CH 38.1

38.1　Monologue of A Certain Marquis 4

Looking at me, who was still frozen stiff in shock when I heard Bates-dono’s remark about him being Theodore’s friend, Count Sphene opened his mouth and asked his little brother a question.

“What do you mean, Bates? You have become Lord Goldberg’s son’s friend you said?”

“Well, yeah. The thing is he came to my store looking for Luke. Then, after talking for a while, I heard various things from him. And that’s the main reason I came to this evening party actually; to file a complaint to that certain person.”

So… what in the world were they talking about when they met?! I thought, incredibly curious. However, it was not only me who’s surprised. Count Sphene was surprised as well as evident from the slight widening of his eyes. He looked like he was slightly taken aback by Bates’ remark just like me.

“Don’t act recklessly, Bates. Good grief, you really are… even though you said that you respect Count Greenwall, you’re still trying to file a complaint right to his face.”

“I still respect him. Or rather, I respect his ability. However, I can’t say the same for anything other than that. Well, I’m not saying that because he’s a bad person. I mean, just because that good-for-nothing – well, aside from his ability as a researcher, his other quality on the other hand… – is the head of Greenwell Family, it doesn’t mean that he can treat his slip as something trivial. I admit that though he’s an extremely poor lecturer during my student days, his ability as a researcher was truly astonishing as proven by a theory he established. That theory of his completely blindsided me. However, look at what he did as the head of his family. Frankly speaking, from the looks of it, his predecessor doesn’t seem to care about the personality of the person who is going to succeed him, which is actually ill-suited for the current head of Greenwell Family. That decision then caused all this mess.”

Bates-dono was complaining without stopping for a breath even after being cautioned by Count Sphene. From his words, I could sense that he really looked up to Count Greenwell’s ability as a researcher, but not anything else. Still, I feel it was fortunate that Count Sphene immediately rebuked Bates-dono before he went too far.

“Bates!!! That’s enough! My apologies, Lord Goldberg. My little brother is a research junkie. Please forgive him for his blunt remark.”

“It’s alright, please don’t worry about it. I’m pretty much already used to talking to researchers. I don’t know what Bates-dono heard from my son, but, please forget about it.”

I meant… it would only pour oil into the blazing flame. With the current situation, that was something I wanted to avoid at all cost.

“Are you sure? He’s the type of person that has a hard time understanding this matter, you know? He won’t understand the situation unless you properly explain the matter to him.”

“It’s precisely because I know about that, that I ask you to forget about it. After all, this is something that our family has to face together sooner or later. Unless… my son is the one who asked you to file a complaint to Count Greenwell?”

“Nope. He never asked me to do that. When conversing with me about this matter, he only said that he has to do his best for the next few years to build his own network.”

I see. He’s indeed my son. Although he might be complaining about someone, he wouldn’t rely on someone else to clear up his own mess.

Right, if it was Theodore, he would not even think about asking help from someone he just got acquainted with today, much less say it.

“If that’s the case, then thank you for being discreet toward him.” I said as I looked at Bates-dono.

I meant… if Count Greenwell heard from Bates-dono about the cancellation of Theodore’s engagement, he would surely be worrying ceaselessly about the matter. I meant, though he was the cause of this, he didn’t mean it. He was the kind of man who inadvertently created misunderstanding wherever he goes due to the way he speaks after all. That was why I wanted him to at the very least choose the right place when he wanted to talk.

“… My apologies. It seems I ended up letting my wild imagination run rampant. You’re right, a stranger like me shouldn’t butt in too much in this regard.”

Perhaps it was because he finally snapped out of his frenzy, but Bates-dono soon bowed his head to me and apologized.

“Thank you very much for your consideration for my son. ―― I’ve been wondering why you’re thinking so much for my son, but…”

“You’re mistaken, Lord Goldberg. This little brother of mine has some sort of attachment to Count Greenwell. Thus, he can’t stomach the mess caused by the count. He’s just a child in that way. And though I don’t know what he’s going to talk about, I’m pretty sure this fella is going to use your son as a pretext to talk to Count Greenwell. In short, he just wants to talk to Count Greenwell, but lacks a ‘reason’ to do that, that’s why…”

Count Sphene cut in before I could finish my words.

“Aniki…”

“That’s the truth right?” Count Sphene asked with a rhetorical tone, very sure of his speculation.

Faced with his elder brother’s glare and tone of voice, Bates-dono averted his gaze, embarrassed. Bull’s eye, huh.

I see. I ended up smiling wryly upon realizing that.

“Since that was the case, it’s more reason for me to ask you not to use my son as your guise, Bates-dono.”

“I understand. My deepest apology for that, Lord Goldberg.”

As Bates-dono had apologized properly after I asked him to not use my son as his pretext to strike a conversation with Count Greenwell, I let it go.

◇

The other nobles around us suddenly got noisy. Though their sudden increase of noise might be because Count Greenwell was currently walking in our direction.

Thank God we could meet at this party. And thank God he was the one who came looking for me. Perhaps due to this action, the nobles around will think twice over believing those rumors. I thought.

Anyway, the first impression one would have when they met Count Greenwell would be that his face seemed to be perpetually neurotic. Furthermore, he did look like a stern person since he had always shown a serious expression on his face, but… he was also a person with a strong sense of responsibility. He was someone who would sincerely finish whatever was entrusted to him.

And though many people misunderstood his nature, they knew that he was a frank person who we could rely on.

Yet, Bates-dono frowned upon seeing him. However, I had no time to inquire as Count Greenwell had arrived in front of us.

“Long time no see, Count Greenwell. You look extremely lively tonight.”

Both of us shook our hands together stiffly.

“… Long time no see, Marquis Goldberg. You’re also the same as usual.”

He really is the same as usual. I thought as I smiled wryly at him when I heard Count Greenwell speak with his usual stern voice.

I was sure that he might have wanted to apologize to me for all those rumors that spread around due to his blunder. However, he might be unable to because he still had a hard time to find the words he should say to prevent even more misunderstanding.

He had always been worrying about the fact that his statement often got misunderstood by others due to the way he talked after all. So, he needed to be careful. However, anyone who knew of his true character – including me – would not misunderstand what he wanted to say though. Still, considering others often misunderstood his words…

In any case, after we were done shaking our hands stiffly – mainly due to his nervousness – , Count Greenwell proceeded to greet Count Sphene next.

As this man was ill-suited for talking in public, the best thing for us to do right now was to show our surroundings that we got along just fine. That way, it would prevent more misunderstanding from being born.

“This person is as cocky as ever.”

Bates-dono muttered with an expression that somehow resembled that of a pouting child to me.

“… You’re the same as ever too.”

Count Greenwell said, finally looking at Bates-dono. Although his words were brief and others couldn’t help but perceive that he was glaring at Bates-dono due to his stern face, I couldn’t help but notice a hint of familiarity in his eyes when he saw Bates-dono.

“Thanks. You’re right in that regard. I’m the same as always.”

As promised, Bates-dono only offered a handshake without mentioning the matter of Theodore. It seemed he realized that it was better to not mention this matter to Count Greenwell.

◇

“Marquis Goldberg, may I ask for a bit of your time?”

Suddenly, after he finished greeting Count Sphene and his little brother, a voice of a young man who had yet to enter his twenties called out to me.

“If I’m not wrong, you should be Viscount Amber’s…”