Chapter - 10
"Oh, Uncle! I'd like to meet my cousin!"
My uncle's face broke into a smile, and my father's face turned bitter.
"Licorice, come here for a moment."
I followed my father and walked up to him, but he gave me a stern look.
"Licorice. Don't get too involved in other people's affairs."
"But father, it's my cousin. You must be wondering what he's like and how he's doing."
"That's true, but.... this is something your aunt doesn't want people to know about, especially you. Do you understand?"
"That's.... Yes, I understand."
"So you can be a good girl and stay at home?"
I knew that my father was planning to go with my uncle.
I guess this was exactly what my uncle had brought up. And he was going to find out what was going on.
He was absolutely right, but now that I knew that the child's name was Shade, I couldn't just sit back and let it happen.
"Father...."
At a loss for a good excuse, I still grabbed the hem of my father's coat and tried to hold him back from saying, "This is the end of the story."
My father frowned when he saw this.
"Do you really want to see him.....?"
"Yes, I do. It's okay if you just want to follow your father and say hello. I will never say anything unnecessary, so please, father....."
My father sighed a troubled sigh.
Uncle Narcissus Lancrats lives with his wife and daughter just a thirty minute carriage ride from the Duke of Leelia's residence.
His job, objectively, is to rule the lands in place of the Duke of Leelia, who is often absent from his domain. Since his father has no siblings, his brother-in-law, Uncle Narcissus, is in charge.
However, my father is the one who actually gives the orders, while the one who arranges the various tasks and negotiates with the people is the one who has been assigned as a deputy. So what kind of work does my uncle do?
That's probably not something a child should ask.
By the way, my uncle's hobby is gardening. He has a wonderful greenhouse at the Lancart's house.
My uncle rarely opens his house for work, but he often goes out to get the garden varieties he wants. Hmmm....
As I listened to my uncle's ramblings, my mind was occupied with the hope (or rather, anxiety) that I might be able to meet Shade.
"Where is he?"
Uncle Narsis asked the elderly butler without any preamble. As soon as they arrived at the house.
"He's with Lady Crinum."
I'm looking forward to meeting my cousin Crinum, who is one year older than me. And of course, I can't leave her out of it if she's heartbroken over what happened.
As is usually the case with cousins, Crinum and I don't look much alike. She's a beautiful girl with straight brown hair and an innocent look. Her personality is rather quiet and withdrawn. At family gatherings, she tends to hide behind me, who is one year younger than her.
We are close relatives and live relatively close to each other, so we get along quite well. However, we mainly communicate through correspondence, and she is a voracious reader, so we get along well.
Shade is a concubine's child, but Uncle Narcissus seems to love her and she seems to be doing well with Crinum. Her aunt's stance is worrisome, but with two allies, it's not such a bad environment.
With this expectation, I stepped into the Lancart's residence.
However.
When my father and I were ushered into the drawing room, no one from my uncle's family showed up, no matter how long we waited.
"Father. Are you all right with your work?"
"Yes. I knew it would take a long time to get here today. As the brother-in-law of Narsisus and the head of the clan, it's a story I'm not a stranger to."
"'Yes, it is..... Has your father ever met the boy?"
"No. No, I haven't. No, I've heard the story and I've done my best to find out about the boy's mother. After all, I was only told the story yesterday."
"What? So you're saying that the child was just taken in yesterday or today?"
"No, it's been a while. It's been a while since he was taken in. I didn't worry about my brother, and that's why I didn't notice it until later."
In other words, he hadn't reported the situation until his father had noticed it.
My uncle decided to take the child in on his own, and he did it without telling my father. I don't mean to be rude, but that's a little surprising.
"My uncle is a man of action, isn't he?"
"No, he's not..... Oh, you know."
My father stammered a little after he said that. That's unusual.
"In fact, I don't really understand what he's thinking. I've known him for a long time, as we are cousins after all. I've always felt that he has a different tone when I'm around him. I'm sorry to say that he rather adores me, but I've never been able to have a friendly relationship with him."
My father told me about his problems with socializing. My father spilled out his worries about socializing. Even more unusual.
"Even my father gets confused when he can't understand someone's feelings....."
My father looked as if he had been caught off guard by my words, and then laughed.
"It's true," He said. "I'm a--"
"Kafir! I'm sorry to keep you waiting!"
One more thing I learned about my uncle. He's got a very bad temper.
***