Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World

The mansion of the Fríden family, which had been gone for a long time, was still just as it always had been.

On the stone wall, ivy vines had grown thickly, though no one knew when it had started, and next to the gate, a servant, guarding the mansion, was dozing off with his head drooping. It meant things were just running haphazardly.

Without bothering to wake the drowsy servant, I went inside. Anyway, he’d probably get scolded by Sion or the other attendants soon enough.

I had planned to go back to my room with the luggage I brought─, just a book in hand.

“Son, you’re back?”

“…Yes, Mother.”

I ran into my mother, who was enjoying a tea time in the garden.

She didn’t seem surprised at all, and in a calm manner, she took a sip of tea, then spoke in a gentle voice.

“It’s been a while. Come, let’s see my son’s face. Don’t sneak in like a thief, come sit for a while.”

When I sat down across from her at the tea table, my mother filled my empty teacup with black tea.

And, as usual, she began speaking in her soft, warm voice.

“Son.”

“Yes?”

“Leaving a letter behind and then wandering outside for over a year, where did you learn such bad manners?”

It seemed like I was going to get scolded for quite a while.

“Haha! Our proud son, you really have no shame. It seems like your wife already gave you a good scolding, so I won’t do the same.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Well, it’s good that you’re not late for Eric’s marriage arrangement. That’s what matters. If a man has a goal, whether it’s a year or ten years, he can seek learning outside. Did you learn anything in the Kingdom of Harren?”

“Yes. I think I learned a little.”

“Then that’s fine.”

Unlike my mother, my father just nodded and let it slide lightly.

Count Fríden himself was quite the free spirit, so he didn’t really mind what his son did. Of course, if I did something bad, he’d certainly scold me.

Instead, we made small talk about past events.

“Eric is really getting married, huh. Honestly, I thought you, Ed, would get married before him.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You’re both my sons, but Eric… well, he’s not the type to be popular with women.”

“Ah.”

My older brother suddenly got dissed by my father about his looks.

“So, Ed, don’t you have any good news?”

“Yes?”

“You didn’t meet any woman in Harren, did you? If you like someone, this father is okay with even a foreign daughter-in-law.”

“Umm, I don’t really have any thoughts of marriage….”

“Are you planning to live as a monk just because you were blessed in church? I haven’t said much until now because Eric hasn’t gotten married yet, but Ed, you’re an adult now, so…”

I was starting to feel the pressure to get married too.

I had been so buried in books that I hadn’t really thought about marriage. I hadn’t even had a relationship, so what was marriage to me?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Of course, we’re not in an era where everyone marries for love…

Hmm, to be honest, if I could marry a book, I’d choose a book.

“If you really don’t want to marry for love, then how about seeing a match? As soon as news of Eric’s marriage spread, the marriage proposals for you, Ed, piled up like a mountain.”

“Really? What does my older brother’s marriage have to do with me…?”

“Until now, the firstborn Eric hadn’t found a partner, so people were waiting and watching. Nobles always watch each other’s moves. It’s nothing new. That troublesome custom, I swear—anyway, they live such troublesome lives.”

“Sorry, but you’re a noble too, Father.”

“When Eric has children, I plan to pass on the Fríden family title to him. If I say I’ll pass it to my eldest son, the Heralds and those annoying people will stop saying anything.”

“Ah, yes.”

Whether or not the family title gets passed on, nobility is still nobility, but I didn’t want to add anything more.

Father’s complaints about the nobility weren’t anything new either.

“Ah, and you should help with your brother’s dowry too. It’s not like we’re short on money, but it’s customary for the family to prepare these things together.”

Father pulled on his beard and groaned.

It seemed he was a little embarrassed bringing up the subject of customs when he had just been mocking the nobility’s traditions.

His awkwardness made me laugh unintentionally.

“Hehe.”

“Anyway, you’re getting a lot of money from royalties, aren’t you? Make it a grand wedding.”

“I’ve been spending quite a bit lately….”

I had spent a lot of money monopolizing the media in the Kingdom of Harren.

Simply capturing a few newspapers and printing presses wasn’t enough. The Lazy King later chipped in a little.

“Is that so? Then, how about getting some fancy dinnerware?”

“A mansion in the capital? No, wait, since it’s my brother’s wedding, how about a large estate?”

“What?”

“I’m a little short on money these days….”

“…How much are you making in royalties exactly?”

“Well, I have a lot of accounts, so I haven’t really counted. Hmm.”

The biggest source of income, the copyrights and royalties from works like The Little Prince, Alice, Sherlock Holmes, and Arsène Lupin, all go to the welfare foundation, so I’m excluding those─.

Don Quixote, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Conan Saga, The Sorrows of Young Werther, The Count of Monte Cristo, Alice in Wonderland, Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, Father Brown, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Fifteen Boys Adrift, War of the Worlds, Les Misérables, 1984─.

The royalties from these works, the proceeds from related character merchandise and performances, and other secondary creations.

Even the patent revenues from various tools developed by the Magic Tower, claimed to have been made possible thanks to “Principia,” were steadily being sent from the Magic Tower.

In addition to these, there were maintenance allowances sent by the Papacy and sponsorships provided by the Imperial family.

Hmm.

“I think you could probably buy a small country.”

“Huh.”

“Every year, I mean.”

“Huh?”

If Jesus had been able to receive copyright royalties from the Bible, it might have brought in similar revenues.

It was such an absurd level of income that it made me think of such things.

Come to think of it, compared to what I earned, I wasn’t spending much money at all.

“Now that I think about it, maybe I should buy an island as a dowry for you and gift it to you.”

“…Just buy me a normal house instead.”

“Understood.”

“Love covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Therefore, love precedes all principles, and above all, everything must be done with love.”

Weddings in this world were not as boisterous as I had imagined.

Of course, being a noble’s wedding, it was incredibly extravagant─, but due to the solemn atmosphere, it felt more akin to a religious ceremony.

In the largest church building in the capital, the couple promised eternal love, and the priest placed a “Crown of Honor,” a wreath, on their heads.

“With this, the two are now bound in an eternal covenant of love. They will rely on each other, unite, and serve the Lord as one person forever.

There will be many hardships along the way─, but love conquers all.

So love one another.

This is my message to you as a disciple of the Savior.

Now, the two of you must overcome all trials by taking the Savior’s words and each other as your guiding lights.”

With that, the priest concluded the marriage sacrament with blessings for the couple.

And then.

The “noble” obligations began after the wedding ceremony ended.

Guests leaving the church moved to a banquet hall prepared in a nearby building.

There, my brother and his bride were surrounded by friends.

My brother’s friends teased or cheered him, lightening the atmosphere.

“Congratulations! Eric! You’re finally getting married!”

“You were the last among us, right? Haha, we thought you’d live alone forever, but I guess everyone has a match made by the Lord.”

“Haha… yeah, that’s true. Honestly, I thought I’d live alone forever too. Proposals never came to the Fríden family anyway….”

“Wasn’t it not because of Fríden but because of you? I heard there’s a line of people in society wanting to meet your younger sibling.”

“What.”

Meanwhile, my father was surrounded by other nobles and relatives.

“Ugh, why is everyone being so bothersome?”

“Were you really planning to let your child’s marriage go unnoticed? You’re always so nonchalant, brother. That’s the problem. You never take responsibility for anything.”

“Click. What’s so great about being a noble anyway….”

“Of course, it’s important. You’re the face of the Fríden family, so do your part properly.”

“Can’t you be the face of Fríden instead of me?”

“I’d love to, but it’s Father’s decision, so I can’t help it.”

“Sigh….”

The only person I recognized was my aunt.

“Hello, Aunt.”

“Oh my! My handsome nephew, how did you grow up so much?”

“Haha….”

“It feels like just yesterday you were a baby crying in my arms, and now look at you. Time really flies….”

I remembered everything from my childhood and had never cried in her arms.

In fact, when I was a baby, I tried my best to smile.

Back then, there was nothing I could do on my own, and I thought I’d die of boredom….

“What are you up to these days, dear nephew? With your brilliance, I bet everyone is eager to recruit you.”

“I’m just enjoying my hobbies and living peacefully.”

“You’re so much like your father in that regard.”

“Yes.”

“So, I assume you didn’t prepare anything special for your brother’s dowry?”

“Ah, no. Instead, I’ve prepared something modest—a fairy tale I wrote myself as a gift.

I thought it’d be nice for them to read it to their child someday.”

“How romantic.”

The house I arranged as my brother’s dowry was officially listed as something our father had prepared.

As such, I decided to prepare a separate gift.

“A fairy tale written by my nephew? I’m curious. Can I read it someday too?”

“Oh, yes.”

Even adults would find it quite entertaining.

After all, Andersen was a master storyteller.