Chapter 3: Second Son

It wasn’t until the next day that I realized this wasn’t a dream.

Well, in a dream, you fall asleep again.

And usually, you don’t wake up again.

The first thing that hit me, belatedly aware of reality, was the karmic retribution for my past actions.

Honestly, if it were something important, I should have been pondering why and how I had returned to the past.

No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t make sense, right?

I clearly died, yet I returned to the past? It’s not some new novel or story.

There’s no one who would just brush off such a thing with, “Well, it could happen.”

Nevertheless, the reason I panicked was simple.

Because I had already done too much.

‘What should I do…’

I was confident I could take responsibility.

Losing Yuria was a big deal, but if I could gain freedom, that would be a significant merit.

Moreover, if my guess was correct and I had returned to the past, I could just use the events from my previous life.

‘…Hmm.’

Thinking about the timing, it was some time after the marriage ceremony with Yuria.

And the divorce would happen just two years later.

Anyway, I was destined to get divorced soon.

If I were to list the people I wanted to meet…

‘The second son and the eldest son of this family, I need to meet those two.’

That’s when it happened.

Knock knock.

Having sorted out the situation, I got up at the sound of someone knocking on the door.

And just as I was adjusting my clothes to prepare to greet them.

Before I could even give permission, the firmly closed door opened.

And a man, pushing aside the servant, stepped into the room as if it were the most natural thing.

Amon Ehrenheit.

The second son of the family.

So it was him.

…I thought he might come.

After his arrogant steps.

A man dressed in clothes that clearly showed his desire to adorn himself stopped in front of me.

His jet-black hair and uniquely pale skin proved how young he was.

His hands were soft, showing he had never done any hard work, and his frail body lacked even the slightest muscle.

“Surprisingly, you’re still alive.”

His thin, snake-like eyes stared at me.

It was clear he had come to mock me.

“But I can see why you did what you did. Excessive consideration can easily be mistaken for a right.”

“…”

“That insolent act too.”

He furrowed his brow.

Still, there was no answer.

It’s not normal for a commoner to keep their head raised in front of a noble.

Even if there’s no content, just making eye contact can be a crime.

That’s the social status.

However, he sensed something odd from the lack of any change in my expression.

In this period, I usually responded to him promptly.

Amon didn’t speak long.

He just crossed his arms and observed me.

I exhaled once and stood up.

Amon was still looking down at me with his gaze.

“…”

After glancing at the trembling servant for a moment, I reached him.

After a brief internal debate, I recalled my memories of Amon and felt no need to deal with him, so I decided to ignore him.

“Let’s talk later. I don’t think anything good will come out now.”

“…I see”

As I waited quietly, the servant’s expression clearly showed unease.

I rolled my eyes and then turned my back to him, heading back to the chair.

Anyway, there was no need to deal with him.

Just as I was about to sit down again, it happened.

Thud!

It happened in an instant.

When I opened my eyes, my entire body was already soaked.

Amon, who had lightly taken out a short wand, brought in the water used to wash the rag outside and splashed it all over my head.

The stench that fell from my head dripped down my entire body.

For a while, I couldn’t understand what had happened.

The sticky feeling touching my eyes, the foul smell brushing my nose…

Instinctively, I raised my hand to wipe my face, but it only made it stickier and more uncomfortable.

“Now you look more fitting.”

“…”

His thin eyes finally curved in satisfaction.

He took out a handkerchief to cover his nose, then made a gesture with his hand and laughed.

“The smell is… worse than a crawling rat.”

Drip drip.

My hair hung down, my shirt was soaked from the shoulders, and the foul smell permeated my entire body.

His expression, visible through the falling droplets, held a bitter sneer.

“I wondered where that disgusting smell was coming from, and it turns out there was a rat in the room.”

“…”

“If you’re not a rat, then what are you? Trying to win Yuria’s heart, doing all sorts of things, putting in so much effort… Are you giving up now?”

Amon swung his wand once more, creating a flame in his hand and slapping my cheek with it.

Slap!

The feeling of my head snapping back.

But the difference from before was… there was a clear wound on my face.

It was only then that I remembered why the servant’s face had so many scars.

And who had caused the burns on my face.

Who had first ordered me to be a magic target.

Grab.

Soon, he grabbed my head and made eye contact with me as he spoke.

“Why are you opening your eyes like that?”

“…”

“It was a question of what you were going to do.”

“…”

“You keep raising your head so insolently.”

Gradually, my head was pushed back.

Soon, Amon, holding his wand, pushed my chest and made me fall backward.

Thud.

The floor, dirtied by the rag water, was slippery, and because of that, I ended up sitting down.

“That’s what suits a rat like you. Yeah.”

He raised his hand and slapped my cheek once more.

My head snapped back again.

He looked down at me with a satisfied smile.

“It’s amazing that Yuria even accepted a rat like you. Such a dirty creature. Not knowing your place… How dare you!”

The rising stench seemed to bother him, and he took out his handkerchief again to press against his nose.

When he turned his head slightly to look at me, his eyes were filled with displeasure.

“What right does a lucky rat, crawling in, have to tarnish the face of our family?”

“…”

“Know your place and live like a dead rat.”

I stared at him quietly for a moment, then got up.

The large burn on my face, now gone, throbbed.

Memories of the past came back.

-In the future, this burn might not disappear.

The words that came out of the doctor’s mouth as he sat quietly.

“…”

‘I don’t know what happened to you, but you’ve suffered severe burns.’

‘As if someone made sure it wouldn’t fade…

Even potions won’t work.

There’s surgery, but it might make the scar worse.’

Magic target.

Amon’s arrogant actions were already famous around here.

He didn’t hesitate to throw servants into fighting dog pits, rendering them unable to function.

He used humans as targets to test his magic, and his cruel nature was well-known to everyone.

And then, at some point, his notoriety diminished.

Because there were no more victims.

To be precise, because his target had been reduced to just one person.

Not just Amon’s burns.

Starting from that, I lost my right eye here, gained disabilities that wouldn’t disappear, and received countless deep wounds.

But their reactions were all the same.

Without a hint of guilt, they were just bothered by the dirty floor in front of them, like now.

Slap!

The sound echoed through the room.

When something beyond common sense happens, people are momentarily stunned.

It’s hard to process something so far removed from reality.

There are times when it’s hard to understand immediately.

This was exactly that kind of situation.

“…”

As if something was bothering him, his face twisted indescribably.

A metallic taste filled my mouth.

My neck ached from being snapped back.

In front of me, Amon, who had been slapped just once, was sitting with a nosebleed.

The space seemed frozen, the cold silence stretching on.

He was still in shock, blinking his eyes, his twisted eyebrows showing his current emotions.

Then, grinding his teeth, Amon stood up.

Wasn’t he just a magic target?

Where was his position?

No matter what he did, he couldn’t make a sound.

If he accidentally stepped on a shoe or bumped into someone, he’d be beaten until he couldn’t recover, and if he touched a noble, he’d be scolded.

But, unlike that past, now Amon’s face was streaming with bright red blood.

For the first time in his life, someone had made him bleed.

He tried to say something, but after being slapped again, all that came out was a weak, deflated sound.

“…”

Drip, drip, the nosebleed fell to the floor.

I was from a rat’s nest.

Close to a sewer rat.

That’s why I hated being called a rat.

When you roll around in mercenary taverns, your personality tends to sharpen.

The way to solve it when someone touches a nerve is…

“Get up. I don’t want to hear any excuses about tripping and falling later.”

To show the beast who’s the alpha and who’s the beta.

That’s when it happened.

A servant behind me spoke.

“If… if you lay a hand on the lord…”

In an uncertain voice, as if trying to stop me.

This guy also ignores me.

But no one dared to stop me firmly.

They probably didn’t expect me to act like this.

Amon, wiping his nosebleed, parted his lips.

“…The lord will definitely punish you.”

“…Let him.”

But regardless, the room was filled with a cold silence.

The servants kept their mouths shut, their gazes focused.

Their eyes, actions, warnings… even the air surrounding them felt oppressive,

But I continued to assert my will.

Amon, squeezing out mana and holding his wand, the servant covering his mouth in shock behind him, the gathering stares. None of it concerned me.

“No.”

“…”

“Let him.”