Chapter 7: On the Eve of the Duke’s Rut.

The King’s Brother didn’t move, like a stone statue. Only after a long while could I come up with the question I needed to hear an answer to.

“Have you actually ever torn a Beta to death?”

Perhaps my question was unexpected, as the bitter smile completely vanished from the King’s Brother’s face.

“I haven’t killed one, but…”

His expressionless face urged me for the next question.

“Did you hurt them?”

“Yes.”

“And that hurt Beta approached you even though the Duke didn’t want it?”

“It wasn’t their own will, but their actions were so.”

The King’s Brother answered all my questions immediately. That unhesitating attitude solidified my resolve.

“If I get hurt, please make sure to treat me. And give me consolation money too.”

My words made his expression change. It was a face I was seeing for the first time. The King’s Brother, who had been sly beyond his young age, seemed genuinely surprised.

“You will… regret it.”

I ended up chuckling. This time, I was blatantly rude, but no one pointed out my attitude.

Seeing that he only warned me properly after I had received my third weekly wage, I could glimpse the employer’s shallow calculation.

However, his fastidiousness that he couldn’t hide until the end, and the faint expectation directed at me, made me smile.

I might be taking it lightly because it’s a phenomenon I’ve never experienced.

Of course, I hate getting hurt. I hate being torn to death even more.

Still, I felt I could believe his words that unlike his sincere desire to tear and kill, he actually hadn’t done so.

In this era, the King’s Brother was definitely an uncommonly generous employer.

The fact that the weekly wages I received so far were extremely generous would also be a reason.

Actually, that was the most important reason.

Now I had to prove my worth.

The King’s Brother was paying me a considerable amount of money with the expectation that I wouldn’t be swept away by his pheromones.

“Okay, I will definitely treat you and pay consolation money.”

The King’s Brother stared at the empty cup with a slightly weary face.

The butler handed him the ironed newspaper.

As each page of the newspaper turned, the King’s Brother’s disheveled expression gradually disappeared.

It was like an empty bottle being wrapped in pretty wrapping paper. Only eighteen years old now. Perhaps the fact that he is still young to manage a family could be one of the reasons.

I know well that it’s unnecessary meddling.

The King’s Brother was already a skilled manager and a born ‘gold spoon.’ He is not someone I dare to pity.

Still, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my situation when I inherited the jewelry shop at twenty-three.

Back then, I wasn’t skilled at hiding my expressions like the King’s Brother is now.

Only after three years passed could I smile in front of customers even on the anniversary of my entire family’s death.

The King’s Brother had no parents either.

They say his brother is the King, but well, would he be entirely pleased with a young half-brother who is more popular than himself?

No, I should stop sympathizing after all. Projecting pity by saying I wasn’t the only unhappy one is something I shouldn’t do to myself either.

The King’s Brother is definitely a strong person.

Perhaps when that thing called Rut comes, I might cry and regret, asking why I showed such useless stubbornness now.

Having thoroughly read even the serialized novel, the King’s Brother returned to his usual face.

But I knew. That he hadn’t read the preceding serials of that novel at all.

What he needed was time.

In that short interval, the King’s Brother completely calmed his shaken mind.

He spoke to me again as if erasing the conversation from a moment ago.

“Philip said your learning ability is very high.”

“Is that so?”

Playing along with the employer’s change of mood would also be the job of an exclusive servant.

I, too, responded pretending to have forgotten the talk about the Rut.

“I heard you’ve already become proficient in reading and writing.”

“Because I learned the characters for the language I speak. If it were a foreign language, I would still be learning greetings.”

“You’re good at arithmetic too.”

“Philip taught me the basic principles well.”

“Do you perhaps want to become a scholar?”

“No.”

I denied it flatly with a straight face.

My high learning performance now was because I already knew the knack for studying.

It was also because I was learning the very basics.

Although I didn’t attend properly, I did enter university, so I couldn’t be struggling with elementary curriculum.

“Honestly speaking, Philip even commented that you seem like a genius.”

Ahem, a coughing sound like a large fish bone got stuck in the throat was heard.

It was a sound made by Philip.

It was also a rare look of embarrassment on his face.

Proof that the King’s Brother’s words were true.

“I am not a genius.”

To confess, I did try to look outstanding.

Because I need to raise my value.

If I don’t act like a talented student while learning arithmetic operations, linear equations, linear functions, and plane figures, when would I ever?

Despite appearances, I was a jeweler who had to cut polyhedrons at perfect angles.

Although it was to save labor costs, I had worked in the field myself.

The notation method for numbers and formulas was all I was learning anew.

“How are you sure of your limits?”

“I heard somewhere that a genius is someone who pioneers unknown territory. I can learn quickly, but I don’t have the ability to create new fields.”

But I couldn’t handle the word genius.

Because that’s a lie that would be exposed soon.

“One more cup of coffee, please.”

The King’s Brother pushed his cup forward with a crafty expression.

Since my employer likes hot coffee, I had to boil water again. I contacted the ruby with the feeling of pushing in the mana gathered at my fingertips. The water boiled up in an instant, creating thick steam.

I thought I was getting control over it these days, but as my composure shook, I returned to square one.

Though I pretended otherwise, it was clear that the talk about the Rut had affected me.

The King’s Brother burst into laughter at the ridiculous sight.

I put my sincerity into the dripping.

I set down the coffee filled to the brim of the cup, but unlike usual, he didn’t even look at the coffee and called my name.

“Jay.”

“Yes.”

“How many people do you think can sense mana and use magic items in just a week?”

His mouth still wore a gentle smile, but there was not a hint of laughter in his eyes.

“For reference, it took me three days.”

It was a remark where I couldn’t tell if my talent was passably decent or terrible.

“If I teach you magic, are you willing to learn?”

I reflexively stared straight at his face.

“Can you really… teach me?”

“Since you look motivated, it will be rewarding to teach you.”

I had never thought I would be able to learn magic.

I knew I was receiving special privileges just by learning the breathing technique to feel mana from the butler and becoming able to handle magic items.

But to think I can learn magic. And directly from the King’s Brother at that.

The King’s Brother’s eyes curved gently. I felt my heart pounding.

Until a calm voice intruded on the conversation with the King’s Brother.

“Today is the day the merchants of Pistoga come for their regular report, Duke.”

It was the butler who caught me as I was about to get too excited.

I tried hard not to show my disappointment.

Unlike the old me, this current body sometimes didn’t follow my will.

I forced the corners of my mouth, which were about to droop, upward.

“Ah, right.”

The King’s Brother slightly furrowed his brow.

He glanced up at me standing in front of him, and the shape of his lips smirking came clearly into view.

My face must have been quite a sight.

“Then how about tomorrow after breakfast? Philip, that’s fine, right?”

The King’s Brother’s words were directed at the butler, but his eyes were looking at me.

And those eyes were holding a mischievous smile before I knew it.

“Yes, there is no set schedule for tomorrow morning.”

“Jay, you heard, right? Practice the mana breathing technique after today’s work is done. Tomorrow’s lesson will become a bit easier.”

I ended up nodding before speaking.

Even if I got scolded by the butler, I couldn’t help it.

My body was too honest.

****

That night, I ended up staying up all night just like when I first felt mana.

As I did the mana breathing before sleeping as the King’s Brother said, the window outside had turned bluish before I knew it.

I had to admit I was in a quite excited state.

What kind of power is magic?

Could I make fire shoot from my hands or pour water from thin air like in the comics I watched when I was young?

It was an unknown power I couldn’t even imagine properly; that was what magic was to me.

After calming my breathing, it was earlier than usual, but I chose to get up early rather than taking a nap.

I made the bed and changed my clothes. While tidying up my appearance, I lifted my head. The mirror hanging on the wall was covered with a cloth.

It was something I had done.

Since the first day I came here, I had been trying hard to avoid mirrors. But in this place where everything shines, I couldn’t completely avoid my reflection.

Imagining my appearance through distorted images reflected on glass windows or marble floors was even more ridiculous.

Only now could I admit that I had been doing something stupid.

The hand removing the cloth trembled. The moment gray hair was reflected in the mirror, strength entered my hand without me realizing it. The cloth covering the mirror fell down before I could prepare myself. A face that looked even more unfamiliar today was in the mirror.

Light gray hair as if the color had drained. Green eyes. Colors that Han Jay had never possessed even once. I stared into the mirror for a long time.

The me inside it had an expressionless face. I slowly tried lifting the corners of my mouth. The smile I had practiced countless times looked awkward. I released the forced smile. I felt a sense of incongruity different from unfamiliarity. The color of one eye was strange. The color of the right eye, which used the loupe (magnifying glass for appraisal), seemed darker. It looked closer to black than green.

My heart felt like it sank.

I wondered if something was wrong with my eye. Vision was my precious asset.

It was so in the past, and it will probably be so in the future.

Suddenly scared, I blinked my eyes.

I must have seen it wrong.

When I opened my eyes again to examine, the colors of both eyes were the same. I let out a sigh without realizing it. The mirror fogged up. I pulled down my sleeve and rubbed the mirror to wipe it. Until it made a squeaking sound.

Only after confirming again that there was no difference in the color of both eyes could I take a step back.

I seemed to have grown a bit taller in the meantime.

Flesh was slowly filling out the body that used to be nothing but bones, and the slouched shoulders seemed to have straightened out as well.

Suddenly, I felt a sense of déjà vu from my face.

It felt like I had seen it somewhere. Was it in a dream? Or was it my reflection in a stream? I have been trying hard to avoid it, but whenever I feel this déjà vu, I look back.

My self-consciousness clearly says I am Han Jay.

Then did I steal this body from someone? Where did the original owner of this body go? I cannot erase the thought that this body, too, seems to have been mine from the beginning.

Seeing how the body, which had completely different habits from Han Jay, didn’t feel awkward at all makes me more certain.

Could it be that the life lived as Han Jay was the dream?

I had no choice but to say no to that answer as well.

Han Jay’s experiences and emotions are too vivid.

Did I really suffer from a fever and lose memories of this world as I made up to the King’s Brother? And instead came to recall the life as Han Jay? Perhaps, as Han Jay, I hadn’t truly met death?

I don’t know what the name of this body was. One thing is certain. My body and my consciousness are mine. My name is Jay.

Looking in the mirror, I tied my gray hair into one.

Checking if there were any loose strands, I straightened my shoulders.

Neither a jeweler in Jongno, nor a clerk without weekly wages at a back-alley inn, I planned a new daily life.

I had made up my mind firmly in my own way, but the moment I opened the door and took a step outside, goosebumps broke out.

In just one step, it felt like I had fallen into a strange world again.

The air settling on my shoulders felt heavy. The silent corridor was unfamiliar. It was a time when it should be busy with people moving between the main building and the annex.

“Jay!”It was a voice calling my name that broke the silence.

The person calling me loudly was definitely the butler, Philip.

The man who seemed like he would calmly evacuate the King’s Brother, secure valuables, and then evacuate employees according to procedure even if a fire broke out in the main building, was running hurriedly in disarray.

“What is the matter?”

The butler gasped for breath roughly.

“…It’s the Rut.”

“Pardon?”

“The Duke has entered his Rut.”