887 – The Happiness of a Marquis – 2

The yellow-haired royal family rode majestically on a yellow ox.

Barandi walked proudly from the vast pastures of the Marquisate to the Marquisate. Without any hesitation, peacefully.

‘What the hell is this guy?’

With a bewildered heart, I looked at Ainter, who was moving alongside me─from a slightly higher viewpoint as I was riding on a cow.

Ainter is a member of the royal family. When the situation was the emperor, he was one of the direct descendants and the eldest son, and even when the current emperor ascended to the throne, he had tremendous authority as the only younger brother.

Thanks to this, even when the Emperor was the Crown Prince and was suffering from a disease of suspicion, Ainter received the proper protocol befitting the authority of the Imperial Family. To be honest, he had no real power and the protocol was quite precarious, but in any case, if you just passed by, you could tell he was an Imperial Family member.

‘But why now?’

I can’t understand. The current emperor has not only been cured of his suspicions, but he also has a lot of guilt toward Ainter. The empress is also friendly to Ainter, and the crown princess likes her only uncle.

Even though it is a single title, Ainter himself has a title of Marquis. His authority has increased significantly compared to the past when he received minimal ceremonial honors, so why did the ceremonial process go backwards? A dethroned monarch wouldn’t be carried on a bull.

– Mmooo-

In the meantime, perhaps sensing my gaze, the bull that Ainter was riding let out a long roar.

What should I do? Since our eyes met, should I wave at it? Or, since it is a noble animal that carries the royal family, should I treat it as preciously as the Rolls Royce that the president drives?

I don’t know. It’s a royal carriage. It’s a bizarre sentence that my mind can’t accept.

“You seem very surprised.”

My head, which had been spinning fiercely for a short time, stopped thanks to Ainter’s voice.

“Well, it is a unique sight. Of course, the authority of the solemn imperial family comes from great bloodlines, not from their vehicles, but can a mere ox bear the authority of Your Excellency?”

To be honest, I wanted to say, ‘You’re acting like you’re neither royalty nor a marquis, but a bum,’ but I couldn’t muster up the courage to say that, so I made up an appropriate excuse.

A person’s authority is created through his status, ability, character, and achievements. A slave does not become an emperor just because he rides a horse that is second to none, and a member of the royal family does not become a village slacker just because he rides an ox.

However, even considering that, there is a limit. Authority is like sunlight, so there are some things that can receive sunlight better and some that cannot. First of all, riding an ox is not a factor that can receive sunlight. Even if I am not very interested in authority or protocol, I know that much.

“Haha! I don’t know about other places, but at least here in the North, it’s enough!”

Despite my desperate packing and secret concerns, Ainter burst into laughter and patted the bull on the neck.

Is it because of my mood? I feel more cheerful than before the wedding. Roughly 0.05 rheumatism.

“For northern nomads, cattle are the most reliable and precious animals. It is often thought that nomads love horses the most, and that is not wrong, but cattle are no less valuable.”

“That’s… unexpected. It’s a similar phase to a horse.”

Sheep, which produce their own fur almost infinitely, dogs, who watch over all kinds of livestock and are friends to humans. I wonder if these two would be treated equally to horses, but I never thought cows would take their place. Nomads don’t treat people like sedentary people.

“It was unfamiliar to me at first, but if you live in the North, you have to learn the values ​​of the North. Besides, riding an ox is secretly comfortable and nice.”

“okay.”

I nodded, as it made perfect sense. Whenever we went to Behemoth’s territory to play, the kids would ride on the backs of all kinds of livestock, and for the sake of their safety, I would also ride on them. During that process, I rode on cows a few times.

It was definitely comfortable. Maybe it was because he was such a gentle and well-behaved guy, but he didn’t fall off even when I laid him down on his back.

“Oh, the craftsman is here too.”

When I turned my gaze straight ahead at Ainter’s words, I saw Marquis Barandiga standing blankly at the castle gate.

“Then I’ll go back to the ranch. I need someone to look after them, you know.”

“Oh, yes. Please do. Thank you for guiding me.”

“No need to mention it. I am the one who should be grateful that you came all the way to Barandiga.”

Ainter smiled slightly and reached out his hand to stroke Pedi’s head.

“Have fun, Pedi. There’s a little brother inside the castle, so go say hello to him too.”

“yes!”

“Pedya. Be polite.”

“yes!”

When Pedi spoke politely to me during my correction, Ainter’s smile grew even wider.

“I’m sure that one day, Kran will be able to speak as fluently as Pedi. I hope that day comes sooner rather than later.”

“It’ll be here soon. Children grow up so quickly.”

Parenting is really strange. I’m so busy taking care of my children that I feel like I’m going through a forced march every day, but when I look back, a week, a month, a year has passed by in a flash. It’s really strange.

So, even Ainter’s small wish will come true soon.

‘It’s Cranira.’

By the way, the child’s name was Kran. I’ve always heard him called nephew, younger brother, that child, and the precious person of the Marquis. I’m finally hearing the name of the child who was born a few months ago.

‘It’s perfectly harmonized.’

Soon, I found myself laughing without realizing it.

The way they treat cattle with respect and ride around like their own vehicles, and the way they take care of their livestock like shepherds in the village. Up to this point, they can be considered to have adapted well to life in the North.

But the first child’s name was not in the imperial style, but in the northern style? This means that Ainter chose a northern identity rather than an imperial identity. It means that he respected the northern culture and traditions, if not completely accepted them.

‘That’s good.’

As an imperial noble, civil servant, and veteran of two wars in the North, this is truly a joyous thing.

The emperor’s only younger sister married a powerful nobleman from the north. And she didn’t stop there. She even accepted the colors of the north without any filter. How fervent will the support of the northern nomads for the imperial family and the empire become?

In fact, there are no people who are as active in civilizing as the nobles of nomadic origin, but they are still proud when the empire respects their history. Accepting the civilization of others when necessary and having the other side respect my civilization are two separate issues.

The Marquis Barandiga, whom I met in person for the first time in a long time, had an expression on his face as if he was carrying all the happiness in the world on his shoulders.

Although he often saw her face through the telegram, it seems that the emotionless telegram could not fully express the grandfather’s joy at having a grandchild.

“It’s nothing special, but it’s a gift. I should’ve congratulated you a long time ago, but I’m giving it to you now, and I’m adding interest.”

“That’s right. I told you not to come because of personal reasons, so how can you say such a thing? Even if you came empty-handed, I would have welcomed you gladly.”

“This is my first time meeting the future Marquis, and I come empty-handed. I don’t want to look bad to the future Marquis.”

At this, the corners of the Marquis’ mouth, which were already up as if they were about to get caught in his ear, went up even higher.

The words “Marquis Chachagi” contained everything. The one who would continue the Marquis Barandi’s legacy, the precious grandchild born from the daughter who was thought to live alone her entire life, the totem symbolizing the connection between the Marquis Gurt and the imperial family. It was full of all sorts of positive titles, so it sounded sweeter than any other word.

That’s why I tried to pretend not to see the Marquis start to laugh a little, almost ugly.

Actually, I laugh like that when it comes to my children. I have no right to call others ugly.

“Mister.”

“Hmm? Why are you doing that, Young Master?”

Anyway, when Peddie spoke to the Marquis who had been giggling for a while, the Marquis looked at Peddie with a gentle face and lowered his eyes to his level.

“A present for me too.”

Pedi handed the Marquis a small doll. The doll was tiny even compared to the young Pedi.

“huh?”

“Ugh.”

While the Marquis blinked in bewilderment at the unexpected gift, I was surprised in a different way the moment I saw the doll.

That’s one of the stuffed animal collections I gave Pedi as a gift when he was just born. In a way, it was one of the things that signaled Pedi’s love for animals.

Judging from the fact that it came out of Pedi’s arms, it seems that he had been holding it carefully the whole way here. Jang-saeng didn’t notice because Pedi was covering his chest.

‘It took so long for me to catch Jang-saeng.’

No children are as good at catching running animals and finding hidden animals as our children. I was a little surprised that Pedi was a little late. I never thought he would be choosing a present from the dolls in his room.

“This is a doll that Pedi used to play with when she was very young. It’s also a doll that I chose myself. It’s something she cherishes very much, so I guess she brought one with her when she said she was going to see her little sister.”

“No, it’s not that precious.”

I nodded absentmindedly at the Marquis’s moving words.

This is an unexpected incident even to me. The doll is occasionally played with by other children, including the crown princess, but Pedi owns it, so he keeps a close eye on it. He can tell even the slightest change in the doll’s placement like a ghost. Even if the crown princess asks for just one, he firmly refuses.

It’s amazing to give away something you treasured so much as a gift, even if it’s just one of your many animal collections.

‘Is it because I haven’t seen you for a long time?’

Pedi also knew about Kran’s birth thanks to the Crown Princess’s passionate complaints. That’s why he immediately agreed when I asked him to go see his new sibling.

However, perhaps because he hadn’t seen his younger brother for several months, Pedi’s heart seemed to be growing fond of him.

“Thank you, my lord. I’m sure Crandall will like your gift.”

“If my little brother is happy, I am happy too!”

At those words, the two adults burst into laughter at the same time.

Fortunately, it seems that the Krasius and Gurt families will continue to have a special relationship in the future.

***

Little brother! My little brother!

Not the younger sibling who lives at my house! Not the younger sibling who lives at my house, but another younger sibling!

“Huh, is it that good?”

“yes!”

I nodded immediately at my mother’s words.

Oh my goodness! Seeing my little brother is the best thing in the world! And besides, I can’t have a new little brother for a really long time!

“I heard that the godfather and Pedi are there too. It’s good for our daughter to have so many people to play with.”

“and!”

Even the new little brother is good at taking care of things and being nice to Peddie!