episode_0002

Episode 2

“Let me briefly explain the situation.”

“I will listen carefully, Your Highness”

It was still awkward to call him father, so I called him Duke.

“One, in the current Frankish kingdom, women cannot inherit titles and lands, and I only have two daughters at the moment.”

“Two, I am not in good health right now, so it is likely that I will not have time to wait until I have a son.”

“Three, even if I were to have a son right now, if I die before my son becomes an adult at 15, there would be no one to protect my family and my land from other packs of lynxes.”

“In a word, I am like an insurance company.”

The Duke smiled bitterly at my answer and said:

“That’s right. Even if I die without having any more sons, you will only be the nominal successor, and all real power will go to my eldest daughter.”

In short, I have nothing to gain from this dukedom except the title of successor.

“What do you think? After listening to my story, don’t you feel like you have nothing to gain and that you regret following me now?”

“…To be honest, I’m not particularly upset.”

“You don’t have to say anything, I told you everything without hiding anything, so I’m curious about your honest thoughts.”

Actually, I really think it’s not a loss, but rather a gain.

It is a huge benefit for an orphan with nothing to become associated with a duke’s family and escape from commoner status to become a noble, or at least be treated as a quasi-noble.

Moreover, as someone who was crazy about games like Crusader Kings 3 in my previous life, I could relate to many of the Duke’s thoughts.

If I were the duke, I would have done more, not less?

“Even if I, an orphan, had magical talent, it would be difficult for me to properly display my talent without a foundation. Also, since you told me this, don’t you think you will abandon me later?”

“Yeah, that’s right. But I don’t know if it’s right for me to be talking to a 12 year old right now, but I don’t care what’s in your head.”

From the shrugging Duke, it seemed as if he could hear the following words: ‘As long as you don’t harbor ulterior motives and become greedy.’

“That’s fortunate.”

“Of course, the conversation we are having now is a secret between you and me. I will definitely raise you as my successor, but because of that, you will have to bear the pressure of those who are jealous and jealous of you.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

#

After talking with my new father for a while, I arrived at the mansion.

“It’s almost lunch time, so I’ll introduce you to my family and friends then. Follow Alfred and wait a moment.”

“Yes.”

“Alfred, take Leon to his room and get him ready before dinner.”

“I will do as the headquarters says, Lord Leon, please follow me.”

As I was walking through the mansion following Butler Alfred, my eyes met with someone who was looking at me from a second floor window.

Red hair, luxurious-looking clothes, white skin that seemed to prove her noble status, and a contemptuous look and expression as if looking at something dirty.

I didn’t know who it was, but I could definitely tell that it was someone who didn’t like me.

‘If there’s one noble lady who doesn’t like me among adult women, it’s probably the Duchess.’

He tried to avoid her gaze and bowed his head briefly to her.

After a while, we arrived in front of a room located in a corner among the many rooms on the second floor of the mansion.

“This is the room where Lord Leon will be staying from now on. A maid will come soon to bring you clothes and other necessary items, so please rest.”

The room looked a bit bleak as it was filled with only the essential furniture, but it had a luxurious feel.

As I lay down on the soft bed and closed my eyes, I felt a softness and fragrance that I had never felt in the orphanage.

-Knock knock knock…

“Master, I brought your clothes. May I come in?”

I heard the maid’s voice at the door, but I was a little confused as to whether I should be polite or rude.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided that based on my experience in a past life, it would be better to be respectful to those below me.

“Come in.”

“…Excuse me, the Duke has sent you some clothes to wear.”

The maid showed me the clothes with a slightly anxious look in her eyes.

It was a suit that looked quite luxurious at first glance.

“We will help you get back to normal.”

“Yes, well… I’ll ask you nicely.”

It felt awkward to have someone else dress me up, but I didn’t have the confidence to wear such fancy clothes that I had never seen before, and I thought it might be natural for a maid to dress me up, so I accepted.

The maid quickly began dressing her with her skilled hands.

-Whew…

“Ugh…”

“Sorry, please bear with me for a moment as I need to tighten this part to make it fit properly.”

After I put on my uncomfortably tight clothes, another maid brought scissors, tidied up my messy hair, and applied perfume to make my hair look neat.

“…It’s done, take a look in the mirror.”

When I looked into the mirror, a rather handsome nobleman was looking at me.

A boy with black hair and slightly reddish black eyes looks at me awkwardly.

‘Oh my gosh, it was me reflecting in the mirror… ahem… Sometimes, when memories of my past life suddenly pop up like this out of nowhere, it’s a little embarrassing.’

Anyway, I looked a lot better than I expected.

I think this will make a pretty good first impression on other people.

“Now that everything is ready, I will guide you to your dining table.”

“Yes.”

“Please speak to us in a humble manner, as we may be looked down upon by others.”

“Um… I’m still awkward, so I’ll give it a try.”

“This much is enough.”

I followed the maid out of the room and arrived at the restaurant, where everyone else had already arrived and taken their seats.

The Duke was sitting at the head of the table, the Duchess was sitting expressionlessly on his right, and the seat on his left was empty.

I think the empty seat to the left of the peacock is probably mine.

The seating arrangement is such that you can feel his intention to treat you as his successor.

And finally, next to the Duchess, two girls with similar red hair sat looking at me with complex expressions of mixed curiosity and hostility.

“Sit down.”

“Yes.”

As I sat down, following the Duke’s instructions, I finally noticed some delicious-looking food.

When I was living in an orphanage, I saw foods that I had never even seen before, and my nostrils flared against my will.

There, at the very smell of food, the body in the midst of its growth began to stimulate its salivary glands like crazy, and its mouth filled with saliva.

“Gulp…”

In the end, I swallowed my saliva without realizing it.

Probably everyone sitting there could hear it.

“…You probably haven’t had a proper meal yet, so let’s eat first. Learn table manners and other etiquette starting tomorrow, but for now, eat comfortably.”

“Thank you.”

I thanked the Duke for his consideration, my face flushed with shame, and began eating as he took a spoonful of soup.

I don’t know much about medieval dining etiquette, but I observed the order in which other families used their utensils and followed suit.

‘Oh, this is really delicious.’

Unlike the watery soup and hard bread I used to eat at the orphanage, the rich soup with the rich flavor of cream and milk and the soft white bread were so delicious that it brought tears to my eyes.

In an instant, I emptied the bowl of soup so clean that I could see the bottom, and as I cut up a delicious-looking chunk of steak into bite-size pieces and put it in my mouth, the savory taste of the meat, the salty taste, and the slowly rising aroma of spices shook my mind.

I was worried that I might be eating too much, but the steak I was eating for the first time was so delicious that I didn’t care about that.

I raised my head slightly and looked around, and saw two girls watching me with interest as I hurriedly ate my food, and next to them, the Duchess was examining me with a gaze that seemed to be looking at something slightly dirty and unclean.

‘The Duchess has no intention of accepting me, so even if she doesn’t hold me back like that, I won’t become the successor to the Duke’s family…’

Of course, if a son who is not your own child suddenly appears and becomes the Duke’s successor without you knowing the circumstances, you would be furious and upset.

I had expected that I would not be welcomed, but now that I am faced with malice, I feel that my life ahead will not be easy.

Since it’s virtually impossible to get any help from the Duke of Normandy in terms of human relations, I’ll have to somehow create one or two allies within the ducal family.

First, I need to think of a way to become friends with those two girls who are watching me with interest.

When everyone had finished eating, the Duke focused everyone’s attention and opened his mouth.

“I’m sure you all know this to some extent, but I’ll say it again here for sure: I will adopt Leon and make him my successor.”

“From this moment on, Leon has been granted the surname of Norman and has become Leon de Normand. If I die, I will lead the Normand Dukedom as the successor.”

“…”

As soon as the Duke finished speaking, the Duchess glared at me with even more angry eyes, then her expression disappeared and she returned to a blank expression.

-bang!

“Father! This is strange! He is not our family!”

“That’s right! Our hair colors are different and our moms are different too!”

“Tania, Serena, be quiet. From now on, Leon is also our family, so don’t show that kind of attitude.”

“I hate it!”

The second girl screamed and stormed out of the restaurant.

“…Tania, go and comfort Serena.”

“…Yes.”

Tania answered reluctantly, still looking very grumpy.

“…Honey, both Tania and Serena will be shocked, so I’ll go with you.”

“Please do so. Leon, I’ll send Alfred and a maid, so come to my office later.”

“Yes, I understand, sir…father.”

The Duchess’s eyebrows quirked at the mention of her father.

‘Hmm… From now on, I won’t call you father in front of the Duchess. I’ll be putting a man in a ditch.’

Was this the state of mind of Gil-dong, who could not call his father ‘father’?