Chapter 16: “The Culmination of Six Years and the Start of a New Journey”

Two more years had passed since the arrival of Margrave Byreus, and I’m now 12 years old. The prologue was finally complete, and the main story was about to begin……….

I had roughly finished explaining the time from when I first regained my memories of my previous life to now when I’m 12 years old, and now it was time for me to carry out my plan to be free.

The nobility of the Kingdom of Shells had a certain custom. It was the so-called “unveiling party”. (TN: Decided to change the Sheruzu Kingdom to the Shells Kingdom)

The main purpose of the party was to publicly announce the next successor of the noble family.

In other words, there were only two types of people attending this party, the current head of the family and his successor.

And everything I had done in the past six years since I regained my memories of my previous life was to get my father Randall, the head of the Malbert family, to let Mark attend this party instead of me.

After the visit of the Margrave of Byreus, my reputation had fallen to the ground due to the regular negative campaign that I had been conducting to great effect. So it was unlikely that I would be chosen for this party.

Then, one morning, a week before the unveiling party, I was summoned by my father.

Over the past two years, the relationship between me and my father had been getting worse and worse, to the point where Randall and I looked more like strangers than blood relatives.

And the timing of this call, just before the unveiling party, confirmed that this was already decided…….

“Roland. The party’s coming up in a week, but instead of you, I’m thinking of bringing Mark.”

“What!?”

YES! That was exactly the word I had worked so hard to hear.

The moment the six years of effort I had put in to get that one word out was rewarded, I felt a sense of accomplishment as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

But, yes. I mustn’t let my guard down yet.

Life was full of little things that could bring you down, or bring you back to the light of day with a come-from-behind home run.

“T-that’s absurd! Of all people, you want to take Mark with you! Even though I’m the rightful heir!”

“Your behavior over the past few years has been nothing but disgraceful. I’ve pointed out your misdeeds at every moment, but you’ve refused to listen and have caused trouble for many people. However, Mark has not only cleaned up your mess, but he has also poured his heart and soul into this Malbert territory. You can tell which one of you is more worthy of the succession.”

I impatiently shouted at Randall, acting like I couldn’t believe what he was saying.

I wanted to say, “Be my guest,” but it was always best to protest here in order to fully accomplish my objective.

In response to my words, Randall gave me a good argument. That was right, even I, the person in question, would choose Mark.

After that, I tried to argue with him in various unseemly ways, but Randall didn’t change his opinion.

“What’s going to happen to me if you are going to bring Mark with you?”

“You are now 12 years old. By convention, you’ve done your duty.”

“…… You want me to leave the mansion?”

“……”

He looked at me as if to say that silence was the answer. There was no emotion there, just an interest in disposing of a troublesome thing.

As if to add fuel to the fire, Randall continued to speak without hesitation.

“It will be hard for Mark and Laura to say goodbye to you. I’ll take Laura to the royal capital for the party to be held in a week. In the meantime, pack your things and get out of this house.”

“Kuh….”

I twisted my face and bit my lip at Randall’s words. I’m not doing this because I’m …… frustrated. If I didn’t do that, I would be dancing with happiness.

After that, I slowly walked out of my father’s study without saying a word.

I walked on for a while, and when I was sure that no one was around, I raised my fist to the sky and shouted.

“Yes, yes, yesssssss!!!”

It was the result of an outburst of elation and a sense of accomplishment as if a professional soccer player had scored a goal or a professional golfer had made a hole-in-one.

Six long years of planning had come to an end, and a new life was about to begin. I couldn’t be happier.

Then, I must prepare for my departure as soon as possible. I must not delay this!

Suppressing my impatience, I hurried back to my room.

When I returned to my room, I found Tanya, my caretaker, there. I had known her for more than ten years, including the years before my memory returned, but our relationship had become cold.

This was probably due to the effects of my negative campaign, but it didn’t change the fact that she helped me for many years.

“Huh, you haven’t finished cleaning yet!”

“I’m sorry……. I’ll finish it soon.”

I didn’t talk to her any more than I had to – because I would swear if I opened my mouth – and after a quick cleaning, she bowed and quickly left.

When I was a little kid, I was a little more familiar with her, but in the past few years, I rarely had a chance to see her smile.

I know I did something wrong, but I’m going to pretend it was a necessary part of my plan. (…..I’ll write a note to Mark to make her his caretaker when I leave this mansion.)

 

~~~~~~

A week passed, and all the family members except for me left for the royal capital.

Feeling deeply emotional that the day I had been waiting for had finally arrived, I put my baggage on my shoulders and left the room.

As I walked through the corridors of the mansion I had been familiar with for more than ten years, I was immersed in memories of the past.

As I walked along, envisioning the days of freedom and peace that awaited me, I saw servants everywhere, doing their work.

Most of them looked at me warily, which was a clear sign that the negative campaign had been a great success. Smiling inwardly, I soon arrived at the entrance of the mansion.

“Tanya.”

“Thank you for so many years, young master Roland. Please, take care.”

Tanya, who had uttered a few words of businesslike greeting, bowed her head and saw me off.

Other than her, the other servants were busy with their work, and there was no one to see me off as the former eldest son of the Malbert family.

Probably, because Tanya, who was my caretaker, had no choice but to come and see me off as her last job.

“…… Tanya.”

I could have just left without saying anything, but I decided to say goodbye with my real words at least for the last time, so I called out her name and turned around.

My face overlapped with Tanya’s as she lifted her head, and our gazes crossed. I smiled gently and said only one word.

“Thank you …… for everything you’ve done for me.”

“Yes…….”

My words and attitude seemed to be a surprise to her, and she widened her eyes and looked at me, but I couldn’t stay like this forever, so I left the Malbert mansion without looking back again.