Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father
chapter-174

Nation of Maevia (3)

I was on the way to the market in a carriage.

I saw a stray cat taking a nap in the sun, and I opened my mouth.

“I heard the cat of Cyclamen Castle talking earlier.”

Aedis didn’t treat my words as nonsense.

“It is no ordinary beast. Tolymann doesn’t know.”

I didn’t even know until just now! Why didn’t you tell me until now!

I pursed my lips.

Aedis, noticing that I had pouted, tilted his head.

“Are they bothering the wife?”

“No.”

I denied it immediately.

Aedis seemed to speculate for a moment, then opened his arms.

“Do you want to sit on my lap?”

No!

“Are there any other Cyclamen castle secrets you haven’t told me? Like the castle is inhabited by ghosts, or there are a few more secret passages I don’t know about.”

When I grumbled, Aedis only then realized the reason.

“I didn’t hide it on purpose. I didn’t really care.”

“… ..”

Knowing that it wasn’t a lie made it an even more absurd explanation.

Aedis’ hearing was better than the average person’s, but it included a filter that blocked out most sounds that didn’t concern him.

He would have completely ignored the cats right next to him even if they cursed at him. Yes.

“There are no ghosts in the castle, and you know all the secret passages. So please don’t hate me too much.”

Aedis smiled and stroked my hair gently. Wow, that’s cheating.

I straightened my lips, pretending to be invincible, and recalled the [Collection of Northern Fairy Tales] that I once saw in Regen’s room.

There was a story of an orphan boy who was revived as a monster, a giant spirit that seduces people with gold and burns them to death, and a story of cats that transform into monsters on a full moon night.

At the time, it was not a big deal, but it turned out that it was no exaggeration to say that Raven and Paimon’s past was transcribed in it.

So what about the cats?

“Do those cats turn into monsters on a full moon? Do they bite and kill people?”

“They don’t bite people anymore. They just grow to the size of Tolymann, but sometimes they drool.”

…..For some reason, it seems that even if Tolymann knew this, he would not be able to abandon his love for cats. He might offer his own fingers as a special meal? It would be a good thing if not.

The sun was setting when we arrived at the market.

Regen was not there at all, perhaps he had already returned.

“I didn’t know it would be so hard to see my son’s face.”

I added while eating the cotton candy Aedis bought me.

“Still, thanks to you, I had a rare experience.”

Merchants shouting to sell even one more fresh ingredient shut their mouths like clams when they looked at me. Leaves rustled in the wind.

Also, when I stomped my foot, the miracle of Moses occurred and the passers-by parted left and right.

Do they think they will be killed if they come within ten meters of me?

If it wasn’t for Aedis’ deceptive beauty, I might have looked like a wanted criminal.

I thought positively of the 19-year-old Aedis.

“Don’t be discouraged by people avoiding you like this, Aedis. Compared to when you were 19, your impression is much milder now? In another 500 years no one will be afraid of Aedis.”

“… 500 years. It should be really soon.”

“Of course. I’ll be by your side.”

“…..”

Aedis paused.

Discovering the spicy skewered dish, I pulled at Aedis’ clothes.

“Aedis, I want to eat that next time. If you eat something sweet, you have to eat something spicy and salty, too.”

Aedis obediently went to buy a skewer and got a bunch of bonuses for some reason.

Aedis timidly explained the reason.

“He said that if that dark-haired man is threatening me, give a signal by shaking the skewer and he’ll send a rescue.”

I shrugged my shoulders because it was a phrase I heard often.

“He’s a brave man. The security here is ruthless. Did you mention we’re a couple?”

Aedis blinked.

“No. I’ll tell him right away.”

Aedis returned to the store.

That… I wanted to see him getting more excited, which is rare. But it will only look suspicious that I ordered it! It seems like you are moving under orders from the kidnapper!

It was just before being reported to the police. I was contemplating whether I should follow him and reveal my identity, but Aedis’ excellent hearing picked up the sound of their conversation.

“A married couple? Did you get married under an agreement? Then I’m glad you didn’t get scammed, right? The Grand Duchess also has pink hair like the young lady, so I’m worried.”

“No. My husband and I are in love.”

Aedis cleared his throat and said.

The tips of his ears were a little red.

… crazy! so cute! Switching bodies is the best!

I turned my back because I thought I might break something if I watched any longer. Soon after, Aedis returned with a proud face.

“The misunderstanding has been resolved. Wife. Instead, he doubted whether I was the real Grand Duchess or not, but I passed this over well.”

I tried my best to ignore the shop owner, who had turned to stone. I don’t think he passed this well. It seemed that he had turned doubt into certainty.

“We came out after a long time, so let’s take a look at other places.”

I took Aedis and walked away from the shop. Please don’t let that person scream that the Grand Duchess is here.

It was around the time we reached the other side of the market while finishing the skewer dishes. Suddenly, I heard the sound of something falling, and my head turned by itself.

A goon pushed and knocked over an old man passing by. All I heard was the sound of the old man’s belongings falling.

“F***, keep your eyes open!”

Look at him blaming others when he crashed into the old man.

He even tried to kick, so I blocked the way while clicking my tongue.

“What are you doing?”

I’ll admit it. I had fun mimicking Aedis’ tone.

The goon frowned.

“Who are you to interrupt me? Get lost.”

Hey, you don’t run away even after seeing this face, you have guts.

When I laughed, he got angry.

“Is this punk laughing?”

He reached out. As my body moved, I lightly dodged and punched. There was a wham sound.

What is this cool hitting feeling? It’s no joke

It was so intense that my fingertips tingled.

Opening my eyes to a new world, I clenched my fists again.

“Get hit one more time… Huh? Did you pass out?”

I tapped the goon that laid flat like a piece of paper with my foot and pressed him hard. There was no sign of him waking up.

“Was this guy alone? There might be another goon nearby, so shall we go on patrol?”

The original purpose of having come to the market to find Regen had been completely forgotten.

“We…well…thank y…”

Where is the bad guy! Come out human scum!

Aedis answered, raising the old man to his feet instead of me, who flashed my eyes and looked around.

“It seems that you want to catch and beat a few guys for a suitable excuse, but if the wife wants it.”

But the same luck didn’t happen twice. Even the thugs whose entire body was covered with tattoos ran away when I made eye contact with them.

“Tsk, what a shame.”

I was going to dedicate myself to maintaining peace in the North.

Aedis smiled.

“If I had known that the wife would enjoy it this much, I would have changed my body a long time ago.”

“Aedis, isn’t there anything you want to do with my body? You can get revenge on your father-in-law now.”

It was just around this time last year. We visited the Morgana mansion with Regen, but Aedis was slightly hurt by my parents.

– You can speak comfortably.

– It’s hard to do that regardless of status or age.

– ……

At Father’s cold rejection, Mother could not hold back her laughter, and I was in trouble.

I told them many times that Aedis was softer than he looked, but I didn’t expect them to listen at all.

Attacked by my glare, Mother tried to fix it.

– I’m sorry. Actually, Richard wanted Maevia to disregard the marriage contract and get married very late. If you do wrong, he can get rid of you.

– When I disappoint you and Eve, I will try to be properly banished.

I’ve told Aedis over 100 times not to even dream of trying to do something like that.

Aedis declined, holding out the candy he had received as a bonus from the shopkeeper.

“It’s okay because the wife avenged it for me.”

“Huh? Me?”

As I chewed on the candy, Aedis smiled like an arrogant victor.

“You didn’t leave my side for an hour to comfort me that day. The Marquis regretted it so much.”

…..Can a person be this cute? Seeing my husband satisfied with such a small revenge, I looked back at myself, who had been frantic to defeat someone just before.

“Wife, there are guys out there who want to steal money from children.”

“Let’s go now!”

Of course, I didn’t get to reflect on myself.