I Will Abandon My Family! - v3 Chapter 26, Chapter 27, Chapter 28 (Patreon)

v3, Chapter 26

Aunt
Shepherd’s Point of View
A while after breaking off the engagement with the Felt family, I was told that I would be charged with marriage fraud, but I refused to pay any compensation.

Why should I have to pay that kind of money?
I haven't done anything wrong, and I haven't deceived anyone; they are just delusional.

But it was after being demoted from the Viscount's family to the Baron's family.

"What have you done?!"

"Elder Sister!"

"An envoy from the Capital was sent to our house... What a disgrace."

My Aunt suddenly barged into our house and started hurling abusive language at us.

"Thanks to you, our family has also been disgraced... asking us to pay the compensation in your place is no joke."

"But I haven't done anything wrong."

"It's pointless to talk to you. They even said they would seize the territory’s land if there’s not enough to seize in the Capital... They plan to seize everything except the plot of land, carriages, and horses that Father left us there."

"That's outrageous..."

"This mansion will be seized as well."

They have no right to do as they please with someone else's home!

"Elder Sister, this is..."

"Shepherd is unable to inherit it. As a special measure, I’lll take over the place, so please leave within a month."

"Elder Sister is taking it over? That's..."

"I am at least qualified to do so. But even if I inherit this territory, I’ll only be burdened with debt."

How can she make decisions about everything like this? How arrogant can she be?
This territory is already mine.

Such arbitrariness should not be tolerated.
Yet my Aunt, with a deeply annoyed expression, uttered cruel words.
"I will sell everything that can be sold. And then, I’ll sever ties with you."

"That's so cruel."

"Aunt! How could you..."

"You have always been embarrassed by the commoner noble in the family, weren’t you? You have always said so. If you wanted to sever ties, this is the perfect opportunity."

"That was... just a joke."

"That's right. Why bring it up now?”

She brings up past events and is a vindictive woman.
That was just a joke.

It's terrible that she still holds onto it.

"What about insulting my daughter at social gatherings? Was that also a joke?"

"That... yes. That was just a bit of banter over drinks..."

It's not a big deal.

It was a drunken joke from three years ago.

"Because of that, my daughter's engagement was canceled. You ridiculed her at that time... I will never forgive you."

"Aunt!"

"This mansion will be demolished. And I won't leave you alone both like this."

My Aunt's eyes were dead serious.

"Wait, Elder Sister."

"We're not sisters anymore. In a month, I'll demolish this mansion and sell the plot of land."

It's insane that a little joke can't be forgiven.

"I've tolerated your reckless behavior so far, in consideration of Diaz. But I can't bear it anymore."

"Elder Sister!"

Even here, Diaz.
Why.

Why did that man go this far?

I couldn't accept it.
But at a ball I was invited to by a friend after a long time, I realized that the situation was more serious than we thought.

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v3, Chapter 27

Friend
Shepherd’s Point of View
My Aunt had told us she would demolish the mansion and ordered us to vacate it within a month, but we didn't pay any heed.

I thought it was just a threat, but Mother had been holed up in her room muttering to herself since then.
Staying in the mansion felt suffocating, so I decided to attend a ball I was invited to by a friend.

"Shepherd."

"Thank you for inviting me tonight."

"Tonight's party isn't too formal."

It was a small-scale ball, and it was modest. Normally, it would have been a waste of time to attend such an event.
The organizers, despite being called a Count’s family, were poor nobles from the countryside.

But in my current situation, it was better to expand my network even a little bit.
Benoah, who I have known since my student days, thinks of us me as a friend, but he's got the wrong idea.

He's become rather affluent lately, and I hear he's been active in charity work, thanks to a stroke of luck where his local produce sold well in a neighboring country.

He really doesn't understand the concept of business.
Charity work is just a way for nobles to kill time or gain popularity.

In the past, it might have been overlooked as eccentric behavior, but nowadays, it’s something that only stupid nobles do.
It’s a waste of time and money.

"Tonight, charity comrades have gathered as well."

"Charity, huh..."

It would be better to spend that money on something else.

"Lord Benoah."

"Yuna."

Shortly after, a woman approached us.
I wasn’t familiar with her, but I didn't think she looked bad.

"Am I interrupting your conversation?"

"No..."

"Don't worry about it."

Is she an acquaintance of Benoah?
She's too good for this unassuming man.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Shepherd Ranford."

"I'm Yuna Tisia."

Her manners were elegant and graceful, flowing effortlessly.
She looked every bit like a high-ranking noble.

Her dress was exquisite, and her speech was refined.

"Benoah, is he your friend?"

"Yes, from our school days."

Who’s your friend?
But for now, I'll let it slide for now.

"What a beautiful young lady. I didn't expect you to have such a beautiful friend, Benoah."

"No... she's..."

"I hate to say this, but he's not very good with women and quite awkward in social situations."

I’ll pretend to provide some support while subtly highlighting how worthless Benoah is to boost my own standing.

"Well..."

"He even struggled at the school dances, which was quite embarrassing."

"That's hitting a little too close to home. But it's true."

Ever since our school days, he's been terrible at courting women and always ended up as the nice guy who finished last.

"Moreover, he's too kind-hearted and easily deceived. It's challenging to live as a noble that way. Well, he's more of a commoner noble, you see?”

Heh... He seemed surprised, with his eyes wide open.
He should know his place.

Someone as beautiful as Miss Yuna wouldn't be a good match for the dull and unremarkable Benoah.

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v3, Chapter 28

A Clown
Shepherd’s Point of View
Miss Yuna was bewildered, she must have been unaware of just how clueless of a man Benoah was.
At this point, he was becoming a laughingstock.

I had thought so.

"Well, Benoah hasn't changed since the old days. Haha."

"Huh?"

Why is she laughing so happily?
This is the point where she should be exasperated!

"Please, don't say anymore.”

"I knew he wasn’t accustomed to women back in the day... but I'm glad."

Huh?
What's with this atmosphere?

"Because someone reserved like you made such a bold proposal, it was like something out of a novel."

"Ugh... please stop embarrassing me."

What did she say!

"Shepherd, didn't you teach me this back in our school days? That if I truly like a woman, I should be assertive at times. So, I was assertive..."

"You really couldn't call that being assertive. But my Mother and Aunt liked that honesty of yours.”

"Ugh..."

Could it be that these two...

"Benoah."

"Your Grace!"

"Huh?"

Interrupting our conversation was a gentleman in a splendid suit.
He looked somewhat familiar.

"Would you stop calling me ‘Your Grace’ already, Son-in-law.”

"However, I am still but a fiancé.”

"What are you saying? You will eventually become a family member of one of the Four Great Dukes, after all."

The Four Great Dukes!
In our country, there are four prominent noble houses known as the Four Great Dukes, including the Prime Minister and the Grand Chamberlain.

And the gentleman in front of me was one of them.
That's why he seemed familiar...

"Benoah, care to explain?"

"This is Duke Persia, Yuna's adoptive father and uncle."

"Nice to meet you. I am Zion Persia. You are Benoah's friend, I presume?"

"Y-yes..."

This can't be true.
Benoah, who is only known for his gardening and his fondness for flowers, marrying into a ducal family!

"However, Benoah is the son of a Count, isn't he?"

"Yes, indeed... a Count’s son is not a problem. Lineage and status can be managed later. What matters is the trust of the subjects and one's competence. I learned that well from a friend during my school days."

"Uncle wasn’t originally a Marquis either, after all.”

"Yes, he was the third son of a Baron, but he became friends with His Majesty and worked tirelessly to change the academy. He's my role model. His name is Diaz Follett."

What!

Diaz Follett? Isn't that the former surname of that man?

No way.

I can't believe it!

"At that time, the academy was in turmoil. Even His Majesty was mistreated at the palace at that time. But it was Lord Diaz who changed his fate."

"I have heard about it too. Even though the Prime Minister and the Grand Chamberlain felt greatly indebted to him, Lord Diaz is a wonderful person who never sought anything in return... If he had stayed in the Capital, he would have surely become the Minister of Finance."

It can't be true.
I thought this was an absolute lie, but I didn't realize it.

I didn't realize that most of the guests at tonight's ball were related to that man.

Next chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/89036494