I Became the illegitimate son of a duke

1 – Funeral

“Whoa…”

It has already been 12 years since I was reborn in a new world.

Apparently, because the operation failed, he swallowed a cyanide capsule and committed suicide to avoid capture, but when he opened her eyes, she saw a woman she had never seen before, hugging her and smiling. It wasn’t long before he realized that she was my new mother. Didn’t take

At first, you thought that even killing yourself was a failure, so you were really shocked?

“…Write.”

I have never seen my father in my life. Not long after I was born, I thought my father had gone to work or died because I couldn’t see him, but that wasn’t the case.

Literally, the duke, that is to say, my father and I have different statuses, so we have no relationship, either personally or officially.

She was originally a maid working in the duke’s castle, and she happened to have a relationship with the duchess, who had been widowed for five years at the time, and then she knew that I was It is said to have arisen

Even though the duke was unmarried, having a relationship with a woman of a lower status without having a wedding ceremony was an issue that would stir up competition among the high-ranking members of the duke’s family, and the mother eventually had to leave her castle as if kicked out.

Of course, she says, her mother overpaid her child support.

It is also a matter of face for the duke family, but it seems that the duke genuinely loved her mother.

Still, I can’t forgive him for abandoning her mother. If she loved, she should have held on to the oppression and not succumbed to it. What are you doing? Until the end

“Young master… Are you okay…?”

“…Yes, sorry for worrying you.”

The dark-haired girl in front is her sister Chloe, who has lived with her since 7 years ago.

Her mother couldn’t get past an orphan girl who was in the same situation as her in being abandoned, and she ended up adopting Chloe, who was two years younger than me.

Thanks to the large amount of money, I was able to easily raise one more child, but in the eyes of others, it was like an unmarried woman with one more child, so bad rumors spread.

And those rumors will no longer be heard after today.

Because the target of the rumor is no longer a person from this world.

“Oh… Why do I feel sorry for the children—”

“Go ahead.”

“—-What?”

“Go away.”

I can’t believe there are already so many swarms of flies running after seeing my mother’s legacy.

Your voice is clear and your expression is expressing sadness as much as you can, but the emotions in your eyes cannot be portrayed by ordinary people.

I didn’t even have to look into her eyes because the energy of desire was emanating from her whole body in the first place.

“Brother…”

Seeing that the man who had been given the heat to go away in a fit of anger, Chloe grabbed my hand with a worried expression.

Are you afraid of what that man might do to us?

“It’s okay, what’s there to be afraid of? He’s nothing—”

“That’s not…”

“Huh?”

“If the funeral hall becomes noisy, the mistress will be sad.”

“…”

…Chloe is right.

In their lifetime, they were people who only spread malicious rumors to us, but they came to commemorate their mother anyway.

Has it been said that hypocrisy in action is no different from goodness? I forgot who said it.

Above all, making noise in front of my mother while she is sleeping is, of course, something that shouldn’t happen. I was frivolous.

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay if you don’t do that from now on. Really, the boy is very smart, but sometimes he’s weird in places like this.”

Chloe scolds me with a smile, then steps forward to greet the guests.

I knew right away that the smile was forced, but I didn’t dare say it out of my mouth. To be so courageous even though he’s younger than me… You’re losing your status as an older brother.

I just silently look at the coffin that her mother is in and shake her head.

‘Again… The same way-‘

Tuktukㅡ

“—-!?”

When someone’s hand came up on my shoulder, my body reacted rather than thinking.

Judging by the feel of his hand, he seems to be a middle-aged man.

“Wow… Surprised.”

“Who… Are you?”

The man holding my shoulder seemed a little surprised by my reaction as I turned his head away while grabbing his wrist with both hands.

I was also surprised. What is that thing that appears from behind without a word and grabs his shoulder?

“Are you Claude?”

“Yeah…? I’m right…”

What is this guy?

First of all, the face is very visible to me as a child… But since he was wearing a hood, it would be difficult for a normal person to see his face properly. Are you happy to see your nose?

Besides, it bothers me a little that he doesn’t answer the question of who he is and just talks about himself as if he were treating him badly.

Usually, guys with this kind of attitude are either kids with underdeveloped personalities, or they’re accustomed to giving orders to others, or they’ve never been asked a lot of questions. It could be all three

“…Marie raised her well.”

“…”

Why does my mother’s name suddenly appear?

As soon as the middle-aged man wearing a hood saw me guarding himself, he spontaneously nodded his head and began to understand.

If it were me, I would have thrown out my temper, but I was scolded by Chloe, and above all, this man, unlike the other insects that filled the funeral hall, did not show any greed, so I decided to observe the situation a little longer.

“Take it.”

“…?”

Then he hands me a copper plate from his sleeve. There is an attitude that seems to be ingrained in the body as if refusal is not possible in common sense.

“What is this? A pass?”

The outside of the metal plate is decorated with thin silver lines, and in the center, only the word pass is protruded and written without any decoration. If you look at the back side, you can see the word “Pass” Written in the same place.

I’m not sure where the pass can fit, but I don’t think it’s a fake since it has at least some silver in it.

“Does he even know how to read?”

“Yes, because my mother taught me.”

I can still vividly see the image of my mother, who said with excitement that she is a genius because she resembles him, saying that if you teach her, she learns quickly.

Because I am an adult in my head, of course I just learned faster than my peers… Really.

“Hmm…”

‘What is it again?’

His eyes, visible from under the hood, move around and scan my body.

Those eyes… Are the eyes of a person appreciating something. It’s so similar that it’s embarrassing.

“Okay, anyway, bring it to the castle after the funeral. I’ll tell you who I am then.”

“Yes? Last name? If it’s a last name, I can’t believe it—”

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

The hooded man looks at me with appreciative eyes and then spits out an answer to the question I asked earlier.

You weren’t ignoring me, were you? Should I rejoice or be annoyed that it’s too late?

Trumbling

“…Marie.”

As if he had nothing to do with me anymore, he approached the coffin where my mother was lying, lowered her head, and started talking about her.

Only a few words come out of my mouth, but most of them are so quiet that I can’t hear what they’re saying because they linger in my mouth.

“…”

You can tell no matter how thick the hood is. Looking at my back, it seems that I had a deep connection with my mother before I was alive.

He stayed like that for a long time and returned about thirty minutes later.

Compared to the others who came to the funeral, the memorial time was the shortest, but the heart of mourning for my mother was the strongest except for Chloe and me.

…………

“No.”

When Chloe heard what happened with the hooded man that night, I told her that I would go to the castle, and she replied with a firm tone.

“I’m pretty sure it had something to do with my mother? Maybe it’s the handsome duke.”

“…That’s why it’s no longer possible.”

“Huh?”

Chloe’s black hair, yellow eyes, and the dot under her left eye sparkle in the candle light.

“If the Duke invited the Young master, what kind of existence do you think the Young master would be to him?”

“Uh… Blood?”

Chloe shook her head at my answer.

“I may never… Come back to this life again.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“…It’s a very bad word for the young master, but nobles don’t recognize all children as the same, even if they are children.”

“Hmm…”

I can see what Chloe is trying to say.

There were many examples even in the Middle Ages on Earth. Were illegitimate children like pawns on a chessboard that families could sacrifice without burden, even though they received no inheritance and were not treated as family?

Except for magic here, the level of civilization is similar, so it won’t be too different.

“It’s fortunate that I was called simply to see your face, and you can give me the honor of working as a servant or put pressure on me to become a vassal. My life is completely controlled and I can’t go out on my own. If I die, I have to die. ㅡ”

‘…’

I still want to go there at least once.

There are downsides to being the illegitimate son of a nobleman, but there are also unexpectedly great merits, such as being easy to get a letter of recommendation, getting a lot of pocket money, or being given extra points when doing business so that it doesn’t show through.

Of course, not only that, but I also want to engrave the face of the guy who abandoned his mother in my eyes.

“ㅡ Ugh!?”

“Are you listening to me?”

At some point, Chloe came right in front of me and pressed my forehead with her forehead.

Her eyes are slightly furrowed and her cheeks are slightly puffy, which makes her very angry.

“Ugh, ugh… I’m listening.”

“…Haaa, okay. Let’s go.”

“Really?”

You give permission surprisingly easily, right?

“No matter what I say, you’re going anyway.”

I was caught.