My Wife Waited in the Wheat Fields

#1 Homecoming (5)

The place we arrived at was a hill overlooking Wibin’s estate.

The green lawn was still green this fall, and only small vegetation was landscaped at regular intervals, as if all the trees blocking the view had been pulled out.

The tombstone was right next to it.

『Hoven Portman. sleep here.”

It was a short text.

Elric smiled bitterly and sat down at the tombstone.

“It is very like you.”

The selection of the location overlooking the land he had cultivated himself, the neat landscaping, and the brief words on the tombstone all showed his father’s disposition in his memory.

Due to his personality, he must have taken care of all of this himself before he died.

He only looked at the tombstone, but Elric seemed to see the end of his father in his head.

“Since you liked perfection so much, you must have polished the contractors again.”

Since he was a man who did not forgive even the slightest flaw, it must have taken quite a few laborers to complete the construction of this tomb. I must have seen a lot of scars. Even if my father knew about it, he would have pretended not to know.

I wonder if his nickname was cold-blooded.

“I didn’t expect to meet you like this. Because the reunion I thought was a little different.”

What should I say now? Elric, who pursed his lips, eventually gave up complaining any more.

It was futile.

In the meantime, the outstretched hand swept the tombstone.

The tombstone was smooth even after a year, as if it was a high-quality stone.

And it’s cold too.

In that chill, Elric brought out his father from his memory.

He is a well-positioned figure who raised Portman, a mere merchant family, to become the top representative of Weebin, and a villain who has created numerous enemies with his ruthless personality.

A man who lived a truly lonely life who did not even show a smile to his children.

While thinking about all those things, Elric realized.

“I am no longer as resentful as before.”

Even when she faced the man she hated to the point of shedding tears of blood one day, her emotions did not boil over.

I thought it was just because I was busy with life and rolling on the battlefield, but my resentment had already been diluted.

It was funny.

After stripping away the childish heart, and letting him go, all that remains is pity.

what was his end like?

How did he live 9 years without himself?

Lost in thought, I was staring at the name engraved on the tombstone for a long time.

“He was a rational person until the moment he closed his eyes.”

It was Aldio who had tied up the wagon.

Elric looked at him.

Aldio had a face locked in memories.

“You have heart disease. You hid the truth until the end, and only me and the doctor knew about your illness.”

“Is it?”

“Ever since the day of his death approached, he devoted his heart and soul to organizing and monetizing his business. I suffered quite a bit too.”

R.D.O smiled and continued talking.

A smirk escaped Elric’s mouth.

“The butler is really eccentric. What did this cold-blooded person like so much?”

If you think about it, it was.

Aldio has been by his father’s side, assisting Elric every moment he can remember.

He was busy chasing after things he hadn’t seen, busy taking care of himself he hadn’t seen.

Thanks to that, Aldio was unmarried until this age. Without siblings or family, he was living as a part of the mansion.

He must have known that his father’s will was not absent from his life, but Aldio did not seem to care.

“You gave me a lot of money. Could there be any other reason?”

The way he shrugged his shoulders was even clever.

It was the moment when Elric laughed again.

“You don’t ask.”

“hmm?”

“The master’s legacy. Didn’t I tell you? Cashed in on everything possible.”

Aldio laughed as Elric frowned in wonder.

“All that cash, the boy inherited.”

flinch-

Elric’s fingertips trembled.

His gaze turned to the tombstone.

A look of surprise settled on his face.

“This human?”

“Yes, Master did.”

It was embarrassment that stirred Elric.

This is why he has not been able to figure out why he left a legacy to himself.

Isn’t that right, if it was what he wanted to see, he was a person who could do it. If there was any sorry, it was a person who could leave an apology, not a legacy.

Elric opened his lips in a daze, then stuttered and asked.

“… Is there such a thing as a suicide note?”

I wondered if I would have left that sincerity in words,

“Aren’t you the type to do that? There are only instructions related to inheritance. If you’re curious about that, I’ll show you… .”

After all, my father was not a man who moved like the wind.

A sigh escaped.

Feeling a little stuffy inside, I looked at Rdio with a feeling of longing for an answer, but he just shook his head.

“I don’t know what the master is thinking. He approached that part more calmly than ever before.”

Elric’s lips were tightly shut.

For what reason did he do such a thing, his father, who left only confusion until the end, is even savage.

“What would you like to inherit?”

When asked, Elric did not answer.

From noble mtl dot com

Anxiety that hadn’t occurred to him since he was a boy again turned Elric’s stomach.

After delaying the answer with a long breath, Aldio lowered his head.

“Think slowly.”

Elric nodded.

*

It was the way to go back with only such a fresh mind.

Elric, who was staring blankly at the scenery, spat out a question that came to him only then.

“… Come to think of it, let me tell you.”

“hmm?”

“wealth… .”

He paused, the words caught in his throat.

This was the reason why the word ‘wife’ felt embarrassing.

Eventually Elric glossed over that part.

“… Why is he still in the mansion? If I left like that, the marriage should have been annulled.”

The answer to the question did not come right away.

Aldio drove the wagon and created silence, only belatedly giving an answer.

“It was an arranged marriage, wasn’t it? A deal under the guise of marriage.”

It was a bittersweet voice.

“… Is that the reason?”

“It’s okay. Come to think of it, I didn’t tell you.”

“what?”

“Portman has become a hereditary baronet.”

Elric’s mouth fell open.

Aldio turned and looked at Elric. It was a slightly wary expression.

“Master has earned a title. If you inherit the legacy, the title will be passed on to the young master. And I don’t know if you remember… .”

Only then, Elric remembered a fact he had forgotten.

These were the words I heard on the day of the wedding.

“… Baron Wibin was poor.”

Yubin was from a noble family so poor that he had to marry Portman, a merchant family. They took the money from an arranged marriage that took Tyria Yubin as collateral. The title must have been received in return.

Elric understood the cause and effect.

“Are you still a hostage… .”

My stomach hurt a little.

If I had to ask, it would be compassion.

One thing I didn’t understand was why she was still here a year after her father’s death.

The heir himself had not appeared.

Tyria could have accepted the legacy as an agent and returned to her family if she wanted, but why didn’t she do that?

When I asked about this part, the answer I got back was yes.

“That was the will of the madam.”

“… Did he do that?”

“yes.”

“Do you know why?”

“You are not a talkative person. In fact, to my shame, we didn’t get to know each other very well.”

Aldio said as if he was sorry.

But Elric understood.

Why not, isn’t her atmosphere so lofty that it’s hard to approach?

Moreover, even if he asked a question, the conversation was usually cut off with a short answer, so it would not have been possible to force him to speak from the position of the servant Aldio.

Elric smiled shyly.

“Hmm, what a difficult person.”

“Isn’t it the master’s wife?”

“I’m a raw man. I’ve only seen your face once.”

“Everyone is like that at first.”

Aldio said it jokingly, but from Elric’s point of view, it was really difficult.

Just this morning, it was uncomfortable to eat, so I was about to run away with food in my mouth.

What do you mean face to face?

When I feel ashamed, I brush the nape of my neck again.

After chatting, it was a mansion before I knew it.

“You go in first. I will pack the wagon and come back.”

“Okay.”

Aldio is gone.

It was the moment Elric stepped back into the mansion with his cane.

A very fortunate meeting took place.

“… Oh, are you here?”

“yes.”

It was Tyria.

Perhaps he had been to a wheat field, he was wearing a straw hat and holding some wheat in his arms. Her outfit was simple, so she could have looked like a worker, but what was his atmosphere like, she was aristocratic even in a farmer’s outfit.

Oh, what should I do with this awkwardness?

A fake smile came to Elric’s lips.

“That, um… .”

“Tell me.”

“Would you like to come in?”

Tyria stared at Elric’s face, then nodded.

“yes.”

Elric regretted it again.

Trying to continue the awkwardness on his own, anyway, this damn snout was the problem.