Chapter 2: Horus Durkton (II)

Horus took his morning clothes off and dipped himself in a tub filled with fragrant florals after having his first big meal in a while. The tub was ready as if it had been prepared before daybreak by the maids.

'Ha... this is life.'

Horus was enjoying the moment. The warm water flowed through his fair, beige-colored skin as it soothed his now faint headache. To him, this is the best moment to think things through.

'Now that my initial plans are in place, I must plan ahead of a long-term goal.'

Simulating scenarios in his thoughts, Horus remembered that he had an older brother, Luther, who was nearly a decade older than him. Luther is undoubtedly the next heir to the Count's position in the household, as in the book.

Two years from now, a long-term war will spark between the neighboring Golian Kingdom and the Kruman Empire. It lasted nearly four years and ended without a clear victor. After the war, the current Count, Count Glen Durkton, will step out of his position for his first son, Luther.

Currently, this time, Luther is leading the knighthood of the territory, namely, the Griffin Brigade, as they symbolize the griffin emblem of the Durkton crest.

Luther was known for his fierce sword art and his unique, oppressing golden sword aura. Unlike his younger brother, who had no talent in mana and was not an exceptional swordsman, Luther is the apparent candidate for the future heir. It is the most likely reason why the Count favors Luther over Horus in the position as the heir and why he dotes his second son with all his needs.

Well, for Clay, the new Horus, that's probably the best scenario he could have even though he transmigrated to a trash character. It will help lessen his troubles in the future.

As Horus was about to exit the bathroom by his room wearing an oversized black bathrobe, he noticed Gwen picking up the bed tray while looking at him shakingly. She was shifting her unsteady glances from him and to the other tray with the wine bottle, unsure whether she would also need to fetch it or not.

"Yeah... Take it out, please."

Gwen did so as she quickly but silently left the room. The books he requested from the bookkeeper were already placed on the table by the maid.

'That was quick.'

He was impressed by Gwen's job. Who would know this maid would do her job well despite her clumsy gestures?

As he reached for the doorknob of what appeared to be a wardrobe, a small room filled with furniture holding fancy clothes, jewelry, and footwear was revealed to him.

'Ha...'

He was astounded. It was probably his first real encounter with the past Horus' spoiledness. Each corner was filled with all kinds of elegant, finely designed outfits as if it were a retail store rather than a wardrobe.

Well, for Clay, at least, he neither had a good sense of fashion nor an interest in it. Perhaps the very reason he chose his attire at random. He thought he would need to be presentable enough since he needed to converse with the Count.

The moment he finished strapping a tie brooch with a gem on its center around his collar, a series of soft knocks came from past the door as he finished dressing. A mild, tired voice of a man soon followed.

"Son, you said you want to talk?"

'...The Count? I never expected this.'

Horus rushed to hide the books on the table under his bed. He quickly peeked at the mirror beside the table and tidied his attire as it looked messy, sloppily worn.

"Yes, father. Please enter."

Count Glen entered, walking carefully with a concerned look in his pale blue eyes. Horus was staring blankly as he awkwardly sat on the small couch beside the table on the bed. The Count gives off a demeanor that would make anybody wonder if he was really a Count or just an underpaid sales agent in Clay's past world. Only his fancy, luxurious clothing with a golden brooch with a griffin emblem engraved on it would make one think so.

"My Hoky, is everything all right? The butler, Gil, told me you are feeling unwell again. I know you are quite upset since your first-year vacation is about to end. I am thinking of asking the head of the academy to spare you a week or so, so you can enjoy-"

"F-father, it's fine."

Horus interrupted with an unsure expression, almost with a sigh. He was calm and collected on the outside, but his mind was baffled as he didn't expect the Count in front of him would act as a full-time doting father.

'Well, I should play like a spoiled brat, right?'

Without beating on the bush, he quickly said what was on his mind.

"Father, I don't want to be a swordsman."

The Count was looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Please approve my transfer paper. I am thinking of attending the alchemy class instead."

'Would this suffice?'

Horus was unsure whether his phrases would reach the Count correctly.

"Ah, Ahem... I u-understand. Did people at the academy harm you?"

'Ha... Did his father even know what wicked things Horus had done at the academy?'

"N-no, they did not."

Horus slightly tensed with his eyes closed, trying to pull a slight smile to at least relieve this troubled father's worried expression.

"Father, is that possible?"

"O-of course, son. I'll send a letter right away."

After the stuttered reply of the Count, silence awkwardly filled the room. Horus was deep in his thoughts at that moment, thinking of things he might also need from his father now that they were together.

'Ah, money it is. I need an allowance. I'm a spoilt brat after all.'

"Father, I also need my allowance now. I might need to buy something."

"Okay. I'll double your allowance this week. The butler will get you the check."

Count Glen stood with relief shown on his face as he walked toward Horus, sitting comfortably on the edge of his bed. In front of his son, he smiled and gave Horus a gentle shoulder pat as if the Count was trying to reassure his son.

Staring at his father blankly, Horus let off a slight cough to relieve his tensed shoulders. He, in turn, tried to pull off a genuine, sincere smile, but he wasn't sure if that smile would count as one as he was aware that this brat's face wasn't for sincerity.

"Ah... Hoky, please take care, and don't forget to take your pills."

The Count withdrew his hand off him as he started walking towards the door. He took a final glimpse of his son, letting his tired, concerned expression remain.

"Yeah. Thanks."

The door slowly closed as the Count left, leaving Horus alone in his room. The two maids by the hallway were murmuring as they overheard the Count and his second son conversing.

"Hmm..., the young master is acting odd."

A maid, who was dusting the corners of furniture, whispered. The other maid, kneeling on the floor with a rag in her hand, swooped her arms as she gave a laid-back reply.

"Yeah, remember Gwen, the new hire? Last week, she tried to open the windows in the room of the young master. All the staff knew that the young master prefers his room to be dark and becomes agitated if it becomes too bright."

"T-then, is that why the young master punished her?"

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The maid holding a feather duster asked as the other maid started to nod and continued to murmur a reply. Both gave off a pitying expression on their face.

"Hmm. Every morning, Gwen has to pour wine on her head in front of the young master. She doesn't want to lose her job, which is why she has continued to do it."

"Poor Gwen, I heard she got banished from her residence with her two siblings; thankfully, she did not lose her work here, but I felt sorry for her."

The whispering in the hallway continued without pause.

"Hmm. Today, the news came to me that the young master spared Gwen this morning. Unlike last time, Gwen left the room without wine on her hair or clothes."

"I heard that! Linda, I am telling you that the young master is acting weird!"

"But still..., that doesn't assure me that the young master won't do something like that to her or us... I am still scared of him."

Clueless of the murmuring maids by the hallway of his room, Horus was seated comfortably on his bed, studying the Balt symbols, the character system extensively used in this world. He had been examining, dissecting every detail of the book for hours.

Some books seem to be for toddlers learning the basics, and some are scholarly books with in-depth components about the Kruman, the current language used on the continent.

'The Balt alphabet contains 83 characters, including the numeric symbols, and only about fifty of which are utilized in the Kruman language.'

He finds it quite a hassle but interesting to memorize. The first five alphabets are much like the vowels he already knew in his previous world. The rest of the other characters act like syllables for constructing words.

"Ha... I'm beat."

Horus let out a sigh as he had been reading books for hours.

"Young master, lunch is prepared for you."

A gentle knock came from the door, shortly followed by a woman's high-pitched voice full of vitality. Horus placed the thick book on the table beside his bed.

"Enter."

A maid smiled brightly and lowered her head as she entered. The maid was wearing the same usual maid outfit as Gwen's, but it was long as if it looked more like a gown.

'She must be the head maid.'

She was carrying a large, rolling tray with cloches on each layer. Her walking stance is clean, full of confidence, but still respectful. That made Clay wonder if she would make a good fashion model in his world.

"Young master, eastern Chirean cuisine this time. I, Merida, have personally supervised the chefs to assure everything is in place on the dishes."

Her tone is charismatic, head lowered to indicate respectfulness, with an assuring smile on her cosmetic-packed face. She placed the bed tray on the bed and arranged the cloches on top of it.

'Ha... Three meal courses at lunch? How does this brat not even get fat?'

"Thanks."

Almost with a sigh, Horus replied nonchalantly. He shifted his gaze away from her as he started strapping on the bib on his neck.

"My utmost pleasure."

Merida answered quickly without hesitation as she bowed and left quietly.

Horus finished his meal with a satisfied expression on his face. He's still full from the steak he had in breakfast but finished eating all of it since wasting food is not in Clay's vocabulary.

After a short rest from the heavy meal, he stood up and strolled by the hallway to familiarize himself with the Durkton estate.

In the hallway, Horus finds the marble floors matched nicely with the black carpet in the middle of the hallway. Few furniture or porcelain vases with well-maintained indoor plants occupied the remaining space. The decorations on the walls were too minimal than Horus had expected - no doubt why they were only lavish paintings, perhaps to make them the spotlight in the hallway.

'Is the Count fond of paintings?'

Another hall, possibly the main hall of the Durkton estate, appeared at the end of the hallway. It was perpendicular to the hallway Horus was walking in. Paintings, perhaps portraits of the previous Counts, populated the space on its wall.

As he arrived at the main hall, he could see one with the image of the current Durkton Count, Count Glen, on the bottom-left side of the wall.

Maids in the wide hallway would quietly bow as they passed through him.

Horus had no destination in mind, just glancing at each corner of the place without much of an expression.

When he reached the spacious, seemingly looking dinner hall, he found Gil, the butler, sitting there while organizing papers in his hand.

"Y-young master, g-good afternoon."

He stood straight quickly and bowed, almost shakily, as he was shocked by this sudden encounter.

"Money."

Horus uttered what came to his mind now that he had met the butler. Gil, on the other hand, was staring at him blankly.

"My allowance. I need it soon, please."

"A-ah, of course. I'll get it right away."

Clumsily arranging the papers in Gil's hand, he rushed and exited the hallway. Horus was left alone, leaning on the long, lavish hardwood table, arms crossed.

'I still have about a week before school.'

Horus was thinking deeply about his first move: getting in touch with the main character.

'I need to find Axel's whereabouts.'

In the book, Axel's second year in the academy was rough. As his family was a commoner, he should be living with his father in a small, humble household on Count Flint's territory. On their property, his father ran a small poultry farm. The book described his father as an 'old but hardworking, caring father to his only remaining son.'

During the day, Axel would work double-time alongside his father due to the high tax rates in the county. At twilight, he would be training quietly with his sword. He worked his ass off enough to form his sword aura, a rare and one of the foundations of a swordsman's capability. That power is his current source of hope to pull his family off the Flint County.

'I don't have anyone here to send there. I can't just send a maid to check on him.'

Clay was indeed aware that Horus had already started harassing and tormenting Axel as they were about to take their second year. He couldn't deny that he was afraid of meeting that guy.

'I just need to get into that guy's good terms. I don't need to get acquainted with him.'

The best timing to do that is to reach him by the north, in Count Flint's territory, he assured himself. His eyes were closed as he sighed deeply. He stood straight and decided to spend his afternoon strolling around the residence.

'Looks like I have to head there myself soon.'

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