That evening, when the sun began to set. Isabella was standing in the doorway, getting ready to leave.
“Thanks a lot for today.”
Urschel and Theodore stood up to see her off. Urschel, for some reason, looked lonely.
“Mother, when can I see you next time?”
“Who knows. Maybe after I’ve twisted the head off a chimaera with my fists, and besides, I have plans to cross the raging North Sea of Death to get the thunder hammer1 that the God of Thunder is said to have left behind…”
Even as she said this, Isabella looked at Urschel, and by extension Theodore, and cast her eyes down regretfully. But still, she set off on her journey.
Isabella was an adventurer at heart. She was born into a good family, one of the highest in the noble hierarchy, but because she was inquisitive and disliked the narrow, rule-filled world and because she liked to train her body and compete with the strong, she could not fit in with the other nobles. Since an early age, she had felt like an outcast.
However, her parents tried to force her to be more like a noblewoman, and she spent most of her girlhood rebelling against them and fighting with them. Eventually, they forced her to marry into the Minusle duchy, and she became Hubert’s wife when she was only 16 years old.
But she and Hubert—a nobleman who had no interest except the House of Minusle—had the worst chemistry. They were like cats and dogs. Their newlywed life turned out to be very cold and dreary.
And yet, as the lady of the house, she still had her duties. Her marriage was atrocious, and she had to act like a noblewoman every day, which was depressing.
Isabella always thought: ‘I want to go outside. I want to go outside, walk freely, and see the world with my own eyes. I want to go on an adventure. I want to see the world beyond the wall that surrounds this manor.’
After a few years of marriage, Isabella decided to leave the House of Minusle. No-one stopped her. Neither Hubert nor any of the servants cared whether or not Isabella left, and no one hindered her. She didn’t feel sad about that.
Isabella didn’t feel as if she belonged in the House of Minusle, it was merely a place to sleep during the nights. Isabella, who wanted to leave as soon as possible, found the situation convenient.
However, then, someone halted her.
“If you want to leave, that’s fine. But you must at least produce an heir.” Yes, that was what her late father-in-law said to her.
Her father-in-law also ordered Hubert to produce an heir as soon as possible, so Isabella needed to have a child with Hubert, the man with whom she had the worst chemistry… To be honest, she wasn’t happy about it, but she wanted to escape as soon as possible. Nevertheless, she decided it was a necessary ordeal and had a baby with Hubert.
And so, Urschel was born.
For the first time in Isabella’s life, Urschel was the sole person who accepted her for who she was. Even if Isabella did a thousand push-ups, lifted 250 kilogram heavy dumbbells, or threw a fighter—her training partner—into the air with an uppercut, Urschel would just cackle, never fearing nor disliking Isabella. On the contrary, the child would even want to join the fun and was rebuked by the maids for that desire.
Of course, he never criticized her for being unwomanly or snubbed her for not behaving like a noblewoman… Urschel would never reproach Isabella for anything. Isabella had never been around children before, so she didn’t know if that behaviour was common for children or because he was Urschel.
However, it didn’t take long for Isabella to fall in love with Urschel, the first person to accept her for who she was. But, Hubert felt the same way…
In the end, Urschel was pulled away from Isabella and was taken in by Hubert…
Nonetheless, after she left the house and gave Urschel to Hubert, Isabella began to think that it was the right thing to do. After leaving the House of Minusle, Isabella made another place her base and went out into the world—her long-held wish.
What awaited Isabella was a life worth living—endless freedom: a life without limits, without obstacles. To travel the world, to train herself, to fight the world’s strongest men. Isabella was happy to be a part of these exciting days.
Isabella knew that it would be a sort of happiness that Urschel would never fit into. He would be better suited to the life of a nobleman than to that of an adventurer like Isabella. He was a gentle and honest man, not the type to be combative or strength-driven. He probably was not disinclined to the black-bellied ways of the nobles or the duties of the House of Minusle.
If she had brought him along, Urschel would never have fit in. He would be better off living among the nobility. She would love to be with him, but Isabella would want to explore as much as she could. For Urschel’s sake, leaving Urschel behind seemed to be for the best.
…However, to tell the truth, she felt lonely and was anxious to leave him with Hubert.
…….But today, she met the man that Urschel introduced her to.
“So long, Urschel… and Theodore. I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah, see you again. Mother!”
“Thank you so much for today.”
Urschel waved his hand while Theodore bowed his head. After the two saw her off, Isabella began to walk. There was a smile on her mouth; Isabella was relieved.
‘Right now, Urschel has a good person next to him—someone who makes him happy.’
She felt safe enough to go on her journey, the house at her back. Isabella climbed into a huge carriage drawn by six horses, and they galloped off.
Waving continuously at her shrinking back, Urschel smiled in satisfaction, “It’s a bit sad, but… Things are just great: Mother is looking well, and she also approves of Theodore!”
On the other hand, Theodore looked exhausted.
“…Ha~ What should I do from now on…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong? Theodore?”
Seeing how Urschel smiled with satisfaction while being oblivious to what the other was feeling, Theodore felt like punching him, but he tried his best to hold it in and heaved a sigh instead.
“…Mother has entrusted me with this task, and I will live up to her expectations… Although I’m sure we’ll have to clear up some of these misunderstandings at some point.”
“Misunderstanding? Were there any?”
“…Today, of all days, I’m actually jealous of your brain filled with nothing but merriment.”
“Hey! You said you’re jealous, but you’re not praising me at all, are you?!”
Some tidbits:
Father and Urschel look alike on the outside, but not so much on the inside, except for their black bellies. On the other hand, Mother and Urschel look nothing like each other, but they are very similar in spirit: being straightforward about what they like.
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By the way, as for why the father and mother call each other Papa and Mama: when Urschel was a baby, they started to call each other Papa and Mama to suit the little him, who could only speak a few simple words. So both father and mother are stuck calling each other Papa and Mama even after that. Well, they refuse to fix that since they felt disgusted to return to those days where they called each other ‘husband’ and ‘wife’.
Also, if you were to compare Theodore to an animal, he would be a Siberian Husky. Urschel is a Djungarian hamster.\n