Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 992



992 – Reassemble – 6

The banquet will not end in one day, but will continue for about a week.

It’s a meaningful time where all the members of Crassius’ bloodline have gathered together after spending their precious time together. It would be a shame to part ways after gathering for less than 24 hours.

Besides, the Count Deast family is a prestigious family that can easily accommodate hundreds, if not dozens, of guests. Rather, if the guests try to return early, the Count Deast family may be upset.

“I guess it’s better to do it on the last day, right?”

“That’s right. If I tell you in the middle of the party, no one will be able to enjoy it, and if I keep quiet, I won’t be able to gain the trust of my relatives. If I have to tell you in the end, it’s best to do it at the end.”

And as soon as the first night of the banquet came, I went to the room my parents had been assigned and had a serious talk with them.

Tricky’s retirement and my rise to the position of Acting Duke. If we can’t keep it a secret forever, we’ll have to tell you sometime, and we’ll discuss when that time will be.

“I’d like to keep it a secret, but now that it’s right in front of us, I can’t.”

“Yes. If I keep quiet like my father said, it will only give the impression that I distrust my relatives. I had a meeting right before the throne, and I would be upset if I heard nothing.”

Also, if we remain silent, other nobles may look at our relatives a little funny.

Some of the authority and position my relatives have is due to their entanglement with the House of Crassius. But the head of the House of Crassius ascended to the throne as the acting Duke, and the Crassius bloodlines knew nothing about it?

Then the nobles will not respect their relatives. Since the head of the family did not respect them in the first place. The friendship of the first generation that had become close will be destroyed in an instant.

“I’m worried that I might be ruining the good mood. This is a banquet where we’re all just laughing and enjoying ourselves.”

“That’s true…”

Finally, a bitter smile came out at the words of my mother who had been silent.

Since the atmosphere has been pretty good since day one, if a week or so passes, the relationship between relatives will improve significantly. When they part ways, they will likely say goodbye with bright smiles.

I have to drop a bombshell on that beautiful ending scene. He declares to his relatives, who were laughing and about to leave, ‘Actually, I am crowned the Duke of Deputy.’ Instead of giving them a warm farewell, he gives them a huge secret.

‘The head of the household is in a mess.’

I feel like crying at the horrible reality. The head of the household is not even taking the lead in making his relatives laugh, but he is throwing a bomb. Is this why he became the head of the household? I feel a sense of self-loathing─

“Well, isn’t that okay?”

‘huh?’

I turned my head slightly at Erich’s voice.

“We can’t be happy about it purely because we’re worried about the burden it will put on you, but honestly, you’re not being demoted, you’re just being appointed as a Duke. Objectively speaking, it’s something to celebrate, not something to be reluctant about.”

Erich, who expressed his opinion in a clear voice even while being held by Teresa.

That’s not wrong, but it makes me worry for no reason. I feel more burdened than happy about the authority of the Duke’s deputy, and my parents are also in an awkward situation because they know that I’m not the type of person who is obsessed with fame.

However, as Erich says, it is almost a happy event for a blood relative to become a Duke. It is not a demotion, a demotion, or an imprisonment, but a clear rise in status.

“Of course I’d be surprised, but it’d be stranger if I wasn’t.”

‘That’s definitely true.’

Although my pride was hurt, I was convinced by Erich’s logic.

Right? Even if you say it as it is, it’s just a shocking declaration, not like you’re spewing poison at your relatives, right?

‘Okay then.’

If you give a surprise instead of a sudden shock, you can get over it happily. The shock is different depending on whether it is a negative shock or a positive shock.

And wouldn’t his younger siblings be happy if their cousin ascended to the throne as a Duke? Because the support that supported their future aspirations would become even bigger. Maybe they’d attach a handwritten congratulatory letter to a pigeon and send it to the system.

“So, hyung, don’t overthink it. Just speak as normally as possible, accept the congratulations, and move on.”

I stared at Erich’s face, not in consolation but in comfort.

It’s embarrassing that I’ve fallen to the point where I need to be comforted by this guy, but I have no intention of refuting what he says. What could be more ugly than being mad about facts?

“Erich.”

“huh?”

I just want to give a gift to my brother who gave me good advice.

“Will you act as the count while I act as the duke?”

Then Erich’s expression quickly hardened.

Why. It’s not like you’re being demoted, it’s something to celebrate. You may be a marquis, but that’s a title from another country, and the imperial title is baron, so being promoted to count is a proper promotion.

“Big brother. Where is Baekjakdaeri?”

‘ah.’

For a moment, I felt like my breath was suffocating.

Teresa, who had been tugging at Erich’s cheek, became interested in the words “Count’s Agent.”

‘What should I do?’

What should I do? If I explain it as a good thing, Teresa will throw a tantrum and say she wants to be the Countess, and if I explain it as a bad thing, she will ask additional questions like why she gave bad things to her little brother.

It’s an extremely vicious choice that will inevitably result in damage no matter which way you choose. It’s truly a difficult situation.

It was certainly noticeable that the relatives were becoming closer as time passed.

It is natural for people of the same generation to greet each other, and at some point, contact between the first and second generations also began to increase.

It’s still a bit too much to say that they’re still alive, but they’re just like relatives who gather for the holidays. Considering the 20 years they’ve spent living in the South, it’s a miraculous result.

’20 years of taking this easy path.’

Thanks to this, the evaluation of my grandfather is being updated in real time. How many people have been harmed for decades because of one person?

Among them, if you look at them as a military man, a lord, or a noble, they are more evil because they were capable. How good would it have been if they had used even 10% of their public capabilities for their family? Using their children for political marriages is the average for nobles, so let’s ignore that, but if they had shown even a little bit of affection, it would have been a pretty good family.

‘They are all good-natured people.’

You can be sure of this by looking at his attitude towards his second-generation nephews and his smile towards his third-generation nieces and nephews. The first-generation Krasius were basically born good people.

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Although the first meeting with Aunt Elin, the youngest, was awkward and difficult, wasn’t that the fault of the uncle, not the aunt? Even now, they are people who are so affectionate that they open their wallets for their nephews and nieces. It’s just a shame that that personality has been suppressed for decades.

“Nephew.”

I blankly looked at my uncles and aunts, then turned my head when I heard a voice right next to me.

“Oh, uncle.”

Uncle August stood there, holding a glass in each hand.

“I feel uneasy when my lord is alone. Can I have my uncle by your side?”

“Of course. Rather, it would be right for me to go to my uncle first. I feel embarrassed that a young boy has made my uncle come.”

“Oh, I’m not old enough to deserve that kind of consideration.”

Uncle August gave a small laugh and handed me a glass of wine.

I smiled naturally as I watched that smile. Now that I’m close enough to my uncle to share jokes like this, I’m happy.

“Well, it looks like Maurice has made up his mind. He seemed to have been struggling with his nephew’s advice for the past few days, but his face brightened today.”

“Already? It’s something I could have thought about leisurely for a few years, but I’m worried that I might have unnecessarily complicated Brother Maurice’s feelings.”

“That child has shown extraordinary determination since he was young. And he has never regretted anything he has decided to do, so there is no need to worry.”

Uncle August’s laughter grew louder.

In fact, the decisive factor in getting close to my uncle was probably Maurice. I hinted that I would actively support Maurice, so I wonder how happy I would be as Maurice’s father.

“Are you going to meet your brother Maurice soon as a priest and not as a rich man?”

“Haha, I guess so. Even from what I hear, if Morris dreams of becoming a soldier, it would be right for him to enroll in the military academy.”

After that, I had various conversations with Uncle August.

‘When will you stop talking?’

Even as I was talking like that, I had a bitter smile on my face. There was nothing more awkward than being addressed formally by an uncle.

But if you look at it that way, I’m also a guy who uses honorifics towards my cousins. Since we’re no different, it’s embarrassing to ask them to speak more comfortably.

So I’m holding on with the thought that as time goes by, they’ll naturally start talking. I think it’ll be easy if it just takes a year or two.

“Go, my lord!”

‘huh?’

While Maurice was listening to his uncle’s promise to physically punish him if he entered the military academy, the head butler of the Count Deast family barged into the banquet hall.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty has sent you a gift!”

Then he submitted a shocking and heartbreaking report.

Emperor, you little b*stard. Now you’re interfering in other people’s family events and causing trouble? How precious is this banquet, and how dare you, a yellow-haired beast, do it.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty?”

However, for the head of the Deast Counts’ house, Aunt Christine, it was not the slaughter of a yellow-haired beast, but the grace of the precious emperor. She quickly handed Julia, who was in her arms, to Mar and approached the head steward.

“Yes, my lord! He also sent a congratulatory message to congratulate the Deast family on their success!”

I breathed a sigh of relief at the words, “It’s Deast’s slope, not Crassius’.”

He has at least a modicum of conscience. Although this banquet is a meeting of Crassius, the host of the banquet is the Deast family. So it would be more correct to say that it is a celebration of Deast, not Crassius.

“But, among His Majesty’s gifts, there was one peculiar thing.”

“Something unusual?”

“Yes. It was a huge flag, and it had a symbol I had never seen before on it. A black wolf with a sword and a staff─”

‘What the heck.’

I was relieved when I got hit hard on the back of the head.

Why did this crazy kid send it to Count Deast?

‘That’s my sentence.’

Is this kid pushing me from behind because he’s afraid I’ll hide the fact that I’m ascending to the throne as the Duke’s deputy? Since I sent you the text, why don’t you just reveal it?

‘Isn’t this like jumping off a cliff?’

The pushing was so extreme that it was laughable.

I was planning to reveal it without having to lay it out like this.