Chapter 265

Welcome Home [Part 1]

Robert's POV

This is fun.

There's no way that it is.

So fun.

What a ridiculous thought.

How fun.

Every day, I always had questions and answers for myself while plowing the field.

Every time I looked at a well-tilled field that had all the plant roots and stones on it removed and turned fluffy after being aerated, my body was filled with an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

When I was in the Royal Capital, or was commuting to the academy...

...I had almost never felt this way.

Perhaps I'd experienced this feeling long ago when I was young, with my mother still by my side.

After Mother passed away, the next person Father married was the maid in charge of the laundry in the mansion.

My new mother always bowed her head and spoke to me with honorifics.

Born into a ducal family, only a few people around me were more distinguished than I was.

That was why everyone bowed down to me.

Even my stepmother too.

I couldn't say that I was lonely.

Even when I destroyed the garden, yelled at a maid, or bullied a student that caught my eye at the academy to get my new mother's attention, she never said anything.

When I openly asked her to have tea together, she just sat there with a tense face, and only wished the time she had to spend with me would be over quickly. I couldn't hold a conversation with her no matter how I tried.

Father was only in the mansion at night. Even when I estimated the time he would be back and paid him a visit, he would only glare at the butler to let him "deal with this troublesome kid".

After having caused too much trouble, my living space was separated from that of my stepmother and stepsister. I began to eat my meals alone every day.

If my new mother had given me a gentle smile like how she treated my sister just once, I might not be doing what I am doing right now.

"Darius is a strong chap, ain't he?"

"The fields were revived in a jiffy."

"I would take him home as my husband if I was ten years younger, haha."

"...No, even if it was ten years ago, you were already in your 60s..."

"Whatcha talkin' 'bout. We're still burstin' with youth and vigor in our 60s..."

"Youth and vigor eh?"

"..."

There is no way that being Darius in this village, where I can't even get new underwear, is more fun than being Robert of the ducal house.

There's absolutely no way...

End of Robert's POV

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"Speaking of which, I wonder why everyone is seething with this much anger..."

Emma asked while tilting her head, puzzled.

A huge loss from cotton, House Stuart's absence during the social season, the "Fake Holy Maiden" Emma.

Besides the matter regarding cotton, the others were none of their business. Even if the nobles lost a lot of money, they wouldn't fall that deep into poverty to the point of not being able to afford bread because they received a regular tax revenue from their territories. The ones who deserved to be angry were the fief citizens whose tax burden might increase because of their lord's stupidity.

"It's most likely because everyone cannot make new underwear... you know?" Arthur responded to Emma's puzzled look with a similarly puzzled face.

Marion, Francesca, and the twins also looked at Emma in the same manner as Arthur.

"Making new underwear?" Hoping for a detailed explanation for this inexplicable matter, William prompted.

"It was the Church's doctrine, right? Negative energy accumulates easier on underwear. So to return to God's side, you should make new underwear once a year after the social season. Hemp is too shabby for underwear material, while silk is too luxurious. Cotton is the most appropriate."