My Wife Waited in the Wheat Fields

Three days had passed.

As expected, humans were creatures of adaptation. Despite the fact that Wiven’s way of life was a far cry from his way of life for the past ten years, Elric had already begun to adapt to some extent.

He still roamed the battlefield in his dreams and fumbled about looking for a sword upon waking up, but apart from that, he was quite content.

“Milord.”

Elric rolled out of bed at the sound of Aldio’s voice again today.

He quickly washed up and changed his clothes before heading to the dining room with his cane in hand.

Sure enough, there was Tyria, who was already in the dining room.

“Are you feeling well?”

With a slight bow, Elric replied.

“Good morning.”

He still felt awkward around her.

She was a woman of few words, and since they spent most of their days apart, they couldn’t easily become close.

But, at the very least, it wasn’t as uncomfortable as it was in the beginning.

That, too, was an adjustment that he had made to his lifestyle. By now, Elric had gotten to the point where he didn’t have to leave the table after scarfing his food down.

“Are you going to inspect the wheat fields again today?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. My leg won’t allow me to help with the work.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

These words made his stomach turn.

Upon reflection, it was such an impudent thing for him to say. He was the one that had to take responsibility for leaving her alone, and now he was apologizing.

Whilst Elric was scolding himself for his foolish words, Tyria stopped fiddling with her thumbs.

She was silent for a moment, staring at her plate, but then spoke.

“…I meant that I’m used to it, having been taught the knowledge by the previous lord.”

Ah, of course.

A short gasp escaped his mouth.

Something had dawned on him just now

“…It’s definitely my father’s way of doing things.”

He was a person who always needed to confirm important matters with his own eyes to ease his conscience.

The wheat fields would be no different.

Now that he had sold all his businesses, the only thing left under the Portman name was the wheat farm.

Elric didn’t know why the man had made that choice, but if this was the only remaining business, his father’s personality would have led him to complete the handover of the business to Tyria before his death.

While lost in thought, Elric asked casually,

“Excuse me.”

“Yes.”

“…How well did you get along with my father?”

His words were spoken with conviction, but without regret.

It would be more accurate to say that he was more curious than regretful.

He wanted to know the intentions of his father, who had left him nothing but an inheritance without a will, so he felt that he could only rely on Tyria in this regard.

Tyria was quick to answer.

“I learned to work, but other than that, I don’t remember much else.”

“…Did he say anything about me?”

“No.”

Her certain affirmation left him speechless.

Elric, who was about to ask if she was sure, soon gave up on that idea.

For some reason, he knew that what she had said was realistic.

He could picture the scene.

His inhuman, cold-blooded father and this soft-spoken woman sitting at this very table.

Even the sound of the moon’s rustling must have disappeared, leaving a stifling silence in the room.

At best, their conversations would have consisted of him saying “Do this,” and Tyria’s response, “Yes”.

Elric felt a shiver run through his whole body.

‘How terrible.’

Although he shouldn’t have felt this way, it was uncomfortable enough of a scene to make him feel relieved that he had ran away.

Elric laughed hollowly.

Then, the meal was over.

“I shall be going, then.”

Tiria bowed her head briefly as before.

Elric leaned on his cane and stood up.

“Take care.”

And with that, they both left the dining hall.

…

Despite being the son of the previous lord, Elric’s position in the manor was more like that of a guest.

This was only natural.

Having run away at the age of fourteen whilst returning only after ten years, he had no idea what was going on in the house, and even if he tried to do something, his legs wouldn’t allow him to help with chores.

Therefore, all he could really do was sit in the garden and watch as people came and went.

He would sit there and feel the chill of autumn all over his body while looking at the fountain, the people, making eye contact with them.

By doing so, he came to realize something.

‘There are a lot of new servants.’

Although the core servants leading all the others were still the same,

Few of the others that did more menial jobs from his memories had remained.

He was a perfect stranger to them, and as such, they were not as welcoming to Elric as the maids, butlers, and coachmen.

It was a subtle line between not being hostile but not showing affection either, a gaze one used when looking at a stranger.

“What are you looking at?”

It was Aldio.

Approaching from behind, he held a small bundle in his arms.

Elric smiled faintly and spoke.

“Oh, I was just watching the servants. There are many unfamiliar faces.”

“Yes. It has been 10 years after all.”

Aldio sat down next to him on the bench.

“Have they caused you an inconvenience, Milord?”

“Of course not, such people would have never survived in this mansion.”

Despite his father’s passing, this place was still the land he had built.

He was a person who regarded subordinates’ disloyalty to their masters as extremely abhorrent, and when hiring servants, he always prioritized the aspect of loyalty over everything else.

One could say that he only looked at people as cogs in a machine.

Whether behind the scenes or outwardly, he had to fake sincerity to keep the mansion running smoothly.

It would be ridiculous to assume that, after only a year, such an atmosphere would have been lost.

Elric dismissed the thought from his mind.

“By the way, what’s in that small box you’re holding?”

“Ah, they’re letters addressed to the Lady.”

“To her?”

“Yes, it’s harvest season after all. There are many things to take care of all over the place.”

How could he have forgotten? Even in Elric’s memory, harvest time was a time when his father was notoriously absent.

“What kind of letters are they?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hmm?”

“What kind of servant looks through his master’s letters before his master?”

The small smile on his face whilst he spoke those words revealed his unwavering loyalty.

Elric chuckled at his steadfastness.

“I can see now why we never got along.”

“I’m just doing my duties faithfully. Technically, I wasn’t close to the late master either.”

That was true enough. Although his father may have considered Aldio a crucial component to the workings of the mansion, he did not view him as a human companion.

Aldio had also realized this and had always shown deference to the man.

Elric changed the subject.

“So, does she look after the wheat fields during the day and handle documents at night?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s a lot of work.”

A wave of guilt and shame washed over Elric.

If he hadn’t run away, all of this would have been his responsibility.

How shameful it was for him to pass on his own duty to others and live so carefreely.

It would have been easier for him if Tyria had shown some resentment towards him, but she had never once thrown a fit up to this day.

Elric hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“May I take a look at those letters?”

If he just had to read them, then he could do it even with a leg like his.

Of course, he didn’t know exactly how the correspondences were going, but he could at least sort the letters or briefly summarize their contents.

He didn’t know anything, but it would still relieve some of Tyria’s workload.

It was a motivating thought.

“Ummm….”

A moment of hesitation flashed across Aldio’s face.

Elric spoke playfully.

“Well, I am the master now. Shouldn’t I have the right to see those letters?”

It was a quite shameless thing to say, but it was true.

Aldio frowned at the comment, but then let out a small laugh.

“…Yes, you do have the right to see those letters.”

He handed the small box to Elric.

“The study is still where it was ten years ago.”

“In the center of the second floor. The heart of the mansion?”

“Exactly.”

“I see. You can go now.”

“Of course.”

With the box tucked under his arm, Elric headed towards the study.

…

Despite his enthusiasm, there were naturally no letters that Elric could understand.

The letters were messy, filled with statistics about the harvest volume and profit margins between various trade partners.

It was impossible for him to solve everything.

The good news was that he’d had an eye for discerning the context of situations since he was a kid, so he was able to classify them as he had originally planned.

There were three main categories that he could sort the letters into:

Letters from external sources, letters related to the upper echelons of society, and personal letters.

It was during this process that he discovered this letter.

[To my beloved daughter.]

This was what was written on the front of the letter.

The seal on it was that of the Wyvern Family.

Tyria’s family.

Elric couldn’t easily remove his gaze from the letter.

He was curious.

After all, he still didn’t know why she was still here.

Although it was not clear whether her intentions were good or bad, from what he had observed in the past few days, she was working sincerely for the Portman family.

But, she was still a stranger in the family.

Although he knew that reading someone else’s letter was rather improper, Elric couldn’t shake off his immediate curiosity.

In a form of rationalization that was close to self-delusion, he wondered if maybe, just maybe, there could be a clue about his father in this letter.

This was the thought that crossed his mind at the moment.

His fingers naturally reached for the wax on top of the letter.

He scratched at it with his nails, then sighed and stared at the letter.

Finally, unable to resist, Elric squeezed his eyes shut and broke the seal.

His impulsivity at the moment had taken over.

After briefly regretting his decision, Elric quickly raised his head.

‘Well, since I’ve already opened it, I might as well check the contents.’

At this point, he would have to apologize for looking at her personal letter anyways, so wasn’t it better to at least get some compensation for that?

He would only feel more sorry than before, but that would be for later.

In any case, the contents of the letter flashed before Elric’s eyes.

Like a boy who had committed an “evil” deed, Elric’s heart fluttered between anticipation and guilt,

‘This is….’

He narrowed his eyes.