Chapter 37 - The Melancholy of Count Nord Ludovico (Part 1)
The following few episodes are short stories written to commemorate the release of the first volume of 'The Exile of the Marquess's Daughter Ariarein.'
First, an episode featuring him, who received great popularity in the main story. It is in two parts.
Chronologically, this takes place the day before the main story chapter 'The Trust of Count Nord Ludovico.'
『Dear Sir,
To His Excellency Randolph Hazen, Marquess Mares,
I am deeply sorry to have to write such a letter to your Excellency, to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude. My daughter Claudia has...』
Having written that much, the pen of Count Nord Ludovico Foscar stopped.
—Claudia has... what?
Committed an irreversible act?
Acted rudely toward your daughter?
Hurt your daughter's heart?
None of them seemed appropriate. He sighed and looked up, shifting his gaze to the window. He saw the well-maintained garden trees and, beyond them, a clear autumn afternoon sky.
He was not in his office, but in the parlor. The office was certainly organized so that work could proceed efficiently, making it the perfect place for writing short letters or documents. Having heard about the Crown Prince's broken engagement and the exile of the daughter of Marquess Mares yesterday, Ludovico had fallen into a bit of a sleep deficit. Since this morning, he had been brooding in his office, tossing aside his original duties—the various affairs of Count Nord—but in the end, he hadn't been able to write even a single letter of apology.
After eating lunch, Ludovico was facing a blank sheet of paper in this parlor, hoping for a change of pace in the afternoon.
—Just what is going to happen from now on?
His daughter, Claudia Foscar, had snatched the position of the Crown Prince's fiancée, and the Crown Prince had pronounced a sentence of exile upon his former fiancée, the daughter of Marquess Mares, Ariarein Hazen.
The Crown Prince had said that the sentence of exile itself could be lifted if the person in question apologized. That was fine—well, not fine, but it could be made fine. The problem was the seat of the fiancée, that is, the future position of the Queen Consort.
According to Claudia, the declaration of the annulment was made in public, and the Marquess's daughter accepted it without raising any objections. In other words, everyone present was a witness, and the Crown Prince himself had said, as if to drive the point home, "Let everyone know it is so."
At the very least, regarding the matter of the annulment, it meant the Crown Prince had no intention of reconsidering.
The question of why he would do that to that Marquess's daughter was endless.
Ludovico knew because he had raised his own daughter, Claudia, with plenty of time and money. Even setting aside parental bias, his daughter Claudia possessed knowledge and education that exceeded the standards required of a Count's daughter. However, looking at the various rumors he had heard about the daughter of Marquess Mares, he couldn't think of Claudia as an opponent who could stand on equal footing no matter how he looked at it. After all, despite being the same age as Claudia, the opponent was a talented lady entrusted with acting as the Marquess's representative in the royal capital.
—Well, one cannot understand the human heart. There are things there that are not just logic.
Ludovico knew that all too well. If one went by logic, the fact that his wife—Beatrice—had married him should have been quite a difficult story to imagine.
Shaking his head, he returned his gaze to the unfinished letter. As he tried to write "Your house's," the characters became terribly faint. The ink on the tip of the quill had almost dried during his long contemplation.
With a sigh, he tossed the pen aside and crumpled the unfinished letter. It was the fourth sheet since this morning. Since it was a letter of apology to a superior, he was using reasonably good paper. Thinking about what on earth he was doing, he took another sheet from the paper folder and placed it on the desk.
He heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock. Ludovico slowly raised his eyes and looked toward the door. Only three people in this mansion held a key to this room. Himself, the butler, and his wife, Beatrice.
"Oh my."
Beatrice, appearing from the door, smiled brightly upon recognizing Ludovico.
Plentiful golden hair and well-shaped purple eyes. A sweet, well-featured face with flawless white skin. Slender limbs. His wife's beauty had not faded even now, more than twenty years after they met.
"So you were here, sir."(T/N: Beatrice addresses her husband as Danna/Sir)
She softly ordered the lady-in-waiting who followed her to bring tea.
"As for the sweets, look, we have those that were bought yesterday, don't we? Slice them and bring them. For two, for my husband and me. Please bring a tea that matches."
Watching his wife speak joyfully, Ludovico let out a small breath.
His wife did not always understand all of Ludovico's worries. However, his wife always tried to share her own joys with him. She didn't particularly try to encourage him, nor did she give advice or admonitions; she just naturally shared the fun things that happened that day, saying things like "Such a wonderful play is being performed," or "These sweets are popular," or "The maid decorated with beautiful flowers."
It was precisely because of such trivial but soul-resting conversations that he could face the tasteless and painful reality. Ludovico always thought so.
"Are you working in a place like this?"
When the lady-in-waiting bowed and withdrew, Beatrice sat in the chair next to Ludovico with natural movements.
"Yes, I just can't seem to make any progress."
Ludovico responded with a sigh.
"I thought I would change the location and my mood a little."
"—Was I a disturbance?"
Ludovico was terribly weak to that gesture of her tilting her head slightly.
He became completely unable to say she was a disturbance.
Shaking his head, Ludovico said.
"Have I, even once until now, ever spoken the words that you are a disturbance?"
"You have not, sir."
"That is right. —Because I have never even thought it."
Beatrice laughed softly.
"You are quite skilled with words."
Ludovico let out another sigh.
It seemed that the letter of apology would have to be put off for a while longer.
[Author's Note]
This is a conversation chapter with the beautiful wife who was briefly mentioned in the main story.
She is the source of motivation for Ludovico-san, the pitiable middle-aged man who can work hard for his family.
【Announcement】
The book version (Volume 1) of this work "The Exile of the Marquess's Daughter Ariarein" will be published by Earth Star Luna on March 3rd. There is a special page on the label's official website, so please take a look.
The cover, frontispiece, a preview (up to the end of Chapter 1), character introductions, illustrations, maps, etc., are all public.
Also, there are first-edition limited short stories, so I hope you will pick it up!
https://www.es-luna.jp/bookdetail/53aria_luna.php