Chapter 28: Live Quietly

——After that, Theobald began to speak slowly.

Maybe it was because he had never told this to anyone up until now. Carefully, he chose his words, even stumbling at times, though they came out like a complaint.

“At first, I thought…”

However, his expression was calm as he went on.

“What are we supposed to do now?”

Recalling the past, he seemed to be able to separate his pain in the past with the present.

“Father and Mother left us. How could we even survive?”

No one knew if he was asking Urien that or if he just recounted the question he asked to himself back then.

The previous duke was slain in the battlefield, while the duchess was murdered. In both cases, the enemy’s country, Belmania, had a hand in it. The surviving brothers were far too young, so it wasn’t a wonder that Theobald thought, “There’s no way we could.”

“We can’t win against them, it’s impossible. Our duchy will soon be invaded and destroyed. There’s no way we could protect our people and territory on our own… That was what I thought. But now, His Excellency is about to achieve his goal.”

A second peace treaty had been signed with Belmania. This time, the war would end for good.

According to Rodrick, the extremists had been wiped out, that was why this was possible.

Lately, Rodrick had been talking with Urien about various things, including this.

“‘Live quietly’ meant to not get involved with the issues that the house was involved in, or with the war going on near the borders.”

Of course, Rodrick never said anything to Urien about the meaning of ‘live quietly,’ nor did he ever ponder its significance too deeply.

‘I see.’

He thought that it was a way to reprimand ‘Devilish Urien’ for his behavior, but it turned out it wasn’t the case. In truth, he was just trying to tell Urien to not involve himself with the issues of the household after becoming the consort.

Now that Urien thought of it, Rodrick never addressed the rumors surrounding him at all. The term in the contract that said ‘avoid any acts that will give birth to uncouth rumors, especially ones that are related to infidelity,’ seemed to be one that aimed to address those rumors, but in hindsight, it was quite normal to have that listed as a condition in general. In other words, it had nothing to do with Urien. If anything, it sounded as if he was saying, ‘As long as there are no rumors, it’ll be fine’.

Urien let out a sigh inwardly.

‘How should I put it? That man is really bad with words, huh?’

‘What he’s saying and what he wants are different.’

“Don’t involve yourself in the war, don’t try to do anything for the household, that’s probably what he meant.”

In other words, he really meant what he said when he said, ‘Live quietly.’

“Our mother was killed by Belmanian extremists when she tried to negotiate peace.”

“…I see.”

Now, it was clear why he said such words. He didn’t want the same thing that happened to his mother to happen again. The reason why he never explained in detail was probably because it’d require him to dig through the pain of the past, hence why he settled with ‘Live quietly.’

Theobald cast his gaze out of the window.

“His Excellency had no choice but to fight and win. He doesn’t want me, or you, to get involved with the issues of the household or the border. He just wants us to live quietly in the estate until everything’s settled down. That’s his wish.”

After that, he let out a faint, pitiful laugh.

“He’s amazing.”

The same words that Urien had heard before came out of Theobald’s mouth in a mutter. Then, he continued.

“All that’s left for him to do is the negotiation with Barca. After that, both you and His Excellency would be free.”

“…”

“I’m sorry for all the suffering you experienced these past few months, Yuri.”

If Urien were to be honest, he didn’t know what the other man was apologizing for. After all, it was the head maid who put him in that situation.

Perhaps he was apologizing for being deceived by that woman, as he was the one in charge of the estate in Rodrick’s absence. Or perhaps, he was apologizing for his brother’s cold attitude at the start of their relationship.

Either way…

“If you’re sorry, then tell me what you want.”

For now, Urien only wanted to know one thing.

Theobald’s golden eyes—the same as Rodrick’s—widened.

At this, Urien let out a smirk.

“So, what is it? Lord Rodrick was dying to know, you know?”

“…I don’t know.”

Theobald’s brows lowered as his eyes relaxed in amusement.

A few seconds later, he opened his mouth again.

“A new lighter maybe?”

“Got it.”

“…Are you gonna tell His Excellency that?”

“Of course.”

“Pfft. Well, I’m looking forward to it.”

Even now, Theobald seemed to be unable to believe him. Even if it was unintentional, the pitch black gap that had formed between the two brothers over the years wouldn’t be fixed so easily.

But, a light would surely brighten that gap, and little by little, the gap would close.

After that, Theobald returned to the estate, while Urien checked on Marx before returning.

As he walked through the field, filled with the scent of spring, various things popped up in his mind.

There were a lot of rumors about Rodrick.

Duke of Edel, the commander of the Duke’s Knight Order. The kingdom’s war hero, a ruthless and merciless warmonger, nicknamed the God of Silent Battlefield, a man who thirsted for blood. According to the rumors, he had a few screws loose due to him joining the battlefield since he was young.

These were what Arnault, Urien’s younger brother, had told him after he went to look for rumors concerning Rodrick among the nobles.

Back then, Arnault laughed at Urien happily, saying, ‘Beneath that armor, your husband has a hideous face. You’re gonna marry a monster!’

Of course, Urien didn’t care. All he wanted was to live a peaceful life with Marx.

Only now did he start to think about all those rumors that surrounded Rodrick.

Rumors that had been circulating over a long period of time.

And yet, the person himself said nothing about those rumors.

He never spoke about what others thought of him. Even if the servants of his own estate feared him, he just continued to do what he had to do. He never tried to get involved with others unless it was necessary.

There was no sign of him trying to correct or dispel the rumors.

It was as if he thought that no one would believe him even if he did.

But, even so…

“Ah! Good day, Madam!”

“The commander is still in his study, Madam.”

The knights were there.

As Urien passed through the knights’ training ground on his way to Rodrick’s study, some of the knights noticed him and greeted him. One of them was Dieter and the other was Kurd.

Dieter was Rodrick’s childhood friend, and he was wearing glasses, while Kurd was a young man with curly hair that exuded a laid-back atmosphere. “Are you out for a walk?” Dieter asked. Urien then replied with a smile.

“Not really. I just went to the shed.”

“I see.”

“You didn’t go to the western forest by yourself didn’t you, Madam?”

Kurd asked in a worried tone. “We’ll be scolded by the commander if you did…” He continued in a troubled voice. At this, Urien laughed and shook his head.

“No, really, I didn’t go there. No need to worry.”

“Is that so? Anyway, if you want to go to the forest, please let us know!”

“Rodrick’s a worrywart you know? Especially about his consort, he’ll be even more worried.”

Dieter casually referred to Rodrick by name as he grinned. ‘Right, he’s certainly a worrywart… Or rather, he’s an overthinking machine.’ One thing that Urien noticed about Rodrick was that he was often cautious about his actions. Which was understandable, because his actions were often unexpected.

“The commander’s always concerned about his consort’s every move.”

“He’s always been fussy whenever one of us gets injured, but when it comes to his consort, he’ll cry over the most trivial thing!”

“Hahaha! That’s right!”

As Urien watched the two of them talk about Rodrick with happy faces, he realized.

Dieter, Kurd, and all the knights who shared near-death experiences with Rodrick, all of them put all their trust in Rodrick.

That was the reason why they cared so much about him, his consort, and why they always treated him in such a friendly way.

No matter what the other nobles, the servants, or the people think about him, Rodrick always had the knights by his side.

Perhaps, to Rodrick, the knights, who could interact with him without any prejudice, was like Marx was to Urien.