17 For yourself

"Finally, we can now go to my room and talk, Kuya Ndulou."

That was what Ernesto thought, but from the long hallway they were walking down, they could see a man-standing firm in front of Ernesto's room.

The old man was staring at them with a frown.

Ndulou's footsteps became heavy, and he could feel his back filling with cold sweats. He had not figured out what kind of trouble he was in, and the presence of the lord of the territory in front of them meant he was in trouble.

"Father."

Ernesto just called him and did not even bother to greet his father properly, while, of course, Ndulou was not allowed to skip such formalities.

"Greetings, Marquis Oliva. I am Ndulou Miyano, fifth son of Baron Miyano."

Ndulou glanced at his side, where he could see Ernesto carelessly laughing, and it also perplexed the Marquis, so he asked, "Son, what's funny?"

The Marquis' low-tone voice was quite frightening for Ndulou, but it sounded sweet and caring for Ernesto as he remained widely smiling.

"Oh, I am sorry, father. I just know that Kuya doesn't need to introduce himself to you." Ernesto is smiling from ear to ear. He loves his peaceful return, as he was not rushing and running.

The Marquis tilted his head and repeated the title, which was unusual coming from the mouth of his son.

"Kuya?"

Ernesto ignored the confused look of his father and said, "Anyway, father, were you waiting for me?" It made the Marquis recall why he came to Ernesto's room.

Jose Oliva knitted his brows and leaned closer to his son, asking, "What are you doing here without finishing your business with your guests?"

Ernesto scratched his head as he tried to recall what he was doing at this time. He really did not know what it was, as all he could remember now were his multiple deaths. Also, he never actually did his job as his son, but he suddenly felt bad about it.

Yet, he still has to focus on Ndulou. He moved away from his father and said, "Kuya and I need to talk inside first; I will deal with them later." 

Jose Oliva's eyebrow twitched from one side, and he crossed his arms. He said, "Later? We bothered them to come here, and now you're kicking them off?"

Ndulou stepped back a little from the side. He really cannot take the stifling aura of the Marquis. He wonders how Ernesto could even talk back to Jose, as by just his gaze, Ndulou was already cowering in fear.

It annoyed Ernesto that he had other obligations, but he couldn't win an argument with his father, so he took Ndulou back to the group of young nobles again.

Ernesto rolled his eyes and reluctantly said, "Okay, okay, fine. Come on, Kuya, let's go back."

He thought he could finally talk to Ndulou alone, but he needed to deal with the spoiled kids.

"Well, whatever, the important thing is that Kuya is safe by my side." he thought. He held Ndulou's hand to drag him along, but the Marquis held both of their hands that were holding together, which made the two look at the Marquis with confusion.

"Why are you bringing him with you?"

"Why not, father?"

"Don't play tricks; just do your job."

"What trick?"

Ernesto looked innocent in his response, as if he did not know that his father was afraid of him doing something bad to Ndulou.

Jose Oliva observed his son for a moment and let go of their hands with a long sigh.

"Nothing, just do your job well,"

"Okay, father," Ernesto smiled brightly and left with Ndulou while holding hands. Of course, Ndulou hates it and feels like he wants to cry.

Ernesto kicked the door open and greeted everyone with so much enthusiasm.

"Hello! Everyone!"

All the people inside looked at the entrance with surprise, and some looked impatient. The other young nobles were already getting ready to leave. They were already wearing their coats, and their servants were lining up, showing that Ernesto had left them for so long that they all looked disappointed and were about to leave.

Ernesto tried to remember and recognize all the young nobles who might be important figures in the future.

"Hmm. Only three of them are familiar to me."

The first one he recognized was Gian Viana. He is fifteen years old and the second son of Count Viana. If the future does not change, he will be a royal knight, guarding the second princess.

The next one Ernesto recognized was Kalil Dahon. He was the same age as Ernesto and the fourth son of Viscount Dahon. In the future that Ernesto knows, he will be the secretary and right hand of the crown prince—not the current crown prince today, but the crown prince of the future.

Last, the most daring one that he could recognize was Rodolfo Gabon. A fifteen-year-old eldest son of Marquis Gabon, who looked nothing like a fifteen years old, will be a revolutionist in the future; he will die at the guillotine because of his belief. Rodolfo was a fan of heroism, legends, and justice. Ernesto thought Rodolfo would be fun to make use of.

The rest of the teenagers are a set of dumb, spoiled kids.

"Ah! They come here to ask for financial help regarding a charity."

Ernesto surprisingly remembered the young nobles' purpose after recognizing some of them.

They formed this group after the Marquis invited a group of youngsters to organize a charity that the Marquis would support financially. Of course, these youngsters would love to accept the invitation because they will receive recognition that will earn them additional points towards getting into the academy.

Nobles in this era needed to earn points just to be admitted to the academy of their choice, so they had to please the marquis' son to get the points they wanted.

Although everyone tried to compose themselves, some of the other kids could not hide their frustration with the Marquis' son because of how Ernesto was treating them badly.

"I apologize for my bad hosting." Ernesto gracefully apologized as he announced, "Anyway, let me not waste your time any longer. I'll sign whatever it is."

He raised his hand, but instead of the documents reaching his hand, a butler got closer to him and whispered in his ears.

"Sir, I would recommend reading the documents thoroughly first before signing them."

Ernesto scratched his ears at the tingly whisper as he impatiently said, "I know the content; just give me the fucking documents."

The servants doubtfully gave him the papers, while the young nobles just watched Ernesto carelessly sign a million galleons' worth of charity expenses.

The young nobles immediately leave the castle once they sign the documents to prevent the documents from being taken away again.

"Young Master Ernesto, if you have time, please see this document."

Marquis Gabon's son, Rodolfo, waited for the others to leave before approaching Ernesto and handing him a proposal document.

Ernesto stared at it without the willingness to actually read it, since he already knew what they wrote inside.

"That's a bullshit proposal. Take that away."

He turned his back to Rodolfo and left him a little advice.

"If you're going to give me a proposal, give me documents that will help the people, not the leaders. Refocus on your goal, kid." Ernesto said this based on what he knew about the future. He was sure that the proposal that Rodolfo was handing to him would surely fail.

Rodolfo clenched the papers as he raised his voice to Ernesto, saying, "Aren't you being rude, young master?"

Ernesto shrugged his shoulders like an arrogant young master as he responded, "Which part did I be rude about—calling you a kid? Or calling that bullshit?"

"You haven't seen what's inside of it yet," Rodolfo was trying his best not to punch the kid in front of him. He kept himself still because he badly needed financial support.

Ernesto looked at Rodolfo with disdain as he reminisced about his trashy first life, thinking that his original self would sign it just to gain a new pet. Money was the only thing Ernesto had before, not brains.

"That sh*t was about a proposal to hire medical experts and build medical facilities in the small villages of the Gabon territory, right? Are you troubled by the increasing number of diseases showing up in your area? You're blaming it on a lack of facilities. Do you even know why your small villages lack medical facilities? Before you jump to conclusions, look for what is actually happening in your villages."

Ernesto knew the future, which is why he knew the outcome of Rodolfo's first activity that triggered his revolution.

He thought inwardly, "His territory is messed up from the core. Good luck fixing it, kid," as he patted Rodolfo's shoulder before completely going inside the castle with Ndulou to deal with what was really important for him.

"Kuya, this time we can finally be alone."

Ernesto was smiling brightly the whole time, and that made Ndulou fear for his life more.