Chapter 132: Meeting
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“Father, mother, Adele-sama, Alex. It’s been a while.”
“Chris, it’s been a while.”
“I see you look like you’re doing well?”
“Well, it’s been a while.”
“Oh my…”
We were taken to a reception room, similar to the one I was shown into the day before yesterday at the royal castle. The room was carpeted and there were several chairs placed in this room. A man and two women were sitting elegantly on those chairs.
When I drew nearer to them, I could easily notice them as Chris-san’s parents. Because, the man looked exactly like Chris-san and Mau-san. No, maybe it was more accurate to say Chris-san and Mau-san resembled him?
And the women who were sitting on each side of that man. If I wasn’t wrong, they should be already in their 50s but they looked a little younger than their actual age. They didn’t look like they already had a child about Chris-san’s age. Though compared to Mother Sophia and Mother Esther, these two didn’t have the same level of youthful appearance. Mother Sophia and Mother Esther looked so young that it would make sense for people to mistook their grandchildren as their children.
The one standing diagonally behind their chair must be Alex-sama. He slightly raised his hand to greet me, I guess he was unexpectedly more friendly than I expected?
“Christian, which one is your fiancé?”
The woman with curly blonde hair was looking at us observantly. Her gaze looked piercing as she questioned Chris-san.
“Yes. Ren, from right to left it’s my mother, Lise. My father, Jair and then my father’s spouse, Adele. The one standing behind them is my younger brother, Alex. And this is Ren Himukya Cleva, the person I’m engaged to.”
Chris-san nodded at the question. He glanced at me first before he gently pushed me forward and started introducing them to me. He had a tender smile on his face as he did so.
“Pleased to meet you. My name is Ren Himukya Cleva. It is an honor for me to be able to introduce myself as Christian-sama’s fiancé on this occasion.”
Receiving the courage from the hand that was touching my back, I introduced myself while making sure I was smiling pleasantly at them.
“You’re pretty cute, aren’t you?”
“Adele? As you can see, this matter does not involve you in any way so can you please keep your mouth shut for a moment?”
“My oh my. Fufufu~ While it is true Christian is not my biological child, he’s still the eldest son of the Hast family. I will also be troubled if he were to marry someone strange. Alex will also be inconvenienced, you know?”
When the brown haired woman, Adele-sama, smiled as she praised me for being cute, Lise-sama immediately glared at her and reprimanded her harshly. In response, Adele-sama chuckled amusedly while covering her mouth with her hand.
I had heard that they didn’t go along well but… Their relationship was really pretty severe…
“…. I guess that is true. Then, Ren, is it? It seems you are an otherworlder but… Christian is the eldest son of a duke family, you know? I don’t think you are worthy to be with Christian no matter how I see it.”
She agreed to some parts of Adele-sama’s words but then she started to look down on me while laughing scornfully.
Well I mean, judging from the difference in our family’s background, that line of thinking does make sense….
“Lise!”
“You keep your mouth out of this!”
Hearing that, Jair-sama immediately yelled her name, trying to make her stop but Lise-sama didn’t have the slightest intention to listen to him. She snapped back at him instead.
“Mother? I’m only here to bring my fiancé to introduce himself, you know? I’m not here to receive any permission. That kind of word is simply unacceptable. I ask you to apologize to Ren.”
Chris-san moved his hand from my back to my waist. He asserted his stance to Lise-sama curtly.
“Why do I have to…? Besides, what about those men behind you? I’ve heard that you planned on bringing your fiancé but I didn’t hear about you bringing anyone else? In any case, they must be your fellow savage adventurers anyway.”
Chris-san asked her to apologize but Lise-san looked like she couldn’t see any fault in her words at all. She then questioned Chris-san about Fer-san and Sig-san, who were standing behind us.
Ah, I guess she doesn’t recognize who they are.
“Mother!”
Mau-san, who was on standby near the door, raised his voice the moment he heard Lise-san’s remark. When I turned my head to look at him, his face was ghastly pale and he obviously looked flustered.
“Mauritz, why did you raise your voice?”
Lise-sama was surprised and confused why Mau-san suddenly raised his voice.
“Duchess, my name is Ferdinand. I am an A-rank adventurer.”
“I’m Sigurd. I’m also an A-rank adventurer.”
The two of them smiled and introduced themselves to Lise-sama. I guess Fer-san must’ve deliberately not introduced his family name because he knew their attitude would change the moment they realized he was a royal? Sig-san was also going alone with Fer-san’s footstep.
“Hm? The two of you also have a pretty good looking face, huh? Christian, although the three of them have different kinds of beauty, their faces do look good. Break off your engagement and just make them your paramour. The young lady from the Lidholm family is still 18 years old and she’s very pretty too. I’m sure she will suit you just fine.”
“Mother!!”
Lise-sama nodded her head, approving how good looking Fer-san and Sig-san were before she suddenly proposed an unbelievable suggestion to his son, who was coming to introduce his fiancé to his family. Seeing this spectacle, Mau-san screamed. He looked like he was facing the end of this world.
Well… Not only Mau-san already knew Fer-san is a royalty, he’s also a knight working in the castle. Of course he’d be surprised when his mother suggested for a royalty to become a paramour.
As for me, Lise-sama was beyond my wildest imagination. Rather than angry, I was more shocked. She really left me dumbfounded.
Beside me, Chris-san’s body became stiff. I could clearly feel his anger overflowing from within.
This… It seems Chris-san is pretty furious.
“Umm… I’m sorry if I’m mistaken but are you Your Highness Ferdinand?”
Jair-sama, who had been watching the situation unfold, asked Fer-san timidly.
“Yeah… I thought I wouldn’t get found out… It’s been a while, Duke Hast. I believe it’s been 15 years since we last met in person?”
Fer-san, who realized he couldn’t deny his parentage at this point, showed a wry smile as he confirmed Jair-sama’s suspicion.
Well… Since Jair-sama is working in the castle, it would make sense for him to know Fer-san even before Fer-san left the castle to live as an adventurer.
“Huh? What? Your Highness? …. His Highness Ferdinand?!”
“I deeply apologize for my wifes’ behavior!”
“Well, it’s fine. I’m here as an adventurer so I believe it’s inevitable for this to happen.”
It seemed Lise-sama was still finding it difficult to fully understand what was going on. She was fidgeting, her mouth was gaping open and closed repeatedly. On the other side, Jair-sama immediately left his seat and prostrated right here and there in panic. He was apologizing with vigor.
Seeing this, Lise-sama also left her seat and bowed down beside Jair-sama. While Adele-sama, her face was ghastly pale as she sat there. She was visibly trembling, afraid to imagine what would happen to the Hast family. Beside them, Alex-sama was sighing very, very deeply.
“Ren, Fer, Sig, I’m sorry… I didn’t expect they’d go that far…”
Chris-san lowered his head, apologizing to us.
“Well, that’s just how the nobility see adventurers. I don’t really care anyway.”
“I was curious to see what’s going to happen when they realize I’m a royalty too…”
Although the tone of Chris-san’s voice was different than usual, his facial expression was still the same. Somehow, seeing he still had the same facial expression, made me feel relieved.
“Umm… Everyone is talking like usual, like there’s nothing amiss, but… I feel bad if we leave Jair-sama to stay like that so I’d like him to stop prostrating…”
While the three of them were talking, Jair-sama and Lise-sama were still keeping their heads down.
“Yes, Duke Hast. Please stand up. We are only here to inform you that Chris, and all of us, are going to become a family. We’d feel troubled if you keep bowing like that. Since this is such a joyous occasion, I will let what your wife had said to us slide … Of course, you will gladly approve the marriage between Chris and Ren-kun, right?”
Fer-san nodded at my words and then he told Jair-sama and Lise-sama to get up. He also didn’t forget to ask them to approve the marriage between me and Chris-san.
“Ye-Yes! Of course!”
So this is what it feels like to be royalty, huh. But… What should we do with this situation then? I don’t think Jair-sama as the head of the family and his wife, Lise-san, who was Chris-san’s mother, are in the right mind to continue our talk…
After all, she did say something very rude to a royal. It was possible for her to be punished for offending a royal.
“……. I truly apologize that my husband and my family have been so rude to Your Highness. Would you like to have a cup of tea in the other room to freshen ourselves?”
Trying to break the tension, Adele-sama, who had been trembling so badly before, offered us tea with a smile on her face.
As expected from a duchess. She must be still feeling very flustered but she’s able to not let it show on her face.
“Ren, shall we?”
“Yes.”
Chris-san asked me but I was very in favor of Adele-sama’s suggestion. I couldn’t stand the tension going on here!
“Dear, please come after you’ve calmed down. Now then, this way please…”
Adele-sama said so to Jair-sama before she started leading us away.
“Yeah…”
I guess Lise-sama is done for the day.
“…. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
As we were walking out of the room, Chris-san whispered, low enough so only I could hear him. Since we were walking side by side, I squeezed his right hand and whispered back to him.
I’m the one who’s making Chris-san go through this painful ordeal because I told him I wanted to see his family… I’m the one who should’ve apologized but… The very least I can do now is to not let my sadness nor pain show in my face…
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Name: Jair
Age: 56
Height: 200cm
He has navy blue hair and purple eyes. He’s the head of the Duke Hast family. He’s good at his job but he can’t go against what both of his wifes say.
Name: Adele
Age: 50
Height: 194cm
She has brown hair and green eyes. She’s the first Duchess of Hast. The mother of Alex and Syutina. She was on good terms with Lise at the beginning of their marriage but after they both had babies that are very close in age, they started acting like cats and dogs.
Name: Lise
Age: 48
Height: 192cm
She has blonde hair and orange eyes. The second Duchess of Hast. She’s the mother of Chris and Mauritz. One way or another, she’s still trying to make Chris the head of the family instead of Alex.
Chapter 132: Meeting
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“Father, mother, Adele-sama, Alex. It’s been a while.”
“Chris, it’s been a while.”
“I see you look like you’re doing well?”
“Well, it’s been a while.”
“Oh my…”
We were taken to a reception room, similar to the one I was shown into the day before yesterday at the royal castle. The room was carpeted and there were several chairs placed in this room. A man and two women were sitting elegantly on those chairs.
When I drew nearer to them, I could easily notice them as Chris-san’s parents. Because, the man looked exactly like Chris-san and Mau-san. No, maybe it was more accurate to say Chris-san and Mau-san resembled him?
And the women who were sitting on each side of that man. If I wasn’t wrong, they should be already in their 50s but they looked a little younger than their actual age. They didn’t look like they already had a child about Chris-san’s age. Though compared to Mother Sophia and Mother Esther, these two didn’t have the same level of youthful appearance. Mother Sophia and Mother Esther looked so young that it would make sense for people to mistook their grandchildren as their children.
The one standing diagonally behind their chair must be Alex-sama. He slightly raised his hand to greet me, I guess he was unexpectedly more friendly than I expected?
“Christian, which one is your fiancé?”
The woman with curly blonde hair was looking at us observantly. Her gaze looked piercing as she questioned Chris-san.
“Yes. Ren, from right to left it’s my mother, Lise. My father, Jair and then my father’s spouse, Adele. The one standing behind them is my younger brother, Alex. And this is Ren Himukya Cleva, the person I’m engaged to.”
Chris-san nodded at the question. He glanced at me first before he gently pushed me forward and started introducing them to me. He had a tender smile on his face as he did so.
“Pleased to meet you. My name is Ren Himukya Cleva. It is an honor for me to be able to introduce myself as Christian-sama’s fiancé on this occasion.”
Receiving the courage from the hand that was touching my back, I introduced myself while making sure I was smiling pleasantly at them.
“You’re pretty cute, aren’t you?”
“Adele? As you can see, this matter does not involve you in any way so can you please keep your mouth shut for a moment?”
“My oh my. Fufufu~ While it is true Christian is not my biological child, he’s still the eldest son of the Hast family. I will also be troubled if he were to marry someone strange. Alex will also be inconvenienced, you know?”
When the brown haired woman, Adele-sama, smiled as she praised me for being cute, Lise-sama immediately glared at her and reprimanded her harshly. In response, Adele-sama chuckled amusedly while covering her mouth with her hand.
I had heard that they didn’t go along well but… Their relationship was really pretty severe…
“…. I guess that is true. Then, Ren, is it? It seems you are an otherworlder but… Christian is the eldest son of a duke family, you know? I don’t think you are worthy to be with Christian no matter how I see it.”
She agreed to some parts of Adele-sama’s words but then she started to look down on me while laughing scornfully.
Well I mean, judging from the difference in our family’s background, that line of thinking does make sense….
“Lise!”
“You keep your mouth out of this!”
Hearing that, Jair-sama immediately yelled her name, trying to make her stop but Lise-sama didn’t have the slightest intention to listen to him. She snapped back at him instead.
“Mother? I’m only here to bring my fiancé to introduce himself, you know? I’m not here to receive any permission. That kind of word is simply unacceptable. I ask you to apologize to Ren.”
Chris-san moved his hand from my back to my waist. He asserted his stance to Lise-sama curtly.
“Why do I have to…? Besides, what about those men behind you? I’ve heard that you planned on bringing your fiancé but I didn’t hear about you bringing anyone else? In any case, they must be your fellow savage adventurers anyway.”
Chris-san asked her to apologize but Lise-san looked like she couldn’t see any fault in her words at all. She then questioned Chris-san about Fer-san and Sig-san, who were standing behind us.
Ah, I guess she doesn’t recognize who they are.
“Mother!”
Mau-san, who was on standby near the door, raised his voice the moment he heard Lise-san’s remark. When I turned my head to look at him, his face was ghastly pale and he obviously looked flustered.
“Mauritz, why did you raise your voice?”
Lise-sama was surprised and confused why Mau-san suddenly raised his voice.
“Duchess, my name is Ferdinand. I am an A-rank adventurer.”
“I’m Sigurd. I’m also an A-rank adventurer.”
The two of them smiled and introduced themselves to Lise-sama. I guess Fer-san must’ve deliberately not introduced his family name because he knew their attitude would change the moment they realized he was a royal? Sig-san was also going alone with Fer-san’s footstep.
“Hm? The two of you also have a pretty good looking face, huh? Christian, although the three of them have different kinds of beauty, their faces do look good. Break off your engagement and just make them your paramour. The young lady from the Lidholm family is still 18 years old and she’s very pretty too. I’m sure she will suit you just fine.”
“Mother!!”
Lise-sama nodded her head, approving how good looking Fer-san and Sig-san were before she suddenly proposed an unbelievable suggestion to his son, who was coming to introduce his fiancé to his family. Seeing this spectacle, Mau-san screamed. He looked like he was facing the end of this world.
Well… Not only Mau-san already knew Fer-san is a royalty, he’s also a knight working in the castle. Of course he’d be surprised when his mother suggested for a royalty to become a paramour.
As for me, Lise-sama was beyond my wildest imagination. Rather than angry, I was more shocked. She really left me dumbfounded.
Beside me, Chris-san’s body became stiff. I could clearly feel his anger overflowing from within.
This… It seems Chris-san is pretty furious.
“Umm… I’m sorry if I’m mistaken but are you Your Highness Ferdinand?”
Jair-sama, who had been watching the situation unfold, asked Fer-san timidly.
“Yeah… I thought I wouldn’t get found out… It’s been a while, Duke Hast. I believe it’s been 15 years since we last met in person?”
Fer-san, who realized he couldn’t deny his parentage at this point, showed a wry smile as he confirmed Jair-sama’s suspicion.
Well… Since Jair-sama is working in the castle, it would make sense for him to know Fer-san even before Fer-san left the castle to live as an adventurer.
“Huh? What? Your Highness? …. His Highness Ferdinand?!”
“I deeply apologize for my wifes’ behavior!”
“Well, it’s fine. I’m here as an adventurer so I believe it’s inevitable for this to happen.”
It seemed Lise-sama was still finding it difficult to fully understand what was going on. She was fidgeting, her mouth was gaping open and closed repeatedly. On the other side, Jair-sama immediately left his seat and prostrated right here and there in panic. He was apologizing with vigor.
Seeing this, Lise-sama also left her seat and bowed down beside Jair-sama. While Adele-sama, her face was ghastly pale as she sat there. She was visibly trembling, afraid to imagine what would happen to the Hast family. Beside them, Alex-sama was sighing very, very deeply.
“Ren, Fer, Sig, I’m sorry… I didn’t expect they’d go that far…”
Chris-san lowered his head, apologizing to us.
“Well, that’s just how the nobility see adventurers. I don’t really care anyway.”
“I was curious to see what’s going to happen when they realize I’m a royalty too…”
Although the tone of Chris-san’s voice was different than usual, his facial expression was still the same. Somehow, seeing he still had the same facial expression, made me feel relieved.
“Umm… Everyone is talking like usual, like there’s nothing amiss, but… I feel bad if we leave Jair-sama to stay like that so I’d like him to stop prostrating…”
While the three of them were talking, Jair-sama and Lise-sama were still keeping their heads down.
“Yes, Duke Hast. Please stand up. We are only here to inform you that Chris, and all of us, are going to become a family. We’d feel troubled if you keep bowing like that. Since this is such a joyous occasion, I will let what your wife had said to us slide … Of course, you will gladly approve the marriage between Chris and Ren-kun, right?”
Fer-san nodded at my words and then he told Jair-sama and Lise-sama to get up. He also didn’t forget to ask them to approve the marriage between me and Chris-san.
“Ye-Yes! Of course!”
So this is what it feels like to be royalty, huh. But… What should we do with this situation then? I don’t think Jair-sama as the head of the family and his wife, Lise-san, who was Chris-san’s mother, are in the right mind to continue our talk…
After all, she did say something very rude to a royal. It was possible for her to be punished for offending a royal.
“……. I truly apologize that my husband and my family have been so rude to Your Highness. Would you like to have a cup of tea in the other room to freshen ourselves?”
Trying to break the tension, Adele-sama, who had been trembling so badly before, offered us tea with a smile on her face.
As expected from a duchess. She must be still feeling very flustered but she’s able to not let it show on her face.
“Ren, shall we?”
“Yes.”
Chris-san asked me but I was very in favor of Adele-sama’s suggestion. I couldn’t stand the tension going on here!
“Dear, please come after you’ve calmed down. Now then, this way please…”
Adele-sama said so to Jair-sama before she started leading us away.
“Yeah…”
I guess Lise-sama is done for the day.
“…. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
As we were walking out of the room, Chris-san whispered, low enough so only I could hear him. Since we were walking side by side, I squeezed his right hand and whispered back to him.
I’m the one who’s making Chris-san go through this painful ordeal because I told him I wanted to see his family… I’m the one who should’ve apologized but… The very least I can do now is to not let my sadness nor pain show in my face…
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Name: Jair
Age: 56
Height: 200cm
He has navy blue hair and purple eyes. He’s the head of the Duke Hast family. He’s good at his job but he can’t go against what both of his wifes say.
Name: Adele
Age: 50
Height: 194cm
She has brown hair and green eyes. She’s the first Duchess of Hast. The mother of Alex and Syutina. She was on good terms with Lise at the beginning of their marriage but after they both had babies that are very close in age, they started acting like cats and dogs.
Name: Lise
Age: 48
Height: 192cm
She has blonde hair and orange eyes. The second Duchess of Hast. She’s the mother of Chris and Mauritz. One way or another, she’s still trying to make Chris the head of the family instead of Alex.
