My, How Impressive You Are!

I carefully unfolded the letter.

And as I slowly read its contents….

“….The inevitable has finally come.”

My heart, which had been beating excitedly thinking it might be a love letter, suddenly cooled.

It was a letter from Andres Frelia, Sion’s father.

The content of the letter was roughly that if I didn’t want to die, I should come to the main house by this week.

A carriage will arrive tomorrow, so I should skip class and come right away.

It seems the news of me publicly humiliating Pascal last week has reached Andres’s ears.

I expected it, but it’s unavoidable to feel overwhelmed when being summoned like this.

‘What should I say when I get there.’

This will be my first time meeting Andres in Sion’s body.

I have no idea how I should behave toward Sion’s father, who isn’t my real father.

‘If I didn’t have the memory loss concept, I would really be in trouble.’

I can stick with the memory loss concept this time too.

And, as always, I can just muddle through and come back.

That should work…

That should….

• • I hate them.

“….How strange.”

Andres is clearly not my real father.

He’s just a character I’ve only encountered in the game, and I haven’t even seen his face once during the nearly two months since I possessed Sion.

That should be the case, but.

Why is my heart burning so intensely right now?

A feeling like I’m becoming someone other than myself. That alien sensation automatically gives me goosebumps.

The more I recall the name Andres, the more a terribly sad and resentful emotion keeps surging.

It’s a very familiar feeling I haven’t experienced in a long time.

“….Haa. I suddenly feel like crying.”

This emotion is similar to the last emotion I had towards my parents on Earth.

I lost my parents. And in the worst way possible.

When I was young, I had a serious argument with my parents for some reason and ran away from home out of stubbornness.

The words I said to them as I left through the front door.

‘I wish Mom and Dad would disappear.’

That terrible sentence I uttered myself was the last conversation I had with my parents.

My parents, who went out to look for me after I ran away, left this world in a traffic accident.

Yes, they heard their child say they wished they’d disappear, and then they left this world in vain.

After some time had passed, when I realized how terrible what I had done was, I could only clench my teeth and shed hot tears.

“………..”

I was a terribly unfilial child.

I closed my eyes tightly and threw myself on the bed at the terrible and painful memory that resurfaced.

I wanted to fall asleep like this and never wake up.

But because the resentment towards Andres that was involuntarily stirred up was so similar to that lump of sin I had harbored towards my parents before, I couldn’t help but shed small tears.

---

“Hmm…. it’s truly magnificent, as expected.”

The Viscount Frelia mansion, which I reached after traveling for 4 hours by carriage from Ruin Academy.

Compared to the Dibos Villa where I previously stayed with Chloe and Sheena, it boasts a level of scale and beauty that’s on a completely different dimension.

After getting off the carriage and heading towards the main entrance of the mansion, a middle-aged man dressed neatly was waiting to greet me.

“It’s been a long time, Young Master Sion.”

The middle-aged man straightened his back and greeted me.

I know who he is. Head Butler Ivo Harvester, one of the people who had looked down on Sion ever since Sion’s mother escaped from the Frelia family.

“It’s been a long time, Head Butler Ivo.”

Of course, I have no ill feelings towards him. He’s just a character I met a few times when clearing Chloe-related quests.

Whether he ignores Sion or not, I can just casually greet him and move on.

The fact that the head butler greeted me without bowing, standing straight, is not a problem for me at all.

That should certainly be the case, but.

“By the way. Is it proper etiquette these days for the head butler not to bow to the young master? How strange.”

Since yesterday, my body hasn’t felt like my own. It’s very strange.

“….I apologize. Please forgive me.”

Only after I pointed it out did the head butler bow.

Then a faint sense of satisfaction faintly circled through my mind.

“Please be careful in the future. Where is my father?”

“He is waiting for you in the Great Hall, young master.”

“Please guide me.”

The head butler bowed again and began to lead the way.

Walking behind him, I tried to deduce what was happening to me right now.

No matter how I think about it, I don’t seem to be normal right now.

‘….It seems that the various emotions I’m feeling right now are probably the emotions that Sion had before I possessed him.’

If that’s not the case, these intense torrents of emotion I feel towards Head Butler Ivo and Father Andres cannot be explained.

The resentful emotions towards them are so intense that I cautiously guess they are being transmitted to me.

Even if I try to maintain a cool mind, human emotions are not easily controlled.

It’s difficult to cool down my head, which naturally heats up.

‘….He’s really pitiful.’

At the same time, I felt sympathy for Sion.

What kind of treatment did he receive, what kind of life did he live to harbor such fiery resentment?

I cannot dare to gauge the size of the anger that he has accumulated over the past 17 years, or rather, that was forcibly accumulated.

A question suddenly came to mind.

From Sion’s perspective, his body was suddenly taken away by me.

Then, is it right for me, who has inherited his body, to just ignore and neglect these emotional knots he has harbored until now?

Wouldn’t it be the minimum courtesy towards him to at least help release those emotions refreshingly?

Then, I.

“We have arrived, young master.”

Just as I was continuing such thoughts, the head butler turned around and stepped aside slightly.

If I open this huge door in front of me, I will meet Andres Frelia.

“…..Let’s go.”

With that single phrase, spoken to no one in particular, I opened the door vigorously.

A huge space with a splendid chandelier and tables.

There, the dignified Andres Frelia and a beautiful woman were sitting at a large table, looking at me.

My breathing quickened slightly.

“It’s been a long time, Father.”

I nodded appropriately in greeting.

“Ha, that formless greeting.”

Seeing my perfunctory greeting, the woman glared at me and clicked her tongue.

“Haha, I grew up without a mother, so I didn’t receive proper home education. But may I ask who you are?”

“Seeing that you really don’t remember, it seems true that you have amnesia.”

Andres Frelia said without any change in expression.

“….Then, you don’t recognize my face either.”

“No. I remember Father well. Even with amnesia, how could I forget Father’s face? However…..”

I looked back at the woman who was glaring at me and grinned as I continued.

“I simply can’t recognize who that lady over there is.”

“Ah, lady?”

“Scarlet Parianne. She is your stepmother. And she is the mother of your brother, Pascal Frelia.”

“Aha….”

Having heard Andres’s explanation, I slowly nodded and answered.

“So, her precious son, who used to always bow and scrape, was thoroughly humiliated, so the parent finally came to school? No wonder you seemed angry from the moment I first saw you.”

“How disrespectful!”

Pascal’s mother, that is, Scarlet, blushed and shouted.

“Ahaha, as I mentioned earlier, since I’ve lost my memory, I’m not sure how to speak respectfully. Couldn’t an educated person like yourself speak respectfully first? I’ll learn by observing.”

“Shut up! You lowly thing, you don’t know when to stop because we’ve been coddling you! Looking at your arrogant behavior, it’s no wonder you tarnished the family’s reputation at the academy! How dare you, the very shame of the family, disgrace the family and disparage Pascal!”

After receiving Scarlet’s rapid-fire attack while scratching my chin, I laughed and said.

“Are you done speaking?”

“What?”

“Since you seem to have finished, I’d like to ask a few questions. First, it’s true that I disgraced Lord Pascal, but does that directly lead to disgracing the Frelia family?”

“Of course! Pascal is the foremost child of the Frelia family. He will probably inherit the position of the next family head, and you have disgraced such a child!”

“Hmm~ In other words, Lord Pascal is like the face of the Frelia family.”

“That’s….!”

“Then what do you think of this?”

I smiled and began to recite Pascal’s deeds.

“The face of the Frelia family continuously harassing and beating female students in back alleys, leaving fallen subordinates on the ground without any care, and using the power he worked to obtain to bully his motherless brother. Is this the kind of behavior befitting the face of the Frelia family? If so, did you teach Lord Pascal all these behaviors?”

“……What?”

Scarlet’s pupils trembled.

“P-Pascal would never do such uncivilized things!”

“Hmm, judging by your reaction, it seems Lord Pascal hasn’t told his parents about his cute hobby. Well, I can understand a bit. At twenty, isn’t it a sensitive age? He might have things he wants to hide.”

Regardless of Scarlet’s shock, I shrugged and continued.

“And, you seem to be overreacting, but honestly, even if Lord Pascal falls, I don’t think the Frelia family will falter.”

“What…?”

“I mean, just look at Lady Chloe. At the age of seventeen, she’s already approaching the 4-star level, so isn’t it ridiculous to give special treatment only to Lord Pascal?”

I looked at the trembling Scarlet and said.

“Honestly, if I were to duel Lord Pascal 10 times, I’m confident I could win at least 3 times. Despite Lord Pascal being 5-star and me being 1-star.”

“Ugh…. Shut up, you lowly guy!”

“Haha. If I admit I’m lowly, it would be the same as tarnishing my father’s honor, so I can’t accept those words.”

“Our, our Pascal is not someone who can be disparaged by the likes of you! He was born noble unlike you…!”

Scarlet raised her voice with bloodshot eyes, completely throwing away her dignity.

Just as I was thinking of a rebuttal while grinning casually.

“Both of you, that’s enough.”

Andres Frelia, who had been silently listening to the fierce disparagement between Scarlet and me, opened his mouth.