episode_0181

Starting with Aramen, Rupert was overwhelmed by the number of invitations pouring in from all over the world.

‘We want to watch animation too!’

Since animation exports were allowed only to the countries Rupert visited, even hardliner countries were in an awkward situation.

“What on earth is it about animation that has people complaining so much?”

“I think we misjudged. This was already an unstoppable trend, but trying to control it rashly only backfired.”

“Should we open the door now?”

“It’s already too late. There’s a line of countries waiting to invite him.”

Never before has a figure from the Silk Empire, or any figure on the Continent, been so eagerly invited by all nations.

The only comparable person was Yustav, who was once renowned as the greatest wizard on the continent, and who visited only a few countries at the enthusiastic request of wizards.

But unlike Eustace, Rupert was courting women from all walks of life, not just a specific class.

There was a great thirst for new civilization.

‘I like theater, but it’s expensive and it’s the same thing over and over again…’

‘A proper orchestra performance is something only nobles and noblewomen can see. It’s far from us.’

‘There’s nothing to enjoy except listening to wandering minstrels singing in taverns.’

Since the culture of this world was developed primarily for the noble class, it was not easy for commoners to enjoy it.

Even if conditions are right for viewing, it is difficult to actually enjoy it.

‘I can’t read books because I don’t know how to write, and they’re so expensive.’

Since few people know how to read, which is the minimum basic skill required to enjoy culture, even when opportunities to see it came, it was of no use.

For people whose only cultural activity was listening to the songs of wandering minstrels in taverns, Rupert’s books were not just surprising but shocking.

‘Is this worth reading even if you don’t know how to read?’

‘I learned how to read without even realizing it because someone who knows how to read read to me!’

‘They say you can watch animation even if you don’t know how to read.’

The thirst for new things is an instinct that everyone has, regardless of social status.

And now, Rupert’s works, which opened the floodgates, are eagerly awaited by people from all over the empire and the continent.

The person who caused this situation is.

***

“Ugh… .”

The morning sunlight streaming through the window warmly illuminated Rupert’s body even though it was winter.

Rupert, still in a state of unconsciousness, briefly feeling the soft texture of the blanket.

After the goddess blessed me, I didn’t feel tired no matter how busy my schedule was, but even with that blessing, it wasn’t easy to wake up right away in the morning.

“I have to work today too.”

After a moment of laziness, Rupert quickly got up and got out of bed.

“Are you awake, my lord?”

Then, the maid waiting in front of Rupert’s door hands him a glass of slightly warm water.

“Thank you, Dad and Ada?”

“Both of you are in a restaurant.”

“Ada?”

Rupert was slightly surprised by the maid’s answer.

As usual, I was planning to go wake up Ada, who was still in dreamland, but it was unusual for her to be already awake.

“Ah, this guy is excited to go out and play again today.”

“I think Miss is very excited because it is her first time going to see the ocean.”

Rupert soon figured out why Ada was up so early.

Today was the first test run of the Merry Ground operated by Ishmael.

As it was a test run, only close friends and not customers were invited, and Sena and Ada were among them.

Of course, Rupert would have gone with us if he had more time, but he’s so busy these days that it’s a shame he couldn’t participate.

“Are you up?”

“Yes, did your father sleep well too?”

“No.”

When we arrived at the restaurant, we saw Marquis Bradley sitting at the table waiting with a pouty expression on his face, and Ada tapping the table with a fork and knife in each hand.

“Ada, didn’t I tell you not to knock on the table like that?”

“Good job!”

“Oh, you troublemaker.”

Ada pounded the table, ignoring Rupert’s nagging, and anyone who saw her looked excited.

Rupert, who had patted Ada’s head once, sat down at the table and prepared to eat.

“Rupert, this father didn’t sleep well, and now you don’t even ask why?”

“Yes, then shall we eat?”

Rupert ignored the Marquis’s words as if they were background music and looked at the food on the table.

The soup, which had a fragrant aroma, had a very clear golden color.

“The soup smells particularly good today?”

“Yes, my lord. This time, I happened to have some good meat, so I tried making it into a consomme.”

The chef in charge of the meals used the finest ingredients to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as if he was trying to make up for the poor past of the estate.

Rupert, who was originally a very talented cook, found mealtimes quite enjoyable.

“Indeed, it’s neat.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

As Rupert took his first sip of the soup and exclaimed in admiration, the chef smiled in satisfaction.

‘It feels like only yesterday I was eating real stone bread.’

Rupert felt anew that many things had changed.

When Rupert first came to the house, the Somersets’ breakfast consisted of rock-hard bread and soup.

At that time, I was worried about when I would be able to pay off the debt my family had, but now, let alone the debt, I was worried about how to use the money that was piling up.

“Rupert! No matter how much I think about it, this is not a human life!”

“Then, would you like to switch jobs with me?”

“That’s….”

Even the Marquis Bradley, who was now complaining to Rupert about having too much work to do, was hardly a trace of his former poverty-stricken appearance.

Although he was still naive and easily trusting of people, which worried Rupert, Bradley, who had become the Marquis, was surprisingly good at playing the role of head of the household.

To begin with, there was no way there would be any problems since he was more popular with the people of the estate than Rupert, and rather, the people of the estate’s affection for the Marquis only grew day by day.

‘Our lord is truly a being sent down by the goddess.’

‘Oh! I haven’t seen him raise taxes or punish us for no reason in the last 30 years.’

‘Even though you’ve become a Marquis, is there anyone who still visits the village and asks if it’s difficult?’

It was no joke, but it was a situation where problems could not have arisen because the Marquis of Bradley was so popular that he would have given his life for it.

The Marquis also helped a lot in maintaining smooth relationships with the surrounding nobles.

At first, there were those who remembered the former Marquis and tried to take advantage of him.

‘Who do you think you are dealing with right now?’

The Marquis was still kind and compassionate only to his own people.

Although he did not seek personal revenge for the past, the Marquis, who clearly remembers it, never gives in as easily as before.

Rather, he was handling disputes and negotiations more favorably for Somerset than anyone else.

To begin with, the Marquis’s experience, accumulated over several decades in the world of nobility, was a valuable asset that Rupert could not replace.

“All those guys who are called sons… .”

Of course, the Marquis was now anxious to somehow hand over the position of the head of the household to Rupert, as he had too much work to do.

‘Please endure for 10 more years.’

Rupert also had no time to take on the duties of head of the household, as he had to build up his achievements in order to ascend to the position of head of the household and become an honorary duke ten years later.

“Will our daughter go?”

“Sir!”

When his complaints fell on deaf ears to Rupert, the Marquis turned his attention to Ada, who was munching on meat.

But the answer of rejection immediately pops out.

Of course, the Marquis had no intention of entrusting such a difficult and tiresome task to his cute youngest daughter, but he was slightly hurt by the overly firm answer.

“So, what does Ada want to do later?”

“Ada will be a princess!”

“Princess?”

Rupert, who was just watching the conversation between the Marquis and Ada, suddenly wondered what Ada wanted to do in the future, so he asked her. This was the answer she gave.

“I’m going to do Cinderella, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid! And I have to do Pinocchio too… .”

Ada names all the main characters in the fairy tales she has read so far.

Rupert burst out laughing at seeing Ada like that.

‘Being an honorary duke was easy.’

He felt like his current task was a light homework assignment, as he had to build a kingdom to fulfill his only younger brother’s dream.

***

“Never run away on a ratchet?”

“Don’t do it!”

“On the ship, quietly follow Ishmael’s words?”

“Follow!”

“Have fun!”

“Come play!”

As soon as Rupert’s request was over, Ada jumped up and climbed onto Rupert’s neck, riding his horse.

Rupert, who had barely managed to tear Ada away from kissing his head, handed Ada to Own, who was waiting beside him, and spoke.

“Oh-un Kyung, please take good care of Ada.”

“I will do my best to stop it.”

Rupert burst out laughing at Own’s answer.

Originally, the line “I will escort you” was supposed to come out, but now it was O-Woon’s job to stop it.

“Let’s go catch the Little Mermaid!”

“The Little Mermaid is not something to be caught. And mermaids are a species that lives in the sea, so you can’t see them, Miss.”

“No? Can’t you see! Are you stupid?”

“Then, do you bet that you can see it or not? If you can’t see it, you’ll stay home and study quietly for a week?”

“Good!”

Rupert watched the two bickering as they got off the carriage and arrived at the horse-drawn carriage heading east, then boarded the carriage bound for the Academy.