Chapter 2
“By the Emperor’s command, following the principle of noblesse oblige, one heir from a noble family must enlist.”
As soon as he returned, my father summoned the three men of the family to his study and relayed the Emperor’s order.
It was nothing less than forced conscription, very similar to what’s often seen in Korea.
“Then we could just adopt one and send him to enlist, right?”
As expected, my eldest brother, smart even if arrogant and dismissive of me, immediately showed his cunning.
“Normally, yes. But the Emperor himself will supervise this time. If we try any trickery, we won’t even have bones left to pick up.”
“Why… go that far?”
The hands of Tems, first in line to inherit the family, began to tremble.
“How could I know the Emperor’s mind? If I had to guess, it’s probably a morale enforcement under the guise of noblesse oblige.”
“Then…”
“It’s not all bad. Just participating in this war will give you considerable political influence when you become the head of the family later.”
Broad Oclo looked directly at Tems.
Any outsider could see that there was no escape from this conscription.
A smile tugged at my lips despite myself.
‘Yeah, good luck, brother.’
At first, I thought I, the youngest, would be the one sent, but thankfully that was just my fear.
‘I’ve already endured 21 months of hell. I can’t go again.’
If human rights existed, this would absolutely not happen.
“I… I refuse.”
Tems stepped back and shook his head.
“Taking part in this is part of inheriting the family. You can’t refuse.”
“Why not send the second or third brother? There’s no rule saying it must be the heir.”
‘Whoa! Where do you think you’re dumping this crap?’
I knew reality.
In the military, there’s no avoiding duty.
‘Celebrities sometimes dodge by claiming depression, but that’s an exception.’
Tems, however, was definitely in denial.
“Do you think the Emperor would kindly watch if someone else inherited the family while the one who fought in the war remains behind?”
Being a graduate of the Lior Royal Academy, the empire’s equivalent of Seoul National University, my father’s logic was flawless.
‘Brother, just go. I’ve been through this, it’s not worth the fight.’
It’s awful.
Makes you want to die.
Life feels miserable.
But time passes. Slowly, and painfully, crushing your mind and body along the way.
“Then… I will not inherit the family!”
‘Wha… what?’
Tems’ sudden declaration shocked everyone.
He had always desired to become the head, and now even I and my father widened our eyes in disbelief.
“Inoooom!!!”
My father’s roar followed immediately.
He leapt to his feet, fury obvious.
“Are you saying you’d give up the family just because you’re afraid of going to war?!”
“I’d rather lead a small merchant group and live peacefully than risk my life.”
‘No, you can’t do that. This is a Count family, not some baron.’
Clearly, he’d lost it.
“Brother… if not you, then who will inherit?”
Edmon, sensing something was going wrong, grabbed Tems’ shoulder.
“You wanted it for yourself, didn’t you?”
“Ah… no, that’s not it.”
Edmon’s voice trembled, his eyes darting anxiously.
“You useless fool. Afraid of war, you’re giving up everything. Truly disappointing.”
“I apologize, Father.”
“Enough. It’s not just you. Second son, you will inherit the family.”
The next target was Edmon.
Father now bluntly commanded him to accept the inheritance.
‘The reward is clear enough.’
After this, he would become the Count.
Not just any family, but the Oclo merchant group, one of the top ten in the empire.
‘Please, just say yes.’
No matter how good the reward, it’s war.
If you die, you gain nothing—no merchant group, no lands, nothing.
I had no intention of risking my hard-earned second life.
“No… no! Going to war means death. I don’t want to die.”
Typical scared second son. Hands trembling, shaking his head.
‘Ha… this is maddening.’
Honestly, I expected this.
Second son is smart, but a coward who can’t even handle a cockroach alone.
“Damn it.”
Father’s anger crossed every limit.
His face, for me, was the most terrifying I had seen since starting my second life.
“Phalan.”
“Yes… Father?”
“You will inherit the family. The useless brothers are not needed.”
“Yes…?”
I had prepared to refuse, but the tone was a statement, not a question.
In other words, no choice.
“Father, someone like me will only tarnish the family’s reputation.”
I tried desperately to resist this absurd situation.
But Broad Oclo had already made his decision.
“Enough. You are far better than those two useless brothers.”
‘No, I don’t want to go either. Damn it!’
Listen, you damn father.
“How can I go and inherit the family, leaving my brothers behind…?”
“If you don’t like it, I’ll remove them from the family register.”
“Father!”
“Father!”
The bombshell left the brothers flabbergasted.
“Shut your mouth! I can’t even stand your voice, it makes me want to throw you out immediately.”
The two brothers went silent, sensing he would do it.
‘Just go! Why won’t you go?’
I had been dragged to the military for 21 months without even earning a dime.
If someone promised a big company position, I’d say “Thank you” and go.
They’re clearly insane.
Then why don’t you want to go?
‘I’m the second life.’
Do I really have to explain this?
“Brother, I don’t have the ability to inherit. You know that.”
I couldn’t appeal to Father, so I tried to persuade Tems instead.
But this brother was tougher than expected.
“No, little brother. You have talent. You can earn glory even in war.”
‘You idiot, you’ve always been trash-talking me behind my back.’
If I peeled off that face, a demon would live underneath.
“I’ll support you from afar with supplies. I’m counting on you.”
“Y-Yeah, Phalan. I’ll support you too.”
Even my second brother put his hand on my shoulder, pushing me toward the cliff.
‘Bastards, these X bastards.’
No way around it.
Someone had to go.
I had no choice.
My denial of reality did nothing.
“Ah, damn it.”
Curses spilling naturally.
Call me foul-mouthed, but look at my situation. Could I not curse?
‘Why the hell do I have to go?’
This is the position of the heir.
And I, the youngest, had never been mentioned as heir.
This was absurd.
“Lord… the carriage is ready.”
Aurora’s voice came from outside.
Her tone was lower than usual.
“I’ll go. Haa.”
I sighed deeply and went down to the first floor.
Everyone in the family was there.
“My son, you’ve grown.”
Our damn father welcomed me first.
He said nonsense while personally loading my luggage into the carriage.
“When you return, you’ll be the head of this family. Survive, no matter what.”
Thump, thump.
Father patted my shoulder firmly, then stepped aside.
Then the two brothers approached, looking even more frustrating.
“G-Good luck.”
First brother’s tone was unpleasant, as I expected.
‘He said he’d give up before, but now he regrets it.’
Yet, he didn’t want to go to war.
He probably hoped I would die in battle.
‘I’ll survive and deal with you first.’
Typical military mentality.
“I will lead the war to victory and return safely.”
“Good.”
Tems hid his annoyance and left.
I greeted the second brother and others, then finally approached a woman.
The lady of the family and my mother, Sylvia Oclo, hugged me tightly.
“Don’t get hurt. Come back safe.”
Her warmth.
Though I didn’t truly see her as my mother, the memories of being raised by her were vivid.
“Don’t worry, I’ll write letters.”
“You’ve grown well, my son. When did this happen?”
A few tears ran down her eyes as we faced each other.
“I’ll go. Stay healthy.”
I bowed at a right angle and got into the carriage.
“Finally, he’s really leaving.”
The carriage departed. Outside, my parents and the household staff waved.
“Destiny really is set.”
The message about becoming a soldier was annoyingly true.
“Think positively. Survive, and you become a big company CEO.”
There’s risk of death, but the reward compared to Korea was thousands of times better.
‘Worth a shot.’
I forced myself to suppress my resentment and injustice.
“And I’m an officer, not a soldier, so it won’t be too dangerous.”
The plan was simple: complete a two-week shortened wartime training course, commission as a second lieutenant, and then await further orders.
“Get top grades, get posted to the rear, and the game is over.”
A safe position.
From then on, military life would be lively, with a bright future waiting.
“Do well. You can do it.”
Second life may be hellish, but second life also means I can do better.
‘Sigh, might as well sleep.’
Nothing clears the mind like sleep.
Leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes.
While I slept, the carriage drove nonstop toward the Adelp Military Training Camp on the outskirts of the capital.
“The carriage can proceed no further. Enlistees must disembark and enter on foot.”
The carriage was stopped at the gate.
Apparently, this was the border between hell and reality.
“Lord, what will you do?”
The driver opened the window and asked.
“What choice do I have? I’ll get off. You’ve done enough bringing me here.”
“Not at all. I’ll await the day I see your healthy face again.”
“Yeah, give my regards to Mother.”
Leaving the last words with the driver, I got off with my luggage.
“Show your identification badge.”
“Here it is.”
I handed over the badge every citizen carried, and for some reason, the soldier’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
I went over my actions in my mind. Nothing seemed amiss.
“Verified. Follow the yellow line on the ground to enter.”
“Understood.”
I put the badge back in my pocket and stepped into the training camp.
‘Haa, this mountain air… damn it.’
Even the camp I had stayed at for five weeks was like this.
Pointless phytoncides.
Unnecessarily clear weather.
I couldn’t dislike it more.
“Already annoyed just being here, and the carriage can’t come in? Do you know which family I am?!”
I clicked my tongue at the training camp scene.
From the main gate, a voice shouted.
“It’s against regulations.”
“Can you take responsibility for that? Think carefully.”
A heated confrontation.
Clearly, someone was venting their enlistment stress.
‘Others may curse, but I understand, I get it.’
Where was this place?
Hell.
And this boy was being dragged into it alongside me.
If he couldn’t even complain, it would be tragic.
