Chapter 57

Old Bricha

“Sir, two people contacted you just now.” Standing behind the desk, the butler pulled out a small black notebook and read the phone messages recorded within.

“The first call was from a mineral administrator at a scattered mining site. They reported a sudden appearance of an unusually skilled miner among their temporary hires today. After tracking the car the individual left in, they discovered it was young master Scott from our household. He reviewed the surveillance footage of the young master’s mining work and suspected he might have used a form of control power during the task. He couldn’t be entirely certain, so he escalated the matter to you, hoping you could review the footage he sent.”

The butler relayed the first message, placing a data tablet on the desk with the screen facing the old man. He then returned to his position and continued with the second message:

“The second call was from your antique consultant, Lockney. He contacted you because he believes the young master is extraordinarily talented in painting. He feels there is no need for the young master to continue as a student in art school and would like to hire him as a painting instructor for the art department if possible.”

What no one knew, not even the Bricha family, was that the head of the Ancient Human Art Research and Appreciation department at Bricha University held another identity: he was one of Old Bricha’s personal antique consultants, specializing in art authentication and restoration.

Highly dedicated to his role as head of the art department, he spent most of his time on campus. When Old Bricha needed his help with antique paintings, he would contact him by phone. In the past, he had only ever called Old Bricha to request funds for the department. This was the first time he’d called about something other than finances.

“Oh?” Seemingly more intrigued by his private consultant’s message, Old Bricha wheeled himself over to the desk and picked up the photo on the right.

It was a photo of an oil painting, depicting a tea-haired boy sitting on the ground in front of a box of plants. His face, filled with surprise and joy at the sight of strange fruits and plants, was painted with lively light and shadow. The painting style had a rich classical atmosphere, yet the content was quite modern, creating a unique harmony between the two.

“Magic… is it?” The old man murmured, looking at the photo in his hand.

“Hm? Sir, you guessed the young master’s painting theme? My goodness, the actual theme of this painting is indeed ‘magic’! Mr. Lockney even called to confirm with the young master and marked it on the back of the photo!” The butler looked astonished.

The old master, though always fascinated with acquiring various artworks, had no real artistic sense himself and almost never guessed the theme of the paintings he bought correctly. But now, he had guessed the young master’s theme—this, this—

The butler clapped!

Amid the applause, the old man turned the photo over and, sure enough, saw Lockney’s handwriting. In black ink, he had written the word “magic.”

In truth, it was a lucky guess.

What he meant was that someone like him could have a descendant with such artistic talent—it was as if by magic. Heaven knew that while Lockney respected his character, he’d always scorned his lack of artistic ability. In his words, they were on completely different wavelengths when it came to art.

And he wasn’t wrong.

The old man thought so too. In his veins ran money, energy, and perhaps even powers of a different kind, but certainly not artistic talent. His descendants would be the same. True, he had one daughter with a weak bloodline, which was hardly worth mentioning, but now, suddenly, he’d been told that one of his descendants could actually create fine art. What else could he call this?

“Magic” was the only word he could think of.

Little did he know it coincided perfectly with the painting’s theme.

Could that child think the same way? A playful smile crept across the old man’s lips as he studied the painting again. After a while, he put the photo back on the desk.

Then, he started watching the video.

While looking at the photo, he had still been at ease, but now his expression turned serious.

The longer he watched, the more serious he became, even replaying the video after it ended.

The video was fifteen minutes long, and he watched it twice—half an hour in total. For someone who could review billion-dollar contracts in two minutes and decide on them immediately, repeating an action was rare. With his sharp mind and excellent memory, he seldom felt the need to do anything twice. And yet, here he was, watching the video a third time.

After the third viewing, the old man folded his hands under his chin, his gaze still fixed on the paused video. After a long silence, the butler finally heard him speak again—

“Have Scott come by tomorrow morning. Just tell him…”

He paused, then shook his head after a moment.

“Don’t tell him anything. Just have him come over.”

The butler softly acknowledged this and left.

So, early the next morning, Juan received the message that his “grandfather” wanted to see him at the old estate.

Juan hadn’t answered the call himself. It went from butler to butler—the old estate’s butler contacted the head butler of this house, who informed Bronnie, who then stormed straight into Juan’s room.

It was only seven in the morning when Bronnie knocked on Juan’s door.

Scott was still sleeping soundly in his mind, but Juan had gotten out of bed upon hearing the knock. He opened the door in his pajamas, his face looking anything but sleepy.

The moment the door opened, he was greeted with a scolding: “Why are you still in bed so late? Now that you’re well, there’s no excuse for sleeping in!”

Seeing Bronnie in rumpled clothes, clearly having just gotten up himself, Juan initially wanted to compare him. But considering Bronnie was Scott’s elder, and elders in human society seemed to have a natural claim to authority, he said instead—

“Is Nico awake yet?” Juan chose to compare himself with a peer.

Bronnie’s face darkened even more, and, after sputtering for a moment, he just left a curt “Get yourself ready. Your grandfather wants to see you.”

In fact, Juan had already planned to get up, so he had no objection to this. He closed the door, leisurely took off his pajamas, changed into his clothes for the day, freshened up, and styled his hair in his usual way before leaving his room.

He went to the dining room as usual and ordered several dishes. Sitting at the table waiting for his breakfast, he wasn’t expecting to see the food arrive—but instead, Bronnie and his son Nico, looking refreshed.

Bronnie looked much the same as usual in his casual suit, but Nico had clearly paid extra attention to his appearance. He hadn’t used his usual cologne, his outfit was in darker, more formal tones instead of his usual light colors, and his hairstyle was completely different from his usual look.

Up until yesterday, he’d been sporting a style similar to Juan’s, which was also supposedly like the old man’s.

Noticing Juan’s gaze on his hairstyle, Nico gave a slightly stiff smile.

He’d adopted the old man’s hairstyle to try to curry favor and add some resemblance to his appearance. It had worked fine until now, but with Scott wearing the same style, it was like his intentions were on display. And…

Looking at Scott, who did resemble the old man quite a bit, Nico realized that with Scott around, his efforts looked ridiculous. He might as well change it up.

Still—

Seeing Scott casually dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, Nico felt a bit more at ease. His father did still favor him after all; he’d reminded him to wear the dark colors his grandfather liked, and clearly, Scott hadn’t received any such reminder.

Indeed, “Scott” (Juan) hadn’t received any such reminder. Not only had he not been advised about his attire, he was still waiting for his breakfast!

“What are you still sitting here for?” Bronnie barked when he saw Juan sitting there unmoved.

“Having breakfast,” Juan answered honestly.

But his calm, unhurried response only made Brownie even angrier. Bronnie’s face darkened further, and his voice rose. “Breakfast? Don’t you know that when your grandfather called for you so early, he meant to have breakfast with you?”

“No, I didn’t know,” Juan replied truthfully.

So—

Bronnie was about to say more, but seeing Mr. and Mrs. Penny enter from the doorway, he held back, heading toward another exit. Seeing Juan still sitting, he ground out a low “keep up” through gritted teeth before walking off without looking back.

As for Juan, seeing the Penny couple, he courteously exchanged morning greetings before finally leaving.

Mrs. Penny, watching the three men leave, chuckled after a while. “I heard from the butler that the old master only called for Scott; didn’t hear he wanted those two there as well.”

“And why did he sneak off without a word to me? Afraid I’d blow his cover?”

She laughed, “Well, I won’t say anything! If he manages to get in, that’s his talent—though tagging along for a meeting… he really does dote on that foster son of his, doesn’t he?”

With Bronnie’s car gone, Mrs. Penny seemed quite pleased. Seeing the breakfast Juan had ordered, she decided not to look at the menu, nor let her husband or son check it either.

“Come, let’s try Scott’s breakfast today. He always looks like he enjoys it so much, I’ve been wanting to try it too…”

In the white dining room, the Penny family savored the breakfast that Juan had left behind.

Meanwhile, Bronnie’s family rode in silence together in the car.

Bronnie didn’t speak to Juan, but he also didn’t talk to Nico. In a place where Bronnie couldn’t see or hear, Juan, however, was engaged in conversation with Scott.

“Ah… it’s been a while since I saw Grandpa,” Scott began explaining in Juan’s mind. “He’s always busy, and he says we’re all too formal around him, so he doesn’t live with us. We call his place the old estate, but it’s actually a very new building.”

“I haven’t seen him much, but I think he’s fond of me,” he told Juan.

“Why?” Juan wondered. If they hadn’t seen each other often, how could he know that?

“Because he left everything to me! Well, that was in my last life.”

“And, you know, Grandpa’s over a hundred now, so his time may be coming soon. Last time, he and I passed away one after the other…” Scott recalled.

“In my last life, I was always afraid of him. I thought he didn’t like me, but to think he left his entire fortune to me… This time, I wanted to be closer to him, but after I arrived, I found out he doesn’t live with us at all. Unless he calls us over, I can’t even see him…”

“So this is only the fourth time I’ve seen him in this life, and the first time he’s actually asked to see me.” Scott realized this and was suddenly curious. “I wonder… why does he want to see me?”

Juan didn’t know the answer either and remained silent, looking out the window as sculptures along the roadside drifted by. Soon, they arrived at another grand estate.

It seemed the old man had a special fondness for white—both the new and old Blicher estates were white. Scott was right; though called the “old estate,” this building looked newer and far larger than their home.

Clearly, although the old man lived alone, he hadn’t deprived himself of any comfort. On the contrary, he lived in a place even more spacious and luxurious than where his children and grandchildren lived.

After passing a long stretch of lawn, their car finally stopped in front of the estate. The butler was already waiting at the steps. When he saw Bronnie and Nico getting out, he kept his composed smile, and then, upon seeing Juan step out of the car, he walked over to greet him.

“Young Master Scott, the old master is waiting for you upstairs.”

Bronnie’s first instinct was to follow along with his son, but—

The butler, still smiling warmly, turned to Bronnie and his son, introducing his assistant, “York, please escort Mr. Brownie and Young Master Nico to the dining room.”

Then, he added to Bronnie with a polite smile, “Today’s breakfast includes fish the old master personally caught; it’s large and very fresh. You must try it.”

Finding himself gently blocked, Bronnie tried once more, “Scott’s health only recently improved; I’m concerned he might overexert himself…”

Without changing his smile, the butler said, “Please don’t worry, Mr. Brownie. The doctor here is very professional.”

Without giving Bronnie a chance to continue, he courteously withdrew.

In the sunlight, Bronnie’s face darkened.

His mood soured, he was reminded by the assistant butler beside him.

“Mr. Brownie, Young Master Nico, the kitchen just notified us that the grilled fish is ready in the dining room. Shall we go?”

Indeed, Mr. “Brownie” and Young Master “Nico.” The Blicher family had four young masters: Scott, Jap, Nico, and Jap’s father Jonah, who was still called a young master, while Bronnie himself was referred to as “Mr.” The old master alone held the title of “the Master.”

“If you want to be a master, work your way up!” That was what the old master had always said.

So, Brownie was simply “Mr. Brownie,” while Jonah and his son retained the title of young masters.

Reflecting on the subtle distinction in titles, Brownie managed a stiff smile. “Well, then, let’s see how that fish tastes.”

He patted his son’s shoulder and followed the assistant butler in the opposite direction.

As they tasted the fish that the old man had caught himself, Juan found himself standing before the old master in person.

“Would you keep me company for a bit of fishing?” the elderly man in the wheelchair asked, inviting Juan. “Later, we can have the fish we catch together.”

So, breakfast had to be caught fresh?

Not wanting to go hungry, Juan happily accepted the invitation. However—

Looking around the room, he noticed it was similar to the place where he’d first met Scott—also a sea-view room.

Having stayed in the Blicher household for a while now, Juan realized that this type of room was common here, likely due to their history in undersea mining. The Blicher family seemed quite accustomed to having sea-view rooms in their home.

But while Scott’s sea-view room had a scenic view of shallow waters, the old master’s room had a view of the deep sea.

Desolate and dark—that was Juan’s first impression of this underwater view. In the distance, remnants of mining equipment were visible, as if it were an abandoned undersea mine.

And there didn’t seem to be many fish around here either. Occasionally, one would swim by, but they all looked unappetizing—the typical appearance of deep-sea fish.

But how could they fish here if it was an underwater room?

Juan looked to the old master.

The old man seemed to sense his confusion, and with a beckoning motion, he wheeled himself to the corner of the large glass screen, where Juan saw some familiar-looking equipment—

It was the same kind of mining equipment he’d used the day before!

Pointing to the two sets of mining controls, the old master said, “How about using this to fish?”

With a mischievous glint in his eye, the old man watched as Juan walked over and took hold of the controls.