Chapter 9

The Marquess Family's Magic Genius - Chapter 9 (9/324)

9

Meeting with Marquess Remton.

It happened more easily than I expected.

He was the one who set up the meeting to see me.

The changes that had been steadily occurring over the past month.

And the news of me becoming a mage had also started to reach his ears, so it wasn't strange for him to want to meet me.

Early morning.

I was walking towards Marquess Remton's office.

As I walked, people's gazes began to gather.

"Is that... Young Master Kyle?"

"His appearance... has completely changed from before?"

"Didn't you hear the rumors spreading from the annex?"

"Is that true?"

Murmurs.

Thanks to my heightened senses since creating the circle, I could hear conversations from quite a distance if I focused.

Not all the comments were positive.

A few retainers were frowning and tutting from a distance.

It was a natural reaction, considering only about a month had passed.

'Slowly, I'll change things.'

The inner castle soon came into view.

'Impressive.'

The Alton Empire.

A nation occupying about a third of the central continent.

The power of a marquess family that ranked among the top ten in such an empire was evident from the appearance of the inner castle.

The imposing structure of the inner castle.

Knights patrolling with a sharp aura, and well-armed soldiers standing guard everywhere.

This must be the strength of a thriving martial family.

After entering the inner castle.

Leonhardt headed to the training ground, and I arrived in front of the office with the butler's guidance.

Opening this door, I would face a Swordmaster.

What should I call him?

Father? Or Lord of the House?

Based on Kyle's memories, calling him Father seemed appropriate.

It felt quite awkward.

'Well, it'll work out somehow.'

I knocked on the office door.

Next,

"Father, it's Kyle. May I come in?"

I decided on the title.

"Come in."

Opening the door, I saw Marquess Remton.

Rough beard.

Scars on his face and a square jaw, followed by a muscular build.

'This isn't a bandit, is it?'

Kyle must have been fortunate to inherit more of his mother's genes.

Subtly activating my Insight, it immediately bounced back. The level was too high, and I couldn't see anything. Even his favorability was a question mark.

"You've come? It's been a while."

The marquess's eyes held a hint of joy.

"Brat! Don't step a foot outside the annex until I say so!"

Phew.

Fortunately, there was no trace of the furious expression from my last memory. At that time, Remton was raging so much that it made my legs tremble.

With almost a year spent confined in the annex, his anger seemed to have subsided quite a bit.

Indeed, time heals all wounds.

"Yes, it's been a while. Father."

At my greeting, the marquess's eyes lit up.

"You've certainly changed."

With just those words, the marquess seemed to have a good grasp of me.

After all,

Kyle usually trembled and wet himself instead of greeting, so this was to be expected.

We then faced each other as the marquess and I sat down. Two cups of fragrant tea were placed in front of us.

After savoring the tea, Remton spoke.

"Kyle."

"Yes, Father."

"I thought you would never change."

"Is that so?"

"That was the case."

The awkward father-son relationship, even with a Swordmaster, seemed unchangeable. The marquess seemed at a loss for words.

After a long silence,

"If Aisha had seen your changed appearance, she would have been very happy."

With those words,

A scene played out before my eyes.

"Kyle, my beloved son... I'm always sorry for being such a poor mother..."

A frail-looking woman.

The moment I saw her,

A heavy feeling spread in my chest.

Was it regret? Or guilt? The woman in my memories was always crying.

Every time Kyle sinned and became more twisted, she would cry, blaming herself for his condition due to her weak body.

It's all my fault.

Whenever the marquess shouted, she was always the one to try to calm him down.

Kyle would often lash out at her.

She was the only one who bore the brunt of his father's anger in place of the marquess.

She passed away when Kyle was eleven.

She must have died early because of the stress from this brat.

That day, the marquess cried more bitterly than anyone.

Perhaps he loved her as much as, or even more than, his official wife.

Kyle also cried a lot.

Seeing the boy cry so bitterly, my heart ached.

I couldn't block the transmission of emotions.

Well, despite crying so much, he soon returned to his old ways, drinking and causing trouble.

Kyle was indeed a complete brat. The scene ended there.

The scene was long, but the time passed in an instant.

My gaze naturally turned to Marquess Remton.

Sigh.

To cry so bitterly with that face.

Because of the scene I just saw, I found it hard to speak.

After struggling to gather my thoughts,

"Father, do you blame me?"

I asked.

"Blame? Are you talking about your mother's passing?"

"Yes. If it weren't for me... she might have passed away more peacefully."

At this, the marquess touched his teacup.

After a moment of contemplation,

He slowly began to speak.

"At first, I did."

The marquess continued.

"Kyle, you are undoubtedly my son, but to be honest, I blamed you. For being born with such a body, for always causing trouble, and for always seeing Aisha's tears, it all seemed to be your fault."

Instead of answering, I quietly sipped the tea.

It was quite bitter despite its fragrant aroma.

"You certainly did wrong. But... I didn't do well either. Reflecting on it, I might have pushed you away in my heart, thinking of you as a poor son. Your illness wasn't your fault..."

Since I took over Kyle's body, his karma was now mine. I didn't do it on purpose, but I had to take some responsibility.

Perhaps because of this,

The words naturally came out of my mouth.

"I'm sorry."

The marquess gave a bitter smile.

"If I had done better, you might not have become so twisted."

"I couldn't have been the only one to blame. I understand."

Remton.

He was forty years old.

In Korean terms, he was just a senior.

I couldn't even think of starting a family at thirty-six, so the responsibility and burden of leading a large family at forty must have been immense. He couldn't have tolerated Kyle's bratty behavior forever.

So, I understood.

I am Kyle, but also different from Kyle. A hybrid of thirty-six-year-old Hyun-woo and twelve-year-old Kyle.

"Kyle."

"Yes."

"I don't know what made you change so much, but you certainly seem much better than before."

"Is that so?"

"The eyes are a window to the soul."

He gazed steadily at my eyes.

"Good eyes. Was there a specific reason?"

"I wanted to live longer than twenty."

Survival.

This was more convincing than saying I changed after entering his body.

The marquess nodded quietly.

"Indeed."

Soon, the servants brought food.

A fragrant soup.

A salad with a mix of vegetables and meat.

A sweet and savory grilled fish.

A steak made from an unknown meat.

It was quite a grand breakfast.

Even more so than my usual breakfast.

Taking a bite of the steak, I fell into thought.

'The reaction isn't as bad as I expected.'

Indeed.

Fathers rarely dislike their own children.

This was true for Marquess Remton as well.

Moreover, since more than half of Kyle's bratty behavior was due to Hermem, the marquess seemed to understand to some extent.

Things seemed to be getting easier.

After finishing the meal,

The marquess sipped tea again and said,

"By the way, you achieved the 1st Circle."

"That's right."

Showing is faster.

The flames that rose from my hand made Remton's eyes widen in surprise.

"The power isn't just 1st Circle. It seems more like 2nd Circle."

"Maybe it's because I overcame Hermem."

"It could be... In any case, impressive. Well, it's not bad for one to learn magic."

Since the family revered swordsmanship but didn't reject magic, the marquess's reaction wasn't bad. Perhaps seeing his son's talent, which was once a sore spot, made him feel good.

The marquess wore a rather pleased expression.

Now seemed like a good time to bring up the main topic.

"By the way, Father."

"What is it?"

"Is it possible to obtain a spirit stone?"

"Spirit stone? Why do you suddenly want one?"

"I want to study it."

"Study. Fine, I can support that."

Indeed.

Perhaps because of the changed appearance, the marquess nodded readily, unlike when he cut off my allowance.

This is why powerful families are good.

If it weren't for the marquess, it would have been difficult to obtain one immediately.

"Is there anything else you need?"

"I would like to receive support for magic reagents and catalysts as well."

"Alright. How much do you need?"

Being a high-ranking noble, his response was quite generous.

Since it came to this,

'I should ask for the best.'

The limit of the spirit summoned depends on the catalysts and spirit stones used, so it's best to use the best materials.

"Two high-grade spirit stones. Lernafloren flowers, Helaime's scream herbs, Aindel's black obsidian, and Efron's blades should be enough."

The marquess tilted his head.

"How much would that cost?"

'What was the market price around this time?'

Recalling the market prices of a few materials at this time wasn't difficult. I was so corrupt in this game that I could be called rotten.

The rough calculation was done.

"About two thousand gold."

"..."

The marquess's expression darkened at my answer.

"More expensive than I thought."

"It's necessary for magic experiments. Oh, and a bit of gold would also be helpful..."

When else would I have such an opportunity?

Opportunities should be seized when they come.

Looking at the marquess with a pleading gaze, he nodded heavily after a moment of contemplation.

"Fine. I'll support you. But you must show results."

"Understood."

Results?

That wouldn't be difficult.

With Ersiel's talent, I could summon a top-tier spirit. Whether to reveal it to the marquess would depend on his future treatment of me.

If it felt uncomfortable, I could just show a decent one.

The marquess then handed me a pouch.

It contained three platinum coins.

This was roughly three hundred gold.

'Nice.'

For a single word, it was a pretty sweet deal. After handing over the money, he called the family mage to guide me.

The magic materials warehouse.

After obtaining the materials, I asked the mage for a few pieces of equipment to handle the catalysts.

With all preparations complete, it was time to summon a spirit using the materials I received from the marquess.

'What will come out?'

With her talent, whatever it was, it would be a proper spirit, so my steps towards the annex were light.

The spirit coin I had matured over a month.

It was time to unleash it.