The double life of a count’s bastard

Episode 14

“Master Russo!”

Jason, who had been pacing in front of the mansion like a puppy in need of something to eat, came running up to Russo.

“Where have you been?”

“I’ve been patrolling the manor to see if everything is going well. Why?”

The man standing next to him snorted inwardly at Russo’s answer that he had been patrolling the estate, and Jason stood there for a moment, seeming to forget what he had said, before noticing that his clothes had changed.

“Did you buy …… another outfit?”

“What do you think, it looks good on me, I have a good hanger, I can wear anything!”

Rousseau threw her arms up in the air and giggled, and Jason couldn’t help but wonder how she could be so brazen.

“Sniff, sniff, have you been drinking?”

“Why ask the obvious, I’ve been drinking, so bring a round to my room.”

At any other time, Jason would have said yes without a fight, but today was different.

“Master, this is not the time for you to be drinking.”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“The expedition is back.”

“Oh, well, that’s even better. I suppose you’re getting ready for the party?”

Jason shook his head impatiently at Rousseau’s expectant look.

“No, I’m not, please, I need you to stay rat-dead…… quiet for today!”

“You want me to stay rat-dead?”

“That’s not what…….”

Jason tried to placate Rousseau by excusing himself.

“Have you been drinking in broad daylight?”

Aaron, the blond, handsome man, shot Russo a cold glare that seemed to consume him.

“What does it matter if I’m drinking or not?”

Rousseau snorted.

Aaron and Russo, meeting for the first time in fifty-six days, only seemed to grow more intent on each other.

“Asshole.”

As a family bastard, Aaron hadn’t treated Russo like a human being, but at least he’d never openly cursed in front of others.

That meant Aaron’s nerves were on edge, but Rousseau didn’t mind.

“And when wasn’t it?”

Aaron’s eyebrows arched as Rousseau glared unrelentingly.

“I’ve never been more angry that you’re using Slater’s last name than I am today! If I could, I’d send you to…….”

“Go ahead. What do you want to do, kill him?”

Rousseau’s provocative retort was met with Aaron’s stalking up to him, his cheek right on top of hers.

No, he was going to.

Chin-

Aaron looked up at the stranger standing over him, holding his hand.

At Aaron’s glare, Hans, the man standing behind Rousseau, introduced himself.

“I’m Hans, Master Rousseau’s escort.”

“Are you a knight?”

Aaron asked, and Hans let go of his hand and bowed slightly.

“I have sworn allegiance to Master Russo for a time.”

Aaron frowned at the answer, a free knight in a word.

“Who hired a free knight for you, oh my…….?”

“I hired him with my own money.”

Aaron’s face contorted even further at the mention of his own money.

“Your money? What kind of person has the money to hire a free knight?”

“What’s so surprising about that? Haven’t you heard the rumors yet?”

“Rumors?”

“I’m going to start a private knighthood as soon as I can, but it’s embarrassing to have a free knight when you’re wearing the Slater surname, don’t you think?”

At the mention of a private knighthood, Aaron could only think that Rousseau was crazy.

“Well, we’ll see if he’s crazy or not, so let’s leave it at that. By the way, your expedition was quite a bit longer than I thought, so maybe it didn’t go as well as you thought?”

At Rousseau’s frown, Aaron glared at him with a stony expression before turning away.

“……stay out of my sight for the time being.”

With that stern warning, Aaron disappeared into the mansion.

“What are you talking about?”

Russo snorted, and Jason carefully informed him that the expedition had failed and returned with considerable damage.

“A failure?”

“Yes. That’s why the mood is worse than frostbite right now, so I suggest you try to keep it low-key today.”

“One failed expedition is one failed expedition.”

Rousseau said bluntly, and Jason’s face went white.

“Lou, Master Russo, please don’t say that. You’re in trouble!”

Joari glanced around nervously to see Jason and Rousseau looking at him pathetically.

On the other hand.

‘I see it’s the same old story again, he’s every bit the bastard he’s been rumored to be…….’

Hans didn’t miss the way Rousseau’s eyes sank deeper and deeper every so often.

It was a momentary change that one would never notice unless one paid special attention to Rousseau.

“What’s he up to?

Hans thought to himself.

‘It would be quite amusing to see a little more of Count Slater’s wretch in his employ.

* * *

The first failed expedition in twenty years.

Rousseau had seen it coming, had felt it in his dreams enough times.

“……That feels dirty.”

In the dream, Rousseau was still acting like an asshole, not sure what the big deal was about the failed expedition.

He didn’t care what anyone else thought, so he drank and drank and drank, getting into trouble as usual.

A few people were up in arms about Russo’s behavior, but that was only for a day or two.

Even Uncle Duran, who had been his handler, had turned his back on him with the words, ‘You’re too stupid to be human.

And so Rousseau wasted away as a wretch, unaware that the Slater family name was sinking toward tragedy.

Of course, Rousseau is now living a life of his own.

He’s been coming to the bar in broad daylight, drinking like it has nothing to do with him, and acting like the failure of the expedition has nothing to do with him.

“Hans, would you like a drink?”

Rousseau asks, holding up a bottle.

“I don’t want to hear you sound like a loser.”

Rousseau ‘kicked’ and laughed at Hans’s lame response.

Hans.

A prodigy of a prodigy, currently ranked fifth and soon to be ranked sixth.

At 27 years old, he was ten years older than Rousseau, but as a commoner, he was not particularly formal or polite.

That’s why Rousseau liked Hans’s personality, which was more like a mercenary than a knight, even though he was a knight.

‘Did they say they would hire me?

“I know you’re disappointed that you’re not a count, but how much would you be willing to pay?

“How much can you pay me?

“Price yourself.

‘I’ll consider a short term, three months, 300 gold, but of course, any extension will be at my whim.

“Okay. Three months, 500 gold!

Hiring a rank 5 knight for 500 gold for three months was an overspend.

Despite knowing this, Rousseau went ahead and signed the contract, paying Hans far more than he had asked for.

It was an unreasonable contract, but Rousseau didn’t mind.

He had more money than he realized from his practice hunts in the Inkeran Mountains.

But even that was just a drop in the bucket, and a much larger sum was to come his way.

He had decided to sell the treasure from the Kwelan mines.

He needed some funds to carry out his plans, so he sold the leather scroll that held the shattered dragon’s heart.

He had expected nothing out of the ordinary, but the value of the scroll blew his expectations out of the water.

“The auction is in a week?”

“That’s right, but are you sure you want to sell it?”

Hans asked, and Rousseau nodded as if it was a given.

“I have no immediate use for it. Isn’t it smart to sell it for as much as I can and get the money?”

He’s right.

“When you need it, you might not be able to get it, even if you pay more.”

“Perhaps, but what I need now is money.”

“Why don’t you just talk to the Count and arrange a loan, I don’t think it would be a bad deal for either of us?”

“Sounds like a penny for a pound of flesh to me.”

Hans didn’t say anything more, as if Rousseau’s position made that sound fair enough.

“You go to the auction, Hans. And make sure you get paid.”

“……Do you trust me?”

“Why, so you can run off with it?”

“With tens of thousands of gold in my hands, who wouldn’t be greedy?”

Hans laughed meanly, but Rousseau knew it was a false smile.

Free knights are accused of selling their loyalty for money, but there’s a reason they’re called “knights” and not mercenaries.

A Free Knight could truly give his life for the duration of his contract, and would never betray it, even if it meant millions of gold instead of tens of thousands.

Furthermore, Hans was going to be a much bigger man in the future, and he wasn’t foolish enough to let tens of thousands of gold get in the way of his life.

“Then take it and run.”

Hans watched Rousseau fill his glass with a nonchalant retort, then shook his head.

He didn’t know if he believed in distribution if he didn’t think, if he trusted himself if he trusted his knightly honor.

“Does he trust the Slaters?

Yes, if Hans did run off with the money, Rousseau would tell Count Slater everything.

Then even Hans would never survive.

The Earl of Slater is a great family whose power and influence span the continent.

But for some reason, Hans had a feeling that Rousseau wouldn’t take advantage of the family’s power, even if he did run away with the money.

‘I can’t understand his thoughts.

At times like this, Hans was unable to read Rousseau’s thoughts.

“Go to the auction house and bring me a man from the Césaque estate.”

“The Césaix estate?”

The Césaix estate is one of the largest cities in the North, a place Hans knows well.

The problem is the distance.

It’s further away than the auction house, and you’d have to travel a long way to get the money.

It was a situation where he could get greedy.

“Are you sure you want to test me?”

“If you want the money, go for it. If not, there’s an asshole at the Césaix estate. It won’t be easy, but you’ll have to persuade him to come with you.”

“An asshole?”

“Yes, a real asshole. It won’t be easy to get him, but let’s see what Hans can do with 500 gold in three months.”

Hans let out a small sigh at Rousseau’s attitude of wanting to test his abilities with a raised eyebrow.

He didn’t want to fall for such a ridiculous provocation, but the desire to prove himself as a knight was hard to resist.

“I’ll bring him back, no matter what.”

“Good attitude. After all, five hundred gold in three months isn’t for just anyone, is it?”

Why?

Hans felt like he would have to voluntarily spit out the money if he didn’t bring the ‘asshole’ Russo was talking about.

* * *

“Class ……?”

Aaron, who had been listening to the butler Holden’s report, looked at him in surprise.

“It is said that he fought a fifth-ranked knight, Candle, under Viscount Macaulay, to a draw.”

“Well, if you drew with Candle, you must be at least fifth rank, but…… how old is he? He looks pretty young.”

“Twenty-seven.”

Holden’s answer made Aaron flinch for a moment, and then he looked incredulous.

Aaron had grown up being told he was a genius, but even he was currently stuck in the fourth grade.

Even though he was a year younger, it was practically impossible for him to become a fifth-ranked knight within a year.

In a word.

“A genius among geniuses.”

Holden nodded slightly at Aaron’s accurate assessment.

“Why is such a man working for Rousseau? I know it’s a contractual relationship, but…….”

It’s crazy.

Anyone with the genius to become a fifth-ranked knight at the age of 27 is bound to reject people, no matter how much money they offer.

Therefore, the idea of giving his loyalty to a wretch like Rousseau was frankly beyond Aaron’s comprehension.

Holden didn’t have an answer either, as he couldn’t figure out why Hans had made a deal with Rousseau, or what was behind it.

“And where Russo got the money.”

Aaron was later informed that Russo had owed the Zeta Merchants a large sum of 950 gold, and had paid it back in one fell swoop.

Less than a month later, Russo returned with a large sum of money in hand.

At least 1,200 gold, enough to pay for the Zeta Council’s debt and hire a fifth-ranked free knight, but Russo hadn’t said a word about where the money came from.

“You don’t think your father gave it to you by any chance?”

Holden shook his head firmly, though it was Count Slater he was most suspicious of.

“Not likely.”

Even the butler, Mr. Sandler, who had heard Rousseau’s story, seemed to have no idea.

Sandler was the only one who knew the most intimate details of Count Slater’s life, and there was no way he would have given Rousseau money without going through him.

“If it were my mother…….”

Aaron shook his head from side to side.

She wasn’t the type to hide money from strangers, but even if she did, the Countess wasn’t foolish enough to pay Russo separately.

“Lily can’t possibly have that much money.”

With her youngest sister Lily, still only 14, out of the running, there was no one else who could have given Rousseau money.

“What do we know about Russo’s whereabouts?”

Rousseau’s whereabouts, who had disappeared shortly after the expedition’s departure, leaving a scar on the Zeta Council, were known not only to Aaron but also to the Count himself.

“We know he traveled as far as the Inkeran Mountains, but beyond that, it’s virtually impossible to know.”

The Inkeran Mountains, that is.

It’s not an easy area to find traces, and it’s been so long since the date of the letter that even professional trackers have been unable to follow Rousseau.

As a result, we don’t know what Rousseau did in the Inkeran Mountains unless he tells us.

“Has anything changed, by any chance?”

“As I said, it’s business as usual, except that he’s been hanging out only with Sir Hans, even to the point of shunning his butler, Jason.”

Aaron nodded without question at Holden’s answer.

He’d felt it again on the day the expedition returned, and even then, Rousseau was still nothing more than a bastard living off the honor of the Earl of Slater.

“It’ll take some getting used to with Hans, but…….”

Aaron paused for a moment, thinking about something, then spoke up.

“Tell me more about Hans.”

Aaron couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with the idea of a 27-year-old, fifth-ranked knight with genius, but with Rousseau, a man he didn’t seem to fit in with at all.

“Okay.”