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I had previously made a fuss about not knowing anything about my mother-in-law, but that was merely from a reader’s perspective of someone who’s simply read a book. If we’re talking about sheer information about her, I wasn’t completely in the dark.

Fundamentally, the position of Count Kraus’s Lesser House was something I had to keep in mind regarding the high-ranking nobles of the Empire, and the information about her, the mistress of the House of Edelweiss, also fell into the category of things I needed to know.

Even though I was thinking about breaking off the engagement at that time, since she was an elder from the opposing family, information naturally flowed to me without me having to seek it out.

I thought that since she was someone I wouldn’t meet anyway, I could afford to neglect such information compared to other things, but I also didn’t entirely dismiss it. For example, I did store away details like her being a former professor at the Golden Tower, or what hobbies were known in the social circles.

However, this too felt hazy now, almost like peering through a foggy mirror, even though I believed I had memorized everything perfectly.

Well, recalling such things wouldn’t calm my racing heart, so I lightly shook my head to send those thoughts away. Yet, my mind still felt cluttered, and what I thought was empty was quickly filled with other thoughts.

Why was I now reminiscing about the first time I met Elena? Looking back, I don’t think I was this tense then. My legs trembled a bit, sure, but not to this extent.

I closed my eyes for a moment to sift through the vaguely connected memories that were flooding in.

I tried to empty my thoughts and keep calm like I initially intended, but it wasn’t that simple.

It seemed like I was overly conscious of her, and my mind brought up anything that might help. If it were a normal day, it would have functioned properly, but right now, it was like something went wrong; it was chaotic.

It felt like I had typed some random words into a cheap search engine, and all sorts of nonsensical thoughts popped up as results.

Honestly, it would have been better to have nothing in my mind at all rather than awkwardly pulling up useless information just because I was nervous. The jumble of information swirling around only served to clutter my mind instead of helping.

Despite my efforts, my heart wouldn’t settle, and with a half-hearted sense of despair, I leaned my head against the window.

Elena and Hailey, laughing and full of excitement beside me, provided a tiny bit of comfort, but it was insufficient to calm the storm brewing in my mind.

Embracing the chaos, I glanced out the window at the mansion, now close at hand. It was a remarkably well-maintained building, but strangely, it felt more like the Demon Lord’s castle to me.

As the carriage stopped in front of the door, a bizarre gaze, not human, swept over the carriage before the mansion’s door swung open by itself, without anyone’s assistance.

Is this what they call a fantasy-style automatic door?

It seemed like both my mother-in-law and Elena’s brother had expertise in alchemy, so such a mechanism must be installed in several places around this mansion. The things that had previously passed by without drawing any attention now began to catch my awareness after stepping inside.

‘Is this a house or a fortress?’

Upon entering the mansion, I realized that this seemingly ordinary house was protected by some kind of invisible system.

Due to my nervousness, if I hadn’t concentrated, I wouldn’t have noticed the cleverly concealed magical waves felt all around me. As someone unfamiliar with magic, I couldn’t determine the exact use of these emanating magic waves. Still, I could get a rough idea of what they were intended for based on their nature and size.

After all, it wouldn’t be common for a place inhabited by two powerful wizards to be ordinary. The House of Edelweiss’s white castle was simply overshadowed by the grandeur of the Magic Tower, all fortified with various spells.

Yet, in my highly tense state, I should have cut off my thoughts there, but instead, I found myself wondering if that security system could possibly be aimed at me. I recognized that it was a foolish thought but still, why did it cross my mind?

As I pondered this, it felt like I had just breached the final security system of the mansion, pulling me back to reality.

Not that it was on purpose. I didn’t even know where I was walking. I came to my senses solely because Elena grabbed my hand.

‘Are you nervous?’

Elena mouthed the words silently to me, ensuring Hailey, who was walking ahead, wouldn’t hear. I nodded without saying anything in response to her question.

Elena did not continue the conversation there. Instead, as if to ease my nerves, she started to tickle my hand vigorously. I corresponded by clashing my fingers in response to her antics. Was it just me? Her skin felt particularly warm against mine today.

When our eyes met again, she replaced her question with a bright smile. I too responded silently, moving my lips in reply.

‘I’m okay now.’

Was she satisfied with my answer? The moment she heard me, Elena increased her tickling assault on my fingers.

Although I still couldn’t empty my mind, it seemed that unlike before, I could fill my head with a single thought instead.

*

What could be a clear way to identify the relationship between parents and children at a glance?

In modern terms, you might say something like a genetic test, but that’s not what I meant. I’m talking about elements you can notice when seeing both child and parent at the same time.

For example, when my father’s acquaintances see me, they immediately recognize me as Arthur Kraus’s son. Not only because the only black-haired people in the Kraus family are my father and me, but also because my face bears an uncanny resemblance to his.

Last time I met Franz, he mentioned that the atmosphere and personality seemed alike. I can admit to the atmosphere, but I can’t relate to the personality. Nonetheless, such elements exist that trigger people’s intuition regarding family connections, eliciting thoughts like ‘this person is so-and-so’s son or daughter.’

Since it’s based on subjective judgment, it isn’t exact, but in novels and comics, such elements usually help readers make connections between characters, and they often align well.

Right now was exactly like that.

“I’m Adelia Edelweiss. Nice to meet you, Count… no, Young Master Damian. This is our first face-to-face meeting, isn’t it?”

As soon as I entered the reception room and opened the door, I instantly recognized her as Elena’s mother, sitting elegantly in a chair.

It wasn’t so much her appearance as the atmosphere she exuded. I could understand why Franz thought of my father when he saw me, for as soon as I laid eyes on Adelia, Elena’s face immediately appeared in my mind.

Her sparkling eyes fixated on me resembled Elena’s whenever she looks up at me with joy.

Seeing too much of Elena in her eased my tension suddenly. Now I realized why I hadn’t considered that Adelia might resemble Elena. If I had thought this through, it would have saved me from unnecessary stress.

“Oh, hello, ma’am. I received your letter. Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here until entering the Academy.”

With my nerves settling, the tension that had clenched my body began to dissipate. I hurried to gather my scattered thoughts and spoke up.

Though slightly different, recalling how I usually spoke with Elena allowed me to speak more easily than I expected. The fact that I managed my first words without any mistakes brought me a sliver of relief, though it seemed I wasn’t relaxing as much as I thought.

“Wow…”

But… why does our mother-in-law seem a bit off?

Adelia stared at me as if she’d seen something strange, making me reconsider my previous response.

She murmured something under her breath that we couldn’t hear, but I could clearly catch what she said as I focused on what she might say next.

“…It feels oddly disorienting to hear someone so politely respond with the exact same face as Arthur.”

Father!!

 

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