Chapter 82 – Count Gartner

“Please come in,” I said, inviting Father into the house.

Father looked the same as always… or so I wanted to say, but he seemed slightly thinner than I remembered. Hmm. Had his white hair increased too?

Had he been struggling with Kathryn and the others since I left?

…Or perhaps it was because I’d been doing whatever I wanted in the capital. If that were the case, I felt a little guilty. Not that I planned to hold back because of it.

“This is quite a nice house. The rent must be expensive, isn’t it?”

“One hundred Kirig per month. It’s nothing significant.”

“One hundred, huh. Hmm.”

Rather than jumping straight to the main topic, it seemed he wanted to start with small talk.

I decided to ask about something I was curious about too.

“Um. What about Byron and the others?”

“They came to Termwills because they insisted. I haven’t told them where your house is, nor have I told them I was coming to see you.”

I see… So they’re here. Well, I’ll have Caduceus keep watch at night.

After showing Father to the living room and engaging in idle chatter, Grace brought us tea.

“It’s been a long time, Henry-sama.”

Grace bowed her head quietly.

“Yes. I’m glad to see you both haven’t changed. And as for these young ladies—”

Father turned his gaze toward Ashley and the others.

“Nice to meet you, Count Gartner. I am Ashley Rodias Silun, head of the Silun baronial family.”

“I am Henry Verdim Gartner, head of the Gartner comital family.”

After Ashley and Father finished their introductions, I introduced Sheila and Irmhild from my side.

“And these two are my labyrinth exploration companions, Sheila and Irmhild.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Thank you for always taking care of him.”

“Y-yes.”

Father looked flustered by the female-dominated environment. Well, at least we had the upper hand now.

“…This area seems to have changed quite a bit. The rumors I hear are so unbelievable that I don’t know what to make of them.”

“Such as?”

“That you’ve defeated demons twice, that you’re on intimate terms with Lady Ashley here. Ah—I also heard rumors that you played a role in reforming the Knight Order and were involved in the downfall of that Cardiff family. I heard you’re on familiar terms with His Majesty too—no, surely not.”

For rumors, they were quite accurate. Had he been gathering information?

“Well… most of that is true.”

When I said that, Father shook his head as if restraining a headache.

“…I don’t know where to begin. Theo. What exactly do you do on a daily basis?”

“I’ve learned the necessary magic, so now I’m in the labyrinth—”

“Understood. Don’t say any more.”

Father stopped me with his hand, but I wanted to say what I needed to say.

Or rather, this was something I wanted to make perfectly clear.

“I can manage here on my own, so I don’t need any more assistance and I have no intention of returning—”

“No, no. That’s why I’m telling you not to rush and to wait. That’s not what this is about. If I tried to force you to come home now or make you obey me, I’d only be humiliating myself.”

“…What do you mean?”

When I paused, Father let out a small sigh. For some reason, he seemed tired.

“It’s obvious you would resist. If that happened, I’d just be ridiculed as the fool Count Gartner who drove out the prodigy. I can’t refute it since it’s the truth… For now, I’m going along with the rumors and answering like this when asked: I made him independent because he was too talented and might cause disturbances later on.”

…I see.

So he’s implying that even if I stayed on as Byron’s guardian despite having no inheritance rights… there was a risk of retainers trying to install me and usurping the family.

He’s probably factoring in the actual discord within the household too. Those circumstances would leak out even if we remained silent, and realistically, even if Father hadn’t sent me away, if a child who could use chantless magic decided to stop tolerating things… an “accident” might not be surprising.

…Or rather, it actually almost happened once with Cardiff.

Father probably sent me away with Rosetta’s help partly because he couldn’t predict how I would react to Kathryn and the others.

He probably thought it would be better if I could be looked after from a distance. The subsequent developments were just unexpected, I suppose.

Well, either way, while those matters might become rumors, as long as the official reasoning holds up, no one would confront us directly about it, and as an external framework, it’s not entirely incorrect. The reason Father sent me away was just slightly different.

But then, what was his purpose in coming to see me? When I looked at Father’s face, he gave a wry smile and answered my question.

“The reason I came here… was simply to see how you were doing.”

“That’s—”

If he had come as a father trying to make me obey him, I had various thoughts prepared, and I intended to send even Father away if necessary.

“It’s rather late for that, isn’t it? When Lisa was alive, I couldn’t call you to the main house, and when you were going through the hardest times, I wasn’t nearby. After I finally called you to the main house—I failed to notice the treatment you were receiving. Honestly, I wouldn’t blame you if you’d had enough of me.”

Not really.

The one I’d had enough of wasn’t Father.

It was the county. I don’t care what happens to any of it.

Even if I reconciled with the comital family, that wouldn’t be a reason to return. That’s precisely why—I, who had given up on doing anything for the people of the county and cut my losses, would be no good staying in that land as a member of the comital family. I would probably just rot, or worse. It wouldn’t lead to a good outcome for either of us.

Then, what about Father? Do I resent Father?

To go back to the beginning. Father was simply absent… he didn’t abandon Mother to die.

As for what Kathryn and the others were doing to me.

He didn’t know, so he couldn’t do anything. After he found out, he tried to resolve it.

When Mother went off to fight… if Father had known. If he had been there, would he have tried to resolve it?

…I have no interest in such hypotheticals, and they’re meaningless anyway.

Then what about choosing Byron, the heir, over keeping me close?

As the head of a noble family, I understand he had no choice.

More importantly, I was the one who wanted it that way. I have absolutely no intention of complaining about that.

No, that’s wrong. My past circumstances don’t really matter anymore.

Rather, I should consider how Father felt about Mother.

I remember… that’s right. After he learned about Mother’s death.

He showed me his back at her grave. But at that time, Father definitely—.

Yes. I remember now.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Then I looked straight at Father, who was watching me intently, and said.

“…I probably don’t resent you, Father. If you’re just here to visit, then that’s fine by me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Father settled deeper into his chair and finally took a sip from his teacup.

“I suppose it can’t be helped that you don’t rely on me. I brought it upon myself.”

He gave a lonely, wry smile.

“It’s not that I don’t rely on you at all. Even when I left home, you made various arrangements for me.”

“Those… even without them, you probably would have been fine, wouldn’t you? Hearing about what happened afterward makes me think so. Though being able to talk with you like this now is likely thanks to that.”

Father said something similar to what Rosetta had told me once.

“If anything, it’s probably because you freed Grace.”

“I received her from Lisa. If she herself wanted to go with Theo, I couldn’t disregard those feelings.”

Grace smiled at me and bowed her head.

“…Once again. Lady Ashley.”

“Yes. Lord Henry. I sincerely apologize for the delayed greeting.”

“…Given the precarious nature of Theodore’s relationship with our family, it couldn’t be helped.”

Father smiled wryly.

Ashley… she had said she didn’t know what would become of me in the future, and knowing I was on bad terms with my family, she seemed to have held back on various actions. On my part, I had intended to wait until I had achieved accomplishments that would leave my family speechless, ensuring they couldn’t possibly interfere, before making introductions.

After Mother died, Father never left the county even during the agricultural off-season… if he was going to come at this timing, I should have sent a letter first to confirm things.

“Although as the head of the Gartner comital family, I likely no longer have any standing to say anything. But at the very least, as a father, please allow me to offer my blessings.”

“Thank you.”

Just as Ashley bowed deeply—that’s when it happened. Sheila reacted and took a stance.

Someone opened the door and entered the house. Without even knocking.

His eyes bloodshot, he scanned the room. When his gaze met mine, he pointed at me and shouted.

“Theodore! You!”

…Byron.

Why is he here? Or rather, what did he come to do?

I instinctively looked at Father, who shook his head with a somewhat perplexed expression that said he didn’t know.