TVRC 07

Chapter 07

The Feronto Territory, located in the eastern part of the Tier Empire, was not vast, but it was a place blessed with remarkable natural beauty. Behind the manor rose a densely forested mountain, and directly in front of it, a wide river flowed briskly, filling the air with a cheerful sound. Because the land stood at a higher elevation, the sky there was especially clear and pristine. Gazing at the scenery outside the window, Lily opened her mouth in admiration.

“Wow, it’s really so beautiful! I never imagined the Duke owned such a lovely territory. Why haven’t you used this place until now? It would be perfect as a vacation villa!”

“It’s an estate my mother brought with her when she married. I hear my grandfather gave it to her as a wedding gift.”

“Oh, I see…”

At the sudden mention of his birth mother, Lily nodded quietly. Rayana, Leblanc’s biological mother, had died in an accident less than a year after giving birth to him. Saying that the position of lady of the house could not remain vacant, Gatte promptly took a second wife.

Leblanc had no memories of his mother, yet he missed her deeply. In part, it was a way of comforting himself—telling himself that if she had lived, his life would not have been this difficult.

The river seems a bit dried up.

As Leblanc continued to look out the window, a question crossed his mind. At a glance, the upper part of the river appeared to have run dry. However, before she could dwell on it any further, Lily suddenly cried out in an excited voice.

“Oh! It looks like the Baron has arrived first!”

Following where Lily pointed, Leblanc saw a single luggage wagon that had arrived earlier, its cargo being unloaded. Just at the sight of it, Leblanc’s heart began to pound so fiercely it felt beyond her control.

“They don’t seem to have that much luggage either… Miss, are you feeling unwell? Your face is terribly red.”

“Huh? No, it’s just a bit hot…”

Leblanc smiled awkwardly and fanned herself with her hand. She would soon be meeting Erkis. No one could possibly know how long she had waited for this moment. Suddenly, Leblanc recalled the last image she had of him.

‘Leblanc, I was truly happy to have met you… I love you.’

Even as his entire body was being stained black, he had always remained calm before her. Even as he vomited blood day and night, he worried more about her meals than his own health. And until the very moment he left this world, he was endlessly concerned about the fact that she would be left alone. That was Erkis Trisvan.

Without realizing it, a single tear slid down the corner of her eye. Startled, Leblanc quickly wiped it away with a handkerchief, afraid Lily might notice.

Soon the carriage came to a stop, and its door opened. Leblanc forced herself to ignore her thundering heart and tried to maintain a calm expression, but even that did not go as she wished. Only belatedly realizing that her ears had turned burning red, she lowered her head deeply and licked her dry lips.

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice rang beside her ear.

“It is an honor to meet you. From today onward, I will be living together with you, Countess. I am Erkis Trisvan of the Trisvan family.”

“I’m pleased to meet—”

When Leblanc finally lifted her head, a look of confusion spread across her face. She had at last come face to face with the man she had longed for, yet she was so shocked that she could not utter another word. The dependable partner she remembered, Erkis, now stood before her in the body of a small boy—at least a head shorter than she was. His youthful voice, not yet broken, sounded strangely embarrassing to her ears.

“Countess?”

“Oh—yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Leblanc Arnetio…”

Realizing her response had been delayed, Leblanc hurriedly added her introduction. Of course, she had vaguely expected that his appearance would be different after ten years had passed, but she had never imagined he would look this young.

That little boy is Erkis…?

While Leblanc blinked blankly, Erkis bowed politely and returned inside the manor. Lily, who approached her a moment later, forced a bright smile and spoke in her defense.

“S-so that’s Baron Erkis! Miss, the two of you look so good together! I didn’t know he’d be younger than you, but he’s incredibly handsome!”

Lily was clearly trying her best to understand Leblanc, yet somehow her efforts only made Leblanc feel even more awkward. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but it felt as though words like shameless or pervert had been silently omitted from Lily’s praise. In the end, instead of replying, Leblanc merely cleared her throat awkwardly and headed into the manor.

At dinnertime, a heavy silence settled between Leblanc and Erkis as they sat across from each other at the long table. Leblanc was so tense she could barely tell whether she was putting food into her mouth or her nose.

“……”

She had imagined their reunion countless times. Yet in none of those imaginings had the atmosphere been this awkward.

She lifted her gaze slightly and stole a glance at the face across from her. Jet-black hair, crimson eyes that seemed to hold the sun within them, a high nose bridge and stern-looking eyes—no matter how young he looked, he was unmistakably Erkis.

So this is what he looked like when he was young. Looking closely, he’s actually really cute.

Once she reminded herself that the child before her truly was Erkis, her heart felt a bit more at ease. Watching her young husband chew on his bread, Leblanc smiled faintly. When Erkis had married her, he had been a man nearly 190 centimeters tall, with a solid, muscular build.

But the boy in front of her now was a head shorter than she was, with limbs just as slender as hers. It was hard to believe that such a small body could wield a sword. And cheeks that looked soft enough to be kneaded like dough—if not for the beauty mark beneath his eye, she might not have believed he was Erkis at all.

Come to think of it, Erkis was three years younger than me, wasn’t he?

She clearly remembered feeling a sense of resistance when she first heard his age before the wedding. Her detestable half-brother, Regasian, was also three years younger than her.

They’re both sixteen, but the feeling is so different… Erkis seems especially small.

Tilting her head, Leblanc glanced at him again. Normally, a sixteen-year-old boy would have gone through most of his growth, like Regasian.

Yet Erkis, sitting before her, looked far younger than his peers, as if his growth were slow. His voice was clear and gentle, his body slender to the extreme. It was simply astonishing that this small boy would become her reliable husband.

Perhaps sensing her gaze, Erkis, who had been eating quietly, finally spoke.

“I know that the Countess is far too good for me.”

“Yes?”

Caught off guard, Leblanc froze in place. Erkis continued speaking, his eyes still fixed on his plate.

“I will devote my loyalty to you and uphold my honor. I will fulfill my duty as your spouse and spend my life by your side.”

At first glance, his words sounded like a vow binding the two of them together. But Leblanc, who had known him more closely than anyone, understood the meaning beneath them. Right now, Erkis was drawing a line—telling her not to come any closer.

“Loyalty and honor… Is that truly the best you can offer?”

“No matter how much of a noble in name only I may be, I do not lack the pride to refuse sharing marital affection with someone from the family that brought my country to ruin.”

“Ah… that’s…”

Leblanc bit down on her lip. In her excitement at meeting Erkis again, she had forgotten something important. Sullivan, Leblanc’s great-grandfather and the former Duke of Arnetio, had been a great general renowned throughout the Empire.

Revered as a noble general, the sword of the Empire, and the pride of his family, he had also been a cruel man who mercilessly invaded and destroyed neighboring weaker nations.

And among the lands that had surrendered directly to him was the Kingdom of Riepe, where Erkis’s roots lay. The Kingdom of Riepe had possessed considerable military strength and had resisted the Empire for a long time.

The war dragged on for years, but it ended when Sullivan finally seized the capital. With surrender assured, the Empire showed them mercy, granting them the title of baron and accepting them as imperial citizens.

However, the members of the Trisvan family, the former royal house of Riepe, could only accept the title to survive, even as they regarded it as a humiliation. One thing was certain: had it not been for Sullivan’s ambition to claim even greater merit, the Kingdom of Riepe might never have fallen.

Leblanc had forgotten this truth for a long time. She had certainly read about it several times in history books as a child, but no one had spoken of it around her for many years. Even Erkis in the past had never once brought up the story of his ancestors in front of her.

“I truly am sorry about that…”

“I didn’t bring it up to receive an apology. I don’t resent you, Countess, for the deeds of your ancestors. However, I cannot love you. And although I believe you do not desire that either, I trust you will understand.”

It felt as though her entire body was draining of color. Her mind went completely blank, and Leblanc could only slowly lower her eyes. To hear Erkis say he would not love her was unbearably painful. And yet, her answer had already been decided.

“Yes. Of course. I understand.”

Beneath the table, her hidden hand clutched desperately at the hem of her dress. She had long since grown used to concealing the agony of a heart slowly burning away.