ATHO Chapter 42

Chapter 42 – Jade: The First Life (Part 3)

Jade: The First Life, Part 3

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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“Oh my, if it isn’t Colin and Marianne. Thank you for gracing us with your presence.”  

“Thank you for inviting us.”  

Marianne greeted me gracefully. After chatting with her brother for a while, I seized an opportunity to speak with her.  

“Marianne, it must feel strange to return to the Wahlman estate after so long. It’s completely different from those days, isn’t it?”  

“Yes… it certainly is.”  

Marianne gave a faint, bitter smile.  

“You’ve had a tough time, haven’t you? The servants told me quite a bit. But rest assured—he’s no longer here.”  

“What… do you mean? Has Charles left the house?”  

Marianne looked at me with unease.  

“No. He’s become a slave.”  

“…What?”  

“After investing in a failed business and accruing enormous debt, he’s now a slave. It seems his lifespan won’t suffice to repay it all. The look on his face when his fate was sealed as a slave was… priceless.”  

As I recalled his last expression, laughter bubbled in my throat. But Marianne bit her lip and glared at me.  

“Couldn’t you have saved him before he became a slave?”  

“Saved him…? I can’t think of a single reason why I should’ve saved him.”  

“Even if only by bond, weren’t you brothers? Why… why did you abandon him?”  

Her response wasn’t what I’d expected, and irritation coursed through me. I could no longer remain composed.

“Abandoned him? …Charles was the one who abandoned us first. And… didn’t you also abandon Charles?”  

“…That…”  

“Charles was foolish, penniless, and pitiable, wasn’t he? You gave up on him. But that choice wasn’t wrong. If you’d stayed with him, you might have ended up sharing the same fate by now.”  

Marianne’s anger was palpable, but Colin stepped in to mediate. My mood soured.  

―――Why should I be blamed for this? It’s all Charles’s fault. He was the one who abandoned us…  

After the soirée, Lien came to my room, but I told him I wanted to be alone and buried my head in my hands on the sofa.  

―――This isn’t enough.  

Just recalling Charles’s suffering doesn’t satisfy me. I need him to look at me again with those sorrow-filled expressions, those trembling light blue eyes clouded with fear and despair.  

―――Yes, I must keep Charles close.  

I’ll chain him in the room we used to share, make him endure the same treatment we did, and have him atone for his sins.  

That will surely fill this void.  

Certain of this, I went to the slave merchant the next day to reclaim Charles. When I mentioned his name, the merchant gave me a regretful look.  

“Just earlier, a woman came asking about the same person. Are you a relative?”  

Hearing ‘woman’, Marianne’s face came to mind. Could she have come to take him back?  

“Charles Wahlman is my brother. I’ll repay all his debts, so I’d like to take him home.”  

“Well… Charles Wahlman has passed away.”  

Unable to grasp the meaning of the words, I blinked in confusion.  

“…Passed away?”  

“Yes. About two weeks ago, it seems he succumbed to an epidemic.”  

Passed away…?  

Charles… is dead?  

The brother who always acted superior, who looked at us with hateful eyes, is… dead?  

Dead… dead… Charles is dead.  

“…Hahahahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHA!”  

“S-Sir…?!”  

Unable to suppress the laughter rising within me, I wept as I laughed uncontrollably, like a dam breaking.  

I never imagined that Charles would die so suddenly, so easily.  

And from that moment, my life began to spiral out of control again.  

To fill the gaping hole Charles’s death left in my heart, I drowned myself in alcohol.  

Drinking until I could no longer think clearly kept thoughts of him at bay and brought me peace.  

I told Lien about Charles’s death, but he responded indifferently with a simple, “I see…”  

Not long after, Lien disappeared.  

I heard rumors that Lien had entangled himself in relationships with various people and ended up embroiled in trouble fueled by resentment.  

Normally, one would worry and search for him, but I was no longer capable of acting rationally.  

Neglecting my duties as lord, I drowned myself in alcohol from morning till night. When the alcohol wore off, my hands would tremble, and I’d be overwhelmed by anxiety and restlessness. And then, Charles, who shouldn’t have been there, began to whisper to me.  

“Jade, it’s your fault Father and Mother died. And I, too… it’s all because of you.”  

Charles appeared before me, sneering. I reached out to grab him, but my hands only clutched at the empty air.  

“Charles…”  

Desperately trying to banish his image from my mind, I drank more and collapsed onto my bed.  

The morning had just arrived, but when I looked outside again, the sky was already dark.  

Ah… I want to disappear…  

With that thought, I found myself thinking of Charles again.  

What was he feeling when he died?  

Did he die hating and resenting us until the very end?  

Oddly enough, that thought gave me comfort.  

Imagining Charles muttering words of hatred towards us made me feel a twisted kind of joy.  

Charles…  

You hated us, didn’t you?  

You resented us, didn’t you?  

You spent your final moments thinking only of us, didn’t you?  

After all, I think of you so much, hate you so much…  

Rising from the bed, I downed a stronger drink than usual in one gulp, then collapsed back onto the bed and closed my eyes.  

Ah…  

I’ve thought about Charles too much today…  

With that, I drifted into my usual deep sleep.  

Swallowed by an endless, all-encompassing darkness, I never woke up again.  

***  

…  

…  

…Wandering through what felt like eternal darkness, I struggled to regain consciousness.  

I gasped for air, suffocating, until I finally managed to breathe and desperately inhaled oxygen.  

Still panicked, taking shallow breaths, my awareness gradually sharpened.  

“What was that…?”  

The story Charles had shared with me about his first life, including the dream I had about it, were too vivid for mere imagination. Its utterly hopeless content made me feel nauseous. The thought of the dream I’d just had becoming reality sent a chill down my spine.  

“Charles Nii-san…”  

Unable to stay still, I climbed out of bed and left my pitch-dark room.  

When I visited Charles’s room, he was sound asleep, breathing softly and peacefully.  

I sat by his bedside and gently stroked his cheek, causing him to slowly open his eyes.  

“Mm… Jade…?”  

“Sorry, Nii-san. Did I wake you?”  

“What’s the matter?”  

Still half-asleep, my Nii-san nuzzled his face against my hand, seeming to find comfort in my touch.  

“…I was just a little worried about you and couldn’t stop myself from coming here.”  

“I see. If you’re feeling lonely and can’t sleep, why don’t you stay here with me?”  

Charles spoke playfully, but not wanting to leave his side, I accepted his suggestion.  

“Nii-san, may I sleep with you?”  

“Ah, sure. Come here.”  

Charles chuckled softly at my clinginess and invited me into his bed.  

I embraced him, as though trying to confirm the warmth of his presence.  

“You’re being a little clingy today. Did you have a bad dream?”  

“Yes, it was… a very, very scary dream.”  

Hearing this, Charles gently stroked my head.  

This warmth, the Charles in front of me now, is my reality.  

That dream was nothing but a nightmare. I must forget it as soon as possible…  

Burying my face in Charles’s chest, I listened to the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat. Slowly, I closed my eyes.  

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*Translator’s Note: If Charles didn’t die in the first life, we would have a different kind of story where he would be chained and tortured by the brothers, I think? -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: 2025.10.05

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