Gerald and the Adventurers' Guild Master

Translated by: ME

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

(…What on earth is Father doing…?)

Gerald tilted his head as he watched Servas in the center of the hall, swinging himself around like a whirlwind as if trying to shake off the nobles who were desperately clinging to him for some reason.

Putting that aside.

(…Impressive. Does she truly have the names and faces of every relevant noble matched perfectly?)

The Magnolia he once knew and the Magnolia before him now were like two entirely different people.

She was playing the part of a tiny, innocent child, but it was a complete facade; she possessed knowledge that surpassed even the average adult. Furthermore, when met with malice, she seemed more than willing to drag people out into the light.

Between her outburst in the Royal Capital and this, she appeared to be quite a plucky, battle-ready girl when dealing with adults. He had sent scouts to monitor the changes in the Azenda territory, but the security had been *intentionally* porous, as if daring him to look. The reports had been nothing short of astonishing.

Gerald let out a wry smile.

***

While the four-person group’s curiosity had been vulgar, it was, in a sense, understandable.

Even if the status of women was low, they were not entirely without respect. Now that neither the Royal Family nor the Ducal Houses had any unmarried princesses, Magnolia was the highest-ranking young lady in the land after the Queen and the Duchesses.

Strictly by the book, Lady Gardenia of the Steizen Marquis family might hold the rank, but realistically, the crown would go to Magnolia, who was a daughter of both the Azenda Margraviate and the Gilmore Marquisate.

They wanted to discern exactly who stood behind her.

Leaving aside the rumors meant for petty entertainment, it was difficult to believe she was the child of the adopted Claude or an illegitimate child born of Wisteria's infidelity.

One look at those rare colors and anyone could easily deduce that she was the child of either Servas or Gerald—a legitimate bloodline of both Gilmore houses.

(Still, this is beyond my imagination… Where, and what, changed?)

Watching Magnolia’s quick wit and her free-spirited, undaunted demeanor, Gerald narrowed his brown eyes.

The change must have occurred during those three years.
What had happened to her?

As Gerald was sunk in thought, a large presence loomed nearby.

「Victor. You look well.」

「And you look unwell. Feeling down?」

「............」

Gerald let out a long sigh as he looked at the man's bizarre red hairstyle.

「I’m the one who wants to sigh~. The Prime Minister is whining that he’ll never be able to retire. That’s your fault, you know?」

Just how many years ago was that story from?
Gerald gave a derisive snort, though he maintained the calm, elegant face of a noble.

「I never once said I would join the administration. He shouldn't rely on others; he should just let his own eldest son inherit the position.」

「I suppose once you've seen a masterpiece, everything else looks dull by comparison.」

「…You overestimate me.」

「Here,」 Victor said, handing him a plate of hors d'oeuvres. It was lined with appetizers made from ingredients Magnolia had developed with the people of her territory.

「Give it a try. Surely you didn't drive her away because you hated her? Just… *what* did you see?」

(…!)

Gerald took a deep breath, striving to maintain his composure. He reached out and took a pincho made of colorful roasted pickled paprika, cheese, and an olive.

「…I don't know what you're talking about.」

「You really should stop hiding it. Descendant of the Fairy King.」

「That is nothing but a substanceless fairy tale. Or does the Prime Minister’s house know something that substantiates the legend?」

If they did, he’d like to hear it, he added. Victor shrugged.

「Things have been unnatural for a long time. In many ways.」

「…It is likely a coincidence. Regarding Magnolia, it might be hard to believe for those who have only seen her from this side, but she was originally quite a dull child. Then, one day… she became a different person.」

***

At one point—a terrifying future had raced through Gerald's mind.

Just as Servas had the power to sense danger or the truth, Gerald possessed a slight degree of foresight. At times, a "future"—or perhaps an answer—would appear to him.

…The trouble was that he couldn't use it at will, nor could he choose to see what he desired. Sometimes the order of events was jumbled. It might not manifest for years, or it might appear in rapid succession. It was fragmentary and one-sided.

He couldn't see clear images, but more often than not, things would simply surface in his mind as a "feeling." His intuition was sharper than others, and the answers to certain events would pop into his head.

Gerald had avoided the path to becoming Prime Minister, shunned marriage to the daughters of power players, and chose a wife who, while fond of flashiness, had the least ulterior motives and no interest in politics or domestic affairs.
He prepared his territory for the possibility of another war and steered things toward increasing national strength behind the scenes.
All of this, of course, was to overturn the *decided future* as much as possible.

And then, several years later, exactly as he had once predicted, a daughter was born.

…He had reached out to touch that tiny hand and looked.

Rarely, an image had unfolded clearly before him.
A daughter behaving foolishly. It was a level of stupidity that went far beyond what could be corrected by teaching or guidance.

And, as expected, what he saw was the Royal Family making a foolish choice.

For about two years after her birth, he wondered if the prophecy might be wrong, but since none of his visions had ever failed him, his daughter’s agonizingly slow development seemed to confirm it. He knew individual differences were common in early childhood, but his inner worry grew when she failed to utter even basic words.

Furthermore, it didn't take long for him to realize that attempting to give her affection would require a great sacrifice. He was reminded time and again that trying to guide her was realistically impossible.
…That truth was not something he could ever tell another soul.

At the same time, the prince—born about two years before his daughter—was growing up to be selfish and lazy.

He had gathered his courage and tried to speak to his wife about it once, but there was no way she would take him seriously; she likely thought it was a joke. She had simply laughed it off.

What was the best way to lose everything?

If she were to spend her life imprisoned, wouldn't it be happier for her to spend her early years in a closed-off world, only to live out her life with a sincere, simple, and tight-lipped young man?

(In any case, you will never be Queen. No matter how much you might wish for it.)

Rarely, he saw several undetermined futures.
Based on the first thing he saw, he thought she would be integrated into the Royal Family for a long time, but that was wrong.
…He wasn't sure which sequence was correct, but either way, it was not a pleasant future.

The future of his tiny daughter that he saw every time he held her.
Would she curse him for twisting her life without her consent?

(If she has the wits to curse me, that would at least be a mercy…)

He didn't care if she cursed him.

(As long as you, and the rest of the family, can find true happiness—)

***

「…Gerald?」

Gerald quickly turned his face toward Victor, who was asking with concern.

「What is it?」

「…I know you won't listen even if I say it, so I'll leave it at this. For now, you should probably do something about your wife and son. They’d probably be within the range of "normal" if Magnolia-chan wasn't involved, but still.」

Gerald nodded as he watched his wife chatting and smiling with nobles she had apparently just met, and his son receiving a lesson in forms from a knight he knew.

「…I know. Thank you.」

When Gerald offered a rare word of thanks, Victor’s eyes widened for a moment before he let out a chuckle.

「Well, let Magnolia-chan live freely and vibrantly in Azenda, far from the Capital. …Looking at it this way, maybe my coming to Azenda wasn't a coincidence after all?」

Gerald gave a wry smile at Victor’s opportunistic remark.

「Also, you said Magnolia-chan became a different person one day… that’s possible. A sudden awakening. With her, it makes sense.」

Gerald remained silent, letting his face urge Victor to continue.

「Do you remember the 'Blessing' commotion in Azenda at the end of the year two years ago?」

「Ah, the light that fell upon the cathedral in the territorial capital…」

Under the headline "The Miracle of Azenda," it had been covered extensively even in the Ascald newspapers. It was a whim of the gods that happened perhaps once every few decades, if at all.

Surely…
Victor nodded, seeing Gerald’s realization.

「Yes. It was the cathedral she was in, on the day she was there. Apparently, a massive amount of light poured down on one specific corner? Whatever she is, that 'Fairy Princess' is a mysterious existence.」

「…It’s a headache whichever way it swings.」

As Gerald went to sigh, he realized something and caught his breath.
(Wait… why didn't I notice it then!)

It was when he had spoken with Magnolia in the library after a long time.
He had been so focused on her changed attitude that he hadn't found it strange…

It was as if he had been blindfolded.

(Even though I touched her head… I didn't see anything?)

*****

Note: The reason was finally revealed.

Thank you for reading. If you want to help my hobby please download and install LDP9 with my link down below. Just Click the small yellow LDPlayer Banner.