Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

Translator and Editor: Effe and Lili

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Chapter 56

I looked at the Baron standing pitifully and reached out to Procyon.

“Sir Procyon, please escort me.”

“Please leave it to me!”

Procyon, who was the most active in the Murder Robson Paisley Group, quickly changed his face and smiled wide.

But the Baron didn’t let Procyon’s laughter last long.

“Your Grace, can I ask for an explanation? Did I make you uncomfortable? If so, why don’t you tell me so I can fix it?”

The Baron’s face trembled in a new reddish shade.

“The capital and this place are different. Your Grace is no longer a lady of the Capital. Please keep that in mind.”

Wow, the North is really worth living in. You may not be used to being ignored as a baron.

Uh, I just heard the sound of the sword being pulled.

“To raise your voice to the Grand Duchess is to rebel against the Kallakis family-”

Pollux muttered solemnly behind my back, making up his resolve.

No, even though I’m the Grand Duchess, how can we be on the same boat?

And is Castor forgiven if he washes his hands well?

I spoke with a very loud voice.

“Oh my God? What do you mean, Baron?”

I hope his words were buried by my voice.

“I don’t know why you’re so angry with this natural fact. Did you mean to take us to the inside of the forest? No, it can’t be. It doesn’t make sense to push us into the wild forest too even if you feel like the Grand Duchess is bad.”

Fortunately, the Baron focused only on me.

“I didn’t mean it with such impure intentions. I just wanted to see the surrounding scenery for a while…..”

“Of course, I understand the Baron’s hard work. I’m sure you want to please me with all of your passion and might.”

The Baron’s eyes wrinkled, perhaps there was something he didn’t like.

“I’m not the kind of person who makes fun of the Grand Duchess.”

I laughed wildly.

“Oh, of course, I know. Do you keep grunting because you’re upset? I don’t know what it is, but I hope you don’t keep it in your mind for long. I’m tender-hearted, as the Baron already knows.”

I approached the Baron and patted him on the shoulder.

There wasn’t much difference in height, so I didn’t even have to lift my heels.

“So let’s solve the misunderstanding. Huh?”

Well, I’ll be throwing these gloves away.

“Really….how thoughtful of you….”

The Baron said while clenching his teeth.

I was a little thoughtful.

Anyway, right now, you were protected from the knights, right?

I don’t think he’ll be able to keep his place as a Baron.

When it comes to these guys, there’s usually a lot of corruption.

***

When I returned to the Baron’s VIP room, Aedis greeted me in a comfortable manner as if he had never gone out.

“There is a beast in the forest.”

“Thank you for telling me what you found out right away. I had a good trip.”

There was a smile in Aedis’s eyes.

He didn’t know what I had talked about in the woods with the Baron.

Maybe he’s been busy with something else, or he deliberately didn’t want to listen.

Probably the latter.

Aedis tried his best to pretend he didn’t know when Sarah and I were talking in the room next door.

“It’s not in good condition. Even if it doesn’t move, it won’t be able to last a few days and will die.”

A few days.

I shook my head.

“I’ll take care of it tonight.”

“Can I ask why you are in a hurry?”

“The people of the territory are trembling with fear. Some people have gone missing.”

I stretched out my eyes hoping to look as nice as I could.

Aedis stared at me.

“What’s on my face?”

“Since you say you’re going out in pure good faith, I wonder if my wife is really alright.”

“….Look in my eyes. Aren’t they tightly packed with goodness?”

“No?”

Aedis smiled refreshingly and denied.

I’m glad he didn’t dig deeper though…

***

The sky fell into darkness. It was good for the sun to set quickly today.

Whether my hair was messy or not, Aedis pressed down a furry hat and asked a question.

“The blood from the contract. How much do you have left?”

“Well, I only used it twice, so there’s quite a bit left?”

I wore fur gloves and fur boots as well.

Looking in the mirror, I looked like the strong head of a family that had generations and generations of hunters.

All I needed was a bow and quiver and it would’ve been perfect.

I don’t care about fashion in the face of a cold night!

Though it’s a bit too tight to move around in…

Aedis asked while I was seriously considering whether or not to take off my fur vest.

“Is it possible to shake off all the blood from your body?”

“He said he gave me only enough to be accepted.”

I can’t decide. Aedis is also going with me, so I just want to wear it.

If something unexpected happens, I can throw it off later.

I enjoyed the warmth satisfactorily, my body had become about 1.5 times bigger.

As my expression softened, Aedis also drew a smile on his lips for a moment.

“Eve, you look like a polar bear cub.”

Not just a polar bear, but a polar bear cub….

Is this a compliment?

Is it a compliment in the sense that I’m overflowing with combat power?

As I started feeling nervous, I leaned back and forth.

Aedis’s slightly reddened face coughed in a vain effort to return to the topic.

“…Anyway, the ability of an ordinary person wouldn’t be that big. Isn’t that beast misjudged?”

First, I listened to Aedis’s doubts and tried to clarify them.

“You said you checked it?”

Aedis frowned.

“Well, Eve, you know that even an eight-year-old would think it was suspicious, right?”

“It wouldn’t have been a lie.”

“Why are you sure?”

“I’m not used to making up words.”

“….”

Aedis opened his mouth and then shut it up.

It was a face convinced that I was possessed by an insane beast.

Um.

I recalled the feelings I had at the time.

It was the first time I ever met a beast so I was very alert.

Beasts were the last remaining threats in this peaceful era.

However, even though they had a special ability, their range of action was narrow, so it was rare for them to leave their habitat.

Their population was steadily decreasing.

There were three major places on the continent that the beasts used as their habitat.

The northernmost tip beyond the Crystal Gate, the quarry I bought, and Tolka.

And…perhaps the Red Desert.

In the very desert where Gilbert and Regen were discovered eight years ago was another desert, which was called the Red Desert.

The strange space was unknown as it was only talked about in a legend that beasts lived there.

However, the beast that I signed with was wandering out of the habitat.

When asked where he came from, he didn’t tell me. He just laughed, curling up the top of his lips.

There was no other word suitable for expressing the beast except for elegant, as well as evil.

I am sure that even if other people saw it, they would have thought of it as they did me.

“I know what I’m saying sounds weird. But I don’t know how to express it, I was convinced that he wouldn’t cheat me for anything unreasonable. In fact, I would have thought differently if he hadn’t identified himself as a beast-”

“Wife was manipulated.”

Aedis concluded without leaving any room for negotiation.

“Beasts that dazzle people are rare, but they do exist. Did he have a unique scent? Or did he keep repeating certain words or actions over and over again?”

I fumbled my hands in the fur gloves, stuttering about my memories.

“Well…ah, he kept calling me a lovely girl.”

“…..”

“Because I first met him when I was 13 years old.”

“…..”

“I thought I was so cute back then….”

“Let’s take care of the beast stuck in the forest.”

At best, I smiled pretty well, but Aedis cut my words with a single stroke.

I carried a light.

I had to have gained a lot of weight by wearing these clothes that just barely allowed me to move, but Aedis picked me up casually.

When I looked closely, his ears seemed to be slightly red.

I took my luck hoping it wasn’t because he was angry.

“I have a portrait from my childhood. Would you like me to show it to you when we get back?”

“….”

“Don’t want to?”

Aedis remained silent for a few seconds, then asked.

“….Are there other portraits too?”

“Of course. There are more at the main family house. Ones from when I was short-haired, when I went to the beach, and when I started horseback riding for the first time…..”

Even when Aedis pretended not to hear it, I could tell he was listening.

I’m glad he doesn’t seem very angry.