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Rose and Claus both accompanied me there. When I opened the door to the parlor, I saw my father, Glenn, and Mikhail lounging on the luxurious sofa.
“Oh, you’re finally here. What took you so long?” my father abruptly exclaimed as he placed a teacup on the table.
Sweets had been served for the guests, of course, but they’d already consumed them all. I mean, they were there to be eaten, I guess, but it was still embarrassing that they had so few reservations about scarfing everything down in someone else’s home.
Quietly exasperated, I took a seat on the opposite side of the table. Claus and Rose seated themselves next to me.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here, father. What did you need?” I asked.
“It’s about Armeria and Cosmos. Glenn told me you’d taken them away from home,” he responded gruffly.
Of course this was about my sisters. I’d surmised as much.
“I’m taking care of them. I can do what I want with my own money,” I objected.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Now that Armeria’s recovered from her illness, we must marry her to Viscount Geremeigh as soon as possible.”
“The viscount’s in his forties! Don’t you feel bad for Armeria at all?!”
“This is just how marriages between nobles work. Everyone has their role to play.”
“Ngh...”
I managed to stop myself from cursing at him.
Right now, it would be a simple matter to send my father and brothers away, but it was a fact of law that children belonged to their parents. In this kingdom, the parents had the right to choose marriage partners for their children. This was law, and I couldn’t overturn that no matter how much magical power I had.
“Now, now, do calm down, Lord Clematis. Your daughters are getting along with my own dear Rose. It would be a pity to separate them so soon.”
Claus, who’d been listening to our conversation, had thrown me a lifeline.
“My apologies, your lordship. You see, we’re not terribly well-off. We must maintain good relationships with our neighbors simply to survive.”
“You’re being disrespectful to Lord Lycoris, father!” I interrupted.
“Shut up, you! Armeria and Cosmos are coming home whether you like it or not. And I’ve heard you’ve awakened in power as well—a shame it’s not magecraft, but you’ll serve your use.”
“No! I’m not going back and neither are Armeria or Cosmos! We’ll mind our own business, so you back off and mind your own as well!”
“Ridiculous. You belong to me. You have no right to disobey!”
My father was using the law as a shield in order to force us to return home. Even if he dragged us back kicking and screaming, no one would find fault with him. This was just how things worked, after all.
But I could use magecraft to make a break for it, if necessary. I even entertained the thought of taking Armeria and Cosmos with me on a wild escape.
I stood from the sofa and moved for the door—but before I could sprint out of the room, Claus stepped between us.
“This is most troublesome, Lord Clematis. Hisui, Armeria, and Cosmos are all guests of my house. It would be difficult for me to send them away against their will.”
“If it’s so difficult, then I suppose you’ll just have to ask the king to repeal the law right away.”
“Mmm, I do agree that following the rules is important. Then I’ve a suggestion—perhaps you wouldn’t mind letting them do as they please a little while longer?”
With a snap of his fingers, a butler who had been waiting in the hallway entered the room bearing a large bag. He placed it on the table.
“You’ll find three hundred gold coins in the bag. That’s one hundred each for Hisui, Armeria, and Cosmos.”
“Three hundred?!”
I couldn’t believe it either. Three hundred gold coins would probably have been worth around three million yen, but seeing as things in this world were significantly cheaper than they’d been in my past life, the purchasing power of those three hundred coins was probably closer to ten million yen. That was enough for years, even decades, of comfortable living. From the perspective of a poor-as-dirt baron, it was an unprecedented amount.
My father’s and brothers’ eyes lit up upon seeing the bag.
“Just to be clear, this is compensation for all the dedicated work Hisui’s done for us. The fact that Hisui is staying here, on my lands, has been a great boon. As Hisui’s father, you have the right to receive this money in his stead.”
“Are you suggesting I sell Hisui, then?”
“Hardly. As I said, this is compensation for his labor. As long as he continues staying here at my estate, I shall pay you for his further service commensurate to his performance. He is your son, after all.”
“An excellent proposal.”
Upon finding that this arrangement wouldn’t be a one-off payment, my father’s mood immediately improved. Glenn and Mikhail also seemed pleased that my value had risen. They didn’t seem to think I would threaten their own positions in the family. That was the power of money, I supposed—though Mikhail was usually calm, his brain must’ve turned to mush in the face of so much money.
“Well, now that that’s settled, let’s end our meeting here. Take the money and go; I’m quite busy with work.”
“Understood, your lordship,” my father said, then turned to address me. “Hisui, don’t cause any trouble for the marquis, you hear? And you’d best understand that I will be back to fetch Armeria and Cosmos.”
“Even after all the money you’ve been offered?” I objected.
“According to the marquis, this is money that you earned. The two girls haven’t done anything useful yet.”
“Yeah,” Glenn chimed in, riding on father’s coattails. “You should still be grateful I managed to find Armeria a husband!”
“Uh-huh...” I was annoyed.
Even in front of the marquis, the lot of them were the same as always. Receiving all that money hadn’t changed their behavior in the slightest. They truly were despicable.
Standing from the sofa, I walked toward Glenn and Mikhail, who’d been clutching the bag of money.
“What? Whaddya want, Hisui? Changed your mind? Think you’ll come back with us? Guess we could put you to work,” Glenn began, but he never had the chance to finish.
I punched him in the face as hard as I could.