What was the meaning of being a noble in this world?
Such thoughts crossed my mind.
Let's focus only on the kingdom of Misonia. There was one fundamental difference with the noble system that exists on earth.
That was power. In this world, nobles were required to have power. In a world where there were all sorts of magical occurrences, that was number one.
Throughout this world, there were many monsters to be seen. They threatened the entire population.
If a noble was unable to exterminate a group of monsters that were in his area, he would be seen as unfit to rule as a ruler.
After that, usually, the royal family will immediately remove the title of the nobility.
For nobles, power was a symbol of honor, but power was not always about the strength of a noble's individual body. It could be money, connections, or something else.
Like Baron Warwick. Although he only had average individual strength, either skills or Mana Core, he still managed to retain the noble title of Baron that he had.
***
After the door to the dining room opened by Gil, I went straight in.
First of all, I noticed the interior of the dining room. freewe(b)novel.c(o)m
The floor, which was made of marble, looked shiny. There was also a large magic lamp hanging from the ceiling. A luxurious atmosphere emanated from every corner of the room. Every piece of furniture looked luxurious.
'A noble is still a noble. Even if they have the lowest rank, they still have a lot of money, huh.'
I can only comment in my mind.
Finally, after my eyes saw the interior of the room, my eyes focused on the center of the room.
A large table was in the center of the room. Several chairs were placed at each corner of the table. And there were already two people sitting on the chairs.
'Apparently, Willa and Baron Warwick haven't arrived yet.'
They were neither Willa nor Baron Warwick. They were faces that were foreign to me. One was a young middle-aged woman, and the other was a young man who looked about the same age as me... at the moment.
When the two people who were already sitting looked at me, their eyes instantly turned into the shape of a large egg, and their backs instantly became straight.
It's reachable if the two of them are shocked. To them, maybe I was a child who came out for the first time in years.
However, they were someone who just passed by the side of the road for me.
'Umm, if I'm not mistaken, they are Daniel and Thalia.'
Thalia was the wife of Baron Warwick. She was the mother of Willa and Daniel. In other words, she is my stepmother.
Meanwhile, Daniel was my half-brother. He was the eldest son, one year older than me-my body now. He was also the one who had the highest potential to inherit the peerage of this family.
Daniel stopped in shock.
He immediately stood up and greeted me.
"Oh~ Mestie, you came?! I don't know what got into you, but I'm grateful that you're no longer depressed and confined to your room. Please have a seat!"
"Thank you for your kind greeting, Brother."
He smiled as if he was a kind man. Of course, I replied with a smile as well. My expression was stiff when I tried to smile.
I pulled up a chair and was about to sit down. But inside, the chair suddenly fell.
"Tsk!"
I heard a loud click from Daniel's mouth. I saw he was furrowing his brows as if he was annoyed.
Of course, he would be upset, because the chair he kicked and dropped didn't affect me.
Before I sat down, I saw him kicking my chair. So I immediately stood up. If I had sat down, I would have fallen straight to the floor.
"Oh, is this your warm welcome, Brother?"
"Tch! Stop pretending to smile, you bastard!"
"Is there something wrong?"
"Of course you are! You are the trash of this family. Why did you come here? I wish you would forever languish in your room to death."
He shouted loudly.
I took a deep breath.
I wasn't angry when he spoke like that. It was his fault to the owner of this body. But after a while, I also started to get emotional.
Mentally, I was older than him, so I tried to deal with it.
I was 27 years old (16 years on earth + 11 years in my previous life), while he was still a sweet seventeen-year-old. I assumed that he was just barking like a dog.
Taking another seat, I put my ass on the chair.
"Hey! Are you ignoring me?"
"What's wrong? Can you stop screaming? You're noisy."
I answered lazily.
I reached into my ear because it buzzed a little.
Suddenly Daniel was approaching me with a hostile look.
As if the innocent chair in front of him was blocking his way, he kicked the chair hard.
Smash!
The chair bounced far enough, spinning on the floor until it hit the wall of the room and broke into pieces.
If we assume that the kick was from an ordinary teenager, there's no way it could be so badly damaged, but since this was another world, 'Looks like he used Mana,' I thought to myself.
It was likely that he used mana to strengthen his body. What would happen if it was my weak body that was kicked? Of course, I will be seriously injured.
Even though I couldn't gauge his Mana Core level or his skill level, I still wasn't afraid. I believe he was only at the Beginner level, so I still have many ways to fight back.
Without warning, he immediately grabbed my collar. Then he lifted my body.
I, who was already seated, immediately stood up again.
He brought his face closer to mine.
"How dare you! The trash that disgraced our family...!"
Daniel spits out his words with all his might.
Had he opened his mouth like that far enough away from me, I would have absolutely ignored him.
But since his face was right in front of mine, I wouldn't let him get his words out—not because of his words, but because of the saliva that came out of his mouth—It reminded me that I once ate food mixed with other people's saliva in the slums.
So, I stopped him before he finished saying what he wanted to say.
"How disgusting!"
Crack!
I frowned while pushing his chin up with both hands, so his face was facing the air. Then I kicked him right in the stomach. As a result, he was forced to release his grip on my collar and retreat backward in a few steps.
Holding his stomach, he winced in pain. His eyes widened too. Maybe he was surprised that I dared to fight back.
"Bastard!!"
It didn't take long, he immediately rushed forward toward me like he was ready to run over me. Since we weren't that far from the start, he immediately threw a punch so he could hit me in the face.
Just before the punch hit my face, he stopped his punch in midair. Not out of goodwill, but because of the loud sound of the door opening.
Do-Kang!
The door was wide open.
"What are you doing?"
An old man with a mustache and a thin beard who had just arrived immediately shouted.
"Daniel. Back off!"
"B-but, father."
"Don't argue!"
The old man snapped at Daniel.
Then Daniel backed off without further arguing.
So, he was Baron Warwick?
I tried to remember his face. The impression I had was still the same. He looked like an ordinary old man. He was Baron Delray Warwick, the head of the family.
"Thalia, why don't you stop them?"
"Well, what else can I do? They're still young. So conflict like that is inevitable."
Baron Warwick asked his wife.
But Thalia still answered casually, as if she was carefree.
When Thalia answered, she raised her bare shoulders, where she was wearing a dress that was open at the shoulders.
It was now obvious that these three people were allied. Thalia clearly supported Daniel when he bullied me.
'Was the owner of this body used to be bullied by them too?' I wondered in my mind.
In my previous life, when I was kicked out of this house, Thalia didn't act much.
There was only Daniel who was ecstatic as if he had become a madman.
I remember that he had said, "Now, I am the sole heir to this family's noble title, hwahwahwa." He had said while laughing out loud. That's what happened in my previous life.
I wonder why Thalia doesn't react like Daniel?
I watched Thalia.
She was a middle-aged woman with a beauty that still lingered on her face. There were no wrinkles on her face. How does she maintain such a face when there aren't many facial treatments to be had in this world?
But that wasn't my main focus, I noticed a strange level that I hadn't noticed before.
Thalia continued to massage her temples like a person with a headache.
Before I focused too deeply on Thalia, Baron Warwick's voice came back to my senses.
"Mesties, I'm glad you've changed. I'll bring your stepmother and stepbrother to punish them for bothering you. So, I'll have the servants prepare the food. You can eat by yourself."
"It's all right, Father."
I replied with a smile.
He nodded.
Then he took Thalia and Daniel out.
Before Daniel came out, he gave me a death glare.
"I will remember your behavior. I will beat you later. Today you survived, but will you survive later? Just wait for me."
"Sure."
I replied with a small mumble.
He didn't seem to hear, as he kept stepping out of the room.
***
In the middle of this quiet, silent, and serene room, I picked up an empty chair and sat down on it. Since everyone had already left, I relaxed my muscles.
What I was gripping fell straight to the ground.
Plop!
It's a fork. The fork slipped out of my hand and hit the floor. It shook a little and finally stopped.
Not without reason I was holding a fork, earlier, when I kicked Daniel, I reflexively grabbed the fork that was on the table. There was no way I was going to stay still without fighting back.
As soon as I gripped the fork, I immediately prepared to attack him.
If he hadn't stopped hitting, I was sure I would have stuck the fork in my hand into his throat.
I was 100% sure earlier that I would be able to stick the fork down Daniel's throat.
If Baron Warwick hadn't bothered, there might have been a bloody scene here.
"Haahh~ I have to fix this habit."
Self-defense response.
It was what I got from living hell in my previous life. 'People who hurt me are enemies,' That was my guideline, that I had to survive in this cruel world.
I think I had to have some sort of tolerance for that guideline.
However, I won't erase that guideline, because that's the result of what I had learned after living in this world for so many years.
Ignoring the dark expression that might be on my face, I stood up and left the room.
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