Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Unexpected Connections
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‘What even is family.’
Carlyle thought the meaning of family he knew was vastly different from what Andre was describing.
Suddenly, memories of his family from before he came to this world—from his past life—surfaced.
Carlyle’s father had been the CEO of a fairly successful company.
Although it was classified as a small to medium-sized enterprise, it was large enough to be compared to a mid-sized corporation.
It was publicly listed and had high growth potential, so Carlyle had essentially been born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Even Carlyle himself couldn’t deny that he had been born into a wealthy family and had lived a life of affluence.
The problem was his family.
“Who the hell did this bastard take after to be such a blockhead? Hey, you little shit. How much money did I pour into academies and tutors, and this is all you can do? Huh?”
The man who was his father, perhaps having high expectations for Carlyle, constantly subjected him to verbal abuse and profanity, using his grades as a pretext.
Carlyle had gritted his teeth and studied hard, but his father's expectations were far too high.
Worse, he only knew how to throw money at the problem and spew verbal abuse; he never once showed Carlyle any genuine interest.
Excluding the one-sided tirades, the conversations between father and son throughout their entire lives probably wouldn’t have even added up to a few hours.
Meanwhile, whenever he had a spare moment, he frequented entertainment establishments and faithfully pursued his leisure activities—golf, fishing, yachting—with young, beautiful sugar babies.
He might have been a competent CEO, but as the head of a family, Carlyle's father was a man who couldn't be viewed favorably no matter how one tried.
And what about his mother?
“It’s because you’re not good enough that your father is out there fooling around. You can forget about going out for a while. Just sit still and study. Understand?”
His mother, fully aware of his father's habitual infidelity, couldn’t say a word to him and instead took it out on Carlyle.
She could have divorced him and received a hefty alimony, but the reason she didn’t was her title as the wife of a successful company's CEO.
The chauffeured car, the enormous monthly credit card bills for her luxuries, and her status as a corporate wife at various gatherings were things she couldn't enjoy no matter how much alimony she received.
Having grown up in such an environment, family members were worse than strangers to Carlyle.
It was so bad that Carlyle considered himself lucky to be an only child.
He figured he was enough to bear the emotional and physical abuse from his unqualified parents.
For someone like Carlyle, the idea that there was no good or bad among family couldn't possibly resonate.
*Pfft.* Thinking of his parents from his past life brought a cynical smirk to his lips.
“You don’t look so good. Did I say something wrong?”
“No.”
Carlyle shook his head.
“I was just thinking about the past.”
“I see.”
Andre nodded as if he understood.
“You’ve caused more than a little trouble. It’d be stranger if you were on good terms with your family.”
“It’s not like that.”
Carlyle said, sounding slightly aggrieved.
“What do you mean, it’s not like that? I’ve heard plenty of rumors about you.”
“Ugh.”
“Seems like you’ve come to your senses now, so just do well from here on out. Like I said before, why would Brigade Commander Selena come all the way to this tiny fortress for no reason? It’s all because she’s worried about you, her little brother.”
“I’m telling you, it’s not.”
“Talking back, are we? Hmph!”
Andre glared, then stubbed out his cigarette on the ground and stood up.
“Alrighty! I’ll get yours ready first, so just wait over there for a bit.”
“Alright.”
Carlyle walked behind the tent where Andre had pointed.
***
‘Selena, worried about me?’
Carlyle couldn’t agree with Andre’s words in the slightest.
“Pfft.”
The absurdity of it made him laugh.
If Carlyle’s memory served him right, the relationship between Carlyle van Sigmund and Selena van Sigmund was terrible.
Furthermore, perhaps because he had been beaten by her since childhood, Carlyle's animosity toward Selena was beyond imagination.
On top of that, as Carlyle began to seriously go off the rails, their relationship deteriorated to its worst point.
In fact, for about two years before Carlyle's death, not a single word had been exchanged between them.
‘Worried? What a joke. Grand Duke Guntram must have ordered her to come and deal with the dark magician. There’s no way Selena would worry about me… Wait. Or is there?’
A memory suddenly surfaced.
It was right after Carlyle had woken up.
“Father is going to hold a trial. Beg for forgiveness. Swear you’ll never do it again, that you’ll become a new person. Remember this. If you don’t, you’ll be executed.”
He hadn’t remembered it clearly in the chaos of the moment, but thinking back, Selena had indeed been worried about him.
‘So she… does worry.’
Carlyle recalled that Selena had come to see him with Frey, and his expression turned bewildered.
‘That’s right. That degenerate Carlyle was more loved and received more attention than I did.’
As he was thinking this, Andre brought over a well-prepared meal and placed it in front of him.
“You did wash your hands before making this, right?”
“Why, scared you’ll find a cigarette butt in it?”
“It’s not that.”
“What do you mean, it’s not? Don’t be so picky. This is a warzone. Forget about hygiene.”
Despite his words, even on a battlefield, managing hygiene and food ingredients was essential unless the situation was truly dire.
A bout of food poisoning could incapacitate the entire unit, and there was no way Andre, the quartermaster in charge of cooking, wouldn't know that.
Though, for someone in his position to be chain-smoking in the kitchen, he had no excuse.
“Anyway, enjoy your meal, war hero. Salute!”
Andre gave a sharp salute and stepped aside.
“Here, eat.”
“Are you sure this is okay to eat?”
The hatchling, having apparently overheard the conversation between Carlyle and Andre, furrowed its brow.
“Just eat. It looks like we’ll be getting leave in a few days.”
“Leave?”
“Yeah. I’ll treat you to lots of delicious food when we get out. So just bear with it for a few days.”
“Okay.”
The hatchling’s eyes sparkled, and it immediately buried its head in Andre’s cooking and began to devour it.
‘It seems Selena is worried about me… but did she offer to come herself, or did Grand Duke Guntram send her?’
He was a little curious, but Carlyle had no intention of asking Selena.
What did it matter if she came of her own volition or if she was forced to?
The important thing was that Selena’s overwhelming power had wiped out all the enemies, allowing not only Carlyle but also the soldiers of Bowden Fortress to survive.
“Nom nom.”
Carlyle was thoughtlessly watching the hatchling eat when the tent flap was pushed aside, and Maranello and Evangeline appeared.
“Young Master, what are you doing here… hmm?”
“Oh my!”
Maranello and Evangeline’s eyes widened upon spotting the hatchling.
“Could it be… a dragon?”
“Probably?”
“G-good heavens.”
Maranello touched his forehead as if he couldn’t believe it.
It seemed even the legendary knight Maranello was seeing a real dragon for the first time.
“It’s… it’s so cute…!”
Evangeline’s face flushed, so adorable did she find the hatchling.
“Young Master.”
“Hm?”
“May I… pet it?”
“No. It bites.”
“Ah, I see.”
Evangeline licked her lips in disappointment.
Instead of sharp, gleaming scales, the hatchling was covered in soft, glossy fur like a cat’s, giving it a charm that made anyone want to stroke it.
The problem was its nasty temper.
“Young Master, what on earth has happened?”
“A lot has happened.”
“Even so, how did you end up with a hatchling…?”
Maranello’s face hardened as if the mere thought was horrifying.
“Are you worried about its mother’s retaliation?”
“How could I not be? A dragon’s wrath is fearsome, Young Master. The history books alone…”
“It’s fine. This one’s an orphan.”
“Pardon…?”
Maranello frowned as if asking what he meant.
“No, Young Master. It may be a hatchling, but how can you say such a harsh thing in front of it?”
Then, the hatchling spoke.
“Nom nom. It’s true I don’t have a mommy or daddy, old man. Nom nom. Nom nom nom.”
“…”
Maranello’s jaw dropped.
***
“S-so that’s what happened?”
“You’re truly amazing, Young Master.”
Maranello and Evangeline were astonished to hear about everything Carlyle had been through.
‘Even if it’s full of lies.’
Carlyle gave a bitter smile inwardly.
He couldn’t tell them the whole truth, so he had no choice but to distort and embellish the facts appropriately.
“Young Master, you’ve done so well. *Sniff*.”
Maranello lowered his glasses and took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from his eyes.
“Not only have you fulfilled your duty to the nation splendidly, but you’ve also achieved the Blood Seal Awakening and rendered great service to the country… This old man can now die without any regrets.”
“I don’t think it’s that big of a deal…”
“*Sob…*”
Maranello was genuinely crying, truly overcome with emotion.
‘They say you get more emotional in your old age.’
But on the other hand, it was understandable.
Before the possession, Carlyle had been the universally acknowledged degenerate of the North.
Seeing a piece of human trash, whom everyone thought would never amount to anything, living a respectable life was enough to move anyone.
“Oh, right.”
Carlyle wasn’t affectionate enough to comfort Maranello, so he turned to Evangeline.
“Here, thank you for this. It saved my life a few times.”
“I’m so happy it was helpful to you, Young Master!”
Evangeline beamed.
“This is a gift.”
“What is this…?”
“A mana amplifier. I found it in that wizard’s dungeon I mentioned. You can have it. It’s not the best, but it should be helpful.”
“Thank you so much! I’ll treasure it as a family heirloom for the rest of my life!”
“An heirloom is a bit much…”
“No! It’s the first gift you’ve ever given me, Young Master. I have to cherish it forever and pass it down to my descendants!”
Evangeline seemed so pleased with Carlyle’s gesture that she looked ready to jump up and down right where she sat.
‘If she hadn’t been an earth spiritist, if she hadn’t caught my eye… she would have ended up like Private Gwen.’
Carlyle thought of Gwen as he looked at Evangeline.
In terms of age and circumstances, Evangeline and Gwen had a lot in common.
“You received my letter, right?”
“Of course! I reported to His Grace the Grand Duke as soon as I read it.”
“I was so happy to receive a reply from you, Young Master!”
As Carlyle was chatting with Maranello and Evangeline, someone quietly pushed aside the tent flap.
“Private Carly… ah.”
Kudo spotted Maranello and Evangeline and clamped his mouth shut.
“Hoh.”
A curious expression appeared on Maranello’s face.
“So you were here?”
“…”
“Good to see you. Fancy meeting you in a place like this.”
Maranello offered a subtle greeting to Kudo.
‘What, they know each other?’
Carlyle blinked.
One was a mere private serving in a small fortress.
The other was a legendary knight, famous enough to be recorded in history books.
It was baffling how two people whose paths were so unlikely to cross could be acquainted.