Partially corrected MTL Novel
C25
Seeing Sauveur's clever appearance, Zachary smiled. The atmosphere, which had been tense due to Robert's statements, eased up a bit. Zachary shook his head and said.
"You're so motivated that I can't hold you back anymore. Since Gaspard has taken charge of Bianca's escort, you two will have to share the tasks that Gaspard was originally in charge of. The ones Gaspard was handling..."
"Logistics reorganization and horse management."
"Yes. Sauveur will take care of the horses, and Robert will handle the logistics reorganization."
"Understood!"
Robert and Sauveur closed their eyes tightly and responded loudly. They wanted to rest a bit this winter, but it seems that won't be possible. The two commanders sighed heavily. Still, isn't it a better position than Gaspard's? Thinking that way was the only way to calm their troubled minds.
"Then you may leave. I will instruct Gaspard separately regarding the handover of duties."
Upon Zachary's dismissal, Robert and Sauveur left Zachary's office. Suddenly having a lot of work, their minds felt confused. Their feet felt heavy. In particular, Robert was worried about what Zachary had said due to a slip of the tongue.
Sauveur clicked his tongue.
It was deserved. No matter how strained the relationship between Zachary and Bianca is, what husband likes to see his wife being treated like that in front of him? This time, Robert was careless. He always pretends to be good, but does this. Sauveur looked at Robert with rolled eyes.
"Why did you do that?"
"Are you stoking the fire?"
Robert was furious at Sauveur's teasing, which stabbed his sore spot. As their voices echoed in the hallway, Sauveur and Robert looked towards the closed door of Zachary's office, shrugging their shoulders in surprise.
They tried to listen, but no sound could be heard from the office. Only then did Robert and Sauveur quickly move away from Zachary's office.
After a certain distance, Sauveur spoke up.
"I thought my liver would fall out."
"Yes. It's all my fault. It's my fault for saying something stupid. It was my fault for yelling."
"It's good that you know."
"......"
In the face of Sauveur's witty response, Robert nervously kicked the ground. If his nerves are scratched further, he will explode. Sauveur looked Robert in the eyes as he moved forward and said mischievously.
"I understand that you don't like the lady, but don't be too obvious. Especially in front of the count."
"That's strange. He likes to see art and furniture, do you think he will enjoy going to the capital? Do you think it will make her feel better if she buys all the things she wants to buy? Why should the Count worry about the lady's mood? Honestly, the lady should be worried about the Count!"
Robert was too agitated. His well-groomed face turned bright red, and his dark hair was disheveled and covered the corners of his eyes.
Sauveur clicked his tongue slightly at Robert's appearance. Those who usually knew Robert and Sauveur would blink, thinking that they had switched bodies.
Robert, the third son of a baron family, with a polished face and proper manners, was completely different from Sauveur, a man free from formalities and etiquette.
As Robert was the third son of a baron family, he had a certain education. There was no comparison to common people, and for that reason, he was the most sensible person among Zachary's three commanders. However, he wasn't as flexible. When his emotions intensified, he would also have a bit of a bad temper.
On the other hand, Sauveur was supposed to have a bad temper and be light-hearted in words and actions, but he had a strangely low boiling point. He didn't have the sense to read between the lines, but his instinctive sense was excellent. He recognized the moment when he had to strike and fall like a ghost, and he showed a calm appearance in crucial moments.
Of course, Sauveur wasn't pleased with Bianca's behavior either. But he had no intention of arguing like Robert, with bulging veins around his neck. Because that was beside the point.
Robert sometimes overreacted because his loyalty to Zachary was too great. It might have been because they shared the sadness of being expelled from their families for not being the eldest son. But Robert needed to know the reality.
They were just vassals, not Zachary's brothers. Sauveur said, patting Robert on the shoulder.
"It's really strange that you, who are smarter than me, haven't realized it. Don't you really know?"
"What do you mean?"
Robert responded gruffly. It was obvious that he didn't want to think deeply. If it was about Bianca, it was a sign of his disgust towards her. Sauveur added slowly with a sigh.
"It's time to have a successor."
"What?"
"The Count keeps fighting in the war, but there is no heir in the Arno family. The concern is understandable. Furthermore, the lady is now sixteen years old. Until now, she had postponed the first night every day with the excuse that she was young, but since she's 16 years old now, she's old enough."
"......"
His head throbbed as if it had been hit with a hammer.
Robert shook his head in disbelief, then repeatedly looked at Sauveur and Zachary's office across the hallway he had walked through. Sauveur's words didn't objectively sound strange, but to Robert, they seemed like a series of words he couldn't easily comprehend.
Robert, who had pondered Sauveur's words multiple times, asked stuttering.
"S-So, right now, the Count is siding with her, taking her to the capital city, and saying she can buy furniture or anything, so that he can see his successor."
"Correct. After all, she is the hostess of the Arno family. She has to have her successor. If you let someone else give birth, it will just be an illegitimate child."
"......"
Sauveur responded bluntly. Sauveur's words were a theory, but unimaginable for this Arno castle. Does he say that the lady is going to have a child with the Count? "That" lady?
Robert only clenched his mouth but couldn't easily say anything.
"Well... I don't think he will take the lady to the capital to please her... Maybe, if he sows one or two seeds, could he have a child? And maybe, would the lady change if she has a successor? Perhaps she would be interested in the territory. Because, after all, it is the land she will pass on to her own child."
Sauveur shrugged, speaking of his superior in a rather light tone. Normally, Robert would have shouted that he had crossed the line, but now he didn't have the head for it.
"Anyway, be careful. Don't lose your temper. Although the two of you haven't had a close relationship so far, from now on, you will have to live together, and hearing such words about your wife is not a good thing. In a way, she will be the mother of our next lord."
"Ah..."
Robert sighed as if he truly hated it. But there was nothing wrong with Sauveur's words. Zachary was already twenty-nine years old. He was old enough to have a successor.
The Arno family has not yet firmly established their power, and they are aristocrats who have been brought to power by the war. Without the land being properly secured, there is no way they can withdraw from the war. In other words, it means they have to continue wandering the battlefield. At least until the prince ascends to the throne steadily while pressing for the next king.
As he continues to wander through dangerous battlefields, it is a better decision for the future of the Arno family to confirm succession as soon as possible, and it is also a matter of comfort for the vassals.
Robert, who had never even dreamed that Zachary had thought about it, was overwhelmed by emotion. It is his wife's duty to have children, and she has gone so far to fulfill that duty...
Robert and Sauveur said it conscientiously, confirming Zachary's intentions, but Zachary actually rejected Bianca's offer to have a successor, calling it "absurd."
Furthermore, Bianca, the party involved, had a great deal of distrust in Zachary's actions, which they called "favors," but they were unaware of that fact.
Tags:
TWB (Novel)