Chapter 09
If you were to ask the people of Wibin, “What is the most magnificent thing in this land?” there was only one answer you would receive.
“The Wibin family estate.”
The manor, with its centuries of history, carried the dignity of ages past, and it shone as brilliantly as the priceless ornaments that adorned it.
If Portman represented restraint and order as virtues, then this estate stood at the exact opposite end of that spectrum.
Click, click.
The master of that estate was moving about busily today.
Joseph Wibin—the current head of House Wibin and Tiria’s father.
“So, the bastard really is coming back.”
Adjusting his necktie, Joseph spoke. The tie itself had been handcrafted stitch by stitch from a fabric so expensive that even in the capital it was sold for whatever price the seller demanded.
“And of all times, he chooses now to return. Doesn’t he annoy you to the very end?”
“That worthless lowborn wretch has never been useful a day in his life. If he was going to disappear, he should have vanished forever. It’s obvious he’s come to claim the inheritance. And do you know how much money that is?”
The one answering was his wife, Anyak Wibin.
She wore an extravagant sapphire-colored dress draped in expensive jewelry. A single pin in her carefully arranged hair was worth enough to feed a farming family in Wibin for an entire month.
Looking worried, she said,
“What do we do? What if he claims inheritance rights…?”
“Hmph! Who does he think he is, claiming inheritance rights? That money belongs to us! It’s compensation we rightfully deserve from those people who wasted ten years of our daughter’s life!”
“R-right! Exactly!”
The couple deliberately raised their voices, as though trying to drown out their own anxiety.
Hoven Portman’s inheritance had to end up in their hands.
More importantly, House Wibin could no longer function properly without that money.
They were people who placed enormous value on noble dignity.
To them, dignity came from appearing different from commoners. It came from possessing things that ordinary people could never obtain.
As a result, their spending had long exceeded any reasonable limits.
That was why Wibin was poor.
Even though wheat fields producing high-quality grain stretched as far as the eye could see, their expenditures surpassed the profits they earned.
By the time the family fortunes had nearly collapsed, sending their daughter to Portman had become an unavoidable choice.
After all, didn’t she have a responsibility and duty to support the family?
It wasn’t as though they had simply abandoned her.
Joseph had genuinely invested considerable effort into elevating Portman into a noble house equal in standing to Wibin.
At least, in his mind, Portman’s rise to baronial status was thanks to Wibin’s support. That alone, he felt, fulfilled all obligations of loyalty.
Of course. We let our daughter live without a husband for ten whole years. We deserve at least this much!
The annual support payments Portman had sent since the original agreement were not enough.
At first they had been satisfied.
But their spending only continued to increase.
Hunting tournaments with neighboring nobles, funding his wife’s tea parties, maintaining the estate, preserving their noble image—all of it required enormous amounts of money.
Their influence was finally beginning to grow. To reach greater heights, Hoven Portman’s vast inheritance was absolutely essential.
“It’s obvious that brat and the late Portman have been threatening our daughter. Otherwise, how could Tiria never respond to a single one of our letters?”
“Exactly! Do you know how much effort we put into raising her?”
Anyak dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, pretending to cry.
Since becoming Lady Portman, Tiria had never once maintained contact with her family. She occasionally appeared at formal gatherings, but that was all.
And after Hoven Portman’s death, she had acted as though all ties had been severed completely.
Letters went unanswered.
Visits were refused.
They never considered forcing their way in.
If they were publicly turned away at the gates, neighboring nobles would laugh at them for years.
“We have to save our daughter!”
“Indeed!”
How much effort had gone into raising her?
How many resources had they invested?
Her pale skin and golden hair had come from them.
Her etiquette had been taught by instructors specially hired from the capital.
Even her noble mindset had been painstakingly instilled through strict guidance.
Tiria Wibin was, without exaggeration, the masterpiece of House Wibin.
Originally, she had been meant to marry a count or someone of even higher rank.
And yet they had sent such a daughter away only for her to be locked up like a bird in a cage.
Worse still, they hadn’t even been properly compensated for it.
The more they thought about it, the angrier they became.
Their faces flushed red with indignation.
Yet by the time they arrived at the reception room, all traces of that anger had vanished.
A noble should never reveal their emotions so easily.
Creak.
The door opened.
Since the visitor was the son of that barely-human Hoven Portman, they had been somewhat nervous.
The moment they saw him, however, both relaxed.
“Please forgive me for coming to greet you so late. My name is Elric Portman.”
A simple greeting.
A cripple.
A commoner’s greeting devoid of noble refinement.
His friendly appearance was pleasant enough, but that was all.
To them, Elric looked like an easy opponent.
* * *
Too much.
That was Elric’s first thought upon seeing their appearance.
His memory of the wedding ten years ago suggested they hadn’t been quite this excessive back then.
Time truly was frightening.
Without realizing it, he recalled the words of his friend, Elvers Graham.
“Excess is worse than insufficiency. No matter how expensive your possessions are, they shouldn’t draw attention to themselves. Otherwise, it means your decorations have devoured their owner.”
From Elvers’ perspective, these two looked like people crushed beneath the weight of their own ornaments.
It was a rude thought.
But facts were facts.
In any case, his first impression was poor, and the longer the conversation continued, the worse it became.
No matter how he tried to suppress it, he couldn’t help himself.
Their attitude after the formal greetings was simply too much.
“Has it been ten years? It’s certainly difficult to see your face.”
“You must have had your reasons. After all, you were never taught obligations in these matters.”
“Well, considering that Portman only became part of the nobility…”
Aggressive.
Their expressions remained calm, as though trying to preserve dignity, but their intentions were painfully obvious.
“…Hmm. I suppose it’s understandable that you wouldn’t know.”
Truthfully, Elric was in the position of a sinner.
From their perspective, he was the man who had abandoned their daughter for ten years and then suddenly returned.
Seen that way, their hostility could have been justified.
He would have willingly endured it.
If that had truly been their concern.
“What business brings you here today?”
“I saw the letter sent to the estate. Regarding that matter—”
“Ah, so that’s what this is about.”
A faint sound escaped Joseph’s lips.
Almost a sneer.
From that point onward, Elric’s discomfort began to grow.
For a very simple reason.
“You’ve come to claim ownership of the inheritance, haven’t you?”
Their words were heading in a direction Elric could not simply overlook.
“You don’t need to hide it. Since you don’t seem particularly skilled with this sort of language, I’ll speak plainly. We intend to receive what we’re owed at a fair price.”
“The price for abandoning our daughter like that.”
“At this point, don’t you think it’s shameless to claim inheritance rights? To be honest, I’m not even sure your father’s inheritance would be used for anything meaningful in your hands. You seem very different from him.”
“Rather, for the benefit of the territory—”
“It would be far more appropriate for us to use it.”
Elric listened quietly.
He accepted every one of their blatant intentions without interruption and carefully examined the meaning behind their words.
Then he studied their expressions.
And in the end, he realized something he wished he hadn’t.
Nothing.
There was nothing.
Not once had they asked about Tiria.
Not once since he entered the room.
Every mention of her had been tied solely to the inheritance.
She was their daughter.
A daughter who had endured ten difficult years.
A daughter they hadn’t seen for an entire year.
Shouldn’t they at least ask how she was doing?
Why?
Why wouldn’t they ask about her?
Still holding onto a faint hope, Elric deliberately brought her up.
“First of all, I apologize for not bringing my wife with me. Her work has kept her busy—”
“Are you trying to change the subject?”
Joseph’s angry retort shattered that hope instantly.
It was deeply unpleasant.
The emotion rising within him resembled anger.
And disgust.
He had thought he had left behind this kind of resentment when he grew out of boyhood.
Yet facing parents who neglected their child was still surprisingly difficult.
Especially when the child in question was someone he knew.
Elric thought of Tiria’s face.
For some reason, he felt as though he could finally see the process that had shaped her detached personality.
The eyes that had always spoken of duty suddenly seemed different.
Amid the storm of emotions churning inside him, a sense of pity quietly emerged.
He pitied her life.
And he reproached himself for having become a sinner alongside people like them.
Meanwhile, Joseph Wibin continued speaking.
Words meant to belittle and suppress his opponent.
One sentence in particular lodged itself firmly in Elric’s ears.
“Excessive greed ruins a person. I hope you’ll remember that.”
Excessive greed.
Those words became the trigger.
“…And what if I choose to be greedy?”
“…What did you say?”
“I asked what you intend to do if I decide to be greedy.”
Elric raised his head.
“Is there anything you can actually do to stop me?”
The provocative question left the Baron and Baroness Wibin staring blankly.
Joseph Wibin was the first to react.
His face reddened as he leapt to his feet.
“Y-you insolent—!”
“That’s right.”
Joseph froze.
Still seated, Elric looked up at him with a smile.
“You’re correct. I am insolent.”
His smile widened slightly.
“Quite a bit, actually.”
It was a statement about the ten years he had lived through.
The atmosphere around Elric changed.
