Chapter 84 – Countess Kathryn

“There are various circumstances with my family home.”

After finishing Alfred’s business—reporting on the user experience of the aerial combat equipment—when I explained it that way, he nodded and said “I understand.”

Well, it was a carriage bearing the Gartner family crest after all. I couldn’t just not explain anything to Alfred.

Right now, I’m passing time playing Gomoku with Alfred across a table using an improvised board I made.

Like paper airplanes, low-tech games can be made in spare moments, so I prepared this thinking it might be good for killing Marian’s boredom. I thought Go would seem too perfectly conceived if I claimed to have thought of it myself, so I went with Gomoku instead.

But if anything, Alfred seemed more into it than Marian.

As for Marian, she seems more interested in my hands than Alfred’s moves, peeking from beside me and occasionally nodding slightly at the stone placements. Marian herself is quite intelligent and fairly strong at this.

“Count Gartner has a good reputation as a wise lord, but I suppose every household has its difficulties behind the scenes,” Alfred said while placing a black stone and sipping from his teacup. That “every household” probably included his own situation too. There was a strange depth to his comment.

And though he’s placing stones with a cool expression, I can’t overlook that he’s secretly trying to connect vertical and diagonal stones to create 3-4 combos after stopping my move.

If I miss this, Alfred will win on the next move, so I properly block the gap and crush his plan.

“After that incident five years ago, Father was quite busy. The Countess saw that and told Father to leave household matters to her. Well, and that’s how…”

And that’s how things ended up in this sorry state.

Well, no—from Kathryn’s perspective, things went exactly as she planned, so calling it “sorry” might be slightly inaccurate.

“…Well, I understand. Lady Kathryn… she was the daughter of House Broderick, right?”

“Former, yes.”

“House Broderick, huh. I don’t hear good rumors about them. They boast of their power and influence, but their extravagance has left their finances in dire straits. It seems they temporarily recovered through the Count’s assistance and trade, but recently the situation seems to be turning suspicious again.”

Alfred… he’s really knowledgeable about such matters. He must be diligent about gathering information on noble society to protect himself.

I don’t know that much detail about Kathryn’s family home. Partly because knowing wouldn’t have changed anything, and honestly, once I reached a position where I could do something about it, I didn’t want to know anymore.

Before becoming Kathryn Gartner… she was the youngest daughter of House Broderick.

Her marriage from the Marquis house to where Father was still the heir apparent happened long before I was born.

“The Count’s assistance, huh.”

“Well, that’s about it. I don’t know the detailed background either.”

In short, it was a political marriage. From a higher-ranking Marquis house to a lower-ranking Count house.

Should it be viewed as a stumbling Marquis house and a Count house that threw them a lifeline to gain connections? Or as a Marquis house that proposed the marriage while pressuring the Count house, thereby recovering through it?

I don’t know which side proposed this matter… but it was settled during Grandfather’s generation.

I once heard servants gossiping that when Kathryn came, she brought several servants from her family home, saying she wanted people she knew well to take care of her personal affairs.

That faction gradually expanded… leading to the current situation. The turnover rate for newly hired servants was quite high. Conversely, long-serving servants either sided with Kathryn or turned a blind eye.

There’s no doubt Kathryn spent years creating such an environment. After all, she’s the one who selected Byron and Daryl’s tutors.

Father drew a line and didn’t let household matters interfere with outside affairs… but well, given family status considerations, I think there were aspects where he found it difficult to intervene in Kathryn’s domestic affairs.

If I were to talk about those people, it would inevitably become biased in my favor, but given her personality, it seemed she didn’t even want to see Mother—who wasn’t from a noble family—and her child in her line of sight.

Although she was matter-of-fact when dealing with me in Father’s presence, only stating logical arguments, she probably had some awareness that she was doing something shady, and was likely putting up a front for Father too.

While having such conversation with Alfred and playing Gomoku, Grace spoke up.

“Pardon the interruption. Whose staff is this?”

What Grace brought was a black-lacquered staff. Not a Magic Staff, but something resembling an everyday walking stick.

“Hmm. Not mine,” Alfred said.

Naturally, it wasn’t Marian’s either, as she shook her head.

“Probably Father’s. Given the earlier commotion, I think he forgot it.”

“So it is Lord Henry’s after all. In that case, I’ll deliver it to him later.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll go directly.”

“…Are you sure?”

“Byron coming here already means it’s the same either way.”

Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.

If I don’t provide proper aftercare, all the effort I put in today will be wasted.

Also, if those servants treat Grace like they used to, problems will arise. Judging from Byron’s behavior, it’s unclear whether he knows Grace’s current title, so it’s better if I go directly.

“Theo-kun, are you going out? Even though you’re behind, I’ve had enough break and should return to the workshop. Hmm.”

Alfred looked toward Marian.

Lately, Marian is often looked after at home as well as in the workshop. Marian gets along with everyone, and with capable women around, Alfred seems to feel reassured.

“What do you want to do? Stay and play at home?”

When I asked, Marian smiled happily and nodded repeatedly.

“Well then, I’ll gratefully accept your kind offer.”

Alfred gave a wry smile and left the house.

“Lady Marian, shall I read you a book today?”

Marian looked up at Ashley and nodded happily with a smile. Well, Marian should be fine. I also drank some tea and stood up when the timing felt right.

“Okay then, I’m off. Caduceus isn’t here, so if you go out, go with someone.”

“Understood. …Um. It’s not dangerous, right?”

“For me.”

When I answered with a wry smile, Grace also gave a small wry smile and nodded. I should probably release Grace’s Seal.

“So, be somewhat cautious. I might not come back tonight. At the very least, I’ll be late.”

“Leave it to me.”

“See you later, Theodore-kun.”

Seen off by everyone, I left the house.

Well then. Time to switch gears myself.

My destination is near the central area of Termwills. I walk through streets with an atmosphere resembling a stone garden, reminiscent of Theoreme Castle.

I noticed Father’s forgotten item from the beginning, but I kept quiet thinking it would make a perfect excuse to visit the Gartner Count’s secondary residence.

Well, even if there hadn’t been a forgotten item, I could have just bought something appropriate that wouldn’t seem unnatural as Father’s possession in town, then visited saying he might have forgotten it.

Caduceus is currently hidden in Father’s shadow for vigilance… or rather, personal protection.

That’s because, having been informed about stripping Byron of his inheritance rights, we don’t know how Kathryn will react. No matter how much she complains, Byron’s situation won’t change, but she might try to force things thinking she can convince me.

If it’s just arguments or her coming to my place, that would be fine, but if something happens to Father, that would be problematic.

The reason I didn’t tell Father about this beforehand… is because I know he wants to trust family to the very end.

I hope Kathryn accepts it without incident, that would be fine… but the fact that I have Caduceus with Father shows I don’t trust her.

What’s necessary is Father’s safety. The rest isn’t absolutely essential.

Anyway, if there are changes in the situation over there, Caduceus will send me a signal. Since the carriage with Kathryn seems to have returned to the secondary residence, it’s probably time for me to move too.

Kathryn seems to be in a pretty desperate situation. If she’s going to act, it should be soon, and if I’m going to intervene, I need to establish the alibi of having formally visited the secondary residence.

I can predict what Kathryn is likely to say and do. Timing it carefully, I knocked on the secondary residence’s gate.

“Excuse me. Is this Lord Henry’s residence?”

“Yes. Who might you be?”

The servant who appeared had an unfamiliar face.

“I am Theodore Gartner, the Otherworld Ambassador. Lord Henry forgot something, so I stopped by.”

“Theodore… -sama? Lord Henry’s son?”

“Well, yes.”

“Ah, we’re currently a bit busy…! Um, p-please wait a moment!”

Perhaps because I mentioned my title, they couldn’t just turn me away at the gate—the servant seemed flustered.

After briefly withdrawing inside, the person who returned with the servant, who appeared to be the butler, also had an unfamiliar face.

“You may have to wait a bit longer, is that acceptable?”

“That’s fine.”

Following the butler, I entered the residence.

I wasn’t taken to the reception room immediately from the entrance hall, but to a room deeper inside in the opposite direction. Of course they couldn’t take me to the reception room since Father and Kathryn are there.

I saw several servants inside the residence—but not a single familiar face among them.

“…If I may ask something unrelated.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t see any servants I know from the County. Are the servants here hired specifically for the secondary residence? Um, it would be reassuring to see some familiar faces.”

When I said this, the servant bowed apologetically.

“My deepest apologies, we accompanied them from the County, but regarding Your Excellency Theodore’s expectations, that is—”

…There must have been a personnel overhaul due to some misconduct or something.

Unable to say anything that might disadvantage their master, the servant was being evasive. I smiled at them.

“No, if it’s difficult to answer, you don’t have to.”

“Much obliged.”

Regarding the servants… it seems Father has already taken measures. The training seems quite thorough too… well now.