episode_0002

2.

“John is dead?”

What the hell is this nonsense?

“If you go to John’s house now, the funeral will be in full swing.”

Lily said in a resentful voice.

Chris jumped to his feet.

I need to go home as soon as possible and find out the truth.

“Your Majesty, you are not yet well, where are you planning to go?”

The old maid tried to stop Chris from going out.

“I have to go to the groom’s house in a hurry. Don’t stop me.”

Originally, it seemed unlikely that the master, Chris, would go to pay his respects just because his servant had died, but he could not stop the stern master.

“What the hell is going on? Even though John has been helping you for the past 10 years, he came to your house himself.”

“I guess since John died, you must have realized what you did wrong. You all know, right? How did John serve you for the past 10 years? How heartless is the heavens that such a good and honest boy like him died in an accident… . ”

#

Chris went to his house on the edge of town. He had been working for the Delun family for ten years. During that time, he had not been able to come home except for a vacation day once every two months.

The house I came to after a long time was quite old.

In front of the door hung a white flower made of a piece of cloth, indicating that it was a house of mourning.

“Excuse me.”

As Chris entered the house, his mother greeted him.

“Who are you?”

My mother’s eyes were swollen shut from crying so much.

“My name is Chris Delun.”

“If it’s Chris Delun… isn’t it the young master John served?”

The mother asked in surprise.

“What brings you here?”

His younger brother Eric asked with hostility.

Behind Eric, his third and fourth sisters and his fifth brother were also seen.

“Why did you come here after killing my perfectly healthy brother!”

Chris bows his head.

“I’m sorry, everyone. It’s all my fault. Because of me… John died.”

Chris even sheds tears.

The mother doesn’t know what to do.

“Please raise your head. It is not your fault, Master.”

But his younger brother Eric found Chris’s appearance to be pretentious.

“You’re not just saying that, are you? I heard it all. My brother died because you forced him to drive the carriage on a typhoon day! How can you say sorry after killing someone? Even if you’re a noble, how can you do that? ”

“Stop it!”

John’s father scolded Eric.

“The master came to you in person, so what kind of rude thing is that!”

“But father… .”

Father bowed his head to Chris.

“I’m sorry. I raised my child wrong.”

“No, Eric is right. It was all my fault.”

“How do you know Eric’s name?”

My father thinks strangely.

Chris is speechless for a moment.

But Chris was smart. He quickly came up with an excuse.

“John was my only friend, even though he was a coachman. He often talked about his younger brother Eric. He said that he was a great younger brother who took care of his younger brothers in his stead.”

Eric is moved by Chris’s words.

“Did your brother really say that?”

“Yes. John trusted you. Now that you are the eldest son, you have to support the household.”

Eric saw John overlapping with Chris, who was putting a hand on his shoulder and giving him some words of encouragement.

Chris, who had grown fat and bulky, looked nothing like John, but somehow he gave off a feeling similar to his older brother John in his speech and actions.

‘They say friends resemble each other, but was it really true that I was friends with the groom’s older brother?’

Rumor had it that Chris was a total loser. His older brother John never said anything about him, so Eric assumed Chris was a loser.

But today, looking at him, he didn’t seem to be such a hopeless, worthless noble.

“Will I be able to see John’s body one last time?”

Chris asked with a final desperate thought. He couldn’t believe he was dead until he saw his own body.

“His body was reduced to ashes by lightning. I felt it was a shame to leave it any longer, so I buried it in the cemetery two days ago. ”

“I see.”

Chris could only nod bitterly at his father’s words. It seemed as if he really was dead.

“If it’s okay with you, I’ll guide you to my brother’s grave.”

Eric stepped forward and made a suggestion.

“Thank you.”

Chris followed Eric to a cemetery on the outskirts of town.

In one corner of the cemetery was a small stone with John’s name engraved on it.

Chris’s heart was complicated as he looked at his own gravestone.

‘He worked so hard and died without achieving anything.’

His own vain death was both sad and funny.

‘Did you save up money by studying, even cutting back on sleep at night, and not eating what you wanted just to die like this?’

Everything felt so futile.

Chris placed a single white flower on his own gravestone.

#

Chris returned home and spent several days in a daze.

I didn’t have much energy and didn’t feel like eating anything.

“Your Majesty. You should eat properly.”

Lily spoke as if scolding him.

Lily is cold to Chris.

Chris realized that Lily, who had been close to him in the past, resented him for John’s death.

That’s why I didn’t feel bad about her.

“Yeah. If I don’t eat on time, Lily will get scolded by the head maid.”

“Yes?”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just didn’t have an appetite.”

Chris headed to the restaurant.

Lily followed and brought out the food the chef had prepared an hour ago, reheated.

It was a soup with expensive truffle mushrooms and beef steak.

“It’s delicious.”

Chris muttered. He now knew why Chris had gained weight. How could he not gain weight when he ate such delicious food every day?

“I want to eat some more.”

“I knew you would do this, so the chef prepared a lot.”

Lily brought out more food as if it was a given.

Chris enjoyed a dish he had never tasted in his life.

It was so delicious.

‘Did the nobles eat such delicious food every day?’

The steak was juicy and the soup had a rich, savory flavor. It was a world away from the rock-hard bread and watery soup that John ate every day, with no garnish to be found.

-Remember.

“I ate well.”

Chris leaned back heavily in his chair and groaned.

John, who was always short of money, had never eaten as much food as he did today.

Chris thought as he went up to his room from the restaurant.

‘Isn’t the nobility so great?’

#

A week has passed.

Chris gradually realized that his new life was not so bad.

No, it was a huge opportunity.

No matter how smart John was and how hard he worked, it was difficult for him to eat three proper meals because of his humble origins.

In contrast, Chris had a natural status and inherited wealth. He was able to live comfortably and eat well without working hard.

I was able to live the life of an aristocrat that everyone else wanted.

But Chris had no intention of stopping there.

‘Chris was born with the status of the eldest son who would inherit the land. What if I could quickly inherit this land and manage it?’

The lord of a country. A place on earth where everyone except the king can be. It was something everyone dreamed of. Others could only dream. But Chris was different.

Without much effort, as time passes, Chris, the eldest son, will inherit the throne.

‘When I think about it, it was incredibly lucky.’

For the past week, Chris has been depressed over his own senseless death. Could there be anyone more unfortunate than himself in the world?

But it was the opposite.

Terrible luck.

I realized that I was so lucky that I wondered if there was anyone in the world more fortunate.

‘Since we’ve come to this point, let’s prepare properly and create the best territory in the kingdom.’

It was Chris’s greed and ambition.

Until now, John’s dream was to become an accountant at best and raise a family in the city because of his low status.

But Chris was different. He started off very high up on the starting line.

If we put in the same effort here, we could reach much higher places.

‘Besides, the Delun family is clearly a family that inherited royal blood. If you manage your territory well as a lord, you may be able to rise even higher… .’

Chris shook his head after thinking about it. It was still a distant goal. The most important thing was to inherit the land.

Chris was currently being evaluated as a loser. Since Chris had two younger brothers, if he continued to live as a loser, he might not be able to inherit the estate.

‘First, I must gain the lord’s approval.’

Chris’s father, Lawrence Delune.

First of all, he had to show Lawrence that he had changed.

Chris set his goal.

Call Lily.

“Lily. I think I have to start training today. Could you help me prepare?”

Lily is surprised by Chris’s words.

“Training? Master?”

I ask again and again.

“Yeah. I can’t live like this forever. I should try harder too.”

Effort. The most incongruous word that came out of Chris’ mouth.

Lily thought so.