CH 190

Christa was momentarily surprised when she heard that Katharina and Helmut would be separating from their master. It was rare for Katharina to voluntarily split from Floto.

But the truth soon became clear. Katharina is staring at Christa. Christa guessed everything and nodded at Katharina.

“I’m sorry, Floto,” Christa said. “I’d also like a break for a little while.”

“Christa?” Floto asked.

She looked surprised to see Christa refusing the chance. It doesn’t mean that she should act differently. She was very worried that Christa might have fallen ill because Floto took her around every day right after their long trip.

That isn’t at all what Floto seems to be worried about. No matter how much Christa is a sheltered lady, she eats three meals with a nutritionally balanced menu and is not weak enough to get sick with appropriate breaks and comfortable sleep. Rather, she exercises moderately, eats properly, and feels better than when she was at home.

Christa said that she would act separately to attend to her own business. She’s sorry that she made Floto worry so much. But she won’t stop. She can’t afford to miss this opportunity.

After Floto and the others left, Katharina and her company also decided to leave Manor Carruthers. Katharina and Helmut also have to clean up after them, so there’s no way they can leave right away. Katharina approached Christa who was drinking tea to calm herself down.

“Lady Christiane, we will guide you to Manor Royce,” Katharina said.

“Thank you……” Christa said. “This is the first time we’ve had a face-to-face meeting like this. What should I do?”

These two certainly saw eye to eye. But this will be the first, and probably the last, time for them to actually have a face-to-face meeting about the plan. After she goes to House Royce, Christa will have no choice but to do her best on her own. This is her only chance to talk to Katharina privately.

“You don’t have to do anything difficult,” Katharina said. “All you have to do is show your usual self to our parents. Even if you force yourself at first, you won’t last long. You should show them, Lady Christiane.”

“I understand…” Christa said.

If you are strangely enthusiastic or try to do something too different from your usual behavior, it means that you are pushing yourself too hard, and if you push yourself too hard, there will be a failure somewhere and the facade will eventually collapse.

Everyone wants to look good and be thought of well. It’s also not just being a good person, but a greeting to the parents of the person she fancied. There are probably a lot of people who try to act like they’re trying to impress their partner’s parents.

However, there is no point in showing a false self and getting a high evaluation. Such unreasonableness and lies will eventually result in the disguise peeling off. If you try to force yourself or lie, you will get tired, and eventually, it will become painful to continue. And if you quit in the middle because you’re tired, even if you get a good impression at the beginning, no, if you change your attitude halfway through because it was a good start, it will turn into an even worse impression.

If so, don’t overdo it from the beginning and go as you are. Katharina’s words encouraged Christa.

Floto is truly blessed with the people around her. Katharina is very considerate and smart. And not only Katharina, but all the girls around Floto are very talented. The old maid named Isabella has more skills and experience than anyone who serves Christa’s family. And Helmut, too…

It would be a lie if Christa said that she didn’t envy Floto, who can do anything and has everything. However, Floto is Floto, and Christa thinks that she is herself. That’s why she made up her mind to greet Helmut and Katharina’s parents today just as Katharina advised.

Helmut went inside the carriage as Katharina told him. He doesn’t understand what she means by it. If it was how it usually was, he’d be in the coachman’s seat, but for some reason, he’s sitting inside with Christiane. And they weren’t even told where they were going.

However, Helmut was surprised to find Christiane already sitting inside when Katharina forced him into the carriage. Not knowing what to do, the carriage started running off and headed somewhere.

And they arrived just a few hours after they left. Helmut became more and more puzzled when he saw where they stopped. It was a place he knew well, the front of Manor Royce in the Aristocratic District, not far from Manor Carruthers.

He still knows that he and Katharina would be returning to House Royce. Originally, it was Helmut who said that they would go back to their parent’s house since this long vacation was the first time they’d been home in a while. And Helmut was the one who told Katharina to go back since she hadn’t been back home once since she started serving Flora.

If Katharina were to return to their parent’s home, it would have been something that Helmut should have welcomed, but he honestly couldn’t be happy. He doesn’t understand this situation at all and doesn’t know what to do. Unlike the usual Helmut, he was at a loss.

“Prepare a platform for Lady Christiane to get off and take her hand… hurry up!” Katharina yelled.

“-!”

After being ordered by Katharina, he finally starts to move. Even Helmut, who should have been able to act perfectly without needing to be told, couldn’t think of what he was supposed to do now. He simply does as he is told to get out of the carriage, prepares a platform, takes Christiane’s hand, and gets her off the carriage.

“Thank you, Mr. Helmut.”

“Right…” Helmut said, in a daze.

“Come, now, Lady Christiane, this way,” Katharina said.

She leads Christiane into Manor Royce while Helmut doesn’t know how to respond. There were people outside the entrance to greet them, but even when they entered the mansion, there were so many people waiting to receive them that Helmut thought House Royce’s Servants must have been in full force.

From Helmut’s point of view, he only escorted Christiane in the same way he would escort the lady he was serving. But how did the House Servants watching him react?

If he brought Flora from the Lord’s mansion, prepared a platform, and escorted her by the hand, you wouldn’t think anything of it. All the House Servants here have done that. When escorting Katharina, the daughter of House Royce, they do the same, so he doesn’t think there’s anything special about it. They just take it as part of their job as a House Servant.

But what if the other party was a young lady who you had been told was coming for a certain purpose? Helmut, who was supposed to be in the prime of his life, had all the family members and House Servants gathered for a “certain purpose,” and he unveiled her in front of everyone. What would you think when a young man takes a young lady by the hand and escorts her out of a carriage they had both ridden in? This was all Katharina’s plan.

The House Servants are usually going to various places, so it’s not possible for everyone to be at home all the time. The House Servants who are attached to their parents and Helmut’s older brothers are probably acting in accordance with their respective masters. Besides that, there are those who manage Manor Royce and those who help manage Royce territory. Why are the people who should be scattered all over the region gathered here today?

He doesn’t even know why their parents and older brothers are here. Helmut and company were greeted by them both, who should not have been home at this time on such a day. Helmut hadn’t told any of them that he and Katharina would be going back to their family home today. In fact, until just a few minutes ago, he had no idea that they would be returning home today. He even wondered if there was something wrong with his parents and elder brothers.

""

“Welcome to my abode,” their father said. “I am the owner of this house, the Viscount of Royce, Heinrich III.”

“Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me today,” Christiane said. “My name is Christiane von Reingen. I am here today to formally introduce myself today in order to discuss an engagement with Mr. Helmut.”

“–!?!” Helmut goes, stunned and unable to hide his surprise.

He’s not an insensitive man, and he’s very popular, so he’s used to being fancied by women. He knew that Christiane was kind to him. But… yes, but not in that way.

He never dreamed that talk of engagement would suddenly come up. In the first place, the Reingen Marquisate and the Royce Viscountcy are too different in status. 1 Normally, they wouldn’t allow a daughter of a marquis to marry a son of a viscount. Viscount Royce, who is welcoming them, is also having a hard time. It’s not an ordinary burden to make a daughter of a marquisate live a life that doesn’t inconvenience her.

Since she married into a viscount’s house, you can’t just say she has to live a modest life as a viscount would. In such a case, if her parents, the marquisate, complain even about one thing, it could be a catastrophe that could destroy House Royce. That’s why viscountcies don’t want a marriage that doesn’t fit the stature of the partner.

There are no stupid low-ranking nobles who would innocently rejoice that they were able to connect with a high-ranking noble family through such a marriage with a different social status. If that happens, every day will be a heavy burden so as not to disrespect the daughter who married into the family. That’s why Helmut never thought that he and Christiane would get married.

And yet… no one was surprised. They just accept the words as normal. Helmut was so surprised that he didn’t even realize that he was the only one shocked, but the surroundings were calm. It was all because Katharina had informed them in advance that she would be bringing Helmut’s fiancée today.

“Why are we standing around and talking here?” said Clementine, Lady Royce, and the Royce children’s mother. “Come now, let’s move into the reception room.”

And at her urging, they did.

First, everyone introduces themselves to each other. House Royce’s descendants have inherited the first name Heinrich for generations. Ordinal numbers are added to that, so Helmut and Katharina’s father is Heinrich III, and the eldest son who is sitting with them is Heinrich IV. Furthermore, the second son who is not here and is currently managing the estate is Heinrich V.

That Helmut didn’t inherit the name Heinrich, is because he wasn’t considered to be an heir from the beginning. The eldest and second sons were considered heirs, and although it sounds terrible to say it, the second son was considered a replacement in case of disaster or misfortune. However, once you got to the third son, the chances of him becoming heir would be low, so he was named Helmut instead.

However, if by any chance the eldest son and the second son’s family line were all disqualified or severed ties, he might have changed his name to Heinrich VI and become House Head. For now, the eldest son and the second son already have heirs of their own, so there is almost no possibility that Helmut will inherit the name of Heinrich and House Royce.

The mother of Helmut and the other Royce siblings is Clementine von Royce, the woman who urged them to the reception room earlier. House Royce, including Helmut and Katharina, has 3 sons and 1 daughter.

By the way, just because the father, Heinrich III, is of the 3rd generation, it doesn’t mean that the family name has only continued for 3 generations. He is the 3rd generation since House Royce, who originally did not serve House Carruthers and was not in Carruthers’s territory, began to serve Carruthers and came to live in their territory. Their lineage is much earlier but since becoming vassals of Carruthers, the order of names reset.

“So then…” Heinrich III said after a drink of tea, “I beg your forgiveness, but I don’t know anything about House Reingen… may I please ask what sort of family it is?”

Whichever way it shakes out, since Helmut was unlikely to become heir, it would have been fine for him to marry even a common citizen. Heinrich III also discussed with his wife, Clementine, that it would be best if Helmut could marry anyone he wanted.

But when it comes time to get married, it’s not like just picking a dog or cat. The Houses that serve House Carruthers, who is keeping a distance from the political center, are also a bit detached from that region of influence… rather, they are unfamiliar with other noble Houses. Heinrich III didn’t really know about House Reingen, it was neither mocking her nor trying to prod her for falsehoods.

Just by looking at her family name, her demeanor, the things she wears, the way she speaks, and the way she behaves, Heinrich III knows at a glance that Christiane was brought up in a well-to-do family. Katharina had told the family that she would bring Helmut and his fiancé back home today, so everyone should gather, but they hadn’t been told what kind of partner would come.

Heinrich stared at Helmut’s fiancée candidate whom he was seeing for the first time today as if he was evaluating her.

“Yes Father-in-Law,” Christiane started, “House Reingen is a family with a long history who have served the Kingdom of Ploiss since its founding. Ever since our founding ancestor was conferred the title of Marquis for his military service, we, his descendants, have been serving Ploiss as the Reingen Marquisate.”

“Mar-Marquisate…?” Heinrich III sputtered.

“”…………””

Christiane’s words froze the air. Heinrich III, Clementine, and Heinrich IV, the parents and brother all turned to look at Helmut with unpleasant creaking noises as if they were poorly oiled hinges.

T/N: Heinrich III is referred to in the text as “Helmut Papa,” and Heinrich the IV as “Helmut Brother.” I decided to be more formal since this casual shorthand isn’t as used in English-speaking countries, so far as I know.

Also, this is one of my favorite parts of Katharina’s scheming. By virtue of being so ruthless, willing to abandon ethics, and scheme and undermine people, she is just a fantastic instigator for interesting plot developments.

“Congratulations on your engagement, Big Brother!”

“My engagement?”

“I’m so happy you’re finally getting married!”

“Wait, to who?”

“I’m sure you’re going to make a fantastic husband, now come, let’s introduce your future wife to our family!”

“Wait, what?”

“Make sure to put in a good showing, now! It’s not just your reputation that’s at stake here.”