Chapter 38

Recently, although I’ve been battling an illness, the only symptoms I have are a slight dizziness and nausea. Thinking about it, it’s a bit similar to early pregnancy symptoms, but if someone makes a pregnancy joke next to me, I’ll kill them. Whether it’s magic or fists, I’ll immediately strike and pull out all their teeth.

While I was holding onto such trivial thoughts, there was a knock from outside. For some reason, the irregular knocking sound was irritating.

“I’ve brought your meal.”

“Come in.”

A neatly dressed maid came in with a serving cart and began setting up the food. The menu included potato herb potage soup, cod and salmon terrine with fig jam, and scones. The combination of the menu was a mess, but I decided to just bear with it and eat. Werner hates fish terrine, but since I’m eating alone, I don’t need to worry about such details.

I sliced the terrine a bit and put it in my mouth. Thanks to the fig jam, it was sweet, but it lacked saltiness. When I took a spoonful of the soup, it was also bland.

I don’t know if it’s because of the northern cuisine or Glacia’s taste, but the food was generally bland. Where I used to live, in the south, we used a lot of spices and salt, so the food wasn’t this bland. Eating such bland food made me crave ramen, but I’d rather eat the food here than that.

I tore a bit of the scone and dipped it into the potato potage soup. It was somewhat edible, but still damn bland. Is the Duke’s family that poor? Why are they so stingy with salt?

“Sigh… I’m full, you can take it away.”

“But you’ve only eaten half. It would be better to eat a bit more…”

“Sorry, but I usually eat lightly.”

Back where I used to live, my stomach could handle five bowls of beef tripe stew and two chicken sandwiches. But no matter how hungry I am, eating such bland food makes my stomach feel heavy.

“But the young lady said you should finish all your meals so Lord Werner doesn’t collapse.”

Then make it a bit saltier. But staying at someone else’s house and having them interfere with the food seasoning is just annoying. It’s not like I’m some crazy person from a cooking manga who would flip the table and demand proper food.

“Unfortunately, my stomach isn’t feeling well right now.”

I tried to politely refuse the meal.

Around that time, the door slammed open. Is it Umehara? Or is it Glacia, angry about my picky eating?

The people who came through the door were completely different from what I expected. It wasn’t Umehara or Glacia.

“Werner!!!!!”

“Maknae!!!!”

One voice was the loud Northern Duke and the Vampire Queen couple. It seemed like they boiled train whistles for breakfast, as the mansion echoed with their voices. How did someone as gentle and calm as Glacia come from these loudmouths? Is this the mystery of biology or something?

“It’s been so long, Maknae!!! It must have been 12 years!!!!”

The whale-sized man shouting was Melchior Winterheart. Glacia’s father, the former Northern Duke, and the strongest warrior. In the game, he had ridiculously high defense, stamina, and attack power, often used as a tank and sub-dealer. In missions like subjugation, if you paired him with a compatible dealer, there was nothing to fear.

“Maknae! Didn’t you miss your sister?! That little kid has grown into a full adult!”

And the woman slapping my back was Melissa Winterheart. Glacia’s mother, the Vampire Queen, and one of the strongest sorceresses. In the game, she was a glass cannon, but with a tank hero, she could deal massive damage with blood magic. Because of this, her synergy with her husband Melchior was the best. And one more special thing…

“Brother Melchior is still a muscle mountain… and Sister Melissa is still a little kid.”

“Werner, do you want to die by my hand?”

She had the appearance of a very short kid. At first glance, she looked like a teenage girl, but she was actually a centuries-old vampire. The height difference between Melchior and Melissa was so great that Melissa often rode on Melchior’s shoulders. Of course, as a vampire, she could fly, but it was her preference.

“Anyway, it’s been a long time, brother and sister.”

“Yes, Werner! It’s so good to see you after so long!!!”

“Brother, please lower your voice… the maid fainted…”

Whether he was using some internal energy to shout, the maid who brought my meal had fainted. Is that even human vocal capacity?

“Ugh, you idiot! I told you to control your voice in front of people!”

“Sorry, Melissa… I guess I was just too happy to see our maknae again…”

Seeing this huge muscular giant being scolded by his tiny wife was just like the fan comics, making me laugh.

“Kuk…”

“What’s so funny, our maknae?”

“Nothing, it’s just funny seeing a 2m tall muscle giant being scolded by a kid… oh damn.”

“Do you like alcohol, our maknae?”

“No, why alcohol…?”

“Because your liver is huge.”

Bang! With that sound, Melissa sent me flying with a fist made of a large amount of blood. If it were a normal person, they would have been seriously injured, but since it was Werner, it just hurt like hell.

“Sister, your violence is still the same.”

“Anyway, maknae, I’m really happy you’re back.”

It’s not something you should say after punching someone with a blood fist… but I guess that’s how they greet each other. These people have been through everything, so this is probably just a small gesture.

“Yes, Werner, welcome to the north. It’s your first time here, right? Shall we go sightseeing with this brother?”

Brother Melchior helped me up and dusted off my clothes. Muscles are great; there are no bad people among muscular characters. Even at the gym, the muscular trainers are nice, right? Of course, there are a few exceptions, but those guys were expelled from the National Muscle Association.

“Yes, brother, I missed you. But… um…”

“Maknae, didn’t I teach you that men shouldn’t trail off?”

“Aren’t you mad? 12 years ago, I abandoned your daughter and ran away.”

Even I would have torn myself into a thousand pieces. But Melchior and Melissa just chuckled and patted my shoulder.

“Werner, do I look like the kind of person who would get angry over something like that? Besides, you had a hard time too.”

“Yes, it’s more my fault for not taking care of you.”

These people… they really care about Werner. Whether it’s reincarnation or possession, is it okay for me to feel this warmth in Werner’s body?

I’m not sure if this is the warmth of family. Both Werner and I had no blood relatives. If I can keep feeling this warmth… I think marriage might not be so bad after all. For a moment, it felt like someone from the stock gallery was shouting at me, ‘Don’t do it, you damn bastard,’ but I decided not to pay attention.

By the way, speaking of stocks, I didn’t sell my Samsung Electronics stocks before reincarnating. I wonder if they’re completely ruined now.

“By the way, Werner, what’s this?”

Melchior looked at the remains of my meal and made a displeased face.

“Oh, that’s my meal… it didn’t suit my taste…”

“You don’t like fish terrine, right? And you hate herbs…”

“Yeah, so I left it…”

“You dare feed my brother this garbage!!!!!”

Melchior’s roar echoed throughout the mansion, and my eardrums were about to burst. It’s not that bad… the food is just a bit bland, not garbage. It’s just not great, but not garbage.

“Brother, don’t be so harsh… it just didn’t suit my taste…”

“That’s garbage!”

What do they think of my taste buds? They’re treating ‘even a dog wouldn’t eat it’ and ‘Werner wouldn’t eat it’ as the same. I was starting to feel a bit hurt.

Melissa stopped a passing servant and gave orders.

“Tell the chef to roast a goose, and bring it whole.”

“And you, go out and buy some melons quickly. Tell them to make juice.”

I was a bit surprised. I had seen in the official guide that Werner liked these foods, but I didn’t expect people to actually remember them… especially these two with their simple personalities. Moreover, they even knew the foods Werner disliked. It was quite unexpected.

“Brother, sister, you knew my favorite foods? Even after 12 years…”

“What nonsense are you talking about, Werner? Of course, we know what our maknae likes.”

“Right, as your sister, how could I not know you like goose meat?”

I felt a bit happy. It seems these people really care about Werner. Maybe it’s not so bad to stay like this. I decided not to worry about the other servants or the chef who would have to work hard from now on.