Origin

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

After nearly ten days of long-distance travel, Hansel and Alden's grain convoy finally arrived at the capital city of Crystal Glare.

Hansel first led the team to the still-under-repair warehouse district, handed over the grain to the supervisors, and then arranged accommodations for the team members before bidding them farewell. The grain convoy would tour Crystal Glare for a while before returning on its own to the Northwestern Bay. Hansel hurriedly departed with his servant Toman, heading towards his long-awaited home.

Despite receiving letters confirming the safety of his family and returning from relatives to Crystal Glare, after such a long separation, he missed them dearly.

It was nearing evening when they entered the Abbott family mansion. The servants, seeing the young master return, greeted him respectfully. Inside the hall, three people were already waiting for him—two middle-aged women and a young girl.

All three women showed expressions of joy. The young girl cheerfully said, "Brother is back."

His first glance went to his mother among the three women.

The woman, with crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, shimmered with tears. Upon hearing news of the City Guards' rebellion from relatives, she had been unable to eat or sleep, worrying about her son's safety. Eventually, she received the long-awaited letter stating he had been stationed as a royal commissioner in the Northwestern Bay.

In the high-society circles of Crystal Glare, it was rumored that the northwest of the kingdom was a poor area full of unruly people, barely more civilized than the tribal lands of the Eastern Highlands. Oh merciful Father, why would you send young Hansel there?

Hansel could hardly contain his excitement. He wanted to greet his mother immediately, but before that, he had another duty to fulfill. He turned to the other woman and greeted, "Mother Mary, it has been a long time. I hope you are well." She was his stepmother, his father's lawful wife.

Lady Abbott elegantly nodded to Hansel and smiled, saying, "Hansel, it's so good that you've returned safely. Your mother has lost quite a bit of weight from missing you so much."

Only then did Hansel turn to his biological mother, Miranda, and said, "Mother, I'm back." Then he was tightly embraced by his overwhelmed birth mother. "It's good you're back, it's good you're back..." Miranda held her son tightly, tears uncontrollably streaming down her face.

After being released by his mother, Hansel embraced his younger sister Julie, who was also delighted by her brother's return.

Before dinner, his father, Earl Abbott, returned home from his position in the kingdom's government. His elder brother, born of Lady Abbott, couldn't come home due to his service in the Royal Guards.

The family enjoyed a joyful dinner together, listening to Hansel's tales of the Northwest and reveling in familial bliss.

After dinner, Earl Abbott took his son to his study and once again discussed Hansel's experiences in the Northwest, focusing mainly on his new role as royal commissioner. Hansel recounted his experiences, omitting the part where he was scared off by pirates.

When he mentioned his plans to collaborate with local lords to produce more war materials for the royal army to suppress the rebellion, Earl Abbott shook his head. "It's difficult. The livelihoods in the Northwest are dire; there's not much to gain. The lords there struggle just to feed their subjects."

Hansel intended to persist, "How will we know if we don't try?"

Earl Abbott considered for a moment and said to Hansel, "Well... let me speak to the court, see if I can get you reassigned back to Crystal Glare. There are always more opportunities in the capital." He understood his younger son's ambitions but felt constrained by his mixed heritage.

---

You don't even need to go back a month ago; even ten days ago, when Hansel had just led the grain convoy from Alden Town, he would have seized the opportunity to return to the capital without hesitation. But on this journey back to the capital, he pondered deeply. Rather than competing on thin ice among the wealthy nobles in the capital, he saw greater prospects in the vast borderlands of the kingdom.

He shared his thoughts with his father, and seeing his son's determination, the Earl said no more. The father and son continued discussing the current situation for a while. Hansel then excused himself to find his mother and sister, who had much to talk to him about.

Earl Abbott watched his son leave with a face full of guilt.

Twenty-eight years ago, after a drunken night with a group of friends, he stayed at a brothel. A year later, a woman, whose face he couldn't even remember, showed up at his doorstep holding a child. He initially thought she was trying to extort him and planned to drive her away, but she accurately described intimate details of his body.

Normally, a nobleman would either insist she was a fraud and dismiss her, or pay a sum to send her away. However, Earl Abbott did something that shocked the noble circles of the capital—he took the former prostitute as his concubine.

This caused quite a stir and became a laughingstock for a while. A prostitute playing around was one thing, but allowing her and a child of unknown parentage to enter his household was another.

The news reached the ears of King Rodney XVI, who personally summoned Earl Abbott and severely reprimanded him for disgracing the kingdom's nobility, urging him to consider the seriousness of the consequences.

After the king's pressure yielded no results, a young nobleman with a promising future was relegated to the insignificance of administrative duties.

Fortunately, the Earl's legitimate wife, born of a noble family, did not cause a scene as others had speculated. This kind-hearted woman, after initial anger, confusion, and a long cold war with her husband, eventually accepted the mother and child.

Undoubtedly, Hansel grew up under constant scrutiny, especially from his peers of pure noble blood and high birth, who called him names like "son of a prostitute," "bastard child," and the like.

Despite leveraging the family's influence and financial power, Earl Abbott managed to secure a baronial title for his son. Yet, Hansel's mixed heritage continued to hinder his career. After completing his education, he served as a mere tax officer in the outskirts of the capital, managing estates.

However, it was precisely because of this position that Hansel thrived among the lower nobility and common-born officials.

Earl Abbott could only do so much for his illegitimate son. While enjoying the benefits of the noble system—power, honor, and wealth—the Earl was also tightly bound by its rules. Taking a prostitute as a concubine had already made him a target of criticism, and further disruptions would only bring disgrace to the entire Abbott family.

...

After bidding goodnight to his mother and sister, Hansel returned to his room and carefully considered the task Paul had given him. He took out a piece of paper filled with the types of recruits Paul sought.

"People who can read and write, understand arithmetic—teachers, engineers, alchemists... the Earl sure has grand ambitions."

He spread out another sheet of paper on his desk and began planning to recruit suitable candidates from among those he knew. Who should be the first group of people he approached? After some thought, he picked up his quill from the inkwell and wrote down the first name...

(End of the Chapter)