ATHO Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The First Life (Part 2)

Prologue: The First Life, Part 2

Novel Title: 嫌われ者の俺はやり直しの世界で義弟達にごまをする (As the Hated One, I Flatter My Stepbrothers in a World Where I Get a Second Chance)

Author：赤牙 (Akakiba)

Art：古澤エノ (Furusawa Eno)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: シャルル (Charles -MC), リエン (Lien -ML1) & ジェイド (Jade -ML2)

*Please read at freenovels.net, the original site of translation. TQ*

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By the time I turned thirty, the Wahlman name had become synonymous with disgrace.  

The marquisate’s dignity was gone, and I lived day to day, struggling to survive. With no place to stay, I found shelter in an unused barn.  

“If Father saw me now, he’d be so disappointed,” I muttered to myself, gazing out at the wintry sky through the barn window.  

Winter always reminded me of Father. Each year, it brought a fresh wave of regret for my inability to preserve the family legacy.  

On the anniversary of Father’s death, I trudged to the cemetery, my steps heavy. Snow began to fall, just as it had on the day I learned of his passing.  

Father must be furious with me—this wretched version of myself.  

Unable to afford flowers, I picked some wildflowers from the roadside and placed them at his grave.  

Every year, I used to share my struggles and joys as a lord with Father at his gravestone. But now, all I could do was apologize.  

“Father… I’m sorry for failing to protect the Wahlman family…”  

As the snow fell steadily, I knelt before the gravestone. Then, I heard footsteps approaching. Turning around, I saw two men with familiar amethyst eyes.  

“Jade… Lien…”  

I called out the names of my stepbrothers. Jade regarded me with a cold gaze, while Lien chuckled quietly.  

“I thought it was some vagabond, but it’s you, Charles.”  

Jade’s cutting words stung, but in my current state, I could hardly argue. My worn-out clothes and unkempt appearance certainly made me look the part of a vagabond.  

In contrast, the two men before me were impeccably dressed, their polished demeanor befitting true nobles.  

Lien crouched to meet my eyes, his tone mocking. “What’s the matter, Charles? Cat got your tongue? Go on, like old times—hurl insults at us. You used to say things like, ‘Don’t talk to me, you filthy commoners!’”  

I couldn’t muster the strength to respond, and Lien stood, disappointed.  

Jade placed a lavish bouquet atop the wildflowers I had brought, closed his eyes, and clasped his hands in prayer.  

“Nii-san, it seems you’re struggling with the territory’s finances.”  

“How… How do you know that?”  

“One look at you says it all. Besides, it’s the talk of the town—how the marquis has ruined the land.”  

Unable to respond, I hung my head in shame.  

“Shall we take on your debts for you?” Jade offered.  

“…What?”  

Startled by the sudden proposal, I raised my head, only to see Jade smiling warmly before me.  

Since abandoning my stepbrothers, I knew nothing about their lives… but from their appearances, it was clear they were living in wealth and comfort.  

“It’s our dear father’s land, after all. As his son, even if only by marriage, it’s natural for me to protect it, don’t you think?”  

“R-Really? But… the debt is enormous…”  

“Yes, I know. Don’t worry about it.”  

Jade’s offer was unexpected—especially considering how cruelly I had treated them. Overwhelmed by guilt and gratitude, I couldn’t hold back my tears, though I was far too old to cry.  

“Nii-sama, don’t just cry; swear an oath to us.”  

“An oath? Do you need me to write it out?”  

“We don’t need some worthless piece of paper. What we want is your sincerity. Swear to become our servant. Go ahead, kiss my foot.”  

Lien extended his foot toward me as he spoke.  

I stared at him in confusion, unsure of what he meant. Impatient, Lien stomped his foot, his irritation apparent.  

“Don’t you understand? Hurry up, or should we forget about covering the debt?”  

“I’ll do it!”  

Panicking, I knelt on the snow-covered ground and pressed my lips to Lien’s polished shoe.  

When I moved toward Jade to repeat the act, he pulled his foot away.  

“Disgusting. Have you no pride left?”  

Jade glared at me as if I were some filthy thing beneath him.  

“Ahaha~ Poor Charles, the pitiable brother,” Lien giggled, clearly enjoying the scene.  

Being mocked stung deeply, but if they were willing to shoulder that enormous debt, I had no room to complain.  

If it could save the land and its people, I was willing to endure anything.  

“Very well. I’ll pay off the debt your family owes,” Jade said smoothly, “but the personal debt under your name? You’ll need to handle that yourself.”  

“M-My personal debt?”  

Confused, I stared blankly until Jade sighed in exasperation.  

“The mining venture, of course.”  

“T-That was to rebuild the estate! It wasn’t my debt!”  

“What are you saying, Nii-san? You signed the contract under your own name, didn’t you?”  

“Yes, but it was all for the land—”  

“Was it really for the land? Or were you planning to pocket the profits for yourself? That’s why you signed with your personal name, isn’t it? And now you want to call it the estate’s debt? How convenient.”  

“I only signed because I was told to— I had no choice—”  

Even as I tried to explain, my words sounded like nothing but excuses.  

“I swear, I was only trying to save the estate! You have to believe me!”  

Desperate, I reached for Jade, clinging to him for support. He swatted my hand away as though it were filthy.  

“When we needed help, what did you do, Nii-san?”  

“Huh…?”  

“Fifteen years ago. Did you forget? Perhaps you’ve erased it from your memory, but we remember it as though it were yesterday. The moment you cast us into hell.”  

The memory I had tried so hard to bury clawed its way back.  

Back then, I had driven Jade and Lien away in a fit of anger, casting them out of the manor.  

“So, you remember now. How fortunate,” Jade said, his voice cold.  

“I… I’m so—”  

“Save your apologies, Nii-san,” Jade interrupted with a chilling smile.  

For a moment, I hoped he might forgive me, but his smile held no warmth.  

“Don’t misunderstand, Nii-san. We’ll never forgive you. Not in life, nor in death.”  

“Then… what am I supposed to—”  

“It’s simple, really,” Lien chimed in. “Selling you as a slave should cover things nicely. In fact, you’ve already been sold.”  

“S-Slave…?”  

A shiver ran through me as the word sank in.  

I looked up at them in disbelief, but they only grinned, clearly relishing my misery.  

“This is what happens when amateurs recklessly dabble in ventures like mining. You should have properly vetted the people you worked with,” Jade remarked, pulling a paper from his breast pocket.  

I recognized it instantly—the contract I had signed for the mining venture.  

“How… how do you have that?”  

“How? The mining company you dealt with is managed by me. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to take the bait so easily. Haven’t you heard the saying? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”  

“You should learn not to trust people so easily, Nii-sama,” Lien added with a smirk.  

Realization struck me like a blow. They had set me up.  

As I sank to my knees, clutching my head in despair, their laughter rang out above me.  

“Charles,” Jade said coldly. “You’ll finally get a taste of what we went through. This is just the beginning of your descent into hell.”  

“Do take care as a slave, my dear Nii-sama,” Lien added with mockery in his voice.  

Cautiously, I lifted my head and met the eyes of my younger stepbrothers, who were looking down at me with smiles. Despite their cheerful expressions, their amethyst-colored eyes swirled with hatred.

From that point on, I was stripped of my noble title and sold to slave traders by Jade and Lien. Cast into a mine as a slave, my life became a true living hell.

Forced into grueling labor, I was whipped whenever I failed to keep up due to my inexperience and weakness. My body swelled with bruises and welts. Meals were scarce, and I slept on the cold, hard ground. Every day was an unending nightmare, and my body and spirit soon reached their limits. When my health finally failed, I became too weak to stand, quickly deteriorating into a wretched state.

At that point, all I could do was await death on the damp, cold ground.

No one would come to save me.

Ah, so this is where my life ends…

But this outcome was the result of my own actions.

Everything was my fault.

As death loomed closer, I finally began to regret my past deeds.

If only I hadn’t rebelled against my stepmother and stepbrothers when they first came…

If only I had persuaded my stepmother and father to stay instead of going to the capital…

If only I hadn’t cast Jade and Lien out…

If only I hadn’t become the lord of the domain…

Regrets consumed my thoughts, flashing through my mind like a vivid reel of memories.

“God, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry for all the cruel things I’ve done to everyone… to Jade and Lien. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… so sorry…”

Mumbling words of apology that I had never spoken to them, I faced my lonely end…

Or so I thought.

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*GLOSSARY: 

• Nii-san/Nii-sama/Onii-san = (Big/Elder) Brother

☝🏻I’ll be using these throughout my translation. Jade would call Charles ‘Nii-san’ while Lien would call him ‘Nii-sama’.

Next update: 2025.08.26

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