The funeral was going smoothly. On the day of the burial, the beautiful, cloudless and clear weather did not match the somber atmosphere required at a funeral. However, if the weather turned bad, Khan thought it was not easy for him to be grieved. It was just the side of the Temple that made Khan feel a little uneasy.
The Temple sent only one priest to perform his duties, as well as when the priest examined his father's body, he was extremely polite. He only was interrogating a few people in the castle, the kind who normally served his father. But the indifferent attitude of the priest showed that he only worked for the right form and did not intend to investigate deeply into the case.
This did not harm Khan, but he could not put down his doubts. Did something happen at the Temple? In the story of "Legend of Reincarnation", the side of the Shrine was not as good as it looked. Especially on the side of the Daumantas Shrine, it that the main character will later confront.
Forget about the Temple, even though it was the main character's story after that, not the side character's story like him. Because it wasn't a big deal when he saw the results of the Evangeline family's books. He couldn't believe the Evangeline family's near-bankruptcy situation was real. It's crazy... Khan groaned in his heart, but on the outside, he calmly put the book down on the table as if it was nothing important.
Khan looked up at the servant whom he met first, that guy was looking down at his feet, his whole body was stiff as if waiting for a verdict.
"What's your name?"
"Yes, sir!" The servant shouted in surprise, then he stammered in reply. "I, my name is Carter, sir… I mean, Count!"
Now that Khan was Count Evangeline, there was really no need to call him master. But…
"Just call me young master as usual, that's more familiar to me," said Khan.
"But..." Carter was about to say something more, but met Khan's eyes and changed his words. "I see, sir."
Khan nodded in satisfaction.
"Has Saul left yet?"
"The little young master left early in the morning..." mumbled Carter. "I told him should talk to you, but…"
Obviously, Khan didn't care if the protagonist said goodbye to him before leaving or not, just afraid that if the two were reluctant to meet to say goodbye, then both sides will be more confused. Anyway, the main character was reincarnated for one life, and there were a few things that had changed from his previous life that made it difficult for him to absorb quickly. Khan also didn't want to capture the main character or steal his role. Khan just wanted to live, and still be Khan.
In the end, he solved his problem with the main character, the task was completed perfectly. As Khan guessed, the protagonist would probably set out to find his original team of mercenaries and protect them from death in a previous life. Because they intended to enter Osborn Forest, a mysterious forest full of dangers, even the Shrine could not reach there with their claws.
Perhaps the protagonist will dissuade the team from entering that forest, or perhaps the protagonist will risk his life to enter. After all, there were treasures worth risking your life inside. What's more, now the main character was fully capable of using magic. Currently, his power was one level greater than the original plot.
Whatever it had nothing to do with me. Now, the thing he needed to do was to keep his life and earn money.
Khan showed a holy and harmless smile. Hands clasped together resting on the chin, half-eyes glanced at Carter standing solemnly to one side, in a state of mind that he could hear orders at any time. Khan blinked, making a decision in his heart.
"Carter, what business has Evangeline been primarily in?"
Carter somehow shivered, extremely frightened by the sudden innocent smile of the Earl. He meekly replied. "The Evangeline family has never run any business."
Khan almost slipped his chin, his face hitting the table. Before he didn't care about Evangeline's business because he was a rotten person beyond help, as long as he could still play around, he wouldn't mind anything. But he didn't expect that the Evangeline family wouldn't do any business!
"Are you telling the truth?"
"Really, young master… Well, actually there is, but the former Count gambled and lost and pledged all of it. Until there were no more stores that could be sold or mortgaged, he used up the family's accumulated money for several generations. After that, he didn't do any business… The current money comes from the family's existing plantations." said Carter indignantly.
Khan rubbed his temples, the headache came again. As he remembered, in the plot, the Evangeline family was extremely rich, and the accumulated wealth could not be used up for three generations. The main character after leaving the adventure, the Evangeline family still had no news related to bankruptcy. Why now…
Khan let out a tired sigh. He looked at the five million Kled figure on the budget statement. This was the current amount of the Evangeline house. With this amount, it was only enough to open a store, but not enough capital to cover the loss. And the recovery of capital also takes a certain time, he was not a trader, so he cannot guarantee that the business direction he proposed will achieve absolute profit.
Not to mention the cost of paying the servants in the castle. Although the cost of living for nobles can be reduced, it was not much better.
Khan lowered his head and stared at the table. The head was operating at full capacity.
What must he do?
The territory of Evangeline is not a tourist destination, so business products only revolve around the necessities of life such as restaurants, hotels, pubs, and fashion boutiques, .. Obviously also divided into stores for the right class of consumers, lower, middle, and upper class. However, he could not open a restaurant or open a clothing store. Even if he had new knowledge in the old world compared to this world, it was useless.
He lacked talent.
What Khan knew was also only in theory. The thing he needed was that when he developed an idea, employees will start working to create results. He just needed to get motivated and invest money.
Khan was still concentrating on his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. Khan looked up and saw Carter immediately go to open the door, standing outside was another servant who seemed to be announcing something to Carter.
"Young Master… Looks like someone is looking for you." Carter reported to him.
"Who?" asked Khan.
"He did not give his name. The servant saw that he was just a beggar, so he actively chased him away. But he was determined to stand in front of the gate saying that he was your follower, and even beat down a few guards who caused a disturbance to the security of the castle." Carter said something there.
"Let it in."
Carter nodded and spoke to the servant. That guy heard it and left immediately, probably bringing someone who didn't know who it was.
After that, Carter stood silently to one side. His eyes looked straight, standing posture is also very professional.
Khan propped his chin and looked at Carter for a moment, then said.
"Carter, you should be the butler."
Carter jumped, completely amazed at the promotion Khan uttered so casually. He stuttered for a while, his mouth full of surprise and panic.
"What? Sir, sir… are you joking?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Khan indifferently asked back.
Carter looked visibly confused, he hadn't shown any intention of rejecting or accepting the role of butler. It seemed that Carter himself was thinking he was hallucinating. Khan somewhat understood his feelings. Carter was an honest servant.
And according to Khan's observations these days, Carter was no different from an elite young man who will devote all his energy to his duty in fulfilling if possible. It was a good virtue, rare and hard to find. A rough gem needed to be honed and shined.
"But butler Jonathan…" hesitated Carter.
Khan wanted to say that there was no need to wait, Jonathan was long dead.
Obviously, he was not stupid to say that. "You stay as the butler until he comes back," said Khan nonchalantly.
The tough attitude of Khan - now Count Evangeline - made Carter obediently not dare to comment anymore. Carter stooped to thank the favor the Earl had bestowed on him.
No matter for what purpose or simply a stroke of luck, the transformation of a lowly servant into a butler was a path to advancement that could only be dreamed up.
At this moment, the sound of running footsteps could be heard from outside the door of the room. Khan dimly speculated the identity of the person coming, maybe his friends? Good friends with their virtue didn't really deserve such high praise, even worse than the former corrupt Khan. But when the door was pushed open, a tall figure in tattered and ragged clothes ran in.
That person looked around the room until the vision stopped on Khan, the other's pupils were like light bulbs with a switch on, bright. No need to rummage through his mind anymore, Khan dared to assert that he did not know this beggar.
"Owner!!!"
He howled, his voice low, but he didn't expect it to be so high. Khan was defenseless to let that intense sound wave attack, sending shivers down his spine, his whole body involuntarily breaking out in a cold sweat. He thought he was still standing in the wilderness, stripped naked and released into a pack of wild wolves with empty stomachs and jagged fangs.
The wolf? Owner? Khan thought, could it be…
Before his train of thought reached the end, the man took long strides, rushing to shorten the distance between him and Khan. But his will was not satisfied when Carter stepped forward, stopping his hasty footsteps.
"Excuse me." Carter politely spoke up.
His face was normal to the extreme, but when he was deliberately serious and cold, it looked like he had been transformed into a different person. As Khan noticed, Carter was someone who knew how to control his own momentum to a certain standard that he wanted. As long as it was appropriate. Wasn't this what an actor should have?
Khan decided to quietly monitor the situation. Even though he had guessed that the man's identity - he looked like a wandering beggar - was the wolf that had followed him back to Slyvia town a few days ago.
"Owner! It's me, master!!!" He ignored Carter, didn't bother to control the volume but roared loudly and reached out his hand to push Carter aside.
He was a big guy, looking like an adult bear. Looking at the way he pushed Carter, Khan seemed to see a weak willow branch falling. But the result was completely different from Khan's imagination, Carter seemed to read his actions and leaned away. His hand thrust into the air.
Khan raised an eyebrow. Oh, looked like he just got a nice butler, right? Khan saw it clearly, a glint of surprise flashed in that guy's eyes when Carter dodged.
He was impatient with Carter because Khan remained silent and did not answer. His whole body tilted to the side revealing his rat-colored hair in a messy state like a bird's nest, he pointed at himself and eagerly spoke up to prove his identity.
"Master, it's me, the wolf you picked up! Do you still remember?"
Khan sneered. "You slept for so long, I almost forgot."
Khan did not deny his identity, Carter immediately reverted to his reserved servant figure knowing that was the young master's acquaintance. However, when Carter heard him say he was a wolf, his eyes widened in surprise. Carter looked suspiciously back and forth between Khan and the beggar.
Khan thought he had to send someone to pick up that wolf. Unexpectedly, it directly turned into a human and came to his door. Was this a wolf or a dog?
Carter timidly asked:
"A Beastman, Wolf race?"
Khan nodded.
"Since when…" Carter mumbled confusedly.
Although he knew that his new butler had many questions, he did not want to answer in this regard. In fact, it was rather lazy to explain, but if you go on, it will certainly be a waste of saliva.
Carter saw that Khan didn't react, he was very quiet and did not ask any more questions.
Khan liked his new butler more and more each day.
"Owner! I woke up and didn't see you… I was so scared!!" The guy blubbered. "Fortunately, I still remember master's scent and found it here!"
After listening to his explanation, Khan felt that something was wrong somewhere.
Why did this wolf look so fragile?
"Do you have a name?" asked Khan deliberately. But he was still kind enough to add. "There's a new name that's easy to talk about."
He pretended not to know, how the hell a wild wolf have a name.
"I belong to the master, whatever name you can give it, whatever name you want," He said cheerfully, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Khan expectantly. If there was a tail on the back of his ass, it would probably be wagging enthusiastically by now.
Name the Beastman. No Beastman would be willing to let a human name them, it would be like accepting that person as his master and losing all his inherent freedom. The absolute loyalty of the named one weighs more than the slaves you could buy on the black market.
"Do you know the meaning of naming?" Khan raised an eyebrow and asked.
Was this wolf testing him?
"Master, you are the one who gave me new life." He knelt down on one knee, his hands on his chest, and his head bowed with great reverence. "You will be my master."
So he completely understood what it meant for people to name themselves. Khan propped his chin in thought, he didn't mind naming the wolf, he just didn't like this sudden bondage. Who knew after naming, will he need to be responsible for this wolf or what it will do later? Even though the wolf was so loyal, did he have to believe it?
"Find a name for yourself." Khan pretended not to see the disappointment on the man's face. "I'm busy, I don't have time to think about other things."
"Master… master…" His eyes filled with tears as if he was about to cry.
It was true that it was impossible to look into the eyes of a man nearly seven feet tall who can make such a sad, wet face...
"Master, don't you accept me…" He mumbled, looking blankly at Khan. "Why so…"
Was this a real wolf? He suspected the guy was a dog instead.
"Because we are short of money." Thinking of the current predicament, he said angrily. "I need to make money, so I don't have time to sit around and name you."
"Money…?" He stood up, his face brighter than before. The guy shouted happily. "You mean gold?"
Khan looked at the man's happy expression, he had a crazy thought, could it be...
"Yes, it's gold." Khan said. "I need a lot of gold."
"Master, I have gold!" He excitedly pointed his finger at himself and said. "I have a lot of gold, I will give it all to the master!"
Carter, who was watching the play, also looked at him in amazement, then his eyes showed half-belief and half-doubt.
Khan chuckled inwardly. Ha, I didn't expect to find a "treasure"? But he didn't let his thoughts come out, just looked surprised and doubted what that guy had just said.
"I will give you a lot of gold, can you name me?"
To his sycophantic's eager flattery, Khan only responded with cautious hesitation, but also gave him a chance. After all, there are people who offer rice to their mouths, it is stupid to not eat with their mouths open.
Khan looked wistful. "Hmm… I will definitely reconsider that."
He cheered, his legs jumping like crazy. For a moment, Khan thought of a husky dog, if it's a husky, it's exactly the same.
The image of a husky dog guarding a pile of gold popped up in his head, and that thought appeared to be unsafe. So Khan pretended to suddenly think of it and asked.
"Where's your gold?"
Before the wolf turned into a man and became a Beastman, he didn't believe that the wolf who only hunted to fill his stomach would know what gold was. So based on what will the wolf keep the gold? Making toys?
"In my nest, master. I have a lot to make toys for teeth grinding."
... Omg, the guy makes it a real toy!