Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 4

“Ugh….”

A tremendous pain shoots through my head.

Tray groaned in agony, slowly pushing himself up.

He paused, sitting back on his heels, trying to recall how he ended up in this state.

A beautiful woman screaming in protest before his eyes, himself stripping her clothes off.

And someone watching it all with an expressionless gaze…

“Hey.”

“Young Master?”

Tray was startled by Zion, who was squatting down and looking at him. He quickly scrambled to his feet.

Then, noticing Zion was still sitting, he seemed to think his young master couldn’t possibly be looking up at him, so he knelt before him and bowed his head.

“From now on, you will answer my questions. Begin.”

“Wh-what do you mean….”

“Answer only with yes or no.

Speak up if you have any complaints.”

The cold eyes flashed sharply, and Tray nodded frantically.

This was subtly different from the Zion he knew. Sharp, yet possessing a chilling calmness at the edge of his keenness, it was all unfamiliar to Tray.

“How many times have I done things like this?”

“Pardon?”

“How many times have I brought women here and done terrible things?”

“Y-Young Master.

I have no idea what you’re talking about….”

“Don’t keep questioning me.

If you pretend not to understand again, I’ll punch you in the mouth.”

Similar lines to usual, but a different atmosphere.

Tray couldn’t help but wonder if someone else, wearing Zion’s skin, was standing before him.

Of course, it was an absurd thought, an impious idea that he should never entertain. He scolded himself.

Unaware that his imagination was, in fact, the truth.

“O-Other than today, I believe it was twice, no, three times.”

Shit, three times?

Zion cursed inwardly at Tray’s confession.

Even committing such an act once could be a fatal weakness in the aristocratic world, yet he had done it not twice, but three times?

‘Fucking son of a bitch!’

No wonder Lichten Klauzen was hesitant to entrust the Klauzen name to Zion, despite the significant age gap with his younger sibling.

It was only after his younger sibling, unable to withstand Zion’s threats, gave up the heir position and fled the territory as if running away, that Zion was officially appointed as the heir.

“O-Of course, there were no problems.”

“No problems?”

“Yes.

I personally confirmed it for you. You examined them a few times and said they weren’t to your taste, ordering them to get lost immediately, but….”

Tray trailed off, carefully watching Zion’s reaction.

Zion was about to scold him for asking what he meant, but then he accurately recalled the perverted tastes of Zion in the novel.

The Zion with severe eccentric tendencies had very specific preferences for women: they had to be shorter than or the same height as him, have fair and delicate skin, slender legs, and small hands and feet… He was so particular that he would only sleep with a woman after confirming all these things.

In other words, Tray was saying that he had secretly brought in several women, but Zion had only briefly examined them, deemed them not to his taste, and sent them back.

‘At least he didn’t recklessly fool around with his lower body?

Well, this perverted side of him only really started to surface after Kim Yu-hyun advanced to the capital and began receiving all sorts of attention from the nobles and the royal palace.’

It was fortunate in a way, but now Zion was no longer just a villain in a novel; he was himself.

He knew how greatly things could escalate with even a small mistake, and that it could lead to him facing Kim Yu-hyun again and having his head cut off by his sword.

From the start, Zion Klauzen wasn’t someone who had lived a proper life, so he likely had many enemies, known and unknown, and having his weaknesses exposed could be fatal to his goal of surviving.

“Let’s return to the castle for now.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

It was late.

Even for Zion Klauzen, who wasn’t restricted in his activities, if he didn’t return to the castle late without any news, the Margrave [a noble rank similar to a marquis] would surely deploy his private soldiers to search for his son.

Just as Zion was about to leave the half-destroyed, no, completely destroyed basement, he exclaimed, “Ah!” He turned around, smiled, and suddenly spoke to Tray in a rather polite tone.

“Sir Tray.

You know, right?”

“Yes?”

“Today’s events are also a secret, as they always were.

If you let it slip, things will get very interesting.”

From what he remembered, Tray, who attended him closely, was the one who knew Zion’s terrible personality best at this time.

Of course, that Tray was removed by Kim Yu-hyun in the early stages, but in any case, he hadn’t lost his life yet, and Zion still had one subordinate he could freely use.

“Of course… I will unconditionally keep it a secret.”

He didn’t know the exact reason, but he knew that Zion had a weakness of Tray’s.

If he used that well, it would be a great help in the future.

―――――――――――

The Klauzen Margraviate [territory ruled by a margrave] is tasked with defending the borders of the Hispania Kingdom.

Therefore, it held all military authority in the area and had the privilege of independently organizing and moving troops without receiving orders from the royal castle.

This authority was granted because it bore the heavy responsibility of being the first line of defense against attacks from the neighboring kingdom of Nudia.

Therefore, although it was a margraviate, its reputation and power were almost equivalent to that of a duchy [territory ruled by a duke].

“Wow.”

When Zion arrived at the Klauzen Margrave’s castle, he was overwhelmed by its grandeur, even forgetting that this was now his home, and couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

A massive and majestic castle that looked like something out of a game belonged to the man who was his father, and could one day be his.

Thinking that way, Zion set another modest goal besides simply surviving: if he survived, he would live well in the Margraviate.

“Young Master!

Why are you so late!”

After passing the drawbridge and entering the main castle beyond the gate, the first to greet him with a hurried expression was an old man with white hair.

A neat uniform without a single wrinkle and a sharply trimmed beard that seemed measured with a ruler.

It was Sebastian, the butler of the Klauzen family.

‘…Wait a minute.

Sebastian, the butler of the Klauzen Margrave family….’

He was currently the butler of the Klauzen Margrave family, but his true identity was one of the two swords of the family.

The terrifying butler who fought equally with the strong Kim Yu-hyun, using combat experience, instantaneous judgment, and superhuman senses, making it even embarrassing to call him an old man.

Of course, he had never shown his skills to Zion Klauzen, so the Zion in the novel knew until his death that his butler Sebastian was just an old but healthy butler.

“Young Master.

Where have you been wandering until this late hour?

Must you truly see an old man die of a heart attack?

You have no idea how worried the Margrave was!”

Sebastian approached, tears welling up in his eyes, and grabbed Zion’s hands.

But Zion, knowing his true nature, laughed inwardly.

‘An old man, my ass!

Where was that old man originally from?

What knight order was it?

…That’s right.

The Royal Secret Guard.

He was definitely affiliated with them.’

A skilled individual whom even Kim Yu-hyun, known as the Sword Saint, admired.

That old man was putting on a helpless, weak butler act in front of him.

It was truly, as Zion thought, a load of crap.

A monster who had given even Kim Yu-hyun some trouble.

Zion wanted to avoid any foolish words or actions that would displease him, so he decided to show the butler the basic courtesy that a family’s young master could offer.

“Something happened, Sebastian.

It wasn’t a big deal, so you don’t have to worry so much.”

Zion gave a bright, business-like smile as if welcoming a guest, and stroked the wrinkled hand of the old man who was holding his hands.

Sebastian said it was a relief and told him to go up to the Margrave, who was looking for him.

Zion nodded and began to head to the third floor of the castle, where the Margrave’s office was located, taking Tray with him.

Sebastian watched their retreating figures with a kind smile.

But as soon as Zion and Tray disappeared from view, that smile vanished in an instant.

In its place appeared cold, hardened eyes, tightly closed lips, and sharply gleaming eyes.

“Sebastian, huh.”

The current Zion wouldn’t know, but the original Zion never called Sebastian by his name.

He simply called him Butler, and when he was in a bad mood, he would even call him Old Man.

It wasn’t to show respect, but rather to intentionally emphasize that he was just an old man and to mock him.

The story of Zion and Sebastian had never appeared in the novel, and it was only written in the author’s setting notes, so even Lee Ji-hoon, who considered himself a devoted reader, couldn’t have known that far.

“Intriguing and suspicious.”

A very faint smile appeared on Sebastian’s lips.

He glanced once at the trail of Zion’s footsteps that had disappeared upstairs, chuckled, and moved his feet.

Meanwhile, Zion, who had reached the Margrave’s office, gestured to Tray.

Understanding that this was enough and that he should step back, Tray bowed deeply with a tense face and began to retrace his steps.

‘Hoo.’

Just beyond this door was Lichten Klauzen, Zion Klauzen’s, his father, the Margrave.

Torn between the heavy responsibilities of being a father to a child and a Margrave of a country, he ultimately chose the position of Margrave, recommending the enemy who had cut off his son’s arm to the central government, allowing him to monopolize all the attention and merit.

Thanks to that, he met a cruel end at the hands of his son, who gnashed his teeth at him, a pitiful father and Margrave.

He was waiting for him just beyond this door.

Knock, knock, knock—.

“Come in.”

He could have asked who it was, but as if he knew from the beginning who was waiting in front of the door, a middle-aged man’s voice came from inside.

Zion took a deep breath and turned the doorknob.

The Margrave’s office was too simple to be the room of an absolute ruler governing a vast territory.

And inside, there sat a father who was worried about his son and wanted to teach him, a perfectly ordinary father, if you took away the title of Margrave.

“Sit.”

Zion sat quietly on the sofa.

Then, he carefully observed Lichten, waiting for the Margrave’s next words.

As described in the novel, he was a man with an impression similar to Zion’s, yet slightly different.

The appearance that seemed to have made many women cry in his youth had become the charm of a middle-aged man, still remaining in place.

The deep wrinkles etched on his forehead seemed to be engraved with the anguish he had experienced so far, and the scar on his cheek directly revealed his rough and rugged battlefield life.

“….”

Zion sat down, but Margrave Lichten said nothing.

He simply spent time checking the various documents placed in front of him.

As that turned into 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and over 10 minutes, the two fathers and sons simply sat in silence.

“Zion Klauzen.”

How many more minutes had passed after that?

Finally, Margrave Lichten’s mouth opened.

Zion straightened his body at the next words and prepared to listen attentively.

But at the Margrave’s next words, Zion froze in place.

“I would like you to tell me honestly, without any lies or additions.

Zion Klauzen.

What were you doing until this late hour to return to the castle?”