Chapter 2: When I Opened My Eyes (1)
Translator: miraclerifle
Editor: Borderline Masochist
The man could feel someone gently tapping his body. The rough hand made the man think of the hands of an exhausted parent. It was that warm.
“Young master, it is morning.”
But the voice was very profound. The man felt chills throughout his body and his eyes subconsciously opened. Rather than the bright sunlight coming in through the window to warm the man’s eyes, what he saw was an old man standing there with a satisfied expression.
“It is surprising to see you wake up after a single attempt.”
“Huh?”
“The master wishes to dine with the young master since it has been a while. It looks like it will be possible today.”
The man could see a mirror past the old man’s shoulder. Inside the mirror was a red-haired man who seemed to be confused looking back at him.
‘I guess that guy is me.’
“Young master Cale?”
The man turned toward the source of the worried voice to find the old man, who looked like a servant, looking toward him. But that concerned man was not the problem.
The man clearly heard it.
Young Master Cale. It was a familiar name. He slowly blurted out the name.
“Cale Henituse?”
The old servant was looking at him like he was looking at his own grandson.
“Yes. That is your name, young master. I’m guessing you are still a bit drunk.”
Listening to the concerned response of the old man, the man naturally thought about a name that was even more important than the name Cale Henituse.
“...Beacrox.”
“Are you talking about my son?”
“...Chef.”
“Yes. My son is the chef. Do you need him to make something for your hangover?”
The man felt his surroundings turn dark and he started to feel dizzy. He lowered his head and put it into his hand.
“Young master, are you still drunk? Should I call the doctor? Or will you wash right now?”
The man looked at the red hair that was falling in front of his face. It was a bright red color, much too different from his original black hair.
Cale Henituse. Beacrox. Beacrox’s dad, Ron.
They were the characters that appeared at the beginning of [The Birth of a Hero], the novel the man was reading before he fell asleep last night.
He jerked his head up and looked around. He could see the bedroom that was completely different from a typical Korean design. It made the man think about Europe. Every single thing in the room was extremely extravagant and luxurious.
“Young master?”
The man responded to Ron, the old man who was pretending to be concerned and worried.
“Cold water.”
“Excuse me?”
He needed something to clear his mind. He could see the face of Cale Henituse in the mirror behind old man Ron.
‘Still looks normal.’
‘I guess Cale hasn’t been beaten to a pulp by the main character just yet. ‘
His handsome face caught his attention.
The man had become Cale Henituse when he opened his eyes.
Cale Henituse. The trash who was beaten to a pulp by the main character in the beginning of [The Birth of a Hero]. That was who he was.
“Young master, I presume you will not be bathing in cold water. Are you asking for drinking water?”
Cale turned his gaze toward Ron. Ron may be pretending to be a benign old man, but he was actually hiding his true identity as a cruel and vicious individual.
He made the request to Ron.
“Please get me some drinking water.”
He needed to drink some cold water and clear his mind first.
“I will prepare it right away.”
“Great. Thanks.”
Ron flinched for a second and had an odd expression on his face, but Cale did not notice it.
***
Ron had to leave the bedroom as there was only warm water in the room. Once he was left alone, Cale got off the bed and headed to the bathroom. If he really was inside of the novel, he knew that there should be a large mirror inside.
As expected, the full body mirror was inside the bathroom. Cale Henituse, who had a lot of interest in his appearance and physique, had this mirror set up in here. Nobody else in the household had such a mirror.
“Oh, right. Thanks.”
The door soon opened and couple servants entered to help Ron dress Cale. Cale did not notice that Ron had a stoic expression unlike his usual self as he looked at the clothes the servants were bringing in.
“Ah, something simple today.”
He hated really complicated attires. Simple clothes that let you relax comfortably were the best.
“Yes, young master.”
The servant in charge of the attires quickly pulled out some simple clothes and Cale changed into the simplest of them all. He lightly frowned after finishing getting dressed. Even this, ‘simple,’ attire was extremely extravagant and not to his liking.
However, the reflection in the mirror was quite handsome.
‘He really is handsome and makes any clothes look good.’
The face really was the final piece to fashion. He looked in the mirror and fixed his sleeves before turning around to look at Ron.
Ron was once again smiling like a gentle old man.
“Ron, let’s go.”
“Yes, young master.”
Cale walked behind Ron. It was nice that he did not need to know the layout of the estate. He just needed to follow Ron wherever he needed to go. All of the servants that Cale saw flinched and bowed respectfully before they seemed to run away.
‘Why are they so scared? Cale never hit people.’
He just liked to drink and play. Sometimes, when he was drunk, he did break things. But that was why he was the trash of the family. He also did not treat people like people, other than the few people he liked.
‘Well, it’s better if nobody talks to me.’
Cale thought about it peacefully. It would be more difficult if he was in the body of a model citizen. A trash can do as they please without worry. It was only possible because there was no desire to live as a model citizen.
“I will now open the door.”
“Sure.”
Cale nodded his head toward Ron. The book mentioned that Cale treated Ron, someone who raised him like he was his own grandson since he was little, as nicely as he treated his own father. It mentioned that he always responded to Ron and treated him like a person. Of course, Ron did not really think that way. That was why it was easy for Cale to talk to Ron. He just needed to answer Ron’s questions and treat him like a human being.
“I hope you enjoy your breakfast.”
“Thanks. Ron, make sure you eat a good meal too.”
Cale walked past Ron and into the dining room. He could see his family sitting there. His father and the current head of the Henituse household, Deruth. Next to him was Cale’s stepmother, the Countess, as well as her son and daughter. The four people looked toward Cale.
“You are late again, today.”
Cale’s gaze turned toward his father who spoke. [The Birth of a Hero] described Cale’s feelings for his father like this.
‘His father was the one person that Cale listened to. The reason the trash did not leave the area and got everything he wanted inside the Count’s territory was because of his father, Count Deruth Henituse.’
But, unfortunately, Cale’s father was unlike the other strong fathers in this novel. He did not have any special skills or influence. He just had a lot of money. However, Cale liked this a lot. It was the perfect family environment to live a simple life.
Then there were the other three individuals.
His stepmother who knew that he did not like her and avoided him.
Her smart first-born who found it difficult to deal with his much older brother Cale.
And the cute youngest of the family who avoided her older brother Cale.
But it wasn't like Cale bothered them or they bothered Cale. They just treated each other like strangers.
Cale thought this was such a great environment to quietly live alone.
“Take a seat.”
“Yes, father.”
Cale looked at the feast on the table that did not meet his definition of breakfast and sat down on his seat. He then felt something was odd and lifted his head up.
“Is there something you need to say, father?”
“... No, I do not.”
Deruth was staring at Cale. The rest of the family was doing the same. Cale made eye contact with each of these family members. They all quickly turned away whenever he made eye contact and continued to eat.
‘I guess they find me really difficult to handle.’
Cale turned his head toward the table as well. This luxurious feast that was different than the breakfast he used to eat just to fill his belly made him start to smile. He first started by cutting the sausage in half with the knife.
‘It is so juicy.’
He didn’t know if juice flowed out as soon as he cut into it because it was handmade or because it was cooked well, but the color on the sausage made him hungry. Cale started to smile without realizing it.
Clang.
He heard something fall down and made eye contact with his younger brother Basen. He could see that Basen had dropped the fork in his hand.
“My apologies.”
Basen calmly apologized like the personality described for him in the novel. The servant in charge of the meal quickly came over to hand Basen a new fork and picked up the fork on the floor. Watching that made Cale think that it was nice to be a noble before he focused once again on the food in front of him.
Cale had found the first good thing about coming into the novel. This breakfast was extremely luxurious and so tasty that his stomach was completely happy.
The smile on his face could not disappear.
“...Ho?”
That was why he did not hear his brother Basen’s shocked proclamation.