Chapter 2: The Doting Aristocrat

Mateo Lawrence Rockwell.

　It has been six years ever since I was given a nobleman’s name and became the grandson of a Duke
　I was an abandoned child, but I was now a cute little six-year-old boy.

　Although to this day, I still don’t know why I became a baby ever since that day.

　I don’t even know why I was abandoned under a bridge that day.

　I don’t know anything about my origins, but it doesn’t matter now even if i’m not aware.

　My grandfather Lawrence, who adopted me and gave me his name, acted as my parent and protected me ever since that day.

　As an abandoned child, I was not a nobleman officially, but since Grandpa Lawrence had given me his middle name and the old word “Mateo,” which means “gift of God,” so I was leading a more secure and stable life than the rest of the ninety-nine percent people of this world.

　And like everyday else, I woke up in the bedroom of this mansion again.

　My grandfather had built this mansion just for me, and it was so big that it had more than 20 rooms, including mine and the one for the servants.

Since it’s such a big house, it’s natural that I don’t live here alone.

“Good morning, Young master.”

“Mmm.”

“Please allow me to help you.”

　After I woke up in the morning, Laura, my maid, showed up and helped me get dressed.

　As I got out of bed and stood there in a daze, she took the liberty of dressing me with her expert hands.

　She also brushed my teeth after I was dressed appropriately

　Since i’m now an adopted grandson of an aristocrat , I was surprised to see her brushing my teeth every morning.

　I was shocked to learn the fact that aristocrats brush their teeth every day.

　What’s more, they used a “toothbrush.”

　A toothbrush is a very luxurious item.

　The one I was using had a wooden handle with hard bristles from the back of a pig.

　The bristles that are hard enough to be used for a toothbrush are pretty rare because you can only get enough material for about one toothbrush from a single pig.
　
That’s why a toothbrush is considered as a luxury item.

　Just one toothbrush can cost up to the equivalent of three days worth of income for a commoner.

　And because they are so expensive only nobility and rich merchants can manage to afford it.

　By the way, the common people do indeed brush their teeth regularly, but naturally they don’t use the luxurious toothbrushes, instead they use hemp by wrapping it around their fingers.

　Of course, unlike a bristle of a toothbrush, it is impossible to reach the small gaps.

　The nobles spend as much money on their teeth as they do on their hair, and it is said that you can tell a nobleman by simply looking at his teeth and hair.

　The maid brushed my teeth in a neat and uniform manner.

　Finally, she washed my face and lightly sprayed me with some perfume.

　Aristocrats are beings that are very particular about their perfumes.

　Different type of perfume takes a different amount of time for it to blossom it’s fragnance after being applied.

　Aristocrats often met important people around noon, so naturally they wore a perfume befitting of that time.

　I, a six-year-old, was no exception.

　Meanwhile, I finished getting ready for the morning, i was now completely awake with a clear head.

　By the way, at one point I got curious and did some calculating, I found out that the amount of money spent on me getting ready in the morning alone was worth about a week’s earnings for a commoner.

　At that time, I thought it was incredible to be an aristocrat’s grandson.

☆☆

　In the dining room that could easily hold up to20 people, I had breakfast while the maids served me.

　As I was enjoying the exquisite meal, Violet, the head chef came to my side and spoke after bowing down.

“Sorry for disturbing you meal,Young master.”

“What is it?”

“I was just informed that Master Lwarence will be arriving at the mansion shortly”

“Grandfather ……. is coming?”

　I tilted my head and asked back.

　I’m sure you’ve heard of the Grand Master, the Duke Graham Rockwell, the old man who picked me up.

　I called him “Grandpa” in my heart, but when I say it out loud in public, I call him “Grandfather.”

　I was informed that the old man was coming.

“Thank you, sir”

“Okay, I’ll be reading after breakfast, so let me know when he gets here. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Yes,Young master.”

　Violet bowed once more, then turned and walked away.

　As I watched her go, I smiled.

　You’re coming again huh.. gramps, I thought.

　but you were here just three days ago, you know?

　　　　　☆☆

While I waited for the arrival of my gramps, I was reading a book in the library of the mansion as planned.

　The library which is about the same size of a small taveren , there were many books here.

　There are many things that make me feel grateful about being a grandson of an aristocrat, but the privilege of being able to read an unlimited number of books is one of the one’s i’m most grateful for.

　Because books are expensive.

　For the average person, if there is even one book in the family, it is considered as an heirloom.

　They are expensive because they are handcrafted by craftsmen who have to make sure that the paper is of the just right quality, there are other factors such as binding , cover etc that too have to be in perfect condition. All this takes a lot of time ,money and effort in making so it naturally increases the cost by a lot.

　And to top it all off. Most of the content is handwritten, it’s something like the so-called manuscripts.

　The majority of the content is handwritten, and is also checked by hand to make sure it is correct.

　This also costs money.

　These days, there is also the method of “woodblock printing,” but that too is expensive and not widely available.

　In addition, there are “spirit edition,” these books are not printed by humans, but rather are handwritten by the spirits.

　As expected, such books are not seen even in the residences of nobles.

　Most of them are national treasures in the possession of the of the Empire.

　At any rate, I read every book I could find except for the “Spirit Edition.”

　I like read every moment i could spare and every book i could get my hands on.

　I do so not because i’m a nobleman, but the grandson of a nobleman.

　For now i’m under the protection of my grandfather, but the Rockwell’s already have an heir.

　My grandfather’s son and my grandfather’s real grandson.

　The Rockwell’s name will be passed out to them, and technically just a guest.

　Eventually, my grandfather will die and I’ll have to fend for myself.

　I’m trying to accumulate as much knowledge and skills as I can for when that happens.

　Knowledge is a weapon, and the more weapons you have, the better.

　That’s why I’m doing what i’m doing.

　I was reading a book while i waited for my gramps arrival.

“Oh, there you are, Mateo!”

　With a hoarse but joyous voice, my grandfather came inside the library.

　He walked into the room and headed straight for me, then, as if he couldn’t bother waiting for my reply, he picked me up in his arms.

　A seasoned man over 70 and a cute little six-year-old boy.

　A grandfather taking care of his grandchild, it was a heartwarming scene.

“Put me down, Grandpa, I don’t want you to hurt your back again.

　I said this in a tone expected of a child, since he had once hurt his back carrying me in his arms.

“I have no qualms in breaking my back while lifting up my grandson.”

　What kind of desire is that?

　I thought, “How could you possibly want that to happen?”

　The world is a strange place, and there are plenty of old people who think their grandchildren are cuter than their own children.

　It’s such a common story that even I, who have never experienced it, can understand it.

　After carrying me for a while, the old man sat me down.

　He looked straight in my eyes and said ,

“I’m doing just fine Mateo”

“And are you fine too , Mateo?”

“Yes.” i said cheerfully

“Hmm, yes, I see. Well, I can see you’ve been reading today again huh.”

“Yes, I’ve read two books today.”

“Well, that’s great, Mateo. It’s only noon and you’ve already accomplished reading two books already?”

“Yes. Thank to you, grandfather, for collecting so many books for me.”

　I looked right in his eyes and thanked him.

　I was really grateful.

　The books present here were collected just for me by my grandfather when he found out that I was a book lover.

　As his grandson , he not only gave me the most expensive fish, but also taught me how to fish with the most expensive fishing rod.

　I can never thank him enough.

“Hmm, Mateo still has the same mysterious look in his eyes.

“Yeah?”

　I tilted my head and spoke quietly.

　I remembered that when my grandfather had picked me up, he had said that same exact thing … that i had “strange eyes.”

　I didn’t want him to think too deep about it, so I always kept my mouth shut.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about grandfather?.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

　My grandfather laughed out loud.

“Thank you so much.”

“Oh, why this modesty?. Isn’t it better for books to be read than to be stored away somewhere to rot.”

　He stared at me intently while reaching out to pat my head.

　The grandson of a nobleman , a Duke – Me .

　I was the grandson of this man, Who was one of the three most powerful person in this country, second only to the emperor.

　And he loves me very, very much.

(TL NOTE- I’m sorry that a false chapter was posted , it seems that a member of our team made a mistake while i was away lol , anyway i’ll be posting chaps as frequent as i can , also pls share your thought’s down below uwu)