Chapter 5: The Mallornes (1)
Adrien found himself lying in bed with a few books he had borrowed from the family library. He wanted to increase his knowledge of this world before entering Tris Academy. The original Adrien's memories of common knowledge were a bit hazy and lacking, probably due to them not being linked to any strong emotion like all the other clearer memories were.
This world contained five known major continents and seven minor ones. From his understanding, he was currently in the Velron Kingdom located on the Eurasian Continent. The Shigaron Kingdom, which he had heard about from Nadeline, was also situated on the Eurasian Continent and was located across the major river running through the Vespa County, Callahan Duchy, and Ceciles Marquisate.
Bang! Bang!
Came the deafening knock on his bedroom door. The knocking subsided right before an even louder noise banged against the door. The door slammed open from the force of the strike, banging against the wall. Even the hinges rattled from the force.
Startled, Adrien looked up from his book to find a man entering his room.
The jerk who had intruded in on him was tall and lean with a short, bulbous nose and a wide forehead. His sandy-brown mustache twitched when his lips dipped down into a sneer. "The Count requests your presence. You will be joining him, the Countess, and the Young Masters for dinner."
Adrien remembered the rude guy from the original Adrien's memories. He was none other than the Head Butler and right-hand man to Count Mallorne, Caleb Aldrich. Caleb had been the man behind the whip on the Count's orders on several occasions.
Yes, the Count had ordered Adrien, his son, to be whipped. The original Adrien had actually died during one such occasion, which is how Lee Seo-jun came to possess the body.
Adrien, who was still in bed, laid down the book he had been reading. With a glare, he looked at the Head Butler and spoke in an authoritative voice that showed his animosity. "Who gave you the right to enter my chambers without my permission?"
The Head Butler, who was taller than Adrien, sneered down at him with a haughty expression. "The Count requests your audience for dinner. It has been quite some time since you have attended."
Adrien gave a slight nod of his head. "I'll be there." Though I really don't want to go. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of the Count since he had awoken in the cellar, and he had hoped that it would stay like that up to his departure.
"You are to meet him in his study before dinner," Caleb reminded him as an afterthought.
Adrien's eyebrows furrowed together, his face feeling much better now that it was no longer swelled with bruising. "Do you know what for?"
The insufferable man's sneer deepened. "He wishes to discuss your deplorable behavior."
Mine? I have done nothing to warrant my behavior to be described as such, nor are there any corresponding memories that would suggest that the original Adrien had done something to warrant such a description.
The Head Butler left after that, leaving the bedroom door open behind him.
After shutting the door, Adrien continued his reading until it was time to meet the Count. He slid a bookmark in between the pages, then stood up with a languid stretch.
After changing into something more befitting than the loungewear he had been wearing, he headed down the stairs. He passed by four maids on his way. It seemed the Mallornes were rich but not as well off as most around the same rank or higher.
It was still odd to him, living this kind of lifestyle. Lee Seo-jun had always lived on the poorer side of life with just him and his sisters. It had taken everything he had to gain a full-ride scholarship to a local business university, giving up on his dreams of music to find a way to enter into the business world as fast as he could to help his sisters. Though life was hard, he had been truly happy.
On the other hand, Adrien Mallorne grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. He had been allowed to indulge in his dreams, but he had suffered terribly for it due to the strict life that his father imposed. Even though he had grown up with money and could attend the top school in the kingdom just because of his family name, he had been truly miserable.
And now, Adrien was living with both memories and experiences, finding it confusing at times. But the thing that confused him the most was that he was now living a life of luxury.
He came to a stop outside the Count's office, using faint memories as guidance. Conrad Walter, the Count's aide, was just coming out, a stack of papers in his hand. The youthful man was dressed in a fine suit that accented his reddish-brown eyes. His long, wavy red hair was worn up in his preferred style while working.
"Good evening, Young Master Adrien," Condrad greeted cordially.
Among the staff, Conrad and Nadeline were the only ones who had shown kindness towards Adrien. Most of the staff either ignored him or outright mocked him because of the way the Count treated him.
"Evening, Mr. Walter," Adrien greeted in kind.
"Are you here to see the Count?" Conrad asked, concern lacing his eyes.
"I am." Adrien entered the study after that.
The study was a spacious room with one wall entirely dedicated to books. A dark leather loveseat and chair sat in one end of the large room. At the other end was a large wooden desk with intricate floral designs carved into the legs.
Count Mallorne was sitting behind the desk as he poured over a stack of documents. Adrien, for some odd reason, found it strange to see the man actually working. He figured that the Count would delegate his tasks to his aide instead of meticulously working on them himself. At least, that was how the memories seemed to paint the man.
Count Mallorne was a young-looking man even though he was in his early forties. His long hair was tied neatly to his back. Upon hearing Adrien enter, he looked up with piercing blue eyes that held not an ounce of warmth in them.
"Have you decided to give up on your folly?" The Count asked, looking back down at the papers.
"Folly?" Adrien was genuinely confused. What did the Count consider to be folly?
"Was that last lesson not enough? Give up on the Arts Course and sign up for the Physical Course, it is not too late."
Oh. Adrien looked down at his skinny, battered body. Neither Lee Seo-jun nor Adrien Mallorne had the build or dedication to learn any physical activities, not unless one counted jogging.
"I'm sorry, Count Mallorne," Adrien refused to address the man as father. The last time left a bad taste in his mouth. "I believe I would be unable to learn the sword, my talents lie in another area."
The Count looked up at him with a sneer marring his handsome features. Why was such a man so young and good-looking? It was truly misleading.
"Talent. What talent. You have no talent." The Count went back to looking over the papers on his desk. "You have always been lacking in your studies, wasting your time away with silly paintings and fiddling with the piano."
"Have you even looked at any of my paintings?" Adrien had spent an evening looking at all of the original Adrien's drawings and paintings, they were really good with a fine attention to detail. They were a lot like Lee Seo-jun's artworks before he started diving into his studies more. "Have you ever listened to me play the piano, or any instrument for that matter?" Adrien had seen a memory of the Countess and a young Adrien playing with the piano, coming up with their own songs. Cedric and Brayden had even joined them, that was until the twins started turning cold and mean towards the original Adrien.