I Don’t Want To Be the Main Character

142. Wedding of the Century (7)

1.

There are four children.

It’s not a number that can be easily put into words, is it… … ? Maybe.

When I think about it, that’s what it meant to have five wives. As the old slogan goes, even if you only have one son or one daughter and try to raise them well, there are two good places to live, so ten children in total. Of course, feeding them wasn’t a problem.

Right now, aside from research funds, the maintenance allowance I receive from the royal family is a huge sum that ordinary people can only dream of, and Elena’s personal wealth alone is enough for three generations to live comfortably without any problems.

But since Elena had already declared that she would have four children, two sons and two daughters, it was not difficult to see what the future held for her.

“There will be a sense of competition…….”

After that, I sent Elena away, who had been whining and complaining for a long time without paying her dues, and I was left alone that night.

I was biting my fingernails with only one small light on in my lab. If there had been a mirror, my anxious expression would have been completely revealed.

Elena’s declaration that she’s going to have four kids? Okay, that’s fine.

But now the problem was that my wife wasn’t just Elena.

“Even if everyone had as many children as Elena, that would be twenty children…”

Are you kidding me? Maria Theresa had 17 children, and now you want me to have 20?

In an instant, his face turned pale. At that level, just naming each child would be a lot of work, a lot of work.

And the problem was that I had to struggle here and there until I had twenty children.

“…….”

His expression darkened to the point where it was difficult to properly control his facial expression. I didn’t look in the mirror, but if I did, I’m sure there was no one in the world with a darker expression than this.

Of course, I also have desires, and it is true that I have not had a proper outlet to vent them until now. Well, I heard that there are places that are like male prostitution in my previous life. I have heard that there are noble young masters or married men who secretly use them, but I have never been to such a place and have no intention of going.

But now, simply declaring that they will have four children each out of competition carries a slightly different weight.

Before relieving the desire, it becomes a matter of survival.

“…Can I survive?”

Without even having to imagine it, my future self was easily drawn. I wonder if it’s not something I’ll say is good once or twice, but something I’ll be worried about every night.

A person of weakness.

Three letters seemed to flash before my eyes.

I also need to control myself, but if I continue like this and declare that I am better than four people with the mindset that I can beat that guy, it will be a disaster.

That’s not enough.

He shook his head.

Yes, we definitely need to cut off four of them. Since Elena has already said she will have four children, there is no turning back, and at the very least, we need to stop her from rushing to have more children than Elena out of competition.

This was especially true when considering cases like Arwen and Sylphia, who were outsiders. If four or five half-dragons or half-vampires were born, that would be a huge problem in its own right.

Of course, there was work to be done before that.

The wedding is now right around the corner. And before that, there was nothing else I had to do.

“Eel, bokbunja, oysters, asparagus… and what else was there?”

I muttered about the foods I had only heard about, saying, “I wasn’t really interested in them in my past life, so they’re just like that.” I don’t know if they’re really effective or not, but since they’re foods that have been verified by modern medicine, wouldn’t they be a little better? … .

Nothing else mattered.

Now it was truly a matter of survival.

2.

It was a rumor going around the palace that the court magician, who had previously often made do with simple sandwiches and such, had begun to request dishes made with certain ingredients.

In fact, it wasn’t such a big rumor. At best, the chefs in charge of the palace’s cuisine were puzzled by the sudden change, and thought it must be the palace magician’s taste in food – and they quickly dismissed it as nothing serious.

In fact, compared to the numerous rumors circulating within the palace, the diet of the court magician was not that great, so it was quickly forgotten.

What really mattered was that the wedding was imminent and had already been scheduled.

It was unprecedented. In what wedding in the world would there be one groom and five brides? Instead, the attention of the world was focused solely on the wedding.

[Shock! The wedding of the century is just around the corner! What on earth was the royal family thinking when they allowed this wedding!]

[ A huge scandal that is shaking the Esgelant Empire! Who is the protagonist with the devilish charm that has captivated five women? ]

[The Black Lion of the Norse Duchy! His marriage partner is the court magician of the Esgeland Empire, who has only four brides-to-be?!]

Naturally, the headlines published by the media were also extremely sensational. The fact that Rudrick was the most easy prey for the media to bite on, aside from Arwen and Sylphia, who were not even properly known to the public, also played a part.

Even if the public perception of him is positive, he is still a young wizard who was rumored to have defeated a dragon like a hero from the mythical era. To put it bluntly, he is nothing more than a nouveau riche who suddenly rose to fame because of his outstanding magical skills.

Even though it was impossible to directly publish an article that defamed the honor of the nobility against Ludrick because of the limited status of the title, the tone was clear, even if the expression was indirect.

This was even worse in yellow press, which was consumed simply for gossip, rather than in media such as imperial newspapers.

As Ludrick had expected, the media’s crossfire was all directed at Ludrick. That was the intention.

Of course, there were side effects.

“At this point, aren’t you curious about that old man? What on earth did he look like that he could seduce five sane women? How is this any different from the nine-tailed fox they talk about in the East?”

“I overheard what the Lord said. He said that he looked like a half-and-half man, but he was strange.”

“Is that true? Keep talking! You b*stard, how can you make someone curious and then try to get them out?”

“I don’t know if it’ll be a big deal… Anyway, didn’t our lord attend the appointment ceremony last time? Why, it was right when the newspapers were making a big fuss about the court magician defeating the dragon and all.”

“Then you must have gone and seen the face!”

“That’s right. What should I say? He’s definitely handsome, but it’s not like he was born from heaven… It’s hard to put into words.”

If you just listened to the gossip of the people in the world, you would know that Ludrick had already long ago become the world’s most unparalleled b*stard. In fact, this is also a b*stard to put it in a mild tone, and most of the conversations that the rich people were talking about were unspeakable dirty jokes.

Of course, since it was all as intended, Ludrick didn’t really care.

It was a time when the only media was newspapers. The tone of the newspapers was sharp, but it was not like Ludrick could check the reactions of the people who read the newspapers one by one.

“Let them talk. It’s not like I can check every single malicious comment on the internet anyway, so what’s the point of talking?”

The person in question blew on his empty ear with a blank expression on his face.

From the beginning, he had expected that he would be chewed, torn, tasted, and enjoyed. And all the pointing fingers from the world were a kind of original sin that Ludrick had to endure.

The burden that Ludrick must endure comes from his choice to choose them all rather than just one.

Even if the dogs bark, the train goes on.

With that in mind, Ludrick waited comfortably for the wedding date to approach.

There is also talk about why the royal family, that is, Elena, is so involved in setting the wedding date so urgently.

Nevertheless, the wedding date was approaching, one day, two days, three days.

“Is it okay if I don’t supervise?”

“Why would I do that? Elena will be there to meddle in things anyway. If I add to the mix and tell people what to do, only the workers will suffer.”

“……That’s true. In this case, I feel like the princess is interfering too much.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

And now.

With the wedding just three days away, the lab was as quiet as usual.

Only Arwen, who had transformed into a cat in consideration of the eyes watching her, was on Ludrick’s lap, purring and enjoying being stroked.

The wedding is in three days.

It’s only three days.

Elena, unable to control her impatience, was acting as a construction supervisor on site, harassing the workers as if she were doing something inferior. When the nobles passing by saw this, they shouted at her, saying, “Keep your dignity in check! Your Highness!” but she didn’t care.

And Eileen left on an expedition beyond the barrier, saying that she would return the day before the wedding, saying that she would just dry up the seeds while she was at it, while Sylphia left for her lair, saying that she had something to prepare.

Rasil was now busy with paperwork, held by her adjutant, as she had to take care of the piling up work before the wedding.

All that’s left are Arwen and Ludrick.

Arwen’s amethyst-like purple eyes stared intently at Ludrick.

“why?”

“Does it feel real to you that you’re getting married?”

“……Well. I guess I’ll know when the day actually comes, but right now it doesn’t feel real.”

“……I see. Then that’s fine.”

Arwen lowered her head, muttering softly. It seemed as if she wanted to say something.

Arwen slowly opened her mouth as if she had decided on something.

“How many children do you plan on having?”

“……You hear that too?”

What should I say to Arwen? – Rudrick, who was nervous, answered in a dejected tone.