I Want To Be Your First – R19 - Chapter 97

It’s been three days since they left Nedik like that.

Ariel opened her eyes at a rattling sensation. The windows, dark ceiling, and curtains of the carriage could be seen shaking in her murky view.

When she turned her head to the side, a red silhouette came into view. Ariel watched him quietly before murmuring softly.

“Count, is there still a long distance to travel before reaching?”

Her muffled voice caused Berthwald to cover the book that he was reading and make eye contact with Ariel.

“Why don’t you sleep more? We’ve already entered the coast, so we’ll reach the mansion within an hour or so.”

Ariel pulled the fluffy blanket up to her neck as she sat up. She blinked slowly, rubbed her eyes and sighed.

“I had a bad dream.”

Her voice kept cracking, so Ariel cleared her throat noisily. The clear images of the precognitive dream that she had just dreamt encroached into Ariel’s mind amidst her daze.

It was a strange dream. She would usually get precognitive dreams when people around her were in danger. It’s like someone was tipping her off about it in advance so that people she likes wouldn’t get hurt.

However, the dream that she just had was much clearer than usual, and it wasn’t informing her of the danger that people around her would face, but a larger scale…

As if it was warning her of an imminent disaster, it was a dynamic dream.

“Count, would a typhoon occur in Rach, even if it’s during winters?”

Mistakenly thinking that she pulled the blanket around her because it was too cold, Berthwald pulled Ariel toward him as he answered.

“Winter is a dry season. The amount of rainfall is little, so there’s no way a typhoon would occur. Although I’ve heard that it’s a rarely seen situation, it doesn’t deal significant damage.”

“Oh my… is that so? Strange. This dream was definitely…”

It was a precognitive dream. As she mumbled to herself, Berthwald looked at Ariel with a curious expression.

“What kind of dream was it?”

“In Rach, the… at the port. A black ship was anchored there. It’s a huge and black ship. It’s slimmer and longer than the other ships.”

A chill surfaced in Berthwald’s eyes. As he looked down at his wife, Berthwald asked the question hesitatingly.

“Does that ship, perhaps… What kind of image was on the sail?”

“There were three small things on it. It looked like… it looked like a flower, but the tips were much more pointed. It definitely had a name, but I don’t really remember it.”

“…Shaped like a star. Is that right?”

Ariel nodded eagerly and replied, “Yes, that’s right.”

“It was shaped like a star, in the shape of a star. That’s right. There were three sunset coloured stars in the shape of a triangle.”

A frown formed between Berthwald’s brows.

There was only one ship that’s slim and black, with a sail with scarlet stars hung on it.

It’s a battleship that’s being developed by the Navy, Vermilion.

It was a ship that Berthwald ordered to be built while he was reforming the Navy as the head consul, by abandoning the existing old-fashioned battleship. Most importantly, as it’s a ship that is in the midst of construction, so very few people knew about its true identity. Berthwald had only anticipated such a completed look, but he had never seen it in person.

But Ariel wouldn’t know about that.

…Was that precognitive dream really trying to tell her something?

“Was there something wrong with the ship?”

He asked while faking his calm tone. Ariel tilted her head like she was recalling from her memories and responded.

“There were three black ships… docked at the port. When night fell, there was a huge typhoon.”

“A typhoon came?”

“All the ships that were anchored in the port were destroyed. Even that black coloured ship…”

Three Vermilion ships.

There were exactly three ships that were scheduled to enter Rach for a trial. But the ships were all destroyed as there was a typhoon at the harbour.

The thought that it was nonsense flashed past his mind along with the thought of ‘what if’. Her description was too precise for him to look past that.

Also, Ariel’s precognitive dreams… Hasn’t it already saved his life?

“Is that the end?”

“Yes, debris piled up in the harbour, and seaweed was scattered all over it… After seeing that there’s nothing in the sea, it ended.”

A typhoon will come in ten days…

While it wasn’t credible enough for him to believe in it blindly, it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious. Berthwald carefully ruminated over Ariel’s words.

Just as he was about to sink into deep thought, the journey along the coast ended and they entered the mansion’s grounds. As he looked at the courtyard, Berthwald decided to leave that thought there for a moment.

“Welcome back.”

The butler, the head maid, and the exclusive footmen were lined up in front of the entrance, awaiting their masters’ return.

The butler, Leo, opened the carriage door politely and gave his greetings to the head of the family. Berthwald looked at the servants’ faces silently, and opened his mouth when he spotted Eva’s odd expression.

“Your expression is quite strange. Did something happen in the mansion?”

“About that, my Lord. Apparently, Lady Violet has just arrived at the mansion!”

Upon hearing the news that he had been anticipating has made an appearance suddenly, Berthwald froze with his hand on the carriage door.

Ariel, who had stepped out of the carriage behind him, tilted her head and asked instead.

“Lady Violet? Who’s that?”

Just as Eva was about to respond, Berthwald gave the answer in a gloomy tone.

“Mother has arrived at the mansion? When was it?”

“That’s, she arrived this morning, about half a day before your arrival. I think she’s here to see you, my Lord. She‘s currently taking a walk in the coastal garden.”

Berthwald swallowed down his agitation by brushing his lips against his palm.

Other than for existing business, they would only exchange letters once a year, but he didn’t expect that the place she’d go to find him wasn’t his father’s mansion, but the mansion in Grand Pahar.

“Mother? Are you talking about the Count’s mother?”

Ariel tugged Berthwald’s sleeve with a curiosity-filled face. It was only then when Berthwald’s face returned to being elegant.

That fickle woman wouldn’t sit still when she caught sight of Ariel. There was a high probability of her blabbering nonsense. No, it was even more likely that Berthwald’s birth mother would torment Ariel with her thoughtless remarks.

“My wife must be tired, so you should return back to your room and rest. I’ll entertain the guests.”

“Oh gosh, I can’t do that. If it’s your mother, then she’s also my family. I’d like to meet her with you.”

He could sense how expectant she was, from her tone and the way she was tugging on his sleeve. Ariel was excited at the thought of meeting his mother, whom Berthwald took after.

It was unfortunate that he had only remembered to say that he looked like her, but forgot to mention that she was an eccentric person. What should he do? After careful consideration, Berthwald concluded that it wouldn’t be that bad for her to meet and converse with her.

“Mother is someone that will speak her mind, so my wife shouldn’t mind her words.”

When they reached the coastal garden, Berthwald held Ariel’s hand and earnestly advised her.

“I’ll be fine,” Ariel replied with a smile, but Berthwald bit his lip in a gloomy mood.

It would be a disaster if she’s expecting her reaction to be the same as his father’s. In any case,  Ariel didn’t seem to have a sense of crisis.

The weather was quite good, unlike his anxious mood. On a day that wasn’t too bright or overly cloudy, the refreshing sea breeze brushed past his cheeks.

White gravel formed the floor of the garden, the combination of dark green greenery and the blue coloured sea formed a beautiful view that dazzled the eyes.

If only he could hold Ariel’s hand and go on a leisurely walk. Berthwald’s hopes washed away the moment he faced the two guests that were at the end of the garden.

With a height that’s taller than an average man and a svelte figure. Short blond hair that’s a darker shade of yellow than Berthwald’s. Other than the wrinkles around her eyes, Her still smooth face made it difficult to discern her age.

Violet was chatting with a man that was around Berthwald’s height.

The red-haired man, who appeared to be in his late twenties, had also met with Berthwald a few times.

Ruth Contellaren, the head of the Bluebird Falcon.

He was a close aide that Violet favoured particularly, and a deputy guild leader of Northride.

“Oh! It’s been a while, Berry!”

Violet, who was talking to Ruth, turned towards the duo. Her deep purple eyes looked at Berthwald with interest.

“So you’re alive and well. I’ve heard the news of your marriage, is it worth living?”

Though it has been a year since they last met, her attitude was quite natural. Berthwald nodded with a calm expression, before reaching his hand behind his back.

The revolver that he had taken from Vion sometime ago was in his hand. Berthwald lifted the revolver deftly without scruple.

“Yes, Mother seems quite healthy too.”

Ka-cha. A brutal sound echoed. Berthwald looked at Violet with a smiling face as he loaded his gun.

Ruth, who was standing at a side, drew his sword from the scabbard at his waist with a hardened face. Violet stopped him with her hand and gave a soft smile.

“Why are you being so merciless again? Berry, I’m not here to harass you today, so don’t worry.”

“Didn’t you suddenly appear around this time last year and made a fuss to make me pay the commission fee? I’ve paid you twice as much, so which part of it was inadequate?”

The only one that was frightened by the tumultuous atmosphere seemed to be Ariel. Both of her hands were pressed against her chest as she opened and closed her mouth, stammering “W—what are you d,d—doing…” and at that, Berthwald merely turned his head quickly with a huge smile, saying, “I’m not really going to kill her, it’s just a joke.”

From the way a man’s black silhouette spewing out a lot of red, it didn’t seem to be a joke. Ariel looked at the two guests with a confused expression, before moving her gaze back towards Berthwald.

“It’s because I have a little grudge against my mother. It’s just a joke.”

The tone of his response was very calm. While she didn’t know what was going on, Ariel took a step back with a relieved expression, thinking that it must actually be a joke for him to say it like that.

Berthwald turned again to look at Violet with an annoyed face. His fingers were hanging on the trigger.

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