"It's possible, isn't it? ......After all, this is the House of the Oubeniels, after all."
Linus felt as if he had been splashed with cold water.
It was true. In the past, it was not uncommon to see people fleeing from this house.
The time when the abominable heretic's laboratory was located in the basement of the mansion. The screams and cries that could be heard all night, the sight and smell of dead bodies being cremated as if the dead were trees burning. There was no end to the number of people who became frightened and ran away without even tendering their official resignation to the head of the family.
Was this a repeat of those days, Linus thought. What has Tullius done again? Even though he was in a remote area of Marlan, far from the royal capital, had he done something that would cause people to flee from his mansion?
Langogne flashed a wry smile at Linus, who was considering the possibilities.
"Perhaps you're thinking of your brother? If so, let's just say that you're off the mark by a wide margin."
"Huh?"
Linus looked, wide-eyed, at the contemptuous look directed at him by Langogne.
They were emotions that would never be directed at an equal person, such as pity for a naughty child or ridicule for a foolish servant.
"Let's get down to the main point, shall we? The reason I'm here today in the first place—"
The man said, and snapped his fingers.
His retainer, who was waiting outside, must have received the signal. The door opened behind Linus.
The sound of footsteps approached. Simone, who had turned to see what was going on, gasped and froze. Linus couldn't move.
He had a bad, bad feeling about this.
He felt an ominous feeling that if he turned around now, his life would be ruined. That sensation forced his head down, and he couldn't move as if he were paralysed.
Linus had the right premonition. However, it was futile to refuse to turn around.
From behind him, he heard a woman's voice, tinged with joy.
"......Welcome home, Master."
Linus looked behind him, trembling, as if the voice was grabbing him by the hair. He didn't want to, he shouldn't look, but he couldn't stop his body from moving on its own.
......He turned around and saw the slave he had kept, supported by a male attendant.
"Ah..."
A cracked voice leaked out from Linus’ throat.
He couldn't believe the scene he was seeing. His slave was standing there with a happy expression on her face. That's good. But why was she in a different attire?
A bulging belly obvious to the eye was pushing through her shoddy clothes. She was pregnant. She had become pregnant. Anyone could see that she was carrying a new life inside her.
Whose child was it, then? Who was the shameless man who fathered a child with the slave of a Count who did not have a legitimate child?
A voice with no attempt to hide his own superiority gave the answer he sought for.
"—and so, this is the reason why. Congratulations on your first child. Linus Oubeniel? Hahaha! In other words, I'm here to congratulate you!"
He gave a slow applause.
Langogne was clapping his hands in delight. This person of the same faction as Linus and the same title as Linus had discovered a fatal scandal of his. He was rejoicing in this moment with a big smile on his face. The man was ecstatic at bearing witness to Linus’ disgrace.
"What do you mean......?"
Simone's murmur was distant.
It sounded as if it came from a neighboring country, further away than the distance that had been left between them to show the coldness of their relationship.
"Oh, pardon me. This must be no laughing matter...... Oh, poor Madame Simone. It's been a year since your wedding. I'm so sorry you've had to go through this."
Langogne's overly theatrical voice pierced Linus’ ears.
While Linus was stunned and had no recourse, the scene continued to progress on.
"I know this is hard to hear, but let me explain. Linus was having a secret relationship with that slave girl."
"Relation...ship? Even though we do not have a legitimate child yet!?"
"It is indeed hard to believe. When I first heard about it, I thought it was just a bunch of nonsense. But just to be sure, I did some investigation while you were away, and here we are...... A female slave with a big belly, owned by this young master. What happened between the two of them is plain as daylight, isn't it?"
"How can this...... Is this real, Linus!?"
Someone was shaking him hard on the shoulder. Even so, Linus's gaze remained where it was, as if it had been drawn to a single point.
The female slave continued to caress her belly as if she were carefully polishing a precious treasure. She wore a dreamy expression and looked towards Linus.
She paid no heed to the proficient narration of the noble she knew not, nor to his wife's obvious agitation, but simply begged for her master’s attention.
As if to say, "We have a child now." "Please praise me."
She innocently waited for him to say something, unaware of the implications the baby would bring.
"If the other party was a commoner or if you have a successor, then this would simply be an internal family issue…...but a slave huh, a slave is no good. It’s not uncommon to see commoners who have made a name for themselves to be placed among the nobility, but for somebody with a collar? Hm? Who in the world would obey a man who has the blood of a domesticated animal? This is a serious problem for the entire noble society. No wonder your vassals ran away when they found out about it."
Langogne was right.
What if, by any chance, even after the birth of this slave child, no heir was born to Linus and Simone? …...The legitimate bloodline of the Oubeniels would be passed on to a person with the blood of a status that was looked down upon even by commoners. To nobles, this person would be a failure, unaccepted by all. This was the birth of an existence that contradicts the obsession with nobility of blood, the foundation of aristocratic society. To have a child with a slave, much less to have it as your first child, was to spit on the very system of this kingdom and the continent.
"How cruel of you, Linus. To marry such a beautiful bride, and to have a man as great as the Marquis Lavallee to act as the intermediary, and yet cause such a scandal."
And this problem will surely affect Simone and Lavallee.
A noblewoman cuckolded by a slave would likely be subject to constant scorn and ridicule for the rest of her life.
Whereas the matchmaker who arranged a marriage for the man to disregard his wife for a slave would be questioned by those around him on his choice.
This was an extraordinarily ugly scandal that could hardly be compared to the slave-killing of Tullius.
"I-It can’t be...tell me it’s a lie."
"It's sad, but it's true, Madame Simone. If you still think it's a lie......why don’t you ask Linus? Command the slave to tell us who the father of the child is. If Linus uses obedience magic, surely she would not be able to tell a lie, would she?"
Langogne kindly hinted to Simone, but in reality, he was pushing Linus to the thirteenth step of the execution table. Admit your guilt now, he was basically saying. Face your judgement.
"I-Impossible…..."
The voice that escaped him was not directed particularly to anybody..
"T-there's no way it’s mine ...... I had properly—"
Except for the first time when he was careless, he had always been concerned about that. Ever since he realised that he couldn't use this woman to bear children no matter what, he had been taking steps to avoid this situation.
But the accuser was not concerned at all.
"What is it? Did you use some kind of fish bladder? Or did you use some weird medicine? ......How ridiculous. I'm sure it didn't work, which is why we're in this mess today. It's about time you gave up on finding excuses."
Linus made a squeaking motion and turned again towards Langogne with difficulty.
"What......"
"Hmm?"
"What do you want?"
The voice that asked sounded like Linus was throwing himself at Langogne and begging him.
Such a scandal would have too wide an impact to be exposed simply to kick out a competitor within the faction. There was even a possibility that the centralist faction itself would lose its weight if this entire incident blows up. As the leader of young aristocrats in the faction, surely he was concerned with that.
It was hard to believe that he was simply trying to protect the reputation of the faction and wanted to handle this matter in secret. If that was the case, it would make more sense for him to report it to Lavallee and receive his approval before moving forward. From Langogne's attitude, Linus did not think he had such intentions.
