ATHO Chapter 40

Chapter 40 – Jade: The First Life (Part 1)

Jade: The First Life, Part 1

Novel Title: 嫌われ者の俺はやり直しの世界で義弟達にごまをする (As the Hated One, I Flatter My Stepbrothers in a World Where I Get a Second Chance)

Author：赤牙 (Akakiba)

Art：古澤エノ (Furusawa Eno)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: シャルル (Charles -MC), リエン (Lien -ML1) & ジェイド (Jade -ML2)

*Please read at novels.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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The message Matt relayed from Lyle was hard to believe.  

―――No, there’s no way that man would disappear so easily.  

While I was away from the estate searching for Nii-san, I hadn’t contacted the debt collectors, so I couldn’t confirm whether Lyle had been dealt with. If they failed to apprehend him, I’d need to track him down immediately—otherwise, he might harm Charles again.  

When I visited the village chief’s house once more, Matt greeted me.  

“Matt, can I have a word with you?”  

At my call, Matt’s expression stiffened, and he nodded. Since the village chief’s family was inside the house, I told him to step outside, leading him to a quiet spot.  

Matt looked pale, as if he was hiding something.  

“Matt, is what you said earlier true? I can’t imagine that man saying something so repentant.”  

I fixed him with a sharp gaze, and his large frame trembled.  

“Th-that man… Who is he, really…?”  

“He’s Charles’ uncle. Now, tell me the truth. Where has he gone?”  

At my words, Matt turned visibly pale.  

“Matt?”  

“I-I’m so sorry, Sir Jade!”  

Matt’s voice quivered as he prostrated himself on the ground.  

“Sir Jade… I-I didn’t know he was related to Lord Charles… I handed him over to the debt collectors who came to collect what he owed… I’m so, so sorry!”  

I couldn’t hide my shock.  

To think that Matt had captured Lyle and handed him over to the debt collectors…  

As Matt desperately pressed his forehead to the ground in apology, I extended my hand to him.  

“Matt, there’s no need to apologize. Lift your head.”  

“W-what…?”  

Matt looked up at me, surprised.  

If someone had told me they sold a relative of mine into slavery, most people would expect anger.  

However, Matt’s actions had worked out in my favor.  

“B-but I handed over one of your relatives to the debt collectors! I knew he’d be taken as a slave…”  

“That’s fine. You did well, Matt. But why did you go out of your way to do it?”  

I crouched down and brushed the dust off Matt’s forehead as he stared at me, stunned.  

“Lyle… hurt Sir Charles. I saw him and Sir Charles arguing when Charles was visiting for an inspection. I couldn’t hear the details, but Charles ran away from Lyle, crying. Then I overheard Lyle vowing to hurt Charles even more. At that moment, I knew I couldn’t let him get close to Sir Charles again.”  

Hearing this, I nodded and told Matt the truth.  

“It’s fine. The plan was for Lyle to be handed over without involving Charles or you. So there’s no need for you to feel responsible.”  

Matt listened quietly as I spoke.  

“Still, I’m sorry you had to make such a difficult choice.”  

“N-not at all. Please don’t worry about me. As long as Sir Charles can be happy, that’s all that matters.”  

Matt spoke with conviction, and his sincerity showed just how deeply he cared for Charles.  

“Your feelings for my brother are genuine, Matt. But this must never reach Charles’ ears. Understood?”  

“Yes! Of course!”  

Matt answered energetically.  

“Good. That’s the spirit. From now on, let’s continue to protect Charles together.”  

“Yes, exactly. I want Sir Charles to keep smiling and become even happier.”  

I nodded in agreement with Matt’s words.  

When I returned to the carriage, Charles and Lien were waiting.  

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”  

“Is everything sorted out with work?”  

“Yes. I had to confirm a few things, but Matt had already taken care of the issue.”  

“I see. Matt is working hard, isn’t he?”  

“Yes, he’s very diligent and dependable.”  

As I spoke with Charles, I imagined Lyle’s final moments based on what Matt told me. Even just hearing about it painted a pathetic and miserable picture of Lyle. If my brother had seen it, he’d surely have been troubled once again.  

Charles doesn’t need to bear any more pain.  

―――We’ll bear witness to our uncle’s wretched end for you, Nii-san.  

With Lyle’s chapter closed, my brother could finally begin living in peace.  

Since the day Charles revealed his secret about living a ‘first life’, the shadows that had clouded his smile were gone. Those fleeting moments of anxiety had grown rarer, and I felt relieved knowing he had been freed from the burdens he carried.  

The life Charles experienced in his ‘first life’ sounded harrowing, even from what little he shared.  

A life destroyed by Lyle. A young Charles forced to bear it all alone. Now, I could empathize with the depth of his suffering.  

What kind of feelings did the version of me in that life harbor? How did he go about his days? Was he consumed by revenge…?  

I couldn’t even imagine how I might have acted.  

And then, that night, I dreamed of something that seemed to answer my questions.  

***  

From the moment we first met after Mother remarried, Charles hated us.  

The reason for his hatred was obvious.  

“You’re nothing but shameless parasites aiming for the marquisate’s position…”  

Charles often spat those words at us, almost like a mantra.  

It’s not as if I wanted to be here, either.  

I wished I could have said that, but the thought of breaking my mother’s happiness held me back.  

Charles’ harassment continued, leaving Lien and me with nowhere to go but our room.

We tried our best to avoid encountering Charles.

However, Charles seemed to enjoy tormenting us. He would go out of his way to approach us and start harassing us. What could possibly be so entertaining about bullying us?

As I continued to live with this question in mind, I started to notice glimpses of Charles’ vulnerability.

It seemed like he was constantly striving for our father’s approval, but Charles was clumsy in his efforts and would always end up discouraged.

When I achieved the top rank in my school year, he would glare at me with frustration.

And whenever Lien and I were together, I noticed that Charles seemed to gaze at us with a hint of envy.

Charles was completely isolated within the mansion.

Could it be that he took out his frustrations on us because he was lonely?

If that were the case, perhaps our relationship still had a chance for reconciliation…

I held onto that thought, but by the time I realized Charles’ true feelings, five years had already passed.

Then came the day that changed the course of our fate.

It was a cold winter day, with snow lightly falling. We were informed that our mother and father had been attacked by bandits and had lost their lives.

Unable to process their deaths, we were met with Charles’ rage. He blamed our mother for his father’s death.

“It’s your mother’s fault Father died! Get out of this house, you brats!”

Lien and I were thrown out of the mansion into the freezing outdoors.

“Charles! How could you do this? Please, Nii-san, listen to me! Charles! Charles!”

Holding a sobbing Lien in my arms, I desperately begged for help. However, Charles only glared at us with hatred in his icy blue eyes before slamming the mansion gates shut.

That night, Lien and I had no choice but to sleep outdoors.

We had only a small bag with us, containing a few coins and keepsakes from our mother.

Huddling together to stave off the cold, we decided to seek help from our maternal uncle, whom we had met only a couple of times before.

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*Translator’s Note: Well, Jade and Lien had it hard too in the first life… *sighs* -K

*GLOSSARY: 

• Nii-san/Nii-sama/Onii-san = (Big/Elder) Brother

☝🏻I’ll be using these throughout my translation. Jade would call Charles ‘Nii-san’ while Lien would call him ‘Nii-sama’.

Next update: 2025.10.03

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