Three days after Arnald approached Byletta with his strange wager, the time came for her to depart the Swangan’s city home to accompany the count on his inspection of their country estate.
Their intent was to investigate the actual yield of the harvest that had been reported deficient, secure evidence of embezzlement, and attempt to get a confession to the crime from the masterminds behind it. It was a terrifying amount to achieve in a single week, but Count Swangan insisted it could be done. Byletta’s head hurt just thinking about how much of the work was going to end up dumped in her lap.
The eastern side of the empire was mostly made up of the mountains that stretched out from the imperial capital, and thus sat at quite a high altitude. While the area did have a few roads left over from the development that had taken place there, making it simple enough to come and go, the journey to the Swangan’s property still took two entire days. With the victory celebration coming in but a few weeks’ time, they’d planned to depart the capital before dawn, forgo the use of inns, and only stop to change out the horses to ensure they’d be home in time. That way, they would be able to reach the Swangan estate by afternoon the following day.
It was colder in the east than it had been in the imperial capital. Even though it was high summer, Byletta didn’t feel warm at all.
Generally, that would make travel more bearable, but in this case, it meant that there was a chill inside the carriage.
Byletta secretly wanted to tear her hair out at the situation she’d found herself in.
Never once in all the times her father-in-law had previously taken her to the estate had she felt this gloomy.
“Why is he here?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”
Sitting across from each other in the confines of the cramped carriage, Count Swangan and Byletta exchanged frowns and whispers.
Beside Byletta sat a peaceful Arnald, his eyes closed in slumber. His sculpted features were just as handsome as usual. With his eyes closed, he reminded Byletta of a delicate, carefully crafted doll. His striking form was truly impressive, but Byletta was trying her hardest not to look. The mere sight of him infuriated her.
Byletta hadn’t been informed that he was due to accompany them on the trip. He’d said nothing about it.
Byletta had told him the night before that she was needed at the Swangan estate and would be away from the capital for a few days. Still, Arnald had only nodded in understanding.
It had been a relief to know that she would receive a brief respite from her wifely duties. In total, she’d be staying at the estate for around a week, giving her just enough travel time to return for the victory celebration at the end of the month. It would mean being separated from her husband for an entire third of the remaining duration of their contract, but their agreement had never stated that they had to always be together. She wouldn’t be breaking any pledges, per se.
Despite that, when she walked out of the house the following morning, she’d been shocked to see a bored-looking Arnald loitering in the doorway. At first, she’d wondered whether he had come to escort her to the carriage and see her off, but when he’d climbed in beside her, she’d been at a loss for words.
Apparently, Arnald had interpreted her explanation the previous night as an instruction to come along. The last one to enter the carriage had been Count Swangan, whose expression had begun to sour the moment he spotted Arnald sitting inside. Normally, Byletta would have ridiculed him for being so awkward with his own son, but she hadn’t felt particularly inclined at that moment.
Arnald, meanwhile, had ignored the odd looks on Byletta and his father’s faces and quickly gone to sleep.
Since then, the carriage had been filled with tension.
“Listen, I hope you understand that you’re the one who will be looking after him,” snapped the count.
“You can’t just force this on me. If you do, I won’t help with the inspection.”
“Don’t be absurd… The tenants are the ones who’ll suffer! Is that the choice you want to make?”
“You speak of morals, but I don’t find your argument very ethical. With all you’ve given me to do, now you’d also like me to babysit your son?”
“He’s your husband.”
“He’s a stranger. After eight years of neglect, I’m a wife in name only. How could I possibly have any authority over him?”
“It’s not as if the boy ever spends time at home, either. I don’t know that we’ve ever had a proper conversation. You two decided to spend another month as husband and wife, did you not? Then you’ve definitely exchanged more words with him than I ever have.”
“Doesn’t it make you sad to hear yourself say such things, Father?”
Byletta had heard that the father and son didn’t get along, but she hadn’t known that things were this acrimonious. But despite the pity in her voice, the count simply snorted.
“Well, aren’t you two close?” a quiet voice chimed in, making Byletta turn to the side in fright. A pair of serene green eyes met hers.
How long had he been awake?
“We’re not close! Are you blind?! Have you seen how brazen she is?! This impudent woman doesn’t respect me at all. You should give her a stern talking-to.”
“Come now, Father, I’m sorry. Would you prefer that I alight from this carriage?”
“You certainly are fond of making threats while using my estate as a shield. If you leave now, who will do the inspection? Do you enjoy capitalizing on my tenants’ predicaments?”
“How very mature you are, shutting your eyes to your own inadequacies and taking them out on others. I see I could learn much from you.”
“You little…!” spat the count.
As Byletta laughed, she could see Count Swangan’s expression contort.
Arnald let out a small snort that indicated he wasn’t quite sure what was happening. “You two really are on good terms.”
Byletta had no idea what her husband’s true intentions were. It was difficult to parse any emotion from his apathetic face. All she could tell was that he was deep in thought.