58.
Even Blando, who was worried at first, started smiling contentedly at some point.
“You’ve become close.”
“No, we haven’t!”
“No, we haven’t!”
They both strongly denied it, but their actions were no different from brothers.
“I’m not as stupid as this person!”
“I’m not as dull as him!”
“What did you say?”
“What did you say!”
The childish fight continued endlessly. Gee returned to the main camp, bringing the grumbling San. The doctor who had started staying at the main camp at some point raised his eyebrows when he saw Ulan brought by Gee.
“Didn’t I tell you? I can’t revive corpses!”
“Aren’t you a skilled doctor?”
“No, actually I’m just a half-baked doctor who gave up in the middle of medical studies. So please let me go now.”
The doctor whined, but Gee didn’t budge.
“It’s okay. I saw that you’re really skilled. So try to revive him. At least this time he’s less damaged than before?”
“No, even so!”
“Well then, I’m going to feed the kid!”
Gee left Ulan with the doctor and quickly ran away with San. Despite constantly fighting with San, he strictly kept to the child’s meal times.
“Because he’s too small now.”
San sat on the chair, swinging his feet and eating the bread Gee threw to him. Despite everything, he too was growing attached to Gee. Just as Gee was to him.
Yu Jin, the good-for-nothing of Lucid, has changed!
The rumor that had been circulating quietly spread more and more, eventually reaching the ears of Lucid.
“That child has changed?”
Famina, the first wife of the current head of Lucid, frowned at the news she heard. She thought he was at least aware of his position, but why was he suddenly stepping forward?
Could he be aiming for the position of family head? The thought made her heart chill. Everyone thought the family head had abandoned Yu Jin, but Famina thought differently. He was the child of the only woman the family head had loved. Although that woman was dead, she didn’t think she would have died quietly. She must have asked something of the family head before dying.
Usually, in such cases, it’s obvious what they would ask.
It wasn’t difficult to guess what that woman, Asha, would have said.
‘Please protect my child.’
Asha wasn’t the type to believe that power and wealth make people happy. Rather, she was someone who valued mutual affection and small happinesses.
“Who doesn’t know that.”
Famina also knew the value of what Asha had said. But the path Famina chose was different from hers. She couldn’t give up everything for just small, precious values when there was so much she could have. That’s why she married a man who had no feelings for her and even bore his child. And that child was now the most likely candidate to succeed Lucid.
The already solid position of heir became even more secure when Ahmed caused trouble. It would be troublesome if an obstacle appeared in this situation. Asha didn’t want power and wealth, but her son might be different.
He must have thrown away his good-for-nothing image because he wanted something.
Famina disliked variables. And the fact that this variable was Asha’s son was terrifying. Asha didn’t dislike Famina, but sometimes there can be one-sided hatred. She leaned back on the sofa and spoke to the man kneeling in front of her.
“Find out where Yu Jin has been going lately.”
Normally, she would have called Yu Jin directly to reprimand him, but Famina had no intention of making the same mistake as the stupid second wife’s son so soon after Ahmed caused problems. So she decided to take action herself after a long time.
‘A chance encounter should be fine.’
It should be okay to casually mention her son’s life while at it. Yu Jin was Asha’s son, but he was also Famina’s son.
That fact wouldn’t change as long as Famina was the first wife of Lucid.
Yu Jin lowered his gaze from the sparkling chandelier on the ceiling. There were quite a lot of people, probably because it was a party held by a fairly powerful count’s family. Among them, some impressive people could be seen occasionally. Those who had amassed enormous wealth, those with great strength, those wielding power, and so on.
‘This doesn’t seem like a place for me.’
Yu Jin much preferred lounging on the sofa at home, casually eating snacks, to such lavish parties. But thinking of Keith and Haruna who were working hard in real-time, he couldn’t just do what he wanted. The original purpose of Yu Jin entering high society was to build connections and change the accumulated bad reputation. If so, he had to somehow achieve that goal.
Yu Jin raised a glass of low-alcohol champagne and looked for an opportunity. As much interest as he showed in others, they too showed interest in Yu Jin. Among them, Yu Jin needed to befriend those who could be helpful.
‘This is difficult.’
He had memorized the information beforehand, but he was afraid of getting confused. Yu Jin drank a cocktail as his throat was dry. As soon as the glass emptied and he was about to pick up a new one, a girl with unique red hair approached him.
To be precise, it was closer to a rose color mixed with purple rather than red.
“Hello.”
It was Marilyn, the daughter of the count’s family hosting today’s party.
“Are you enjoying the party?”
“I’m trying to enjoy it.”
“Hmm, it seems you don’t have anything you want.”
“No. There is something I want, but it’s not easy to obtain.”
At Yu Jin’s words, Marilyn’s green eyes sparkled.
“I’m curious about what you want. Could you tell me secretly?”
She was said to be still in her teens, but her actions were lively and cute. Is this what it would be like to have a younger sister? Yu Jin smiled slightly and said,
“Friends. I want friends I can do anything with.”
“Friends?”
Marilyn tilted her head.
“I thought you’d have many.”
“No, I don’t.”
The good-for-nothings he had met so far weren’t even worth calling friends. They were the kind of people a fallen Yu Jin would meet. It meant they were all known to be that kind of people.
“Oh my, no friends. That’s sad. Then I could be your friend.”
“That’s a kind offer.”
“But you have to have the same tastes as me.”
“What kind of tastes do you mean?”
At Yu Jin’s words, Marilyn grabbed her skirt and twirled around once on the spot. Only then did Yu Jin realize that he had failed to notice that Marilyn’s attire was unique because he was focused on other things.
Marilyn was wearing a slightly different type of clothing from other young ladies. Most of the clothes worn by the inhabitants of the Lion Continent seemed to be a combination of fantasy and Roman attire.
Commoners wore simple tops and pants made of rough, thick cloth, and if they added anything, it was just a vest. It was the kind of clothing a character in a game might wear at the beginning.
Then what do nobles wear? Their clothes start with different materials. Thinner, lighter, and more flowy. Even pants have minor details, and more attention is paid to the tops. Yu Jin was reminded of ancient Roman attire when he saw it.
They also wore accessories with sparkling jewels, which reminded him of Egypt. Even Yu Jin was wearing earrings, a necklace, and bracelets today. He didn’t have any decorations in his hair, but many people even added hair ornaments.
But Marilyn’s clothes were different. The dress made of pale yellow cloth had a voluminous skirt and was short in length. The accessories she wore were not of common shapes either. The jewels were smaller and simpler. It was reminiscent of medieval English or French costumes. I don’t know how she came up with such a thing. Well, even dresses must have been thought up and created by someone in the first place.
‘It’s bold.’
I’m not sure if people will accept it properly. But if it becomes trendy, it could make a lot of money. So it was even more regrettable. Overall, it was a cute-looking dress, but the lace was crude. If only that could be changed, it would look better. Or at least if embroidery was added. Thinking that far, he shook his head.
‘No, what do I know about fashion.’
It would be better to just keep quiet. As he was thinking this, Marilyn opened her mouth, her eyes wide.
“What?”
“What?”
“You just said it. That it’s regrettable.”
It seems he had unconsciously spoken aloud the thoughts he was so absorbed in. Yu Jin smiled awkwardly and lightly swirled his champagne glass. As he was wondering how to cover it up, Marilyn asked excitedly.
“Please tell me what’s regrettable! I really want to know.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because I want to become prettier. People can become prettier through effort too. And this is a dress I made. I’ve been wearing it often lately, and the reviews are quite good. If I modify it a bit more and appeal to people, I might be able to sell it.”
Come to think of it, the count’s family was operating a fairly large merchant guild, and they had entrusted the clothing-related part to their daughter. Originally, the count had no such intention, but I heard that Marilyn, his daughter, had persistently begged and obtained it. Since it wasn’t a major part of the guild, her brother, who was the heir to the count’s family, also agreed to it.
