"Hah... my head is aching like shit..." Kevin woke up from his sleep, patting his head.
He slowly went outside.
A cold breeze passed by him.
"Good morning, very beautiful castle."
He looked at the castle with a smile.
A smile...
He never knew he could smile like that.
Like... really.
He only smiled for others. They were fake smiles, smiles he gave because he had to satisfy others.
But now, it came from him.
And no one's there to satisfy.
Ever imagined a man couldn't even smile for himself?
Couldn't be shittier than that.
"What to do now?" Kevin asked himself as he went inside the house.
He put on one of his best clothes.
"This looks fine," he said and went to the kitchen.
"I guess his dad cooked for us."
He opened one of the pots and ate the rice inside.
"Um... Should I ask?"
He asked himself.
His body moved toward his mother's room.
"Mother..."
His mouth said it unknowingly.
"Ah... Did you wake up, son? Do you have to perform today?" his mother asked.
"No... today's off."
He slowly walked toward the bed.
"That's good. I know you have been working so hard.
"Without saying a word, I know you are struggling. No wonder you are just like your dad. He's suffering more than I'm. Yet not even one complaint. He could have abandoned me. There's no need for a cripple like me. I can't even..."
She stopped.
Her face struggled to hold back her tears.
"I don't know what to say," Kevin held back his words.
"Hah... Why am I ruining your good day with my good-for-nothing story?"
"It's not—" Kevin said, interrupting her.
"You can talk to me. I'm free today anyways."
She looked at Kevin and smiled.
"You've grown so much, son. It's as if you're a different person," his mother said.
"No... I'm really your son. Not even changed a bit," Kevin tried to cover up.
"I know that, silly. It's just that you seem different," she said.
"I don't know how Joel behaved with her. So I should know everything about their relationship. That is what this is," Kevin tried to tell himself.
"So how was yesterday? Did you perform well?" she asked him.
"Oh... yesterday? It was good. I was doing great at first, but for one moment I just slipped out of my mind," Kevin said.
"Oh... what happened?"
"Oh... it was nothing. I just thought about something else and lost focus."
Kevin said with a smile.
She smiled back.
Time passed.
Their conversation continued.
Kevin became more active, and something struck his mind.
Something he had never felt before.
He felt a mother's affection for the first time.
At the same time, outside the room, a man stood with tears in his eyes.
He looked at his son and wife smiling and sharing words of love.
He cried with joy.
"Now I believe in you, God. You gave me all of this suffering just to gift me with this beautiful sight. I'm grateful."
He said and went outside, wiping his tears.
After talking to her for hours, Kevin said goodbye to her and came out of the house.
The summer sunlight burned like a firepot, but it didn't affect Kevin.
His mind was filled with relief. Compared to that, the burning heat wasn't even a thing.
He walked straight to the market.
"Hah... What should I buy today?"
He looked at the bundle of money he had earned from yesterday.
"What should I need urgently?"
He asked himself.
He walked past multiple stores but didn't buy anything.
"Ah... shit. I don't know what I need. What is..."
Kevin stopped walking.
He stood completely frozen and looked at his hands.
"What is it that I need? What should I do? It's been days since I came to this world. All I did was do what I did in my previous life and drink. I'm supposed to be dead."
He said.
Suddenly, his mother's face came to his mind.
"No... I... do I really want to die?"
He paused.
"I've been living for years but never lived for myself. Now I've got another life. Another opportunity to live my life being happy. Being myself. I... I want to live. I want to live for myself... for the first time, goddammit."
He said as a few tears fell from his eyes.
"Now... What should I want?"
He said with a smile and walked into a bed store.
"Welcome, young one. You've got good eyes. We sell the best beds and pillows in the market," the seller said.
"How much is for that bed?"
He pointed at a bed.
"Oh... that is what we call a Cotton King. It is a full-cotton, single-sized bed. Great comfort and good for back pain. It even has custom embroidery," the seller said.
"Okay... how much is it?"
Kevin asked.
"It's actually 10 silver. But I'll give it to you for just 5 since you've got good eyes," he said.
"5? Reasonable."
Kevin gave five silver coins to the man.
"Pleasure to do business with you, young man," the seller said.
Kevin walked home with the bed.
"Mother," he called.
"Son, is that you?" his mother called back.
"Yes. Can I show you something?"
He said to her.
"What is it?" his mother asked.
He took the bed and showed it to her.
"Oh... you bought a bed? That's good, dear. It's been so long you've been sleeping without one. I told your dad many times. But he refused. Can't blame him. Probably doesn't have money."
His mother said.
"Oh... it's not for me," Kevin said.
"Then?"
His mother asked.
Kevin looked at her with a smile.
"No... don't you..."
His mother said with tears in her eyes.
"Why are you..."
"I've been thinking about it for a long time. You are unwell and sleeping on a wooden plank? I'll not allow it," Kevin said.
"Why... why me? You are sleeping on the bare floor. I've got at least a bedstead," she said.
"It's okay. I'll make it ready for you."
Kevin lifted her up, placed the bed over the bedstead, and gently put her onto the bed.
She felt relieved as she slowly turned her head around.
"If only I could move my body, I would have enjoyed this bedding by jumping on it," she said slowly.
"How's it, mother?" Kevin asked her.
"It's good, son. It's just sad that you wasted this good thing on me. I can't even feel it," she said with a smile.
"Don't say like that. I'll do something..."
Kevin stopped.
Suddenly, a flash of memory went through his head.
"You are the reason I'm struggling. You are the reason Dad suffers every day. Do you know what he does to feed you? He is literally risking his life. And you are... lying here like a... Oh, God, I wish you were dead. Just die already."
Joel said to his mother.
"Joel... Shut your mouth!" his father shouted.
"Why are you supporting her? She is the reason we are like this. I... I hate all of you!"
Joel ran outside the house.
"Joel... Son..."
His mother's call woke Kevin from the memory.
"Yeah..."
"What are you thinking?" she asked.
"Nothing."
Kevin said with a smile.
"I don't know why you did that to your mother, Joel. You probably had your reasons. But I never felt a mother's love. So I'll do anything to make her happy. Anything..."
A glimpse of determination appeared in his eyes.
"I'm going out, mother," he said to her.
"Again?"
"Yeah... don't know what to do, but I'll walk around and come back in a while."
He said to her.
"Oh... you should see the fest that's happening near the castle. I heard it from your father. He is selling near it. I don't know if they'll allow you, but you can at least see it from far."
"Is it that good? Why aren't they allowing people?"
"Fests like that are only for high-class lords. Not us. So they'll not even let you near it. I heard even the queen is attending it. So don't even think about going inside."
"Different worlds, huh... Anyways, I'll give it a shot."
Kevin said and went out.
He walked across the market.
The castle began to get closer.
"It's the first time I'm going near the castle. She said even the queen is attending. The queen... what kind of lady is she, I wonder?"
He said and walked forward.
He walked past the market and arrived near a huge wall.
There was a huge gate in it.
He slowly went near the gate.
He looked inside and saw various shops, decorations, and people gathered around.
He tried to peek inside, but two giant guards stopped him.
"Where do you think you're going, punk?" one of the guards asked.
"Sorry."
He said and stepped back.
"He's with me."
His father came running from inside the gate.
"Who are you?" the guard asked him.
"I'm a fruit seller. I got permission to sell fruits inside. He is my son and helper. I need him."
He said to the guards.
"Okay. Search him before allowing him inside."
The guard gestured to another guard, who searched Kevin.
"You can go now."
The guard gave him the signal to enter.
Kevin entered through the gate.
He looked around in amazement.
There were all kinds of markets, bands, and musicians.
A large stage stood sparkling in the distance.
"I didn't know you would come here, son. If I'd known, I would have invited you too. Don't you have to perform today?" his father asked him.
"No, today's off. What event is this?" Kevin asked him.
"Oh... it's our queen's 18th birthday tomorrow. So they're celebrating it."
"The queen, huh..."
Kevin said to himself and walked with his father to the shop.
They arrived at the stall.
There were all kinds of fruits displayed there.
"Son, I prepared everything. It's a big festival. Even wealthy people from other countries are coming here too. Today may be our golden day," his father said.
"Okay. Then I'll help you sell all these goods," Kevin said to him.
His father smiled at him.
"Hey, how much is this fruit here?" a customer came and asked Kevin.
"Oh... I..."
He looked at his father.
His father chuckled and went to the customer.
"It's only 7 silvers a basket," he said.
"Oh... it's a nice price. Can you give me two baskets for 12? Who wouldn't be happy without a nice bargain?" the customer laughed.
"Make it 12 and 20 bronze, then you have a deal," his father said.
"Done!"
The customer said and gave him the money.
"This is how you should handle the customers. I'll tell you about all the prices. And the money is in here if you need to give them change."
His father explained the prices to him.
"Ah... I don't know if I can remember all that."
"It's okay. I'm here."
His father said.
Then another customer came.
His father looked at him.
Kevin smiled and went to the customer.
"Thanks for purchasing. Have a nice day, sir."
Kevin handled the customer well.
"Oh... that was good. You are really skilled," his father praised him.
"Oh... thanks."
He said and sat on a stool.
"By the way, how did you manage to get a stall here? Isn't this only for rich people?" Kevin asked his father.
"Yeah. It is, and if any other merchant wants to sell inside here, they should pay a huge merchant tax. Obviously, I didn't have the money, so I borrowed it from a moneylender."
"How much was the tax?"
"10 gold."
His father said.
"10 gold?"
Kevin was shocked to hear that.
"As I know, 10 gold is literally huge according to his living condition. So 100 bronze is one silver, and 100 silver is one gold. That means he paid 1,000 silver worth of money just for a stall? How shit is this system?"
Kevin said to himself.
"Surprised? You were probably wondering how that moneylender gave this much money, right? Remember we had an old box at our house? Inside that was an ornament almost 100 years old. It was made of gold. So I gave that to the guy as collateral."
His father said.
"Are you okay with giving it to someone like that? I mean, it was mother's."
He asked.
"I wasn't. But she insisted. She had faith that I can earn twice or thrice the amount."
"Still..."
Kevin looked at him.
His father's face was a bit dull.
"Ah... forget it. Let's concentrate on making money."
Kevin tried to cheer his father up.
"Yes, we should."
His father smiled as another customer came to the stall.
As time passed, more customers began to arrive to purchase the fruits.
Kevin finally began to get the hang of it.
The other fruit merchants began to grow jealous of them.
After two hours, it was finally time for the queen to visit every merchant and buy something for herself.
Everyone was well prepared for it.
"Son, it's the time. The queen will arrive at any time now. If she is pleased, she may even give us gifts. I heard that she is a good woman."
His father said to him.
"Okay... what should I do now?"
Kevin became a bit nervous.
"You should go to the nearest perfume stall and buy a cenche. It's a fragrance powder which, when burned, gives off a nice fragrance. Go and buy it."
He said to Kevin.
"Okay."
He said and walked out of the stall.
Kevin searched for a perfume stall but didn't find any.
"Oh... where is it? Should I ask someone?"
He asked himself.
Suddenly, the band began to play.
The trumpets blared.
The queen had arrived at the market.
His nervousness began to spread.
"What should I do?"
He began to run.
Suddenly, a nice smell flew into his nose.
"Ah... why didn't I think of it sooner? It's a fragrance stall. I should follow the smell."
He said and followed the scent.
Finally, he arrived at the stall.
He ran toward it and slapped the money onto the table.
"Give me the damn cenche... NOW!"
He ordered the merchant.
The merchant froze in shock.
"Are you deaf? Give me the damn cenche..."
He screamed again.
The merchant looked around in shock.
He was sweating heavily.
"Excuse me... I think I came here first."
A woman's voice came from beside him.
"Huh..."
He said and looked at her.
Their eyes locked.
Kevin's face became calm.
His nervousness disappeared.
He looked at her in amazement.
She was gorgeous.
"Um... Hello."
The woman called him.
But he didn't hear her.
"Ah... I need the cenche, please."
Kevin slowly said to the merchant.
"One moment.."
The merchant said and handed a small pouch to the woman.
"Here you go, Your Majesty!"
The merchant said calmly.
"Your Majesty?"
Kevin said in shock and looked at her.
She bought the pouch and turned around, giving Kevin a firm look.
Behind her stood a tall woman, ready to slice Kevin apart at the queen's order.
"Avelyne! Come."
The queen said.
"Yes..."
Lady Avelyne glared at him and accompanied the queen.
-To Be Continued...