I Want To Be Your First – R19 - Chapter 95

Ariel turned around to look at the owner of the voice. Vieta, who was bringing along her luggage, followed her gaze a beat later.

A tall man strolled over to them with a fishing net tucked by his side.

He was probably in his fifties. The old shirt, bared feet, darkened and wrinkled face, as well as scruffy brown beard that covered his jaw gave him an appearance that matched the fishermen at the pier.

The man trudged up to Ariel and looked alternately at Vieta and Ariel, before speaking curtly.

“Why are there women here? Did you lose your way in this remote place?”

At his unhesitating usage of informalities, Vieta’s veins stood up on her forehead. Vieta blocked in front of Ariel reflexively and spoke.

“Excuse me, are you a worker here?”

“Uh, uh huh, why?”

“We are the guests of this mansion. The person next to me is the wife of Count Janssel. You seem to be a servant of the mansion, so please watch your language.”

“Oh? That lady is the Countess?”

The man tossed his fishing net away and scanned Ariel with gleaming eyes. At the sudden menacing atmosphere, Vieta faltered and stepped back.

Ariel grabbed Vieta’s hand and pulled her to her back without missing a beat. The man’s large silhouette was reflected in Ariel’s pupils.

Pink waves appeared faintly on his gray silhouette. Ariel looked at the man uncertainly.

“Excuse me, are you perhaps… the previous Count?”

Vieta’s eyes widened as if she was asking what nonsense was that, before looking at Ariel and the man alternately. His mouth twitched as he stared at Vieta, before approaching Ariel with a big smile.

“That’s odd. I heard from Berry that the girl he was pursuing was blind. How are you able to see me?”

“I can see a little of your silhouette. Though I can’t really see your face.”

“Hoh. But how did you figure it out?”

“Ohh, it’s just… you’re about the same height and physique as the Count.”

She may have seen a lot of tall people, but she rarely saw people with wide shoulders like Berthwald. The man before her had a very similar physique to him.

The man gazed at Ariel’s face curiously, as if he had just met a mysterious animal. A mischievous smile appeared on the exposed corners of his lip.

“I’ve heard that His Grace the Duke struggled with his daughter, so I thought that she’d look like a wicked girl… I didn’t know that you’d be a delicate looking girl. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Richter Janssel.”

Richter patted Ariel on the back and laughed. Vieta, who was standing to one side at a loss, defended Ariel while saying, “If you hit her like that!”

Disregarding the dissuasive hand, Richter laughed mischievously and held Ariel’s hand. With the thought that his hand that held hers without hesitation was somewhat familiar, Ariel entered the mansion in Richter’s clasp.

══ ⋆♬⋆ ══

Berthwald only met Richter around 30 minutes later.

Knowing that his father, who had withdrawn from society, was walking around like a beggar, he couldn’t bear to let his father meet Ariel like that. As such, they were separated into two carriages and arrived at the mansion first with some headway in time.

However, there were only three or four servants in the mansion, and it was devoid of Richter’s presence. Just like that, while he headed to the port in search of his father, Richter returned through the forest road.

Unable to locate his father even after searching through the port, he returned to the mansion in a despondent mood, only to find a fella known as his father was teasing his wife to his heart’s content, so he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“You’re still the same.”

Berthwald sat cross-legged on the sofa and started the conversation in an arrogant manner. Richter didn’t pay him any mind, and tied up his shaggy hair tightly, before picking up a teacup in an elegant manner that didn’t match his messy appearance.

“About Ariel. She’s a lot more unique than I thought.”

Richter spoke scornfully while looking at the dark brown colour of the tea.

“When I heard that you, who feeds off your own pride, had fallen for a blind woman, who just so happened to be the daughter of Duke Aegis, I thought that it would be a woman that’s as pretty as an angel. It’s a little unexpected.”

Berthwald placed his feet on an empty chair with a bang. He then folded his arms and tilted his chin, throwing Richter with a cold look.

“Father.”

“Oh, you’re being cheeky again. Put your leg down.”

“Father is well aware of how crazy I am over that woman.”

Hoh, Richter huffed and glanced at his son.

“Of course I do. Didn’t you frame your perfectly fine father as a severely ill patient, and steal the position of Count in a flash to get married?”

“Would a person that’s aware of it speak like that? You seem To have lost both your wit and your instincts after leaving the political world. If you want to talk about Ariel, be careful of the words you choose to say, at least in front of me.”

Richter stared at Berthwald as if he had never met a nutcase like him.

Even if his son’s exterior looked glamorous, he and those around him were well aware that his son was someone that easily deviated from the right path. His seemingly crazy son added another sentence.

“What do you think? After seeing her in person, don’t you think she’s worth pursuing?”

The message contained within his cold eyes was simple.

Say that she’s pretty quickly.

Rather than seeking his opinion, his arrogant gaze was closer to him seeking for a fixed answer. The son that Richter knew was also a punk that would strangle him until he said that she was pretty.

How can he have the same personality as his mother? Richter sighed and nodded.

“Who said that she’s not a beauty? She’s pretty, but I was a little surprised as she didn’t seem like she’d be your cup of tea!”

“What did you think my taste would be like?”

“Since you’re someone that’s particular towards anything and everything, I thought that you’d choose a woman that’s like that as well. A woman that’s very, very pretty, very, very fastidious and very, very arrogant. A woman that’s just like you.”

“Hahaha.”

As he smiled with a soulless expression, Berthwald lowered his feet slowly.

“It seems that Father has gotten older. You’re starting to crack such boring jokes.”

“…Did it sound like a joke? You’re still the same too.”

“Forget it, would you please do something about that dishevelled look. Aren’t you afraid of Ariel? Even if she can’t see, she’s a very delicate woman so you have to be careful. Also, if I catch you sticking close to her like before and harassing her, I’ll be filing a complaint with the attorney.”

“You’re really the same as before…”

As Richter answered with an “Understood,” reluctantly, he scratched his head. Berthwald was unwilling to see his current appearance any longer, and pointed to the door with instructions to wash up immediately. Richter readily ignored it and changed the topic.

“Berry, you have always been an odd fellow, so I’m glad that the new family member seems to be quite a normal child. Honestly, I was quite worried.”

“Why? Are you afraid that a woman like me will become the Countess?”

“Yeah. I thought that it would have been pretty upsetting if a strange child entered a new family and had a hard time.”

Berthwald tapped his fingers on a folded arm. Then, he lowered his head with a chuckle, laughing about something.

“You’ll be surprised that she’s a completely different woman from me. How naive and ignorant of the world she is. How was such a daughter born to the Duke of Aegis… It’s quite strange.”

“Well, even if the Duke is temperamental, the Duchess is quite an intellectual, so she must have taken after her mother.”

After taking a sip of tea, Richter placed the tea cup down and let out a long sigh again.

“I heard that normally, those that take after their mothers are mild people. My family is the complete opposite of that.”

As Berthwald looked at him coldly, with a meaning of, ‘What is that supposed to mean’, he let out a slight sigh and asked a question.

“Since you mentioned it, Father, do you, perhaps, know of Mother‘s whereabouts?”

“I don’t know. Wouldn’t she be somewhere in the capital? Have you asked Wilhelm?”

Berthwald thought of Wilhelm, the butler of the mansion in the capital, with narrowed eyes. As the former guild leader of Southville, Wilhelm was a man of versatile talent, but it’s quite difficult for him to chase after his mother.

“Uncle has a good eye, but he can’t catch up with Mother in terms of intelligence. I gave up on asking him as I thought that it wouldn’t be worth asking.”

“Since she’s a woman that moves around almost everyday, it would be hard for Wilhelm to locate her. But is there a reason you’re looking for your mother?”

After assessing how much he could say, Berthwald replied in a calm tone.

“Rather than saying that I’m looking for Mother… I’m looking for a wizard. Although I’ve found out that they weren’t completely nonexistent, and that they were in hiding to maintain their existence, there was no other headway in intelligence since then. Although I’ve already made a request to Northride, there’s no guarantee that their top guild member can be located.”

“Wizard? Why… It must be hard to find them as they have been living in hiding for a long time. Other than swindlers, there are only a few real wizards on the continent.”

“I’m also aware of that. That’s why I’m looking for Mother. If it’s Mother, she’d definitely know a wizard or two.”

After a short period of contemplation, Richter didn’t raise any questions, and ended the conversation by saying that he understood.

He shooed Berthwald away after hearing his absurd words that he wanted the position of Count, and found himself kicked out of the house by becoming a patient the next day. When Berthwald said that he wanted to become a consul, he said to give it a shot if he wanted to, and he ended up joining forces with his mother and becoming the actual chief consul.

Well, perhaps they were gathering wizards in order to rebel against the Imperial family. He was already tired of his son, who would ask ridiculous questions out of a sudden, so he didn’t really want to question him.

“We’ll have to wait for a week at the very least to get in touch. When will you be returning?”

“I’ve already ascertained whether you’re doing well, and I’ve finished with my business. As I still have some matters to settle, I’d like to return as soon as possible, so please send me a letter.”

“Wait, do you know how many years it’s been since our family had a new member? I don’t mind if you’re going to leave, but I want to be more intimately acquainted with Ariel. You can leave her, and return back by yourself.”

“You’re starting to speak the first verse of nonsense. Do you think that makes sense?”

“What part of it doesn’t make sense? We’re family and not strangers, so it’s fine if we stick together for a little while.”

Berthwald glanced at his father in annoyance. From the looks of his smiling face, it was obvious that he meant to tease me. After agonising for a moment, his expression became arrogant as he faced Richter and promptly spoke like he was letting him off.

“I’ll give you three days. I’ll be right back in the morning after three days have passed.”

══ ⋆♬⋆ ══