RYOG Chapter 10

“Oh, uncle! I want to meet that cousin!”
My uncle looked happy and my father looked bitter at my words.

“Lycoris, come here for a moment.”

When I followed my father and walked up to him, he gave me a rather stern look.

“Lycoris. You shouldn’t stick your nose into other people’s family affairs.”
“But, father. It’s about my cousin. Father would also be interested in what kind of child he is and what he’s doing, right?”
“That’s true…but this is something we don’t want others to know, especially your aunt. Do you understand?”
“That’s… Yes. I understand.”
“So you’ll be a good girl and stay home, okay?”

I realized that my father was planning to go with my uncle.
This is probably what my uncle was talking about. Then my father will go to check on the current situation.
What my father said was absolutely correct, but now that I knew the child’s name was “Shade,” I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

“Father……”
I was at a loss and couldn’t find a good excuse, so I grabbed the hem of my father’s clothes and tried to stop him from saying, “This is the end of the conversation.”
My father frowned at this.
“Do you really want to meet him that badly?”
“Yes, yes. It’s okay if I just follow you and say hello. I will never say anything unnecessary, so please, father…”

My father sighed deeply.

Uncle Narcissus Rankrats lives with his wife and daughter 30 minutes by carriage from Duke Lilia’s residence.
His official job is to govern the territory in place of Duke Lilia, my father, who is often away. Since my father has no siblings, uncle Narcissus, who is his brother-in-law, fulfills this role.
However, it is my father who actually gives the instructions, and the person who arranges the various tasks and negotiates with the people is the magistrate. So what kind of work does my uncle do? That is probably not something a child should ask.
By the way, my uncle’s hobby is gardening, and I hear the Rankrats residence has a wonderful greenhouse.
Although my uncle is rarely away from home for work, he often travels far away to get the horticultural varieties he wants.
While I was nodding along to my uncle’s steady story, my mind was occupied with anticipation (or perhaps anxiety) at the thought of possibly meeting “Shade.”

“Where is he?”
As soon as we arrived at the mansion, Uncle Narcissus asked the middle-aged butler without any preamble, and he immediately and unequivocally answered.
“He’s with Miss Krinum.”
I’m also looking forward to meeting my cousin, Krinum, who is a year older than me. And of course, if she feels hurt by this incident, I can’t abandon her.
I think that’s typical of cousins, but Krinum and I don’t look much alike. She’s a beautiful girl with straight brown hair and a neat and tidy look. Her personality is also rather quiet and shy. At family gatherings, she tends to hide behind me, who is one year younger than her.
We are close relatives and live relatively close to each other, so we get along pretty well. Although we mostly communicate through letters, she is an avid reader, so we have a lot to talk about.
However, although Shade is what you would call a mistress’s son, Uncle Narcissus seems to love him and he seems to be getting along well with Krinum. I’m concerned about my aunt’s stance, but as long as he has two allies, I don’t think the situation is that bad.

With these expectations, I stepped into the Rankrats residence.

But.
When my father and I were taken to the guest room, no one from my uncle’s family showed up, no matter how long we waited.

“Father, is your work okay?”
“Ah. I came knowing that it would take a long time today. As Narcissus’s brother-in-law and the head of the family, this is a completely different matter for me.”
“I see…Dad, have you met the child?”
“No, I haven’t. I’ve been busy listening to the story and finding out about the child’s mother. I only heard about it yesterday, after all.”
“Huh? So the child was only adopted yesterday or today?”
“No, it’s been a while since he was taken in. I didn’t worry about that from my brother-in-law either, so I realized it too late.”

In other words, there was no report until my father noticed the situation. My uncle decided to take the child on his own initiative, and did so without even telling my father. I’m sorry, but I find this a bit surprising.

“Uncle, he’s a very active person, isn’t he?”
“No….Ah, that.”
My father hesitated for a moment after speaking. That’s unusual.
“The truth is, I don’t really understand what he’s thinking. We’re second cousins, so we’ve known each other for a long time. But ever since I was little, whenever I’m with him, I’ve felt like we’re not on the same page. I’m sorry, since he’s rather fond of me, but we’ve never been able to become comfortable with each other.”
My father expressed his troubles (?) about socializing with people. Even rarer.
“Even father gets confused when he can’t understand someone’s feelings…”
My father looked shocked at my words, then smiled bitterly.

“That’s true. To begin with, I’m–”

“Kafir! Sorry to have kept you waiting!”

Another thing I learned about my uncle: he has really bad timing.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!