When I realized I had the strength to open my eyes, I was forced to acknowledge that I was still alive.
My physical condition was still terrible; my whole body ached, as if ants were crawling inside my bones. Ahead of me was the familiar ceiling, and I was lying in the familiar large bed.
My clothes had been changed. It seemed that during my unconsciousness, I had received meticulous care from the Anglus family, and had been pulled back from the brink of death.
Did Marquis Bahod really pay 10,000 gold coins? What happened to Carol and Volth? How was I found? Although there are many questions, they are not important now. Let me immerse myself in the joy of being alive.
I closed my eyes again and tried to call the system.
[ Name: Robert von Anglus (???)
Species: Human(???)
Level: 1
Age: 5
Strength: 30
Stamina: 30
Intelligence: 30
Agility: 30
Magic Power: 30
(Note - Avg. value of an adult human is 10 )
Skills: None
Magic: Low level Fire Lighting Spell, Low level Fireball... ]
[ Note - System Update is underway, unable to gain attribute points.
Remaining Update time 10 days
Please look forward to new System Features and updates. ]
Hm! System update!
Am I Hallucinating? I shouldn't slept several years. How did that happen? Didn't it say plot points must be completed to update the system. I didn't pass in any main plot, did I?
And my attributes, why have they changed so much compared to before. All of them have more than just doubled, especially Magic.
I couldn't figure out the reason no matter how much I thought about it. In the end, I simply gave up. Anyways, I haven't even figured out all the rules of gaining attributes, so there is no use thinking about this sudden boost.
...
...
When I opened my eyes again, I found my mother, Lucia, waiting by my bedside.
"That's great, Robert, you're still alive."
So, after escaping death, is it true that the person who cares about him the most is still his mother? Even though I don't like mothers in this world, I still felt maternal...love in this situation?
What's going on? I always feel that my mother's smile is both gentle but cold. She was indeed relieved that I was still alive, but her eyes held other emotions as well.
"Robert is such a silly child. I told you not to trust those lowly servants, so why did you get kidnapped by them? If you had listened to mother, you wouldn't have suffered like this."
Ah... that's how it is.
I understood what my mother meant. In any case, wouldn't it be better to apologize? But I was still too weak to make a sound, and after trying it once and failing, I gave up.
Perhaps because I was kidnapped, her position as Robert's mother at home became more difficult. Of course, I don't know the specifics of what happened, but for now, it's enough that I'm still alive; that's not the worst outcome for her.
"There's no point in talking to you about this now. Let's eat something first. Do you have an appetite?"
I nodded reluctantly. To be honest, it seems that only my head can still move at the moment. I don't know when my body will be fully recovered.
My mother personally served me a bowl of stewed soup, feeding me spoonful by spoonful. Only at that moment could I truly feel her maternal love.
However, this maternal love did not last long. After that day, my mother Rukia never came again, and in her place were servants who took turns taking care of me.
...
A few days later, my throat finally recovered enough for me to speak, though it sounded a bit hoarse. I could also get up from the bed, but I needed a few more days of rest to get out of bed and walk.
Just then, the most important person in the family—the Marquis Bahod entered the room.
Is it finally time for reckoning?
He probably didn't bother me before so I could focus on recovering, but now that he knows I can communicate normally again, I think he'll be coming soon.
Marquis Bahod sat leisurely in a chair by the bed, crossed his legs, and watched me.
"How are you feeling?"
"Good."
"Is that so?"
I understand that it's just a formality of small talk, no matter how you get to the point.
I never expected him to do anything father like.
"To be honest, Robert, I had some expectations for you at first, but this incident has disappointed me. For a noble family to be kidnapped by servants, if word gets out, the Anglus family will probably become a laughing stock in aristocratic society."
"...Yes, I'm very sorry."
It's perfectly normal for this man to have such thoughts.
"I've come today to tell you three things..."
Marquis Bahod was the first to raise his index finger to me.
"First of all, your birthday party has been cancelled. In your current state, holding a party would only make you look foolish. Fortunately, it's only in the initial preparation stage, and the invitations haven't even been sent out yet. The impact on the Anglus family has been minimized."
"Yes."
It was a natural decision. Although I didn't want to hold any banquet in the first place, it also meant that I lost the opportunity to let the surrounding nobles know me. In the struggle for the heir, I was completely at a disadvantage.
"Secondly, I will no longer arrange servants for you in the future, to prevent this from happening again. From now on, you will have to figure out your own life in this house and your life at school."
"Yes."
The implication was that I couldn't stand being foolishly led around by servants again. But that suited me perfectly. I never needed constant care in my modern life; it was just a return to the past. Besides, even if new servants were assigned to look after me, I'd probably feel uncomfortable. So, it was actually better for both sides.
"There's a third point, 10,000 gold coins..."
"Huh?"
I looked at Marquis Bahod with surprise as he held up three fingers. For some reason I felt there was something strange hidden in his eyes as that moment. But I couldn't detect it
"You seem to have misunderstood something. I spent 10,000 gold coins to redeem you, so of course I can't just let it go like this. Either you find a way to get those 10,000 gold coins back, or you'll just have to leave it as the fact that you owe me 10,000 gold coins."
"..."
I couldn't say anything. Maybe I could question whether it's only natural for parents to spend their money on their children? But that kind of common sense certainly doesn't apply in this family.
"Don't think I'm heartless, Robert. I'll pay a ransom of 10,000 gold coins because I expect you to bring in more than 10,000 gold coins in the future. You have two choices: first, earn 10,000 gold coins honestly and repay me; second, earn 10,000 gold coins worth of reputation for the Anglus family. The deadline is before you turn 20. If you can't do either of these things... you might be treated as if the Anglus family doesn't exist."
The last sentence sent a chill down my spine.
Being treated as if the Anglus family didn't exist could superficially be interpreted as them wanting to expel me from the Anglus family and strip me of my noble status—a punishment I would have gladly accepted.
However, this man's actions couldn't possibly be so gentle; therefore, it might be more accurate to interpret Marquis Bahod's words as "to erase me."
Overthinking? Scaring yourself? No, the Marquis Bahod deliberately used this ambiguous wording. The final interpretation rests with him. If you casually expect him to be lenient and are completely unprepared, he will easily commit that kind of demonic act.
That's all I wanted to say. Now you should focus on taking care of yourself.
Even after the Marquis Bahod left the room and closed the door, I remained silent, staring blankly at the ceiling.
What should I do? What should I do next?
No matter how much I think about it, I can't find the answer. After being reincarnated into another world for 3 years, I ended up owing 10,000 gold coins. What kind of "dreamlike" start is this?
Why did this happen to me?
Could it be... that I would have been better off not being saved?
No matter how I think about it... no matter how I think about it... I can't get an answer.