Immortal's Ascending Path-30
Episode-30.The Meyer Clan
Wilhelm Meyer.
He was the younger brother of Bernhard, the butler of Ditmarsken, the father of the attendant Fritz, and the head of the Meyer family. And he was a human who had Hohenlohe, the adopted son of Hilde, as his ancestor.
Fritz was faintly visible in his appearance. If the boy reached forty, with gray hair sparsely mixed in his brown hair, and wrinkles etched on his forehead and around his mouth, he would become him.
He trembled as he looked at Ulrich.
"Lord Ulrich······."
His voice also trembled. His already light brown skin was mixed with the lamplight, giving off a reddish hue, and when blood rushed to his face due to excitement, it became even redder.
His breathing was also heavy. He must have returned in a hurry. He had gone to the hunting grounds without much worry, only to hear the news that his fourth son had returned. And he must have also heard the news that a young man, the adopted son of Ditmarsken, was with him.
At that time, Wilhelm must have known it instinctively. If not, there would have been no reason for him to come so urgently. Wasn't he the kind of person who would go hunting without attending the royal wedding of Osnover?
Ulrich's outwardly used name, Armin, the adopted son of the Duke of Ditmarsken, had no value. Richard, the King of Osnover, is also the Duke's adopted son. Yet, would he, who did not attend, change his attitude just because another adopted son came?
Wilhelm realized. When his son, who served the lord, returned with an adopted son whose name he had never heard of, he knew that the adopted son was Ulrich.
"I heard you went hunting, but you came early."
"Yes… I thought Lord Ulrich had come."
Ulrich did not turn around. He looked down at the statue of Hohenlohe, welcoming the direct line of Hohenlohe with his back.
"I thought you would come someday. Yet, I am sorry that this incompetent and foolish one did not prepare properly and welcome you. Lord Ulrich."
After watching him for a while, Wilhelm prostrated himself. He knelt on the stone floor of the underground tomb and touched his forehead to the ground. The man, who was said to be the most prosperous in a country, humbled himself without any resistance.
"Rise. Your actions are excessive."
"No. How could anything be excessive when offered to you?"
The sound of a long, drawn-out breath echoed in the underground tomb. It was a small sound, but because the inside was quiet, it resonated gently. And that sigh was from Ulrich. He turned his body and approached Wilhelm.
"Wilhelm, haven't I always said? That excess is worse than deficiency, and that the reason why Bernhard, not you, remained by my side is because of that. Have you already forgotten?"
Wilhelm trembled his shoulders.
"I am sorry."
"If you think so, stand up and look at me straight."
Ulrich, watching Wilhelm hesitatingly stand up, shared a hug.
"It's good to see you looking healthy."
"I'm not like the old days. I'm already afraid of each passing day."
"That can't be helped. It's something you have to experience as long as you have life."
"You are not like that, are you?"
Wilhelm smiled, saying that nothing had changed at all.
"You changed your name. Are you still trying to hide yourself?"
"I always have. How many times have I revealed myself to anyone other than you? Ulrich has been used for too long and is too well known. You know that I don't want that."
"I can't not know. You raised me."
After that, Wilhelm was introduced to Roberta and paid his respects at Hohenlohe's grave. According to Fritz, he would have visited every day to honor his ancestors, yet he was solemn.
"Lord Ulrich, has my child ever disappointed you?"
A stern gaze was directed at Fritz. The boy flinched. Ulrich placed his hand on the boy's head and stroked it, smiling softly, "No. Your child is doing his part."
"That's a relief. He only shows me his lacking side… I was very worried when I sent him to Ditmarsken. When I heard he had returned, I was worried that he had been kicked out."
"You are this child's father, yet your eyes are worse than mine."
"Where is there anyone better than Lord Ulrich?"
Wilhelm smiled and shook his head.
"By the way, why did you leave Yeongji? I heard it was to attend the wedding of Richard, that guy's daughter, but is that true?"
"That's what I'm thinking."
His reaction was not one of believing Ulrich's answer. His eyes changed slightly.
"It seems there is a problem I have not realized."
"I'm not sure. But I need to check it myself."
"Are there no other reasons?"
Wilhelm asked if that was really all.
"······."
Ulrich did not answer.
The conversation was cut off, and silence pressed down on the underground. Wilhelm glanced at his son again. Fritz flinched again, but unlike before, he even avoided eye contact. It was clearly a reaction of hiding something.
The boy's father suddenly seemed to realize something, and his eyes, which had been glaring at his son, widened. The tips of his fingers trembled. And he carefully opened his mouth.
"You are going to leave."
He asked in a confident tone.
"Are you going to abandon your current name?"
"I haven't decided. I might come back."
"You don't deny it."
The question was sharp, but his expression was soft.
"Why? Is it because I disappointed you?"
Ulrich shook his head.
"Or is it because I showed you an unsightly appearance? Because I did not follow your will? Is it because I refused when you gave me the throne of Osnover that brought your wrath?"
"You know that it is not because of that."
"Then why… why are you suddenly trying to leave like this?"
"I told you the reason a long time ago. You have already heard it."
A calm gaze met an agitated gaze.
However, Wilhelm, who was about to continue speaking, closed his mouth again. Eventually, his head drooped powerlessly.
His expression clearly revealed his emotions of not being able to understand, but he did not ask further.
"······This will be the last time I serve you."
Ulrich said that it was not necessarily so, but Wilhelm, as if he had not heard, asked how long he would stay. And Ulrich answered, as always, one day.
#
Wilhelm immediately left the tomb with the three people.
And he called the servants to hold a banquet. For just three people, he slaughtered several livestock, called musicians and clowns, and took out wine that he had not taken out even on special days.
The servants, including the butler, were flustered by the sudden order, but when the Count seated Ulrich in the seat of honor and personally attended to him, it was not even a problem.
"Count, we are the ones who should be serving Armin······."
The butler carefully expressed his disapproval.
Then the Count became angry. He firmly said that he would personally attend to the young man named Armin. The butler stiffened his face and stepped back.
It was a natural reaction. Everyone in the banquet hall, except for Wilhelm, Fritz, and Roberta, did not know Armin's identity. Who would dare to think that young man was Duke Ulrich?
No one thought that an old man who had lived for over three hundred years would be in front of them with the appearance of a twenty-year-old. It is said that the Meyer family only accompanied relatives when visiting Ditmarsken. There were very few people outside of Ditmarsken who had heard his face and name.
Therefore, the reaction of the servants, including the butler, was full of bewilderment and questions such as, 'The Count is serving? To an adopted son whose name I've never heard of? A person who ignores even His Highness Richard, who is also an adopted son?'
It was a question that would not be resolved unless the fact that Armin was Ulrich was revealed.
'He doesn't care about decorum at all.'
Roberta watched such a scene and clicked her tongue inwardly.
'He only hid his name. He's telling everyone that he's someone great.'
She tilted her glass and examined Ulrich.
He was calm as always. He accepted the glass that Wilhelm handed him and drank, ate the food that Wilhelm handed him, and watched the clown's play that Wilhelm had called. He occasionally chimed in with Wilhelm and smiled.
If an outsider saw it, they would think he was enjoying the banquet politely. However, Roberta thought that Ulrich did not really like this treatment. If he was someone who wanted this kind of treatment or position, he would have ascended to the throne long ago.
"It's a relief that it's just my father here right now."
Fritz said, slicing the meat next to him.
"A relief? What do you mean?"
"My older brothers and sisters are the same. When the family gathers in one place… it's like my father becomes four people."
Roberta, turning her gaze back to Wilhelm, recalled the situation where he had become four people, and groaned, "Hmm."
"It must be burdensome."
"Yes, it's very burdensome. It's very burdensome."
The boy muttered to himself, saying that they didn't know at all.
"In the past, whenever the weather got warmer, I would visit Lord Ulrich. I even stayed for a whole year. I almost… lived like a servant. Then my father had a big fight with Lord Bernhard, and Lord Ulrich, unable to watch, blocked his access."
"···Blocked his access? You mean he didn't let him into Yeongji?"
That kind old man?
Roberta was dumbfounded and let out a snort.
"I think it's too much."
"That the lord blocked his access?"
"No. The way my father treats Ulrich, no, Armin."
Fritz was about to put the meat in his mouth, but sighed and put it down.
"You said it earlier. That excess is worse than deficiency. Isn't what my father is showing right now exactly that?"
That's probably right, Roberta replied.
She had witnessed a similar situation during her apprenticeship as a Priest.
A poor son supported his disabled old mother with the wages he received from the temple, and the son even reduced his own share of the meager food to provide for his old mother. The old mother was blind, so she didn't know the fact at first, but later realized it and became very angry.
When she told Diocesan Alonso about the story, he said this:
- The heart that cares for someone is not always good. You must also consider the heart of the person receiving it. If a child starves and gives his share to his mother, or if a mother starves and feeds her child, will the other person be happy?
Of course, Meyer is wealthy. Even if they hold a banquet several times, there won't be a single flaw. Yet, she thought that Ulrich would not like it.
Wilhelm's attitude towards Ulrich resembled a person who served his parents or raised his children without thinking of himself at all. The Count showed blind affection and loyalty, but would Ulrich like that?
She examined Fritz's expression.
The boy faintly revealed his discomfort on his face. He must be feeling that his father's attitude is excessive, just like her. Even the son who followed Ulrich so closely was seeing his father that way.
"Earlier… Armin said that Bernhard remained by his side instead of his father. My father was sent to Ulrich several years earlier than Bernhard."
The reason was, of course, to become a butler like Bernhard and Fritz. And, of course, Wilhelm became a Count instead of a butler.
"My father thinks that Bernhard used some kind of trick, but that can't be. Rather, if Bernhard hadn't given up the title, another person from the clan would have been chosen. Then he wouldn't have been able to face our ancestor."
"Well, you must be in a difficult position."
"Ah, yes······."
Fritz smiled awkwardly.
"It's okay. I've seen it my whole life. Rather, the problem is what's to come."
Roberta read the meaning and nodded her head.
'I thought the reason for leaving Yeongji wasn't just because of the wedding.'
Some time after returning from the Ice Peninsula, Ulrich said. That he would be leaving soon, that he would not remain as Ulrich of Ditmarsken forever. At that time, she felt that the day was not far off.
But that day has come, and she is sharing a journey that may be the last of Ulrich. Perhaps it's just a fuss. Didn't Ulrich say? That he hadn't decided.
"That's right. The problem is what's to come."
There were countless unresolved questions about that strange lord, but she put those questions aside and looked at Wilhelm. The master of the family, who had reached forty, was attending to a young man who looked much younger.
There was no dignity at all. He chattered incessantly as if a child was craving attention from an adult, filled the glass before it was even empty, and kept his seat as if he was about to give everything he had.
- If you've spent so long together, wouldn't you have developed affection?
She recalled the question she had asked on a day when summer had just begun. What did he answer then? That's right. He answered that he would naturally develop affection. He expressed his heart by comparing it to a dog named Iba and its descendants.
At this moment, recalling that conversation, she thought.
If that is the heart of the master, what about the descendants of Iba?
What would be the heart of a clan that has served one person for hundreds of years?