Chapter 04…
The desk in the study that my older brother used to use was piled high with stacks of papers.
How on earth did Father manage this on his own before?
“You take care of that. Bring me the finished ones as you go.”
“…Understood.”
Most of the documents were the monthly reports compiled from our estate, but there were also endless requests, complaints, and repair notices from various parts of the territory.
It was necessary to decide how to allocate the budget and which matters required immediate attention.
Every few months, there would be discussions held in the territory itself—but one needed to be familiar with the issues beforehand.
My brother must have been the one handling this in place of our aging grandfather.
Father never wanted to deal with such troublesome work; he neither visited the lands nor thought about them.
Although Mother held the title of Countess, it was clear that both she and her husband—my father—had little real concern for the land or its people.
Could it be that nothing had been processed in the three months since my brother’s death?
I doubted Father had even summarized the monthly accounts.
With a sigh, Kevin began sorting through the papers one by one.
When he saw Catherine again after some time, her belly seemed slightly rounded.
The child was expected to be born in about four months, and a month before that, Kevin was to marry Catherine.
She might still be grieving for his brother.
Thinking that, Kevin couldn’t bring himself to talk about their upcoming marriage.
In any case, since she was already pregnant, their marriage would not involve sharing a bed.
Perhaps, after the child was born, they could gradually become like a real couple.
He couldn’t imagine it.
“I’m sure it’s going to be a boy.”
Catherine said this to Mother, gently placing her hand over her stomach.
“That would be nice. But girls are lovely too. I’m looking forward to the child you and Kevin will have as well.”
Mother probably hadn’t meant any harm.
Yet, Catherine suddenly burst into tears.
“I—I want to cherish this child I have with Lord Lucio, but… you don’t think that way at all, Mother-in-law!”
Mother’s eyes widened in surprise.
“How could you say something so cruel! Apologize to Catherine at once!”
“Eh…? Did I say something strange?”
Both Mother and Kevin were startled by Father’s outburst.
Mother hadn’t really said anything wrong.
It was expected that women bear two children, so Catherine would eventually have one by Kevin as well.
She had simply spoken about that likely future.
If there was any fault, it was that only three months had passed since Kevin’s brother’s death.
Catherine hadn’t yet come to terms with it, and being told she should bear another man’s child must have wounded her deeply.
Still, Kevin thought, if that were the case, wasn’t it strange that she had agreed to marry him only half a year later?
And yet, the way she said it—almost as if she would bear only his brother’s child—made Father’s anger seem even more puzzling.
Father supported the crying Catherine and led her out of the room.
Kevin exchanged a bewildered glance with his mother, both silently wondering what on earth had just happened.
