Aris was leaning against the bed. There were sweet and sour green grapes on the bedside table, and it was fun to eat them one by one. In her hand was a children’s book full of colorful pictures, but she hadn’t been able to read a single word for a while. The reason was none other than the Verdick brothers.
“Sister, how is this? It’s a wooden sword for kids, but it’s not too heavy or too light…….”
“No.”
“Aris, then how about this? <Easy Study of Kingship for Children>.”
“No.”
The two men’s shoulders drooped at Aris’ resolute denial. She doesn’t know what else they’ll bring next time. Aris let out a light sigh. She didn’t know how many times this was already. They came to visit her several times a day and brought several items for the child.
The beginning of the story was very simple. When Aris had no appetite and was easily tired, the Verdick brothers called the doctor. And the doctor made the diagnosis.
‘It looks like you’re in the early stages of pregnancy. There is a high chance of miscarriage in the early stages, so be careful.’
From that day on, Duke Verdick’s residence had been in an uproar. To be precise, everyone except Aris was in a frenzy. If she had a miscarriage, Aris’ body could be burdened, so she was only allowed to lay still. Even so, Evanstein and Leonhardt, who were closest, made a fuss. As a result, it was only natural that all the servants of the Duke’s residence and even Evan’s aides were overworked.
“A wooden sword, what if it’s a girl?”
“What if it’s a girl?”
“Only men can be knights.”
“If it’s my daughter, even if she’s a woman, she can become a sword master! She just needs to crush everyone with her skills! Her father is Leonhardt Verdick, so what’s the problem!”
Leon excitedly said he would teach his child the basics of swordsmanship. From wielding a slender stick at first, the most important thing was to solidify the foundation but not lose interest in the sword. He was confident that if he trained his child in swordsmanship next to the father, who was a sword master, even if his child did not become a sword master, they would outperform any decent knight.
“Of course, since they are a child of my blood, it has a high chance of becoming a sword master!”
“Leon, it’s a little hard to say, but…… You don’t know if it’s yours or not.”
When Aris said those words, Leonhardt looked at her with eyes speaking ‘how can you say such harsh words. However, since they had already had this conversation several times, Aris did not budge. Before that, he was almost kicked out because he told some unbelievable stories. Like going on a swordsmanship trip to the West with the child.
“…… If Sister gave birth to it, it would be my child.”
“What are you saying? Why are you the father of my child?”
Evan, who had been quiet, took an opportunity and opened the book. It was a different book from <Easy Study of Kingship for Children> that he showed me a while ago.
“<Basics of Territory Management>. There are many more. There are also <Simple Etiquette> and <Basics of Account Management>.”
There were really several books lying behind Evan. But there was something more concerning than that, the author of the book Evan opened.
“…… Evanstein Verdick?”
“No, why are all the authors Evanstein Verdick?”
“That’s what I wrote.”
“Evan wrote all of them?”
“Of course.”
Evan shrugged his shoulders, very proud. However, Aris wondered when and why Evan wrote such a book. Basically, ‘Study of Kingship’ was learned by the imperial family and the heirs of the Duke’s family. There was no book for such a young child because the subject was very limited, and learning kingship was something to be proud of. But to write a book for children?
In addition, the <Basic of Territory Management> that Evan unfolded was even more serious. Looking at the table of contents, at the beginning of the book, there was a simple introduction to the basics of territory management. However, when she looked at her second half, there was a brief introduction about the territory Verdick had. The purpose of this was to manage the territory owned by the Verdick family.
“Why did you write this book…… ?”
“When the child grows up, they will be managing Verdick’s estate. They can’t do everything on their own, but they should know the basics.”
“…… it could be a daughter Usually, the son inherits the estate, but what if it is a daughter?”
“Aris, a daughter who looks like you?”
No, she didn’t say that the daughter would look like her.
“Maybe she won’t get married, maybe there’s a son-in-law to take in. But I don’t think I can marry off a daughter who looks like you.”
“No, so the territory…….”
“What does it matter whether it is a daughter or a son? The fact that it is a child born to my wife, Aristasia Verdick, is enough.”
Aris had a headache for some reason. Apparently they weren’t this polarized when she was younger, but she didn’t know what made them this way. It seemed that in their heart they intended to pass on all of themselves to the unborn child.
Aris stroked her belly that was holding the child. She was still in the early stages of pregnancy, so her belly wasn’t quite as protruding. But she couldn’t help but worry about this child.
To have Leonhardt Verdick, who had the most excellent swordsmanship in the Empire, and Evanstein Verdick, who was the most knowledgeable in the Empire and applied the theory well in practice, as the fathers? She was worried that the child would be thrown back and forth between the two fathers for nothing.
‘…… I need to intervene well in the middle. If they’re like this before the baby is born, how will they be after the baby is born?’
Aris stroked her belly. She thought in her heart: she would protect the child that was between these polar fathers.