CHAPTER 39
"I think I would?"
I was puzzled as she picked a fight out of nowhere.
If it were for political reasons, I could understand, but the latter part was the issue.
Allois's voice held a firm conviction that there was no way I could ever be a good groom to anyone.

"What am I lacking? Not to brag, but I'm hailed as the greatest beauty in the Empire."
"What good are just looks? You might turn out to be an inadequate partner, just like your mother."

Why is Ares being brought up here?
Unable to understand, I stared at Allois, and then Allois looked at me as if surprised.
"Don't tell me you don't know?"
"Know what?"
"...This is unexpected."
She looked at me with that peculiar gaze again and said,
"You must not have known that your mother, Ares, treated your father, her husband, so coldly that it eventually led to his death. And that she didn't shed a single tear when he died."

The moment I heard Allois's words, the first thought that came to mind was, What kind of bullshit is she spouting?
The insult was so ridiculous that instead of making me angry, it just left me dumbfounded.
Ares treated her spouse coldly and let him die? And didn't even shed a tear?
As if!
Even in the original story, Ares was utterly devoted to Ceres, and I'm experiencing that firsthand right now.
There was no way someone who treated her child so well would do that to her spouse, so I was baffled.

"Mother, what are you talking about?"
Perhaps sharing my thoughts, Alios also had a bewildered expression.
"I saw her treat Ceres very affectionately. She is not that kind of person."
"...I don't know since when that woman became your mother-in-law, but I am only stating what I saw with my own eyes."
Allois looked at us as if we were the strange ones for not believing her.
"To begin with, I question whether that woman truly cares for her child that much. That incredibly cold-hearted woman who views others as nothing more than inanimate objects."

"Stop."
Unable to listen any longer, I cut her off.
"Stop insulting my mother with baseless rumors."
"Baseless rumors? It's a fact known to all the high nobles of my generation. I am not being sarcastic; I am telling the truth."
"You're one to talk so harshly, when you couldn't even keep your own husband."

Unable to hold back my anger in that moment, I brought up her family history in return.
"I heard your husband got so sick of you caring only about your work every day that he eventually divorced you."
"Ceres!"
When I stated what I had read in the original novel, Alios called my name in surprise.

Allois also flinched for a moment, before...
"...That was certainly my mistake. I have no intention of denying it."
She composed her expression and calmly retorted.
"However, as a wife, I at least treated him with the bare minimum of respect."

"Wow! To be divorced even after treating him with the bare minimum of respect—it's scary to think what would have happened if you hadn't even done that! I'm terrified you might have stabbed your husband to death!"
"...Do not be sarcastic. Some may call me heartless, but I have more compassion than your mother."

Hearing Allois's words, I burst into laughter.
"Ha!"
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because the 'you' that I know is absolutely not a person with compassion."
"...We only met for the first time today. What exactly do you think of me to say such a thing?"
"The kind of person who would throw a dying person out into the cold just because they were a nuisance."
I said cynically.

In the original story, Allois, who had developed a headache because of Ceres, made up an excuse to separate Alios from him.
Then, she threw the left-behind Ceres out onto the streets.
A person who had already half-given up on life due to everything he had been through, and whose body was slowly showing the backlash of his terminal illness.

Was that her idea of mercy? Or was she simply afraid of being interrogated by Viol later on?
Because she abandoned him right in front of the Imperial Palace, Ceres fell back into Viol's clutches.
Knowing this fact, I couldn't accept Allois spouting nonsense about having compassion.

"That is an oddly specific example. If someone who didn't know better heard you, they'd think I actually did such a thing."
Allois, who had no way of knowing the context, frowned.
"Please refrain from making strange speculations."
"Haven't you? Do you have no intention of ever doing so in the future? I think you yourself know best that you're exactly the kind of person who would."
"I have never done such a thing!"
"No, you're more than capable of doing it."

We glared at each other for a moment.
"...It seems I've said something unnecessary."
Then, Allois was the first to lower her tail and apologize.
"I will apologize, so let's drop it."
Did she decide there was nothing to gain from continuing to argue with me about this here?

"...I will apologize as well. Mentioning the Duke's family history was too harsh."
"Thank y—"
"Just because the other person acts petty first, stooping to their level is beneath my dignity, after all."
Even though she apologized first, I remained sarcastic to the bitter end.

And then,
"I'll be taking my leave now. I don't want to look at your face any longer."
"Is that so? Safe trav—"
"If I stay around you, I'm afraid your bad vibes will rub off on me and I'll end up getting divorced too."

I didn't want to talk to this woman here any longer.
Originally, I had planned to stay a bit longer to get on her nerves and screw with her, but it was hard to hold back when she brought up Ares.
She might not be my real mother, but we have a mother-son relationship now, so it's hard to maintain my composure when someone insults her.

"Ceres, wait a minute!"

As I prepared to leave, Allois stayed silent, but Alios stepped in to stop me instead.

"I'll apologize on my mother's behalf, so please don't be mad!"

"...No. I went too far with my words too, so I'm going to head home and cool my head. I'm not really mad at you, so let's meet up later."

I didn't care about Allois, but her divorce was a sore spot not just for her, but for Alios too. Since I had brought it up out of anger, it felt a bit awkward to look Alios in the face today.

"Girls, let's just go."

"We're just leaving?"

"She's a Duke, so it can't be helped. Plus, it's not like we're in some secluded alley—we're right in the middle of her territory, so we can't exactly beat her to death."

"...Understood."

The Death Knights glared at Allois for provoking me, but followed my orders with an air of resignation. Instead, they deliberately dragged their swords along the ground, ruining the Duke family's land as they walked.

"Let's never meet again, you bad-tempered Duke! If we do, I feel like you'll end up dumped in front of the Imperial Palace. Or maybe I'll be the one dumping you!"

I left one final parting shot as we walked away.

"...W-What kind of man has a personality like that? If possible, I never want to see you again either."

"What were you thinking?!"

After Ceres left, Alios finally unleashed her pent-up anger on her flustered mother.

"Even if you're my mother, I can't forgive this! What did Ceres ever do to deserve such treatment?!"

She had gone out of her way to invite him, only to subject him to irrational harassment and ultimately insult his parent. This was something that would anger anyone, let alone someone as deeply obsessed with Ceres as Alios.

So she interrogated her fiercely.

"...Something is strange."

Allois had kept her mouth shut, but instead of offering excuses or apologies, she made a bizarre expression.

"He's completely different from what I expected."

"What exactly were you expecting? Did you think Ceres was just some bad-tempered boy who acted up because he knew he was pretty?"

"...No, I thought he'd be even worse."

Allois was genuinely bewildered. Ceres's personality was completely different from the kind of man she had imagined—a man who toyed with women.

And then...

"That boy, doesn't he look absolutely nothing like Ares?" Allois asked.

Alios, comparing Ceres's appearance to Ares, replied doubtfully.

"Aside from the silver hair, there's no resemblance."

"...Couldn't he just take after his dead father?"

"Unlikely. If he did, that boy's father would have been hailed as the greatest beauty of the previous generation."

Even comparing Ceres to her memories of Ares's husband, there were no similarities. The same went for his personality.

"Unlike his mother, he gets worked up so easily over a little provocation."

"What are you talking about? Mother Ares gets worked up easily too. Well, mostly when it comes to anything regarding Ceres, but still."

"Are you telling me that creepy woman genuinely loses her mind over her son?"

She had heard rumors that Ares cherished her son, but she hadn't believed them. It was behavior that simply didn't match the Ares she knew.

"Strange. It's truly strange..."

From the moment they first met, she had realized Ceres wasn't the type she had assumed, which she found odd. That was why she had occasionally stared at him with such a peculiar look.

"And the way he kept bringing up things that never happened and saying weird things earlier... he's a person with a lot of suspicious traits."

"You're saying that after picking a fight with him first? Considering how you just acted, Mother, you should humbly accept whatever Ceres says to you."

"..."

"Anyway, what's your point?"

"...As I thought, it's best you don't see that boy anymore. He may be different from what I expected, but there's something off about him, and his personality is far too strong."

"I refuse. If it comes down to that, I'd rather cut ties with this family!"

"Don't say such things so lightly..."

"You don't understand people's hearts at all, Mother. That's exactly why Father divorced you!"

"...Argh, seriously!!"

Even with Ceres gone, the problems remained. Allois tore at her own hair.

As I rode blankly in the carriage, it suddenly came to a halt.

"Lord Ceres, my liege. We have arrived at the estate."

Niobe's voice soon followed. When I opened the carriage door, she reached her hand out to me.

"Please, take my hand."

"I'm good."

I had only taken it when visiting the Gravius Dukedom because it was proper etiquette, but this was my house. I had no need to be escorted by a woman here. When I refused, Niobe looked flustered.

"You must not! What if you get into an accident while stepping down alone?!"

"What accident?"

What kind of accident could even happen stepping out of a carriage, other than tripping? Besides, while I might be weaker than her, I was still a superhuman, far stronger than an ordinary human.

As if to show her there was no need to worry, I lightly hopped out of the carriage. But then, Niobe and the rest of the Death Knights swarmed behind me, escorting me in a tight formation.

...Even Viol, the Emperor, wouldn't be this overprotected.

Receiving this burdensome level of security that I still couldn't get used to, I tried to enter the mansion. I had planned to go see Ares's face first, but...

"L-Lord Ceres!"

"To think you would return right at this moment..."

The servants' attitudes toward me were strange. They panicked as if they were dealing with someone who had arrived at the worst possible time.

"What's going on?"

I asked, completely lost, but the servants couldn't easily answer.

"W-Well, you see..."

"Actually, we have a guest right now..."

A guest? Who were they talking about? Just who had arrived that made them hesitate to even answer?

I had a bad feeling about this. A guest they were afraid to mention to me meant this was no ordinary situation. Even if Emperor Viol had visited, they would have told me right away.

Don't tell me?

"Lord Ceres!"

"You shouldn't go alone!"

I left the still-hesitating servants behind and headed straight for the reception room. With the Death Knights hurriedly trailing behind me, I arrived at the door.

I heard a loud, demanding voice that seemed to shake the entire mansion.

"So what I'm trying to say, Aunt Ares, is that I am the one truly qualified to be your heir. Ceres isn't your biological son—he's not even a real Whiperion, he's just adopted!"