Chapter 183
A long rectangular dining table.
Two men sat at opposite ends of the table, facing each other.
'Glaring' would be a more accurate expression.
*Shk, shk.*
Only the sound of cutting meat with a knife echoed through the room.
A piece of meat. A glass of wine.
Callius, having savored the taste enough, set down his wine glass and spoke.
"Please refrain from unnecessary talk."
Keeping his gaze on his dish, Callius spoke with an air of indifference; to Elberton, his behavior seemed downright insolent.
*Twitch.*
Elberton, whose cheek twitched like a spasm, massaged his deeply furrowed brow with his fingers.
"Unnecessary talk. The current Lord's words sound like those of a northern barbarian."
Northern barbarians.
A metaphor referring to orcs.
To northerners, orcs are traitors worse than beasts.
In the North, there was no fouler curse than this.
Hearing himself compared to an orc, Callius also narrowed one eye.
"I am asking why you went out of your way to say unnecessary things to Emily and the Saintess."
"I only said it because it wasn't unnecessary."
Perhaps thinking of completely handing over the position of Northern Lord now, he observed proper etiquette at the end of every sentence.
"Why was it not unnecessary?"
When he asked that, Elberton swirled the wine in his glass and answered as if it were obvious.
"Because it's the truth."
15 years ago from now.
Elberton investigated the child abandoned at the castle gates.
Who abandoned her, who the child's parents were.
He investigated thoroughly, and there was no ambiguity in it.
"You must not have wanted to inform them that Emily's mother became the Empire's Saintess. If you had been careful with your lower half when you bedded her, it would have been fine, wouldn't it?"
Elberton raised the corners of his lips as if finding something amusing, while Callius looked utterly displeased.
"Even so, did you have to say it like that? If you say her mother is the enemy nation's Saintess, what do you think Emily will think? She's already a child with a lot on her mind... wouldn't she only suffer more confusion?"
Most of Carpe is like that.
The Empire is the enemy.
Those who hold spears are bastards to be killed.
They consider them beings that wouldn't be satisfying even if chewed to death, calling them spear bastards and spear whores.
Emily is the daughter of Zerban, one of the Four Great Noble Families of Carpe.
Could a child like that easily accept the fact that one of her parents, let alone the Empire's Saintess, is exactly that?
Even if she did accept it...
"The Saintess is a prisoner. She is a figure to be used preciously for political purposes."
Even among prisoners of war from enemy nations, nobles are used valuably.
Prisoners are money.
Moreover, if she is a Saintess, she can be used in any number of ways as a political element.
Put simply, she is someone who will return.
To the Empire.
"She's going to return anyway. She's someone who will become our enemy again, so there was absolutely no good in telling her."
Then, Elberton's knife stopped.
He soon set down his fork and knife and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"Callius. Emily is Emily."
"......"
"Emily is a child who has found her own path and lived well even without you. She is stronger than you think, and the conviction imbued in her sword is firm. She is a better child than you."
Power carried in Elberton's voice.
Callius could not deny it.
As he said, Emily is a strong child.
That's right. However.
"She is only fifteen now."
Even so, a child is a child.
A child who grew up without a mother.
No, a child who grew up without parents.
Because Callius didn't raise Emily either.
That was why Callius felt needlessly sorry.
But he didn't want to let it be known that her mother was originally a noble of Carpe and a defector to the Empire.
Because it was no different from the parents leaving the child to fend for herself and only honing their spears and swords instead of taking care of her.
Moreover, neither he nor Eily had any memories of that time.
They were no different from strangers, so playing the role of parents now had its logical flaws.
"If you're that worried, wouldn't it suffice to make her a mother now?"
"...Are you in your right mind? The Saintess doesn't even remember the past."
"If she doesn't remember, you just have to tell her. Callius."
Elberton's grey eyes looked straight at him.
"In this world, there are things you want to hide but cannot. I understand your affection for Emily, but that child also has a right to know rightfully."
"...But."
"Besides, I have often heard stories of the Saintess. She possesses spear arts great enough to conquer a castle with her martial prowess alone."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It's a bit curious that someone with such skills was captured by you. I wonder if she truly came in submission."
Words implying that she might have gotten captured on purpose.
But Callius shook his head.
"The Saintess had her own circumstances."
"Regardless, that is not for me to worry about. Because it is what you decided. However, I am curious about your feelings."
Callius's feelings, rather than Emily's.
He meant he was curious about that.
That is.
"Since you've already shared bodies once, there's nothing strange about sharing them again."
*Bang!*
"What...!"
Callius slammed the table and shot up from his seat.
"Why are you so startled? Didn't you even have a child together? Whether she's the enemy nation's Saintess or your old flame, she is the child's mother for now, and you shared bodies with mutual understanding."
Elberton was asking.
If that feeling is still the same, couldn't you just take her in and live together?
"That makes no sense..."
"Anyway, the Saintess has become Carpe's hostage. Carpe will probably want to hold onto the Saintess for a long time. The longer they keep her, the more they can delay the war, and the more they stand to gain."
It wasn't a wrong statement.
That was also the reason they took the Saintess as a hostage in the first place.
"Besides, seeing as the reason you haven't married is apparently because of that woman, wouldn't it be better to reveal everything and try to act even a little like a family?"
"I have no intention of settling down."
"Callius. You are now the master of the North. The Lord of Zerban."
The Patriarch of a Grand Noble Family.
"Your age has come, so I hope you slowly marry and start a family. I let you have your way until now, but I can no longer leave you like that."
If he has become the de facto master of the North, producing descendants is also a duty.
Although there is a child named Emily.
The seed of the grey eyes bestowed by the gods is bound to be passed down only through males.
"My son."
"......"
"Bernard died honorably. But the fact that he died remains unchanged. People die someday. That's why they leave things behind."
"Are you telling me to bear a son?"
"Even if not that, I wish you had a wife who would at least welcome you."
He was probably saying that with sincere consideration for him.
Callius had nothing more to say.
"Saintess or whatever, it doesn't matter. If you like her, take her and live with her. Whether you feed her medicine to erase her memories or cut her tendons, just hide it and live together."
Was he even thinking that far?
He was so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh escaped him.
Perhaps Elberton thought that the woman Callius truly held in his heart had been the Saintess since the past.
'It's understandable to think so.'
Because he had thrown a fit even when discussing marriage with Helena.
"There probably aren't many who know of this yet. If you want, I will help you."
"...I cannot do that."
He couldn't.
The Saintess was living, bearing her own duties and responsibilities as a Saintess.
Besides, Callius didn't have a woman he held in his heart in the first place.
'At least in this world.'
*Screech.*
"Then marry someone else. Lord."
Elberton rose from his seat and left the dining room. Callius, who slumped back down, swirled his wine glass and let out a sigh.
"How troublesome."
Callius leaned his back against the chair, tilted his head back, and sighed.
A maid stood looking down at him with a smile.
"How was your meal?"
"Tel. Did you make this yourself?"
"Yes. I roasted the special cut that comes in very small quantities for a long time."
"It was excellent. The deep flavor of the steak harmonized well with the sauce. It was a proper meal I haven't had in a while."
Only after wiping his mouth with a napkin did Callius rise from his seat.
"Tel. What are Emily and the Saintess doing?"
"Are you referring to the Saintess of the Spear?"
"Yes."
"The two of them are having tea time together."
Outside the window, it was already night.
After waking up, receiving reports on various matters and moving around, it was already night.
Tea time in the middle of the night...
"...I definitely don't want to go near them."
"I'm sorry to say, but they are waiting for you, Lord Callius."
"I suppose so."
No matter what.
It didn't seem like it could just be passed over.
"Tel, do you know as well?"
"Yes. At that time, I was the one who investigated under the former Lord's orders."
"Of course, there's no way you wouldn't know about matters within Zerban."
It seemed fine to go together.
"What are the others doing?"
"The Shield Saintess and the beastmen have left for the land they will settle in."
"Where?"
"Near the Northern border."
"That's not bad. The land is decent, but it was a plains where no one lived because of the many magic beasts, right?"
"Yes. Considering the characteristics of the beastmen, it's not a bad land for them. If you just support them with initial supplies, they will harvest on their own. There are many forests nearby, so procuring food won't be bad either. They also have outstanding talent in hunting."
He heard that due to the previous orc invasions, even the few remaining villages had been turned into ruins and were uninhabited.
'I'll check on the beastmen later. Since Junis is there, they'll manage roughly on their own.'
"What about Serena's group?"
"They are each helping to rebuild the castle walls or the villages."
Aldu and Pilo were rebuilding the castle walls, and Serena was subjugating the nearby magic beasts. Her archery skill with a hundred shots, a hundred hits was amazing and highly praised, so it didn't seem like there was much need to worry.
"Tel, guide me to where Emily is."
* * *
Late at night.
With a few candles and the moonlight shining upon them, Emily and Eily sat facing each other with cold tea before them.
The strangely darkened surrounding scenery made the atmosphere eerie, but the thoughts they held were a little different.
'She does look alike.'
'She looks alike.'
They looked alike.
Their hair color and eye color were different, but there were somehow many resemblances.
If it weren't for their vastly different hair colors, if they were slightly similar, anyone would have seen them as mother and daughter.
"Do you happen to have a mole here?"
"Where?"
"Here."
Eily slightly opened her clothes and showed her side.
Between her left ribs.
There was a small mole, and Emily tilted her head before looking at her own side.
"I don't."
"Then how about here?"
This time, under the collarbone.
"...I do."
"That's amazing."
"...Is it really true? Did you give birth to me?"
"...Well. I don't really..."
"Is it that you don't remember?"
Eily nodded her head.
Seeing her giggling and scratching her head, she seemed more like a scatterbrain than a Saintess.
Emily could hardly believe that a woman like this was a Saintess.
"He'll tell us when he comes."
"Father seemed to be avoiding something."
"He must have been flustered. Or maybe it was nonsense... or perhaps he didn't know either."
If he didn't know either.
It could be nonsense, or he might also be someone like herself.
Just as she was thinking that.
*Bang.*
The door swung open, and Callius appeared, bathed in moonlight.
"Hmm."
Callius looked at the mother and daughter sitting side by side, various thoughts intertwining within him.
But soon he spoke.
"Emily."
"Yeah, no. Yes."
"Do you need a mother right now?"
Emily's body flinched.
She hadn't expected to be asked such a question out of nowhere.
However, contrary to her panic, she began to ponder the answer to his question.
Does she need a mother, or does she not?
Emily thought about it, and soon answered.
"N...o."
Without a shred of hesitation.
When she was young, there were countless times she envied the existence of a mother.
But not now.
Emily had grown up, and the age where she needed a mother had long since passed.
Callius alone had been Emily's spiritual pillar for a long time. She didn't need anyone else now.
"Then you don't. We will stop this conversation here. Emily, follow me."
"...Yes."
Emily glanced at Eily, then shook her head and followed Callius.