Claude's face was dark as he listened to Svensson describe the drama his mother and Kefnie caused in the royal capital.
By the time Svensson finished, he didn't know how to express his opinion.
His mother was getting on in years. She was nearing seventy, an advanced age in this world.
Yet, despite her age, she was as unreasonable as a child. An old child was exactly like his mother. She would only be happy if she went along with her temper.
The problem was that his mother, who had grown up as a housewife, easily got carried away when she rose to a high position. That was the saying in his previous world that virtue did not fit the position.
Just like how she was now, she had become a joke in the eyes of the nobles and the royal capital without realizing it.
He didn't know how he should deal with his mother now.
Anyone would know why His Majesty treated her so well, but her mother did not understand. Instead, she took it for granted.
His mother's life had been smooth sailing. She didn't suffer much in life.
She was the daughter of a local official. After three years of primary school, she quit school and stayed at home to do housework. She was betrothed to Morssen by her father.
As for married life, Mr. Morssen was at that time in the ascension of his career, and his career was smooth, so that his mother's life as a housewife was very comfortable and uneventful. In the town she was the object of flattery by her neighbors and tradesmen.
Morssen's suicide was one of the greatest hardships of her life. She was bedridden from her grief, but Claude shouldered everything in the family.
However, Claude shouldered all the responsibilities of the family and she didn't play much of a role in the upheaval of the family.
Even when Claude was conscripted into the army, his sister, Angelina, took over the family's responsibilities. That was how they got through the toughest years of their life. His mother didn't really have to bear much pressure in life.
When Claude returned as a captain after his meritorious service, the family returned to how it used to be. His children's brilliance made up for the pain of losing her husband. His mother finally recovered and became the envy of her neighbors.
Kefnie and Claude got married and took on most of the housework. She gave birth to her grandson, Tesoray, and his mother became an old lady who enjoyed her life.
If time could stop there, his mother would definitely be very happy.
However, because Claude went to the colonies, his entire family followed him to Nubissia.
Due to his high position in the colonies, his family naturally received the best treatment and care.
Mother and Kefnie were also surrounded by the families of influential people and merchants who wanted to establish a relationship with Clodra, becoming a shining center of communication.
Actually, she was just a normal housewife who loved gossiping and gossiping with others. She soon lost herself in the flattery of the merchants and the ladies of the local families. She believed that Claude's accomplishments were due to her teachings when he was young and started to act like an old lady at home.
When a person believes in her own dream, she will become more and more stubborn.
His mother was in such a situation. She had forgotten the true source of her good life. Instead, she thought that it was the spirit of the deceased Morssen that had protected her children and made them the pride of the Ferde family.
Therefore, she began to intervene in her children's future and arrange these things.
Because she was their mother, Claude, Angelina and Bloweyk usually let her have her way. None of them really cared about her so-called future plans.
Mother's pleas for Bloweyk to retire from the army and become the head of the Ferde family were ignored by him.
Mother decided to use her ultimate move to arrange a suitable marriage for Bloweyk in order to keep his free heart in check.
In the end, Bloweyk's love turned into a tragedy due to her interference. Bloweyk angrily gave up on the Ferde name and the title of head of the house and left the family.
That ruined Mother's plan to use Bloweyk's marriage to raise House Ferde to a higher level.
Furious, his mother pushed the blame to Claude for not educating his younger brother properly and decided to groom her eldest grandson, Tesorrepei, into a qualified successor to the family.
But what Mother didn't understand was that a true noble son couldn't be nurtured under the care of a matron. A child who didn't experience wind and rain would only be a flower in a greenhouse.
Moreover, Mother wasn't a righteous person to begin with. She was just a housewife. Her doting and biased beliefs made Claude's eldest son a good-for-nothing who only had the looks of a noble, picking up all the bad habits of a noble.
His mother, on the other hand, was quite pleased with herself and believed that Tesoray had become the most suitable successor under her tutelage. She wanted Claude to hand it over to Tesoray to manage.
Not only did he not agree to his mother's request, he even ignored Kefnie's pleas and threw his eldest son into the barracks to be reforged like scrap metal.
That was when Mother and Kefnie broke off relations with Claude and left the region to return to Whitestag. They went to the royal capital for the wood's lawsuit and caused an even bigger ruckus in the royal capital.
Ironically, the glory of House Ferd had become his mother's obsession, and the truth was that she had embarrassed House Ferd.
Claude believed that if his father, Morssen, was still alive after his death, his coffin wouldn't be able to hold on any longer.
There was also his wife, Kefnie, who gave Claude quite a headache.
No matter what, she had given Claude two sons and a daughter and their relationship as husband and wife was still there.
But after living with his mother for so long, she was infected by the virus of House Ferd's glory. She naively believed that listening to her mother would raise a true noble son and put in a lot of effort into Tesoray's noble education. But even she knew that her eldest son wasn't worthy of Claude's attention.
What Claude couldn't understand was how the pure and kind Kefnie he knew could turn out to be so selfish. Back then, he was quite angry at her for refusing to adopt Bloweyk's twins and felt that she didn't care about her brotherly bond with her brother at all.
But now, he realized that Kefnie was quite the schemer.
Everything else aside, Claude didn't know anything about the deed to the wood. So many people were kept in the dark about it.
Back then, Claude gave the deed to Bloweyk and asked him to turn it into the family's property.
However, Bloweyk didn't take it to heart and gave the deed to Kefnie for safekeeping.
Usually, Kefnie would have discussed such matters with Claude, but she didn't say a word about it and nobody knew about it. Everyone in the family, including Claude's mother, thought that the five thousand acres of wood in Whitestag had long been turned into the family's property and nobody asked about it. That was until Claude's mother and Kefnie's lawsuit started and they were chased out of the manor.
It was only then that Kefnie took out the deed and slapped Claude's mother in the face, winning the lawsuit.
Neither of them were easy to deal with. Claude didn't know how he should comment on the lawsuit between Kefnie and his mother.
After all, his mother's brain was beyond cure and he couldn't do anything about it. If he did, he'd only get scolded. She asked him for money and things without any qualms and complained that it wasn't enough. If he didn't, she'd scold him for being unfilial. Either way, he was in a bad spot and could only stay as far away from her as possible.
As for Kefnie, how should he put it? Winning the lawsuit against Claude's mother would make her lose face. Losing the lawsuit would result in the three of them being chased out of the manor. They would become a laughing stock in the eyes of the royal capital's citizens.
Even if Svenson and Staff Sergeant Kester were there to take care of them and they didn't have to worry about not having a place to stay, that wasn't something Claude wanted to see.
"How's my mother doing?" Claude asked.
Steward Swensen hesitated for a moment. "Master, we don't have anyone on the old lady's side, but her steward told me that the old lady is busy transferring her status as an honorary viscountess to your elder brother. She also wants to borrow a large sum of money from Her Majesty the Queen as a promotion fee and land selection fee to help your elder brother obtain a hereditary family territory …"
Claude was shocked. "Has she gone mad? Her title came from my dead father. How could she give it to Arbeit?"
"Yes." Steward Swensen nodded. "The Imperial Court has already rejected the Old Madam's request and has spread this matter as a joke.
Some nobles have questioned the king's decision to grant her the title of nobility. They believe that she's shamed the nobles of the kingdom and asked the king to strip her of her title.
However, I heard that Prime Minister Blancarte kept it to himself.
I don't know why, but no one brought it up anymore. "
Claude humphed in satisfaction. Blancarte knew that no matter how muddle-headed the madam was, she was still Claude's mother.
No matter how bad his relationship with his mother was, their mother-son relationship couldn't be changed.
It was said that the reason for their bad relationship wasn't because Claude wasn't filial, but because his mother was too muddle-headed.
If he really treated the madam like a clown and caused too much trouble, Claude might get angry.
"Then, what about the land she gave Arbeit?" Claude asked.
"It seems to be a success. The person who originally issued the loan said that the old madam was old and applied for the loan in her name. He was worried that there would be an accident in the process. He was afraid that the heir would not be willing to bear the debt and inherit the title and run away with the loan. So, there was a restriction for applicants of the old madam's age, and that was that the money should not be passed."
Steward Swensen thought for a moment before continuing, "Her Majesty the Queen's lenders have their own set of rules for those who are older and in poor health. That is, the applicants and their designated heirs have to bear the responsibility of repaying the loan together.
If something unexpected happened to the applicant, his designated heir would automatically inherit the title and debts.
"Also, during the loan process, the applicant and his heir won't get a single crown. Instead, they'll get a piece of land of their choice from His Majesty. The fee for promotion and land selection will be paid by Her Majesty's lender directly to the royal treasury. The applicant and heir will then sign and stamp their names, and the debt will take effect."
Damn, there's even a proper procedure for the queen's loan. Claude cursed inwardly as he asked, "Then, do you know where my mother chose for Arbeit?"
Svenson shook his head. "I don't know, Master.
I didn't meet the madam's butler when I left the royal capital after receiving your messenger hawk, so I don't know where they are now. "
Forget it then. If his mother had really chosen a piece of land for Arbeit to inherit, it would be easy to find out.
But now, he wanted to ask about something else. "Have you seen Arbeit?"
Svenson nodded. "I've seen him quite a few times. It should be four times.
The last time I went to the market to buy some stuff, he pretended to bump into me and dragged me out for a drink or two.
Then, he asked me about Master and Madam in the region. I felt that something wasn't right, so I brushed him off and told Madam about it when I returned to the manor. "
"You did the right thing."
Claude was quite satisfied with Svenson's actions. "How do you feel about him?" he asked.
Svenson gave it some thought and said with uncertainty, "Master, I don't know how to put it, but I'm certain that he's lying when he says he's a playwright.
It's impossible for him to be a writer. Neither his body nor his fingers look like a scholar's.
His speech and mannerisms don't have the air of a scholar either.
I've met a few newspaper editors in the royal capital and their fingers all have marks from holding a pen for a long time. His fingers, however, don't have any. His skin is smooth and he doesn't have the posture of someone who's been writing for a long time.
I suspect that he was lying when he said that he traveled Freia for nearly two decades and learned from scholars from many countries. "
"Then, think again. Who do you think he resembles?" Claude asked curiously.
Svenson thought hard and furrowed his brow. "Master, pardon me for saying something offensive, but I think he's a little like a swindler. He's the kind that sells fake goods in the market. He makes it sound nice, but when you actually buy something from him, you'll realize you've been scammed."
Claude grinned. He didn't think Svenson would give his cheapskate brother such an evaluation. It seemed that Arbeit hadn't been living a simple life during the past two decades. Perhaps he should get someone to investigate him.
But there was no rush for that. He only hoped that Arbeit could help his muddle-headed mother settle down. It didn't matter if he was the head of House Ferd. Claude and his brother didn't like it anyway.
"How's the madam doing?" Claude asked, concerned about his wife.
"She's living in seclusion and rarely goes out. She stays in the manor to take care of Miss Amerissa.
Because of the lawsuit with the madam, a few noble ladies have come to visit her for afternoon tea, "Svenson replied.
"Has she never thought of returning to the autonomous region?" Claude asked.
Svenson shook his head. "Master, the madam, the young master, and the young lady won't be returning to the autonomous region for the next few years. They'll be staying in the manor in the outskirts of the royal capital.
The second young master of Bayer Garcia just found a teacher in the royal capital. "
Claude's gaze sharpened. "Did the madam find him, or was he recommended by someone else?"
Steward Swensen laughed, "Neither. This scholar was found by the second young master himself.
Master, you know that the second young master loves books as much as his life. He likes to hide away and read quietly.
Back when the madam and the madam were still living in the royal capital, the second young master loved to bring a servant to the book market. Sometimes, he would spend the whole day reading.
The scholar was a history professor at the royal academy. Once, he got into an argument with the second young master over a history book.
The second young master said that the book had a wrong viewpoint or record and that the author made it up.
As the author was a good friend of the scholar, the scholar said that the second young master was spouting nonsense.
He didn't expect the second young master to have such a good memory. He pointed out a few titles and said that the viewpoints in those books were the exact opposite of the one they were arguing about.
The scholar flipped through the book and found that the second young master was right. His friend couldn't be bothered to look up any information and wrote some nonsense based on his memory. As a result, the second young master found out.
After that incident, the scholar had a good impression of the second young master and often chatted with him.
Once, he followed the second young master home and told the madam that he liked the second young master a lot and wanted to take him as a disciple. When the second young master was of age next year, she would let him study at the royal academy.
The madam was delighted and agreed to the scholar's request.
By the way, the scholar's name is Dromenke Lang Faresco. He's quite famous in the royal capital and is a famous archeologist. "
Perhaps this was what it meant to say that the flowers planted intentionally never bloomed, but the willows planted unintentionally grew.
Of Claude's two sons, his mother and Kefnie paid the most attention to the eldest son, Tesoray.
The second son, Bayergassi, on the other hand, wasn't very well-liked by his mother and Kefnie. He had a cold personality and didn't like to hang around adults. He wasn't like Tesoray, who would act spoiled to his mother and grandmother. He was used to watching from the sidelines.
When he grew older and learned to read, he fell in love with reading. He would read all kinds of books and would sit there for an entire day in a daze.
Angelina had once tested him for his talent in magic, but he didn't pass.
Angelina told him that if Bayergassi's talent was up to standard and he could cultivate, he would be a very good magus. His personality was one of peace and solitude.
His eldest son, Tesoray, was taken care of by his mother and Kefnie, but they educated him into a wastrel and nearly crippled him.
His second son, Bayergassi, on the other hand, wasn't noticed by his mother and Kefnie and quietly became a talent.
That was rather ironic. Claude didn't know how his mother and Kefnie felt about it.
Claude smiled. "Svenson, I've been setting up a manor and a wood here for the past two days. When the manager is chosen, return to the royal capital and hand the deed to the manor and wood to the madam. Tell her that this is also our property and ask her to be more attentive.
I'll be heading to Northbay in a day, so I'll leave things here to you. "