Chapter 2: A New Beginning?
Chapter 2: A New Beginning?
A dull ache spread through Osborne’s head as consciousness slowly returned to him, causing his eyebrows to knit together while he instinctively reached toward his forehead, only for his hand to pause halfway through the motion when he realized the pain wasn’t nearly as unbearable as it should have been after the accident, leaving him lying perfectly still as confusion slowly replaced the exhaustion that had followed him for what felt like an entire lifetime.
"...Am I... alive?"
His eyelids gradually opened, revealing a wooden ceiling supported by thick beams that looked far older than anything he had ever seen in modern times, while faint rays of morning sunlight slipped through the gaps in a nearby window and illuminated tiny particles of dust floating peacefully through the air, creating a scene that felt strangely warm despite the countless questions racing through his mind.
Osborne slowly sat upright, the rough blanket sliding from his body as his blue eyes wandered around the unfamiliar room, taking in the simple wooden furniture, the neatly folded clothes resting on a nearby chair, the bookshelf standing against one wall, and the old-fashioned wardrobe that looked as though it had been crafted entirely by hand.
"...Where am I?"
His voice echoed softly throughout the room.
The last thing he remembered was...
The truck.
The crash.
The woman and her daughter.
Then...
Darkness.
He frowned.
"...Shouldn’t I be in a hospital?"
Just as he began wondering whether everything around him was some strange dream, a gentle knock sounded from the door before it slowly creaked open, allowing a young girl who looked no older than sixteen to step inside while carrying a neatly folded set of clothes in her arms, her brown hair tied into a bundled style behind her head while her bright brown eyes lit up the moment they landed on him.
"Oh! Young Master, you’re finally awake."
She smiled brightly as though seeing him sitting up had completely made her morning.
"I was beginning to think I’d have to wake you myself, but it seems you managed just fine."
Osborne stared at her blankly.
"...Young Master?"
The girl blinked once before tilting her head.
"Yes?"
"...Who are you?"
Silence filled the room.
The girl’s cheerful expression froze for several seconds before she suddenly covered her mouth, trying her best to hold back a laugh.
"Pfft..."
She failed.
"Hahaha..."
Osborne only looked even more confused.
The girl shook her head while wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
"Young Master, now really isn’t the time to joke around."
"...I’m not joking."
She smiled warmly before placing the folded clothes on the chair.
"It’s me, Anny."
She rested both hands on her hips as though expecting him to immediately understand.
"Your lovable maid."
Osborne continued staring.
"...Anny?"
She let out an exaggerated sigh.
"I know you like teasing me every now and then, but if the Lord hears you’ve been wasting time this morning, he’ll definitely get angry again."
She pointed toward the window.
"Didn’t he tell you yesterday that the first thing you had to do today was inspect the livestock?"
"...The Lord?"
Anny blinked.
"...Yes?"
Osborne frowned.
"...Who’s the Lord?"
The room became deathly quiet.
Anny’s smile slowly disappeared.
"...Young Master?"
She cautiously walked toward the bed before placing the back of her hand against his forehead, her expression growing increasingly worried as she compared his temperature with her own.
"...You’re not hot."
She looked him directly in the eyes.
"Are you coming down with something?"
Osborne remained silent.
Anny frowned.
"How could you possibly forget Lord Gustav Von Bismarck?"
She sounded genuinely confused.
"He’s your father."
The moment those words reached his ears...
Osborne froze.
"...Gustav..."
His eyes slowly widened.
"...Von..."
His breathing became uneven.
"...Bismarck..."
That name.
He knew that name.
No...
It wasn’t just familiar.
He had heard it countless times before.
His pupils trembled.
"...No way..."
He immediately threw the blanket aside before rushing toward the small mirror hanging on the wall, his heart pounding violently against his chest as he stared at the reflection looking back at him.
Blonde hair.
Blue eyes.
A face that looked younger than his own.
"...No..."
His breathing became heavier.
"This... this can’t be..."
Anny looked at him in confusion.
"Young Master?"
Osborne barely heard her.
His mind had already descended into complete chaos.
"...How?"
His voice trembled.
"...How did I end up here?"
He slowly grabbed the edge of the wooden table to steady himself.
"...Inside..."
"...The novel?"
For a long moment, the room remained completely silent.
Whenever work became too exhausting and reality became too difficult to endure, Osborne had always found comfort in reading a webnovel that he had stumbled upon almost by accident, quickly growing attached to its world and characters because it gave him a chance to forget about deadlines, unreasonable bosses, and the endless cycle of working simply to survive.
The Bismarck family had only been a minor household within that story, existing mainly to push the protagonist’s growth forward, but despite appearing only a handful of times throughout the novel, Osborne remembered them clearly because one particular member of that family had left an unforgettable impression on readers.
Osborne Von Bismarck.
The second son of House Bismarck.
A man who could only be described as a complete and utter fool.
Although the two of them happened to share the exact same name, the Osborne from the novel was nothing like himself, because he had spent most of his life abusing the influence of his powerful wife to interfere with the protagonist’s journey, believing that marrying into a stronger noble family made him untouchable, only for every one of his schemes to eventually be exposed before the entire kingdom, leading to his condemnation by the royal court while his wife, disgusted beyond words by his disgraceful actions, divorced him without the slightest hesitation and completely abandoned him.
"...I’m him..."
Osborne muttered absentmindedly.
"...Of all people..."
"...Why him?"
*******
Several hours later.
"...Seriously?"
Osborne sat on a small wooden stool inside a large barn while staring blankly at the cow standing peacefully in front of him, his gaze slowly drifting from the animal’s face down toward its udders before settling on the empty wooden bucket resting between his feet.
"...I really have to do this?"
Standing nearby with her hands folded neatly in front of her apron, Anny nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"It’s the Lord’s wish."
She smiled as though this were the most normal thing in the world.
"He said that if you’re going to inherit this land someday, then you should learn how to take care of everything within it instead of relying on everyone else."
’ Inherit huh...’ Osborne recalled for a moment that house Bismarck once had an heir in line for the seat of lord but, during that same incident those years ago, his older brother had died.
The death of his older brother might’ve been one of the reasons the lord had failed to recover from that very betrayal.
Osborne wasn’t a father but he could understand the Baron a bit, no father would want their own son to go before them.
Osborne slowly looked around the barn before letting out a defeated sigh.
"...Couldn’t he just hire more servants?"
He gestured toward the large building surrounding them.
"This place is huge."
"There has to be enough money to employ a few more people."
Anny’s smile gradually faded.
"...Young Master."
She looked at him strangely.
"You know how the Lord feels about that."
Osborne opened his mouth to ask another question before stopping himself.
"...Right..."
He didn’t know.
Not personally.
But...
The memories from the novel quickly surfaced inside his mind.
Several years ago, House Bismarck had not been the small baron family it was today, because they had once possessed the respected title of Count and governed a prosperous territory filled with loyal retainers and hardworking servants, living comfortably until everything collapsed after one of their most trusted vassals betrayed them in pursuit of personal gain.
Although the details had never been fully explained within the novel, the betrayal had somehow implicated Baron Gustav Von Bismarck in a crime against the royal house, resulting in the family being stripped of nearly everything they owned before being exiled to this distant and underdeveloped fief as punishment, reducing a once respected noble house into little more than a shadow of its former self.
Unable to overcome the pain of being betrayed by someone he had trusted for years, Gustav gradually lost faith in those around him and dismissed almost every servant who had remained with the family, refusing to place his trust in outsiders ever again, leaving behind only a small handful of people who had proven their loyalty beyond question.
Anny...
Was one of those few.