Little Tyrant Doesn’t Want to Meet with a Bad End

A week later, Roel sat in his room as he stared at the two brand-new winter coats folded neatly in wooden boxes in front of him.

These winter coats were of different sizes, the larger one being for a guy and the smaller one being for a girl. These were the clothes that Roel had personally ordered at the Sorofyas a week ago.

It was worth noting that the larger winter coat was bought not for Roel himself but as a gift for Carter.

While he was shopping at the Sorofyas, he suddenly recalled that in his ten years in the Ascart House, not once had he ever bought anything for his own father before. Feeling a bit guilty about this, Roel decided to use the money that he had earned to order a coat for Carter. In a sense, this was a small token of appreciation for everything his father had done for him over all these years.

It appeared that Arwen viewed Roel as a VVIP, due to the transaction they had, resulting in the former using everything within his power to ensure the service provided was to Roel’s satisfaction. As such, the clothes that were supposed to be due in half a month’s time were delivered in just a week…

… though what was important here was the sparkling golden heap buried beneath the clothes.

Gold coins. 20,000 of them, to be exact.

It was the final payment for the item Roel sold via the request list.

A week ago, as soon as Roel brought the deposit home with him, he exchanged it for Sarchorme’s Soul-calming Lamp through the Gold Coin Shop.

The lamp was molded with some sort of dark brown dirt, and the oil inside was dark red in color, seemingly made out of some sort of mysterious substance. Roel tried lighting the lamp up, and the flame produced by the lamp released a pure white glow that brought him inner peace.

Perhaps this was how enlightenment felt.

The following day, Roel passed the Soul-calming Lamp over to Arwen for testing. The results appeared to be satisfactory as Arwen squealed in delighted that the item Roel brought over had far surpassed what they had asked for.

Arwen thought that something as valuable as the Soul-calming Lamp was bound to be some sort of family heirloom, and he felt deeply relieved that he had decisively gone through with the transaction yesterday and didn’t let this treasure slip through his fingers.

His attitude toward Roel also became much more amicable than before, and he indicated that he would try to send the final payment over as soon as possible.

“Yep, he did manage to deliver it here quite quickly,” muttered Roel as he picked up a fistful of coins.

The process would usually require quite some time, as the item would first have to be delivered to the branch where the buyer made the request from, then the buyer would collect the item and submit payment for it. Only after the payment had been confirmed could the money be released to the seller.

Considering how transportation was an issue in this world, it was amazing how they could clear the administrative process within just a single week.

Roel was quite satisfied with how things turned out. He was initially planning to raise just 1000 gold coins to purchase the two serums in the Gold Coin Shop, but he ended up profiting an eye-popping 20,000 gold coins from the sales instead.

With such money, one could buy a huge house in a prime location in the Holy Capital!

To make a comparison, the Ascart House, as one of the Five Eminent Noble Houses, should have a networth of at least 10 million gold coins, if one were to factor in the span of its territory and all of its properties. However, most of these were fixed assets that couldn’t be liquidated easily.

The amount of money that the Ascart House was really able to bring out was around several hundred thousand gold.

Given so, Roel could already be considered a mini tycoon in Ascart City, and that was just from a single transaction.

Roel was the type of person who relished in seeing his bank account balance increase day by day, and he would rather take a dagger to his heart than watch his money disappear like water through a broken faucet. However, he knew that the small fortune he had just built up would soon disappear in the endless abyss known as the Gold Coin Shop, and it anguished him greatly.

It was regrettable, but Roel knew clearly what he was working for. No amount of money was worth his life. Besides, would he have to worry about having no money when he was finally strong?

Roel assuaged his aching heart by telling himself time and time again that this money was going to good use before finally stowing it away in his private little treasure vault. Then, he picked up the two winter coats he had bought and headed out of his room.

It just so happened that Carter was taking a break today and was in the mansion. Otherwise, he would have to wait another week before giving it to him.

Roel first headed over to Alicia’s room.

The etiquette lesson Alicia had earlier in the morning had tired her out, so she was currently taking a break at the moment. Nevertheless, Roel’s arrival still brought a bright smile to her face right away.

“Good morning, Lord Brother,” said Alicia as she stood up and curtsied.

Her movements were dignified but, at the same time, so unbearably adorable as well. Seeing this brought a faint smile to Roel’s lips too.

“Morning, Alicia. Your etiquette lesson must have been tiring. Here, I have a gift for you.”

With a wave of his hand, Anna immediately brought a beautifully designed wooden box forward. The logo of the Sorofya Merchant Association and the autograph of the designer were carved onto the wooden box, making it look simplistically classy and exclusive.

The box also carried the scent of a perfume that Sorofyas’ was marketing at the moment, a deliberate yet natural way to advertise their other products.

I really do wonder who is the one behind all of these marketing tricks. He’s a true business prodigy!

While Roel’s thoughts were wandering all over, Alicia clasped her mouth in sheer delight upon seeing the packaging. It was common knowledge that tailored clothes from the Sorofya Merchant Association were expensive. However, their unique and fashionable designs were hard for any woman to resist, such that even the sensible Alicia would be captivated by their beauty.

“Big brother, this is…?”

“I realized that I have never given you a welcome gift ever since you arrived at the Ascart House. I’m belatedly making up for that.”

“Thank you, I love it!”

The delighted Alicia leaped into Roel’s embrace and cuddled up against his chest like a silver cat. A wave of high-value Affection Points shot out from her head.

The maids in the vicinity watched the loving siblings with slight smiles on their lips as green light rose over their heads as well, especially for Anna, who was producing substantial numbers.

However, Roel didn’t pay any heed to the points. He was fully indulging in Alicia’s warm hug as he felt a surge of healing energy gushing into his heart.

Oooooh, how cute! I feel like I’m being born anew!

Roel had been stressing himself out having to raise money and build up his physical stamina. He now felt his anxious heart gradually calm down as his burdens were lifted away. He had never known that a hug could be so therapeutic; he would pay any amount of money to experience it again.

This hug only lasted for a short while before a maid, under the piercing glare of her colleagues, nervously interjected into this warm atmosphere to usher Alicia for her next lesson. Roel bade his adopted sister farewell before heading off to knock on the door of his father’s room.

To his astonishment, his meeting with his father caused an even greater commotion.

When Roel told Carter that he had used his money to buy him a winter jacket and passed a wooden box over, the great marquess, he actually started crying!

“Maria, you can rest at ease now. Our child has matured. He even knows how to buy me a gift now!”

Carter opened the locket that he wore around his neck and began crying to the portrait of Roel’s deceased mother, leaving Roel feeling somewhat amused yet ultimately melancholic.

Listening half-heartedly as Carter began nagging at him once more, Roel felt something settling down in his heart. It was the comfort coming from a father’s love.

While Roel did possess the memories of his previous life, it didn’t change the fact that Carter was his father.

Carter had to raise Roel up alone after his wife died a premature death, and the journey to parenthood hadn’t been easy for him. Roel’s willfulness often left him with splitting headaches, and the knowledge that Roel was lacking the talent to become a transcendent made him feel deep self-reproach. But, despite the difficulties along the way, he had never given up on Roel. He continued to plan carefully for his son’s future to ensure that his son would be able to live a peaceful life ahead.

In truth, if it was just over the succession of the Ascarts’ lineage, there was no need for Carter to go through so much trouble. He could have just married another wife and born a few more offspring; that was the ‘normal thing’ other nobles would have done. However, Carter chose not to do so, because of his deep love for his deceased wife and Roel.

While Roel had cursed at having been put into the tragic role of a soon-to-be-killed villain, he felt that it was a great blessing of the world for him to have been born into the Ascart House and to Carter.

While feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, Roel gave his farewells to his father before heading back to his room. Seeing the smiles on the faces of his family members made him feel more energized than ever.

Now that he was fully recharged both in body and soul, it was time for him to get to the main show—the two serums.