How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 37

‘Well, this works out nicely.’

Whether I liked it or not, being in command of the escort meant I had to discuss future plans with Fleta anyway.

I dressed in simple attire, taking only my sword. As Rices had mentioned, I could see Fleta’s silhouette standing on the castle walls in the distance.

I don’t know what she’s doing. It’s not like she’s suddenly taken up stargazing.

‘Still, she’s more docile than I thought.’

Considering her image as portrayed in the novel and my previous embarrassing encounter, I expected a tense journey.

But she’s been more well-behaved than I anticipated.

If anything, Rices was the one acting up; Fleta remained completely neutral.

‘Is it because she’s still young?’

Clearly, Fleta was the most influential and powerful character in the novel.

But in this timeline, she wasn’t a major obstacle for me.

‘Well, no harm in that.’

I thought she would be the biggest hurdle to overcome at the beginning, so I’m relieved she’s being so cooperative.

“Fleta.”

I walked along the castle wall, stood behind her, and called her name.

“…….”

But even with my call, Fleta didn’t turn around. She simply kept her gaze fixed on the night sky.

Whatever.

“I plan to expedite the schedule and head to the capital as quickly as possible.”

“…….”

“I’ve drastically revised the existing route. There’s no need to travel leisurely in the current situation. From now on, we’ll only stop in cities when supplies are needed; otherwise, we’ll set up camp.”

She’s still looking at the night sky.

“I’ll have Ilia Frost stay next to the carriage at all times, so if you have any requests, please relay them to me through her.”

“…….”

“Then, I’ll see you at departure tomorrow.”

Just as I was about to turn around, Fleta turned her head and looked at me for the first time.

Her eyes, which seemed somehow empty, were staring straight at me.

“Something to say?”

As if responding to my question, Fleta waved her hand.

*Fwoosh…*

The torch hanging on the castle wall flickered out.

In an instant, darkness fell only on the spot where Fleta and I were standing.

“You.”

In that darkness, I heard Fleta’s voice.

“What is your true identity?”

“…….”

Could she have heard my heart pounding in that moment?

“I asked, what is your true identity?”

“What do you mean by identity? I am the third son of the Lindayer family…”

“Don’t lie.”

Should I shout, ‘Correct answer!’?

I barely pushed away the absurd thought and scratched the back of my neck.

“What do you mean, lie?”

“You’re saying you’re the third son? That’s ridiculous.”

“Then am I the fourth son?”

“……I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

Feeling awkward, I cleared my throat and spoke again.

“Anyway, why do you think I’m lying?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t have investigated the person I was going to marry in advance?”

Hmm. She probably did investigate. Fleta isn’t the type to blindly accept an arranged marriage.

In short, she means the past delinquent and the current me don’t match up.

But even my family isn’t taking it seriously, so why is she?

“Well, people can change a bit, can’t they?”

“It’s as if your soul has been completely replaced.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Two years ago, without informing anyone, I arrived alone at Wind Nest and saw the human called the third son for the first time. Clearly, that man was a vile and disgusting human being.”

Two years ago? That’s before I came to Midland.

“I clearly remember his drunken and dissolute behavior. You may not know, but I saw it with my own two eyes. That’s when I first learned that the truth can be more wicked than rumors. Perhaps the territory residents were too afraid of retaliation to properly expose him.”

“…….”

“It was then that I decided to marry you.”

Wait a minute, something’s a bit off.

She decided to marry me because I was a wicked scoundrel?

“What I needed was not a cumbersome burden called a husband, but the Lindayer family’s bloodline. In that respect, you were the perfect human.”

“Because I could freely control the Lindayer name.”

“Yes.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Fleta affirmed.

She was a scary woman.

Fleta was a woman who would use any means necessary to revive her family.

Perhaps in her mind, the Lindayer family was engraved as a target to be subjugated someday.

‘That’s why she tried to bring me in as her groom.’

In case something happened, she could gain an advantage by using my life as leverage, and if necessary, she could interfere with the barony using my legitimacy.

But her plan was all ruined because of me.

“The second encounter was when Count Lindayer, judging that you had run away before the wedding, released soldiers.”

“You mean when you and I fought?”

“Yes. At that time, according to my information, your swordsmanship skills were terrible. No, you were a human who had never even held a sword. But the result was unexpected. I was soundly defeated by a degenerate who had been indulging in pleasure just a few months prior, even suffering a slap.”

“……What are you trying to say?”

“I have always trusted only my information and judgment. You may think I’m arrogant. But if it’s a method that has always received perfect scores, isn’t it possible to continue using that method?”

Certainly, her current position is as the most promising first-in-line successor to the duchy.

“But that method was wrong for the first time. Because of you.”

“Am I supposed to feel sorry?”

“But I didn’t think I was wrong even the second time. I thought the duel and the annulment were due to chance. Of course, additional verification was needed to confirm that.”

“Verification being…”

“A few days ago, the third encounter.”

I faintly heard her laughter.

“You came with a woman at your side, calling her a seed. I was relieved. So you’re still the same. That duel was a rare coincidence caused by my carelessness and your tenacity. You’re still a degenerate and insignificant human.”

“…….”

“But it was too early to be relieved. The verification wasn’t over yet.”

“The verification isn’t over?”

“Yes. That’s why I didn’t give you command.”

Wait a minute.

“What?”

“It was I who decided not to give you command.”

What is she saying? Not the Duke?

“What does that…”

“Do I need to explain it for you to understand?”

“No, I understand now.”

This feels like I’ve been hit hard in the back of the head.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips. At the same time, I felt like my jumbled thoughts were being organized.

“Then Rices Livern was…?”

“It was my request.”

“You disregarded the agreement between the two families and made a knight participate in a false play?”

“Yes.”

“Did your liver grow outside your stomach [idiom meaning ‘are you out of your mind’?]? You know this isn’t something that can be easily overlooked.”

“I know.”

She did it knowing that.

Is she arrogant, or is she foolish?

But something’s a bit strange. Fleta is a very rational and calculating person. Yet she caused such a major incident?

It doesn’t add up.

…Wait, could it be?

“Was the Count also in on it?”

I couldn’t see it well, but I could be sure. She was smiling now.

“Yes.”

A short and concise affirmation.

At the same time, annoyance surged in my head.

‘That damn old man. He acted like he would do everything for me in front, but behind my back, he was plotting to test me?’

Looking back, everything I’ve done so far has been a series of tests.

From earning 1,500 gold coins to subjugating the Blade Tribe.

That wasn’t enough, I guess.

The Count wanted to keep confirming whether those repeated successes were a series of coincidences or if they were truly my skills.

Even Gilaine’s words, who had directly witnessed the Blade Tribe subjugation by my side, weren’t fully trusted, I guess.

“In the end, the matter related to the command was a kind of role-playing. You were a puppet in that plan.”

“A puppet? That’s unpleasant. This was something I requested Count Lindayer to cooperate with. The Count also wanted to verify you, so he accepted.”

“Unbelievable.”

They were trying to fleece me as a pair.

It’s unbelievable.

The Count’s intention is simple. He wanted to check my political power.

What if I was stripped of the authority I should have had in a situation where I was isolated externally? And what if there was an obstacle that antagonized me?

How would I react then?

Could I protect myself even in a state where I had lost what should have been given to me?

‘Was bestowing the position of banneret [a knight entitled to bear his own flag], and calling me to the training grounds that day to test my skills, all groundwork for this?’

What if I was upset about being deprived of authority and just went back?

Then that would have been it.

The Count would have judged that I didn’t have the ability to create my own game.

What if I sent a letter urging him to fulfill the promise?

He would have also thought that I didn’t have the ability to regain what was taken away without the family’s backing.

“What if I had just gone back? One of the goals was to announce the alliance externally, wasn’t it?”

“One of your brothers would have done it instead.”

Yes. If that were the case, Dane or Seine would have welcomed it with open arms.

“Don’t tell me, even the duel with Lord Livern? Was that also a play?”

“It was at first. If you defeated a few of them with your skills, we planned to give you appropriate recognition.”

“I was completely played.”

“But no one expected you to completely defeat him with your skills. That’s something Lord Livern also acknowledged.”

I feel empty.

I turned my head and looked at the night sky that Fleta had been watching all along.

‘I thought I knew everything.’

I was confident that I knew all of the Count’s thoughts and schemes. Because I know the future. I thought I could just match his tune appropriately and build my position.

But the Count still didn’t trust me.

Rather, he was constantly testing and trying to verify me. In a way, he’s the person who should be most on my side.

‘That sly old fox.’

The Count’s weighing of Dane, Seine, and me is still ongoing.

I clicked my tongue at the bitterness and turned my head to look at Fleta.

“So, what are you going to do from now on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to keep riding the fence like that and continue with that verification or whatever?”

At my question, Fleta waved her hand again.

*Whoosh!*

Fleta, who had relit the torch, looked at me.

“Once can be a coincidence.”

“…….”

“But twice is skill.”

Once is a coincidence, twice is skill.

“And three times is inevitable.”

Inevitable.

I roughly understand what the metaphor is, but why do I feel like Fleta’s eyes are burning?

“All three of my judgments were wrong. At least, the old third son I knew is dead and gone. So now I have no choice but to acknowledge it.”

“Acknowledge it?”

“I don’t know why you’ve been hiding your abilities until now, but I’m now going to acknowledge you as a full-fledged competitor.”

“A competitor?”

“Basrühren and Lindayer have been allies for a long history, but conversely, they have also been in a competitive relationship where they must overthrow and devour each other.”

“So, you’re saying you’re going to win the competition and devour me?”

“I can’t possibly marry you again, can I?”

“Absolutely not.”

For a moment, Fleta and I shared a faint smile.

After finishing the conversation, Fleta turned her body and stood facing me.

“I apologize for the rudeness I have committed so far, and I look forward to a successful journey to Capital. Escort Captain Lindayer.”

She paid her respects politely.

Well, it seems things have worked out well for now.

I passed the Count’s ridiculous test and regained all the rights I had lost. As a bonus, I made Fleta take a step back and bow her head.

“I will escort you safely. Duchess Basrühren.”

So now I just wanted to rest comfortably until I got to the capital.

I’ve been running too hard lately anyway.