The double life of a count’s bastard

Episode 12

“Inooooooooooom!!!!”

His face flushed red, his eyes glazed over, and his right hand raised in the air as if he were about to strike at any moment.

Rousseau stood stiffly, unperturbed by the sight of his diminutive father, Duran Slater, who was furious.

“How much money is that…….”

Duran’s cheeks twitched at Russo’s little muttering.

“A pittance? A pittance? A pittance!”

“Isn’t a year’s income for a mine roughly ten thousand gold?”

Duran, who had been so angry, stammered, unable to hide his embarrassment.

“How do you know that…….”

“There are a total of 12 mines owned by the Slater family, so the average income per year should be 120,000 gold. If you add the income from the mines that produce mana iron, it should be over 150,000 gold, hmm~?”

Rousseau looked at Duran and smirked, as if to say, “Isn’t that right?

He was correct.

There were currently twelve mines owned by Count Slater, and as Rousseau had said, they were bringing in a staggering 150,000 gold a year.

“With 150,000 gold from the mines alone, plus whatever else he earns, is it that big of a deal that he’s upset that …… has 950 gold in foreign exchange?”

Duran’s expression hardened at Rousseau’s tone as he asked what he was getting so worked up over literally pennies.

The Earl of Slater’s mining income was a closely guarded secret, known only to the most important people in the family.

Duran couldn’t help but grimace at Rousseau’s ability to penetrate such secrets.

“Jason?

Duran shook his head, suspecting it was Jason, Rousseau’s butler.

He didn’t know any of the butlers except for Sandler, the head butler, and Sandler’s mouth was heavier than anyone else’s.

Nor was it likely that the Countess or anyone else would have told Rousseau about the mine income.

“How could he know about the mine’s income…… No way! Did that bastard know about the mine’s income and do it on purpose?

Rousseau may have been living like an asshole, but he wasn’t doing anything that would cause him much financial trouble.

At best, his behavior consisted of drunkenness, rowdiness, vandalism, and minor assaults.

Even this is hard to forgive given Rousseau’s young age, but at least it’s tame compared to some of the more famous adult tramps.

But the thought of him starting to pay the bills once he learned of the mine’s income sent a chill down Duran’s spine.

This is just the beginning!

What if the Russo’s financial misbehavior started now?

‘I can’t let him sully the family honor anymore!

As a bonus, I had to make sure that the family’s money wasn’t wasted on a bum like Russo.

Duran decided it was time to take action, even if it meant putting up with Rousseau’s pitiful behavior.

He’s about to give Russo a stern talking-to when he realizes that he’s had enough.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay for the debt.”

Duran scoffs at Russo’s cocky attitude, saying he’ll pay the debt himself.

“You, you incompetent bastard who hasn’t earned a single lead in his life, are going to pay me back 950 gold?”

“It’s nothing I can’t pay back.”

Duran was thoroughly dismissive of Rousseau, but no one around him raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

Duran’s behavior was outrageous, but no one around him batted an eyelid at Rousseau’s behavior.

“My God! Are you out of your mind? 950 gold is a lot of money…….’

The average family of four lives on 2 gold a month. So 950 gold is a lot of money to live on for 475 months, or 39 years and 6 months.

Count Slater’s wealth makes 950 gold seem like a small amount, but for the average person, it’s an amount of money they’ll never touch in their lifetime.

So Rousseau, who, as Duran said, had never earned so much as a leed to buy a loaf of hard wheat bread, had never looked so shameless as he did now.

“Of course, Master Russo has never been shameless.

Rousseau can surprise me every time.

“Really? Can you pay it back? Then pay it back! If you pay back the 950 gold right away, I won’t make this a problem anymore, instead!”

Duran paused for a moment, then glared at Rousseau with a cold expression.

“If you can’t pay me back, then declare that you will abandon Slater’s castle on your own!!!”

“Hmph!!”

“Crane!!”

“Jesus!!”

Duran’s words caused everyone around me to cover their mouths in shock.

Lily, who had been watching the scene in horror, reflexively started to shout out that this could never happen but was silenced by a strong grip on her arm.

“Lily, stay still.

“Mommy!

It was the Countess who grabbed Lily’s arm, her face turning white and her hands shaking as she realized the gravity of Duran’s words.

If, as Duran had said, Rousseau himself declares his intention to abandon the castle, then there will be no turning back, even if Count Slater returns.

“You’re so eager to get rid of me, you think you’ve got your chance.

Rousseau snorted inwardly at Duran’s obvious intentions.

“Sure. But if we’re going to make a deal, we’re going to do it straight, and once I’ve paid off the debt, you stay the hell out of my business, not just this one, but anything I do in the future.”

“What?”

“Why? Are you upset because you think I’m going to pay off the debt?”

Duran’s face flushed at Rousseau’s casual way of saying such an offensive thing.

“Cocky bastard, good! If you pay me back, I’ll never interfere in anything you do in the future!”

“Is that a promise?”

“Pay the debt!”

Russo smirked at Duran’s outburst and gestured to his butler, Jason, who stood beside him.

“Jason, go check with the Zeta Senate.”

“……?”

“I want you to go there yourself and make sure the debt is paid.”

Everyone, including Jason, didn’t immediately understand what Russo was saying.

“Big brother, did you return the spellbook?”

Lily was the first to realize what Russo had said, and she asked as if she understood.

“Hmph, that’s right, I gave it back to you because you can’t pay back the debt after all!”

Duran also exclaimed, realizing why Rousseau could be so brazen.

Just as he was about to say that if he had returned the item, he hadn’t paid back the debt, so his promise to her was null and void.

“I’m done with the spellbook.”

“You’re done? What about the debt?”

Lily asked, and Rousseau answered simply.

“I paid it off with the money I made. Jason, what are you doing? I want you to run down to the Zeta Council right now and make sure I’ve paid off the debt!”

“Oh, okay!”

Russo yelled, and Jason hurried off to the Zeta Council.

“And Lancey.”

Rousseau called out Lancey’s name, Lily’s butler.

“Yes, Master Rousseau.”

“There must be a free knight named Hans at Viscount McCollay’s estate. I need you to fetch him in the name of Count Slater.”

“If he’s a free knight, are you trying to hire…… him?”

“To meet him and decide.”

“The free knight is…….”

Lance swallowed hard at the implication that he’d have to pay more than he thought.

The way Rousseau relaxed, his arms folded lazily, Lancey could smell the man who had left home and returned successfully.

“In just a few days?

Lancey didn’t understand, but he could tell that Russo’s appearance had changed in a matter of days.

“You’re going to hire a knight, what do you mean?”

Duran exclaimed, looking at Rousseau with an incredulous expression.

“Now I’m going to start my knightly order.”

“Knights? You?”

“Why? Anyone with the blood of the Slater family is eligible to make a personal knighthood, right? There’s no reason why I can’t make one.”

* * *

“Hans…….”

Rousseau was in his room, eating a leisurely meal and thinking about Hans.

Hans.

A free knight, a wandering knight, and one of the most skilled of them all.

Sixth rank!

If you exclude the seventh-ranked knights, of which there are only twelve on the continent called Masters, Hans is a truly frighteningly skilled knight.

Of course, it would be nine years before Hans would confirm that he was a sixth-ranked knight.

“If he’s hiding his skills, he’s probably a sixth-ranked knight, and even if he’s not, he’s at least a fifth-ranked knight…….”

Even a fifth-ranked knight would be a huge power for Russo right now.

What’s more, Hans is now quite a trusted figure in the eyes of the Marquis of Belay.

“I can’t let him go without knowing.”

Rousseau planned that if he couldn’t keep Hans, at least he wouldn’t let the Marquis de Belay keep him.

Ding, ding, ding.

“Come in.”

The door opened and Jason stepped in.

“What happened?”

“That’s…….”

“Don’t pause, just tell me.”

“Duran said it could never happen…….”

Rousseau frowned at Jason’s cautious way of speaking, watching his every move.

“Well, you’re still talking out of both sides of your mouth.”

Uncle Duran was surely trampled.

Jason had gone to the Zeta Council and gotten receipts for all of his debts, even though he’d paid them cleanly, but he’d disregarded his promise to Russo, claiming that he’d paid them by dishonest means.

Despite the promise to pay or not to pay the debt, Uncle Duran’s questioning of how he paid the debt obscured the true nature of the matter.

Rousseau didn’t care, as he had expected Uncle Duran to set up a trap from the beginning.

He just needed a weapon to use whenever Uncle Duran tried to sabotage things in the future.

“And the Senate?”

“As you know, all decisions are finalized when the Count returns.”

“Who doesn’t know that? What’s the mood?”

“Well, it’s…….”

At Jason’s evasiveness again, Rousseau nodded in understanding.

“Whatever, assholes.”

I wasn’t expecting it, but I couldn’t help but feel annoyed that he was doing the opposite.

“How old were your brothers when they were knighted?”

“Master Karon founded the Knights of Karon at age 22, and Master Aaron organized the Knights of Aaron at age 21, a year earlier.”

“So they’re all over 20?”

“There is no precedent in the history of House Slater for creating individual knighthoods before the age of 20.”

“If there isn’t one, I’ll make one.”

Rousseau sounded casual, but he knew it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

The funding required to organize a private order is one thing, but securing knights who will truly pledge their loyalty is incredibly difficult.

Moreover, Russo’s current position was by no means a good one.

He is neither the heir apparent to lead the Earldom of Slater in the future, as his eldest son Karon is nor is he firmly established as second in command, as Aaron is.

As the third son, he had no supporters or patrons within the Earldom, and no strong family to back him up.

What else?

He’d been the family’s troublemaker since he was ten years old, so he couldn’t find a knight to swear allegiance to Rousseau, and he wasn’t even sure that his immediate butler, Jason, was completely his own man.

In the end, the knights would have to be recruited from the outside, and they would have to be convinced of their loyalty to Rousseau personally and to the Earl of Slater (hence the Ring of Faith), so the idea of creating his knights was a pipe dream.

“So why do you suddenly want to create a knighthood?”

Even as Jason, I was baffled that Rousseau, who had just returned from a brief runaway, would suddenly decide to create his order of knights.

“It’s cool.”

“…….”

So it is.

For some reason, Jason laughed at his foolishness in expecting Rousseau to mean anything else.

Rousseau, on the other hand, realized that having a personal knighthood would be very helpful for his plans, and he vowed to create one as soon as possible, no matter what.