Chapter 9 “Conscience is but a word that cowards use, devised at first to keep the strong in awe.”

The morning sun rose, bringing warmth to the entire country. Cool morning dew descended, moistening the petals of flowers in the garden. Small birds fluttered and chirped joyfully, enjoying the fresh morning air.

“Knock Knock.”

As if joining in to welcome this bright morning, a maid in her clean white attire knocked on the door of the room where the young man was still fast asleep on his comfortable bed.

“Knock Knock.”

“Uwaaah... So sleepy... Umm? Hey Sheyla, what are you up to?” greeted Kalina, approaching her maid who was still knocking on the young man's door.

Like her maid, on this bright morning, Kalina wore a beautiful and neat outfit as usual. However, today there was something different. A violet messenger bag hung on her shoulder.

“Oh! Good morning, Miss Kalina. Right now, I am trying to wake up Master Wallace,” replied the maid.

“Waking up Big Bro? Why? Just let him rest. Moreover, with his condition, I doubt he can attend classes normally,” protested Kalina, scratching her chin with her index finger.

“But Miss, Master and Madam have instructed me to wake up Master Wallace this morning because he has to leave for school today.”

“Hah!? You must be joking! Let Big Bro rest! I know they didn't let him eat peacefully last night; instead, they forced him to study something ridiculous!”

“But Miss, if I don't wake up Master Wallace now, Master and Madam will surely scold me, and as long as I can work in this residence, I don't want to have any problems with them,” the maid lamented.

Hearing the maid's complaint, Kalina fell silent, staring at her maid who seemed perplexed.

“Tch! Where are they now?” Kalina asked with a slightly harsh tone.

“... they are still resting in their room,” answered the maid while lowering her head.

“Hah!? Are they joking!? They ask you to wake up Big Bro, who is still tired, but at the same time, they are still sleeping!? What is this! This is not fair! Move aside, let me talk to them about this! And you, go to sleep! Both Big Bro and I don't need any breakfast from you!” shouted Kalina, pushing and clearing the maid from her path and running to her parents' room.

Suddenly, the door of the young man's room opened, and after a while, the young man appeared, yawning widely.

“Uwaaah... So noisy, what's all this commotion about?” asked the young man who had just woken up and opened his room door.

“Oh! Finally, you're awake, Master Wallace. Please get ready for school because in thirty minutes, Albert will be ready and waiting for you in front of this residence.”

“Hmm? School?” asked the young man, scratching his head as if pondering something.

“Aha! yes! A School! Hahaha, it's been so long since I did it that I almost forgot. Hmm... so that's it, huh? Apparently, in this world, I'm still very young huh?” muttered the young man with a small smile appearing on his face.

“Umm... Master Wallace? Are you okay?” asked the maid.

“Of course, I'm okay. How about you?”

Then the young man noticed the maid's face and realized that the bags under her eyes had turned black.

“Hey! No wonder Kalina was angry with you earlier! Go to sleep! Because right now, your eye bags look like a panda’s!”

“Huh? Is that so? Maybe I am really sleep-deprived right now,” replied the maid, touching her eye bags.

“Never mind, just go to sleep. The important thing is I just need to get ready in front of the door in thirty minutes, right?”

“Yes. But what about breakfast?”

“Don't worry, you don't need to think about that. I'll have breakfast at the school cafeteria later.”

“... okay, if that's the case. I excuse myself and thank you for your concern.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh right! By the way, should I wear a uniform to go to school there?”

“A uniform? Oh! No, no need for a uniform. Just wear regular clothes because your school now is not a military school,” replied the maid.

“Oh, Ok! Thanks!” replied the young man.

Then, promptly, the young man returned and entered the bathroom inside his room. While washing his body, in the bathroom, he also reminisced about the times when he was still in school.

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In another place, in front of the bedroom where Kalina's parents were sleeping. In anger, Kalina kicked her foot towards the door of her parents' room until the door hinge came off and collapsed into their room, producing a very loud bang that shook the entire room. Startled, both of her parents woke up and quickly looked towards the door that Kalina had just broken.

“What!? What's happening!? What is this!?” asked Kalina's mother, surprised and clutching her chest, feeling pain.

Then both of them looked and realized that it was Kalina who had broken and destroyed their bedroom door.

“KALINA! What else do you want to do! Your actions are outrageous! Do you want to give your mother a heart attack?” scolded her father.

“Hah!? Outrageous? Both of you are the outrageous ones!” retorted Kalina, also raising her voice.

After hearing Kalina's retort, her father sighed and began to get up from his bed, approaching Kalina.

“Haaaah... What else do you want, Kalina?” asked her father while sighing and walking towards Kalina.

“Let Big Bro rest! We should wait until Big Bro regains his memory, then he can go to school!” Kalina said loudly.

Her father, now in front of Kalina, smiled as if holding back his laughter.

“Kalina, Kalina, Kalina... I don't know where this silly idea of yours comes from, but listen to your father's words carefully. Right now, Wallace is the face of our honorable family, and at the moment, he cannot tarnish the name and caste of our family just because the citizens think he has become a lazy truant, especially after the recent gossip that emerged when some citizens saw him walking with a woman from the sinful class. It's better now to trust everything to him because Wallace is someone who should be set as an example for everyone in this country. No, what Papa means is in this world,” explained Kalina's father.

After hearing her father's words, Kalina furrowed her brows in surprise.

“Did Papa seriously say that?” asked Kalina.

“Of course! What kind of parent wouldn't trust their own child?”

“Does Mama also trust Big Bro like that?”

“Yes! Now go! Unlike your obedient brother, you are just a foolish and uncontrollable child of a demon. Maybe if you weren't born from my womb, you would have been killed by our Bishops!” scolded her mother, then covered her head with a blanket and went back to sleep.

“......”

Kalina lowered her head and averted her gaze.

“You've heard our opinion, right? Now go, because unlike you, both of us are still sleepy because last night we were teaching your brother how to eat properly. Hah... We even hope that it was just a nightmare. We didn't expect Wallace to become such a country bumpkin.” complained her father, then went back to sleep on his soft and warm bed.

“......”

Kalina just stood there and looked towards her parents who were apparently still tired and wanted to continue their rest.

Is this the descendant of the heroes who once saved our world?

Is this the descendant of the heroes who used their ancestors' hard work to fill their stomachs and dominate everything?

Even with just the name as the descendants of those heroes, they can now easily enjoy their lives in this country.

Whose country do they think this is?

...

......

..........

..............

Whose country is this actually?

“Tch! Just a waste of my time,” said Kalina, then walked towards the exit of her family's house.

While walking, she continued to daydream and stared at where her footsteps would land. And then...

“Hup! I catch you!”

A palm suddenly gripped Kalina's face and stopped her steps.

Kalina was surprised and stopped her daydream, then she stared at a man who was now standing in front of her.

“Big... Bro?”

“Hey, good morning!” the young man replied with a big smile on his face.

“…Big bro, it seems it's better if you don't have to go to school yet.” said Kalina.

“Eee... Why? I've been really looking forward to it, you know...” protested the young man.

Kalina then looked into her brother's eyes carefully and then sighed.

“Well, whatever! Eat this; I'm sure you haven't had breakfast yet, right?” Kalina said, tossing the souvenirs she bought last night.

The young man caught it and looked at the now shapeless snack. Then he looked at Kalina and laughed.

“Hahaha... ruined.” mocked the young man.

“As long as it's edible, right?” replied Kalina, who walked away, leaving the young man behind and exiting through the door of her house.

“Hey! Wait for me!” said the young man.

Immediately, the young man followed Kalina, who had left her house. And suddenly the warm morning sunlight and the cool air dew welcomed the young man who had just come out of the warm house.

“Good morning, Master Wallace,” greeted Albert, the carriage driver, who was waiting for him at the front door.

“Good morning, Albert... Huh?”

The young man then observed his surroundings. Around him, there was only a garden, a bench, a pond, and Albert's horse carriage.

“Could she have already gotten into the carriage?” muttered the young man.

“Umm... Sir? What are you looking for?” asked Albert.

“Kalina. I'm looking for Kalina. Have you seen her?” the young man asked.

“Oh... Miss Kalina? I saw her, but it seems like today she's going to skip school again, as usual,” said Albert.

“Skip school?”

“Don't worry... Just let her be. Everyone already knows that Miss Kalina is like that.” reassured Albert, calming the young man.

Then, on that bright morning, the young man was chauffeured in his family's luxurious horse carriage to school, the place where his youth would unfold.

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