Chapter 98

Chapter 5: Challenges and Opportunities Come Hand-in-Hand

In Incan’s memories, his mother always appeared haggard.

And her lips would always be forming those same words.

‘Your father is a worthless viscount. Since you have that man’s blood, you won’t be any different.’

When she was still a maiden, his mother was forced to marry his father, regardless of her own wishes. She had always seemed to be resentful of this fact.

‘If only I had been able to bear a child who looked just like me. My own pure child without the taint of your father’s blood…’

These words eventually became his mother’s last wish.

Something like a mental disorder had caused her body to waste away. So when his mother caught a fever, despite her young age, she died right then and there.

The young child who had lost his mother overnight, took his mother’s last wish to heart. Then when he later grew into an adult, in the place of his deceased mother, he gifted the fulfillment of his mother’s wish to a number of lucky women.

Even though that was all he had…

“Damn it!”

A thrown glass crashed against the wall and shattered, spilling its contents across the floor.

The servant in the room glanced down at the now-soiled floor.

‘Not again. I’ll have to clean that up later.’

As the servant, who had become accustomed to his master’s antics, had these idle thoughts, the person who had thrown the glass, Incan, thrashed on top of his bed.

“Just why must I suffer like this! Why!”

After struggling for some time, Incan soon began gasping for breath, having exhausted his strength. He had yet to recover from his injuries, so he wasn’t able to get up from his bed in his family’s capital estate.

No, even if he was in good shape, he wouldn’t have been able to get out of this room anyway. Because Incan was currently in a situation no different from imprisonment.

‘Things can’t go on like this.’

Incan bit his lips.

‘That crazy bitch, Rebecca… Who does she think she is, trying to pack me off to the family fief? And for the rest of my life?’

He had heard that his sentence had been decided. He was to be confined to the family’s fief, and the length of the sentence was for the rest of his life.

Although the sentence may have been delivered by the hand of his father, Viscount Marezon, Incan was certain of his suspicions. It was definitely his sister, Rebecca Marezon, who had decided upon this punishment.

Incan’s eyes darted around nervously. He knew Rebecca well. Although they said it was just confinement, it was obvious what sort of end awaited him as soon as his body recovered enough to depart for the fief.

‘As soon as I get there, they’ll use some sort of drug to turn me into a halfwit or a fool.’ Because leaving him in such a state would make it easier to handle him in the future.

To Rebecca, the word ‘family’ held no meaning.

‘And who’s fault was all of this in the first place… There’s no way. I can’t spend the rest of my life confined to the estate in such a pathetic state. Shit, what should I do?’

Incan, who had been busy biting his fingernails to the quick, suddenly called out.

“Hey you.”

“…yes, young master.”

The servant, who had gotten bored from standing at attention all by himself and was currently being distracted by other thoughts, managed to reply after some delay.

“You, I need you to do an errand for me.”

“An errand? What kind of errand would that be?”

“It’s nothing much. I just need you to immediately go to Rebecca’s room and-”

However before Incan had even finished speaking, the servant jumped in surprise and started shaking his head.

“Huh? Where? No way. I can’t do that.”

“What?”

“You’re trying to get me to sneak in, aren’t you? How could something like that be considered ‘nothing much’? After all, it’s obvious what fate awaits me if the young lady were to find out…”

The servant’s complexion turned pale as if just imagining the fate that might await him was enough to terrify him.

Incan snorted in astonishment.

“So, right now, are you really refusing to do my errand? Are you, a servant of this estate, refusing to follow the order from a member of this household?”

“If it was any other errand, I would obey without question. However, entering Lady Rebecca’s room, that’s…”

The servant, seemingly worried that Incan might burst into a rage, secretly widened the distance between them as he affirmed his determination. Incan didn’t scream or throw any objects at him, like the servant had expected.

Instead he stared at the servant silently for a moment before saying, “Is that so? So you would do it if it was any other errand?”

“Yes, if it’s something else, then…”

“If that’s the case, then go and fetch your wife. Isn’t she taking a leave from work because she’s pregnant?”

“Huh? My wife, why…?”

“I just had the thought of informing your poor wife of a truth that she doesn’t seem to be aware of.”

While leaning back against the head of the bed in an arrogant fashion, Incan continued speaking.

“Does she know? That you’re actually sterile and that the child in her belly was put there by a drug?”

The servant’s face turned pale.

“Th-that’s- How could you know about that-”

“You fool. I spotted you sneaking into my room, and afterwards I discovered that one of my pills was missing. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

“-!”

“After you stole it, I kept an eye on you to see how you would use it, and after some time I heard a rumour that your wife was pregnant. And it seems that you two only got married because of the baby?”

“Ah, th-that’s-”

“Now choose. Either you bring your wife here immediately, or you sneak into Rebecca’s room.”