Half-Sister 3
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Chapter 3: Determination
The next day, I was still eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner alone.
Then, night came once again.
After that night, I asked the servants for some tips. But, knowing was different from doing it. I was worried whether I could really put it into practice.
In contrast to the restless me, Sir Hart looked weary.
Apparently, the servants were complaining about the incident last night.
That was totally new to me, since the servants in my family’s mansion had never once talked behind my father’s back nor in front of him!
“Who are you, really? You just came here yesterday, so why do they care so much about you? Were you born under a star or something?”
“Is that so…?”
Thinking back, my family’s servants and my father had treated me very well. There might be such a possibility. It was said that a merchant named Tersade, who once built a fortune comparable to a noble, was also lucky enough to call himself, ‘The fortune who was born under the star’.
While I was deep in my thoughts, Sir Hart sighed.
“It was a joke.”
From what aspect was that a joke?
“Those guys think I am awful, so they feel bad for you, who just happened to be my wife. Don’t misunderstand that, they truly like you.”
“Yes I know. I am really grateful for that.”
It had always been like that. The servants in my family mansion only took care of me because they pitied me. I also gained favor from the Crown Prince mostly because I was the daughter of a mistress.
If I thought about it again from my sister’s standpoint, it must have been unpleasant. For a mere half-sister like me to earn sympathy from her surroundings and act like she was truly loved.
Calling me an eyesore was not wrong.
I thought that was a natural answer, but for some reason Sir Hart was frozen in place.
“Don’t you have any dignity at all…?”
“I think I have it just like everyone else.”
“How about anger? Have you ever been angry?”
Had I?
The people surrounding me had always been above me, so it wasn’t my place to get angry.
Therefore, I couldn’t think of a memory where I was once angry.
Sir Hart let out a sigh again when he saw me silently racking my brain to remember.
“That’s your weakness, that’s why you’ve been tossed around like this. If not for that, our relationship would have ended already.”
“Our relationship… Sir Hart would end it?”
“You would, not me. And I told you already to stop calling me Sir Hart!”
I didn’t get it.
If not for my weakness, would I end my relationship with Sir Hart?
Why?
“You really don’t know? If I were a normal lady, I would give up and leave because of last night’s incident. I definitely can’t marry a man like myself. And If he insulted me, I will surely pay it back.”
“I see… So you meant that..? But I’m an offender, so I can’t complain about my treatment at all.”
My weakness was my sin, and it would be infuriating if a sinless, innocent lady got mistreated. When I felt pleased that I finally understood him, Sir Hart muttered in a solemn voice. “Not that…”
“You misunderstood that you think you are the lowest person in the world.”
“Well, not to that extent, but I am still an offender. So it is true that I’m in a lower position.”
“Still, that doesn’t mean you need to accept groundless accusations.”
Sir Hart sat back on his chair, looking at me with his sharp gaze, resembling that of a hawk.
“If you want to call yourself my wife, I want you to be dignified. I may not be part of high society anymore, but you will soon.”
Those shocking words came out from his mouth.
It was totally different from what he had said. I remember him saying I was free to do anything as long as I visited him at night. Thinking about that, my eyes got teary.
Sir Hart was subtly surprised. “You hate it that much?”
“Since the night visit isn’t going well, it’s normal to receive help from others. I am also fed up with being called a shut-in or inhumane by those people.”
“They are meaningless! Unlike when Sir Hart goes out, I...!”
“Why do you have to become so emotional? You hate high society that much?”
I didn’t particularly hate high society. I mean, I could just simply put on a smile and smoothly follow along the conversation of others. It was always like that up until now, so I never had any problems.
What I hated was to stay away from so many precious books.
Time was limited. I didn’t know how long it would take for me to read through all those books.
And nobody knew when they were going to die.
I was delighted to be able to live in a paradise like this, but it was still cruel to say, ‘It’s a no after all’, and rip away my paradise.
When I fervently complained about it, Sir Hart nodded as if he understood me.
“I see. So that’s your motivation. For me, it’s math, and for you, it’s history. I understand your feelings.”
I looked up to him with a hopeful face, and he gave me a thin smile.
“But first things first. You will give birth to my child. In return, I’ll give you freedom. But since you don’t know anything about making a child, I can’t let you be free…”
“Oh for God’s saaaaakee!!”
The door broke down with a ridiculous noise.
Marietta, along with other servants, rushed into the room and stepped forward while exclaiming simultaneously, “Listen, my Lord! The most essential thing to have a child is the efforts of the husband. My lady will already be struggling enough to bear a child, and my Lord also needs to take responsibility for it!”
“My Lord has burdened the night duties on my Lady’s shoulders, and now you’re about to dump the child birthing on my Lady again! My Lord, it’s too naive to believe that only the wife has to worry about a child!”
“And also, to send out someone to a high society because of that mere shortcoming is unbelievable!”
“If my Lady is required to socialize with high society due to that, my Lord is also required to tag along!”
“There’s a good opportunity coming up! A ball will soon be hosted in the castle in a month from now, both my Lord and my Lady need to attend!”
“And the two of you! You better be cooperating! If both sides work hard, then getting a child won’t be a problem anymore.”
“That’s all!”
Without sparing any time, the servants disappeared right after they fixed the broken door.
“… Sir Hart will also attend?”
When I called out to Sir Hart who was still in daze, he finally turned to me, grumbling while getting up from his chair.
“What a dumb question! That will never happen! I will definitely stay here…”
“M-y L-o-r-d-!”
The second round was starting.
“We understand that my Lord likes math to the point of shutting himself inside his room to do research! We have been taking care of my Lord long enough to know!”
“But we are not going to be silent if my Lord sends out my Lady to the battlefield alone, while my Lord locks himself here!”
“Above all, if my Lord continues to live such an unhealthy lifestyle like this, I cannot face the previous Lord anymore!”
“No matter what my Lord says, we’ll do it! We will dress up both my Lord, and my Lady to not be an embarrassment and send you both to the castle!”
“But from there on, both my Lady and my Lord need to deal with it with your own power, or you guys won’t grow!”
“My Lord wants to fire us? That’s fine, we are prepared for it!”
“However, we have been taking care of the fussy Lord since a long time ago. If my Lord dismissed all of us who already know your exact preferences, no matter how long my Lord looks, nobody can replace us!”
“They don’t know my Lord’s favorite dishes, disliked dishes, which rooms and documents needed to be left untouched, and how to manage the territory!”
“If my Lord doesn’t mind all of those, go ahead and fire us!”
“But then, the one who’ll be in trouble is my Lord himself!”
Sir Hart’s gray eyes were wide open, he trembled in fury and groaned,
“You guys…!”
To see servants talking back to their Lord and making demands like this… it looked similar to what happened to the house of Octavius. The servants who continued to work without any break were angry about the low pay. They locked out the head of the family, occupied the mansion, and demanded a pay for their labor or else they would continue to rebel.
While I vaguely recollected the full story of the incident, Sir Hart who stood beside me raised his fist and yelled, “Don’t think you’ll get away easily when all of this ends!”
“Even if you guys are capable of taking care of me, I can still look for as many workers as I…!”
“Really? If there are that many capable people around, then we will resign without looking for our replacements!”
“I…”
“Just be honest, my Lord.”
The servants who were so fierce before let out a lonely smile one by one.
“We really don’t want to leave… but we are really concerned about my Lord. We don’t think my Lord should stay like this.”
“Isn’t my Lady the wife my Lord has been looking for? Rather than treating her coldly, getting along with her will be more beneficial in the future.”
“Uhh…”
Sir Hart held his temples and stared at the servants with his remaining authority, but they all had a determined, firm face.
“I get it… I will do it. I’ll do what you guys want.”
“My Lord!”
“You too. Don’t try to complain. Because I, your husband, am putting up with it, you also have to withstand it too!”
As it couldn’t be helped, I had no choice but to agree. Sir Hart, who was still bitter, glared at me.
It was really unfortunate that my time to read books was getting shorter, but I couldn’t refuse it either.
“I understand.”
Then, the next day, the intensive training began.
Arigato.
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