How the Shadow of the Marquis Lives

Episode 1

“Welcome to Everwhale Academy.”

A history of constant struggle.

Humanity has fought hunger, fought cold, and fought giants.

and today.

Humanity was fighting demons.

“You will undergo harsh training and education in the future. But only those who overcome it will have the honor in their hands… … .”

An elderly man with an old, dwarf body was giving a speech through a voice amplifier on a podium.

And a man with a complicated expression next to him.

“Then, finally, there will be an oath from the best admitted student.”

Following the president’s gesture, the man came forward to the podium.

After receiving the oath, he closed his eyes.

‘It starts from here.’

After a while, he opened his eyes and opened his mouth.

“This is Sian Agrid, the freshman representative.”

The voice amplified by the audio amplifier echoed in the auditorium.

Hundreds of students listening to it. More than half were normal human beings, but half were not.

Some students had ears or a tail, while others had ice-pale skin.

The students started to mumble.

“Agrid is him, right?”

“uh. I heard that the Marquis Agrid is getting into trouble because of all the accidents.”

“But I heard that if you entered a swordsmanship competition from long ago, you won?”

“Sheesh. Does personality and skill have anything to do with it?”

“You never know. I might have spent money and manipulated it.”

I could hear students whispering.

Xian smiled bitterly.

I’m used to it now, but it wasn’t very pleasant to be misunderstood for something I didn’t do.

‘No. Now I am Xi’an.’

Therefore, all of these stories are directed towards you.

Engraving that in his heart, Xian finished reading the oath.

A sonorous voice resounded in the auditorium.

There were some students who were a little surprised by the neat appearance and voice, which were completely different from the image, but only a few.

Most of them were still looking at him with cold eyes.

A guy like that is the freshman representative. Because there’s nothing to be ashamed of.

“I swear.”

Despite all those gazes, Xian did not budge.

Sunlight streamed in through the window and illuminated him.

It seemed to him that the sunlight was blessing his new life.

* * *

-5 years old

It was already 12 years ago when I was young, but I remember it clearly.

It is the day I lost my parents in an accident.

“Little. You look a lot like my son.”

It was a meeting that could only be described as a coincidence.

The greatest warrior in the human empire of Somer.

A family that boasts skills and history that can be counted among many prestigious families.

Marquis of Agrid.

“At this rate, you will be entrusted to the temple. And I will live as an orphan everywhere. Do you know what I mean?”

I do not know. What would a 5-year-old know?

At that time, he couldn’t even properly recognize the face of the family head. Because it felt like my consciousness would fly away at any moment.

I opened my mouth.

I desperately tried to spit out the words.

help me.

I still don’t know if I was able to speak well.

“good night.”

I don’t remember much after that.

Except for the memory of a huge man lifting himself up and wrapping himself around him.

Were you loaded into the wagon after that? It seems so.

“Yeah. I picked up a good guy.”

“Is it worth it?”

“If it grows well, wouldn’t it be worth using as a shadow for our Xian?”

“that… … You sure look exactly like the Young Master. But I am still a child.”

“You’re not saying you’re sorry, are you?”

“… … It meant that when you grow up, your appearance can change a lot.”

“Isn’t that why I’m talking to you? grow up well It’s my son’s spare life. Support will do whatever you want.”

“All right.”

An old man sitting on the coachman’s seat holding the reins.

The life of a child and an old man thus began.

-7 years old

“What is this guy! Upset!”

The first time I met the young master of the Agrid family was when I was 7 years old.

Until then, I had been told many times by the old man that you should be his shadow, but it didn’t feel real.

However, I was able to realize it when I saw Xian, the boy who looked exactly like him.

ah.

I am learning to die in this child’s place.

“Two!”

Xian spat on the sitting child’s lap and went back huffing.

-10 years old

In five years, the child learned a lot from the old man.

I learned literature, I learned history, I learned math.

He was trained in the basics of swordsmanship and martial arts, and learned to behave as a son of a prestigious family.

The kid was a genius.

The old man admired the child’s talent of knowing ten if taught.

However, the old man’s expression always changed to sympathy, not proud or proud.

“If you had entered the temple’s orphanage without being noticed by the head of the family, your life would have bloomed even more.”

“are you okay.”

“Are you saying you are satisfied with your current life?”

“If I had gone to the facility, I wouldn’t have met my grandfather.”

“Heh heh heh… … .”

The old man only laughed bitterly.

-12 years old

The old man carefully adjusted the child’s face and body.

Over the years, little by little, so as not to stray from the image of the young master.

The old man was a wizard with excellent skills, and that was not a difficult task for him.

But when I turned 12, something happened.

“Ah!”

Xian, the young master of a marquis family, grew up as a frugal soldier.

As always, he was constantly harassing the workers in the mansion, but he touched the cook who was in the middle of cooking and was covered in hot oil.

Fortunately, the affected area was not large around the shoulder blade.

However, scars were left on the young boy’s body.

“Kill! Kill that bastard!”

Young Master, who woke up from the hospital bed, was very riotous.

After that, the cook disappeared from the mansion. Where he went, none of the workers knew where he was.

And this incident was also heard in the ears of children and the elderly.

“grandfather. Please.”

“… … It doesn’t have to be like this. Scars like that can be filled up with makeup when needed.”

“Will the head of the family understand that?”

“… … .”

“I have to be that kid perfectly. If I can’t do that, the head of the family will throw me out right away.”

The old man couldn’t stop the child any longer. He was the one who couldn’t break the child’s stubbornness at all.

That day, a burn mark identical to Xian’s was formed on the child’s shoulder.

The child woke up after three days of boiling.

“From now on, feel free to call me Yeomno, Young Master.”

From that day on, the old man’s attitude changed.

During the three days the child was ill, no one except the old man knew what the old man was thinking.

-15 years old

After that, their daily lives continued.

The child was still learning all kinds of knowledge and culture from the old man.

After getting the basics of the sword to a certain extent, he learned the swordsmanship in the family’s remarks at random.

Although he couldn’t get his hands on the arcane swordsmanship, which only the family head and direct descendant learned, he learned all the derived swordsmanships from that arcade one after another.

Spending such a life, the child often went outside.

It was mainly when Xian attended a troublesome event or participated in something like a competition.

Each time, Ai perfectly played Xian and replaced him.

“Big! Hey, you know how much I appreciate you I don’t know how I would have lived without you.”

“I was just following the head of the household.”

“Ah yes yes, my father’s orders. But in the end, you’re not my father’s subordinate, are you? Listen to my orders.”

“An order?”

“Do you know that Count Jisen? The third young lady over there was really no joke. At this prom, come and spruce up for me. You can bring me to where I tell you.”

These orders have increased dramatically these days.

Although he was 15 years old, Xian was already the owner of a size comparable to that of an adult. That’s why it couldn’t end as a joke.

The child refused all orders of this kind.

“The head of the household told me not to get involved in the young master’s relationship with women. I’m sorry, but I’ll report this to the head of the household.”

“what? report? This bastard!”

When that happened, there was always a fierce beating, but it didn’t matter.

As Agrid’s direct descendant, Xian had been trained as a successor, but the child did not feel any pain from his fists.

10 years of training since I was 5 years old.

The difference between Xi’an and Ai was already at a level where the class had to be discussed.

“omg… … omg… … . You just need to reach out to your father!? uh?”

Xian let go of the threat and left with a thump.

Of course, I reported it the same day.

According to the old man, Xian was put on probation after being scolded for a long time.

Now that the head of household recognized it, the possibility of something unpleasant happening disappeared.

-17 years old

and 17 years old. An incident occurred that would change the fate of the child.

The grown-up Xian applied for the Everwhale Academy.

The human empire of Somer, the beast kingdom of Jakarta, the fairy palace of Glacier Baengnyeong, and other leading academies on the continent where humans and subhumans flock from all over the continent.

However, Xian was able to easily cross that threshold using the child.

And to celebrate passing, Xian went on a trip with his usual bad friends.

The wagon he was riding fell down a cliff while avoiding the monster’s attack.

It was an instant death.

“It’s been a while, kid.”

A few days after the accident, the householder came to visit.

“I see the head of the household.”

“You must have heard about Xian, right?”

“yes. In an unfortunate accident… … . You will be very concerned.”

“I didn’t come here to talk about that.”

He was too cold to be a father who had recently lost his son.

He put a cigarette in his mouth.

Next to him, Yeomno ignited it with a spark from his finger.

“I have only one son as my successor.”

“I know you have a daughter, but… … .”

“Of course, I will pass it on to him in the end. But it’s still early now.”

Why is it so early?

After reaching the succession selection, what is there to do if it is too late?

The child guessed why.

‘Xian had me, but that child has no one.’

There is no shadow like herself for the daughter of the Agrid family.

If an injustice happens, there is no turning back.

Of course, the family’s outstanding swordsmen stand as an escort, but wouldn’t you want to minimize the risk anyway?

chamberlain.

“I can’t lose my ‘son’ yet. Do you know what I mean?”

Or put up a bait that will attract attention in moderation.

―Do you know what that means?

I heard the voice of the family head I heard when I was 5 years old and the voice I heard now.

The child at that time did not know anything and answered only with instinct.

But now I was aware of and understood the whole situation.

Still, he nodded.

“I will take your order.”

The family head was satisfied when she saw the child lowering her head.

Behind them, only the old man hides his sorrow alone.

However, the child was not forced to accept this, as the old man thought.

‘This is an opportunity.’

The child with her head down flashed her eyes in a place where the family head and the old man could not see.

If Xi’an hadn’t died, she would have lived in his shadow for the rest of her life.

but he died

It was the death of one life, but the child who knew the usual Xian did not feel sorry for his death.

Rather, I was glad that the opportunity had come.

A chance to get my real name back.

And the child has never missed an opportunity in his life so far.

“This is Cyan Agrid, the freshman representative.”

A child with such a strong will stood in his seat.

Everwhale’s entrance ceremony. As the best admitted student, holding the oath in hand.

It was the day he, who had lived only as a shadow, stepped into the world of sunlight for the first time.