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PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFER BEST STORIES AND LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
LUCIA
Side Story 1.11 - DAMIAN(11)
DAMIAN(11)
T/N: Maybe I should have translated Marquis Philip as Marquis Philippe instead. Since we already have a Philip haha.
The faces of the ash-haired boy and the brown-haired boy fell when they saw Chris approaching. The ash-haired boy, Henry, was the second son of a Count and the brown-haired boy, Steve, was the third son of a Marquis. They had fought with Chris not too long ago, so they didn’t want to have to go out of their way to greet each other.
Steve held a huge grudge against Chris. Although it had been refreshing to watch the arrogant Damian get suspended, Steve had been disgraced at the disciplinary hearing before the punishment was handed down.
Actually, Damian had been quiet but Chris had actively tried to defend Damian, testifying to the number of times that Steve and Henry had come to look for Damian’s trouble.
Steve believed that Damian had tattle to Chris, who was volunteering every detail.
Steve’s elder brother was a member of the Council in charge of their first disciplinary hearing. Thanks to that, Steve and Henry were able to receive light punishments. And later on, Steve was called out separately by his brother and criticized heartlessly.
[I am not asking a lot from you. I only ask that you do not disgrace our family, is that so difficult? What kind of low-grade act is this? You’re not even a child. I am scolding you because my face is heated from embarrassment.]
He was very displeased because Steve had chosen a cheap method like that of a vulgar street rat, not because Steve had harassed Damian. Steve was sick of his elder brother acting every time like he was trying to teach his pathetic little brother. His elder brother wasn’t even that much older than himself. But because his brother had helped him, he couldn’t reply back and could only hang his head while his face burned.
“Been a while.” (Chris)
“…It has been a while, Sir. Philip.” (Steve)
Steve sourly accepted the greeting. He didn’t want to greet Chris but ignoring someone who had greeted you first was an immature, undignified behavior, so he was forced to act polite.
Chris chuckled inside. The reason he rarely ever hung out with other noble children was because he didn’t like their pretentious imitation of adults. Once they made their debut in the social circle, they only talked to each other with honorifics, never addressed each other by their actual names and made sure to always add the title ‘Sir’ to their family names.
Only knights or title-holding nobles could use the address ‘Sir’ in an official occasion, but among the nobles, there was a fixed practice of adding ‘Sir’ to the family name when they referred to each other.
But it was too much for children who were not even of adult age to be calling each other ‘Sir/Lady’. The adults referred to children who hadn’t yet come of age as ‘Mr./Miss’, even if they had debuted into high society.[1] Therefore, it was more reasonable for the kids to call him ‘Mr Philip’, than ‘Sir Philip’.
Chris swept a glance over the gathered group. There were faces he recognized and faces he didn’t. They were likely all children from families ranked Count and beyond. Chris didn’t like this sort of thing either. The kids were already only hanging around with people who matched their standards.
Chris thought the privilege of being young was the freedom to get along with all sorts of people and not care about status. Just because your father was a Count, didn’t mean that all of your father’s children would become Counts. Non-successors were not likely to get titles and there was no guarantee that a Count’s daughter would become a Countess.
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When Chris was around ten-years-old, his mother was pregnant with his younger brother and suffered from severe depression. Due to this, the atmosphere at home was dark and the busy Marquis didn’t have time to take care of his young son. So he left Chris with his grandparents for a year.
Chris’ grandfather was a Count, but it would be more accurate to call him a wealthy merchant that headed many businesses. Chris followed his grandfather to journey across many national borders. He saw and experienced so many things and realized that the world was vast. It became an important opportunity that shaped Chris’ values.
“If you go by Sir Philip then…are you the esteemed son of Marquis Philip?”
The young ladies showed a great deal of interest in Chris. Since he was a Marquis’ son, even if he wasn’t the successor, he would at least be titled a Count, so if they were looking to be a Countess in the future, conquering Chris was a good method.
Chris politely greeted the lady as he had been taught, even though he could completely see through her.
“That is correct, Lady…”
“Winsor. Audrey Winsor. Count Winsor is my father.”
“Lady Winsor. I am glad to meet my academy classmates at such an occasion and I have something urgent to talk to my classmates about, so can you forgive me for having to put off our greetings for later?”
“Oh my. You are attending the Academy too. As a matter of fact, I was just listening to stories about the academy. I will gladly excuse myself and allow you gentlemen to discuss in-depth.”
Although not a queen bee yet, Lady Winsor seemed to be the leader of the flock, so when she turned around, the other young ladies followed too.
‘Male or female, adult or child, they’re all the same.’
Chris didn’t understand why people liked to hang around in big groups. They weren’t gathered together because they were truly friends, but more like they were coasting along. When many people gathered together, some people would stand out and some people would be excluded.
Just because he was the son of a Marquis, Chris would never be excluded, even if he didn’t say a single thing. Because he didn’t like such shallowness, Chris gradually went less and less to gatherings with his peers. Perhaps, that might be the reason he kept getting interested in Damian, who always moved around the Academy by himself.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Steve’s tone denoted his unhappiness with Chris’ rude actions of doing whatever he wanted and sending all the girls away.
Chris found it ridiculous for someone like Steve to be acting like a gentleman when he had just been involved in a dog fight on the academy’s campus a month ago. Chris gave a lopsided grin.
“So, stories about the academy, huh? Did you tell them about how you rolled and fought on the floor? I bet it would be a very interesting tale.”
Anyone could tell from Chris’ provoking tone that he was trying to pick a fight. Those who didn’t want to get unnecessarily involved in a fight between two Marquis’ sons quietly slipped away. The gathered group dispersed, and the only people left were Chris and Steve who stood opposite of each other, and Henry who stood behind Steve.
Steve’s clenched fists trembled.
“What in the world are you doing?”
Steve didn’t want to have a particularly bad relationship with Chris, a Marquis’ son. He considered Chris to be one of the few people on the same level as him. Steve couldn’t understand why Chris would take the side of a guy with no background at the academy.
“Are you aware that you are a huge coward? But then again, if you were aware, you wouldn’t do such a thing. You started the fight and then dumped the blame on the victim. If you are already doing such a despicable thing, you can’t be the good adult with refined speech that you’re trying so hard to imitate.”
Chris turned to look at Henry.
“Same goes for you too. Let’s act with dignity in the future. OK?”
Henry got angry and came forward.
“Who are you calling a victim? That low-born guy started punching people, not knowing his place. He even made the beast he was carrying run amok. Don’t disrupt order with your ridiculous sympathy.”
Ha. Ha. Ha. Chris gave short exaggerated laughs. Then while massaging his temple with his hand, he deliberately mumbled in a serious manner.
“It’s my mistake for having too much useless sympathy. How can you guys understand the generousness of my heart in doing what I can to aid those pitiful guys?”
Seeing the two boys looking at him like he was crazy, Chris smiled craftily like he was cooking up a scheme.
“You two. Do you know who you provoked?”
At that moment, people began to stir. The gaze of the crowd gathered at one spot and the children who were fascinatedly watching the Marquis sons bicker, got curious and flocked over. Chris felt like he knew why people were acting like this. He threw his arms around the shoulders of both boys and hooked it around their neck so they couldn’t escape.
“What are you doing!”
“Let go!”
“Now, now. Come with me. I’ll show you something good.”
It wasn’t that Chris was so strong that the two boys couldn’t shake him off. They were afraid that if they forcefully shook him off, it would draw people’s attention and look like they were fighting, so they had no choice but to follow along. Chris was able to easily drag the two boys because they took appearance and honor so seriously. Chris squeezed and pushed through the crowd and took the two of them to the front.
And just as Chris expected, the talks of the town had appeared. The ducal couple of Taran and Damian. Chris was certain that Damian’s appearance would cause a stir in the social circle. The ducal couple of Taran simply accompanying someone would become a hot topic, talk less of them accompanying a boy who looked like the Duke of Taran. The appearance of the boy was a shock itself.
‘Although, I doubt people are as shocked as these two guys right here.’
With his hands still on the shoulders of the two boys, Chris alternated gazes at both sides. The both of them had gone white and they looked like they had lost their soul. They were stiff like a frog when it meets a snake. Seeing Steve and Henry enveloped in shock and horror, Chris decided to play with them a little more. Dragging them by neck, he approached the Ducal family of Taran.
Translator’s Corner:
[1] English doesn’t have that many respectful titles, so I had to make do. Here, Miss doesn’t have a male equivalent, so we’re stuck with Mr. I might have translated it as Lord/Lady but we’ve been using ‘sir’ so far, no need to change it now.
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LUCIA
Side Story 1.12 - DAMIAN(12)
DAMIAN(12)
“Oh my, Chris.”
The duchess smiled brightly and greeted Chris happily. When their eyes met, Damian used his eyes to ask Chris what he was doing. Chris smiled mischievously in response. Then when he faced the Duchess, he wore a polite look on his face.
“Chris. It saddens me to not have seen you for a few days now. Will you come to hang out again from tomorrow?”
Since the day Chris was forcefully invited to the Ducal residence, he had been visiting frequently. He even brought his younger brother, Jude. He stayed from morning till night, ate snacks, lunch, took naps, read a book; basically, he enjoyed himself like it was his own house. The only thing he declined was the Duchess’ proposal to have dinner before he left. He wanted to avoid eating with the Duke of Taran.
Visiting someone else’s house a few days before the New Year wasn’t good etiquette, so he stopped visiting to avoid acting out of line.
Lucia liked Chris’s friendliness. He seemed like he would be a good friend and a great balance to Damian’s stiff personality. She also liked his shamelessness in happily visiting the ducal residence without reserve.
“Yes. I will gladly come to visit if you invite me.” (Chris)
For the few days that they didn’t go to the ducal residence, his little brother, Jude, kept whining, asking when they were going to see the princess again. Jude called the Duke of Taran’s little daughter, ‘princess’. When Chris asked him why he referred to her like that, the little boy fidgeted and replied:
[She’s pretty.]
Chris was dumbfounded. The little brat had a good eye.
“There’s no need for an invitation. You are always welcome. By the way, who are these two gentlemen?”
Chris held the shoulders of the two boys firmer. He giggled inside as he felt them trying not to stagger.
“They are classmates from the Academy.”
Steve and Henry stated their names and greeted the ducal couple. Lucia figured they were probably nervous, so she accepted their stiff expressions.
“Damian, are they your friends?”
When Damian’s indifferent gaze swept over the two boys, their clear faces darkened. Damian glance at Chris, who was grinning with satisfaction, and he secretly smiled. Chris had kept grinding his teeth over the suspension incident and it looked like he couldn’t stop himself from playing a trick on the two boys. Damian decided to play along with Chris.
“They…”
Damian drew out the end of his sentence and observed the paling expressions of the two guys.
“…are not my friends, mother.”
‘Mother’. This was practically killing them and making sure they were dead. The arrogant guy who didn’t know his place was in fact, the Duke’s son. They already had a bad feeling when Chris talked with the Duchess in a friendly manner and revealed that he had been visiting the Ducal residence without reserve. Steve and Henry really felt like dissipating on the spot.
Damian didn’t plan on torturing or taking the two boys to task for something that had happened in the past. If they kept acting up in the future, he would definitely crush them but that hadn’t happened yet. To the two boy who didn’t know what he was thinking, it sounded like a declaration of war.
“And I don’t think they will be in the future.”
From Damian’s answer, Lucia sensed that their relationship was not very good, so she stopped being interested any further.
“Chris, where are your parents? My husband and I have already met them, but Damian should officially say hello.”
Chris let the two boys go and joined the ducal family. As Steve and Henry watched them get farther away, their legs trembled, and they sank to their knees. Their knees touched the floor and they supported themselves with their hands. The only comfort was that most people were focused on the ducal family of Taran, so they didn’t pay much attention to the unseemly sight of the two boys.
* * *
The Duke of Taran couple and the Marquis of Philip couple greeted each other, then they moved to a separate room and had a light meal together. The Marchioness was very thrilled to learn that her son had a connection with the Duke of Taran’s son, so she was excited throughout the meal. Chris felt embarrassed because of his mother’s overreaction and grumbled to himself.
After the meal, Damian stayed with his parents and greeted the nobles that came up to them endlessly. Around when all the faces were starting to blur together, the King made his entrance. Damian was finally able to take a breath. The chamberlain faced the party guest and spoke loudly.
“His Royal Majesty has arrived.”
People lowered their clamoring voices and stepped aside, making a path for the King to come in. Kwiz was donned in white robes with a crown on his head and golden mantle draped over him, revealing the majesty of a king. This was an appearance that was only seen on the King when it was an important and official occasion. The crowd hasn’t heard of anything beforehand, so they began to stir.
“I look forward to endless jubilation in Xenon’s future as we face the glorious first day of the New year.”
The King gave a short speech to his attentive aristocratic audience.
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to borrow today’s occasion to present to you all, the excellent pillars of our nation.”
When the King stopped speaking, the chamberlain unfurled the scroll in his hand that was covered in red silk, then he spoke sonorously in a loud voice.
“Damian, son of Taran. Raven, son of Philip. Chris, son of Philip. Come forward and accept the honor bestowed onto you by His Majesty.”
Chris nodded his head when Damian’s name was called and when he heard his brother’s name, he was a little surprised, but when he heard his own name, his eyes widened. He blankly watched his brother and Damian walk forward then he felt someone hit his back and turned around. His father was frowning and scolded him, ‘what are you doing, not going out there?’
“Huh? F…Father. Why…”
“Hurry up and go!”
The Marquis clicked his tongue as he watched Chris go forward hesitantly.
‘That boy. He didn’t know?’
The Marquis thought that his eldest son had already told Chris while Raven thought that his father had already told Chris. In other words, Chris had absolutely no idea that he would be receiving a title today.
Chris’ soul flew away as he stood, suspended with a red mantle over his shoulder and a silver emblem on his collar, symbolizing his title as Count. He didn’t know what senses he had used to finish the ceremony.
Every noble learned the ceremonial procedure for receiving titles or medals because it was mandatory. Chris was able to subconsciously react thanks to this rooted memory, but he didn’t remember anything he had done. He could only guess that he hadn’t made any mistakes since his father didn’t have a fierce expression.
“…Have I really become ‘Sir. Philip’…”
He had gained the official qualification to become Sir. Philip instead of Mr. Philip.
‘What’s with this count title.’
He had received a Count title alongside his brother. He had never seen such a case before.
“Chris.”
Damian patted the shoulder of his completely distracted friend.
“Are you even listening? Our parents just arranged to have dinner tomorrow evening at your house.”
“…What?”
Light came back to Chris’ eyes.
“We’ll be eating with our parents? It’s not just our parents together?”
The awkwardness during the meal some time ago had been very unbearable for him, so what was this talk about invitation! He could already see a vivid image of his mother turning the house upside down to clean it from tomorrow morning.
“Of course, you and I will be there too.” (Damian)
“…Ah. Indigestion again.” (Chris)
“If you don’t have digestive medicine at home, I’ll bring some for you.”
Chris mumbled gloomily.
“…I’m so thankful I could cry.”
All Chris knew was that he was envious of his friend’s sturdy stomach.
[End of sidestory: Damian]
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