“Aren’t I extremely handsome?”, that was the first thought I had after seeing my reflection. High cheekbones, raised nose, deep black hair with a French crop hairstyle and crystal-clear coffee-brown eyes, a combination that yelled: “Beautiful”, I exhaled.
“Yes, young master is definitely one of the most breath-taking men I’ve met.”, I’m not sure if it was out of politeness or Edward seemed to truly agree with me. He was still prostrating himself, as if scared of making any sudden movements.
“Well, it seems the latter was the correct option, I’ve pulled off a Marty McFly accomplishment. There’s no other way, my face is like night and day compared to before, and plastic surgery can’t make such wonders”. After making up my mind that this was most likely not the Earth I knew of anymore, I was slightly more relaxed now.
As for why I wasn’t panicking or mulling over the topic? “I mean isn’t this great, I look like an adonis. It sucks that I can’t no longer code, but at least I don’t have to work for now. Plus, I bet my tenant must be fuming, I left quite the big debt HAHAHAHAH…”, while merrily comforting myself over this, Edward lifted his head.
“Um… young master, could it be that you’ve got memory loss?”, the old man seems to have pieced all things together and has come to that conclusion huh.
“It seems like it, yes. I didn’t know who you were, and I’ve yet to discover where I am. Also, I’d like if you could drop off the honorifics, it sounds cool but it’s strange. I’m not used to it, old man.”, even if his previous master liked being called such, for me it gave a roleplaying edge kind of feeling that I couldn’t adjust to yet.
“Waaaa! The young master… how… why did this happen… of all people! God! Why did you vent your anger on this humble household… hic, hic, hic…” Suddenly, the old man began bawling his eyes out.
“Oi, what’s going on old man? Stop crying. It’s nothing too deep, it’s just honorifics, and I’m perfectly fine. See?”. I performed a diva spin to prove my point, only to fall facedown the floor because my balance was off. “Ouch… that hurt. Damn, was I so uncoordinated before? Wait wasn’t I a bit taller as well?”, I pondered.
“Ah! Young master are-… are you alright?”, the man seemed to have composed himself after seeing me fall, cause he hurriedly came to help me stand up and supported me until I could sit down the bed.
“I’m fine old man, I just tripped. Also, I told you to drop the honorifics.”, while inspecting Edward a bit more I was able to notice that he was far taller than myself. “I don’t have a measure tape, but he’s at least a head taller.”
By this point I was much calmer and was for some reason starting to accept the new environment I had fallen to. Also, Edward seemed to have settled down as well after crying a fair bit.
“By the way, old man. What’s my name?”, I questioned some more basic stuff about myself, to which Edward urgently started replying, probably trying to make me remember as much as he could. “Sigh, he must have been quite fond of the previous owner of this body”.
It seems my current name is Ivan Lukard, 10 years old, single child of Kile Lukard, a recently promoted baron, and Angela Lukard, of commoner lineage. Both had passed away the same day this guy had fallen into a coma. The guy was found nearby both parents’ corpses, and it seems they had been ambushed along the way home after coming back from the king’s promotion ceremony. “Damn, no wonder. I don’t know how I’d react to that in his stead. It’s honestly a miracle the guy came back alive. Well, it seems both of us didn’t enjoy parental love for long. Sigh.” Mourning over the past of Ivan, I started pondering what could have caused that misfortune.
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“Were they bandits perhaps? Family enemies? No clue honestly. It could have been even a dragon, and since Edward said there were no clues besides the scorched terrain around the incident, I was at a dead end with my guesses. Wait, are there dragons here?”, I thought.
Clink, clink, clink…
“Huh? Did you hear something, old man?”, I inquired.
“No? Since you seemed deep in thought, I decided to stay silent”, he promptly replied.
“Mm, I imagined it I guess.”, I shrugged off the feeling of hearing some kinds of bells. “Must be the aftershock of coming here”.
“Anyways. Now that you know I’ve lost all my memories, what am I supposed to do with the household?”, I obviously pointed out the most important concern right now. “I’m not a noble, and in no way I want all the responsibilities that come with being one. Plus, from what I’ve read in some history books, in most cases the cons outweigh the pros of it. I’d like to keep my mental health in check honestly. I still need to find out what kinds of jobs can be carried out around here.” While pondering my situation, Edward seemed to have realized something.
“In respect to that, I believe there are only two choices, young master. It’d be either aim towards your full recovery so you could go back in the path Mr. and Ms. Lukard planned when you would take reigns of the household, or the other option would be to pass the control over to one of your family members, but-“
“I’ll go with the second option.” I cut him off, firmly giving my choice.
“Bu- but young master, if you were to do that, you’d lose the privilege to the inheritance of the household. Also, I shouldn’t give away my personal beliefs about these matters, but your uncles are not trustful, and you’d depend on them for allowance or other items stored in the house-“
“They can have it, Edward. I’ll just take as much money as I can from the estate before leaving, they can have the rest.”, I shrugged off whatever type of attempt he had for including me in nobles’ affairs.
“I just must take anything of value before leaving the estate and talking to these ‘uncles’ about it. Moreover, I doubt they’d notice some things missing here and there. As long as I don’t overstep it, it shouldn’t be that difficult. I just need the bare minimum to survive until I become of age, which seems to be sixteen years old by what Edward commented. Later on I can figure things out on my own, I hate being spoon-fed. Also-”
“Would you come with me, Edward? If I were to leave the household I mean.”, this was honestly my only way out of nobility. My uncles would probably leave me to myself with the bare scrapes, while using me as a political tool, which would get dull by the time I hit 16. Also, as I was just a kid, I’d need some kind of adult as my tutor here, otherwise I might end up in an orphanage, which was another no-no.
“But of course! I couldn’t forgive myself knowing that Kile’s true successor could end up roaming the streets.”
“I thought you served the Lukard household, not my father.” I pried further for the reason of his unconditional devotion to me.
“I’m but a mere servant that was rescued by your honourable father, an as such, I must devote myself to him. But- hic-hic, as he’s no longer with us, I must take care of his only descendant.”, he began to bow 90º degrees until I could only see his nape.
“Please, young master. Allow me to take care of your person.”, Edward solemnly awaited my response at that moment. And how could I defraud his intentions?
“Alright, old man. You mentioned that the funeral of both my parents was while I was in coma yes?”, I inquired.
“Yes. Today, along the afternoon, different family members will come by to talk about the situation regarding the household. Especially the inheritance and who’d be taking control of it until you are of age. Well, that was the initial plan, but since you are keen on disregarding noble responsibilities, we have different paths to follow.”, he motioned towards the desk, grabbing some papers before extending the chair, allowing me to sit.
“Alright, let’s see what you’ve in stock, old man. Let’s wipe this place clean.”, I smugly smiled.