Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter 7 First:  This Damn Body. (2)

Late at night, inside a room where the walls were lined with bookshelves.

"Hmm... There's no particular news from the Gerard Merchant Group... I'll have to look into the Information Guild as well..."

Scratch, scratch!

Piles of documents and books were stacked like mountains, and on the desk illuminated by a single candle, a boy wearing round glasses was writing something with a pencil.

Ssshhk.

At that moment, from the window tucked into the corner of the room, a man entirely covered in a black robe slowly peeked his head inside.

It was Hardin.

 If it's about the money... it will be managed by the third young master, Young Master Malion.

 Yeah, right, that's what I thought. Where's that bastard's room?

 Why do you ask?

 That's none of your business. Just tell me quickly.

'So that bastard is the third young master of the house and the one who manages the family's money.'

Inside the robe, I grinned slyly and glanced around the study.

Beside the study, there was a large iron chest secured with a padlock.

'There it is.'

Nine times out of ten, the money would be in there.

My eyes gleamed.

This was the fastest way I could think of to secure fifty thousand gold.

'Stealing, no... more precisely, borrowing.'

If I didn’t have money, I’d just take it in advance and put it back later.

We were all Daphne people anyway—your money was my money, and my money was my money.

Besides, once I regained my mana, making money wouldn’t even be an issue.

Of course, if I had done this back in the day...

 Varlach! How dare you lay your hands on the family’s funds! Are you out of your mind?!

 Eek! No, I-it wasn’t like that!

Father would have cursed me up and down, but what choice did I have?

'Father, this isn’t the time to be concerned with all those things.'

Righteousness, justification, nobility—there was no room to fuss about any of that when we were already scraping rock bottom.

So... this time, I’d try doing things my way.

"Huuuuu."

I let out a long sigh and glanced cautiously through the window.

The current time was about eleven at night.

'Once that bastard falls asleep or steps out, I’ll begin.'

How long had I waited like that?

Scratch, scratch!

Malion kept on writing without pause.

'...How long is he going to keep at it?'

Shiver.

Outside the window, I stood precariously on the ledge, my body trembling.

"Uuugh... Damn, it’s freezing."

The cold night wind kept slapping my cheeks, and since I couldn’t use mana, the chill pierced straight into my bones.

But still...

Scratch, scratch!

"If I calculate the probabilities in this case... the assumption that Calpion laid the trap isn’t necessarily wrong. So then..."

Hours had already passed, yet Malion showed no sign of stopping his work.

Deep wrinkles started to form on my forehead.

'What the hell is with that guy?'

Just how long was he planning to work? Wasn’t it well past time to go to bed?

Instead...

Nod, nod.

The eyes I had been straining open slowly began to close.

As they shut and my head bobbed forward a few times—

Thunk!

I bumped my forehead lightly against the window and flinched back in surprise.

'D-did he notice me?'

Startled, I quickly drew back for a moment, then cautiously peeked my head inside to check.

But... Malion hadn’t sensed anything at all and remained completely absorbed in his work.

The veins on my forehead bulged visibly.

'Hey, aren’t you going to sleep? I said, aren’t you going to sleep?'

It was fine to be diligent, but there was a limit to everything!

I kept sighing out of frustration, when suddenly, the sight of that descendant bastard overlapped with someone else in my mind.

'That’s... just like Eldest Brother.'

That peculiar determination in his eyes, the pencil scratching without a moment’s rest.

I had no idea what exactly he was doing, but seeing him pour himself into his work like a madman, sparing even his sleep, reminded me so much of Eldest Brother.

A bitter expression spread across my face without me realizing it.

It was then.

"Huuuuu... Should I stop here?"

Malion pressed his fingers against his eyes behind his glasses, then finally set down the pencil.

He took off his glasses, placed them on the desk, and blew out the candle in one breath.

The room was instantly swallowed in darkness, and Malion lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket over himself.

After a few more minutes passed—

"Puuuuu, huuuuuu..."

The blanket rose and fell in a steady rhythm, carrying Malion’s regular breathing.

'...I almost froze to death.'

Beyond the window, I let out a long sigh, blinking my reddened eyes, my cheeks hollowed from the cold.

Honestly, I was dying to knock that bastard out and steal—no, borrow—the money.

But I couldn’t bring myself to beat up someone who had been working so earnestly.

'Let’s finish this quickly. Quickly.'

Creeeeak!

I carefully opened the window and slipped inside.

Thunk!

As soon as my feet touched the floor, I hunched over completely and crawled forward like a caterpillar.

Slowly, as cautiously as possible.

At last, I reached the side with the study.

'Good...'

I crouched in front of the safe.

Then, rummaging inside my clothes, I pulled out two slender iron rods.

Lock picks, tools of the nighttime brethren.

Back in my Varlach days, I had learned this from a certain great master(?). It was time to put that “trained thievery” to use.

'This is all to save the family, after all.'

No matter which path you took, as long as you reached your destination, it was fine.

I licked my lips and got to work.

First, I braced the padlock on one knee to hold the keyhole facing forward, then fixed one pick in place and set the other on top.

Clack! Clack!

My lips curled up into a grin as I worked the picks up and down in tiny, precise motions.

'Just a little more...'

How much time had passed like that?

Thunk!

With a metallic click, the lock gave way.

'Careful, careful.'

I kept glancing over toward the bed as I slowly opened the safe door.

'Perfect.'

Inside were pouches filled with gold coins and promissory notes bearing the Imperial seal.

Estimating roughly...

'Seventy thousand? No, at least sixty thousand.'

For the safe of a noble house, it was an embarrassingly paltry sum.

Back when I was Varlach, that much money would have been gone in a flash just to buy a decent sword.

But what did it matter now?

'As long as I get my mana back, it’s enough.'

Alright, with a reverent heart...

I closed my eyes and clasped my hands together in prayer.

'God Faeron... please allow me to become a righteous thief.'

Well... strictly speaking, I was only going to borrow this for a while and pay it back later, but still.

Before long, I reached out and scraped together every bit of money inside.

'Let’s get moving.'

Creeping along, I crawled back under the bed and headed for the window again.

Just as I reached the window and slowly started to rise—

"...Brother."

"...?!"

I turned my head back slowly.

And there he was—Malion, standing in place with his head drooped low.

'Ah... shit.'

In that instant, my mind went completely blank.

If I got caught here, retrieving my mana would be as good as gone.

'That would be... troublesome.'

Every second mattered in this wretched state of my body.

If this dragged on, then truly... it would all go to hell.

No matter what, I had to smooth this over.

'For me... no, for the family.'

I forced an awkward smile and scratched my head.

"Well, you see, little brother. The thing is... this situation is—"

"Brother, please... please get a hold of yourself."

"Huh?"

"Do you even... do you even know what state the family is in right now?"

Malion mumbled in a lifeless voice.

'What’s he babbling about all of a sudden?'

Was that really something to say right now?

I scratched my head and spoke.

"Ahaha, I didn’t come here intending to do this. There are... some circumstances, you know?"

"..."

Step, step.

Malion shuffled forward like some kind of zombie, dragging his feet toward me.

'Should I knock him out? Or just jump out the window right now?'

Whatever happened, I absolutely had to protect this money.

As Malion came right up to my nose—

Gulp.

I swallowed hard and carefully raised my hand in a knife-hand strike.

"Brother, do you... do you have any idea what state the family is in right nowww\..."

"Ah, I do. I know it very well. That’s why I need this money. I’m not stealing it, I swear—I’m just borrowing it for a while before paying it back..."

I desperately tried to cobble together an excuse.

"Huuuuuum..."

Swoosh!

Malion let out a strange groan and abruptly turned around, walking back toward the bed.

'Huh?'

...Where the hell was he going in the middle of all that?

I blinked blankly, watching him.

"Hmnyaaaa..."

Thud!

Malion pitched forward and collapsed flat onto the bed.

What was this? What was even happening?

"Puuuuu... snoreeee!"

Out of nowhere, he started snoring like a thunderstorm.

'Was that... sleep-talking?'

How could anyone sleep-talk... like that?

My face was plastered with pure bewilderment.

---

The next morning.

Inside the small side room attached right next to my own.

"Snoooore... puuuuuu..."

In one corner of the small room, Gadolph the attendant lay sprawled on a blanket, snoring loud enough to shake the walls.

"Hey, wake up."

"...Uuuuuuuu..."

"I said, wake up."

"Uuuuuuuu..."

At the voice whispering in his ear, Gadolph frowned and shifted groggily.

SMAAACK!

Then, feeling something strike his forehead hard—

"Aaagh!"

Gadolph’s eyes flew open. And right in front of him was...

"Are you awake?"

"Ack! You startled me!"

There stood Hardin, looking half-dead—his eyes bloodshot red, his cheeks sunken like a corpse.

"What is it, Young Master? Where in the world have you been and what have you done?"

As Gadolph propped himself up and quickly scooted back toward the wall, Hardin crouched in front of him with a sly, meaningful grin.

"Enough chatter. You... I need you to do me a little favor."

"A favor? What..."

Hardin rummaged inside his clothes and dropped a pouch onto the floor in front of him with a dull thud.

"...What is this?"

"Open it."

When Gadolph cautiously untied the mouth of the pouch—

His eyes went round as saucers.

"Hiiiieeek? Wh-what in the world... What is all this?"

Inside were sixty thousand gold worth of promissory notes and gold coins, packed tight—the money Hardin had stolen, no, borrowed from the storage.

As Gadolph reacted with shock, Hardin held out a piece of paper to him.

"You don’t need to know what this is. Just take this money right now and go out... and buy everything listed here."

Gadolph blinked rapidly and stammered.

"Wh-what are you telling me to buy? And, where in the world did you get this much money?"

"You don’t need to know."

"Please, just tell me. You didn’t... do something criminal, did you?"

"Why are you so curious about everything?"

"This isn’t a trifling sum. Did you borrow from a loan shark? Or did you sell off some heirloom? Or don’t tell me—did you actually steal it?"

This bastard... unexpectedly sharp...

Well, I was going to repay it, so technically it wasn’t theft—more like borrowing.

I let out a long puff of air through my nose and waved my hand dismissively.

"Eh-hey, what do you take me for?"

"For you, Young Master Hardin?"

"Do you trust me or not?"

"Of course I don’t trust you?"

SMAAACK!

"Aaagh!"

My flick landed squarely on the crown of Gadolph’s head, raising a bump.

"Agh—why are you hitting me! What did I do to deserve that?"

"Five hundred gold."

"Excuse me?"

"If you buy everything listed there and come back within three days, I’ll give you a reward of five hundred gold."

Nothing was more persuasive than money, more than a hundred words.

Five hundred gold was a fortune—half a year’s pay for a servant.

"B-but, still, that’s a bit..."

"Don’t worry. This really is money without any problems."

"No, it’s not about whether there’s a problem or not—"

"If anything happens, I’ll take full responsibility."

"E-even so, I don’t think I can. First, I need to confirm where this money came from, and I should also get permission from the Lord—"

“…I have to report this…”

Just as Gadolph began crawling toward the door to leave the room—

“Tsk, and where do you think you’re going!”

I stepped right in front of him, blocking his path.

“But… Young Master…”

This guy—why was he so damn loyal when he didn’t even look the part?

I scratched my forehead, then tried again.

“One thousand gold.”

“…What?”

“If you go and come back, I’ll give you a thousand gold. I swear there won’t be any trouble.”

But… what I needed right now wasn’t loyalty. It was a bit of rational(?) thinking.

I had to survive before anything else.

'A thousand gold. A thousand gold—that’s an entire year’s wages for a servant.'

A slow grin spread across my face.

But then—

“No, I’m telling you, it’s not about the money!”

“…You’re not taking it?”

…This bastard, seriously?

I stared at him in disbelief as Gadolph shook his head vehemently.

“Young Master! What do you take me for, saying things like this to me?”

“What do you mean what? You’re just a servant.”

“Just a servant? …I am Gadolph, the most loyal of the loyal, who lives only for the family! I am not someone who would be swayed by a mere thousand gold!”

“Then what, you wouldn’t take it even if I offered you ten thousand?”

At that moment, Gadolph’s pupils quaked as though struck by an earthquake.

“…Would you really give me that?”

“Of course not.”

I scowled and scratched my head, and Gadolph abruptly spun around.

“Then—I’m going to inform the Lord immediately!”

“Hey, wait!”

Just as he was about to bolt out of the room—

Watching his retreating back, I let out a long sigh.

'I have no choice but to take drastic measures.'

Then, spreading my palm—

SMAAAACK!

“Aaaaagh!”

I slapped my own cheek so hard it made my head ring and screamed at the top of my lungs.

Startled, Gadolph froze and turned back.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

“Aaaagh! Aaagh! Gadolph, why are you hitting me! Why are you hitting me!”

I started slapping my own cheeks over and over while wailing.

Blood trickled from my nose, and my face flushed bright red.

“Wh-what?! I didn’t do anything!”

“Oh, heavens! The servant is attacking the Young Master! Gadolph! If you have complaints, just say them to my face!”

“Uh, uh, uh—? Uh, uh, uhhhh?”

Would a servant not listen to me? Fine, then—I’d make him listen.

SMACK! SMACK!

“Oh, I’m going to die! Oh, no!”

Why in the world was he doing this?

As I rolled dramatically on the floor, flailing about, Gadolph’s face turned paler and paler.

“Pl-please stop!”

Thud!

Gadolph fell to his knees, reaching out with his arms.

“Please stop—please! I’ll do what you ask, so just stop!”

“Really?”

“Yes—I swear I will!”

I wiped the blood off my nose with my sleeve, curling my lips into a satisfied grin.

“Then get going right away.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. If you don’t… you know what’ll happen.”

I lifted my hand and mimed slapping my own cheek again.

A blatant threat.

Gadolph’s face crumpled as he nearly burst into tears.

“Fiiiiiine… I’ll go. Just please stop…”

“Good. Work hard—I mean, take care.”

Honestly, I had no idea why he was making me do this.

Gadolph’s sense of injustice was growing deeper by the minute.

* * *

After Gadolph left, time passed quickly.

And during that time—

“Young Master, may I ask… do you know where Gadolph went?”

“Ah, I sent him on an errand. He went down to the estate for a bit.”

“Hmmm, is that so?”

Whenever the others asked about Gadolph, I spun whatever excuse came to mind.

Since I was lying with a straight face, everyone seemed to believe me without suspicion.

Of course, it wasn’t as if this would work forever.

So one day passed, then two, and finally the third night rolled around.

“…Why the hell isn’t that bastard back yet?”

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I bit nervously at my fingernail.

‘Did something happen to him?’

I had thought he would be back in two days at the latest—maybe even within a single day if things went quickly. But Gadolph still hadn’t returned.

Did he run into bandits somewhere along the way? Or… could he have taken the money and disappeared?

As my mind tangled itself into a mess of worries, ominous thoughts began to sprout in my head.

—Kuhuk! Kuhuk!

—Young Master!

Visions of myself dying, my veins clogged from lack of mana, coughing up blood from my mouth.

‘This… is bad.’

Should I go out right now and drag him back? Or maybe…

I was clutching my head, lost in agonized thoughts, when—

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone knocked at the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Gadolph… Young Master.”

Finally—he had finally come.

A long sigh of relief spilled from my lips.