Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father
chapter-77-30041322

Chapter 77

If there were any marks, Aedis would blame himself again.

With a slight twist, Aedis immediately let go of my hand.

He then showed a puzzled look.

No, do I look scared?

I hopped down from the window.

“Come here.”

Aedis had a confused look on his face, but I pulled him and led him along.

I laid Aedis on the bed, lay next to him and snuggled into his arms.

I buried my head in his chest, pulled his arms around me and wrapped them around my body. My mind, which had been complicated, calmed down.

“This is the right position. Keep talking.”

“…It’s been less than 30 seconds since I said that I might hurt you.”

Aedis murmured in a voice filled with deep regret.

I relaxed casually.

“Aedis, the day I saw your past. You forced me out of the dream, didn’t you?”

“…”

“You were so mad at that time, even though it wasn’t something I wanted to see.”

“…”

Aedis affirmed with his silence.

“What did you do to me then?”

“I threatened your life.”

Look, I didn’t want a student-being-scolded-by-the-teacher atmosphere.

I gave Aedis the correct answer.

“You made me catch a cold after being exposed to the gusts of wind on the terrace. That’s all, right?”

“…”

“I think you’re misunderstanding something. I don’t think I’m going to die so easily.”

Since Gilbert and Tolyman Elliott were being used as shields, I didn’t plan on getting killed.

Aedis stayed still for a while.

Then, at some point, he changed his position and buried his head in my shoulder.

Mmm, it’s very itchy wherever his hair touches.

Aedis’s hair was soft enough to compare to mine, which I took extra care of.

The sound of his even breathing reached my ears.

I waited for Aedis to completely calm down and then gently brushed his hair.

When the rays of the sun had faded and the unlit space was colored in the still darkness, Aedis opened his mouth.

“…Family.”

“Yes.”

“I had a family.”

“….”

Everyone naturally has a family.

But it seemed like he was about to drown in that natural confession.

“It was an ordinary family that you could find everywhere. We had no such thing as a noble status.”

Aedis was silent again.

Aedis took control of his mind and continued the story while I leisurely counted the increasing stars outside the window.

“I was inherently weak. I was born like that. I thought so.”

I took a breath.

I’m glad he didn’t see my face, my expression.

“I had a brother. He was quite a genius, and he was also interested in immortality. Me and my parents were the first subjects.”

That’s all Aedis told me.

But I knew it was very, very difficult.

“They’re still alive somewhere. Crushed. Torn apart. I’ve killed them countless times, but they keep coming back to life in a different body.”

“……”

“I was also exhausted, so I didn’t care when I found out that there was no way. But eight years ago. A letter.”

Eight years ago, Aedis had brought two brothers from the desert and adopted them.

“He’ll come to get Gilbert and Regen back in the not too distant future. Of course, it’s probably not in order to fulfill his duty as a biological father, even if it’s belated. He’s probably targeting Gilbert’s body and Regen’s head. Funny enough, the experiment done on me was successful, but the one he did on himself failed. If the body I’m using now corrodes, I’ll still show up tomorrow.”

Aedis muttered in a disgusted tone.

“For whatever reason, I’m not going to send them back alive this time. I’m not going to let them get stuck to another person’s body. I’ve spent a lot of time and found a way to do it. No matter how Gilbert or Regen turn out, nothing will change.”

It was only after hearing that story that I understood why Aedis didn’t show affection to Regen, who was a very good follower of his.

He couldn’t.

He concluded that it was not right, even for Regen.

“Gilbert, does he know about his father?”

“He knows a bit about our relationship. In fact, I think he would have picked out only good words to listen to.”

So that’s how his personality came to be.

For some reason, I think that character, Aedis’s brother and Gilbert’s biological father, will be formidable.

No, just like what Aedis had said, he was a huge piece of trash.

“What are you going to do after you kill that person?”

I deliberately called him that person. Aedis sighed languidly.

“I’m going to give up my position as Grand Duke.”

“Hmm.”

Remove the castle from Aedis Kallakis’ name.

“Then, I mustn’t hand over Morgana’s successor position. I never intended to do that.”

Aedis Morgana isn’t that bad, is it?

I added my original surname to Aedis’s name and smiled more contentedly.

Ok, not bad. It rolls off your tongue, just like Kalakis.

“Don’t worry. Even if you don’t become a Grand Duke, I’ll feed you.”

Aedis’s lips twisted.

“I guarantee that I won’t threaten you anymore…”

Again and again! I cut him off.

“Shh, wait a little bit until I get stronger.”

“That can’t be possible.”

In this place, I opened my eyes to the determination of my husband who left no room for persuasion or negotiation.

“Wow, you were being a bit of a jerk just now.”

***

I had a good time with Aedis and returned to Cyclamen Castle in the middle of the night.

But the castle was open.

Gilbert and Shaula were fighting and destroying everything as if they had gone mad.

“…”

I could see Aedis’s blood pressure rising vertically, so I slipped back.

“I’ll go into the bedroom first.”

After a while, Sarah followed me in.

Sarah informed me that Gilbert and Shaula had both fallen into a coma.

“I didn’t know that the Grand Duke would be so reassuring. Well, the two of them were determined to create a mess, but no one could stop them?”

Gilbert was known as the best swordsman in the Empire, and Shaula was the only opponent with skills comparable to his.

Although the knights of the Grand Duchy were the most elite, it would have been impossible to stop them.

But if it’s my husband, it’s a different story. He was beyond the standards in every way. Fufu.

“Then, did the employees see Aedis?”

Sarah was excited as well at my question.

“Of course! The maid chief even shed tears because she thought she was going to die. In particular, I don’t know why the Grand Duke threw the two fainted persons into the stable, but there were cheers everywhere and I could feel the bliss…”

Sarah informed me in detail about how much the evaluation of Aedis, who had defeated the two people no one could stop, had risen.

Aedis was the one who received the compliment, but I didn’t know why I felt so proud.

Anyway, good things are good.

“By the way, Your Grace, you look very tired. Your dress is also dirty.”

“I’m okay.”

It wasn’t a lie.

I was much better now, after being treated by Aedis, than when I was bleeding from my mouth or nose.

I suffered an internal wound as a result of the contract with the beast going wrong, so it was impossible to treat it, but Aedis reduced the pain as much as possible.

And he was nagging at me too.

He also said that if my condition worsened, he would never call me by my nickname for this whole year.

Even after he threatened me, there was no sign of anger, but for me, the destructive power of his words was considerable.

After changing my dress, I was lying on the bed when Aedis came in.

I put on my eyewear.

“Are you here to sleep with me?”

He nodded his head slightly.

Who is this husband? Why are you so cute?

“By the way, where have you been today?”

“…I was in the first bell tower. I had something to focus on for a while.”

“What’s going on?”

“It’s not important…… But it is. I’ll tell you later.”

It’s not important, but it is.

It was suspicious, but my husband said he wanted to hide it, so I roughly agreed and moved on to the next question.

“You’re not going to talk about divorce anymore, are you?”

This time, he nodded his head twice.

Heh, so cute. So calming…

Even in [Esmeralda’s Crescent], Aedis’s mood was never as it was right now, as tender and soft as a pudding. It was probably because it was the first time he had revealed a secret he had kept hidden.

But, if Aedis hadn’t talked about divorce, I wouldn’t have remembered the existence of the wedding ring.

“Ugh, that’s a bit disappointing……”

I wiggled my fingers.

How about couple rings? I don’t think it’s bad because I’ll be sharing it with Aedis, right?

If I can cast a tracking magic, it would be a bonus.