Chapter 196 - Episode 190: Once Again, a Parent and Child Reunite
The banquet at the royal palace accompanying the award ceremony is a precious venue for attending nobles to gather information and build networks. For that reason, it continues for a very long time, from evening until the dead of night.
Noein, who was effectively the star attraction of this social event, was not permitted to leave midway. After spending a brief, peaceful moment talking with his friend Viowulf, he was forced to return to the conversations between nobles, where only the surface remained harmonious.
Once that reached a temporary lull, Noein left the venue—a whirlpool of ulterior motives—and stepped out onto the balcony. He left the task of dealing with the nobles inside to his wife, Clara, and his parents-in-law, while entrusting Clara's protection to Dant. Thus, he was now alone with Matilda.
"...Ah, I'm exhausted."
"You have worked hard, Noein-sama."
Several chairs were placed on the vast balcony, designating it as a resting area, but no other figures were currently in sight.
Noein sat in a chair at a random position. Since this was a social gathering for nobles, Matilda, who was strictly his guard, stood behind him.
"Thank you, Matilda... Even so, nobles as a group really are remarkably glib, aren't they? I almost respect how they possess such a vast vocabulary just to deliver flattery and sarcasm."
"It is exactly as you say, Noein-sama. The ulterior motives and jealousy of every noble are transparent. It is utterly wretched."
When Noein complained while ignoring his own faults, Matilda gave him her full affirmation.
Releasing his tension and letting out a sigh, Noein leaned back against the chair. The night breeze caressed his face, which was slightly flushed from the alcohol, and it felt pleasant.
In these resting areas, unless it was a case of personal friends talking, it was basically a breach of etiquette to approach other nobles to speak with them, so there was no worry about others approaching him.
So I can rest peacefully... Noein's expectation, however, was abruptly dashed not long after.
Likely by coincidence, a door very close to where Noein was sitting opened, and someone stepped out from the venue onto the balcony.
He looked back, and the other party's gaze met his,
"...Gah."
"...Tch."
Having locked eyes perfectly with the other person—Count Maximilian Kivileft—Noein made a blatantly disgusted face. Maximilian also clicked his tongue with an expression as if he had chewed on a bitter bug. Since Noein had no intention of approaching Maximilian of his own accord this time, this was an unplanned encounter.
Since it is hardly known in noble society that the two are father and son, they should normally pretend to have a relationship where they "know each other's names and faces because they have greeted one another before."
However, because they had bumped into each other unexpectedly, and further, whether by luck or misfortune, they were on a balcony where they didn't have to worry about the eyes and ears of others, they both accidentally reacted with their true feelings. It would be sickening to pretend to be strangers so blatantly at this point.
Therefore, Noein decided to call out to Maximilian without hiding his true nature any longer.
"...Well, well, Father-sama. It has been a long time."
"Shut up. You are no longer my son," Maximilian spat back in response to Noein's playful tone, then averted his gaze from Noein, approached the balcony railing, and pretended to gaze at the royal palace's inner courtyard spreading out before him.
It seemed he intended to respond to the conversation for the time being. In that case, Noein thought he would tease him just enough to avoid making him decisively angry. For now, perhaps he should spare him the "Father" address.
"I am sure His Excellency Kivileft, being one of the kingdom's leading great nobles, already knows, but I have been granted the rank of Viscount. This is also thanks to the wonderful territory I received from Your Excellency. I gained a wealth of knowledge from the mountain of books in the Count's house that no one but I ever read, and thinking back now, I can only feel that I had a wonderful father and family—"
"Enough! Be quiet!"
"Pfft."
"Do not laugh!"
Maximilian tried to silence Noein, who had started chatting away, while his face turned bright red. That desperate expression was so funny that Noein instinctively burst out laughing, and Maximilian shouted again.
"...A Viscountcy without a corresponding scale of territory is nothing but trash in my eyes, but you have, for the time being, achieved success. You have also obtained a guarantee that I will not interfere with you. You should be satisfied with that. Why do you still cast sarcasm my way on top of that?"
"I intended merely to convey my gratitude... If I have offended you, I am sorry," Noein replied with a flippant, insincere apology.
Until the age of nine, he had been relentlessly neglected, and until fifteen, he had lived with almost all his freedom stripped away. Being able to succeed after being given the Arqvist territory was a matter of result; originally, in a forest with no decent resources or even flat land, it wouldn't have been strange for a fifteen-year-old brat with a single slave to be unable to do anything and die in a ditch.
That resentment would not disappear so easily. He had no obligation to forgive him smoothly. Just shut up and take a sarcasm or two, he cursed inwardly.
"...At the banquet the year before last, I was humiliated by you and your son, and after the groundwork was laid so that I could not even make a single retaliation, my evaluation from my wife plummeted. Do you have any idea how much time and money it took before I could speak properly with my wife again?"
"That is quite pitiful. I have a beloved wife of my own now, so just imagining not being able to speak with her makes me shudder... Hehe."
"...Kh!"
Maximilian glared at Noein, who had let out another laugh.
Though he spoke as if he were the victim, the impact Maximilian suffered was only to that extent. It was merely personal loss, such as having his feelings hurt or struggling to appease his wife's mood. As for Noein, he felt Maximilian should be grateful that he was letting him off with just that.
"However, I am glad to see you are doing well, His Excellency Kivileft. Your continued health is one of my interests... so please, continue to live as long as possible and keep me in the corner of your memory. Please let the rumors of my success and the development of my territory reach your ears."
"...I see, so that is your objective."
Maximilian's expression distorted unpleasantly as he sensed Noein's intention.
Yes, Noein's true objective was to continue showing his hated father how he piled up successes and lived happily.
There are limits to direct revenge. No matter how rapid the development had been, there was a difference in power like heaven and earth between the current Arqvist territory and the Kivileft Earldom. In the first place, in exchange for obtaining a pledge of non-interference from Maximilian through the mediation of the royal family, Noein also could not easily lay a hand on Maximilian.
That is why Noein decided to achieve his revenge in a form that could realistically be continued the longest, and because it was understated, it would be all the more effective. That was to have Maximilian "watch" him.
The child of a concubine he once neglected, the eyesore and hateful former son, is developing his territory year by year on the opposite side of the kingdom, achieving success, raising his reputation, and living happily. Yet, he cannot perform a single act of interference and can do nothing but watch.
Just imagining how unpleasant that would be for Maximilian's state of mind made Noein almost let out a loud laugh.
Furthermore, since their territories were far apart, the opportunities for Maximilian to hear about Noein were not that frequent—at least, he likely wouldn't hear rumors of Noein on a daily basis—so for Maximilian, it was an unpleasantness within a tolerable range.
Noein could achieve revenge simply by diligently managing his territory happily and joyfully, and Maximilian would continue to feel a level of unpleasantness that he could grudgingly accept. It was a realistic compromise for both. As a sustainable revenge within the current situation, it was a job well done.
"Yes, this is my wish. Despite growing up receiving such treatment, I wish for your health from the bottom of my heart; I am a wonderful, filial son, am I not... That is a joke, of course. You will permit this much playfulness, won't you?"
"...Hmph. I have no choice anyway," Maximilian answered with a snort and a tone that sounded half-resigned.
If he hated even being revenged in this manner, Maximilian would have no choice but to commit suicide or die young. However, he refused to end his own life or shorten his lifespan for the sake of Noein.
"I am glad you accept it... Since it would be rude to keep speaking to you when you came out to rest, I shall move to the opposite end of the balcony. Well then, His Excellency Kivileft, fare thee well until the day we meet again in a social setting."
"...Yeah. Get lost already."
Toward Noein, who gave a respectful bow like a model kingdom noble, Maximilian waved his hand shooing him away as if brushing off a fly. Since he couldn't interfere anyway, the best course of action for Maximilian was to distance Noein as quickly as possible, even by a single second.
While honestly leaving the spot, Noein, who had enjoyed the conversation with his biological father after a long reunion, smiled with satisfaction.
"...Puhaha, ahahaha, that was fun, wasn't it, Matilda?"
"Yes, Noein-sama. The face of Count Kivileft, who had completely abandoned any attempt to resist, was a masterpiece."
Matilda answered with a smile to her master, who was letting out his loudest laugh in recent times. Matilda shared the same resentment toward Maximilian, and above all, Noein's enemy was Matilda's enemy as well.
The night breeze blew again, swaying Noein's hair and caressing his cheeks. The cool wind of the summer night felt exceptionally pleasant to the current Noein.