01.
Meeting

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It’s been about seven years since I was born as Isaac Baumgartner.
From when I was born, I have memories of my past life.
But, it did not increase my mental age, I only reached a stage where I recognized they were from my past life as I became more aware of it.
Realizing it didn’t change anything about my livelihood, I didn’t tell anyone.
However, on that day, I came for the start of my gardener apprenticeship at the house of Duke Ernest.
After this, I entered the middle of duke’s house, making my introductory appearance to the duke as my father brought me along.
The duke seems busy, as a little time before leaving, he’ll greet us at the wide entrance of something like an entrance hall. Is that kind of glancing look okay?, I think, but it seems like there is a security rule where people who will regularly visiting must have an audience with the duke.
If that’s the case, I must immediately not forget that.
There’s no way you can memorize all of the faces of this spacious estate.

「Oya, you have a very cute son.」

Me, cute? Ah, I’m small? Well, I’m seven years old.
I understood with one glance that the lord with thick blonde hair descending from the stairs was the duke.
Not slowly, but more “relaxed” with his walk, he produced an atmosphere of nobility.
This could be called elegant movement.
Then, even if you carry a rose on your back, it’s a beautiful form that doesn’t make you uncomfortable. [T/N: I tried to look to see if this was some kind of metaphorical speech but I couldn’t find anything.]

「Good morning to you, Gerald-sama.
Thank you very much for the time today.
He is my son, but he is here to be my apprentice, so please say hello.」

When the duke stopped his eyesight on me and took one step towards us, my father bowed his head and introduced me.
Or rather, is this how my untalkative father could talk? Moreover, this is the first time I heard him use formal language.
I’m dumbstruck and stare at my father.
My father looked at me with a sideways gaze as he faced the duke as if scolding me.
Ah, yes.
A prompt greeting is good, right.
I hurry and then straighten out my back, then turn to face the duke, bowing.

「I am Isaac Baumgartner.
I look forward to working with you.」

「I am Gerald.
Please treat me well.」

He naturally puts his hand out.

Eh.
A handshake?
I don’t understand, is this alright with the social status??

Given that when I fleetingly look at my father, he’s not especially glaring, I timidly decide it’s okay and grasp the presented hand.

「Surprisingly young.
How old are you?」

「I am seven years old.」

Because gardening work needs endurance, to some extent it’s natural to become an apprentice from when the body is the age of being to do work.
Even ten years old is premature, it seems.
The duke seems to think of it as natural.

「He’s clever, isn’t he? Dennis, I’m looking forward to his future.」

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「He’s just an impertinent brat……」

In contrast to the smiling duke, my father has a grimace on.

「He’s two years older than my daughter, right? At the peak of wanting to play, it seems.」

「No, I want to be able to protect the duke’s garden as soon as possible.」

My mouth said it based on the prince’s standards, but my eyes are making it clear I want to quickly become like my father.
My father who manages the garden almost by himself is incredible.
The gardener colleagues also are acknowledging it, and from them the apprentice applications are endless.
Maa, because he’s also strict to me or to other people, the guys who give up are also endless……
Resigned to strictness, I quickly begged my father to make me an apprentice.
It took about a year until he reluctantly grumbled and made me an apprentice.
Looking at the matured me who admired his father, the duke with dazzling strength narrowed his eyes.

「That’s good, isn’t it? I also want a son, you know.」

He said that with an incredibly and dazzling smile.
From my direction, I want to narrow my eyes.
Or rather, I want to shut them.
Father as it is has a quiet and simple expression.
I want to separate our hands which have been slowly continuing to shake.
This, maybe he likes doing this, isn’t that right?
The reason is that in something like a company interview, first impressions are important.
Because if your ability to show respect is weak, your employer will be displeased.

「Father!」

An exceedingly loud voice descended.
While finally separating our hands, the duke turned in the direction of the voice.
From the staircase visible on the opposite side of the duke, a girl wearing a bright red dress trots down the stairs.
It’s like a young bird coming across its parent bird, huh?
Ah, her face is a bit red.
Is she angry? Her whole body is red, it seems.
The only thing that is kind to the eyes is that thin golden hair which might be inherited from her father.
Or was that hair color inherited from her mother?

「Oh, did you come to see me off, my little angel?」

Spreading both of his hands, the duke reacts to his vigorously charging daughter.
This is the first time I’ve seen someone say those words with a straight face.
The nobility is amazing.

The daughter stopped a short distance away and sternly looked up at her father.

「Father, please listen to me! It’s terrible!」

「Oya, what’s wrong this morning?」

It seems the girl blowing her top only wants to say what she has in mind, and she started to scream through what the duke said.
And yet the heart of the duke is quite big. [T/N: This one is kind of clunky but I think he means to say he’s got a good heart.]

「The maid is terrible! She gave me this terrible hair style, and furthermore, many times the brush hung onto it and then it was painful!」

The hair on both sides is lightly twisted, then at the back a cameo hair clasp is fastened.
Maybe it’s fluffy, soft hair, but above the fastened portion it doesn’t expand like it was combed carefully, it seems.
It’s because children’s hair is thin, hm.
I think with the A-line, it’s a good silhouette.
I don’t often understand such things as noble elegance. [T/N: ‘A-Line’ is a fashion term if you want to look into it.]

「I see, it’s because your dear hair is dainty.
It was painful, it seems.」

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In order to sympathize with her, he stroked her face.
However, only being sympathized by her father with the same hair is not enough to satisfy her, it seems.

「That rude maid, please fire her!」

I think she caught her busy father before leaving for work because she wanted to say this.
From the time of the long and drawn out handshake with me, slightly to the right and behind them, the butler (temporary) who had been putting out an aura was weakening.
Probably, because he was not making any facial expressions.
The maid who had been chasing after her and arrived turned more pale than the butler and froze up.
She had done the daughter’s hair, it seems.
Or rather,

「You, your personality is unbelievably ugly.」

Before the duke reacted, my thoughts spilled out.
Everyone then and there freezes.
Especially the daughter of the duke, who until now no one would have called her ugly, has her eyes widened.

That was a mistake!!

That stiffness was solved by my father’s unforgiving fist.

「……!?」 [T/N: Honestly the raw just has the character for “i” so what am I supposed to put lmao]

In excessive pain, I lost my words.
I clutched the punched area with both hands and crouched.

「Apologize.」

He frankly and mercilessly scolds me.
At once, my father’s intimidating air is saying.
Although, I’m in too much pain that I can’t talk.
Also, it’s generally disagreeable.
I’m not in the wrong.
After all, this person is an incessant complainer, isn’t she?
Hiring into the duke’s family should be a high hurdle.
Among other things such as simply being fired.
Replacing lacked personnel and retirement or resignation proceedings, new personnel background checks, they take time, effort, and money that I couldn’t understand.
Still without words, through teary eyes I looked at the smaller girl.
I received her dissatisfied gaze, she seemed to have understood the person who said that was me.
My cheek was bloody and my eyebrow was raised.

「Just, now, what did you say……!?」

「You’ll have an ugly face when you’re an adult, with an ugly personality from the time you were small.」

「Wh……!? Who do you think I am!!」

Ah, these words are often what small villains say.

「The duke’s daughter.」

「That’s right! Do you think it’s okay for the likes of a commoner like you to say something like that to a person of the house of Duke Ernest!?」

Precisely because the nobility receive gifted educations, younger people don’t often talk a lot.
I admire the girl trembling all over in a strange place.

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「Is your father great?」

「Obviously!」

「Are you great?」

「That’s right.」

「So, you are great?」

「That is what I am saying!!」

「How?」

「Eh.」

「I also understand the duke is great.
He is my employer and is busy with work, so he is responsible for that, it seems.
But, what makes you great?」

「I, I am of the House of Duke Ernest……」

「Is the person who relies on their father to fire one maid, really great?」

「……」

If I ask with more words, the force behind them will be lost, and right after the retorted words are received I am glared at silently.
The gaze of the girl motionlessly stared back at me, and I waited for a response.
Thereupon, the girl lifted her right hand. [T/N: Girl is translated literally as “other party” or “companion”, which doesn’t make as much sense, so I took a liberty there.]

Pechin.

She struck my left cheek, but it doesn’t hurt.
It seems that because she is not experienced in violence, she doesn’t have that kind of physical strength.
When my gaze that was hit and then turned away returns to her, she becomes vigilant of a counterattack and with a jump becomes frightened.

「Resorting to violence is like recognizing your defeat.」

「!!」

It’s not particularly defeating, but in this case she couldn’t answer my question, which is equal to her recognizing she isn’t great, it seems.
She understands that, but with that reminder, her face turns bright red and she turns away, escaping.
After I talked down to a small child, I realized my father’s fist hadn’t come again.
Curiously, I thought about it and when I looked up, my father who had a fist prepared was stopped by the duke who raised one hand.
The duke who had been watching our argument to the end showed a forced smile on his face.

「Thank you, Isaac.」

「No…… your dau…… I humbly apologize for saying whatever I wished to your gracious daughter.」 [T/N: Damn you humble tense, it’s hard to convey in English without inserting extra words, as “gracious” is not part of the raw.]

「Rather, you saved me.
At every opportunity I also gave her warnings, but my scoldings aren’t frightening, right?」

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The duke shrugged his shoulder as if he was troubled.
Yes, I can easily imagine it.
He’s very sweet to his daughter.

「However, asking a question in return is good, isn’t it? I’ll have to try that.」

I’ll use it as a reference, said the duke as he smiled.
Yes, I didn’t raise my voice for the reasoning, I just normally asked a question back.
His daughter’s selfishness was just self destructive.
In my past life, my sister was occasionally annoying, and this method of doing things would stop it.

「……Gerald-sama, any time now.」

The butler was growing impatient and seeming hurried.
The duke brightly smiles.

「Ah, sorry.
Well then, I’m going.
That’s right, Isaac.
Just one thing.」

「Yes?」

The duke who steps forward on his departure, suddenly looks over his shoulder.

「My Dia is like a cute angel.
Of course, she’s an angel on the inside, too.」

With a snappy wink, he gives me a warning.

「Ah, yes……」

It seems that repercussions are expressed in the courtesy of the over doting parent.
For now, I must make corrections, as an apology.
The duke back could be seen, and from next to me what sounded like an angry sigh could be heard.
Feeling nervous, I fearfully looked up in my father’s direction, pressure in his eyes as he looked down on me.

「I am sorry.」

The duke stopped him from speaking with his fists the second time around, but even so in the silent pressure, in fear and reflex, I apologized.
And yet, from when the pressure stopped, I think about it and add words.

「As for Lady Dia? Next meeting, apologize to her.」

At last out of his gaze, I deeply sigh with relief.

But, with such things as being a gardener’s apprentice, would there be a “next”?

Whew! This chapter was pretty short and sweet, but man some of these translations made me want to curl up and drink.
I had to take the occasional liberty for when something sounded really clunky.
For example, instead of 「Of course, she’s an angel on the inside, too」, that line literally reads 「Of course, her insides are too」, which yeahhhhhhh nah.
For those who also read my other translation project, my style is usually to try to keep as close as to what the raw text translates to, while keeping it as (correct) English.
I try to take as few liberties as possible, only taking them when I’m 100% stuck or if it’s some really, really weird cultural note that wouldn’t translate well.
Anyways, another annoying thing was that the kanji for “duke” can also be read as prince, which brings me to my next point.

Just want to give my thanks to Hisaku Scans, since it did help not having to decide what to name anyone, haha.
I’ve used the names they used in their manga translations for consistency, as I found this from the manga.
Also, as they used Duke, that’s what I rolled with.

Don’t expect that every chapter’s going to come out early, but I was pretty happy how this one turned out, and I’m ahead on Sato-san, so why not toss this up, no need to keep it waiting.
Thanks for reading, and make sure if you can, to support the original author!

If there’s any really egregious mistakes, don’t hesitate to let me know as well! See you all next time!