument has plunged into subzero territory. No one says it aloud, but everyone, myself included, is thinking the same thing: “What was all that struggle for?”
Father clung to his position among the central nobility, thinking of his child’s future.
The daughter respected her father’s ideas.
The other two? Well, I suppose they’re similar.
Ultimately, the only way out is to give up the position of Defense Lord. This is a good way to overturn the table. … It’s not good. Please think of how much I’ve bent my own convictions.
Please apologize to everyone who acted to protect the position. Maybe Kevin was also a victim, dragged around by that strange family. Sorry for thinking you were scheming.
I was thinking, “Come on, Kevin, say something a little,” and then he actually spoke up.
“Please wait. The position of Defense Lord is an important role passed down through generations of the Archiam family. The previous generation and those before them, have instructed me to protect it at all costs.”
This scheming bastard is constantly stirring up trouble. The chain reaction continues.
Count Archiam took the elderly steward’s words—words that seemed destined to be dismissed—very seriously.
“That… is true. Must I truly inherit the will of my father, grandfather, and ancestors…?”
Father, you needn’t worry about that.
Before I could interject, Kevin’s tone grew more forceful.
“If you are the head of the Archiam family, then make a decision befitting of a head! Decide clearly which is more important—the will of your ancestors or your family now—and give your orders!”
“I wish to respect the will of our predecessors. But I… I want to prioritize my family and myself!”
Alright, you said it! Good job, father!
I was worried because he was giving off such a strong aura of indecision.
Though it was right after his declaration, he quickly returned to an anxious tone, as if something was still bothering him.
“…Will father be angry?”
“Within the venerable House of Archiam, there can be no one who would dare defy the Lord. All servants shall obey orders and prepare to relocate our base from the capital to the fiefdom.”
Kevin bows, his waist bending precisely at a right angle.
When he lifts his face, he is smiling genuinely. Then he says.
“We’ve taken quite a detour, haven’t we? …And I’m terribly sorry for the trouble caused to Count Dolknes.”
“Don’t drag others into this. You should’ve said so from the start.”
I’m not one to get swept up in sentimental atmospheres, hence my blunt outburst. My tone slipped, too. My demure image is ruined.
The Count and Dorothea look like they’re about to cry. The exchange between the Count and Kevin was probably essential—to sever ties with a generations-old ambition, to relinquish the position without regret. I can’t relate to this, and I don’t want to be dragged into it. Kevin was the only one who saw this as the only way out, but he was also the one who brought this whole thing to my attention. I was being conveniently used.
As an inconvenience fee, taking a few of the expensive-looking furnishings in this room back with me probably wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
As I looked around the nouveau riche-style reception room, my eyes fell on a miniature house. Similar models were displayed in the hallway, too. A miniature model of the residence… I recall it being mentioned before we came to the capital.
“Is that the Arcit Trading Company?”
“That’s right. I started it when I was young and grew it into a large enterprise. It helped me repay the Count’s family debts, so I haven’t had any financial hardships.”
“Oh, it seems we’ve been doing business there as well. Thank you.”
When I went to haul logs, I thought the name “Arcit Trading Company” in the Archiam territory was confusing, but it made sense that they’d have similar names. The president is the Lord himself. They should’ve come up with a more original name.
Is her father an architect? A designer? I don’t know the exact title, but I imagine he’s someone who draws blueprints.
“Do you have CAD?”
“CAD?”
“Never mind.”
Putting the Count aside, his daughter Dorothea… that doll room went beyond mere hobby. I consider myself quite the hobbyist myself, but the genres of games I get hooked on are quite different, and I have other interests too. To be able to devote oneself entirely to just that one thing is a kind of talent, I think.
And her mother is at the estate. She mentioned flowers, but given this atmosphere, it’s probably not just gardening.
The son… what was his name? I look at Dorothea’s face as I speak.
“What does your brother do?”
“Arithmetic? Mathematics? He’s holed up in his room doing it all the time. He has a mentor, but they only communicate by letter.”
“I see.”
Mathematics is quite advanced in this world. Things like trigonometric functions come up regularly.
It’s not that scholars don’t share knowledge with the public, but the concept of publishing academic books is rare. They seem satisfied just presenting their findings privately to each other, so it’s hard to grasp the reality.
Math. My natural enemy.
I wonder if I should teach her brother Euler’s equation. Zero and one, pi, the imaginary number i, and the base of the natural logarithm, e. The most beautiful equation in the universe, containing one element from every branch of mathematics.
So, what exactly is the base of the natural logarithm? I read about it on Wikipedia before, but couldn’t understand it.
It’s a hassle to explain, so I’ll keep quiet about it.
Well, that’s how I came to realize all my struggles with the Marquis were for nothing.
It gave me quite a headache, but I didn’t mind. The unpleasant retreat mission about to unfold at the palace will now be a wasted effort.
Watching a family where everyone charges headlong down their own path is refreshing.
Whether he knew my inner thoughts or not, Kevin looked at my face and smiled.
“Isn’t it a wonderful family?”
I won’t forgive you.