The Villainess in the Romance Fantasy Is Strange - Chapter 64



64. Problems with progress being too fast (2)

After that, time passed by without a trace, and it was already the end of the first semester. It was the day of the summer vacation ceremony at Bern Academy.

In an excited atmosphere, the head instructor, who had finished his usual speeches, declared the disbandment. The students, who had been given a month and a half of free time, each headed to their respective destinations. I returned to the Elebeth family mansion with Leah.

Although he finally had some time to relax, he returned home straight away without having a snack or exploring the streets because of a promise he had made with Mary von Elleves, Leah’s mother.

Instead of allowing Leah to go to the beach, the original arrangement was to meet and talk with Count Macmillan as soon as her debutante, scheduled for the end of July, was over.

As I know, and as Leah knows, our relationship and the surrounding circumstances have changed a lot since then.

So, in order to sort out what we have agreed upon so far, and to formally greet each other. Even though Leah’s debutante is not over yet, I have decided to have a private meeting with Count Macmillan… … That is the context so far.

“… … Hmm.”

I was sitting on the sofa in the living room, lost in thought, when a new thought occurred to me and I found myself falling asleep without realizing it.

It’s already July.

There’s less than a month left until her debutante. Leah will probably be starting to choose the dress she’ll wear and the accessories she’ll wear.

In the original, she wore a dress that looked really s*xy and tried to embarrass Stella by picking on her for no reason, but ended up getting humiliated in return and ended up sharpening her sword for revenge.

At least now, with me by your side, that won’t happen.

No, it’s not.

Even if I wasn’t there, Leah wouldn’t be like that. It’s not that Leah isn’t a villainess now. She just grew up receiving a lot of love, and became a beautiful and cute young lady who exudes the world’s lovable charm.

“… … .”

As I was picturing Leah who was no longer here, my heart suddenly started pounding.

Lately, whenever I think about Leah, my heart keeps showing off its presence, so I’ve been interrupted more than once whenever I try to do something.

When I take swordsmanship lessons, I think of Leah. When I’m training hard, I think of Leah. When I’m lying down to sleep at night, Leah lingers in my mind.

I don’t know why my head and heart are like this. No, I think I know vaguely…

──Bam!

At that moment, without warning, the door opened. I sat on the sofa and jumped up, bowing my head to Count Macmillan, who was walking towards me with brisk steps, not hiding his displeasure.

“Are you here?”

The Earl of Macmillan, my soon-to-be father-in-law, nodded lightly. He didn’t say anything, but it seemed to indicate that I should sit down again.

I waited a moment for the Earl of Macmillan to take his seat, then followed him to the head of the table.

“Yeah, you said you wanted to see me?”

Count Macmillan, leaning back against the backrest, opened the door. A pair of blue eyes, similar to Leah’s but strangely different, took in my appearance.

I answered confidently, but not arrogantly, adjusting my tone of voice.

“Yes, father.”

“Father?”

“… … Master?”

When I slightly changed the title, the gaze became more fierce.

A middle-aged man with thick hair on his hands and chest, who resembled a brown bear, glared at me with his dark mustache twitching. It was so unbelievably scary… … .

“It’s still too early for me to call you master, so call me father.”

“Yes, I understand, Father.”

“……hmm.”

When I call him father, he reacts much better. But his gaze is still fierce.

“Father. Have you finished talking with my brother, or rather, my brother?”

“We agreed to postpone the engagement ceremony since we are both busy, and to hold the official wedding ceremony on July 7th, three years from now… … But why? Is there a problem?”

“Oh, no. There’s nothing wrong with that. I just wanted to double check that we’re not misunderstanding each other.”

“Um, check… … . Yeah, check is important. Especially in such an important matter.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

From noble mtl dot com

As I was playing the janggu, I suddenly felt awkward and looked away without realizing it.

Hey, I should have brought Liara too, even though it was rude of me.

It’s incredibly awkward for two men to sit down and talk to each other.

It’s not that the person himself is rough, but what should I say? Should I say that the atmosphere of this reception room itself is rough?

Why, there is something like that. It’s not that you feel awkward because you don’t like the other person, but because you don’t have a common topic, so the conversation doesn’t flow smoothly, so it’s awkward.

… … Anyway, since I’m the one who’s being teased, I tried to break the awkward atmosphere by acting friendly first.

“What are your hobbies?”

“yes?”

“I heard from my daughter that she usually spends her days reading and practicing swordsmanship… Is that right?”

Earl Macmillan asked me a question, quite out of the blue, on a private rather than a public subject.

I was momentarily taken aback by this, but soon came to my senses and responded.

“Yes, that’s right. My hobbies are swordsmanship and reading.”

Even if reading is like that, I wonder if it’s right to call swordsmanship practice a hobby, but it’s not that important, so let’s move on for now.

“Other than that, do you have any other hobbies? Like drinking, or hanging out. Things like that, right?”

“I don’t drink alcohol unless an adult recommends it to me, and I don’t really like going out to drink. When I have free time, I read, practice swordsmanship, or play with iron.”

“Well, that’s a good hobby. It’s nice to see that you don’t waste your time.”

“Oh, thank you.”

I didn’t say that to get points, I just answered honestly and got praised. That makes me feel a little better.

“Okay, I think that’s enough talking about hobbies. What are your plans for the future?”

As for future plans, I guess you’re asking me what I plan to do with my life after graduating from the academy. I told you some of the plans I had made for the future.

The speech was long, but to summarize it briefly, ‘As soon as I graduate from the academy, I will take the entrance exam for the Black Lion Knights, the knight order of our family. If nothing happens, I will live my life as a knight and be faithful to my family and family… ‘

“… … Hmm.”

After I finished my explanation, Earl Macmillan simply rubbed his beard without saying anything.

It wasn’t a perfect plan for the future, but it wasn’t a plan that could be criticized either, so there’s nothing to complain about.

“Well, not bad. The vision is clear, and the goal is clear.”

“Yes, thank you-.”

“Okay, now my last question. What are your plans for children?”

“… …Plans for children?”

You’re planning on having children, and you haven’t even gotten married yet.

My brother and Earl Macmillan are all nobles to the core, so why are they so far ahead of us?

I understand your feelings, because I know that my child and Leah’s child, who will become the bridge between the two families, is very important to my brother and Earl Macmillan.

We are both students, so why do you keep asking about our plans for children?

Well, if you listen to the stories around you, it’s not like it’s completely unheard of for someone to get married and have children at the age of seventeen. But it’s more common for people to have children when they’re adults.

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, thinking about what to say.

“Well, I think. First of all, I think it’s important for the two of us to become adults and get married. I understand that you’re in a hurry, but there’s a proper order to things in this world.”

If I were someone like my brother who had the ideology of aristocracy ingrained in me, I might understand, but unfortunately, I still have the sensibilities of a modern person. I simply cannot compromise on this.

So I cut it off firmly and examined the expression on Earl Macmillan’s face.

I thought it couldn’t be helped that people treated me as an arrogant brat since I brought it up out of the blue. But Count Macmillan’s face was surprisingly calm.

“Thank goodness your mind seems to be on straight.”

“yes?”

“If you have a child before you even graduate, won’t it affect your studies? Even if the servants help with childcare, in the end, children still need their mother’s care.”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

“Yes, I know you need a successor, but you shouldn’t have children until you graduate from the academy and are officially married. For the sake of you two.”

“… … .”

It would be very rude to say something like that to your father-in-law.

Earl Macmillan looks old-fashioned, so I thought he would tell people to have children quickly. But I was a little surprised to find that his thoughts were surprisingly close to modern people’s way of thinking.

So, I was looking at Count Macmillan with a half-surprised, half-amazed heart. He tilted his upper body slightly and met my gaze directly.

“therefore.”

“yes.”

“If, before we even get married, our daughter gets pregnant with a granddaughter… … .”

Earl Macmillan, whose words had been trailing off, suddenly became serious.

“I don’t know what will become of me.”

“… … .”

Gulp.

I swallowed the sap without realizing it.

Count Macmillan looks at me with eyes demanding an answer.

I nodded my head, my neck stiff, like a poorly oiled robot.

“Okay, I know that.”

Count Macmillan, who had been muttering gloomily, relaxed his expression. Only then did I feel relieved, and I took a deep breath without making a sound.

Wow, really… … . I’m about the same size, but when a guy who’s probably more than twice my size says something like that, it’s really fucking scary.

I guess it’s not something to be said lightly, but if I have an accident with Leah before the wedding, as Earl Macmillan said, that day will be my memorial day.

“Well then, it’s time to wake up. I have plans after this too.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you for your valuable time.”

“Hmm.”

The Earl of Macmillan held out his right hand, and I shook it, thinking to myself.

Seriously, I really can’t afford to have any accidents before the wedding.

So no matter what happens, don’t touch Leah until the wedding.

“Please take good care of me, father.”

… … But, you know.

‘Promise’ and ‘pledge’ are usually the same.

“Yes, please take good care of me. Cain Reinhardt.”

It is a law that is not kept just as one wishes… … .