Wise Summer Vacation (4)
After arriving in this world, he didn’t know that there would be more difficult things to do than stay up all night memorizing that magic book or using magic until he collapsed. Kleio survived all of that, thinking only of that 800,000 dinars he would have in cash this afternoon.
‘Now I only have to put up with half a day. Those who endure will win.’
What awaited him was a terrible series of fitting clothes one after another. Kleio’s common sense was that it was only necessary to have one or two matching sets of outdoor clothes, but Dione’s common sense was much different. A long jacket for going out during the day with matching pants and a vest, with a formal tailcoat for the evening, plus a light meeting suit, a tweed suit, and six shirts. She was constantly asking about the fabric and color for each pair and the shape of the sleeves, how many pockets they had…
‘Seriously?’
After that, Dione also chose ties and handkerchiefs for him. Kleio, already exhausted, couldn’t hold up and eventually melted into the sofa. When he was asked about a hundred times which color or shape was better while a cloth that always looked the same was held up, he responded thoughtlessly.
“It would cost a lot to make clothes like that here. Is this also his will?”
After three hours and forty minutes, Dione, who had to deliver the final request to the tailor and staff, responded firmly.
“Yes.” He said that you didn’t go outside before going to school, so you didn’t have a proper set of clothes for going out.”
“No, it’s okay if a man wears a suit. So, why are you looking at so many different types of clothes?”
“Young master, are you serious?”
Even her polite laugh vanished without a trace as her expression turned cold.
“Hey, young master. Baronet Asel isn’t always correct, but this way of thinking is. When people look at a person, they first look at their clothes, jewelry… the attitude that the person is wearing.”
“I will not have any sort of business meetings in the future, so I was wondering if I needed such excessive clothing.”
“No, this young master is talking about silly things.”
‘Ugh.’
“It’s a little futile. Anyways, my dear, you’re young. You pretended to be an adult, so I forgot.”
‘What? This woman is a good ten years younger than me, really.’
Jungjin had endured until now with the phrase ‘800,000 dinars’ ringing in his head.
“Let’s start with the easy questions. Why do you think Baronet Asel enrolled you in the academy by using any means?”
“Isn’t it the intent of my mother who passed?”
“You consider your father to be too sentimental. Did you really think he poured out a few million dinars of his second son just for that reason?”
“…I wouldn’t have.”
His neck tingled at the question. ‘Out of love for my dead wife’ would be a perfectly acceptable reason, but after seeing him once, he knew that Gideon Asel wasn’t such a romantic. Not only the school but preparing the mansion and a private teacher… The conclusion was clear. He was trying to put his son into politics.
‘I thought I would leave anyway, so I didn’t think too deeply, was that it? Does that man know his son? He’s trying to push a timid and shy kid into such a mess!’
“Now, you seem to have a little sense. Your father didn’t teach you anything about business, unlike his eldest son Vlad. Instead, he enrolled you in a school where the next cabinet and generation of military leadership would be born.”
‘Yes, that’s why.’
Kleio grimaced at that. He didn’t expect to live as a part of a rich family. If you had enough money, you would also have power.
“If so, why wouldn’t he do it himself and not put vain expectations on a child as inferior as me?”
“If you keep saying stupid things, I’ll hit you. Look, your father was born as a commoner and earned the title of baronet through his service. He had no connections and worked his way up. Would a high nobleman choose someone like him to be the secretary of commerce? It’s only possible for his son.”
That made him realize that this was a strange world.
“How could he without an inherited mansion and wine cellar? Those of a higher position never considered the person who first appeared at the table yesterday as their companion. Rather, raising a child to be part of the next generation is the faster way to gain a vested interest.”
It was complete bullshit; that was the problem with a class society. It’s not about having a lot of money, but what you inherited.
‘But what should I do?’
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It was a struggle to gain a decent standing in society, but to Kleio, it honestly felt like someone else’s job.
‘He has two sons; tell the good one to do it. Why do I have to change because of his ambition?!’
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“The mood has become too heavy. Let’s go after drinking the remaining tea. We’ll have to come back, so greet the tailor properly.”
He didn’t plan on ever coming back, but he danced to Dione’s beat for now. His decision to run tonight was firm if only the cash were there. Physically and mentally tattered, Kleio started to leave the store but paused at the entrance.
“Please purchase this red ribbon tie here.”
“You weren’t interested in any clothes, so why now? It’s too childish for the young master to wear.”
Dione quickly dismissed it, but Kleio shook his head lightly.
“It’s not for me, but a gentleman cat.”
“!!!”
Dione’s face brightened immediately.
“Ah! Alas, how cute would he be with these?”
Dione put everything aside and bought a few more ties.
“Please wrap the three polka dot bow ties over there, and three of those stripe ties too.”
.
.
.
Dione, her usual lovely expression back, took the lead, and she said they should visit the bookstore.
“The new book was published late in Kolpos. I was curious about the new volume of -Rediscovered Novantes- and -Typhoon Hill-! Alas!”
While Dione bought a bunch of novels, Kleio snuck out the back door and stopped by the Planta Bank HQ nearby. Dione was smiling with excitement as she browsed through the new books while Kleio was looking for his 800,000 dinars. After returning to the mansion, they had a simple but nice meal in the living room. The cat, compliant only with women, gently raised his chin while Dione tied a red bow tie around his neck.
“It’s cute.”
Dione hugged the cat and rubbed her face against him. Behemoth with a red tie wasn’t that cute, so Kleio couldn’t understand her reaction as he yawned.
“Meoooow (Yes, praise this wonderful me).”
‘If Dione could hear him, she wouldn’t think he was cute.’
.
.
.
Kleio’s room was the last bedroom on the second floor. It was in a spot that few people would notice. Behemoth, who was drinking both bottles of the Bishop’s Tower, spread out on the floor with an expression of happiness. Kleio patted the sleeping behemoth and adjusted the red ribbon buried in his thick fur to be straight.
‘Thank you so far, man.’
Before heading to the parlor, he called on the youngest maid. He told her this cat could drink alcohol and give him whatever he wanted if he scratched at the cellar door. For his alcohol fund, he gave her 1,000 dinars to hold onto. With no lights on, Kleio put the 1.2 million dinars he had withdrawn his jacket, using the subspace pocket the bank had given to him. He was a little nervous because it was too much money to carry, but he couldn’t use the check as that would give out his location.
‘This subspace pocket is pretty useful, though.’
It was a magic tool that fit snugly in one’s pocket even if it contained 1.2 billion won worth of bills in it.
‘Thank you, but I will now be discontinuing business with Planta. Should I use a bank that Gideon doesn’t?’
He changed into modest clothes and put on his oldest shoes. Then, grabbing the wall decorations, he gently crawled down the terrace. No one seemed to be chasing him as he left the mansion, so Kleio let out a cheer inside as he left the left estate behind.
‘Humans have to do everything they can to live well. Let’s not see this place again.’
***
Like in a spy movie, he caught the train leaving the earliest, then switched to another train as he left the other side of the station. The second-class car on the night train was cluttered. Cigarette embers floated in the dark amid a faint smell of alcohol and the snoring of drunkards.
Indeed, he realized he was in a whole new world. He felt relieved as he collapsed into a seat and soon fell asleep as he watched the city lights moving away through the window.