How to Survive as a Knight’s Son – Chapter 7

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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“Yes, I understand!”

Only after I shouted did the servants rush out of the hall like an ebbing tide.

“Why are you shouting? What did the servants do wrong?”

There was another person who couldn’t read the room. Anyone who saw Anya’s frown would think I was in the wrong.

To stand up for her after the servants ignored her, just because I scolded them a little… I knew it was because of the gaslighting, but I couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“I’m going to teach the servants a lesson.”

“A lesson? What did the servants do wrong?”

“Mere servants dared to mock their master’s daughter. In any other family, they would have been beheaded and displayed as a warning.”

“Mock me? When?”

Anya tilted her head in confusion.

“…They mocked you, saying you ate like a beggar.”

“But that’s true.”

“Whether it’s true or not isn’t important. The problem is that mere servants dared to say such a thing in front of their master’s daughter. Have you ever considered why they don’t do that to me? I arguably give them more reason to criticize than you do.”

“Uh… I guess?”

“Anyway, don’t worry and keep eating. I’ll set everything right.”

Right now, the important thing for Anya was to make up for her poor development. Anya’s face hardened.

“After all this time, ignoring it… Now you decide to act?”

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”

“You sound like a scholar.”

A flicker of curiosity crossed Anya’s eyes. I clicked my tongue and flicked her forehead.

“Ouch! You hit me!?”

Anya grabbed her forehead and glared at me. I, in turn, stared down at her sternly.

“We agreed on how you should address me.”

“Yo-yo-yo-yo-you!”

Anya stuck her tongue out and ran away. In her hand was the plate she had been eating from.

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“Master Allen.”

After a while alone, the manor’s servants entered the hall as if on cue. At the head was a stern-looking woman in her mid-thirties.

It was Neri, the head maid.

“Is everyone here?”

I stood up and faced the servants. They bowed their heads, avoiding my gaze. Even though I refrained from acting like a spoiled brat within the manor, I was still a fearsome presence to them.

Except for Neri.

“Master Allen. What is the reason for this sudden summons?”

Neri, who had entered the manor with Sophia and immediately claimed the position of head maid, was the de facto second-in-command.

She was also the reason for Anya’s lack of common sense. After usurping the position of the scholar’s wife, who had also served as governess and tutor, she showed no interest in Anya’s education. Instead, she took the lead in mistreating Anya according to Sophia’s will.

“Do I need permission to summon my inferiors?”

“Perhaps not for one or two, but you’ve summoned everyone. They all have work to do. Furthermore… aren’t matters within the manor the authority of the mistress, Lady Sophia?”

Truly, a foolish woman. That was why a mere peasant like her dared to talk back to me. Here was another person who, due to ingrained habits, couldn’t distinguish right from wrong.

The funny thing was that the servants behind her nodded in agreement.

It seemed a strong shock was needed to bring them back to their senses. And I had the perfect example right in front of me.

Unaware of what I was thinking, Neri remained defiant. Anyone watching might have mistaken me for the servant and her for the master.

“My mother is away.”

“She left the manor’s affairs in my care.”

“How can a mere peasant replace my mother’s role?”

“Just as a minister acts on behalf of the king in his absence, it’s perfectly normal for me, her closest attendant, to act on her behalf.”

“So, you’re saying you’re acting as my mother now?”

“That is correct.”

I had been waiting for those words.

“Then the negligence of the servants is also your responsibility, is it not?”

“W-What…?”

“Not only did you give my sister bread unfit for peasants and clothes unfit for peasants, but you even allowed them to openly mock her. Mere servants.”

Neri’s brow twitched. At her core, Neri was still a peasant.

The two maids who had served us earlier turned pale. They finally realized their mistake.

Their gazes darted towards Neri.

“Head Maid. We only did as we were told…”

“Quiet.”

Neri hurriedly silenced them. As I suspected, she had been instigating the servants to mistreat Anya on Sophia’s behalf.

After silencing the servants with a pointed glare, Neri turned back to me.

“Those were all the mistress’s orders. You wouldn’t understand as a man, but if a woman doesn’t control her eating habits from a young age, she’s bound to gain weight.”

It was an argument not worth refuting. Now Neri was trying to make me look ignorant.

I scoffed inwardly. Defending the servants who had committed the wrong? Did she still think she was someone important?

Foolish, and foolish again.

“Are you saying her current state, looking like a twig, is normal? Fine, let’s say it is. What about her clothes?”

Seeing me seemingly concede, she grew bolder and her voice rose.

“It’s a lesson in frugality.”

“All for my sister’s sake?”

“Of course.”

Neri’s demeanor was filled with confidence. She even wore a triumphant smile. The servants nodded in agreement again. However, her smile didn’t last long.

“Do you know how grave a sin it is to deceive your master?”

“W-What—”

Neri tried to offer a hasty explanation. Before she could, my hand struck her across the face.

Slap.

“Ack—!”

The sound was as if I had punched her, not slapped. Neri collapsed, her cheek caved in, her jaw dislocated, blood gushing from her nose and staining her face.

“Gasp—”

The servants’ eyes widened, and they held their breath. It was understandable. I, the notorious scoundrel who had refrained from causing trouble at home, had suddenly resorted to violence, and against their mistress’s right hand, no less.

“Y-You hit me? You brat?”

Neri seemed the most shocked. After putting on airs with her sophisticated vocabulary, she now revealed her true colors.

“You’re still insolent. Is it because you’re a peasant? You can’t learn even when taught a lesson.”

Neri glared at me with venomous eyes.

“D-Do you think the mistress will tolerate this?!”

“Tsk. You still haven’t come to your senses. Fine. Go ahead. Try to save your worthless life by appealing to Mother. I’ll give you five minutes. If Mother can’t stop me by then…”

Shing—

I drew the sword from my hip. Only then did Neri’s face turn pale, as if finally realizing her situation.

“You will pay for your arrogance and insolence.”

“Wh-Why…?”

Leaving the terrified Neri behind, I turned my gaze to the servants. Their posture lowered further, revealing the tops of their heads. My reputation as a scoundrel had its uses.

“Who am I?”

The tip of my gleaming sword followed my gaze. A bead of sweat trickled down the forehead of the servant it was pointed at.

“M-Master Allen!”

His voice was raspy, but no one dared to laugh. I shifted the sword to the next servant.

“Who am I?”

Precedent is a good thing. The servant responded quickly.

“You are the only legitimate son and heir of Sir Maxim Tolbatz, and the rightful successor ruling this manor in his stead!”

As I lowered my sword, the servants sighed in relief. Meanwhile, Neri was crawling away.

“Still insolent. I didn’t give you permission to leave.”

I slowly followed Neri, giving her ample time to savor her fear and ensuring that the servants would remember this moment whenever they thought of mistreating Anya.

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“Eek—”

Neri scrambled away in terror. Even though her hands and knees were scraped and bleeding from crawling, she didn’t stop. But there was only one door to the hall, and I was standing in front of it.

There was nowhere to escape.

“Mistress! Mistress! Help me! Mistress—!”

Cornered, Neri screamed at the top of her lungs. However, there was no way Sophia, who would have arrived at the city by now, could suddenly appear. I waited for her to give up.

When her voice grew hoarse and turned into a raspy whisper, I moved and stood before her.

“Ah, aah…”

She grabbed my arms and trembled.

I raised my sword again. The blade, flickering between light and shadow in the candlelight, exuded a chilling aura. Perhaps it was because it was about to be stained with blood.

“Your crime is failing to recognize your master.”

“I-If the mistress finds out, you won’t be safe either…!”

“A scoundrel being a scoundrel. If you wanted to stop my wickedness, you should have done it sooner.”

Sophia would finally think that the scoundrel had extended his reach to the manor itself. I would have thought the same. If there were another son, a scoundrel like me would have been stripped of his position as heir long ago.

The mask of a scoundrel had its uses.

“I’m the mistress’s right hand…!”

“I wonder if Mother thinks the same. You fool. You’re nothing but a tool. A common trinket that can be replaced at any time when broken.”

She might have thought she was someone important because of Sophia’s favor, but her value was no more than that of a useful tool.

“Do you doubt it? Why do you think that cunning woman didn’t do it herself, but instead ordered you? She knew Father, who dotes on Anya, would be furious if he found out.”

The mistreatment Sophia inflicted herself was limited to verbal abuse, leaving no evidence. Ripping the dress was her first act of physical violence.

“Lies…!”

Despite her words, Neri’s eyes trembled like during an earthquake. She knew I was right.

“Want to bet? Ah, we can’t. You’ll be dead. But don’t worry. I’ll bury your mistress next to you.”

I whispered the last part directly into Neri’s ear.

“Y-You…!?”

Neri, finally realizing my intention, tried to raise her voice. My sword was faster. A slight resistance, then the feeling of flesh and bone parting transmitted through the blade.

“Gurg.”

Neri clutched my sword, blood gurgling in her throat. Her hands were instantly covered in blood. The sword didn’t budge. Neri’s eyes slowly lost their light. Her limp hands fell.

That was the end of the head maid who had wielded power within the manor under Sophia’s protection.

“Kyaaa—”

The servants finally screamed.

And then,

A translucent window appeared in the bottom right corner of my vision. It was strikingly similar to a scene from the game in my modern memories. It seemed I had regained more than just memories.

I turned away without revealing anything.

“Gasp—”

The servants huddled against the opposite wall, as far away from me as possible, covering their mouths and trembling.

Yes. This was it.

Show me your fear.

For I am your master, who holds your lives in my hands.

“Give me a cloth.”

“Y-Yes! Here it is!”

The head maid, who had abused her authority under Sophia’s patronage, was dead. They must have realized that no one was safe in front of me. From now on, they would think twice before following Sophia’s orders.

I wiped my sword with the cloth and sheathed it. The blood-soaked cloth still held Neri’s warmth. As I handed it back to the servant, he flinched.

“Eek—”

I ignored him.

This was just the beginning. From now on, I would systematically eliminate Sophia’s supporters, one by one, until she left the manor on her own.

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Neri’s defiance earned a swift, brutal end. A game-like notification flashed before Allen’s eyes – more than memories had returned. The servants cowered. This was just the beginning.