Chapter 58
“You’ve always had this strange confidence, haven’t you? Yet, when it comes to matters that require a decision, you hesitate. How about you apologize now?”
It was as expected, but Eirik didn’t budge. Lanze had no intention of forcing an apology from him either. It was a bit frustrating, but the damage had been minimal.
His nose had bled, but that was due to using too much mana in one go. Eirik hadn’t landed a successful strike, to be honest.
On the other hand, Eirik had been mercilessly beaten in front of his children and nephews. If he were to apologize now, it would only complicate things further.
For now, he feigned indifference, though his dejected expression was obvious.
‘If he was going to act like this, he should’ve just kept things civil from the start.’
Instead of voicing that, Lanze called out to Eirik in as gentle a tone as possible.
“Uncle.”
At this unusually soft tone, Tuva Erna and Hyne exchanged a glance.
They wondered if Lanze had hit his head while quarreling outside. Others who had heard his usual manner of speech looked puzzled.
Ignoring their reactions, Lanze continued.
“Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, how about we get back to our discussion from before the chaos began?”
Claire, recalling that Lanze had readily agreed to write a letter of intent earlier, frowned.
“You’re giving up too easily. I’m starting to doubt whether you truly understand the matter.”
“If I say I won’t give up, what’s going to change? Uncle’s not going to give up the succession position. And what about my cousins?”
Savier, who had been paying attention, spoke up as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
“I don’t care if you take it.”
He nodded, whether in agreement with Eirik’s glare or out of some expectation from the situation wasn’t clear.
Lanze didn’t feel the need to pay attention to his words and instead focused on Claire.
“I’m not interested in the title, but I’m not giving up on the inheritance either. As long as there’s no more trouble.”
“Alright, you’re entitled to your share of the assets. But to settle this issue, you need to return to the family.”
Her father’s and mother’s, Videlia’s, inheritance was currently in the name of Erna Swanhild.
As Claire said, in order to amend the legal title, many documents had to be handled.
It would be necessary to get the permission of the head of the Swanhild family, the Duke, even if they tried to handle it through a transfer.
At that moment, Eirik interrupted.
“If it’s not urgent, we can sort it out after my father passes.”
Lanze raised an eyebrow, not expecting any real solution from him.
“Well… yes. Grandpa won’t live forever.”
“When the time comes, I’ll hand it over appropriately. For today, let’s just finalize what we’ve agreed on in writing.”
Eirik didn’t find his change of attitude strange at all.
The inheritance was obviously meant for his nephew, and the possibility of a dispute over succession had disappeared. The suspicions from before were resolved due to his own mistake, so there was no reason to continue being uncooperative.
Of course, his pride was hurt.
But, knowing that Claire was watching, acting out of emotion would lead to an unpleasant situation.
Fear allowed his rationalization to take a different turn.
Lanze and Eirik signed the two copies of the agreement prepared by Claire.
The agreement stated that Lanze would renounce his claim to the title of Duke of Swanhild, and upon the death of the current Duke, he would inherit his father’s estate.
Everyone present in the room signed as witnesses.
“Seems like it’s all sorted.”
Lanze, feeling a sense of relief, grabbed his copy of the agreement. So much had happened in between that he wanted to leave quickly.
If things went well, he might be able to catch a train before the day ended.
He’d have to follow Renard and tell him what his uncle had done, how his aunt had punished him, and how incredible the scene had been.
Lanze half rose from his seat, his mind already on heading back.
Thankfully, before he could act on it, something unresolved stopped him in his tracks.
“Now, I suppose it’s time for us to talk.”
As Lanze sat back down, Claire gave him a puzzled look. Instead of explaining with words, Lanze pulled something from his inner pocket and placed it on the central table.
Hyne, seeing the moment arrive, also placed what he had on the table next to it.
Alex, who had been watching from the side, raised an eyebrow at the unusual combination.
“A medal… What’s this garbage?”
Erna answered quietly.
“It was originally part of a rifle.”
“Doesn’t look like that at all now.”
Eirik, too, approached the table. Lanze pushed the medal toward him and Claire.
“Do you recognize this emblem?”
Eirik seemed to have thought of something, but he hesitated in silence.
“This… is from the Froststar League.”
Instead of Eirik, the answer came from Claire.
Erna, feeling the clues coming together, asked urgently in a desperate voice.
“Aunt, do you know anything about this? We came here to ask about this group. You and Uncle have spent so much time in the capital, haven’t you?”
Erna had been involved in several incidents, and the accumulated questions and anger were far from small. She couldn’t help but respond immediately to Claire’s words.
“Please, tell us anything you know.”
Lanze thought strategically that pleading wasn’t the best approach, but for now, he waited for his aunt’s response.
“Well.”
Claire gave Erna a smile that didn’t quite fit her.
“If you want an answer, don’t you think you should first explain why you’re so curious?”
Letter to the Senior
“I told you I’d come for you soon. I’m sorry for the delay, something came up.
It’s nothing bad, so please don’t worry too much.
I hope we can meet before the new year.
Take care of yourself in this cold weather.
Lanze.”
Although this was too short to be a letter, it was more suited to a note. Lanze didn’t try to stretch out the words.
He wasn’t used to writing letters and couldn’t put too much detail in, especially to avoid losing it.
‘I wonder if my handwriting’s alright.’
While writing this on the shaky train, he noticed that his strokes were more crooked than usual.
It wasn’t unreadable, so he sealed the envelope.
As soon as he got off the train, he’d register it, and by next week, it would be delivered to Renard.
Wouldn’t it be better to go there personally? He briefly thought about it, but he knew he couldn’t. He just wanted time to pass quickly.
There were still six more hours to Morigen. Even considering delays, he might not arrive until midnight.
Erna, sitting by the window, groaned and turned around. The outside was all white.
It had started snowing.
Due to the temperature difference, the window was fogged, but there was no need to look deeper into the monotonous snowy landscape.
Lanze recalled memories of wiping the window and always being disappointed.
Whether now or then, the view heading north was bound to be dull.
If it was Erna, who didn’t have much travel experience, she’d have wiped the glass with her handkerchief. Now, however, she was dozing off in an uncomfortable position.
Lanze straightened her crooked neck and wrapped her scarf, and her expression relaxed a little.
“Maybe you should sleep a bit.”
Hyne, sitting across from her, smiled, but didn’t deny it.
He chose to reread a newspaper he had brought instead of talking to Lanze or joining in the clumsy card games.
Lanze understood. Losing and replaying a game was a painful experience.
She recalled how she had once overturned the board in frustration after losing so many times.
Since then, Renard would deliberately lose once every few rounds, but Lanze didn’t show him such kindness.
If it had been Renard in front of her now, it would have been the same.
She yawned and looked up at the ceiling.
The question she had asked Hyne was, in fact, an expression of her own feelings.
‘Well… even though I’m bored, I’m not anxious.’
This trip was the kind where she didn’t have to worry about it going wrong. If anything, it was the opposite.
There was little chance of someone making a rash move like Eirik, so Lanze could afford to be leisurely bored.
She recalled the conversation she had had before deciding to embark on this trip.
