Restart:Untalented Man

The next day.

Count Caushilbo called his son, Carl to his office.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

"Come in", said the Count.

The door was slowly opened. A young man in his early twenties entered the office and saw the Count's main desk is empty. His emerald green eyes looked left and right, trying to find his father in the large office. Carl found his father at the corner of the room, hidden from his sight.

"Did you call me, father?"

The Count replied with a serious tone, "Yes, Carl. Now, sit down"

Carl immediately tensed up. He never sees his father as serious as right now. There must be something important that his father wants to talk to him about.

The Count made a short cough. He looked at his son and said, "How is your wedding preparation going?"

Hearing his father's question, Carl frowned. He feels a bit weird about the question but still chooses to reply, "Everything is fine. Why do you ask?"

From what he knows, his father let his mother handle everything related to the wedding.

"Do you know the situation about the Ryntum right now?"

Carl just nodded. He believes that it has nothing to do with Reina. The one that the kingdom wanted is her little brother.

"Then, you should read this first." The Count slowly pushes the letter on the table toward Carl's direction.

Carl took the letter and started reading it. He gnashed his teeth as he continued to read the letter. He feels indescribable pain in his heart. The king's words made him feel as if the king regarded his betrothed as an object that could be handed over at will.

Unable to contain his anger, Carl slammed his hand on the table. "This is outrageous!! The king is hell-bent on exterminating their entire bloodline just because he feels threatened by the Ryntum. Don't you think it's kinda stupid?"

The Count patiently explains, "The king wants to prevent the incident like the Duke of Baroks during his grandfather's reign from happening."

"Do you think I will obey that shitty king?", Carl rudely replied. He is truly angry with this nonsense. Carl looks at his father, "Don't tell me that you have decided to give her to the king? Didn't you recently say that you thought her like your own daughter?"

"Yes, although I thought of her as my own daughter, the future of the Caushilbo family is more important than her. I will hand her to the king."

"I disagree!! We should just fight against the Noble Coalition!!"

Count Caushilbo yelled, "Don't be stupid!! Has love blinded you?? If you don't break the engagement with her by tomorrow, you will no longer be my heir!!"

"I am fine with that!! Feel free to give it to my brother. I don't need it."

"Confident, aren't you? Do you really think she will stay with you when you're no longer an heir? Remember Carl, she is someone that can become a princess if she wants to. She will leave you for someone else if it means she can achieve a higher social status. You will regret it later."

Carl rolled his eyes and said "Oh please... I don't want to hear about your failed romance. Reina is not that kind of woman." He stood and left the office in a hurry.

"That's what I thought too... years ago", the Count muttered in an inaudible voice after Carl left his office.

Unknown to both of them, Jack heard their entire conversation. "Now, the situation gets interesting." He quickly hides the moment Carl opens the door. It's an easy feat for an elite member of Blackout like him. This is an opportunity for him to cause chaos in the Caushilbo family. If they become unstable, Barlia will have little to no resistance when they want to invade in the future.

He needs to meet with the second young master, Chester Caushilbo. Jack starts moving to find Chester's location. After acquiring his location from other servants, Jack calmly headed there. He can't look excited and needs to play the role of Chester's loyal dog, a greedy and achievement seeker footman. This is the kind of character he has shown to Chester in the past two months.

In a small garden behind the mansion, Chester is reading a book peacefully while lying on the ground. A white parasol protects him from the heat of sunlight. Two maids are standing near him, preparing to execute any of his orders.

Jack quietly approached Chester as he did not wish to abruptly distract him. However, Chester turns around because he sees his maid is looking at something. Chester put down his book and looked at Jack. This new footman is eager to climb up the hierarchy. He found this footman to be an interesting person. This footman lacks the timidness the servant usually has.

"Jackson, what are you here for?" Chester asked politely. There is no rudeness in his tone like one would expect from a lord to a servant.

"Master Chester, I have news to report to you", Jack begins to speak. He stops speaking for a moment and looks at the maids.

Chester understands this and nods at Jackson. He said to his maids, "Leave us alone."

The maid hurriedly left the garden but they still keep an eye on Chester from afar. It is their job to ensure Chester's safety.

Chester begins to speak with a stern voice, "It better be something worthwhile. You need to know that your presence has disturbed my reading time."

"My apologies, master Chester. However, I am confident in the news that I brought will pique your interest." Jackson starts to tell Chester the entire situation. His face starts to beam with joy. The opportunity finally lies before him. Nobody except Jackson knows Chester is harbouring the intention to become his father's heir.

"Hmm..." Chester is gently tapping his temple with his index finger, falling into deep thought. It is indeed an opportunity for him but his brother is an obstacle that he needs to remove first.

Jack stepped in, he planned to solve Chester's headache by offering him a solution. "If I may, ..." Jack opens his mouth and tells Chester the plan that he already concocted.

"Jackson, that's a brilliant idea!! Go and make preparations at once."

"Leave it to me, master", Jackson bowed and left the garden. He needs to communicate with his subordinate.

Looking at Jack's figure that gradually disappeared, Chester inwardly said 'What a good dog you are, Jackson. I will get rid of you once you have lived out your usefulness. You know too much.'

....

After leaving his father's office, Carl searched for Reina. He saw his fiancee happily chatting with his mother, Eunice Szazki in the tea room. His anger softens when he sees Reina's smile, there is no sense of urgency or trepidation on her face. His father conceals the news from other family members. Deep inside his heart, he didn't want this happiness to end but he is willing to do anything for Reina's safety.

He knocks lightly on the partially open door, attracting both ladies' attention to him.

"Carl", Reina called his name.

"There is something I need to talk to you about", said Carl in a somewhat serious tone. He looks at his mother, "Can you give us some time alone, mom?"

Countess Eunice smiled at her son, "Of course, Carl. Take all the time you want."

After Eunice left, Carl looked at Reina, "What I am about to tell you might cause you to feel fear but I need you to calm down and listen carefully."

Reina nodded.

Carl tells her about the king's request in the letter sent to his father including his father's decision. As expected, Reina frightens and feels sad at the same time. To think that the Count who considers her as his daughter is actually giving up on her.

Carl gently wipes the tears leaking out from her eyes.

Reina asked her fiance, "What are we going to do?"

"Let's run to Ryntum. We will be safe there, your father will definitely protect you."

"Okay, but when are we going to run?"

"Tonight. Just bring the necessary stuff with you."

*Snap*

"Who's there?!", said Carl. He slightly raised his voice. Both of them were shocked by the sound of a twig breaking.

"I-It's me, master Carl," Jack speaks with a trembling voice as he comes out from his hiding spot.

"Did you hear it?" Carl frown. It will be harder to escape if Jack tells his father. He needs to somehow shut his mouth. Carl's right hand slowly reaches the hilt of his dagger hiding at the back of his waist.

"C-Ca-Calm down, master Carl." Jack raised both of his hands. He was terrified that he would attack him. "I-I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Oh yeah?... How can I trust you?" Carl asked while unsheathing his dagger.

"I-I-I will follow you on your escape," Jack said.

Carl stares at Jack's trembling eyes for a few minutes. He sheathed his dagger back and said, "Sounds fine to me."