episode_0157

“Joy, please cheer up… .”

Anna was holding Joy’s hand tightly and praying earnestly.

Her son, Joey, was born with a weak constitution and had difficulty even leaving the house, let alone running around.

Even though he went to see a doctor and a priest to ask for treatment, they could do nothing and could only watch his son suffer.

‘Mom, I really want to go to the competition.’

The comic book that Joy was so obsessed with was .

Unlike other cartoon characters, I really liked , where you compete against your opponents using strategy.

‘I heard that this time, an official competition will be held in which people from all over the empire can participate!’

When Anna heard rumors about the official tournament, she couldn’t refuse Joy’s request, who desperately wanted to participate.

However, the bad feeling did not go wrong, and Joy, who had gone all the way to the capital, became unwell and collapsed.

Anna, who thought that all of this was her fault for taking Joy to the capital, just wished that Joy would live.

dripping.

Anna, who was praying with Joy’s hand held, heard a knock on the door and wondered who could be here at this hour.

The priest who had been treating her had just passed away, so no one had come to visit, so I opened the door to the house with a puzzled look on my face.

“Hello, are you Joy’s mother?”

“Yes, but who are you…?”

“My name is Rupert Somerset, the second son of the Marquis of Somerset and the owner of Somerset Workshop.”

“Huh?! Sorry! I don’t know you… .”

Anna was shocked when she learned the identity of the man who came to find Joy.

First of all, it was because he was a person of high noble family called Marquis, but also because she knew the name Rupert that I just mentioned.

‘Rupert Somerset, the Empire’s greatest writer?’

She is the author of numerous children’s books and comic books, including , which her son loves so much.

It was impossible not to know Rupert, who was now widely known as a titan who influenced the culture of the empire.

Even she had seen the animated film at the Somerset Theatre.

So Anna was beginning to suspect that the man who had just introduced himself as Rupert was lying.

Of course, impersonating a noble is a great sin, but it was because something so unrealistic had just happened.

Why did Rupert, who is said to have more people he would like to meet than the Emperor in the Empire right now, come here…?

‘Surely the person Joy met…?’

Anna’s whole body began to tremble at the thought that there could be no other reason.

A few days ago, Joey was telling me that a friend she met at a competition came to visit her house, and she mentioned that the kid’s older brother was the famous Rupert.

But she thought that Joy had misunderstood or that the other person had lied, as there was no way Rupert would visit such a country estate, especially the home of an ordinary commoner.

“Why is Mr. Rupert here… .”

“I came here because I have a gift for Joy. Can I meet Joy?”

***

“Congratulations on the establishment of the Somerset Welfare Foundation.”

“It is an honor to have Gaia’s daughter visit us.”

The banquet hall of Somerset Manor was now crowded with people.

This was because it was the first banquet held in a long time by the Somerset family, whose status had recently risen, and because it was held for a special purpose, many people wanted to attend.

“We sincerely thank you for your generous donations for the children who will become the backbone of the Empire. We hope you all have a great time.”

On the stage, the Marquis Bradley was greeting the guests and conversing with them, announcing the start of the banquet as the representative.

Rupert was able to sneak out in the meantime and speak to the saint.

“I heard about what Rupert did this time.”

“Is that so? It was really nothing.”

“No. The story of the great duelist Joy is always touching no matter how many times you hear it.”

Rupert couldn’t hide his embarrassment at the saint’s praise.

-This is for you.

The story of Rupert and Joy, which the saint had mentioned recently and which had warmed the hearts of the people of the Empire, was spreading quickly.

Rupert, who visited Joy again a while ago.

‘Huh? Mr. Rupert, what brings you back?’

Rupert held Joey’s hand tightly as he handed her the gift he had prepared while she was lying in bed, barely keeping her eyes open and looking at him.

What Rupert gave to Joey was none other than the card.

‘This is….’

Joey, who received the card, was so shocked that she opened her eyes wide in surprise, even though she was sick and had no energy.

‘Great Duelist Joy’

The card with his name on it had a drawing of him as a handsome knight.

And the description on the card written

-Joy was weak as a child, but he eventually overcame it and grew up to become a great duelist, achieving glorious feats.

‘Joy, you will be healthier than anyone else.’

Rupert became particularly weak when it came to children.

What was especially heartbreaking to him was when sick children unknowingly became adults while fighting their illness.

Whenever he saw children who were considerate of those around them even though they were probably having a harder time than anyone else, Rupert wished that the world would be a happy place for children.

‘Esteban, we need to create a welfare foundation.’

‘What is a welfare foundation?’

‘I’m talking about an organization that helps people who are having a hard time.’

When Esteban first heard Rupert’s explanation, he thought it was a church.

Because in this world, the only place that does relief work for the poor is the church.

In addition, during times of famine, the royal family and other prestigious noble families would provide food.

As Rupert said, there was no private organization that could help the needy.

‘It would be impossible to save all the poor people in the empire even if we robbed the imperial treasury.’

‘We will support some, not all, and we will support children first.’

At first, Esteban was reluctant to accept Rupert’s proposal.

Rupert pushed for this so strongly that Esteban had no choice but to agree.

‘Then we alone are not enough. First, we need to contact the religious order and seek their cooperation, and recruit other nobles to expand the size of the foundation.’

If Rupert had laid the groundwork for a plan, Esteban was better than anyone at filling it out.

I contacted the church straight away and asked for support along with an explanation of the welfare foundation Rupert had mentioned.

‘Look, this isn’t charity.’

‘What are you talking about? Isn’t helping the poor the same as giving charity?’

‘That’s different! We support children and help them grow up normally. What will happen if they grow up like that?’

‘Well, what happens then… .’

‘That’s right! They are our customers! We are not investing in charity now, but in expanding our business!’

If it weren’t for Esteban, who used his ghostly words to persuade the surrounding merchants and nobles to invest in the Somerset Welfare Foundation created by Rupert.

This plan might have failed.

However, Esteban eventually succeeded in raising the funds needed to establish the Somerset Welfare Foundation, which Rupert had wanted.

A banquet was held today to celebrate the establishment of the foundation.

“Oh! This is the card for the founders of the foundation.”

“That’s not all. These books are said to be a collection of fairy tales produced especially for us.”

“No… I didn’t donate to receive something like this.”

The foundation’s supporters gathered at the banquet were surprised to see the gifts prepared for them.

From the limited edition The Lord of Cards cards Rupert created especially for them to books called The Complete Somerset Tales.

There were a variety of gifts prepared, and considering the recent skyrocketing prices of products bearing the Somerset name, it was likely that they would soon receive a gift that would surpass their donation.

‘These people are still people who set out to help others.’

Later, if this fact becomes known, the nobles who had refused the donation will probably come back and offer to pay money too.

Rupert had no intention of accepting those who came that way.

Those who gathered here today received this gift because they gathered with good intentions.

The saint was also delighted with such an unexpected gift.

“When did this happen!”

“Shhh! Your voice is loud.”

The one who most actively cooperated in the establishment of this foundation was none other than the saint, and it was Rupert who prepared a special gift for her.

“As expected, you know how to draw this subtle line.”

“Is that so?”

“This kind of stuff is coming out from other high-ranking states in the empire these days, but it’s all substandard.”

“Huh? This is already coming out?”

Rupert was so startled by the saint’s words that he raised his voice without realizing it.

The news that these dangerous items were already spreading was something that even Rupert had not predicted.

In fact, it wasn’t all that unusual, considering that it was one of the first genres to spread on Earth.

“Damn it Rupert… You’re the best at camaraderie too?”

The saintess was oblivious to Rupert’s complicated feelings and simply muttered to herself while looking at the picture Rupert had drawn for her.

The saint, who had been admiring the painting for a long time, suddenly had an idea and asked Rupert a question.

“Oh, by the way, isn’t the current serialization of Van Helsing going to end in the next episode?”

“Yes, that’s right. Now we’re just left with the last episode.”

“Director Alexander told me to tell him that he was enjoying it and that he hoped it would be a good ending.”

“I hope you are doing well.”

“Yes, even these days, his hammer is still bleeding.”

It was a description that Rupert did not understand, as he had never seen Alexander fight before, but those around him strongly advised him to be careful in front of him.

“Then, since you are only serializing The King of Cards, do you have any free time to grant my request… .”

“No, I’m planning to start serializing a new work right away.”

“Yes?”

The saintess looked disappointed at Rupert’s answer that he would serialize it right away.

Rupert had once again met with the Emperor in order to continue serializing this new work.