The Greatest Estate Developer - Chapter 1

Something that seems like a fictional story happened to me. When I opened my eyes, I was in the novel The Knight of Blood and Iron. It was an epic about the indomitable leadership of the icy cold protagonist, Javier Asrahan. I’d been sucked into the grandiose real within the story, as the drunk young master whom Javier served in his days of obscurity. Even at the time, I didn’t know that this was the beginning of a new story where I, just a normal civil engineering student, became the guardian of this world.

♣

[RP (Relationship Point) System Activated.]

[You can gain RP by improving your relationship with the main characters.]

[Investing RP will allow you to develop special skills.]

[Current RP: 0]

A strange message rang in his head like an alarm, and he wondered what this RP and skill development was all about. I’m tired and sleepy. Suho scowled as he lay back on the bed. It was bothersome. It was the usual, though.

During the day, he attended classes. At night he worked hard at a part-time job. Meanwhile, in an attempt to change his mood, he spent all night reading a novel. So, it was only natural that he felt tired. Actually, it was more like karma.

But I still finished all my assignments. I can sleep in for thirty more minutes. The very thought put a smile on his face. However, Suho’s smile didn’t last long.

“... up, please”

He heard an unfamiliar voice. The voice was cold and had a straightforward feeling to it. Is this a dream? Figuring he was hearing sounds in his sleep, Suho flopped himself to the other direction. But the adjustment didn’t block that urgent voice from coming again.

“It’s late. It’s time to get up, Master Lloyd.”

Huh…? It wasn’t a dream. The voice was definitely coming from right beside him. But how?

In the midst of his confusion, he suddenly came to his senses. This was a dorm room of just over seventy square feet, and he always kept the door locked. Yet, somehow, someone was in his room talking to him?

Carefully, Suho opened his eyes. Then, unaware, his body stiffened.

“Sir, you are awake. Your woke up right away today, I see”

“...”

A handsome man with silver hair sat composedly beside the bed. He didn’t look a shade over twenty years old. His face had not an ounce of laughter in it, nicely matching his figure which resembled a frosty blade carved from the ice caps.

“Javier… Asrahan?” Suho mumbled involuntarily.

It was certain. This was the book he spent all last night reading, The Knight of Blood and Iron. The illustration of the epic’s hero, Javier Asrahan, looked like him. Actually, they were identical. Even the smirk he had on that was as elegant as a painting.

“So, you finally remembered my name. Thank you, sir”

“...”

However, his expression didn’t look the least bit thankful.

“But what am I doing here?” Suho blurted out loud.

Javier’s smirk deepened a little more.

“Master has put me in charge of escorting you.”

“His Lordship? Escort?”

“That is correct.”

“Why?”

“To prevent events such as last night from happening again.”

“But last night, I was…”

“You were drunk so you couldn’t walk. Three tables, five chairs, nineteen dishes, and six candlesticks were damaged when you threw a fit at the pub. Ah, and the pub owner’s precious ornamental buffalo.horn table was also destroyed entirely”

I’m innocent… Really. Because I was just reading a book in my room. But then he felt a throbbing pain in his head. I didn’t even drink, yet I have a hangover? Well, that’s not fair.

“Hmm. then first, get me some water”

He wanted to get his mind back in order. While taking sips of the water Javier fetched him, he took a look around the bedroom. It was unfamiliar, yet it was large and tidy. It was on a totally different level from the grubby, small dorm room and its scruffy yellow walls. This is pretty awesome. He wondered if he really was reincarnated into a novel chapter. And a noble, at that. Suho accepted this “reality” in his own way. This was heaven, compared to the tenuous life, without any family, in the dorms.

But something caught his eye.

“What's that?” Suho pointed at the cupboard on the other side of the bed. A conspicuous red paper was stuck to the cupboard. And it wasn’t the only spot with a red paper. There was one on the large desk, the refreshment table, even the chair on which Javier sat, and on the bed where Suho lay. Every single piece of the furniture had a red ticket stuck to it.

Could it be…? Absentmindedly, Suho swallowed.

Then Javier replied to Suho’s pondering, “Have you forgotten already? They’re notices of seizure from yesterday.”

“...”

It was a concise response. Suddenly he recalled the fact that, at the beginning of the novel, the baron who hired Javier had fallen into ruin.

The baron and baroness are fooled by a con artist, lose their property and their land and then take their own lives. And Lloyd, their eldest son? He falls ill due to alcoholism and dies. Later, Javier makes a grave for Lloyd and leaves the fiefdom. That’s when Javier Asrahan takes his first step as the protagonist of this grand epic.

So, I’m possessing the body of that brutish young master who dies from alcoholism early on? That’s me? His joy at becoming a noble quickly fizzled out. Either way, it was a big problem.

♣

“Ugh, it’s true. It’s actually true.”

Some hours later, Suho- no, Lloyd looked at himself in the mirror. The full body mirror, too, had a red seizure ticket attached to it just like the other furniture. A sleek, dark haired man stood there within it.

It was Lloyd.

So that’s me now. In truth, he still had trouble accepting what had happened. Yet, he didn’t hate it either. Well, honestly, he kind of liked it. His life back in South Korea was only full of hardship.

I did nothing but suffer.

He was the only son of an ordinary family. He’d passed the college entrance exams and became a civil engineering student. But trouble came while he was in the army. His parents, victims of a shady real estate investment scam, were cheated out of their lives. The only thing they left him after their passing was a colossal debt. Their home and their property were all seized. In order to avoid taking on the remaining debt, he had to give up his inheritance.

If it weren't for the low-income scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to attend school.

Besides, he was diligent in his studies. However, the cost of living was a separate issue from tuition. He went between several part-time jobs, but it was no easy task to keep up good grades while working. His dorm room was no more than a cramped closet. He got seven nosebleeds a day. The free kimchi and rice served by the dorm were the last bastion that kept his body alive. Just like that, Suho managed to tightly cling on to life, up until yesterday.

But to think that I became a noble from an old book I picked up again to take a breather.

He wasn’t even as grand as a duke or a count. He was a mere baron in charge of managing a countryside fiefdom. However, that made being Lloyd appeal to him even more.

I probably won’t be getting into any kind of mishaps, like a rebellion or something.

That was always the problem in any historical drama. It didn’t matter if you were a well-off aristocrat. Once you got tangled in a rebellion, it was over. There was no room for excuses and you were beheaded in one fell swoop.

I’d much rather be a baron of a remote area. It’s like its own niche market.

No big conspiracy plots, just the countryside and a sweet life of affluence. He could live a life of ease if he held on to his comfortable, stable status.

Although, that can only happen after the baron’s debt is settled.

That was the problem.

Why now of all times?

He recalled Javier’s explanation. Those seizure notices were placed yesterday. So what would’ve happened if he’d ended up possessing Lloyd’s body a month or two sooner? He could've prevented the baron from being scammed. Now he felt like he wanted to grab the author by his collar.

Well, it’s already happened so now I just have to fix it.

If he didn’t, by next year the baron and the baroness would commit suicide. Selling this house and fiefdom would make him a beggar.

Just like back in Korea.

That was a nightmare of a thought. He rejected the very idea of it and had no interest in a repeat. So somehow or other, he had to come up with enough money to cover the baron’s debt.

For a time, he looked into the mirror. Then suddenly, something popped into his head.

Turning to the frosty Javier beside him, he asked “Hey?”

“Yes, Master Lloyd”

“Does our estate have a lot of money?”

“Sir?”

“If I asked people for money, how much would it be?”

“Are you referring to a tax?”

“No, not that”

“Then?”

“Something like a gold collection campaign… ugh, nevermind”

Lloyd shook his head. If he got the funds from the people, it might help. But thinking about it more, it didn’t feel quite right. Obviously, without good reason, asking the people for money would result in dissent.

I wouldn’t be able to pay all of it off with that amount anyway.

He thought about the introduction from the novel. The time limit to pay off the debt was two years. But before time was up, the baron and baroness would commit suicide. The pressure of the debt continued and interest only grew. The pathway to settling the debt was a murky swamp, and the couple drowning in that debt would let go of their hope.

That’ll be exactly one year from now.

And five months later, Lloyd dies vomiting blood in the pub where he was a regular. The very beginning of The Knight of Blood and iron mentions all this.

Dammit. Is it some kind of deja vu?

It was basically a mirror image of what happened to his family back in Korea. Thinking about it spoiled his mood.

“Hmph- Let’s take a walk or something”

Walking is the best way to clear the mind. Even back when he was still Kim Suho, walking was his habit. Actually, it was pretty much the only comfort he had, since it didn’t cost money.

So he and Javier left the room and entered the hallway. Just then, he encountered a woman coming from the opposite end of the hall. The woman carried herself with sophistication and elegance. She was a beauty who’d aged gracefully into her middle years.

Could it be…?

Suddenly a name popped into his head. Marbella Frontera. She was both the baroness and Lloyd’s mother. She was the only middle-aged woman in this estate who could have that kind of air around her.

Lloyd gulped dryly.

Of course, we’d run into one another.

Is there a parent who does not recognize their child? He worried that she would catch on to the fact that he was fake. Thankfully (?!), he worried in vain. As soon as the baroness looked his way, she clicked her tongue at him.

“Did you go out drinking again?”

“...”

That look she had in her eyes… It was full of heartache and concern. Was it because her son was unsightly, drinking his life away and raising hell, all while their home was being torn apart? There was no way of knowing.

“You should enjoy it in moderation. It’s not good for your health.”

“...”

The baroness sighed quietly and brushed past him. Lloyd was rest assured.

I didn’t get caught. But should I really be happy about that?

Lloyd Frontera. A guy who drank the moment he opened his eyes in the morning. Thanks to that, even his own mother had such a poor opinion of Lloyd.

That’s pretty sad, though.

Then Suho recalled his times as a freshman, back when his family was still affluent. And at the time, he was rather ignorant. Memories of drinking every day came to mind, be it an orientation or a class trip. Each time, his mother would cook hangover soup for him. However, it had become a part of the past.

Hmph. Lloyd bit his bottom lip- As he left the house, his strides lengthened. That could be why the town folks he met along the way scurried off to the side of the road as soon as they noticed him. They all hung their heads to avoid making eye contact. One woman trembled as she squeezed her hands together tightly. some of the villagers grew visibly pale. Within that short span of time, he came to terms with his situation (?).

Right, this is the kind of guy Lloyd was.

The story flashed through his mind. The brute of Frontera Barony, that was Lloyd Frontera. He got drunk and occasionally would break or throw things. It was a given that he wrought violence and abusive language upon those below him. In a word, he was the worst troublemaker and human trash.

That’s why they’re all so spiteful. I’m completely despicable.

A bitter laugh escaped him.

“Hey”, he whined to Javier beside him, “what’s with all of them? It’s not normal to treat a lord’s son that way”

It was common sense that the lord’s son was the most powerful man in the region. So, unless the lord’s son was some kind of dirt-bag… They usually made an effort to smile and at least pretend to respect him. Like a store owner who kindly served the landlord’s son their fried chicken. Or like a senior manager who became overly lenient to the president’s son when he started as a new employee. Shouldn’t the son of this estate’s owner be the same to its villagers?

“Normally, but.”

“Normally… but?”

“Yes”

“Then what about now?”

Javier replied coldly, “It’s a state of emergency.”

“Emergency?”

“It refers to the appearance of a being who poses a threat to the livelihood, wellbeing and safety of the people of the estate”

“And… that being is supposed to be me?”

“That is correct”

“That was quite the comeback”

“What is a comeback?”

“Uh, like cutting someone to the bone, with the facts”

“...”

Javier intensely stared in his direction. His expression showed confusion over the nonsense he’d just heard. And yet, like a painting, he was cold and graceful.

Sure, this is the kind of guy Javier was.

A noble, honorable knight. a man relentless towards injustice. That is to say, he was a hero and the epitome of a knight. In the novel, Javier becomes renowned throughout the entire continent of Lorasia. Naturally, just because he was still unknown at this point, didn’t mean his personality was any different.

“I’m unsure what to do in this situation. I’ve not once been disloyal to you, Master Lloyd”

“Not once?”

“Never”

“So you’ve never heard of a fact attack?”

“I know nothing of it”

“Then perhaps, have you ever detested me?”

“No, never”

But… it definitely seemed that way from his expression… Lloyd realized…

This guy hates me too.

The virtuous knight that Javier was, he emphasized the importance of honor, so it was certain he hated a churlish dirt-bag like Lloyd. and yet, he was the kind of guy who’d stay by his side loyally until the day Lloyd died. It seemed he upheld his obedience and loyalty to his master, the baron, until the very end.

An amazing guy at any rate.

And one of the best sworsdmen in the history of the Lorasian continent and an unprecedented grand master. And now this guy was his faithful guard.

Lloyd walked along with an odd feeling until he found himself in front of a shabby building.

“Where are we?”

“This is the pub”

“The pub?”

“Yes. You spend more time here than your own home, Master Lloyd”

“So, thi is where I’m a regular?”

“Of course. Unless you have been frequenting another place without my notice, that is”

“...”

Good gracious. Inside his head, Lloyd was clicking his head. He’d only been walking aimlessly, and his feet brought him to his regular pub of all places. How often did he come that even when possessed by another spirit, the body automatically found its way here?

Is this like a homing instinct? Am I a carrier pigeon? A spawning salmon? Or the dog from ‘Homeward Bound’? He chastised the original owner of this body, the eldest son of the baron.

He turned away. Either way, I shouldn’t be day drinking. Lloyd might have enjoyed it but Suho didn’t. Besides, he couldn’t drink when he already had so much to figure out. He had no other thoughts besides that.

“Are we going back then?”

“Certainly” he answered Javier assuredly. However, Javier’s reply was unexpected.

“In that case, what a disappointment”

“Huh…?”

“It’s just as I said. You, Master Lloyd, are a disappointment”

“Were your really expecting me to crave some day drinking?”

“No”

“Then?”

“I was under the impression that you were her to apologize and make reimbursements for the chaos you caused here last night”

“And so, you’re disappointed I turned away?”

“That is correct. A noble has the duty to take on responsibility that equals their status”

“...” This punk has been throwing zingers all day. That one he just threw probably exceeded 100 miles per hour. Javier had a strange talent for giving his straightforward advice in a blunt, stinging way.

“The pub owner has been doing business here his entire life, even if the place is shabby. Last night, you caused a ruckus in this precious place and damaged the furniture here”

“...”

“Besides as you may know, Master Lloyd. he’s caring for his elderly mother all on his own”

“He is?”

“Yes. Most recently, her health is declining. The pub owner is gravely concerned”

“So, I caused trouble for this poor fellow?”

“That is correct”

“...”

It wasn’t even me really who did it.

However, Javier continued to bite back at him.

“Actually, he pleaded with me last night. He told me that, with his mother’s suffering in the winter cold and now the trouble caused, he’s deeply saddened and hopes for death.”

“...”

“You cannot turn a blind eye. After all, someday in the future this estate will be under your care, Master Lloyd…”

“Hold on. Stop right there”

Javier’s speech was cut off. Was it because he couldn’t bear to listen anymore? No. Javier’s words suddenly put a question in his head.

“The owner’s mother suffers in the winter cold, you said?”

“That is what I said”

“Then wouldn’t it do to just have heated floors?”

“Sir?”

“Do the people here really… not know about heated flooring?”

“...”

They really didn’t know; you could tell by the look in his head.

Come to think of it, even the bedroom in the baron’s house didn’t have heated floors. He was a civil engineering student so it was his habit to take a look at the structure of the buildings wherever he went. Because of this, he figured out the structure of the baron’s residence quickly.

The residence had neither heated floors nor any kind of so-called heated flooring system. Instead, a single fireplace occupied one side of the room. This pub owner’s home was likely the same design. Actually, unlike the nobles who could have a fireplace in every room, this man probably had a single fireplace to heat the entirety of his home.

It’d surely be cold. Compared to a heated flooring system, a significant amount of head loss comes from a fireplace.

Of course, heated floors weren’t without their cons. To get a heated flooring system, you’d have to either rebuild or entirely replace the floors. You also have to insulate the building structure from heat loss, which consumes a great amount of firewood.

But those two cons…

They can be overcome. Well, actually, they can be taken advantage of. For me, it’s possible.

If he made use of his college major? He would have a way of paying off the huge debt and escaping this bleak reality. With that, he thought of a place that could make him tons of money.

He was certain. He could see it coming together.

This is it. It won’t end with the pub owner’s house; it’ll be even bigger. It’ll be a large scale business. I have a high chance of success.

His mind was made up. The plans in his head would become a reality.

He took off straight for the pub.