Reborn Rich, I Live an Ordinary Life
I was reincarnated, but I was born rich, and so I live an ordinary life.
About a week had passed since the memories of my previous life came back. Even so, my days hadn't changed. A past life was a past life, and this life was this life. I intended to make clever use of only the memories I actually needed. Then again, what could I really do in the body of a four-year-old? With the easy conviction that I'll put them to use once enough time has passed, I was enjoying a perfectly ordinary existence.
Or should I call it a wealthy one? I had been born Yu I-hyeon, the youngest young master of the Zhejiang Yu Family, a house richer even than the Five Great Clans. Set beside the other novels I'd read—possession of a body already marked for ruin, or a drop into a reality where you couldn't survive without throwing yourself into the fray—I'd been lucky.
That didn't mean I was without problems. Whether it was because my body was frail or not, Mother and Father raised me as if I were gold and jade.
"Young Master, even if it's only the courtyard, you mustn't go wandering about dressed like that."
See? I'd barely stepped into the yard, and already I was being scolded.
"I've already compromised plenty, Tomusa. Let me get a little morning air."
"Ah! Young Master, don't run!"
The one chasing after me was my bodyguard, Tomusa. She wasn't called that because her surname was To. It was her looks—white hair and crimson pupils, with twin braids hanging long on either side, so much like a rabbit's ears that the name Rabbit Warrior had stuck. Cute, right? A rabbit warrior.
"Honestly. You know you're going to be caught this easily."
Tomusa scooped me clean off the ground.
"Put me down! I've been plenty considerate already!"
I thrashed in her arms with everything I had.
"All you've got on is sleepwear with a single coat thrown over it. The morning wind is still cold. You can't go out dressed like that."
"Fine, fine, I get it, so put me down."
I gave up the struggle and demanded to be set on my feet.
"No. Last time you said that, you ran off again."
She refused me flat.
"Tch. I didn't want to use this. Tomusa, that's an order! Put me down!"
At that, a laugh slipped out of her.
"My master is the Family Head. The Family Head's command to look after you comes before anything you say, Young Master."
In the end I was hauled, helpless in her arms, all the way back to my room. My temper, however, had not cooled.
Brows drawn tight, I told her, "I'm telling you, morning air is nice because it's cool. Wearing thin clothes is only natural."
Maybe it was because this world had no global warming. Even in summer, I woke to a crisp, refreshing breeze. That was why I went out for a walk every morning, and she had the nerve to interfere. Tomusa had no sense of romance.
"I asked you to be mindful of other people's eyes."
She let out a deep sigh.
"It's not as if I'm going around with my clothes undone so everything shows, or wearing short sleeves."
"I'm saying it shows through!"
She loomed over me.
"In any case, that sort of dress is not allowed. If someone were to see you like that and harbor wicked intentions..."
Her face went grave.
"As if anything like that would happen inside the clan. And I've got a bodyguard this impressive—what is there to worry about?"
I jabbed her in the side with my elbow. The innocent act, it seemed, did not sit well with her.
"This won't do. I'll have to punish you."
"No! I don't want to!!"
I shot up to flee, and was subdued at once. Face bright with anticipation, Tomusa sat me on her thigh and began kneading my cheeks, squish, squish, squish.
I hated this punishment. My cheeks hurt, and it felt like being treated as a pet. Besides...
"How is this a punishment? It's pure self-indulgence."
"The fact that you dislike it is more than enough for it to function as one."
She paid my complaint no mind at all and went right on enjoying my cheeks.
"Then at least stop panting like that."
Caught out, she cleared her throat at once. A pervert like this for a bodyguard—was I going to be all right?
"Anyway, let's get you changed and off to breakfast."
"Yeah. The others will be waiting."
With Tomusa's help, I changed into the clothes the servants had laid out. If I dressed myself, everything came undone in moments, so I had to rely on her. These little fern-shoot hands still couldn't manage ties and fastenings. An adult's hands were required.
Once I was changed and headed for the dining hall, the servants were waiting. Ordinarily, breakfast in the clan was taken among those of matching station. Among the people currently remaining in the house, though, there was no one of my standing. So I had decided, of my own accord, to eat with the servants. Eating alone was lonely, after all.
"Thank you for the meal."
Only when I lifted my spoon did the others lift theirs. The moment I saw that, I set about the food as if marching to war. These were people eating with me because I had insisted. I couldn't make the meal uncomfortable for them. The proper thing was to finish quickly and clear the seat, so they wouldn't have to eat while watching my mood.
And yet the servants always stared straight at me until I had eaten every last bite. The first time I noticed, it struck me as strange, and I tried asking why none of them were eating. They picked at their food a little, then went right back to watching me. Ever since, it had felt as though I were eating the rice and a heaping side of awkwardness together. I was supposed to be the one making them uncomfortable, and somehow it had ended up the other way around.
And then...
"Young Master, please try this too."
"Ah, Young Master, just one bite of what I made!"
"Young Master, I made this one."
Now and then they pressed dishes on me like that, and I was half-forced to taste everything. When you're little, you're supposed to eat nothing but meat! I wanted to say it, but I had no choice. I chewed my bok choy and eggplant down to the last bite and swallowed. I could have refused, of course, but then their faces would crumple in utter shock and their shoulders would slump. Eat well, on the other hand, and they lit up. Seeing that, my resolve softened, and I accepted it all. A little young master ought to get along with the servants. Obviously.
"I ate well."
Once I had finished everything they offered, my meal was over, and only then did the servants attack their own food with militant focus. They said it was to keep to the mealtime. I wanted to tell them that if that was the case, they should stop watching me and eat. When I asked whether they disliked eating with me, the answer came back without a moment's hesitation, all of them at once.
"No! This is wonderful! Getting to sit at the same table as Young Master I-hyeon is the best!"
So I left it as it was.
"You are loved wherever you go, Young Master."
Tomusa said as much, but I couldn't read what she meant by it. I still hadn't adjusted to the difference in culture.
When breakfast ended, I headed for the Family Head's residence, where Mother and Father were.
"Dad~!"
I always ran to Father first and threw myself into his arms, and he always lifted me high. This was a world with men and women reversed, and when I was little I had clung to Father far more than to Mother. Maybe that was why he felt easier to be with.
"Well then. Did our I-hyeon enjoy his meal?"
"Mm. I chewed everything up nicely again today."
"Aigoo, what a good boy."
He rubbed his cheek against mine. The beard tickled, but I didn't mind. While he nuzzled me, I gave him a kiss.
"Who did our I-hyeon take after, to be this pretty?"
"Hehe. I take after Dad, that's all."
When I said it with a shameless little grin, he hugged me tight. Then Mother made her small show of jealousy. That was her wordless demand to be held as well.
"Dad, I'm going to Mom."
Only then, looking disappointed, did he hand me over. Mother looked cold and stern on the outside, but inside she adored me. I kissed her too, and sure enough, the corners of her mouth twitched. Ah, and while I was at it, I ought to tattle on Tomusa's tyranny.
"Mom, today Tomusa said it was a punishment and just kept grabbing my cheeks."
I stuck my tongue out at Tomusa. Bleh. Get scolded by Mom now, Tomusa.
"How envi— no. Her duty is to correct your conduct, so I told her to hand down that much punishment when it was needed."
The answer that came back was nothing I had expected. Tomusa dropped her head, and her shoulders shook. She was laughing, wasn't she? Laughing at me! Just you wait... I'd pay her back later, Tomusa.
"...Did you hear me?"
Oh no. I'd been so focused on Tomusa that I hadn't caught what Mother said.
"Huh?! Yes, I heard you."
"Good. Then go and have fun today as well."
From the way she said it, it probably wasn't anything important. Once the morning greetings were done, I had nothing left to do. Loafing idly inside the clan was my entire daily life. I was bored out of my mind with no one to pair off with, and Tomusa stuck to my side all the same. Now and then I tried a word.
"Tomusa, I want to learn martial arts too..."
"I have already told you no."
She cut me off clean. Honestly, I'd had enormous expectations, being born into a martial arts world. Not a single person in the clan would teach me.
"Isn't now the best time to learn? Why can't I?"
"I cannot tell you at present. I'll explain later."
Ask for the reason, and that was all I ever got.
"Then I can't even enter as a core disciple of the Nine Sects and One Gang, or a direct disciple of the Ten Great Sects?"
"No. You cannot."
Tch. And here I'd thought I might learn something absurdly cool, like the Azure Cloud Crimson-Sunset Sword, the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Art, or the Taiji Sword Art. I'd wanted the strange arts of the unorthodox sects that existed only in this novel, too. But the clan wouldn't so much as let me pick up a wooden sword, never mind martial arts.
"Then at least let me play with a wooden sword."
"A sword is not a toy for a boy. Shall I prepare dolls or handicrafts instead?"
"Hmph, forget it! This is forbidden, that's forbidden. I'll just sit here and watch the warriors train."
This was forbidden, that was forbidden. I was bored beyond belief. When I stuck my lip out a full four inches, Tomusa let out a soft laugh.
"Then I'll play with you again today."
"Tell me stories from the murim."
"Where did I leave off?"
Tomusa knew no end of entertaining tales from the martial world. Some of them had appeared in the novel, and some had not. The ones the novel never mentioned were the only light that eased my boredom. The stories I already knew weren't useless either. Through the ones she told that the novel had mentioned, I could gauge how far the plot had progressed. I couldn't step into the story yet, but the day would come when I could. It was only a vague hope, but it helped.
And so another dull, ordinary day of mine seemed to come to an end.
"Good night, Tomusa."
"Sleep well, Young Master."
When I lay down on the bed, she put out the light and left. I had finished an ordinary day and stretched out to sleep, but that night the moon was unusually bright. I meant to draw the curtains so the moonlight wouldn't come in.
That was when the ninja appeared. More precisely, a masked figure dressed in pitch-black clothes, face wrapped in a mask. I knew at once that this person was no ordinary intruder.
"Tomu—mmph!"
Damn it. I'd tried to call Tomusa right away, and I'd been subdued. The moment a cloth that smelled of some drug was pressed over my nose and mouth, the strength ran out of me and I went limp. If I had learned martial arts... a counterattack would have been too much to ask, but I might at least have noticed. No—at the very least, I might have managed to call Tomusa...
Ah... my consciousness was slipping away.