デリックは、休憩室の中を窺い、ダフネひとりだと確認すると安堵したように部屋の中に入ってくる。
「なにかありましたか? またあのクソガキとクソ奥様が癇癪でも?」
「違います......いえ、遅かれ早かれ癇癪は起こすでしょうが、今はまだ大丈夫です」
「どういう意味ですか?」
すでにマニオンとヨランダに対して嫌悪感を隠そうとしない。
この五年で、ふたりは実に醜くなった。
マニオンは剣の才能がある天才児と言われていたのが嘘のように肥え、鍛錬もしなくなった。
ヨランダはそんな息子を甘やかし、傲慢な態度をさらに拗らせていた。
古参のダフネやデリックも、そんなふたりに愛想がとっくに尽きていた。
当主であるカリウスも、このふたりに関わるのは最低限の放置状態だった。
「ダフネは旦那様に愛人がいることはご存知ですよね?」
「もちろんです。旦那様は隠す気がないようですし」
デリックの問いかけに頷く。
カリウスには町に年若い愛人がいた。
癇癪持ちのヨランダとは違い、穏やかで落ち着きのある、ダフネたちが今も慕う亡き先妻メラニーにどことなく雰囲気の似ている女性だ。
「たしか、子供もいましたよね。しかも、男の子でしたよね」
「ええ、もうすぐ八歳になる男の子です。実は、そのことでお話があるのです」
「......嫌な予感しかしないんですけど」
ダフネの言葉に、デリックは苦笑いをした。
つまり、嫌な予感が当たるということだ。
「旦那様が愛人の家に入り浸っていることはご存知ですよね?」
「もちろんです。おかげで、クソ奥様のご機嫌が悪くてたまりません」
カリウスは、時間を見つけては愛人の家に足を運んでいた。
どうやら癇癪持ちの妻と、才能はあっても怠惰な息子に愛想が尽きたようで、愛人と、その間にできた息子を可愛がることに熱を上げている。
「実は、その愛人の女性にふたり目のお子様ができたそうです」
「......まあ」
「旦那様はこれを期に、正式に側室として屋敷に迎えたいそうなのです」
「それは......クソ奥様とクソガキが怒り狂いそうですね」
自分たちが一番でなければ我慢のならないヨランダとマニオンが、愛人とその子供を家族として認めるはずがない。
前妻の子で長男であったサムにもあの態度だったのだ。
愛人とその子供がふたりにどんな目に遭わされるか、考えただけでもぞっとする。
「それだけならまだいいのですが」
「......まだなにかあるのですか?」
「その愛人のご子息は、マニオン様ほどではありませんが剣の才能に恵まれているそうです。しかも、素直な努力家の少年のようなのです」
「あのクソガキとはだいぶ違うようですね」
「ええ。ですが、そのせいでひとつ問題が起きたのです」
「なにか?」
「旦那様はそのご子息を、次期当主とするそうです」
「――っ」
ダフネは耳を疑った。
まさか自分たちの主人が、裏でそんなことを考えていたとは。
だが、驚きはしたが、あまり反対する気にはなれない。
「ですが、あのクソガキよりもマシなのではないですか?」
「私たち使用人がこんなことを言ってはいけないのでしょうが、そのご子息はマニオン様と比べよくできた子のようです」
「ならば問題はないのではないのでしょうか? この家は、長男を後継から外した前例がある家です。あのクソガキが次期当主から外されても、誰も文句は言いません。むしろ、その愛人の子がいい子なのであれば、喜ぶでしょう」
もともと問題児だったマニオンは、この五年で手のつけられない悪童に育っている。
癇癪を起こし、使用人や町の人に手をあげることは珍しくなくなった。
最初こそ男爵家の跡取りのマニオンに媚び諂っていた取り巻きの少年たちもいたが、ついていけなくなり、今では離れてしまっている。
当たり前だが友人もおらず、自分の言動が間違っていると教えてくれる人間もいない。
使用人や町の人間の諫める声も届かず、母親の甘やかす言葉ばかり受け入れて育ったマニオンは、増長し尽くしていた。
最近では、いやらしい目を女性に向けることも多くなっており、気が気ではない。
ダフネも何度か舐め回すような不快な視線を向けられたことがある。
直接手を出されることがないのは、母親が厳しく監視しているからだ。
婚約者がいるマニオンが、婚約者以外に手を出すことは体裁が悪い。
貴族なら珍しくないかもしれないが、マニオンのような未成年がそんなことをしてしまえば信用を失うことがある。
さらに、ヨランダは使用人や町娘に手を出し、子供ができたら一大事だとも案じているので、過剰に見張っているのだ。
そういう意味では、ヨランダの存在は女性たちにとってありがたかった。
「ここだけの話にしてほしいのですが」
「旦那様にご相談いただいたのですが、どうやら旦那様は愛人を側室ではなく、正室として迎え入れることができないか考えているようです」
「それは」
デリック曰く、正室のヨランダは反対するだろうが、愛人を側室におくことは決定事項だった。
しかし、カリウスは、できることならヒステリー持ちの妻を正室の座から引きずり下ろし、愛人を据え置きたいらしい。
マニオンを跡継ぎから外す以上、正室も後継の母にしたいと考えているようだ。
ダフネは、内心大笑いだ。
散々、使用人をはじめ、幼いサムにひどい仕打ちをしてきた親子が痛い目を見るのだと思うと、その日が来るのが待ち遠しい。
「いいではありませんか。サム様を虐げた親子の落ち目を見られるのなら、愛人が正室になろうと構いません。いいえ、そもそも、私の中では亡きメラニー様だけが、奥様なのですから、誰が後釜になっても興味がありません」
「ダフネはメラニー様とご友人でしたね」
「ええ、私にはもったいないくらいの友人でした」
単純にサムがかわいいという気持ちもあるが、友人の忘れ形見だからこそ亡き友人の分まで愛情を注いできた。
そんなサムを虐げた親子が、今の地位から転落することを考えるだけで笑いがこみ上げてくる。
「――さっさと後継者から外されて、クソ奥様と一緒に屋敷から追い出されてほしいものです」
いずれ訪れる未来を楽しみにしながら、ダフネは笑うのだった。
Derrick looks around the lounge, and when he sees that Daphne is alone, he walks into the room as if relieved.
[Is there something wrong? Is that little shit and his fucking wife having another tantrum?] 
[Not that... No, they'll have a tantrum sooner or later, but for now, they're fine.] 
[What do you mean?] 
Already, she could not hide her disgust for Manion and Yolanda.
In the past five years, they had become very ugly indeed.
Manion has gone from being a child prodigy with a talent for swords to being fat and untrained.
Yolanda had spoiled her son, and his arrogance had only grown worse.
Daphne and Derrick, who were the oldest members of the family, had long since grown tired of them.
Carius, the head of the family, had neglected them to the minimum.
[Daphne, you know that master has a mistress, don't you?] 
[Of course. He doesn't even bother to hide it.] 
She nodded in response to Derrick's question.
Carius had a young mistress in town.
It's not like Yolanda, who had a temper tantrum, but she was calm and collected, vaguely resembling his late wife Melanie, whom Daphne and the others still adore.
[I remember you she a child, right? And it was a boy, wasn't it?] 
[Yes, a boy who will be eight years old soon. Actually, I'd like to talk to you about that.] 
[...I have a bad feeling about this.] 
Derrick chuckled at Daphne's words.
In other words, the bad premonition came true.
[You know that master has been visiting his mistress, don't you?] 
[Of course. Thanks to that, the fucking wife is in a very bad mood.] 
Carius had been visiting his mistress's house whenever he could find the time.
Apparently, he has grown tired of his tantrum-prone wife and his talented but lazy son, and he is eager to take care of his mistress and the son they have together.
[In fact, the mistress is expecting their second child.] 
[...well.] 
[Master would like to take this opportunity to formally welcome her into the family.] 
[That's... going to make the fucking wife and the fucking kid very angry.] 
Yolanda and Manion, who cannot stand it if they are not first, would never accept the mistress and her child as a family.
That's how they treated the ex-wife's son, Sam.
She shudders to think what the mistress and her child will be subjected to by the two of them.
[If that's all there is to it.]  magic
[......is there anything more?] 
[The son of the mistress is said to be blessed with a talent for swords, though not as great as that of Manion-sama. And he seems to be a straightforward, hardworking boy.] 
[He's a lot different from that little brat, isn't he?] 
[Yes. But that has caused one problem.] 
[What is it?] 
[Master has decided that that son will be the next head of the family.] 
[------!?] 
Daphne couldn't believe her ears.
She couldn't believe that their master was thinking such a thing behind their back.
But although she was surprised, she couldn't bring herself to disagree.
[But isn't he better than that little shit?] 
[I know it's not right for us servants to say this, but that son of her seems to be a good boy compared to Manion-sama.] 
[Then there is no problem, is there? This is a family that has a history of removing their eldest son from the succession. No one will complain if that little brat is removed as the next head of the family. In fact, they'll be rather pleased if that mistress's child is a good one.] 
Manion had always been a troubled child, but over the past five years, he has grown into an out-of-control bad boy.
Throwing tantrums and lashing out at servants and townspeople has become a common occurrence.
At first, some of the crony boys were flattered by Manion, the heir to the baronial family, but they couldn't keep up with him and have now drifted away.
He had no friends, of course, and no one to tell him that his words and actions were wrong.
Having grown up with nothing but his mother's flattering words, and not being able to hear the admonitions of the servants and townspeople, Mannion has grown to the point where he is out of control.
Lately, he has been turning his unpleasant eyes on women more and more often, which is not something to be concerned about.
Daphne has also been subjected to unpleasant licking glances on several occasions.
The only reason why she has not been directly touched is because his mother keeps a close watch on him.
Manion has a fiancee, and it would be unbecoming for him to touch anyone other than his fiancee.
It might not be unusual for a nobleman, but a minor like Manion could lose his credibility if he did such a thing.
In addition, Yolanda is overly watchful of her servants and town girls because she fears that if he gets involved with them and has children, it will be a big problem.
In this sense, Yolanda's presence was a blessing for the women.
[I'd like you to keep this between us.] 
[I've been consulting with the master, and it seems that he's considering the possibility of taking in a mistress as a regular wife instead of a concubine.] 
[That is.] 
According to Derrick, it was a decision to keep his mistress as a concubine, although Yolanda, the formal wife, would be against it.
However, Carius would like to remove his hysterical wife from the position and keep his mistress if possible.
As long as he removes Manion as his heir, he wants to make the main family the mother of his successor as well.
Daphne was laughing inwardly.
She couldn't wait for the day to come when she and her son, who had treated the servants and young Sam so badly, would see the pain.
[Why not? As long as I can see the downfall of the father and son who mistreated Sam-sama, I don't care if a mistress becomes the wife. No, the late Melanie is the only wife I have in mind, and I have no interest in anyone else taking her place.] 
[Daphne was a friend of Melanie's, wasn't she?] 
[Yes, she was too good a friend for me.] 
Part of her simply feels that Sam is cute, but the other part of her has been loving him as much as she loves her late friend because he is the forgotten son of her friend.
Just thinking about the father and son who mistreated Sam and fell from their current position makes her laugh.
[I hope he's quickly removed from the succession and kicked out of the mansion with his fucking wife.] 
Daphne laughed as she looked forward to the future that would eventually come.
The Reincarnated Wizard Who Will Eventually Become the Strongest
いずれ最強に至る転生魔法使い　〜異世界に転生したけど剣の才能がないから家を追い出されてしまいました。でも魔法の才能と素晴らしい師匠に出会えたので魔法使いの頂点を目指すことにします〜
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-reincarnated-wizard-who-will-eventually-become-the-strongest/
Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Harem Romance Slice of Life
Abandoned Children Adapted to Manga Age Progression Aristocracy Child Protagonist Childcare Cute Children Death of Loved Ones Demon Lord Demons Depictions of Cruelty Dragons Fantasy World Female Master Kingdoms Magic Male Protagonist Marriage Monsters Multiple POV Nobles Older Love Interests Overpowered Protagonist Polygamy Pregnancy Reincarnated in Another World Reincarnation Resurrection Royalty Student-Teacher Relationship Summoned Hero Sword And Magic Time Skip Weak to Strong Wizards
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n1154gq/
飯田栄静＠市村鉄之助