Civil Servant in Romance Fantasy - Chapter 385

Chapter 385: Krasius (3)

0% I hugged Mother and apologized for my late visit as soon as I saw her. Compared to Father, who went to war with me, and my lovers, whom I’d quickly confessed to, all I’d done for Mother was a short conversation through the communication crystal. Although it was unavoidable due to work, I felt like a terrible son.

But when Mother stroked my shoulder, even that guilt and sense of filial piety flinched. If health insurance existed in this world, my shoulder alone would’ve qualified for a fortune—it had endured more than enough punishment. Recently, it even suffered an industrial accident death beyond overwork.

So I was briefly startled by Mother’s touch, but I quickly relaxed. I hadn’t told Mother about the injury, so I thought I was being too sensitive—

“It’s okay. Proper treatment is more important than forcing yourself to come with an injured body.”

—or not. My instincts hadn’t been exaggerating.

I unconsciously swallowed. Mother spoke gently, but it sent chills down my spine.

I didn’t say a word about it. How did she know?

It was confusing. Someone who absolutely shouldn’t know the truth knew everything.

As I quickly racked my brain, my thoughts suddenly extended to Father. I hadn’t asked Father the reason he got kicked out for the sake of his honor and dignity, but given the situation, I could naturally guess.

He got caught.

The unpleasant incident where I fought directly on the front lines, got my right arm cut off, and my left arm immobilized—we had agreed to keep that a secret for a while. We’d wanted to celebrate our safe return first, planning to reveal the truth once things had settled down a bit.



However, it seemed that Father was caught red-handed almost immediately and was banished by Mother in her anger. It was all crystal clear now.

I’m saved.

A feeling of relief quickly followed my pity for Father. Fortunately, I had already confessed everything to my lovers. They wouldn’t find out about my injury through Mother, but rather from my own mouth. I wouldn’t have to worry about being grilled like Father had.

If there was a problem, then it would be the fact that Mother learned the truth through someone else instead of me, but I had the justification that I wanted to tell her face to face, just like I did at the Academy. It was convincing since I actually told the truth to my lovers when I met them in person.

“Thank you for understanding. I’m perfectly healthy now, thanks to your consideration.”

So, I responded as naturally as possible, implying I’d always intended to share this information openly.

“Oh, I hardly did anything...”

It seemed to have worked, as Mother muttered in a slightly watery voice.

Seeing that made me feel uneasy. If she were in this state even now after time had passed, then how much must her heart have hurt when she first found out about the injury? Despite that, she waited patiently without contacting me.

“Maybe it’s because I was so eager to see you again, but I recovered faster than expected. It’s all thanks to you, Mother.”

Actually, I was completely healed from the moment I received treatment from the mage, but anyway, it was all thanks to Mother. I decided to think that way from today.

I made this resolution while pretending not to notice the fond gaze of the head maid.

“Dear. I know you’re glad to see Carl after a long time, but the other children have come too. Shouldn’t we go inside now?”

Just then, Father’s voice came from behind me. Hearing this, Mother fell silent—just for a short moment.

Was it just my imagination, or could I vividly picture the scene behind me? Father, sweating nervously while Mother silently glared at him. It was as if eyes had grown on the back of my head without my knowledge. Or maybe I’d awakened my Observation Haki?

“You’re right. How rude of me to neglect our guests.”

Breaking the silence that felt like an eternity, Mother gently stepped away from me.

“Billy. The master of the house should be welcoming the guests, not standing with them.”

“My mistake. I wasn’t thinking clearly. Forgive me.”

Though her words sounded like a scolding, Father moved to Mother’s side with light steps since it was practically a declaration that his banishment order had ended.

Father...

Now, it felt like I might cry. Outside the house, he was an imperial count trusted by the Emperor and a strong warrior, but inside, he was endlessly weak to his wife. Wasn’t this image too extreme?

And if this was how it went for Father with just one wife, what would become of me, with six...?

Should I buy a secret villa or something?

Unfortunately for me, all of my lovers lived in different places, so escaping them wasn’t going to be easy.

***The atmosphere in the mansion was lighter and more lively compared to when I visited right before going to war.

It made sense. Back then, everyone had been anxious about sending off the family head, his heir, and countless soldiers to war. But now, the place was overflowing with celebration with victory secured and surprisingly few casualties.

“Congratulations on becoming a titled noble. I should call you ‘my lord’ now instead of ‘young master.’”

“Just call me young master. I’m still a Krausius, after all.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the butler’s belated congratulations.

A noble who already had a title receiving another title at the same time was a completely different matter from a mere son receiving a title. The latter was practically a glory for the family, but it was buried under the war this time and wasn’t even mentioned, let alone celebrated. Thanks to that, I was receiving their congratulations several months after receiving the title.

Perhaps it was because of this that even my new title felt unfamiliar. Even when writing my full name, I often end up writing Carl Krasius instead of Carl Krasius of Wiridia.

“That’s a relief. I was worried you might say you’re moving to a branch family now that you’ve received a title.”

“What nonsense. Why would the family heir ever go to a branch line?”

“Haha, that’s true. I had a silly thought.”

He let out a small sigh of relief as he said this, showing that he had genuinely been worried.

But what exactly was he worried about? Even if the heir changed, it wouldn’t really affect him directly. He served Father, the head of the Krasius family—not me.

Noticing my confused gaze, the head butler continued with a bitter smile.

“Though you mostly stay in the capital these days, you still handle a considerable amount of our territory’s paperwork. If you stepped away, all of that work would inevitably fall on me.”

It was such a terrifying and understandable point that I found myself nodding automatically.

Of course, Erich would eventually take over if I left. But until he finished his training as heir and started carrying his weight, the head butler would be forced to endure an exhausting one-man show. That really sounded awful.

“...I’ll take the Tailglehen Count title too, so don’t worry.”

“That’s reassuring. Thank you.”

“And if the day ever comes that I leave this family, perhaps you’d like to come serve as my butler at Wiridia—“

The head butler’s expression suddenly turned serious.

My bad. It was a joke, but even I could see I’d crossed a line.

***While Carl stepped back to talk with the head butler, we walked down the corridor with Father-in-law and Mother-in-law.

“The last war lasted two years, so I was worried this one might be the same. But I held back from talking about it since I was afraid it might unsettle those leaving on a long journey.”

“I understand completely, Mother-in-law. I felt exactly the same way.”

I nodded, acknowledging her belated honesty.

I do understand. I had similar thoughts when Carl left for the North. I was scared the war might drag on for years again and that I might not see Carl even after my graduation.

“Yes, Mar. Being born into a warrior family, you’d understand my feelings.”

She spoke warmly to me, then slowly turned her gaze toward Father-in-law.

As she did, a subtle chill crept into her warm gaze.

“Warriors don’t understand the hearts of those left behind. I can’t blame them for risking their lives on the battlefield, but sometimes it’s difficult not to resent them.”

The gentle accusation was more deadly than outright anger, and Father-in-law quietly lowered his gaze.

It was an awkward moment. I should have smoothed things over as their daughter-in-law, but Mother-in-law’s words echoed with me deeply. Coming from the Valentis, I knew firsthand how emotionally distant warriors could be, so I didn’t know how to respond.

“I-I’m sorry, Mother.”

Penelia unnie broke the uncomfortable cold war. Seeing her apologize, Mother-in-law quickly changed her expression and gently comforted her.

“No, dear. I know you tried to protect him. How could it be your fault?”

“But it is. I couldn’t protect him properly, and he got injured...”

As Penelia continued her bitter self-blame, Mother-in-law gently embraced her. Though it wasn’t the time for such thoughts, I felt a bit jealous seeing Mother comfort her like a daughter.

“Don’t ever think like that. No one has the right to criticize someone who gave their absolute best—not even yourself.”

With that, Mother-in-law let out a quiet sigh.

“Haa... My husband and son are experts at keeping secrets. Thankfully, at least my daughter-in-law is honest.”

Everyone, including me, wore bitter smiles at her words. It was painfully relatable... ‘tight-lipped’ was definitely the right term.

But now, I needed to defend Carl and Father-in-law. Carl had his reasons for not saying anything sooner; he wanted to talk face-to-face, not just notify us through the communication crystal.

“Carl said he kept it secret because he wanted to say it in person. He intended to tell us first, so please understand, Mother.”

“Tell you first?”

Mother-in-law tilted her head, her gaze returning to Father-in-law.

“Billy, what is she talking about? That sounds very different from what you told me.”

?

“You specifically said you didn’t want to worry us by mentioning something already resolved. You were going to let time pass and reveal it naturally later, weren’t you?”

???

My mind went blank for a moment. What’s going on here?

Carl surely told us he intended to tell the truth as soon as he saw us, and he actually did tell us everything...

“...So baby also had other plans, hmm?”

Beatrix unnie muttered in a low voice while Mother-in-law questioned Father-in-law.

“He was probably going to hide it from us permanently, then realized he’d get caught anyway and quickly changed his mind.”

“Ah...”

Without realizing it, my eyes drifted toward Carl, who was walking behind us alongside the head butler.

Though he’d ultimately told us everything, realizing he’d even considered hiding something so important filled me with a sense of betrayal.



***Wow.

What a mess.

That was the first thought that crossed my mind. Father was being thoroughly interrogated by Mother, and hyung was getting grilled by my future sisters-in-law.

It was quite the sight. It was actually amazing how both situations could unfold simultaneously in the same space.

“Maybe all the Krasius men are cursed or something...?”

I muttered without thinking, then felt someone’s gaze fixed on me.

It was Sarah.

“What’s wrong?”

“...No, it’s just... if it is a curse, it seems like a strong one.”

“Right?”

Even someone from outside the family could see it clearly.

Honestly, it was very tragic.