Might as Well Coo for Him

House Librata, an earldom.

A conversation was underway in the count’s study.

Seated in the chair was a middle-aged man.

The lord of House Librata — Count Ellen Librata.

He had just returned from an inspection tour of his domain and was receiving his report.

“So the brat Rigen has woken up?”

“……Yes.”

Standing at attention and answering him with quiet deference was the wolf beastwoman, Amelia.

A maid — but not a simple one.

She had tended to the count’s children since their earliest years, and her voice carried considerable weight in this household.

The count trusted her, too.

“Tch. Thank heavens he didn’t die, but…… I haven’t the faintest idea what to do with that boy. Who on earth did he take after? Chasing women — I can overlook that. A man will be a man. Yes, the eldest ought to be more disciplined, but Rigen is my youngest. I can turn a blind eye.”

“……”

“But why does he only ever go after women who already belong to someone else? And that would be one thing if he were discreet about it! Every single time he gets caught and beaten for it. This time he nearly died……”

The count ground his teeth.

Rigen — the youngest son — was a constant stain on the name of House Librata, one of the twelve houses qualified to contend for the imperial throne.

“No magical ability? Fine, that happens. Swordsmanship? He can be poor at that. Scholarship? He can fail at that too! But he should at least stay out of trouble! The Round Table in the imperial capital is right around the corner — instead of supporting his brother, he pulls this idiotic stunt and drags the family name through the mud!”

“……”

“Haaaaah. Still, I suppose I’m glad he’s alive. For now, stay by his side and keep a close watch on him. Don’t let him set foot outside the house……”

Amelia answered.

“I will keep your words in mind, my lord. However……”

“Hm? What is it?”

Amelia asked carefully.

“……Is Young Master Rigen able to read?”

“What kind of nonsense is that? You know perfectly well — he’s the one who spent every day running off to play because he wanted nothing to do with his studies.”

The writing system of Karakas was complex.

The spoken tongues of the various races could be understood between them, but their scripts had each developed independently.

When the Millennial Empire was founded, those scripts were unified and educational institutions were built — and yet illiteracy remained widespread.

Amelia said,

“And yet it appears he can, my lord.”

“What?”

The count looked up in genuine surprise.

Amelia pressed on, apologetic but steady.

“It wasn’t just one or two books, either. He was in the library from this morning.”

“You’re not one to talk nonsense, but I find it hard to believe. Could he be tricking you?”

Amelia shook her head.

“I’m not entirely sure what to make of it myself. He was reading not just in the common script, but elven texts — and explaining them to me on the spot……”

“That’s simply……”

The count was dumbfounded.

Elven script was notoriously difficult.

The number of humans who could read it was very small.

The count himself had attempted to learn it in his youth and given up.

And Rigen was supposedly sailing through it?

“It must be a trick. He’s running some sort of scheme.”

The count refused to believe it, even of his own son.

Given Rigen’s track record, that was entirely understandable.

The count rose to his feet, jaw tight with irritation.

“He knew I’d be coming home from my inspection tour and decided to prepare something in advance. Come — I’m going to give that boy a thorough talking-to!”

In a previous life, he had been Sirik Karakas, emperor.

His name now was Rigen Librata.

Five days into my reincarnation, I was in the library.

“God, this is rough……”

Face-down on the floor, holding myself up on nothing but my forearms and the tips of my toes.

A plank.

And spread open beneath my chin was a book.

“Ngggh……”

I glared at the page through the strain of my feeble body.

Turn.

Turn, you page.

I poured my focus into a single point and stared — and the corner of the page twitched ever so slightly.

A faint flicker of telekinesis.

“Just a little more……”

Thud!

My body gave out and I collapsed flat on the floor.

I lay there catching my breath, then rolled over onto my back and stared up at the ceiling.

“This body is absolutely wretched……”

Building up physical conditioning didn’t happen overnight.

“I need my body to hold up before I can even think about using magic. Why do I have no magic at all?”

At least absorbing Amelia’s mental energy had given my psychic abilities a marginal boost.

Barely enough to turn a page — maybe.

“Weak doesn’t even begin to cover it……”

In the days right after reincarnating, I’d gathered information through Amelia and others.

The original owner of this body — Rigen Librata — had been, in plain terms, a fool.

A chronic whiner with a constitution to match.

A rotten personality on top of it.

The youngest son with nothing to recommend him except his face.

And even setting all that aside, his hobbies were reprehensible.

He’d made a habit of seducing women in the domain — and every single time, he picked women who were already taken.

And every single time, he got caught by the other man.

What would you do if you found some little wretch in bed with your woman?

A nobleman’s son or not, that wouldn’t stop you.

“And apparently this time he got it so bad he died……”

And the body that was left behind was now mine.

Once my breathing settled, I dragged the book out from under my chin and held it up in front of my face.

“At least I have plenty of time to read now.”

Entertainment in Karakas was scarce.

Back on Earth you could play video games, watch cartoons, stream shows while eating fried chicken — but what did a pre-modern civilization have to offer?

Even as emperor, my options had been reading, watching theatrical performances, and hunting.

Reading was the best of them by far.

Half the books in this library were ones I’d never encountered before.

“But some of this I still can’t make sense of……”

I understood that the dramatic agreement between my wives — the empresses — had ended the conflict.

What I couldn’t understand was why they’d decided to choose the second emperor from among the humans.

“This is the Librata earldom, governing territory near the Alakas mountain range in the empire’s north. They were nobles even during my reign, but only a barony back then. Now they’ve risen to an earldom……”

There was a lot that didn’t add up.

The parties involved in that agreement were still alive and well — I could extract the information if I dug……

I caught myself mid-thought and shook my head.

“No. Absolutely not. Why should I spend a single moment worrying about something they handled themselves? They know what they’re doing.”

I wasn’t the emperor anymore.

I was just a good-for-nothing youngest son, and I intended to live off the family’s wealth in peace.

“Though I should at least get this body into some shape. I need to be a functioning human being.”

Not the supreme emperor of old — but at least someone people wouldn’t walk over.

Build up the body. Train up the magic. Strengthen the psychic abilities.

Physical conditioning could be handled with time and effort.

As for magic — I had nothing right now, but I had an idea of my own for how to approach it.

“And psychic abilities…… I can’t just absorb from anyone I please.”

Absorbing the emotions and mental energy of others to grow stronger was a double-edged sword.

If I absorbed recklessly from just anyone, their memories would come along with the energy — and my own soul would be contaminated by them.

Planting another person’s memories inside my own soul?

The memories would tangle, twist, collide — and I’d lose my mind entirely.

That was why the teacher who had taught me these abilities had warned me so specifically.

Only draw from those who have opened their hearts to you and harbor no intent to harm.

“Getting possessed by someone else’s ghost sounds awful. Of course I’ll be careful……”

A life liberated from the duties of emperor.

Precious time to spend doing absolutely nothing — safety came first.

When my breathing returned to something normal, I set the book back down under my chin and resumed the plank.

Training body and mind simultaneously.

Perfect for cultivating psychic abilities.

That was when the library door slammed open.

Amelia — familiar to me by now — and behind her, a man with a face full of thunder.

“……What are you doing?”

“Uh, uh. Isn’t it obvious?”

Don’t talk to me, I’m barely hanging on!

I was fighting with every ounce I had when the man came striding toward me.

Wait — I shouldn’t let him see me using psychic abilities.

Psychic power had been Sirik Karakas’s alone — a mysterious ability no one else possessed.

“Rigen.”

The man stopped in front of me and said my name with a dark edge to it.

I opened my mouth to answer on reflex — and then my body simply gave out. I crumpled to the floor with a dull thud.

“Young Master……”

Amelia moved to help me up, and the man barked at her.

“Amelia! Stay out of this!”

She flinched sharply, bowed her head, and stepped back.

As I lay there gasping, a strange feeling spread through my chest.

A man I had absolutely no memory of — and yet there it was: a mixture of longing and resentment.

“What brings my father to me, after all this time?”

Formal speech?

Even I was startled to hear it come out of my own mouth.

As emperor, I had almost never spoken formally to anyone.

But looking at this man, the words had come on their own — carried by the emotion.

The original owner’s father, Count Ellen Librata, looked down at me with eyes that mixed anger and frustration in equal measure.

“You think lying on the floor like that is a proper way to hear what your father has to say?”

“I’d be just as rude standing up.”

I forced my worn-out body upright.

A strange resistance was stirring inside my chest.

The lingering feelings of the body’s original owner, most likely.

The count stared at me with an expression caught somewhere between fury and disbelief, then spoke.

“I have a great deal to say about your conduct. Messing around with the women of this domain — I find it hard to forgive, but I can forgive it. Men will be men. But going after women who already belong to someone else — it’s despicable, it’s contemptible, and yet…… I can still clench my eyes shut and look past it. Because no matter how much I hate it, you’re still my son!”

“……”

“But getting caught by the man every single time and getting beaten for it! And now you’ve nearly died! ……There is no greater disgrace to this family. You’re my own flesh and blood, and I don’t want to look at your face for a very long time. But that’s not even what has me the most furious!”

“You’re already this worked up — going any further might stop your heart. Relax. Take a breath.”

I held up both hands, and the count exploded.

“……You insolent little!”

Crack!

A clean hit landed, and my skull rattled.

But I steadied myself, caught my footing, and straightened up.

The count’s mind blazed visibly — a red pulse radiating off him in waves.

Rage directed at me.

The count was trembling with it as he continued.

“On top of your petty deceptions trying to fool your own father — now you dare mock me to my face!”

“This isn’t a gambling den. What exactly have I deceived you about?”

I pushed back with an edge in my voice.

Despite being struck — despite having been emperor — what rose in me wasn’t anger so much as something closer to hurt.

Ah. This was the original body’s emotion bleeding through.

The count jabbed a finger at me and snapped.

“You can read? A boy who couldn’t write a single letter, and now you’re spouting this nonsense! Did you really think that would make me forgive you!”

“Uh, well……”

I touched my cheek and collected myself.

“So what you’re saying is — I’ve dragged this family’s name through the mud, and now I’m pretending to be literate to get back in your good graces?”

“That’s right! I was willing to overlook your failures, but I won’t forgive that kind of deceit! As of today, you are no son of mine!”

Not really your son to begin with, technically.

I sighed and said,

“Then will you believe me if I prove I can read?”

“What did you just — where does this boy get the nerve……”

“My lord. Forgive me, but please hear the young master out.”

Amelia stepped forward from where she’d been standing back.

Remarkably, she was taking my side.

I was as surprised as anyone, and the count turned with a sharp flash in his eyes.

Amelia had raised his children on her back — but this was still plainly a family matter.

That look was a razor-edged warning: know your place and stay out of it.

But Amelia didn’t retreat.

“Your skepticism is more than understandable, my lord. But he truly could read.”

“……Mmmmmm.”

The count’s fury hadn’t cooled. I reached down and picked up the book at my feet.

“Then will you believe me if I read from this?”

“……That’s not the common script — that’s Elven script. If you’re planning to bluff on the grounds that I can’t verify it, don’t bother. I’ll have a secretary brought in to confirm it.”

“Fine by me. But before I read……”

I held up the book in my hand and said,

“If I really can read, you owe me an apology for just now.”

“What?”

“If I can read, then you were wrong to hit me. Weren’t you?”

“……”

The count’s expression shifted — the faintest concession.

I pressed further.

“And you’ll need to grant me an additional request as well.”

“What?”

“The apology goes without saying, but there should be something on top of that. That’s only fair. You also interrupted your son while he was, for once in his life, genuinely studying.”

I said it with deliberate impudence, and the count shot back without missing a beat.

“Fine! You’ll have your apology, and I’ll grant whatever you ask! But if this is another one of your tricks, you’ll be thrown out of House Librata by the end of today!”

“My, how generous of you to take in a wretch like me at all.”

The count was furious now — but he’d turn completely around soon enough.

All a kid had to do was babble a little, and parents went completely soft.