Chapter 2: Love is in the air

“Ow! I give up!!” 

Colt’s screaming opted to let go of the escaping Young Master. 

Colt sighed at his helplessness and observed the window nearby. Once again, he made the run for it only to be stopped by the mercenary butler.

It was a rather brutal sight. With the young master of a noble family being treated in such a manner, the butler would have had his head fly. But in today’s rare occasion, the Count let Neun do everything in his power to stop Colt from leaving.

And with Colt, no, Leo knowing the future, he was trying to do everything in his power to escape.

“Give it up, young master. You know you can’t escape.”

Although he was hurting Colt and his tone of voice sounded sorry. Neun had a jovial expression plastered on his face.

“What is this ruckus all about!?” Then a woman’s voice appeared.

“The young master is trying to escape.”

Neun explained to the lady. She had pale white skin, blue hair, and a fierce visage, different from Colt’s overall look. She’s Risa, the first daughter of the Edgeworth family. And unlike Colt, she was an exemplar person who was a master of the sword and good at supervising the land.

Although it’s not decided yet, everyone hoped she would be the one to inherit the Count’s position. According to the novel, that’s how everything would turn out.

Though this was a male-centric world, Risa would still eventually inherit the position.

After all, the youngest of the family was also a young lady, and the Count chose not to have another child after Colt’s death.

Risa looked at Col’s pathetic sight then sighed.

“Older brother, it is the wishes of father that you stay here. Even if you don’t care about anything, at least honor his requests.”

“I understand, but I am trying to leave as not to disgrace his name. With the wastrel away, won’t father save face?”

Risa raised her brows. It was not just her as Neun also reacted the same. But Colt didn’t notice it as he was too focused searching for a path of escape.

“Do not worry about it. Please, just listen to father’s request.” Risa stated.

In the novel, Colt was a coward and a drunkard. The perfect recipe for trash.

He had an innate fear of the strong. With Risa’s immense strength, it was natural for Colt to fear her. In the novel, Risa’s ascension to becoming a Countess happened at Vol. 5.

Now that Leo was here, that future is a done deal. The concept of fighting a family member for power is foreign to him. Although it may very well exist back on earth and he just missed it. He couldn’t help but shake his head at the idea.

In the end, seeing Risa and hearing her request made Colt give up.

“Let’s just go. I won’t try anything.”

“..Is that so?”

Risa and Neun could not believe how Colt was acting so obediently.

Colt stood up, and from a sorry excuse of a noble, his demeanor took a massive change. He didn’t notice Risa’s eyes as he exited the room.

He opened the door to the dining area and found the Edgeworth family already eating. Count Shickly raised his head and then smiled as he saw Colt.

“You decided to join us for breakfast? It appears that you are excited to meet the Young Lady of the Vera family, huh.”

‘No! I want to run away and get away from here as soon as possible! I do not want to meet with that psycho!’ was what he wished to say, but Colt couldn’t possibly say that.

“Yes, I am pretty excited to meet Young Lady Mina.” He held a genuine smile.

Risa gave Colt a side glance. The way he said those words were too heartfelt, and if not for the fact she witnessed his earlier antics, she too would have believed Colt was in love with Mina.

In the end, she did not say anything after seeing Shickly’s smile. If Shickly was satisfied, then that was enough for her.

But it was not just her who was surprised. The youngest daughter was also the same. 

His mother flashed a smile after hearing Colt’s words.

The brother and sister pair sat to eat with the whole family, and when they began eating, Colt — Leo, who had no memory of ever having noble-like etiquette, ate like a slob. The goal was to stuff his face with food, so he did what he must and ate the perfectly palatable breakfast.

The breakfast was a pasta dish he did not know the name of. And assuming that everything on the table was palatable and digestible, the salad that had vegetables that had knock-off versions of different greens was also not spared from this glutton.

‘This is pretty good, better than cup ramen even, and that’s my favorite food.’

He commented in his head. His eating habits lacked finesse, but that was not a problem. His free-willed way of living was one of Colt Edgeworth’s characteristics.

The family was already too used to such a sight. But seeing him devour his food with such enjoyment was something new.

“You seem to like the food, my son.” It was Countess Faerith commented.

“Yes, I have not eaten such delicious food before.” Colt’s response made the Countess show a mysterious smile. The others were the same. They gave him side glances with curious eyes.

Colt did not notice this as he was too focused on eating. After the beast that was his stomach grew satisfied, he decided to excuse himself.

“I will be preparing myself for the arrival of Young Lady Mina.” was the excuse he gave them.

He was ready to leave, but then, Countess Faerith’s voice entered his ears.

“Colt, will you join us for breakfast every morning?”

Colt was silent for a few moments, but in the end, he smiled and nodded his head, “I will, mother.”

He then left the room through the door he entered. When Colt said the word “mother”, a chill ran down his spine, but some familiarity also surfaced in his chest. It was a weird sensation he could not explain.

The rest of the Edgeworth family remained in the dining room. Countess Faerith couldn’t help herself from smiling.

“It seems like Colt has taken a liking to the Young Lady Mina. Do you think this might brought about change?”

‘As if.’ Risa laughed but kept it to herself.

Colt felt his skin crawl as he changed to suit the occasion. He wore something similar to a double-breasted suit and a white undercoat. He wore an all-black attire that made him look like the reaper.

‘If not for the uselessness of Colt, this guy would have been a dashing General.’

In the Edgeworth family, only Count Shickly and Colt have Ink black hair. The rest of the family have blue hair they inherited from the Countess.

The Edgeworth family was known to be a family of fierce warriors of darkness for their ink-black hair.

But conception was cut off because Colt was only fierce inside a bar. But when it comes to the battlefield, a dog would be more helpful than him.

A slight buzz came from his breast pocket. He checked the pocketwatch Colt always had with him and confirmed the time was already 12:00 pm.

It was finally time for Marquis Vera to arrive.

Colt sighed and headed to the front garden. The whole family was present to greet the long time friend of the Count.

“You must be excited, huh, son.” Faerith sported a broad smile.

Colt could only smile back as a response.

Soon, a carriage that had a two-headed snake on its doors pulled by magical beasts known as Dragon Horses stopped in front of Colt’s group.

The doors of the carriage opened. Marquis Liron stepped out. However, he was not the focus of Colt’s attention because right after Liron came out, a beautiful woman who seemed to have an ethereal beauty stepped out of the carriage.

Perfectly proportioned body, well-endowed at all the right places, and an enchanting flowing pink hair akin to that of the mythical Poisonous Rose Serpent.

Her beauty was something sung at every corner of the Kingdom. But that pink hair of hers only reminded Colt that this beauty before her could kill her without batting an eye.

‘Damn, it’s always those the pink-haired ones.’

While Colt was worrying about his future, his parents were smiling.

‘He’s smitten.’ Was what the Count and Countess thought.