Resurrection of Duke Werstein ~ I Didn’t Hear Anything About Being A Middle-aged Man ~ 14

//Melki: to be honest I'm annoyed so I'll start writing titles and stuff in their Romaji, (like butler = Shitsuji; Niece = Mei, differing according to who is calling as well) because not only does it give the feel to the original Japanese much better it's also much more suited for connecting meanings and more, besides differentiating each in English is annoying and sometimes doesn't even have a differentiation which causes the meanings to be lost in the translation. From now on though the first time I use them I'll make a note about it.

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Genius Sylvest -Henkyō haku¹

When he was 69 years old, he was attacked by bandits and died by a deadly blade while defending his son-in-law.

He was originally a mage, so he was vulnerable to melee attacks.

But for some unknown reason, he was reborn as a wiseman², perhaps out of a desire to see the face of his grandchild, the life that had finally been born in his daughter's belly.

Since then, he has been with his family for five hundred years.

Before he knew it, he was knighted by his country as a Margrave and entrusted with the protection of certain land.

The kingdom of Luna Milia, founded by a family whose main deity is Luna Milia, the goddess of the moon, is surrounded by steep mountains on all sides, leaving only two lands.

If you look at it from far above, you can see that it looks as if the country is located in a vast crater.

It is not clear why the country was closed off like this, as the ancient documents are lost due to its history before the war, but one of the most popular theories is that it was created in the aftermath of a duel between wisemen.

On top of that, beyond the mountains that surround the country is a sea of trees where demons roam, and there are no roads.

The only way to pass safely through the sea of trees is to ask for help from the elves hiding somewhere in the sea, but the human-hating elves would never do such a thing.

The only other way to reach the country safely by land is through the Sylvest Territory at the entrance to the country, the valley ruled by Genius.

Perhaps because of this location, when the country had been hit by war many times during the wars with neighboring countries, maybe perhaps because out of love and admiration for the wiseman Genius, the people evacuated to his territory, but his ability to govern was so high that they had never returned.

He was now lying face down on the bed in his bedroom.

"...... I thought I was going to die for the first time in hundreds of years."

It was the first time in hundreds of years that I thought I was going to die.

The reason why the wiseman Genius has become so exhausted is because of the person he had just met with.

Augusto Werstein- Kōshaku³.

Werstein is the only territory in the Kingdom of Luna Milia that faces the sea, and if Sylvest's territory is an important base by the land, it is an important base by the sea.

The Demon Kingdom of Nello Zeeks⁴, said to be located across the sea, would be the first to sink into the fires of war if his country were to invade.

He is the ruler of that land.

"I didn't expect it to be that bad…"

He let out a breath without moving a muscle.

The day before, I had sensed the rebirth of a new wiseman in the country.

It was easy to predict that he would make contact with me in the near future.

However, when I met him in person, I found him to be an extraordinary man, so extraordinary in every way that I thought he was a god.

Magic, supremacy, insight, and good looks.

It was unthinkable that he had lost his wife and had become a dark fool.

In particular, he possessed a tremendous amount of magical power that was incomparable to my own as a mage.

He usually hides it, so it doesn't seem to have any effect on the people around him, but if he were to remove the stopper, the entire city would cease to function due to the magical power.

Genius shuddered at the thought.

Meanwhile, the culprit had no idea he had mastered the art of hiding his magic, and he would rather ask what’s magical power, what’s that, is it tasty? He has no knowledge of fantasy to that extent, but Genius has no way of knowing that.

So he thinks.

... I should not make an enemy of that man.

If he did, this country would easily be destroyed.

But in order to show that he had no intention of making an enemy, he had no choice but to expose his true self, which he had only shown to the head of his family.

The Duke would immediately see through the wiseman's make-believe attitude and doubt himself.

In other words, all the relaxed attitude and behavior of the face-to-face meeting had been formed only by the virtue of old age and self-respect.

"What a dreadful⁵ man.”

He muttered to himself, but then Genius suddenly remembered the Duke's eyes.

"... No, even now I'm still afraid of losing it.

So I'm very worried that one day I'll do the same thing all over again.”

The duke who said this quietly had beautiful and sad eyes.

They were the eyes of a man who knew what despair was all about.

The loss of his wife must have been a great wound for the Duke.

Fortunately, the Duke seemed to think that Genius was in a better position than him, and did not seem to have any intention of antagonizing him.

The only thing that Genius can do for the Duke is to guide him as a forerunner so that he will not go astray in the long time that lies ahead.

“… Well, he's not a bad guy...

That was the only thing that saved me.

If he were as cold-hearted, cruel, and bad-tempered as he looked.

Just thinking about it made me feel like the world would end.

Originally, the existence of wiseman was unknown, even to the wiseman himself.　

However, there has never been one example of a person with a bad heart becoming a wiseman.

Therefore, he knew that the Duke could not be a bad person.

But he had one of the worst faces in recent years.

Even though he understood, he was afraid.

I was afraid of the Duke's appearance.

But it would be a shame to let him know that, so Genius thought, I'll keep that attitude.

But then he suddenly realized a fact that almost made him despair.

"What if it's just unprecedented…"

If, so.

At any rate, I'll flatter him and get him under my protection, so that he can help my clan.

He sniffed as he made up his mind.

"... What was that all about?"

“Wait and discern, I suppose"

Shitsuji-san, who was cleaning up, murmured something to me, to which I replied nonchalantly, and as I ran my quill over the parchment.

“Discern?"

In the corner of my eye, I see Shitsuji-san reciting my words while wiping the table with a cloth, and I pick up the document with my left hand that is not holding the pen.

"I guess he wanted to find out whether he would be an enemy or a friend, and where he would fit in."

Oh, this document is wrong again.

This one is in the middle of calculation.

Seriously, Augusto-san, what are you doing?

I silently rewrote the document, occasionally dipping the nib in the ink pot to check.

Ojīchan⁶ was right, we should probably hire someone or get someone to help us, but that's not going to happen.

After all, Shitsuji-san⁷ is the only one I can trust.

However, he is in charge of this house, managing my schedule, my health, and many other tasks.

There was no way I could ask him to help me with the work that Augusto-san had slacked off on.

“I see, that means wiseman is not just a title"

"I guess so."

I nodded to the Shitsuji-san, who seemed to be satisfied with my answer, and ran my pen across the page.

At that moment, I suddenly saw out of the corner of my eye that Shitsuji-san, who seemed to have finished cleaning up, was approaching me with papers in his hand.

"I'm sorry to add to your workload, but the furniture and the fabric for your dress that I sold yesterday fetched a surprisingly high price, so please hand me those documents."

Oh, you mean those documents.

I wondered what it was all about.

"Hmm, I see. Then please keep it with the documents of this term's income."

“Understood.”

I don't know when it'll be, but I have to get this year's income together by the end of the year, so I'll have to calculate it then.

As far as I remember, every year at the New Year, they submit a report to the government on the income and expenditure for that year or something like that.

... I have to finish the recalculation before then.

If I don't, I won't be able to do this year's calculations.

I don't want to get beheaded. I'll just have to do my best.

... Hey, wait a minute.

When is now?

Wait, wait, wait.

I just realized it.

I mean, I never really questioned it before, what's wrong with me?

Well, I guess I was confused.

There's nothing I can do about it.

It's a bad thing that I've been letting Shitsuji-san manage my schedule and everything else.

I guess that's why I didn't notice it even more.

Okay... Let's just say that!

Please let it be like that, please.

No, no, the question is, what are we going to do about it.

I can't just stay in the dark, I can't make predictions.

What kind of predictions, Social season, seasonality, that kind of thing.

I'm a wise man, after all.

I can't tell if it's hot or cold.

Everything is the right temperature, thank you very much.

It's not funny.

Even if Shitsuji-san covers the clothes, when I have to interact with people, I might talk about topics that ignore the whole season.

If I do that, it's no wonder if people think I don't even know what season it is.

I'll get nudged... Oh, he's a small fish, isn't he? →Okay, let's kick him down!

There's no guarantee that this won't happen.

No way. That's not good.

Okay, first of all, let's start by finding out what time is.

It's the only way to reduce the risk, so there's no reason not to check.

......... How do you do that?

Well, that, what should I do?

The fastest way is to ask Shitsuji-san, but it's too late to ask him, isn't it?

It's been three days since I woke up.

Oh no, this is no good.

The next best thing would be to ask Shitsuji-san to show me the document that he just wrote that might have the date on it, but it's too unnatural to ask him to bring it to me since I just told him to keep it together.

I can't do that either.

What should I do?

Oh no, seriously, what should I do?

In a situation like this, I'll just have to use my natural resourcefulness.

Hang in there, me ......!

Let's see, let's see, let's see.

Yeah, okay! Let's do this.

“Alfred"

“Ah, what can I do for you?

"Oh, by the way, do you have any documents that need to be signed today?"

"Hmm, hold on a second. I'll look into it."

“I’ll leave it to you."

After Shitsuji-san bowed reverently to my words, he left the room and walked towards the pile of papers in the corner of the room.

Okay! While I'm at it, I'd like to take the documents from earlier, ............... Where did he go?

Did Shitsuji-san take it with him by any chance?

I fished around for the documents, but I couldn't find them at all.

Wow, seriously?

Oh, no... What should I do now?

Next time, I'll just pray that Shitsuji-san will write the due date on the documents he might bring.

I had no choice but to return to my seat and set up my quill to review the documents again.

"Thank you for your patience, Dan'na-sama⁸”

“That was fast"

Shitsuji-san came back just as I was about to leave, but he really works fast, doesn't he.

“Since it’s for Dan'na-sama’s sake"

I thought I caught a glimpse of Shitsuji-san's expression as he bowed reverently as if to say that’s only natural

Uhm, I won’t bother

"... So, how did it go?"

"Not by today, but I brought the items you need to sign for in a hurry."

"I see."

I responded humbly while receiving some documents, but inside I was in despair.

Yes, I'm stuck!

So when on earth is today...!

As I was crying on the inside, I felt like crying even more when I realized that I had to write the date on the signature line.

What kind of document is this?

... A loan to Nord Rhodriess- Haku⁹?

No, I don't know if I can afford a loan or not, because I haven't finished my calculations.

Huh? What's this? Do we have to give them a loan?

Even though we might be in the red?

I mean, what's in it for us?

What? Isn't there anything to be gained?

I searched my memory and found out that he's the most corrupt aristocrat in the country.

Yeah, I don't need it.

Let's get rid of it.

"… Alfred."

"What is it?"

While holding out the document to Shitsuji-san, who seemed to be in a slightly strange mood, I said crisply.

"You can throw this document away."

"...... Are you sure?

“Ehn, we don’t need it"

“Understood”

I let out a small breath as I caught Shitsuji-san out of the corner of my eye, bowing reverently.

It's a shame that Augusto-san had to make such a frivolous loan.

It's not like the country is going to tilt if you give a loan to a corrupt aristocrat, and there's even a chance that you'll get involved.

Well, I guess that's what you were aiming for.

I hope you'll think about the consequences.

No, I know Augusto-san doesn't know that much, but...

... Oh, if I throw it away, it means I won't give him a loan. I wonder if he'll say anything later, this Count.

It's a pain in the ass. I don't remember what he looks like at all.

But, I'm sure it will come up if I search for it, but I'm not interested in it at all, so I'll just ignore it.

I looked down at the next document, inwardly convinced.

What's this, uh, oh, there's a party hosted by the royal family on this country's national day?

I guess I have to attend this.

I'm the head of the Duke's family.

If I were to miss it, it would be like saying, I'm thinking of something bad for the country, I feel guilty.

It would have been easier if I could have greeted the people who seemed to know me, but there was no way things would go that well, so I decided to give up.

Oh, I have to write the date on this too.

...... So, when is now...?

I don't know when today is, so I don't even know how far away National Day is!

I'm going to throw all the preparations to the butler, but I'm sure it'll end up being the day before I realize it.

Oh well, I'll just ask Shitsuji-san.

It's a lifelong shame not to know, and a temporary shame to know.

Or is it the other way around? Well, it doesn't matter either way.

"Alfred, what day is today?"

"Today is July 5th, 734th year of the Kingdom."

It was normally answered.

It was a normal answer.

... What? What was my struggle until now?

No way, uh, this, ……………… oh well, whatever.　

After signing Augusto-san's full name, I take out a small box from my desk drawer.

If my memory serves me right, this box should contain the seal of the Duke's family.

When I opened the dark red velvet box that looked like it could contain an engagement ring, I found a platinum-colored seal.

The seal had a motif of the moon and a rose.

The reason for the rose is that the first generation of this family, great-grandfather who was of the disinherited royalty, liked roses.

However, the only family that is allowed to use the moon motif is the royal family, which is kind of scary to me.

If you have this, you can do almost anything.

If it's misused, it's would be a big problem.

... I can't imagine what would happen, probably because I'm a modern person.

Even so, I feel a vague sense of dread, so it must be pretty bad.

I wonder why Augusto-san didn't use this to tilt the country.

... I wonder if it was his remaining conscience.

If that's the case, I'll have to be extra careful not to have this stolen.

Thinking like that, I picked up the small wooden box that was next to the inkpot.

I took it without thinking about it, but I think it's some kind of flesh-like ink.

I opened it up and sure enough, if you press your seal on it, it will get colored! I felt like I could understand why it was so important.

No, it's just some kind of cloth in there.

As soon as I opened it, I felt dampness rising from it, so the cloth must have been moistened by the ink.

It's blue.

Wasn’t flesh red, I wonder why it’s blue.

As soon as I thought about it, the answer came to me.

Since the Dukes of Werstein is a royal family, they have always been obligated to be different from other families, which is why they are required to use blue as their seal color, similar to the royal purple seal.

……… That’s it.

It's a pain in the ass for the aristocracy.

It's just a lot of pressure to make me feel so special, damn it.

While complaining in my head, I pressed my seal into the flesh-colored ink (blue flesh ink?) and popped it next to my signature.

Oh, it's beautiful.

But I don't know, it seems like a design that middle schoolers would like... No, no, let's pretend I didn't think about that.

I abandoned my thoughts and looked at the next document.

... A request from the territory for permission to hold a harvest festival this year?

Huh? Why don't we just do it? Okay, okay, okay.

So the harvest festival will be held in October or something like that?

It's July now, so I guess that's about right considering the preparations.

If we don't have fun, we'll soon get sick of it.

This kind of entertainment is necessary.

"Speaking of which, Dan’na-sama, may I schedule a meeting with Chérie after lunch?”

"You may."

I responded to Shitsuji-san's question as I stamped the seal, and I felt as if he had bowed reverently.

“Understood"

We were supposed to meet later, right?

Thinking about this, I picked up the next document.

Well, this is... The tax hike for this season?

... Yeah, let's throw this away too.

Because, you know.

We've been getting too much money so far.

We've been lucky to have a good harvest, so it hasn't been that hard, but I don't know if it will be this year.

I wonder where all this missing money is really going.

Well, I'm curious, but for now, I'll just have to recalculate everything.

"Alfred, throw this away too."

“Huh, understood"

As I was working hard on the paperwork, Shitsuji-san urged me to go to the cafeteria for lunch at the right time again.

By the way, today's lunch was sautéed chicken with sweet and spicy sauce, potato salad for garnish, and lettuce-like vegetables.

I cut the sautéed chicken into good-sized pieces, put potato salad on top, wrapped it in lettuce-like vegetables, and it was so good.

I thought it was absolutely delicious and ate it with the bread that came with it.

It was delicious as expected.

I think it would be good as a sandwich, too, this.

Not that I'm going anywhere!

Eating with a knife and fork was an unknown world to me, but this is Augusto-san's body.

He's so handy! It's amazing!

The soup was consommé, probably to match the sautéed chicken.

Aren't you getting better at cooking?

When I returned to the office, the beautiful woman I met the other day was already there on standby.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

She looked somewhat excited and directed a sparkling gaze at me.

"Isn't that a lot?"

There were three bundles in one hand and a bag of something in the other.

Despite the fact that both of her hands were occupied, she seemed to be enjoying herself as if she didn't feel the weight at all.

"I was so excited that I designed a lot of things.

I had so much fun that I thought every outfit would look good on you…!"

I wondered if she was having so much fun or what, as she stared at me, her cheeks stained with fascination, and I wondered what I should do.

No, I don't think anything of it.

If anything, I’m taken aback.

Why is this person so excited. I'm scared.

"Well... What's in that bag?"

"This is a prototype of a design that would be particularly suitable for you!"

I was still taken aback when she presented me with a bundle of documents and a bag with the excitement of a puppy.

"...... You work fast."

"I was having so much fun!

I muttered to myself as I handed them over to Shitsuji-san, who naturally accepted them, and she laughed happily and assured me.

I don't know if I can make clothes that fast.

What? You have to start from scratch, right? Paper pattern? Was it a pattern? There's no such thing, is there?

Huh? It hasn't been three days yet, has it?

"Are you sleeping well?"

"... Oh, that’s right. I had completely forgotten!"

She put her hand over her mouth, looking surprised, and then dropped a bombshell.

No, you can't.

"Go to sleep."

"No! Not until I take your measurements!"

With a serious expression, she says it crisply, full of determination.

......... Ehhhhhhh.

No, yeah... Well, okay, I don't have a choice.

Because this is what she does, right?

"...... It can't be helped. Take a nap as soon as you're done."

"Of course! Come on, Dan’na-sama! Take off your jacket! Oh, I'll help you. Oh and if possible please take off the undershirt too"

She seemed to be very excited, and she helped me to take off my clothes, and I stripped off my top.

"......... Is this okay?"

"Please take off your pants as well!"

“Hmm, this too"

"Of course!"

Oh, so you're going to make pants too?

I was thinking at the time how hard it is to take measurements.

Until I noticed that her hands were on my underwear.

"...... Wait, you've got your hands in my underwear too?"

“It's fine!"

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying.

"But then I'd be naked, wouldn't I?"

"I can't take detailed measurements of you without any clothes!"

"What did you just say?"

Wait, wait, wait, seriously what is this person saying.

"Don't worry! Come on!"

Not, come on! No, seriously, what are you saying/

“Nothing of this is okay, Alfred, stop her."

"Oh, my God! Don't be a prude and show me your wonderful naked body!"

As soon as I asked the butler for help, she put more pressure on her hands to pull down my underwear, and I was just baffled.

At that moment, I realized something I didn't want to notice.

This person is crazy …!

Normally, I would just shake her off, but with Augusto-san's specs, if I did that, she would probably slam me into the wall and die.

I'm trying my best to prevent her from taking off my underwear by pulling on them, but her arms are so thin that I can't understand where she gets this much strength from. It's only a matter of time before my underwear tears off as well.

And then I'll be completely naked.

I'm screwed!

Wait a minute, what's wrong with her?

I don't care how much of an Ojisama¹⁰ lover she is like me, it's still weird.

What happened to her!

"Chérie, come on. Dan’na-sama is troubled. Take your hands off Dan’na-sama's undergarments."

“No way! This is my chance to see Dan’na-sama's naked body! I can legally strip Dan’na-sama naked! There will never be another chance like this again!"

Shitsuji-san impatiently tried to pull her away, and she hurriedly and earnestly tried to pull my pants down with my underwear with a threatening attitude.

I was shocked.

I mean, stop it! Don't pull it down! My pants and underwear are making a noise I've never heard before!

"... You don't need this kind of thing. Alfred."

“Huh"

At my call, Shitsuji-san's hand knife fell on her neck.

"I never thought Chérie would do something like this... It seems that she had a slight personality breakdown due to the all-nighter she pulled. I apologize.”

Shitsuji-san said and bowed his head apologetically.

"... Alfred, there's no need for you to apologize."

As for her. After I made her fall into a coma, I had her thrown into a guest room.

Please go back to sleep until you come to your senses.

"Thank you for your kind words. I'll be sure to give the measurements to Chérie in writing later."

“I’ll count on you"

While saying this, I went over the designs she brought.

Oh, by the way, I've decided to have Shitsuji-san take the measurements later.

There are so many of them, it might be quite a task just to look at them, but I have to go to a party next time, so I need to tailor at least one of them as soon as possible.

“Dan’na-sama it seems Chérie has something she needs to tell you"

“Is that so… That’s right"

"I'll have Chérie apologize profusely."

I don't really care that much about it, but I guess I have no choice.

No, it was scary, but if you think about it, three days of complete dedication, you'd go crazy, you know?

Oh, this is so cool.

I mean, they all look good on Augusto-san, I can't decide.

I take a small breath while thinking about this at the same time.

"...... She may have forgotten everything when you wake up. You can say that it is the same as drinking. Don't worry about it."

“Dan’na-sama…"

I'm not sure if he was convinced or not, but Shitsuji-san seemed to want to say something, and I decided that I should follow up a bit, so I opened my mouth to continue.

"Well... Besides, if she remembered, she would have come to apologize on her own."

I don't think a normal person would not come to apologize after doing something like that.

Oh, this dress certainly looks good on Augusto-san.

She does good work. She's very skilled.

As I was looking at the jacket in the bag, the butler suddenly muttered to me with a nostalgic look.

“...You've always been kind to women, no matter how many years have passed."

Hmmm... I guess that's a private part of my memory that I haven't seen.

I'll pretend to forget about it for now.

"Hmm, is that so?"

"Yes, for a long time. There was a time when a woman misunderstood and pushed you to make her a mistress."

"......... Is that so?"

“Yes."

Augusto-san, you are guilty of something, even in the past.

It's disgusting for a man to do something that makes people misunderstand him.

It’s the enemy of women, the enemy of women.

Maybe it because I heard such a story, or was it foreshadowed by it?

I can't know the truth, but that night.

Something unexpected happened.

“Dan’na-sama… I admire you...! Please, please, just one night with me... Oh!"

A girl stares at me as if begging, her face red, her eyes moist and stammering in a cute way.

It's a maid with golden hair, blue eyes, glasses, and a rather plain appearance.

This young maiden was lying on top of me in bed.

Uhn, well, uhn.

……… Yes?

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A/n: There is no reason for it to get sexy, so please don't worry. (「・ω・)「

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//Melki: I'm thinking of adding a glossary tab so if anyone forgets what something means in the future they can check there. Also hahah, the best thing about Sylvest's POV is that he thinks Augusto's face is really one of those cold-hearted but beautiful villains and he's low-key scared af. I'm basically using the position titles, Count, Duke, etc in Romaji when they are together with a person's name. I seriously laughed so much in this chapter while translating, especially at how thirsty Chérie was acting.

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[1] : 辺境伯 - Margrave, also called a Frontier Count

[2] : 賢人(Kenjin) - I’ll leave this translated because it has a nice a smooth translation difference between the two when 賢者(Kenja) is used it will be translated to Sage

[3] : 公爵- Duke; this one I was debating whether to change or not since the translation is pretty smooth too, but I thought I already started changing the titles, It’d be weird if this were the only one I didn’t change but after debating for a while I decided to switch between the two because depending on what is being said one really looks better than the other (I think I'll be using the Romaji only when the title is attached to his name), besides this translation is in the title you know.

[4] : 魔国ネロ・ジークス(Ma-koku nero jīkusu)

[5] : 恐ろしい(Osoroshī) - original translation was terrible but I thought this would fit more; can also mean horrible, horrific, formidable, frightful, horrid, ghastly

[6] : おじいちゃん - Grandpa, it’s a cute and respectful way to refer to elderly men as well.

[7] : 執事さん - Butler, the san here is used like Mr.

[8] : 旦那様 - btw this does have a definition of husband, but the one being used here is Master, it’s basically a master of the house, sama is used to make it more respectful and is usually used to refer to one’s own Master

[9] : 伯 - Count

[10] : オジサマ - mister (vocative)/uncle/old man/grandfather