Chapter 04

Gale, his hefty frame wrapped in formal attire, was waiting for Ian in the armchair. Gale had come to the manor today partly to attend Arthur Walton’s funeral, but also because there were matters to discuss and handle with Ian.

While Ian moved the gift package from the low table to a chair, Gale began placing the pile of documents he’d brought onto that spot. Each time he set down the papers with a thunk, the clothes wrapped around Gale’s arms seemed ready to burst with a scream.

All were documents related to succession, inheritance, and changing one’s name—Ian wanted to scream. But knowing it was an absurd thought, he kept his mouth shut and reviewed the papers. Then he was startled by something Gale said and asked back.

“Boarding school?”

At Ian’s question, Gale raised his thick eyebrows, then pushed up his small glasses that had slipped down and continued.

“Yes, I was looking into boarding schools for the young master to attend…”

A capable lawyer handles things before the employer even feels the need. Gale had planned to carefully recommend boarding schools divided by grade, but at this unexpected reaction, he asked an additional question just in case.

“…Perhaps you’re thinking of living together?”

“Well, of course…”

Ian had only been thinking of staying close to the protagonist until things went wrong, so he hadn’t even considered the option of sending him to a school with dormitories. For a moment he wondered what Gale was talking about, but soon his heart sank.

An unmarried man living with a child who wasn’t family—it was almost unheard of in reality or in this world, so it was natural for Gale to bring up boarding school. This made Ian suddenly reconsider his choice.

Wouldn’t it be better for the child to send him to a good boarding school with many peers rather than staying in this dreary, secretive manor with an awkward stranger like himself?

Ian, who had fallen into worry thinking more about young Ash than his own position, hesitantly spoke up.

“I made a promise to Ash… I told him he could stay just like before I came. I’d like to leave that decision to him. Later… after the funeral is over, it would be better if you asked when I’m not around.”

At those words, Gale stared intently as if trying to read Ian’s intentions. Then he set the documents he was holding on the low table between them and leaned back against his chair. His small eyes flashed as if studying Ian.

“If you’re worried about reputation… I could recommend a traditional, prestigious school rather than one for children in similar circumstances to the young master.”

Ian didn’t immediately understand Gale’s calm yet dry words, wondering what he meant, then his face hardened. It meant whether he was afraid of others’ judgment since it looked like he’d stolen the family from Ash.

Ian immediately said firmly:

“…If Ash says he wants to go, I want to send him somewhere good. Regardless of my own wishes.”

“I understand. Then I’ll speak with the young master as you’ve said.”

Gale nodded as if understanding Ian’s intentions, then presented the next document. Though it might be somewhat inappropriate to discuss after their previous conversation, Gale looked at Ian with indifferent eyes and spoke.

“After the paperwork is completed, Mr. Hale will become Ian Walton, head of the Walton family and baron ruling this Giles estate. Next in line is young Ash, but… if you start a family or have children…”

Gale paused briefly, then continued.

“You’ll lose the title, estate, and manor entirely.”

Small, sharp eyes quickly examined Ian’s face. His wide-eyed expression looked foolish. Gale wore the expression he’d expected.

“I don’t think… that was mentioned.”

His forced smile trembled. Gale spoke with the attitude of teaching a naive young man spouting pretty words a lesson.

“It seems you didn’t properly read the succession conditions section of the contract.”

At his brazenly calm words, Ian’s mouth fell open. He had indeed gone in almost out of his mind from the repeating days, not listening or reading properly and just agreeing to everything. But like a real estate agent after a defective property contract saying ‘you should have examined the contract carefully,’ the attitude was momentarily infuriating.

If it had been the real body’s owner, ‘Ian Hale,’ the shock would have been greater. He would have chosen without looking back or forth at the promise of becoming lord of an estate and manor. Thinking it was the one opportunity that came to his shabby life, he would have been twice as angry as Ian, who had no interest in titles, manors, or estates.

And those arrows would likely have been aimed at Ash. Though it was just speculation since he’d quit the game partway through, Ian Hale had probably initially just endured and lived quietly, but while staying at the manor, for some reason suffered from terror, lost his sanity, and blamed everything on Ash.

And when that reached its peak, he completely lost his reason and attacked the adult Ash—at this thought, Ian sighed. Still, those actions couldn’t be justified.

While Ian was lost in complex thoughts, Gale kept his mouth shut, as if wanting to let him know he wasn’t in a position to worry about others.

Ian sighed quietly and brought up a different topic.

“I’ve wanted to ask this for a while—how did the Hale and Walton families become separated? You must know, lawyer.”

It was a question to change the subject, thinking it impressive that they’d found him without genetic testing. Gale seemed curious why this topic suddenly came up but answered anyway.

“Mr. Hale’s great-grandfather was born as the youngest son of the Walton family, and after growing up, moved north and changed his surname to his mother’s side. I can’t know exactly why he went so far away. They’d cut contact and lived separately for so long that finding Mr. Hale wasn’t easy.”

At the end, there was a subtle but clear pride that he’d accomplished this because he was a capable lawyer.

To Ian, a youngest son suddenly leaving for a distant region seemed quite suspicious. But to Gale, a son far from succession finding his own way to make a living didn’t seem particularly strange.

“So the Walton family now… really only has me and Ash?”

“Yes, that’s right. The others passed away early.”

Gale nodded as if it were an odd question and took out a watch from his pocket to check it. From their few meetings, he’d judged Ian to be naive with no head for profit. Still, he didn’t dislike it. Thinking that such a person in a noble household wouldn’t be bad, he even found it somewhat appealing. But he didn’t show such feelings as he spoke.

“Do you have more questions? You should probably start preparing now… We’ve checked the essential documents, so you can review the rest before I come next time.”

As Gale was assigning Ian work with an impassive expression, there was a knock from outside the study. The person who entered was butler Clayton. After briefly acknowledging Gale, Clayton addressed Ian.

“Master, it’s time to prepare.”

“Then I’ll see you at the funeral.”

Ian hastily accepted Gale’s greeting as he stood and headed to his room as the butler led. After changing into clothes from the wardrobe and coming out, the waiting butler looked at Ian and blinked for a moment. Without verbal correction, he said there were a few additions needed and took his inexperienced master back into the room to help with his attire.

In any case, he was able to attend the funeral without being late. The weather had cleared up as if it had never been overcast.

When told the funeral would be held at the family cemetery some distance from the manor, Ian felt inwardly tense. When the carriage left the manor, he held his breath. Fortunately, nothing like yesterday happened—when suddenly heavy rain had fallen from the sky as if warning him not to leave the manor.

Though he felt bewildered, Ian couldn’t judge whether it was because the funeral was predetermined, or whether the previous incident had been coincidental.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the carriage was heavy. Ash sitting across from him and Gale beside him were silent. Feeling as if his throat was constricted, Ian turned his gaze back out the window. Looking at the manor growing distant, it stood tall with imposing weight. It continued to catch his eye as if watching the carriage moving away from it.

When they arrived at the cemetery, workers had already dug the hole for the coffin and were sitting in the shade of a large tree on one side of the cemetery, waiting.

Since it was a simple funeral, not many people attended. Ian stood beside Ash with Clayton and Gale behind them, and further away stood the head maid he’d seen before and the coachman who’d driven the carriage. The workers stood near the coffin, waiting only for the signal.

They were about to lower the coffin when a priest appeared hurriedly with the sound of hoofbeats and began a simple ceremony.

“May the one who sleeps under God’s protection find peace…”

As soon as the priest finished speaking, dirt began covering the coffin. They erected the prepared headstone at the new grave. After wiping it once, the simply carved name, birth date, and death date were revealed.

Though the procedures and forms were different, Ian’s mood sank as he remembered the funeral where he’d been the chief mourner. Then he suddenly thought of Ash.

‘He’s much younger than I was then.’

Seeing the shoulders of a child much smaller than when he’d been a high school student trembling, he carefully placed his hand there. The child flinched at that touch, then lifted his head.

If there had been fear or terror in the child’s eyes, Ian would have immediately withdrawn his hand. But the eyes he met were wet with tears and sorrow, making the pupil color vivid. Ash hesitantly glanced at the hand on his shoulder, then turned his head to look straight ahead. He didn’t seem to want the hand removed, but still bit his lips as if awkward.

When the funeral ended, the priest who had been standing near the cemetery wiping sweat with a handkerchief approached the two.