The Villainous Noble’s Father - Chapter 2

Ever since I was born, I’ve had strange memories.

They’re hazy, but real.

Memories from somewhere that’s definitely not here, a different world, a different country, the life of a completely different man.

He lived a normal life, spending his youth as a student into his mid-twenties. He had embarrassing failures, thrilling successes, and worked tirelessly. He married his long-time love from school. He had children, maybe even grandchildren.

His world was peaceful, with no wars or major hardships. It was a bit dull, but also full of comfort.

Just the life of an ordinary man.

And if memories shape who we are… then this man, whoever he was, must be a part of me. You could even call it a memory of my past life.

Thanks to those memories, I survived the war fifteen years ago, and rose from being the third son of a noble house to becoming the most powerful noble in the country.

Maybe because that man’s personality was already part of me at birth, I was praised as a prodigy from a young age, soaking up knowledge like a sponge.

With what I remembered from that other life, a civilization somewhere between the Middle Ages and the modern era, I introduced breakthrough after breakthrough to this world. And when I became head of the family, my influence only grew stronger.

I developed my territory into one of the most advanced cities in the country.

So yes, I’m deeply grateful for those memories. They’re the reason I’ve come this far. But… something always felt off.

It happened when I first used magic. When I studied the geography of this country, even just hearing my family name. Every time, my memories from that other world would stir. Like I was on the verge of remembering something… but couldn’t quite grasp it.

That strange feeling haunted me. And the one who finally gave me the answer, ironically, was my own son, Leonard.

It happened last week, when I returned from our countryside estate to the townhouse in the royal capital for the first time in a while.

We had a backlog of duties at the royal court, and I had accepted a few invitations to parties I’d been putting off. Leonard’s school entrance exam gave us the perfect excuse to make the trip.

That’s when it happened.

“Y-You! How do you plan to take responsibility for this?!”

“W-Wait, I, I didn’t mean—”

“S-Shut up! It’s your fault for standing around like an idiot!!”

The hallway echoed with angry yelling and a girl’s confused voice. 

That voice…?

When I looked, I saw a chubby boy with an angry, twisted face and black hair, and a pink-blonde maid in braids collapsing in shock, pale as a ghost.

The maid looked to be around Leonard’s age. If I remember right, she’s a noble’s daughter learning proper manners by working in our house.

At their feet were shattered pieces of what must’ve been ten plates.

…Those are my dishes.

I always thought spending big on dishes was foolish, but as a top noble, I bought some mid-high-end ones as a matter of status.

Judging from the scene, Leonard probably bumped into the maid while she was carrying the dishes out for my return to the townhouse.

Yeah, clearly, Leonard is the one at fault here…

“Ugh!?” Suddenly, pain shot through my head, memories from my past life screamed at me, “Remember!”

“F-Father!? H-How long have you been standing there!?” Leonard noticed me and asked with a trembling voice.

…“How long,” huh? Is he asking when I got to the townhouse or when I started watching this mess? Probably the latter.

I stayed silent as Leonard began babbling excuses, fast and desperate. He claimed the maid was staggering. Said he did try to dodge. On and on he went.

Sweating bullets, eyes darting, trying to defend himself.

Honestly, the more he talks, the more obvious it is, he knows he’s at fault. He’s acting just like those classic evil noble brats I saw so many times in my past life.

ZAP!

It felt like lightning struck me. That’s it. The villainous noble…! I’ve seen this exact scene before! It was in a game. Yes, a game!

A pretty unknown PC game that barely sold, but had decent graphics and game mechanics, so it even got a sequel.

The title was… Brave Blade. A cliché fantasy RPG with a by-the-numbers story. I played it nonstop one summer, after a failed attempt at reinventing myself in college left me bored and free.

Once I remembered, it all came flooding back.

A world of swords and magic. The protagonist was a red-haired, spiky-haired commoner boy, full of energy and hidden magical potential. He ends up in a noble academy, makes friends, gets in trouble, and eventually gets chosen as the hero to defeat the Demon Lord with the legendary sword, Brave Blade.

And of course, like every fantasy game, there was an annoying villainous noble.

At the entrance exam, he tries to sabotage the hero. Fails.

Then challenges him to a duel as soon as school starts. Loses horribly.

Keeps trying to mess with the protagonist, and gets humiliated every single time.

Eventually, he’s disowned, spirals into despair, gets manipulated by demons, betrays humanity, and dies a pathetic death. A typical “villain gets what he deserves” character.

He was chubby. Arrogant. Over-the-top.

His name was…

Leonard Johnston von Finster-Heréol.

THAT’S MY SON!