PT | Chapter 3.2

“How should I do this-?”

“……”

At the sound of the urgent voice near his ear, Aubrey opened his eyes, staring blankly.

For a moment, he couldn’t remember where he was or what he had been doing. Then, he realized he had fallen asleep, lying on the table where the servants were eating. It seemed he had even drooled a bit, and as he wiped his lips with his finger, he heard the voices from outside again.

“Looks like Lennock was caught and dragged away without being able to resist.”

“How can a grown man be so disgraceful? Lennock is the son of the marquis…”

“He’s not his real child, so he takes advantage of that. I think the guests were involved in the marquis’s new business… It makes me so angry and disgusted.”

“……”

The reason the servants outside were so flustered wasn’t because of him, but because of the content of their conversation.

If it wasn’t about him, he wouldn’t have cared, but their words really rubbed him the wrong way.

That bastard Lennock had been well-formed since he was thirteen, his features complete and his body growing rapidly. Maybe that’s why he had attracted attention from all kinds of people, young and old. If he had been the marquis’s biological child, it would have just ended with a few flirtatious looks, but once it was known that he was an adopted child, there were those who wanted to get their hands on him. Even though he wasn’t out of the marquis’s house at the time, this was still happening within it.

Was it related to the new business? The work involving one of the parts for the battery case the marquis had been focusing on recently. But that seemed to be just a short-term solution for saving electricity, with excessive wear and tear on the parts in the long run. It was more of a loss than a gain.

A knowledge he’d gained through his regression, but he had no intention of sharing it with the marquis. If he had returned, it would have been better to start everything over from the beginning. Besides, the marquis hated anyone meddling with decisions he had already made. As an estranged son, Aubrey knew his words wouldn’t even make it past the marquis’s ears.

Meanwhile, in this life, Lennock seemed to have won the marquis’s favor.

It was interesting how relationships changed a little with each life, but that was all it was. So Aubrey didn’t care whether Lennock was being harassed or not. The marquis might have even deliberately let it happen to advance his own business…

“……”

The servants probably thought that the drunk guests were just spouting nonsense, but Aubrey knew far too much. The marquis was someone who would never allow anyone close unless they were of his own blood. Only his direct children mattered to him, and he divided everything based on that. It seemed to be because of his inferiority complex about commoners.

So, for the marquis to have Lennock sit next to him wasn’t because of any parental affection—it was simply because Lennock himself was a commodity to be used.

Aubrey had learned that, in a few lifetimes, Lennock had been used in this way…

“Should we step in and stop it?”

“Do you think it’ll just end with you getting kicked out? Do you want to die without anyone knowing?”

“But… Lennock… Young Master…”

They trailed off, seemingly about to cry, and Aubrey lifted the corner of his mouth slightly.

Lennock really was lucky. He had so many people worried about him. Aubrey sneered inwardly as he turned his body around. He opened the door and walked into the food storage room, where the servants gathered near the entrance, looking startled when they saw him.

“Young Master Aubrey?!”

Ignoring their faces as if they had seen a ghost, Aubrey quietly walked past them.

He had just come down because he was hungry. He didn’t want anyone making a big deal about it. He was about to leave, so they should just get back to work. He considered saying this, but wasn’t in the mood. He had woken up awkwardly from sleeping face-down on the table, and his mood was slightly off.

For now, he needed to return to his room…

Ah, he had to go through the window again.

It irritated him that he had to enter his room this way when there was a perfectly good door. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Aubrey muttered a curse and made his way toward the back stairs.

“Young Master—”

As he stepped onto the stairs, a frantic voice called after him.

Aubrey’s condition wasn’t good. Whether it was because he had hurriedly eaten when he was hungry or had woken up from lying face-down, he was more irritable than usual, and his expression clearly showed it. The maid who saw him, looking like he might lash out at any moment, swallowed nervously.

She, clearly nervous, placed a hand over her chest and stammered.

“Well, um, it’s just that Lennock… Young Master Lennock is in a dangerous situation, and we were wondering if you could help… We can’t say anything to the guests, but… you’re different…”

The servants could be fired for a single wrong word, but Aubrey was different. The maid, hoping that a single word from him might be enough to help Lennock, gazed at him eagerly.

Aubrey met her desperate eyes and opened his mouth.

“Who gave you the nerve to talk to me first?”

“……”

Did she not expect Aubrey to respond like this?

The maid’s eyes wavered, and tears quickly filled them. She lowered her head, and Aubrey turned his face away.

The maid had brought him milk and food. But just because she did that didn’t mean she had the right to behave this way. If they crossed paths again, he’d make sure to avoid her on his own. Aubrey climbed the stairs, ignoring her.

If he returned to his room, he wouldn’t have to deal with anything tiresome. His father wouldn’t forgive him for leaving the room because of thirst and hunger. The next time, he’d lock him away in a room on the top floor where escape was impossible, so he’d have to return before then. Even though he didn’t want to, maybe if he pretended to regret it, he could go back to the academy. With his graduation certificate, he would finally escape this cursed place.

This time, he had to get as far away as possible. He’d live quietly in a place where no one knew him, and when the time came, he would die in a fire. He had already accepted that he knew the time of his death, and it no longer bothered him. What bothered him the most was that bastard Lennock’s face popping up in his last moments. The source of it all, that bastard Lennock.

This time, he planned to live like a carefree person in a quiet, peaceful place and meet a calm death.

While he couldn’t decide the exact time of his death, he at least could choose the manner of it, and that would make it less unfair.

Aubrey exhaled deeply and lifted his head, only to meet the gaze of the butler standing ahead.

“……”

He had meant to enter the room through the window, but had made a mistake. He had been thinking about it until just now, and yet he had forgotten. Aubrey, trying to feign calmness, walked toward the butler.

The butler didn’t say anything as he watched Aubrey walk toward him. His expression just conveyed, “I’ll be in trouble if you do this.”

“I just wanted to be quiet, but what can I do? Plus, there was no drinking water in my room. Don’t you think basic things like that should be taken care of before you lock me up?”

“I apologize, Young Master. I’ll prepare it right away. Please stay quietly in your room. You’ll be graduating soon, won’t you? If you show a good attitude at the end, the marquis might soften his heart.”

“……”

Everyone knew that the relationship between the marquis and Aubrey was the worst. The butler probably knew that too, but he still gave advice on how to please the marquis. Aubrey thought, maybe it was only because the butler was here that he could breathe a little easier, but he opened his mouth.

“Fine. Alright…”

Thud.

He had planned to disappear right after graduation, but there was no need to reveal that.

Just as Aubrey was about to say something comforting to ease the anxious butler, a loud noise came from somewhere, making him look up. At the same time, the butler stepped toward him.

“Young Master, please go back to your room…”

The butler fell silent as he saw Aubrey’s face, his expression uneasy as Aubrey glanced toward the dark corridor. Aubrey, lowering his head, asked.

“Wasn’t Lennock sitting next to my father today?”

“Yes, the marquis and the youngest young master didn’t want it, but the guests insisted…”

“Of course. That bastard has the best face, after all. If they use that face as a reason to drink, it’ll go down smoothly, won’t it?”

“Younger Master, how could you say something like that?”

The butler seemed shocked by Aubrey’s crude words. But Aubrey didn’t see the need to sugarcoat the truth.

It looked like an elegant gathering with fine food and drinks being exchanged, but in reality, it was a place where they were auctioning off Lennock as a commodity. The marquis had probably chosen the guests who offered the highest price, someone who would be useful to him. Lennock was eighteen now, so it was about time he was being used.

This had happened before. Lennock was used for body trades, and Aubrey and his three older brothers expanded their influence through formal marriages.

There had been times when Lennock had been used so much that he had nearly broken down. But, well, once he awakened due to his great sin, he could destroy everything. Perhaps that’s why he had wanted to burn everything down right after awakening…

“Young Master.”

The butler called out, and Aubrey looked down at him, raising an eyebrow.

“What is it?”

With a nervous look, the butler replied.

“Please, don’t make things worse for the master.”

“……”

Aubrey didn’t want to make things worse.

It was already nonsensical for him to help Lennock in the first place. But for some reason, the voices of the maids from earlier echoed in his mind.

“Aren’t Young Master Lennock and Young Master Aubrey on good terms?”

“……”

They must have misunderstood. Otherwise, they couldn’t possibly think that he and that bastard were on good terms. And today, he felt a little off. Maybe being locked in his room while hungry had made all his pent-up frustrations spill over.

In this life, everyone seemed to see him as nothing but a troublemaker.

They had no idea who the real troublemaker was.

Aubrey turned around, walking toward the opposite direction of his room. The butler, panicking, chased after him. Hesitating, the butler grabbed Aubrey’s arm, trying to stop him.

“Younger Master, if you get involved in this, it will be a disaster. You’ll be thrown out!”

To those noble sons with no practical skills, the butler’s words were the scariest. But to Aubrey, it was more like good news. As long as he could leave this place, anything else didn’t matter. Plus, he had placed some bets on promising businesses and had made a nice profit. This was money Aubrey had made without the marquis’s knowledge.

He had planned to use it as his initial settlement, but in this situation, it was all he had to rely on.

Aubrey looked down at the butler, who was still holding on.

“Before worrying about me, why didn’t you try stopping my father from selling Lennock like a commodity? That bastard may look grown, but he’s still just eighteen.”

“……”