Weekly chapter (1/2)
Enjoy~
Translator: Raizu
Editor: Travis
Chapter 15 – Social Debut
Autumn has come to Lioncoeur.
In other words, it’s been about half a year since I started spending time in the capital.
Today seemed to be the day when the vassals gather to say hello to Rudolph, and a day’s off to butler Albert’s child abuse banquet.
The snow in Lioncoeur was even deeper than in the royal capital, so it seems to be an autumn event rather than a New Year’s event.
As expected of the 8-year-old second son, I didn’t participate in the event, but I was supposed to show up at the banquet after the greetings.
At that time, my father, Rudolph, introduced me to his second wife, Giselle, my step brother Hugh, and my step sister, Katia.
All three of them have black hair and dark eyes, typical of Lioncoeur people.
Giselle is a beauty with a fleeting atmosphere, and has a charm that Rushieno does not have.
She’s perhaps around 30?
Her hair was braided high, showing off her nape, which was kinda sexy.
As far as I vaguely remember, Giselle was of a low social status, and she shouldn’t have gotten along well with my mother, Rushieno.
[Nice to meet you, I’m Varian.]
When I greeted them, the three looked confused.
[Um… Ah, Giselle, Varian got sick in the royal capital and lost parts of his memory… I’m not joking here.]
Rudolph explained, and Giselle said, [Oh dear, his memories?], with a pitiful face.
…that’s right…it can’t be the first time we met…
I reflected in my heart.
But, there was still something I didn’t understand.
[I’m sorry, I know it’s rude to say, but… what should I call you…?]
Rudolph and Giselle looked at each other when I timidly offered.
[Ah, well…the way Varian sees things has changed a lot since he lost his memory.]
[Yes, he sounded like he had grown up quite a bit…]
Giselle looked puzzled, considering Varian, who was a brat, now is actually an old man on the inside…it’ll actually be strange not to be confused.
[…Please call me Giselle as before, Varian-sama.]
[Understood, Giselle-sama.]
When I answered like that, Giselle looked even more confused.
It seemed that she was concerned with how I used [-sama] honorifics for her.
[Then, may I call you with “Abo-sama”?]
“Abo-sama” that I proposed is a word like that of a foster mother or someone second only to a mother.
However, this was also rejected.
Apparently this is considered as rude to Rushieno.
After that, we consulted for a while, but in the end we settled on calling each other “Giselle-san” and “Varian-kun”. Better play it safe.
After I finished showing my face to the three of them, I quietly spoke to Rudolph.
[She’s a beautiful woman with a charm different from my mother’s. I can’t help but want to support her thin waist that looks like it might break.]
[U, uhm…]
Rudolph replied with a somewhat uncomfortable look.
[Each of them has a different charm, and it’s hard to compare… Mother is healthy and sensual, Giselle is ephemeral and arouses a desire for protection.]
[Do you understand?] said Rudolph with a puzzled look.
[I understand, because I’m also father’s child.]
When I grinned, Rudolph nudged me with a [You little.]… but he seemed happy.
After all, talking about women is a shortcut for men to get along.
However, it would be nice… if I could get along with my step siblings.
I felt a little uneasy about relationships that weren’t there in my previous life.
Hugh and Katia never took the initiative to know me.
Maybe the previous Varian did something, or maybe they have something to think about how my mother treated them.
…if possible, I’d like to get along with them.
I let out a small sigh.
==========
The banquet reached its climax, and a mysterious performance began.
It was a thrilling game where several men danced at high speed to the shouts of the surroundings between swords and spears that were placed on the ground or hung from above.
There were currently no female challengers.
With alcohol circulating, everyone was having a blast.
…it’s amazing, everyone seemed to be good at it…
Even now, several men were dancing to the [Ho! Ha! Huh! Ha!] shouts.
The swords and spears looked so sharp that blood might flow just from a light contact.
[Oh, Young Master! So, you’re here too!]
[Jiro! It’s been a while]
When Giroude found me, he shouted and approached me. We hug each other and rejoice in our reunion.
[Let me introduce you, this is my father. He also come today to announce the change of the family head.]
[Is your wife not here?]
Hearing my words, Giroude scratched his head and said, [Ehehe, that’s for next time.] while twisting his body… he looked disgusting while doing that actually.
Giroude was confused for a while, but he was scolded by his father next to him, who had an unamused look on his face. Then, Giroude’s father introduced himself to me.
Giroude’s father is a white-haired man who must be a little over 50 years old. There is a terrible scar that seems to have been gouged out from the upper right corner of the lip to the tip of the nose, and the lip is curled up.
Even with his mouth closed, his yellow teeth peeked through, making his face frightening.
Perhaps due to aging, Giroude’s father had gray hair but black eyes, giving him a strong sense of Lioncoeur blood.
[I’m Yannick. I’ve heard a lot about Varian-sama, son of Lioncoeur.]
Giroude’s father introduced himself as Yannick and hugged me with a smile.
Looking closely, I realized that he’s missing a number of fingers.
…Come to think of it, Giroude’s father participated in the rebellion.
I vaguely remembered Giroude’s story.
[Hah! If it isn’t the filthy Beast of Lioncoeur. Gathering to discuss a rebellion!?]
Then, suddenly, butler Albert appeared from behind me while uttering abusive words.
I guessed he’s pretty inebriated with alcohol there.
[Hurry up and revolt, you Beast of Lioncoeur! I’ll kill you all!!]
[Gahaha, aren’t you the lazy Albert. You want your right ear to be burned too?]
Albert and Yannick cursed and glared at each other.
It seemed that the two of them had a deep grudge against each other.
Seeing their faces with severe scars lined up next to each other, I felt a force that would stun the faint of heart.
[Stop it, Albert! Jiro is my friend! I won’t tolerate insults!]
When I warned Albert, the butler with a scary face grinned instead, saying [What are you going to do if you don’t forgive me?].
[I will insult your honor.]
[Interesting, try it.]
It wouldn’t be strange for men to start killing each other for the sake of their honor. Moreover, Albert is a knight, a noble.
[Go fuck your mother!! Limp dick bastard!]
When I shouted, Albert’s serious fist attacked me.
The area in front of my eyes turned red and darkened.
…I mean, anyone would probably react the same.
I let go of my consciousness with a grin.
[That does it!]
[Bring it on!!]
I could hear a commotion somewhere far away… Giroude sounded like he was angry for my sake.
============
When I came to, the party was over and I was lying in the hall.
I felt something wrong in my mouth.
When I moved my tongue, two of my teeth fell out… apparently they were broken by Albert’s fist.
I stared at the tooth that was thrown out and wished it was a milk tooth.
Looking around, I saw that the swords and spears had been put away, and drunken men were lying around.
[Are you awake, Varian?]
Rudolph and Albert were there. It looks like they were drinking.
[How is it? Do you want a drink?]
Rudolph offered me mead.
Mead is liquor made from honey, where the sugar content of honey is turned into alcohol. It retains a strong alcoholic spirit and rich honey flavor.
Giving it a little taste, it’s pretty murky. So, probably around 15% alcohol.
It has a complex dry taste of sake and a rich honey aftertaste.
[This is delicious!]
When I involuntarily raised my voice, the two of them burst into laughter…as if their plan had worked perfectly.
[Rudolph, your son is going to divide the country! He’s already taming the Lioncoeur! Kill him now!]
Albert laughed and made a racy joke.
Looking at him now, I noticed that his face was bruised and his eyes swollen… he must’ve gone on a rampage.
[Fumu, Robel is an excellent son… But if he’s slow, I’ll give it to Varian. As a parent I’m glad that all of them are excellent.]
Rudolph then sipped at the mead in his tankard.
It’s a strong drink, and it didn’t seem to be diluted at all.
[Hmph, you’re an idiot parent.]
Albert grinned and looked at me.
[Varian, you’ll get stronger… Even so, that was intense!!]
[Go fuck your mother!]
Albert and Rudolph looked at each other and laughed.
It seemed that Rudolph was watching that exchange as well.
Seeing how happy he was, it seemed that my action wasn’t a mistake.
I had more mead afterward.
Since I hadn’t had the opportunity to eat anything sweet since coming to this world, I had an irresistible craving for sweets… I ended up drinking too much.
The scenery suddenly distorted, and I fell over.
Come to think of it, I didn’t know how resistant my body was to alcohol right now… I’m only 8 years old, so it’s only natural.
I immediately snored and fell asleep.
At a banquet, causing a big brawl between Lioncoeur and butler Albert… This was my social debut.
I heard later that more often than not, there will be fights during a banquet, and as long as there are no casualties, most of them will be ignored.
After this, [Go fuck your mother] spread like wildfire, that it became a standard cuss during fights in Lioncoeur.
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