How to Survive as a Knight’s Son – Chapter 8

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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Baron Rasino, my father’s liege lord, was a miser. Few of his vassals had been granted land. Even my father received his small territory only after marrying Sophia, a distant relative of the Baron.

It wasn’t simply a matter of refusing to grant land to those not of his bloodline. This was evident from the fact that Sophia had seized the territory after my father’s death, despite me being the rightful heir.

Such an outcome wouldn’t have been possible without Baron Rasino’s tacit approval. Perhaps Sophia was the Baron’s contingency plan, a way to reclaim the territory under certain circumstances.

In other words, my true opponent wasn’t Sophia, but Baron Rasino. If I acted rashly against her, the Baron would intervene.

A mere knight’s son had no power to oppose a Baron, even with knowledge of the future’s general trajectory.

This meant I couldn’t give the Baron a reason to interfere. To do that, I needed to make Sophia leave the manor of her own volition.

The question was how.

My plan was to systematically eliminate her supporters. At first, she would simply think it was the scoundrel acting out again. But once all her allies were gone, she would inevitably realize…

…that she was next.

Of course, I couldn’t directly attack her because of Baron Rasino. My goal was simply to make her feel that way.

Then, she would have no choice but to flee.

Eliminating Neri was the first step.

After organizing my thoughts, I opened the status window. Of the many commands I had tried earlier, only this one worked.

On the left side of the window was a full-body image of myself. My profile listed my height as 188cm, far exceeding the average for this era of poor nutrition.

My delicate features and light blond hair were inherited from my deceased mother. Both Anya and I took after her. However, my condescending gaze made my otherwise handsome face appear thuggish.

In any case, the status window was identical to the game’s.

On the right side of the window were my detailed profile and stats. In game terms, I was currently at the level of a seasoned soldier. This was despite receiving knightly training from a young age.

Of course, that was to be expected, considering I had spent more time slacking off than training. At some point, even my swordsmanship instructor had given up and become a glorified pensioner.

However, it seemed the training wasn’t entirely pointless. I had bonus stat points remaining.

My fingers twitched. I could become stronger with a single click. The temptation was stronger than any woman I had ever been with.

If it were before, I might have invested a point out of curiosity. But I was also Jungwoo, the Korean gamer obsessed with min-maxing.

This world wasn’t a game.

I couldn’t risk becoming a weak character because of a momentary whim. I could allocate the bonus stat points later, after researching the status window further.

What caught my attention was the method of gaining experience points. I remembered the message that had appeared when I killed Neri.

This meant I would have gained experience if the opponent had been stronger.

And if the system was the same as the game’s, I could also gain experience through training and sparring. Of course, fighting a strong opponent with my life on the line would yield the greatest rewards.

In any case, I had acquired another weapon.

Suddenly, the training that had once seemed tedious and arduous became appealing. Even though it was late at night, I strapped my sword to my hip. I was planning to visit the training grounds behind the manor.

It had been a long time.

In the end, I didn’t make it to the training grounds. A visitor arrived just as I was getting up.

Bang.

The person who burst through the door was Anya.

“Allen! You crazy bastard!”

“Anya. What’s all this commotion in the middle of the night? And we agreed you would call me ‘brother’.”

“Is that important right now!? They say you beheaded the head maid! And you even displayed her head for the whole village to see!”

The villagers also needed a warning. How dare they exploit my sister? They should consider themselves lucky I didn’t impale them next to Neri.

“Didn’t I tell you I was going to teach those peasants a lesson?”

“I didn’t know you’d actually kill the head maid!”

Anya stamped her foot with a distressed expression.

“What are you going to do? When Mother finds out…”

“A mere peasant who didn’t know her place is dead. That’s all.”

“She’s not just any peasant! She was Mother’s favorite head maid! Mother won’t let this go when she returns.”

I led the restless Anya to the bed and gently stroked her back.

“There will be repercussions, of course. But it’s nothing to worry about. I’m the rightful successor, the acting lord. No one in this manor can blame me. Not even Mother. The most she can do is resort to some petty tricks.”

In truth, I was waiting for Sophia’s reaction. Before I made my move, I needed to clearly distinguish friend from foe. Unexpected enemies were more dangerous than known ones.

“Do you think that position is secure? Mother will exaggerate this incident and tell Father. You already have a bad relationship with him. If Mother were to have a son, you’d be stripped of your inheritance in an instant!”

“Are you worried about me?”

Anya flinched and averted her gaze.

“…Didn’t you say family is all you can trust?”

A smile crept onto my face. I couldn’t understand how my past self could have hated such a cute little sister.

“Yes. Blood relatives are all you can trust. But all I see in you after witnessing the head maid’s death is worry?”

“What? What do you mean?”

I cupped the back of Anya’s neck, who was peeking up at me, and made her meet my gaze. I could feel her breath, and her reddish-brown eyes stared back at me.

“That woman followed Mother’s orders and tormented you with all sorts of excuses. You wouldn’t just feel worried after seeing her dead. Weren’t you happy?”

“That’s…”

Anya’s eyes trembled.

“The saints of the Church preach about the futility of revenge and loving your enemies. Those are just empty words from those who have never been victims.”

I took Anya’s hand in mine.

“Next time, you do it yourself. You’ll experience a whole different kind of pleasure then.”

The only person who could follow Head Maid Neri was Sophia. Anya seemed to realize this and gulped.

“But before that, there’s a promise we need to keep, isn’t there?”

“Uh, huh…?”

“Didn’t you promise to grant me a favor in exchange for the party dress?”

Anya frowned.

“I didn’t go to that party. So, it’s void. Null and void.”

“My promise was to make the dress. Whether you went to the party or not is irrelevant.”

“Ugh, what do you want…? I’m telling you upfront, I don’t have any money to lend you. And I can’t do anything beyond my abilities.”

“It’s something you can do, so don’t worry.”

“What on earth is it…?”

I turned my gaze to the fireplace. I could hear the crackling sound of the burning logs. Even with the roaring fire, the room was still freezing. Fireplaces weren’t very effective at keeping the cold out.

When winter came, I would have to move the bed closer to the fireplace and raise it off the ground to avoid the chill from the floor.

“It’s already autumn. And your room probably doesn’t even have a fireplace, does it?”

Anya’s room, which I had visited earlier to help her with the dress, didn’t have a fireplace. It was a wonder how she had endured the winters.

“It’s cold, but that’s normal, isn’t it?”

The only heating devices available were fireplaces, wall-hanging curtains to block drafts, or heated stones placed under the bed at night. Of course, these were hardly effective against the harsh winter cold.

Therefore, the cold wasn’t something to be overcome, but endured. Until recently, I had thought the same.

The only downside to regaining my past life’s memories was that the cold, which I had once considered normal, no longer felt that way. Even as Jungwoo, I had hated the cold.

In the constantly temperature-controlled hospital, feeling cold meant something was wrong with my body.

The problem was the lack of alternative heating methods. Even the king had to endure the winter by cuddling with his dogs, so Anya’s reaction wasn’t unusual.

“I hate that ‘normal’.”

“Aha, I see what you’re getting at. You want me to tend the fireplace all night, don’t you? Fine… I’ll do it. But only for a week. Deal?”

I shook my head.

“I need a living heater.”

“Huh? Did you prepare a heated stone or something?”

Anya’s eyes widened, and she looked around. I stared at her silently. Anya, who had been looking around, soon understood what my gaze meant.

“W-Wait, are you talking about… me?”

“Yes. I need you to be my heater.”

“Wh-What? What nonsense are you talking about? You want to sleep together?”

Anya was appalled. Although the distance between us had decreased somewhat after the dress incident, this was still too much, even in my opinion. However, I maintained a calm facade.

“What’s the big deal about sleeping together as family? Even the king endures the winter by sharing body heat with his dogs.”

“I-Is that so?”

Anya, deprived of proper education, had a poor understanding of common sense. But she still seemed hesitant, as if instinctively repulsed by the idea. I quickly changed the subject before she could think it over.

“Of course, you need to wash up first.”

“Wash up? Why?”

I wrinkled my nose and pinched it with my index finger.

“You smell. It’s quite pungent.”

“It can’t be helped. Frequent baths lead to disease.”

“Nonsense. It’s the opposite. Not washing leads to disease.”

“Hmph, the scholar said so. Don’t tell me you think you’re wiser than a scholar?”

“That scholar is on his deathbed.”

“Oh…”

Anya averted her gaze, speechless. She fidgeted, searching for an excuse, clearly not wanting to bathe.

“You’re not a child. Don’t tell me you just don’t want to wash up, Anya?”

“But if I bathe in this weather, I’ll freeze to death!”

I sighed softly. Considering her room didn’t have a fireplace, I should have realized she must have been bathing with cold water.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have them bring hot water.”

“Mother said such requests are wasteful of firewood and the servants’ efforts.”

“That’s what they’re paid for.”

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I immediately summoned the servants. The servant who saw Anya with me widened his eyes.

“The smell is unbearable. Clean her up.”

Anya glared at me, so I quickly added,

“Use warm water.”

“But…”

I smiled at the servant who was about to protest. My hand rested on the hilt of the sword I had strapped on earlier. The servant immediately closed his mouth and bowed his head.

“As you wish.”

“Ah, it would be best if she bathed daily from now on.”

Heating water and preparing a bath was a labor-intensive and firewood-consuming task. The servant’s face immediately fell.

I pulled a silver coin from my pocket and tossed it to him.

“I’ll pay you this much every month.”

The servant’s frown disappeared, and he left with Anya, his face beaming. Fear was a powerful motivator, but it was volatile, and its effectiveness diminished with repetition.

Both the carrot and the stick were necessary to earn loyalty.

“The problem is, I don’t have much money.”

The storage room I had checked yesterday was nearly empty. If I continued to spend recklessly as before, I might actually go bankrupt.

And as the acting lord, that responsibility would fall on me. I would be giving Sophia ammunition to use against me.

I had many ideas for making money from my past life memories. The problem was that treasure without the power to protect it was a curse.

This was an age of barbarism.

Even if you placed a bounty on someone who killed you and stole your treasure, if you couldn’t respond swiftly, they would get away with it. So, gaining power was the priority.

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Anya returned after a while. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, revealing her snow-white nape.

I had also washed up and was lying in bed. Anya immediately burrowed under the covers.

“Ugh, bathing in warm water makes me feel even colder!”

A faint floral scent emanated from Anya. Was it the servant’s good sense, or the power of money? The important thing was that Anya, now free from her grime, looked even more appealing.

I gently pulled her into my arms.

“You’re warm.”

Anya flinched and stiffened. I did nothing but hold her. After a while, she seemed to relax and started fidgeting in my arms. Then, she pushed against my chest, trying to pull away. Of course, I didn’t let her.

Anya frowned and looked up at me.

“It’s uncomfortable. Move your leg.”

“My leg?”

“This. This.”

Anya’s hand, hidden under the covers, grabbed my body. I guided her other hand to my leg.

“My leg is over here.”

“Huh…?”

What Anya had grabbed wasn’t my leg.

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Guess what kind of leg is it? I bet :d