CH 137

Chapter 136

The Reinhardt Mansion that everyone dreams of living at least once.

The mansion was peaceful tonight, as it always was… at least, that was how it looked from the outside.

But what if they look inside…?

The night Ian Reinhardt and Laritte Reinhardt left to inspect the estate.

“Ava, there is news from the master!”

They thought the couple would come back in half a day, but instead of them, only a letter came. The contents written in Ian’s firm but elegant cursive were as follows.

“We discovered a problem with the flow of rainwater storage in a nearby village about 10,000 feet away. I’m trying to observe how it correlates with the drainage pump that flows underneath the fountain, so I decided to stay for one day.

Joshua should wash his hands and go to bed early instead of waiting for his loving parents.”

In reality, Ian decided to spend the night for a hot night with Laritte, but no employer noticed. As soon as the contents of the letter were revealed to the mansion, everyone noticed Joshua, whether it be a maid or a knight.

Joshua, who waited desperately for his mother to return when she left, was shocked.

“N-n, no…!”

Joshua, who was staring at the outside from the living room on the first floor, shouted.

What a cry came from the tiny body, the size of an adult’s thighs! Everyone knew about Joshua. Even though he was usually very calm and angelic, they didn’t know how he would react if his mother weren’t there.

Ava took on the role of Joshua’s nanny after Ian. She sighed and comforted Joshua.

“Young Master, it will be the first night you’ll spend alone, will you be okay? Shall this nanny be by your side at bedtime?”

A shadow came over Joshua’s face.

Even the employees were overshadowed. Would he cry? Then, if the mansion cracked again… now the building may really have to be rebuilt…

Amid everyone’s worries, Joshua smiled brightly.

“Uung, no. Nanny needs to sleep comfy, too. Moon is already out! I’ll go to my room first.”

Even though he said ‘sleep comfy’ instead of ‘sleep comfortably,’ the employees’ hearts buzzed.

He matured a step further!

Finally, he got over his separation anxiety for his mom!

…And that night, Joshua, who was left alone in the room, waited for his mother, who went to the mudflats to pick oysters*, but he did not fall asleep. Instead of that, he ventured out of the mansion through the window.

(*This is a popular Korean lullaby used to lull baby to sleep along with ‘Twinkle Twinkle’, called or island house baby. Content is simple: a baby waiting for their mother who was picking oysters, then falls asleep, and the mother comes home.)

I’m going to see mom…!

Fortunately, he was stopped midway thanks to the strict security of the Reinhardt Mansion. In the end, Joshua said in front of everyone, “Leme go see Mom, Mom.” and wept loudly. They had to use enough cloth to fill his arms to wipe away the little boy’s tears.

How good would it be if things ended like this? The mansion would also be in good condition.

However, Ian, who returned the next day, made a shocking remark.

“Starting today, Joshua will not share a room with my wife and I. By the way, this is the decision of Laritte, who is the sky and land of this mansion.”

…Joshua unknowingly made a crack in the walls of the mansion.

Joshua did not readily accept the decision to grow up alone.

Of course.

Everyone has 24 hours in a day, and humans were encouraged to sleep a third of that time… Therefore, Joshua was separated from Laritte for a third of the day.

“No, noo! You dowan me?”

Joshua cried and tried to cling to Laritte, but there was someone who stood in the way.

It was Ian who became the victor.

“Joshua. In fact, everything in life is the rule of thumb.”

Laritte thought.

Somehow when Joshua was a baby, he also said the same thing.

“Mother!”

“So, if you feel unfair, try to overcome this father with any tool. If you become the head of the family, Laritte will be proud of you and may reward you.”

Ian spat out the words as a joke.

The decisive reason why this could be dismissed as a joke was the difference in power.

While Joshua was strong, Ian was stronger.

As Joshua grew older, the amount of mana he handled increased. So when he was a baby, he only broke walls, but when he grew up, he was able to shake the mansion. When he became an adult, he might even become an unprecedented Duke who defeated a thousand soldiers alone.

Though unfortunately, Ian was Joshua’s match. He even cut arrows flying behind his back in half, but it was so easy to defend as he felt Joshua’s flowing magic flow.

“…If I beat father? I be with mother?”

The problem was, Joshua didn’t take Ian’s words as a joke at all.

“Look here.”

As Joshua gathered his mana into his hands, Ian also began to burn. He judged that the time had come to properly establish the rank within the Reinhardt family. The first place in the family was, of course, Laritte, but the second place was being shaken.

“Huuh.”

Larittet shook her head and gave up intervening.

Like that… the first mutiny war began.

The mansion shook so much that all the employees had to move to the annex and evacuate. One knight gave up defending the mansion and muttered,

“If this mansion collapses, what kind of mansion will we build again? At least it will be bigger than it is now, right? Haha. Ha.…haa.”

The war between father and son was over.

Fortunately, it was before the mansion collapsed. Still, Ian and Joshua didn’t reconcile. The reason the mansion didn’t collapse was because Laritte was angry.

“I can’t ride because of you. Joshua, too.”

Because of Ian and Joshua, who were fighting childishly, the mansion kept shaking and thumping. Larittete rode Bertrand for a long time and strolled through the front yard. However, when she tried to warm up properly, a vibration resonated in the mansion, causing Bertrand to stop.

Right!

The problem was that the horse stopped!

I’m sick and tired of fighting anyway!