Chapter 20

"Um, Mother-in-law."

"What is it, Amaryllis?"

"It's about my stepbrother, Veld..."

My name is Amaryllis von Bennau Bauermaster, and until recently, I was known as Amaryllis von Mainbach.

In short, I am a woman who has married into the Bauermaster family from my birth family, the Mainbachs.

The Mainbach family, though a minor noble family, is still part of the nobility.

Therefore, my marriage was naturally arranged by my parents as a political marriage, and the same goes for the Bauermaster family, my new in-laws.

Lord Kurt, who is to be my husband, is a man, so I don't know what he thinks about it internally.

As a woman, I understand that political marriages are inevitable, but I still sometimes dream of the romantic marriages I read about in the storybooks at home.

Dreaming is not a sin, after all.

Moreover, I have no complaints about this marriage itself.

Even though the Bauermaster family is in a remote area, it is still a good match for a second daughter from a knightly family to marry the heir of another knightly family.

As a second daughter, it is usually impossible for me to marry such a person.

At best, I might marry the heir of a major noble's vassal.

Or, I might marry a younger son of a noble family who will become a vassal.

Worse still, I might become a concubine or a second wife of a major noble, or even be sold to a wealthy merchant, which is not uncommon.

Given that, I should consider myself fortunate to have married the heir.

I was somewhat surprised when I saw my mother-in-law weaving ropes.

However, the sight of the male members of the noble family working hard on reclamation and hunting is not unusual in a rural minor noble family.

"That child..."

Among them, there is one child whose behavior is not good.

Vendelin, the youngest son of the Bauermaster family, is the child of my mother-in-law, who was born when she was over forty, which is quite rare.

Usually, such a child would be born to a young concubine.

In fact, the Bauermaster family has a concubine, and my birth family also had one, so it's not unusual.

However, the concubine is the daughter of a village headman, and I have only met her at the wedding.

The same goes for her two sons and two daughters, and I expect to have few opportunities to see them in the future.

After all, our social statuses are different.

The four children have no inheritance rights and will either inherit the headman's family or marry into another headman's family.

Although they share half of the blood, the difference in status makes it inevitable.

"He is a child who was born with much pain, but we can only leave him alone."

My mother-in-law spoke with a heavy heart about the eighth son, whom she never expected to be born.

Since his birth, he has been quiet and required little attention. Moreover, the village was busy with reclamation and other activities to compensate for the damage from the expedition to the Demon Forest, so he was often left alone.

However, he never complained and spent his time reading books in the study. Before we knew it, he had become better at reading and writing than we were, despite being a child.

"He is like Ehrlich, who recently became independent."

I have only spoken to him briefly, but he is very intelligent.

I think he might be more suitable as a lord than my husband.

Because of this, I felt a distance in our relationship, but Ehrlich left the family without hesitation.

He went to the capital and passed the examination to become a low-ranking official.

I am sure he passed with ease.

"That is not the case."

According to my mother-in-law, the problematic Veld was able to converse with Ehrlich, who is ten years older, on equal terms by the age of six and had become proficient in reading, writing, and arithmetic.

"Moreover, he can use magic."

She did not ask how proficient he is, but both my father-in-law and my husband believe that he will not struggle financially even if he leaves the family and becomes independent.

"Why do you leave such a talented person alone?"

That is what I find puzzling.

If we use his talents for the development of the territory, how much more progress could we make?

This could be a great opportunity for the Bauermaster family to advance.

"Logically, that makes sense."

However, it is not that simple.

"The Bauermaster territory is small and remote."

While it is not a place where one cannot survive, it is an inconvenient place where everyone must work together to live.

In fact, almost all the villagers attended my wedding.

On a day when we usually have a simple diet, a large amount of food and drink was served.

Weddings are like festivals for the villagers, who have few forms of entertainment.

"A lot of meat was served, and that was thanks to Veld."

Officially, it is attributed to Ehrlich, who is also an excellent archer, but in reality, it was Veld, who can use magic, who made it possible.

"Wouldn't it be better to have his help more often?"

"If we do that, it will cause a family dispute."

In a closed, rural minor territory where the distance between the lord and the people is close, if it becomes known that there is a son who can use magic, the number of people who will directly petition my father-in-law to replace the next lord will increase.

While ordinary farmers might be hesitant, the village headmen and other influential people would not hesitate to voice their opinions.

"If that happens, it is hard to imagine the chaos that would ensue."

It would be ideal if everyone agreed, but that is unlikely.

If a conflict arises between the Kurt faction and the Vendelin faction, and chaos ensues in this territory, we cannot expect external support.

After all, the neighboring territory is separated by a mountain range.

"Moreover, if that happens, you will lose your position as the next lord's wife."

That's right.

I have finally become the wife of the next lord, and I cannot just give it up.

"Given that..."

The world is not so kind.

I must choose to maintain my current life with my husband as the lord rather than have Veld become the lord and develop the Bauermaster family.

"Fortunately, Veld seems to have no interest in this territory."

That makes sense.

Since he can use magic, he could become an adventurer or work for another noble, which would likely be more profitable.

"Thus, it is better to let Veld be free. It would be better for both parties."

It felt a bit cold, but this must be my mother-in-law's way of showing love for her son.

If he were to develop a desire for the territory, it would lead to a conflict between the children she bore with pain.

This is a common occurrence and a nightmare that should be avoided.

"I understand. The world is not as simple as we wish."

"Yes, the world is not as simple as we wish."

We sighed together, and I felt a bit closer to my mother-in-law.

After all, this is the family I will spend my life with, and it is best to get along with my in-laws.