After walking for a while, the three of them finally arrived in front of the main hall.
The guard who had been leading the way stopped before a massive door. Hera stood several steps behind him, while Zeldryn remained at the back, enduring the pain throughout his body.
The guard gripped the handle and slowly opened the door.
“Please enter, my lord.”
He stepped inside first to show them the way.
Hera followed behind the guard, while Zeldryn entered last.
Ever since they had begun approaching the hall, Hera’s expression had continued to worsen. Her steps grew stiffer, both hands clutched the edges of her uniform, and her eyes remained fixed on the floor.
Zeldryn could see all of it clearly from behind her.
“Why does she look that terrified?” Zeldryn wondered.
However, the moment he looked toward the center of the hall, he immediately understood.
Zeldryn stopped walking.
The scene before him was completely absurd.
A fat young man with blond hair was sitting comfortably in one of the chairs. His face still looked young, probably somewhere between eighteen and twenty years old.
Both of his feet rested on a table covered with fruit, bread, and various other foods.
The fat young man picked up a piece of fruit, took several bites, then tossed what remained back onto the table.
“OI, SERVANT! BRING ME MORE FRUIT! HURRY UP!”
A female servant standing near the table immediately flinched.
“Y-yes, sir.”
She hurried over and picked up the nearly empty plate.
The fat young man watched her movements impatiently.
“You’re so damn slow! Do you want me to report you to Lord Zeldryn, huh?!”
He burst into loud laughter.
“HAHAHAHA!”
As the servant was about to turn away, the young man suddenly slapped her backside.
The servant’s entire body stiffened.
Her face turned pale, but she did not dare turn around or say anything. She merely bit her lip and carried the plate away.
Not far from him stood another young man who appeared to be around the same age.
He was thin and had black hair. His face was still youthful, but his eyes carried a cunning gleam.
The thin young man stood extremely close to a young female servant. One of his hands gripped her face, forcing her to look at him.
“Hmm. Now that I see you up close, you’re actually quite pretty.”
The servant tried to turn her face away, but his grip on her chin immediately tightened.
The thin young man smiled faintly.
“You’ll be serving me tonight, Miss Servant.”
He stroked her cheek with his thumb.
“Or would you rather be punished by Lord Zeldryn?”
The servant immediately began trembling.
Tears were already gathering in her eyes, but she did not dare refuse or cry out for help.
Seeing all of this, Zeldryn felt his blood begin to boil.
“Who the hell are these two bastards?” he thought.
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He wanted to walk over and beat both of them right then and there.
However, Zeldryn restrained himself.
He still did not know who they were.
Considering how boldly they behaved inside the mansion, Zeldryn briefly wondered whether they might be related to him.
“Could they be this body’s brothers?”
However, the idea immediately felt strange.
They were using Zeldryn’s name to threaten the servants. They also addressed him as Lord instead of calling him casually, as close family members would.
Zeldryn looked at the guard standing a short distance in front of Hera.
The guard remained silent with his fists clenched. His jaw tightened as he watched the two young men mistreat the servants, but he did not dare stop them.
Zeldryn then looked at Hera, who stood directly in front of him.
Just as he expected.
Hera looked as though she might vomit at any moment.
Her hands trembled even more violently. Her shoulders were tense, and her gaze remained fixed on the floor, as though she could not bear to look at either man.
“So they’re the ones who have been frightening Hera this entire time,” Zeldryn thought.
While Zeldryn was still trying to understand the situation, the fat blond man happened to glance toward the hall’s entrance.
His laughter immediately stopped.
The fruit he had been about to put into his mouth froze in midair.
His eyes widened when he saw Zeldryn standing behind Hera.
He quickly lowered both feet from the table.
The fruit in his hand was immediately placed on a plate. He corrected his posture, then signaled to the thin man with his eyes.
The thin man followed his gaze.
The moment he saw Zeldryn, he immediately released the servant’s face.
The servant hurriedly stepped backward and stood near the wall with a pale expression.
The fat young man rose from his chair.
“Ahem.”
He adjusted his clothes and tidied his blond hair. The crude behavior he had displayed only seconds earlier vanished completely.
A wide smile appeared on his face.
“Honorable Lord Zeldryn.”
He bowed with an exaggerated motion.
“I, Henry, your friend and most loyal follower, am incredibly pleased to see that you have recovered.”
After introducing himself, Henry glanced at the fruit he had carelessly thrown onto the table.
He immediately picked it up and placed it neatly back on the plate, pretending that Zeldryn had not witnessed what had just happened.
Henry then approached while wearing a sorrowful expression.
“I was truly devastated when I heard about what happened to you last night, my lord.”
He shook his head.
“It pains me deeply to know that you were surrounded by those barbarians.”
Henry placed one hand over his chest.
“If only I had been there, I would certainly have fought them.”
He looked at Zeldryn with an expression filled with false conviction.
“Even if I had been forced to sacrifice my own life to save you.”
The thin black-haired young man also began walking toward them.
“Yes, yes. That is absolutely true, Lord Zeldryn.”
He bowed slightly.
“I am Aeglo, your friend and loyal follower. I was also deeply saddened when I heard about the incident.”
Aeglo wore a gloomy expression that looked completely fabricated.
“I could not even sleep last night because I was so worried about your condition.”
Zeldryn stared at the two of them without saying anything.
Henry and Aeglo.
Neither name caused any memories to surface inside his head.
However, judging by the sudden change in their behavior, Zeldryn could already guess what kind of people stood before him.
Only moments earlier, they had been shouting at, threatening, and harassing the servants.
Now they stood politely before him, wearing expressions filled with concern.
The sight felt extremely familiar to Reka.
Back when he had still been working in his previous world, he had often encountered people just like them.
People who insulted their superiors behind their backs, only to transform into the most loyal dogs imaginable the moment their boss appeared.
People who constantly licked someone’s boots because they wanted money, status, or some other benefit.
“How nostalgic,” Zeldryn thought.
The corner of his lips twitched in disgust.
“I haven’t seen bootlickers this revolting since I got fired.”
Henry and Aeglo continued walking toward him.
Because Hera stood in front of Zeldryn, the two young men reached her first.
Hera immediately froze.
She lowered her head even further and stood completely still, as though hoping they would simply walk past without doing anything.
Henry merely glanced at Hera before passing her.
Aeglo, however, stopped directly beside her.
He turned his head.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Aeglo’s gaze moved from Hera’s injured face down to her bandaged hands.
Hera began trembling even harder.
She did not dare lift her face or say anything.
Aeglo stared at her for several seconds before continuing forward to follow Henry.
Zeldryn, who stood directly behind Hera, saw everything clearly.
The way Aeglo looked at her.
The way Henry used Zeldryn’s name to threaten the servants.
The way they treated this mansion as though it belonged to them.
Even the guards did not dare reprimand them because these two men believed they were protected by the previous Zeldryn.
Zeldryn was finally beginning to understand the situation.
“They aren’t related to this body,” he thought.
“They’re just two bootlicking bastards who have been taking advantage of Zeldryn’s name.”
The previous Zeldryn had most likely considered Henry and Aeglo his friends and loyal followers.
In reality, the two of them had merely been using him to enjoy the mansion’s food, facilities, servants, and the lifestyle of nobles.
They were also much older than Zeldryn.
Yet instead of feeling ashamed for taking advantage of a twelve-year-old child, they had lived comfortably while hiding behind the Giorry family’s name.
“Maybe these two bastards are part of the reason the old Zeldryn became even more stupid,” Zeldryn thought.
Henry finally stopped directly in front of Zeldryn.
His smile grew even wider.
He extended his hand, intending to touch Zeldryn’s as though they were close friends who had finally reunited.
However, before his hand could reach him, Zeldryn slapped it away.
Smack!
Henry froze.
Aeglo, who stood beside him, immediately stopped as well.
Hera slowly raised her face in surprise.
The guard standing nearby widened his eyes.
Zeldryn stared at Henry’s hand with disgust before raising his gaze toward the fat young man’s face.
“What do you think you’re doing, bastard?”
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