The rich and savory aroma of coffee spread in the small dining room where the family members were having breakfast together.

 

After taking a sip of coffee, the viscount opened his mouth while looking at his son with a serious face.

 

“Can I ask what you really want to say?”

 

‘I have to answer well here…’

 

Valentin swallowed his saliva while looking at his father’s kind but solemn face. 

 

The white steam rising from the viscount’s cup passed over Valentin’s identical platinum hair and naturally disappeared into the air.

 

Valentin momentarily thanked God without realizing it himself.

 

A father who sincerely asks for his child’s opinion.

 

Until his memories of his previous life returned, he had no idea, but they were really good parents. They tried to understand their child’s position and had no hesitation in exchanging opinions with each other, similar to modern parents.

 

Their tolerance and love may have made Valentin, who was like a bare-assed immature kid before regaining his previous life’s memories, into a haughty snob who did whatever he wanted, but Valentin with his previous life’s memories was no longer such a greenhorn.

 

Of course, I am now a humble and excellent intellectual being coexisting with modern knowledge, manners, and memories.

 

Of course, the fact that he was having such thoughts itself proved that he still had the qualities of an immature brat with no humility, but he himself couldn’t objectively grasp that aspect of himself. It meant he was still really a kid.

 

In other words, although the memories of his previous life returned, what filled more of his inner self was the ego that grew along with his body. Thanks to the memories from before reincarnation, he may have matured a little, but he was fully that age.

 

Anyway, let’s return to the story.

 

Valentin decided to tell his sincere feelings to his father’s kind question. He learned that sincerity gets through anywhere.

 

“I absolutely do not want to be engaged to His Highness the 3rd Prince.”

 

Valentin solemnly declared to his family.

 

As that declaration spread over the dining table, everyone who was sharing the meal stopped their small hand movements and focused entirely on Valentin.

 

“You definitely liked the marriage talks going back and forth with His Highness Clifton until last week, didn’t you.”

 

The omega mother who passed down Valentin’s greatest asset, his white and beautiful face, hurriedly said to her son while taking a deep breath in surprise.

 

Both the viscount and the viscountess had expressions of not understanding Valentin’s suddenly changed opinion, but only one person, Uncle Dalton, who understood Valentin the best and actually grew up like brothers with him, was just silently looking at his nephew with his mouth closed.

 

“As I remember it too, Valentin. You definitely kept saying that the only match suitable for you had to be at least a noble status like His Highness the Prince.”

 

The viscount also expressed the same context of questioning as the viscountess with his eyes wide open.

 

My stupid self of the past. How arrogant and unlikable were those words.

 

What was important for a person was not status, honor, money, or position. My past self was a stupid idiot who didn’t know that at all.

 

‘Life! What is truly important for a person is life…!’

 

The saying that being alive is better than being dead isn’t just for nothing.

 

Moreover, Valentin’s death wasn’t even a peaceful one. Of course, it was the price for the evil deeds he committed, but it was a terrible death that led even his beloved family to ruin while suffering all kinds of humiliation, contempt, and pain.

 

In the original novel, Valentin was really reduced to rags both internally and externally like laundry going through a powerful spin cycle. The process of killing a person’s inner self, not just physically, was so cruel that it was indescribable.

 

For Valentin, whose memories of his previous life returned, avoiding that terrible death and living a peaceful life by saving this life was the most important. For the sake of that, no other value was important. Things like status, money, honor… He knew too well through the original novel and through the cases of various people he saw in his previous life how easily they could become dirty like garbage and be discarded.

 

Thinking that proper grounds were needed for perfect persuasion, Valentin opened his mouth again.

 

“I found out that His Highness the Prince has another omega he truly loves.”

 

Silence flowed over the dining table again.

 

“I want to marry someone I truly love, like Father and Mother. No matter how good the conditions are, I will never marry someone who doesn’t love me.”

 

Although he thought it was ridiculous to claim in this urgent situation that true love was his only path, Valentin solemnly declared it because he thought these were the only words that could move and persuade the viscount and viscountess’s hearts. Well said, myself. You conveyed it very correctly!

 

No, did I convey it… correctly…?

 

Valentin glanced at his frozen family members with no reaction.

 

The family members who were frozen for a moment cheered.

 

“See, honey! Didn’t I say that if we just gave the child love, he would grow up properly someday?!”

 

“That’s right. You were correct.”

 

“I believed that our kind Valentin would someday become an adult who could think properly!”

 

The viscountess was almost moved to tears.

 

“Come here, my baby!”

 

He had a moving embrace with his mother who vigorously spread her arms as if telling him to come into her arms right now.

 

I’m all grown up now, Mom! I’m an adult now!

 

“Yes. I’m glad you realized the most important thing in life, my son.”

 

“……”

 

“If you really think that way, I will request an audience with Her Majesty the Empress and politely decline the engagement.”

 

The viscount replied while wiping his mouth with a white linen napkin.

 

At those words, Valentin put his hand on his chest and let out a sigh of relief.

 

Ah… What a relief. With this, the most important problem is settled for now.

 

Just the fact that the viscount and viscountess properly understood Valentin’s intentions would make the path ahead a little smoother.

 

“However.”

 

What? However? Is there more?

 

“There is a bit of a difficult part.”

 

The viscount rubbed his brow as if he had a headache, and when a strand of hair from his perfectly styled platinum hair fell down, the viscountess looked at her husband lovingly and styled it back up for him. Yes, that’s how a married couple should be. I don’t know what I was blinded by until now… Valentin cursed his past stupid self again while looking at his parents. I’m the only one scolding myself.

 

“The Wessex railway business will definitely become a bit difficult.”

 

Dalton, who had been silent all along, opened his mouth.

 

Uncle Dalton was the youngest brother of Brandon Wiche, almost 20 years apart in age.

 

Anyone could tell the two were blood brothers with their identical appearance as if stamped from the same mold. They boasted tall height and sturdy physique indicative of their dominant alpha traits, and thick, manly features. Whenever Valentin saw his father and uncle, he was reminded of the dignified plaster statues of ancient Roman generals.

 

Although the two looked so alike, Dalton was actually closer in age to Valentin and they grew up like brothers. They were close enough that Valentin often called his uncle by name.

 

And due to Valentin being an omega with no interest in business at all and the viscountess who gave birth to such an only son and whose health rapidly declined making her unable to have more children, it had been a long time since Dalton became the successor of the Wiche Viscount family. The viscountess who directly raised the two approved, and it was their family circumstance that everyone was satisfied with.

 

To be the successor of a viscount family that does so much business and has to deal with money and numbers in such a complex way. Valentin was once again grateful for his uncle’s existence and shook his head inwardly.

 

For the sake of achieving his dream of being a free painter and traveler in the future, his uncle was an indispensable existence in this family.

 

“Could you please repeat what you just said?”

 

Valentin was inwardly thanking his uncle’s existence when he felt like he missed a very important word and asked again.

 

“The Wessex railway?”

 

The viscount raised his eyebrows at his son with an expression of ‘You were interested in that too?’

 

The Wessex railway!

 

That was close.

 

The Wessex railway business was Valentin’s absolutely unmissable keyword of the past and present, and a fragment that needed to be solved for his future free happy life.

 

Because it was the biggest occasion that led to the downfall of the Wiche Viscount family later.

 

Not only the Wessex railway business but all railway businesses of the empire were national projects done through the country. Each railway company carried out their business with permission from the imperial family. It was a period when industrialization was taking place and railways were actively being laid. Many companies and families that took an interest in industrialization early on were competitively jumping into road and transportation businesses. Naturally so, as transportation businesses brought huge profits by being closely linked to all other industries. In other words, it was a goose that laid golden eggs.

 

The Wiche Viscount family was a noble family that gained huge capital, technology, and routes thanks to a great-grandfather who had foresight and actively jumped in during the early development of such industrialization. Although not an old family that participated in the founding of the empire, they had an influence that could never be ignored in terms of capital and business scale.

 

So it was only natural that the prestigious Hedderfield Ducal family wanted to establish marriage ties with them.

 

Valentin closed his eyes tightly and traced the contents of the novel he read in his previous life.

 

They definitely easily won the bid for the officially national project through the empress and her maternal family, the Hedderfield ducal family. Externally, they went through a competitive bidding process with other companies, but it was clear their influence worked on the results. It was like a tacit deal.

 

It must have acted like ‘I’ll give you this, so let’s establish our marriage ties. This is proof that we share secrets, and it’s as good as a down payment for the future engagement.’

 

“Father! Please give up on that deal. No, don’t participate in the Wessex railway business at all!”

 

Valentin desperately grabbed the viscount and shouted. The strength of that grip was so strong that the viscount’s clothes were crumpled.

 

What is this kid suddenly talking about out of the blue?

 

The viscount’s right eyebrow went up even more than before.

 

“You know too, Father. For what purpose the Hedderfield ducal family is trying to push this deal and make us take it!”

 

At Valentin’s cry, Dalton opened his mouth.

 

“That’s true, brother. Honestly, it does feel a bit fishy.”

 

Dalton took Valentin’s side, looking at his face ardently trying to dissuade the business with a serious expression.

 

“Father! If you win this bid, it will become a shackle. You will have no choice but to comply with the pressure or demands from Her Majesty the Empress or the Hedderfield ducal family in the future.”

 

Everyone at the table widened their eyes at Valentin’s words.

 

He had so little interest in business or studying, when did he find out about such aspects?

 

That was the expression everyone unanimously had.

 

“By any chance… will the business be in trouble if we refuse this deal…?”

 

Valentin carefully asked the alphas at the table with a sad face, as if he really knew a lot about business or work.

 

Of course he would know well. Anyone who took the college entrance exam in Korea and went to a prestigious university would naturally have this level of common sense. Regardless of their surprise, it was natural for Valentin. The knowledge from his previous life was shining here as well.