Chapter 104
***
Now one year old, Ireneo’s motor skills had improved to a degree incomparable to before. He had already been developing faster than other children his age, but since his birthday, he had grown astonishingly adept at using his body.
Climbing out of his crib alone was nothing new, and it was becoming common to discover that he had opened the door and slipped into another room by himself. He was also remarkably patient; even if no one came looking for him, he would neither cry nor fuss.
He wasn’t a fussy child, but he was not one you could let your guard down around.
There was only one person who was wholly delighted by the child’s rapid growth—his grandmother, the Countess of Veloce.
The Countess of Veloce was a woman overflowing with love for her family, but she had been frail since birth. Naturally, she had been forced to leave most of the child-rearing of her two sons to wet nurses.
And now, she had a young grandchild she could care for with her own hands.
From their very first meeting, the Countess became completely enamored with her grandson. At times, she even brought her sickly body directly to LaFechia Castle.
The Count of Veloce, who adored his wife dearly, could not possibly allow that to continue unchecked.
After her fifth visit, the Count decided to formally bestow upon Danel the fief near LaFechia Castle. The title of Count required a complicated line of succession, but passing down a Viscountcy was no difficult matter.
Thus, using the excuse of passing down the title of Viscount Ettore, the Count frequently summoned Danel, Ireneo, and me to his domain—on the pretext that his wife wished to see her grandson.
In that respect, he was truly just like Danel.
Fortunately, even before turning one year old, Ireneo had been a gentle enough child to endure carriage journeys of three to four hours without difficulty. Naturally, traveling to the nearby Veloce County estate required no toys at all.
Perhaps because we visited so often, Ireneo gradually became accustomed to the Veloce estate—to his grandmother, who doted on him endlessly, and to his grandfather, whose eyes were fixed only on his wife.
Over time, the child grew able to spend a day or two at the Veloce estate even without Danel or me. Then, before long, he could stay with his grandparents for over a week at a time without issue.
It was around that time that the Countess suggested that the two of us should take a trip together.
The day I first heard her suggestion, I was a little flustered. I couldn’t help wondering if word had reached her ears that, in Ireneo’s absence, Danel and I never left our bedchamber in LaFechia Castle. The thought left me embarrassed.
When I voiced this, Danel chuckled in a low tone.
“That is not the reason.”
At the certainty in his voice, I belatedly came to my senses.
Indeed. No one would dare disobey Danel’s words and carry news of what happened inside the mansion to the outside.
Then there was only one reason.
The Countess wanted to spend a little more time with her grandson.
She had once told me that after giving birth she had suffered for nearly three years. Especially when she bore Danel, she had been in such pain that she could do nothing but lie in bed.
Those were days when she could not even nurse her child, let alone play with him. That regret must have lingered with her, so that now she wished to personally look after young Ireneo while she still could.
‘Besides, Ireneo is healthy, unlike Petios or Danel at that age.’
Danel and I decided that, even if we didn’t go traveling, we would leave Ireneo in her care a little longer.
But somehow… I could not bring myself to sympathize.
“So one can even feel the urge to try looking after a child, then.”
I murmured as I walked along.
I knew it in my head, but I could not quite understand it. Caring for quick, energetic Ireneo all day long was by no means easy.
At my words, Danel gave a faint smile.
“Anything one couldn’t do because of illness will always leave a lingering regret.”
“Is that so? I didn’t know.”
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.