Chapter 83

Chapter 83:  Home Visit (3)

A small village in Nord, Cosmo.

In that quaint village stood an old mansion.

「Julius Robin.」

A shabby nameplate hung at the worn entrance.

Past that nameplate, I opened the rusted iron gate and stepped inside...

What spread out before me was a dilapidated mansion, as if haunted by a ghost.

I walked in and knocked on the weathered door.

――――――.

But from inside, there was no response.

Only a heavy silence lingered, making the atmosphere of the old house even more eerie.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t see Father much in my past life either.’

He was the one who had taught me the importance of wealth and honor.

After I entered as a secretary candidate, we had barely met.

To be precise, it might be more accurate to say that we had both avoided meeting each other.

Having fallen into ruin, he hadn’t wanted to show me his disgraceful self.

And I, knowing his personality well, had quietly kept my distance.

But somehow...

After returning to my past life, I found myself wanting to see him again.

It wasn’t because I wanted comfort by blaming the Luton family for driving me to suicide.

I just simply wanted to see his face again after a long time.

“I’m coming in, Father.”

I turned the silent doorknob.

And the moment I stepped inside—

“……”

Contrary to the garden, the interior was remarkably clean.

When I quietly entered the living room, I locked eyes with a man sitting on the sofa reading a book.

“So you’ve come, Roger.”

A man once famous on the battlefield as a handsome mercenary—

Robin Julius.

“Yes, it’s been a while, Father.”

Normally, a father would greet his son first.

But mine only gave me a brief glance, then returned his eyes to the book as he said,

“It’s not even the weekend. What brings you here?”

The book he was reading was ‘A Monarch’s Required Reading’, written by the Imperial Chancellor.

A popular book among the upper class, a sign that he still hadn’t let go of his attachment to a noble’s life.

“It’s not even your mother’s memorial day.”

As expected, his demeanor was curt.

Telling him now that I had quit the hard-won job of secretary to the Grand Duke felt heavy and complicated.

Even in this second life, my father remained a difficult figure.

‘Still, I have to say it.’

Because only then could I live the comfortable, upper-class life I longed for.

A life of leisure, idling away with all the money I had earned.

“I actually quit the secretary job.”

I confessed plainly, with a firm voice.

Then, for a moment, the living room became deathly silent.

“……”

Finally, Father took his eyes off the book.

He looked up at me with a cold expression.

“So that’s all you have to say after coming here after so long?”

“Yes. I don’t see any reason to lie to family.”

Eyes that looked just like mine.

The gaze he held was the same one he had worn during his days on the battlefield, where jealousy and envy ran rampant, and in the upper-class society, no less treacherous.

“Do you know why I went out of my way to place you, who was training to be a knight, into a secretary position that had nothing to do with you?”

At last, Robin Julius closed his book.

He unfolded his crossed legs and stood, facing me.

“Because as a member of the Luton family, you could at least live without being looked down on—at least on the surface.”

He was slightly shorter than me.

But true to his reputation as a once-renowned knight, the aura he gave off was formidable.

“And yet you threw that opportunity away yourself…?”

I didn’t respond to my father’s words.

Instead, I replied calmly, with a faint smile tugging at my lips.

“It’s alright. I’ve already earned enough money to revive the family.”

At the mention of wealth, Robin rubbed his forehead.

Then he shook his head at each and every one of his foolish son’s remarks.

“Money isn’t the issue, you idiot. Even if you’re rich, who would invest in you after you’ve turned your back on the Grand Duke’s house?”

As expected, my father had a sharp sense of foresight.

He knew that no matter how much money you had, without solid credibility, you couldn’t grow that wealth.

“I saw it in the papers. You’ve been thriving as the head of the Erian Foundation. So I thought everything was going well…!!”

It seemed he believed I’d left the Grand Duke’s house on bad terms.

To such a father, I spoke clearly and confidently.

“I wasn’t kicked out of the Grand Duke’s house. We parted very peacefully.”

“You’re saying you stepped down of your own accord? Then why give up the position of hotel owner too?”

He looked at me with a puzzled expression, as if unable to understand.

To that, I responded with the same hollow look he must have worn on the battlefield—my own kind of battlefield.

“Because I couldn’t just give up the secretary role and keep only the foundation director position.”

Would that even have been possible?

I’d built up that wealth using the Grand Duke’s name. If I had tried to keep only the foundation and slip away quietly?

I wouldn’t have made it back to Father’s house alive.

Edward, the second son, would have caught me and tortured me to death.

“It was thanks to Echina’s name that I acquired it. The Luton family would never have allowed me to keep it.”

“Sigh… So you’re saying you just walked away with the money.”

I smiled brightly at my father, who let out a long sigh.

“Yes. So until I find a place, I’d like to stay here for a while.”

I had no intention of telling Father about the foundation shares.

With his good looks and middle-aged charm, he still wandered through high society, and I had no idea what he might say to others.

‘For now, I’ll just keep the image of a foolish son who made a lot of money.’

“For free?”

Robin Julius folded his arms and asked.

As expected from the man who had taught me the importance of wealth and honor—he was thorough about these things.

Of course, I liked that side of him.

There was nothing as clean and without regret as a thoroughly transactional relationship.

“On the way here, I transferred some gold into your account, Father.”

I raised five fingers.

Then silently mouthed: ‘Fifty million gold.’

“……”

An amount quite extravagant to be considered pocket money.

At that, Father cleared his throat and slowly closed his sharp eyes.

“Just two weeks. After that, find your own way.”

“That’ll be more than enough.”

As expected of my father.

Seeing the generous pocket money, he seemed to realize I’d accumulated more wealth than he had thought.

“Unpack your things in Ronie’s room.”

“Yes. Has he gone to the academy?”

Ronie Julius.

My younger brother, who had just turned fifteen.

We weren’t particularly close, so I hadn’t thought of him in a long time. But now, being back home, he suddenly came to mind.

“Yes. He’s staying in the dorms of the public academy.”

I silently entered my brother’s room.

Thanks to our strict father, it was impeccably clean.

A plain bed, a stark desk.

Bare walls with not a single poster.

It looked dull, yet somehow felt incredibly comfortable.

As if I had finally returned home.

“Well then, time for a little rest.”

I laid down on my brother’s bed.

And, nestled in the embrace of my hometown after so long, I closed my eyes.

「…….」

How much time had passed?

By then, the noontime sunlight had faded, and a cool breeze began to blow.

Robin Julius stood alone, gazing out the window, lost in thought.

“……”

Even if he himself had fallen, he had hoped that at least his sons could live with dignity.

And yet the younger son was now treated like a troublemaker at the academy.

The elder, who seemed at least decent, had run away from the Grand Duke’s house, where he had finally secured a position.

“Maybe it’s because they grew up without a mother…”

He blamed himself for raising them in a motherless household.

Which was why he had been so strict and harsh, disciplining them all the more.

“I wonder if he’ll even be able to marry properly at this rate…”

And yet, it seemed even that had been a failure.

Feeling a heavy sense of guilt, he let out a long sigh.

“Hmm…?”

But that sigh quickly caught in his throat.

Around four o’clock, with sunset drawing near—

He heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching his old mansion from afar.

“That’s strange. No one should be coming at this hour.”

There were hardly any important visitors who came to see him now, a fallen man.

He had even given up on tending the garden he once took such pleasure in.

He tilted his head as he caught sight of a platinum-colored carriage roof peeking above the low wall.

And the moment the carriage came to a complete stop—

His thick eyebrows twitched sharply.

Men he had never seen before stood in front of the rusted iron gate.

“Who are you…?”

Through the bars, he could see their uniforms—high-quality white garments, unmistakably refined.

For someone who had once dreamed of knighthood, it was impossible not to recognize them.

They were knights of the Western Order—specifically, the elite escort knights, the strongest among them.

“Greetings, Baron Robin.”

“You know who I am…?”

The fallen head of a house pointed to his own face with a finger.

And the moment the knight saw it, he immediately recognized him as the man in question—Helena’s personal escort knight, no less.

His sharp, narrow eyes were unmistakably similar to the man the Western Grand Duke’s daughter had taken a particular interest in.

“Yes, that’s right. Our Lady, the eldest daughter of the Yekaterina family, has long held you in respect.”

“Me…?”

Ipton once again recalled that man’s face as he looked into the wide-eyed, handsome face of the middle-aged man.

Meanwhile, Robin had no idea and was busy racking his brain, trying to figure out why someone would hold him in such esteem.

“Yes, indeed. She’s long been impressed by Sir Robin’s feats.”

He had achieved quite a bit on the battlefield, that much was true.

But those feats were limited to the North—and even then, they paled in comparison to the glory of many renowned noble houses.

And yet a Grand Duke’s daughter, from the distant Western region no less, admired him?

Robin, who had no connection to her whatsoever, could only be bewildered.

“However, we heard that a hero who achieved so much has been receiving such poor treatment.”

The Western knight looked quietly around the baron’s mansion.

At the garden, which was now so rundown it made even the observer feel gloomy.

“And so, our Lady has sent me to express her gratitude for your service in protecting the nation.”

With that, Ipton stepped back.

At that moment—

The dignified, Victorian-style maids and butlers began to step down from the carriage.

No less than four of them.

“These are individuals with impressive credentials, even in our own estate.”

A gardener, a butler, and two housemaids.

They each had the fierce look of true professionals in the industry.

“If you allow us, we would love to polish and restore this beautiful mansion to its full glory.”

“You mean my house? But I’ve never had any connection to the Grand Duke’s daughter…”

To the hesitant baron, Ipton stepped closer.

And flashed a harmless, utterly gentle smile.

“Her Grace Helena, the Grand Duke’s daughter, will be arriving soon. I believe it will all make sense once you speak to her directly.”

“I understand for now. But I’m not in a position to accept this kind of service yet.”

Robin calmly assumed a cautious stance.

Even if the Western Grand Duke’s house claimed to hold him in esteem, this region was still closely tied to the Luton family.

If it appeared that he was siding with them unnecessarily, he could easily be seen as aligned with the Western faction.

However—

“Then, in preparation for our Lady’s visit, we will simply tidy up the surroundings a little.”

Helena, the Western Grand Duke’s daughter, had already anticipated even this level of caution.

The cunning Helena had instructed her knight to prepare a wordplay Robin wouldn’t be able to refuse.

“I’m sure you can allow at least that much, yes?”

Ipton gestured toward the messy entrance of the mansion as he spoke.

At that, the baron instinctively brought a hand to his lips, out of habit…

“All right. But since you are guests, as the master of the house, I shall assist personally.”

In the end, he had no choice but to allow them entry.

And in that moment—

The magic reserved only for the wealthiest and most prestigious houses on the continent began.

“Then, if you’ll excuse us.”

“Pardon our intrusion.”

The instant the master’s permission was granted, the maids and butlers moved like arrows loosed from a bow.

Their eyes sharp and calculating, they surveyed the surroundings—

And immediately began to overhaul the worn-down mansion.

The rusted iron gate—scrubbed clean of its corrosion with graceful precision by the butler and coachman working in tandem.

The messy front entrance—swiftly swept and polished by the maids’ elegant brooms.

But that was only the beginning.

The Western Grand Duke’s personal gardener, his white hair slicked back neatly with pomade—

Raised his monocle sharply—

And began trimming the grotesquely overgrown trees—like something out of a witch’s cottage—at a startling pace.

The fuzzy tree was sculpted in an instant into the shape of a dignified lion.

The unruly lawn—cut with obsessive precision, each blade at the exact same length.

“W-What on earth is going on…?”

Baron Robin, still holding a broom, stood dumbfounded as he watched these professionals from noble houses decorate his home before he could even lift a finger.

However, what awaited him next would leave him even more stunned.

Another carriage came to a stop beside the one bearing the Yekaterina crest.

This time, it bore the flag of the Silver Truth Church—the largest religion in the Empire and the official state church.

“Who in the world is that now…?”

The once-dignified father, without realizing, found himself lowering to his knees—

Just like back in his knightly days, when he would receive awards from high nobles.

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