Chapter 2: Chapter 1

And just like that, fifteen years have passed since I was reborn into this world.

I've been given the name Rowan.

Rowan El Valreus.

I am the third son of a noble family in the Intergalactic United Kingdom of Druicia. My father is an earl, and my mother's lineage can be traced back to the royal line itself! Even though I was reincarnated, I guess I'm destined to have royal blood. Still, why does it feel so strange to be reborn as a noble after living as royalty for so long?

The Earl ruled a few planets in our solar system and surrounding solar systems in the intergalactic United Kingdom of Druicia. Just hearing that is enough to give me an immense headache, which I have never experienced before.

Fortunately, my eldest brother is the Earl's heir apparent. I'm finally free from my greatest burden! Well, while I am not the heir, I will rule one of my brother's planets in the future. Even if my potential position within the kingdom was rather small, I enjoyed the sound of "ruler of a planet."

A planet... What a beautiful word!

I've always wondered what lies beyond the skies, and now I find myself reincarnated in a world where humanity has ventured beyond the skies.

I never knew that there were other worlds out there. I thought the sky was just a big sheet of white cloth covering the ground. I also had no idea that the world was round when we first flew into space. I always thought they were flat, with a giant turtle as the foundation.

And last year, when I went to space for the first time.

Words cannot describe what I felt at that time.

Riding a spaceship felt like I'd gone to heaven. And it was there that I discovered the truth...

It's amazing!

That was the first time, in my whole life, I felt so excited. I was captivated.

A dark space was surrounded by stars, and all things were floating through the void. The stars were so far away that they seemed like mere specks of light.

It was so beautiful, and the view was so magnificent. I'd never seen anything like it before.

The universe was a sea of stars, stretching on forever before one's eyes, seemingly endless!

I never knew how big the universe was!

And I could see our home planet, Serax.

I was so fascinated when I saw this massive orb that seems to be floating through nothingness at all times. It's such an incredible feeling that even words can't describe it properly.

The universe is so vast and mysterious, but this place on our tiny blue marble is filled to the brim with wonders as well. There are so many things to see, learn about, and experience.

I realized I was a clueless old bastard!

The world I came from was primitive, and so was my life there. But here... Oh man! This world is just brimming with opportunities! So much more than my old one! The possibilities seem endless!

My brother told me he would teach me everything I needed to know in order for me to become the ruler of his planet. He said that once I'm done learning how to rule over one planet, I'll be able to do whatever I want without worrying too much about what people think of me or if they respect me enough. Once that happens, then I can finally start living out some of these fantasies of mine.

Seeing how determined my brother is reminds me of my life as a king.

As much as I feel sad about how my last life ended, I won't regret my rules or how I ruled my kingdom.

Callum was right about one thing, though.

I had reflected on myself after being reborn. I was too lenient and too kind-hearted when it came down to it. And it cost me my life!

I should have been stricter with my subjects and my guardsmen alike. They were all loyal and trustworthy men who did their best to keep our lands safe and secure from invaders. Yet I betrayed their trust by letting them take care of things on their own accord and not keeping an eye over everything like I used to.

That's why I lost the throne! It wasn't because the nobles rebelled against me. The reason for my downfall was that the people didn't respect me anymore. They thought that I'd become weak due to my lack of authority over my kingdom, so they turned away from me in droves.

My reign may be brief, but this time I will make certain that I do not make the same mistakes. I will help my brothers from the shadows, and I will not let them down.

For now, let me enjoy my tea time on the balcony while gazing at the blue sky above and watching flying ships, floating islands, and other magical creatures flying through the air.

"Ah, so this is what it feels like to be a young..."

In my previous life, I have never been so relaxed like this before... But I suppose it is only natural since there are no more worries or problems weighing down upon my shoulders. And if anyone wants anything done around here, then he can just ask the servants for help instead of bothering me about it! Hahaha! My brother said it best when he told me "You have nothing left to worry about."

As I sipped my tea again, I could hear running footsteps coming up from behind me. It's probably one of the maids who came to tell me that dinner was ready.

"YOUNG MASTER!!! IT`S EMERGENCY!!"

The door violently opened with such force that the hinges were blown off and sent clattering across the hallway as well. A glasses man in his mid-thirties wearing a butler's uniform rushed into my room and kneeled in front of me.

This man is my family's butler, Caldwell Loe. He's been serving our family for quite some time now.

His face looked pale and sweaty, and he was panting heavily. He must be out of breath because of how fast he ran over here without even taking a moment to catch his breath. That can't possibly happen in real life unless you're being chased by some sort of monster or something like that.

"W-what's wrong, Caldwell? You looked like you just saw a ghost!" I said it in surprise.

He looked so panicked as he glanced up at me.

I took another sip from my teacup before continuing, "What happened?"

He took a deep breath and swallowed.

"Your parents and brothers have all passed away."

I spit my tea all over the table. The liquid splattered against the wooden surface as I screamed at him, "WHAT?!"

Caldwell lowered his head.

"When did it happen?" I was barely whispering, so I was afraid it was a lie.

He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable and sad delivering this news.

"On their way to the capital planet, they were attacked by space pirates..." His voice quivered with sorrow as he continued. "They killed master and mistress right away, then everyone, including your brothers, after they got what they wanted."

My hands started shaking uncontrollably when Caldwell told me this news. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't muster the strength to do so since I was too shocked by this revelation! My mind was going numb as I tried to comprehend what was happening to me.

"We had retrieved their remains. The funeral will be tomorrow, and you'll be expected to give the eulogy as the new head."

As the new head! What a horrifying word!

Since I am the only one still kicking, everything was automatically transferred to me.

I am Earl Rowan El Valreus now!

............

This is ridiculous! Instead of being the heir, I am the head! Why should it fall on my shoulders? Why don't we simply hand over the title to someone else? That would solve everything!

Then I remembered the words from a certain sage back in my old world.

Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.

I have no idea what that quote means back then but it does seem relevant to the situation at hand.

I guess I was destined to be a ruler!

I didn't want anything more than to scream out in anger and frustration, but that wouldn't help me! So I swallowed down all those emotions inside myself before standing up from my chair and walking over towards Caldwell.

"All right. Thank you. Please do your best to make sure they're ready to go—when is it?"

"The service is at nine."

"All right, I want them ready by seven thirty. Thank you for waiting, Caldwell. "Take tomorrow off after the morning; you deserve it."

"Young master...."

"Don't get too emotional now. You may leave, I need to be alone."

Caldwell seemed to be trying to say something but left the room quietly when he saw how upset I was about the news of losing my family.

After the door shut, I was all alone and had no interest in drinking my tea again. I gritted my teeth in anger. Freedom was close at hand. Close enough to taste! Yet this happened! Those scumbag pirates! How dare they ruin my life like that?

They must have been planning an ambush since they only sent one escort vessel, which made it easy for the pirate ships to sneak up behind them without being seen by the other escorts. The pirates boarded the flagship and killed everyone aboard.

Just imagining my parents and brothers floating in the void filled me with anger.

I stood up from my chair and yelled out loud.

"I'm going to kill them all!"

My voice echoed throughout the room.

"I'm going to kill them! I'm going to kill them all!"

***

The butler could hear Rowan scream from deep inside his room.

Caldwell couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy.

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He sighed deeply as he understood his young master’s grief. He too lost his son to space pirates some years back; it was such an unfortunate tragedy that he couldn't bring himself to talk about it anymore. So he knew exactly what he was feeling right now.

That was why he was still standing outside his master's door with a heavy heart.

As he walked down the hallway towards the stairs leading up to the lower floors of the mansion, heading down it to the main entrance hall of the manor house, where there were servants standing at attention, waiting for instructions when they saw Caldwell come out and approach them.

They looked tired and worn out. Caldwell felt an immense sadness at the sight of these poor people.

"Sir Caldwell, is young master Rowan all right?" One of the servants asked him.

Caldwell nodded, but his heart was heavy when he saw how tired and sad these servants were.

"Poor young master... He's just fifteen, a baby who's just learning how to walk and talk!"

"Maybe I should cook something special for him and try to put a smile on his face."

"Yeah, that's a great idea!"

"I know he loves my homemade apple pie!"

Caldwell smiled as he realized how much the young master Rowan was adored.

"Let him be for now; let him mourn alone," Caldwell said calmly. "It's better than acting rashly."

The servants nodded at his superior before leaving and continuing their duties.

He knew that a long and arduous journey was ahead for the new head. He hoped that the young master would be able to find a way to persevere and thrive during this difficult time.

Taking one last glance at the closed door, the servant smiled and said a silent prayer for the future of his young master.

***

As of the following morning, the entire household started preparing for the funeral ceremony.

The day was gray and promised rain but didn't deliver.

One of the mansions had been turned into a funeral room where people could gather to pay their respects to the family members who had died.

I was standing in front of my family's caskets. As I stood there, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of sorrow and grief.

I was only a child in my previous life, and my parents died before I had a chance to learn from them and create lasting memories. However, in this life, I got along with my whole family so well that it seemed like we were all best friends.

I had just become the new head of the household, and I had to deliver the eulogy for my parents' funeral. It was a bittersweet moment, but I did it with all the sincerity I could muster.

I delivered a tasteful but sad eulogy, saying how much they meant to me. Afterwards, after delivering the eulogy, I had to stand in a receiving line to greet everyone who came to offer their condolences.

I was surprised to see how many people came to offer their condolences. I guess my family was loved and respected.

As soon as the funeral ceremony was over, the mourners started leaving one by one after exchanging their condolences with the new head of the household, me.

As the sky turned dark gray and the rain started falling steadily outside.

I watched the rain from the window as Calwell poured tea into my cup; the room smelled of freshly brewed tea. The smell was rather calming to me.

"Young Master... No, Master Rowan. I'm sure you're tired from the ceremony today; you should get some rest."

I looked up at Caldwell's concerned face.

"Yeah... I will do it later." I smiled while taking a sip of the warm beverage in front of me. "So... since I am the head now, what am I supposed to do? What is expected of me? "What are my responsibilities and duties that I need to fulfill as Head of the Valreus Household?"

He thought carefully before answering my question. He had been waiting patiently for me to ask such questions so he could provide answers. That was why he was standing right here next to me when I did just that.

After thinking deeply about it, he finally said something.

"While we were debt-free because of your father and grandfather's hard work during their time, our budgets are rather tight."

I looked up at Caldwell again while taking another sip of my tea before asking him a question.

"We don't have income."

"We do, but it wasn't enough to cover all our expenses."

I sighed out loud after hearing his answer. This meant there would be a lot more paperwork. However, the good thing is that the house can still operate without having to pay any taxes since the mansion is owned by the government. The only problem is the lack of funds for development.

I guess I'll need to find some way to make money soon... Hmmm, first off, I need people who will help me with the various tasks that need doing around the estate. It would cost a lot to hire professional workers, but it would help...

If only I could get free labor... No, I need some way to get free labor.

Oh, there it is! An idea popped into my head as I thought about how I could get people to work for me for nothing, and they would still do a good job!

"Build Homunclus!" I yelled out loudly while waving my arms in the air like a madman. "I want you to build me a bunch of homunculi so they can work on this place and earn me gold and experience points as well."

Homunlucus was a type of artificial life form created by alchemists and magicians. Originally, in the ancient era, they were created from dead people. But in this era, they can be created with just blood and some other materials. And despite having the same form and cognition as humans, homunculi are ultimately different beings.

The biggest advantage of making homunculi is that they are cheap and easy to maintain. In fact, it doesn't even cost much to create a single one. That's why if I had a bunch of homunculi, it would ease my problem. I've also heard that homonculi have a large mana pool and are extremely intelligent, making them extremely useful!

"Y-y-young master! You know homunculus is taboo in our kingdom! Even Android and AI were prohibited because they were "too dangerous!"

Taboo? Dangerous? Ha! Like I care.

"I don't care! Last I checked, there are no rules prohibiting nobles from having homuclui, so as long as I report it to the royalty, I'll be able to keep my head held high and no one else will suffer as a result of my actions!" 

"That's true, but..."

"And since you've mentioned them! Get some Android and AI as well. They could do a better job!" I said while shrugging my shoulders.

Just make sure those things are programmed to work for me, not to hurt anyone or destroy anything important... I don't care if they had free wills!"

Just like Homunculus, Android and AI were designed to be independent, autonomous, and smart, but they were dangerous due to their power and capacity to think, act, and make decisions without any human intervention.

I read about the war between androids and AI against their creator eons ago in a history book, and it seemed as though the same issue could potentially occur in the present day.

Caldwell's face turned pale.

"You're going to make a lot of enemies if you do that, master!"

"I will just laugh in their faces and carry on with my life!"

"Master!"

"Just do it! It's my order."

Caldwell lowered his head as he heard my insane order, but since there wasn't much point since I already made up my mind anyway,

He quickly left the room without another word. He must be thinking about how to make all that happen. That was fine by me. As long as my plan worked out, there wouldn't really be any problems at this time, right?

***

"Master Rowan ordered what?! What is wrong with him?!" A man in a robe shook his head vigorously after hearing Caldwell's explanation. "Is he trying to get himself killed?"

Caldwell visited Valreus's head magician and alchemist in his office to fulfill Rowan's order.

The reason he came here was so they could create a bunch of homunculi, androids, and AI servants who would work for free. But upon seeing the look of horror on the wizard's face when he heard about the new head's request, Caldwell knew the full implications of what he was asking.

"Master Rowan ordered us to create a whole race of servants, and he expected us to just accept it! Has he finally lost it?"

"Fortunately, Master Rowan was still sane when he gave me this order."

After all, why would he make such a request in the first place?

It was clear to Caldwell that this new head's lack of understanding of the moral implications of his request had led him to make this seemingly crazy demand.

"Creating homoculi is already crazy enough, but he also asked us to build Android and AI as well! That's breaking taboo after taboo! The kingdom would have our heads!" The wizard spoke with terrified expression. "We would be risking a lot if we did this, for even if it was the head's order, we would still be putting ourselves in harm's way!"

Caldwell nodded after hearing what the wizard just told him because it made sense now why they didn't accept Rowan's request.

"I understand," Caldwell said as he sighed heavily He knew that whatever they did, they would be putting their lives at risk, but if it was the head's order, then they must do it.

"But it's the order, do it."

Caldwell knew that they had to do what was necessary, regardless of the risk involved.

The wizard can only nod.

He felt a heavy sense of responsibility, but they had all been sworn to do their duty no matter what the cost.

With that, the production of legion of servants began...

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