"I'm sorry for the way I've treated you."
On the night of the graduation party, I went down on one knee and bowed my head to the Barbarians' father-in-law and brother-in-law in the Barbarian's office, and said so.
This is the greatest way to apologize, equivalent to getting down on one's knees in a previous life.
"So, how are you going to clean up this mess?"
My father-in-law says to me with a stern face filled with anger.
"I would be happy if you disowned me."
I replied to my father-in-law.
"Are you going back to Adorny's house? "
Father-in-law asks me.
"No, sir. Adorny's house will not accept me.
They'd break off our engagement in public, insult the daughter of House Sevensforth, and be disowned by House Barbaree.
If you accept, you will make enemies of the Dukes of Sevensforth and the Marquesses of Barbarie, the two great noble families."
"Of course.
Then what are you going to do after you are disowned? "
"I'm going to be a commoner."
I tell my father-in-law.
"The woman you were having an affair with was a merchant's daughter.
Are you going to move in with her family's business association? "
My father-in-law asks me, seemingly unable to contain his anger at my answer.
I haven't told him about Kate yet, but it seems he already knows who she is.
"No. I've broken off my engagement to her."
""What? What? ""
My father-in-law and brother-in-law were surprised to hear that.
They're father and son after all. They're perfect together.
Such unimportant thoughts come to mind.
"Huh?
I thought it was strange.
When I heard about the commotion, I rushed to gather information.
I heard that she praised her partner even though she announced that she was breaking off the engagement.
It's not like Gino to break off the engagement at an out-of-the-way place like a party, or to break off the engagement while hugging the waist of the unfaithful partner.
This isn't just an affair, is it? "
After a deep sigh, my brother-in-law asks me.
"This is the alimony.
Please pay it."
I don't answer his question, but take out a bag from my pocket and hold it above my head.
When the chief steward took it and examined the contents, his eyes widened in astonishment.
He hurriedly places the bag on his father-in-law's desk, and his father-in-law and brother-in-law also look inside.
""This is it! !" ""
Your father-in-law and brother-in-law are surprised.
They're father and son after all. They're perfect together.
I gave you 21 red jade coins as consolation money.
Red Jade Coin is a currency used to settle inter-state trade and huge transactions between large multinational merchants.
The Red Jade Coin itself is also an ultra-pure magic crystal, and has astronomical value as a magic crystal.
This is the remainder of the sales of the lotion that I could not spend on golems and such, and is almost my entire fortune.
On top of the gold coins are large gold coins, followed by white gold coins, large white gold coins, blue jade coins, and red jade coins.
A large mansion of a high class nobleman has only a few blue coins.
The mansion of the Adorni family, the family of my birth, is worth only one platinum coin.
Since the national budget of this country is about 80 red coins per year, the amount I gave you this time is about a quarter of the national budget.
It should be enough as a consolation prize.
"You can't possibly prepare this much money today, can you?
You didn't just do something stupid out of the blue, you've been planning it for a while.
What are you after? "
Brother-in-law asks me.
"I'm sure the Kings and the Seventhsworths will make an announcement later.
I have not discussed this with them, but I believe it is in the best interest of the Royal Family and the House of Seven Worth."
I reply to my brother-in-law.
"Yes.
I understand you did not consult with the Seventhsworths.
Before Gino left, the Duke of Severnsworth came to protest."
My brother-in-law says with a sarcastic smile.
It must have been quite a protest for your brother-in-law to say such a thing.
I'm sorry.
"Hmm.
So if the royal family is involved and you won't tell us the details, it's best we don't get too involved.
Then tell me.
What do you think we should do? "
My father-in-law, after thinking for a while, stares me in the eyes and asks.
"I think it would be best if you disowned me and used my alimony to compensate the Seventhsworths for the broken engagement."
I replied.
"...Alright.
I'll keep you company.
I'll disown you.
But it's a temporary dismissal.
I can revoke it at any time at my discretion, so keep that in mind.
I'm still buying you.
Please, let me call you son again someday.
Zinorius."
"Thank you, sir."
My voice trembled as I said this.
My father-in-law's words brought tears to my eyes.
I am truly blessed with the people of the Adorny family, the people of the Severnsworth family, and the people of the Barbarie family.
This is how I ended up being kicked out of the Barbarie house.
When I left, my two sisters-in-law cried in the entrance hall.
◆◆◆◆◆
Being kicked out is not the end.
I had to do something important.
I sent the Seven Worths a cure.
With my name on it, I risked it being thrown away without checking the contents.
I am aware that I have done something to be hated.
However, even if I sent it anonymously or under a false name, no one would take a suspicious medicine sent by such a suspicious person.
Therefore, I will send it anonymously, and also attach a document that summarizes the theory of the pathogenesis and treatment of chronic magical circulatory failure.
Because I really want her to take it, I'll also mention in the letter that I don't know when Anna's life will end.
This is a topic I have never mentioned before.
She will be shocked to know that she has only a few days to live, but she will not be desperate because I will send her the cure as well.
The anti-aging lotion has already been sent.
The lotion is a strategic item for Anna to secure her position in the palace.
We can't afford to run out.
I've sent you two years' worth in one package as your immediate needs.
Considering the quality of the lotion, it would be useless to send more than a two-year supply.
We do not have enough money to supply lotion on the assumption that we will throw away the expired ones.
I will send the lotion for two years after the expiration date after some more time.
This leaves me almost penniless.
I have only enough money for a month's living as a commoner.
I cannot sell the clothes I am wearing because they have the emblem of the Barbarie family on them.
The coat of arms is an identification card that proves that you are a member of that family, so if you sell them without permission and sell them on the market, you will have a big problem.
The only way to dispose of it would be to burn it.
Now that I am penniless, I have to work.
However, I cannot work in a place where I can be seen by the House of Unsworth, other noble families, or hands of other countries.
In particular, I can't let House Unsworth find me.
If they find out, there will be appropriate sanctions, but Anna will be hurt if she finds out that her parents have harmed me.
I have to avoid that.
For now, we must leave King's Landing.
We're too close to the strongholds of Seventhworth and other powerful nobles to hide.
If I were to disappear, even those from other countries would start looking for me in the capital where I've been living.
I will leave the capital, taking care not to leave any footprints, and then I will look for a job.
The golem's house and the laboratory are still there.
It will take a long time to get rid of them, so I've decided against it.
However, I have put magical security guards on them.
Modern wizards will not be able to break into them, so it is unlikely that they will be broken into.
These places have been left as they are, but there is a high risk that the Severnsworths and others will find out and watch our comings and goings.
No matter how innocent you are, you can't sleep there.
◆◆◆◆◆
After moving from place to place to disperse my pursuers, I found myself living in the favelas of a city about four days' walk from King's Landing.
My house was a room in a housing complex.
It's like a poor apartment with shared bathroom in my previous life.
There is only one room and no storage space.
An ordinary nobleman would not be able to live in such a place.
However, I have lived in a one-room apartment in my previous life.
The quality was lower than that, but it was not so inconvenient once I got used to it.
I also found a job.
I now work as a cook in a restaurant and as a bouncer in an entertainment district.
I have never cooked in this life as a son of a noble family.
However, in my previous life, I cooked all the time because I was single all my life after I left my parents and became independent.
In addition, when I was a university student, I preferred to work part-time jobs that did not involve public appearances, and I had a long history of part-time jobs in kitchens.
I was reasonably confident in my ability to handle knives and pots.
In my previous life, the food culture was richer and I was able to make dishes that were not available in this world.
For this reason, I was immediately hired by a restaurant.
I was recruited to work as a bouncer in the entertainment district after I beat up some men who were trying to get into trouble with me in the favelas.
The job is just to deal with troublesome drunks and outlaws when they appear, so I usually just have to stay where I can be reached.
It is an easy job where you are summoned once every few days and you only have to perform rough work with customers who cause trouble to the restaurant.
You are lucky to have this job, because it pays more than a cook.
As for the bouncer, he can do it only because he uses body-enhancing magic.
It is true that I cannot use body-enhancement magic as skillfully as the martial artists and athletes of my previous life.
However, I can use enhancement magic to the extent that I don't get a failing grade in high school physical education.
That was enough for people in this world who don't know even elementary school level body enhancement magic.
I'll send the lotion to the Seven Worths again.
Even though the cost of cosmetics is terribly low, we have to send a good amount of them.
And since the income of a commoner is sparse, it will take time to save enough money to make the lotion.
Therefore, even though I was working two jobs, I had to put most of my income into saving for making lotion.
Because of this, my life was quite difficult.
The ladies of the entertainment district and the regular customers of the restaurant where I work often buy me meals.
I am told by the manager of the restaurant not to refuse the invitations of the regular customers but to accept them as much as possible in order to be in a good mood.
In the world of the past, it would be legally wrong to force customers to entertain you outside business hours, but in this world, it is a matter of course.
Women who earn money by providing services to customers have a strong voice in the nightlife industry, and it is difficult to refuse an invitation from a female employee.
Both of these invitations are hard to refuse, but the truth of the matter is that it would be a great help if you could buy me a meal, since I am in dire need of money for food.
That is why I try to have dinner with them when they invite me.
If I am invited to dinner many times, a woman may ask me for a relationship.
But I turn them all down.
I don't think it is possible for me to have a girlfriend.
I plan to spend most of my income on my ex-fiancee.
If I had a girlfriend, she would not be happy either.
I don't intend to have a girlfriend because I will inevitably get into trouble for spending my money.
Perhaps if I became a merchant, my life would be easier.
But I can't do that because of the risk of being discovered by the Sevenworths.
The Sevensforths know that I was a merchant, so they must have a tight net around merchants.
They'll be able to find me even if I use a false name.
If I continue like this, I'll be an old man living alone, but I've already given up on that.
Perhaps I am destined to be like that.
In a previous life, I had a junior colleague who was an unparalleled lover of magic cars.
He used to spend most of his salary on modifying his car, so he always lived on a tight budget.
However, as soon as he got married and had a daughter, he stopped his car hobby as if he had changed his mind.
He sold off his sports-type magic car and bought a family-type magic car instead.
I thought it must be very painful for him to abandon his hobby that he had devoted most of his salary to.
My younger colleague also said, "Well, I have a daughter now. It's really hard for me," he said.
However, she looked very happy when she said that.
Why did he look so happy?
I could not understand it in my previous life, but now I can.
It is not painful to endure something for the sake of someone you love.
If it is indeed for the sake of the one you love, you are willing to make the sacrifice.
My life is hard, and my future as a single old man is almost certain.
But I know that this is certainly for Anna's benefit.
So I want to do it.
I'm just doing what I want to do, so I don't feel like I'm forcing myself and I'm not suffering.
On the night of the graduation party, I went down on one knee and bowed my head to the Barbarians' father-in-law and brother-in-law in the Barbarian's office, and said so.
This is the greatest way to apologize, equivalent to getting down on one's knees in a previous life.
"So, how are you going to clean up this mess?"
My father-in-law says to me with a stern face filled with anger.
"I would be happy if you disowned me."
I replied to my father-in-law.
"Are you going back to Adorny's house? "
Father-in-law asks me.
"No, sir. Adorny's house will not accept me.
They'd break off our engagement in public, insult the daughter of House Sevensforth, and be disowned by House Barbaree.
If you accept, you will make enemies of the Dukes of Sevensforth and the Marquesses of Barbarie, the two great noble families."
"Of course.
Then what are you going to do after you are disowned? "
"I'm going to be a commoner."
I tell my father-in-law.
"The woman you were having an affair with was a merchant's daughter.
Are you going to move in with her family's business association? "
My father-in-law asks me, seemingly unable to contain his anger at my answer.
I haven't told him about Kate yet, but it seems he already knows who she is.
"No. I've broken off my engagement to her."
""What? What? ""
My father-in-law and brother-in-law were surprised to hear that.
They're father and son after all. They're perfect together.
Such unimportant thoughts come to mind.
"Huh?
I thought it was strange.
When I heard about the commotion, I rushed to gather information.
I heard that she praised her partner even though she announced that she was breaking off the engagement.
It's not like Gino to break off the engagement at an out-of-the-way place like a party, or to break off the engagement while hugging the waist of the unfaithful partner.
This isn't just an affair, is it? "
After a deep sigh, my brother-in-law asks me.
"This is the alimony.
Please pay it."
I don't answer his question, but take out a bag from my pocket and hold it above my head.
When the chief steward took it and examined the contents, his eyes widened in astonishment.
He hurriedly places the bag on his father-in-law's desk, and his father-in-law and brother-in-law also look inside.
""This is it! !" ""
Your father-in-law and brother-in-law are surprised.
They're father and son after all. They're perfect together.
I gave you 21 red jade coins as consolation money.
Red Jade Coin is a currency used to settle inter-state trade and huge transactions between large multinational merchants.
The Red Jade Coin itself is also an ultra-pure magic crystal, and has astronomical value as a magic crystal.
This is the remainder of the sales of the lotion that I could not spend on golems and such, and is almost my entire fortune.
On top of the gold coins are large gold coins, followed by white gold coins, large white gold coins, blue jade coins, and red jade coins.
A large mansion of a high class nobleman has only a few blue coins.
The mansion of the Adorni family, the family of my birth, is worth only one platinum coin.
Since the national budget of this country is about 80 red coins per year, the amount I gave you this time is about a quarter of the national budget.
It should be enough as a consolation prize.
"You can't possibly prepare this much money today, can you?
You didn't just do something stupid out of the blue, you've been planning it for a while.
What are you after? "
Brother-in-law asks me.
"I'm sure the Kings and the Seventhsworths will make an announcement later.
I have not discussed this with them, but I believe it is in the best interest of the Royal Family and the House of Seven Worth."
I reply to my brother-in-law.
"Yes.
I understand you did not consult with the Seventhsworths.
Before Gino left, the Duke of Severnsworth came to protest."
My brother-in-law says with a sarcastic smile.
It must have been quite a protest for your brother-in-law to say such a thing.
I'm sorry.
"Hmm.
So if the royal family is involved and you won't tell us the details, it's best we don't get too involved.
Then tell me.
What do you think we should do? "
My father-in-law, after thinking for a while, stares me in the eyes and asks.
"I think it would be best if you disowned me and used my alimony to compensate the Seventhsworths for the broken engagement."
I replied.
"...Alright.
I'll keep you company.
I'll disown you.
But it's a temporary dismissal.
I can revoke it at any time at my discretion, so keep that in mind.
I'm still buying you.
Please, let me call you son again someday.
Zinorius."
"Thank you, sir."
My voice trembled as I said this.
My father-in-law's words brought tears to my eyes.
I am truly blessed with the people of the Adorny family, the people of the Severnsworth family, and the people of the Barbarie family.
This is how I ended up being kicked out of the Barbarie house.
When I left, my two sisters-in-law cried in the entrance hall.
◆◆◆◆◆
Being kicked out is not the end.
I had to do something important.
I sent the Seven Worths a cure.
With my name on it, I risked it being thrown away without checking the contents.
I am aware that I have done something to be hated.
However, even if I sent it anonymously or under a false name, no one would take a suspicious medicine sent by such a suspicious person.
Therefore, I will send it anonymously, and also attach a document that summarizes the theory of the pathogenesis and treatment of chronic magical circulatory failure.
Because I really want her to take it, I'll also mention in the letter that I don't know when Anna's life will end.
This is a topic I have never mentioned before.
She will be shocked to know that she has only a few days to live, but she will not be desperate because I will send her the cure as well.
The anti-aging lotion has already been sent.
The lotion is a strategic item for Anna to secure her position in the palace.
We can't afford to run out.
I've sent you two years' worth in one package as your immediate needs.
Considering the quality of the lotion, it would be useless to send more than a two-year supply.
We do not have enough money to supply lotion on the assumption that we will throw away the expired ones.
I will send the lotion for two years after the expiration date after some more time.
This leaves me almost penniless.
I have only enough money for a month's living as a commoner.
I cannot sell the clothes I am wearing because they have the emblem of the Barbarie family on them.
The coat of arms is an identification card that proves that you are a member of that family, so if you sell them without permission and sell them on the market, you will have a big problem.
The only way to dispose of it would be to burn it.
Now that I am penniless, I have to work.
However, I cannot work in a place where I can be seen by the House of Unsworth, other noble families, or hands of other countries.
In particular, I can't let House Unsworth find me.
If they find out, there will be appropriate sanctions, but Anna will be hurt if she finds out that her parents have harmed me.
I have to avoid that.
For now, we must leave King's Landing.
We're too close to the strongholds of Seventhworth and other powerful nobles to hide.
If I were to disappear, even those from other countries would start looking for me in the capital where I've been living.
I will leave the capital, taking care not to leave any footprints, and then I will look for a job.
The golem's house and the laboratory are still there.
It will take a long time to get rid of them, so I've decided against it.
However, I have put magical security guards on them.
Modern wizards will not be able to break into them, so it is unlikely that they will be broken into.
These places have been left as they are, but there is a high risk that the Severnsworths and others will find out and watch our comings and goings.
No matter how innocent you are, you can't sleep there.
◆◆◆◆◆
After moving from place to place to disperse my pursuers, I found myself living in the favelas of a city about four days' walk from King's Landing.
My house was a room in a housing complex.
It's like a poor apartment with shared bathroom in my previous life.
There is only one room and no storage space.
An ordinary nobleman would not be able to live in such a place.
However, I have lived in a one-room apartment in my previous life.
The quality was lower than that, but it was not so inconvenient once I got used to it.
I also found a job.
I now work as a cook in a restaurant and as a bouncer in an entertainment district.
I have never cooked in this life as a son of a noble family.
However, in my previous life, I cooked all the time because I was single all my life after I left my parents and became independent.
In addition, when I was a university student, I preferred to work part-time jobs that did not involve public appearances, and I had a long history of part-time jobs in kitchens.
I was reasonably confident in my ability to handle knives and pots.
In my previous life, the food culture was richer and I was able to make dishes that were not available in this world.
For this reason, I was immediately hired by a restaurant.
I was recruited to work as a bouncer in the entertainment district after I beat up some men who were trying to get into trouble with me in the favelas.
The job is just to deal with troublesome drunks and outlaws when they appear, so I usually just have to stay where I can be reached.
It is an easy job where you are summoned once every few days and you only have to perform rough work with customers who cause trouble to the restaurant.
You are lucky to have this job, because it pays more than a cook.
As for the bouncer, he can do it only because he uses body-enhancing magic.
It is true that I cannot use body-enhancement magic as skillfully as the martial artists and athletes of my previous life.
However, I can use enhancement magic to the extent that I don't get a failing grade in high school physical education.
That was enough for people in this world who don't know even elementary school level body enhancement magic.
I'll send the lotion to the Seven Worths again.
Even though the cost of cosmetics is terribly low, we have to send a good amount of them.
And since the income of a commoner is sparse, it will take time to save enough money to make the lotion.
Therefore, even though I was working two jobs, I had to put most of my income into saving for making lotion.
Because of this, my life was quite difficult.
The ladies of the entertainment district and the regular customers of the restaurant where I work often buy me meals.
I am told by the manager of the restaurant not to refuse the invitations of the regular customers but to accept them as much as possible in order to be in a good mood.
In the world of the past, it would be legally wrong to force customers to entertain you outside business hours, but in this world, it is a matter of course.
Women who earn money by providing services to customers have a strong voice in the nightlife industry, and it is difficult to refuse an invitation from a female employee.
Both of these invitations are hard to refuse, but the truth of the matter is that it would be a great help if you could buy me a meal, since I am in dire need of money for food.
That is why I try to have dinner with them when they invite me.
If I am invited to dinner many times, a woman may ask me for a relationship.
But I turn them all down.
I don't think it is possible for me to have a girlfriend.
I plan to spend most of my income on my ex-fiancee.
If I had a girlfriend, she would not be happy either.
I don't intend to have a girlfriend because I will inevitably get into trouble for spending my money.
Perhaps if I became a merchant, my life would be easier.
But I can't do that because of the risk of being discovered by the Sevenworths.
The Sevensforths know that I was a merchant, so they must have a tight net around merchants.
They'll be able to find me even if I use a false name.
If I continue like this, I'll be an old man living alone, but I've already given up on that.
Perhaps I am destined to be like that.
In a previous life, I had a junior colleague who was an unparalleled lover of magic cars.
He used to spend most of his salary on modifying his car, so he always lived on a tight budget.
However, as soon as he got married and had a daughter, he stopped his car hobby as if he had changed his mind.
He sold off his sports-type magic car and bought a family-type magic car instead.
I thought it must be very painful for him to abandon his hobby that he had devoted most of his salary to.
My younger colleague also said, "Well, I have a daughter now. It's really hard for me," he said.
However, she looked very happy when she said that.
Why did he look so happy?
I could not understand it in my previous life, but now I can.
It is not painful to endure something for the sake of someone you love.
If it is indeed for the sake of the one you love, you are willing to make the sacrifice.
My life is hard, and my future as a single old man is almost certain.
But I know that this is certainly for Anna's benefit.
So I want to do it.
I'm just doing what I want to do, so I don't feel like I'm forcing myself and I'm not suffering.