The Greatest Estate Developer - Chapter 11: The Tenacity of a Brat (2)

‘I’m tired. So sleepy.’

Javier, lying in his armchair, frowned as he shifted his body.

He was annoyed.

Of course, he was.

During the day, he had to guard the young master, a notorious rogue.

At night, he suffered from insomnia daily.

In between, he still managed to squeeze in his swordsmanship training. It was no wonder he felt exhausted.

Actually, it was more like karma.

‘But did I manage to sleep a bit longer today?’

For some reason, it felt like he had slept a little more than usual.

A satisfied smile spread across his face at that thought.

But Javier’s smile didn’t last long.

“…You’re going to stay asleep forever, or what?”

A teasing voice drifted into his ears.

It was a playful yet mocking tone.

‘Is this a dream?’

No, it couldn’t be a dream.

He hadn’t had a dream in years.

It was probably a hallucination caused by his lack of sleep.

Javier turned over in his chair.

But even that small movement didn’t block out the voice that came again.

“You’re late. It’s time to wake up, you sleepyhead.”

…What?

This wasn’t a hallucination.

The voice was definitely coming from right next to him.

‘Did he just call me a sleepyhead? What is he talking about?’

In his dazed state, his mind snapped to attention.

He had been suffering from insomnia for years.

He was the last person anyone would ever call a sleepyhead.

Not to mention, his senses were always sharp.

Yet somehow, someone had approached him and spoken without him noticing?

Javier’s eyes shot open.

He turned his head swiftly.

And then, without realizing it, his whole body froze.

“You’re awake now. If I hadn’t woken you, you probably would’ve slept until the sun was high in the sky.”

“…”

Standing next to the armchair was a young man with black hair.

He looked to be in his mid-twenties.

His face was full of amusement, with a smile that resembled a mischievous child discovering a new toy.

“…Lloyd?”

Javier muttered unconsciously.

It was unmistakable.

The person standing before him was his master, the one he was supposed to guard.

The notorious troublemaker of this estate.

Recently, for some reason, this man had been engaging in all sorts of eccentric behavior.

Even the smirk on his face, with only one corner of his mouth curled up, was annoyingly detestable.

“At last, you’re recognizing me. How gracious of you.”

“…”

If one went by his expression, he didn’t seem very “gracious” at all.

“But why are you here, Lord Lloyd…?”

Why are you waking me up?

Javier trailed off at the end of his sentence.

He was confused.

This situation was unfamiliar.

‘Why on earth is this guy waking me up?’

It had never happened before.

It seemed impossible.

The one who always overslept was Lloyd.

His first task every morning was waking that lazy man up.

So why was Lloyd now smirking even more as he stood over him?

“Well, why do you think? You fell asleep here.”

“Did I? Here?”

“Yeah.”

“And why is that?”

“Don’t you remember what happened last night?”

“Last night? I…”

“You passed out. Completely knocked out, even snoring and grinding your teeth. It was like you were performing a Dolby surround sound concert.”

“…”

“Yeah, I get it. That lecture on reinforced concrete was something else. I almost lost my mind listening to it. I was falling asleep myself, even while I was teaching.”

…I remember nothing.

I truly don’t.

I was just relaxing in this chair, that’s all.

But now, my head feels clear.

Could it be that I actually got a good night’s sleep?

It felt strange and unfamiliar.

“Tsk. You still seem out of it. Drink this and snap out of it.”

“…”

The rogue young master held out a cup to him.

Inside was cold, clear water.

Javier gulped it down in one go while checking his body condition.

He clenched his fist.

He felt a surge of vitality he hadn’t experienced before.

The refreshing energy coursing through the veins in his tightly clenched fist was a far cry from the constant state of exhaustion he had been living in.

‘This is incredible.’

Could it really be that he had managed to overcome his insomnia and sleep soundly?

Javier slowly accepted the reality.

His body didn’t lie.

As a highly skilled swordsman, he trusted his sharp senses and the truth they told him.

But then, something caught his eye.

“What’s that?”

Javier’s gaze shifted toward Lloyd.

More precisely, it focused on Lloyd’s waist.

Lloyd had a practice wooden sword strapped to his side.

That wasn’t all.

His attire was different from usual.

He wore light yet sturdy leather armor over his everyday clothes.

His elbows and knees were protected with leather guards.

There was even a towel draped around his neck to wipe off sweat.

He looked surprisingly prepared for something serious.

‘Could it be…’

Javier took a deep breath.

Something was stirring in his memory.

And the answer came from Lloyd’s next words.

“Did you forget already? You agreed to teach me swordsmanship if I helped cure your insomnia.”

“…”

Lloyd said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

And suddenly, Javier remembered.

Last night, he had accepted Lloyd’s proposal.

It was a sort of wager.

If Lloyd managed to cure his insomnia—

If Javier managed to get a good night’s sleep—

He had agreed to teach swordsmanship to this young master.

That was the deal he had accepted the night before.

‘So now I’m supposed to teach this rogue, swordsmanship? Me?’

The joy of having overcome his long-standing insomnia quickly faded.

This was going to be a problem.

♣

“Let’s start with running.”

The sun was shining down on the training ground.

Javier spoke from one corner of the yard.

“Stand here, please.”

“…”

“Good. Now, Lord Lloyd, you will run along the edge of the training ground. Do you have any questions?”

“No, none.”

“…”

“Running is running, after all.”

“…”

“Don’t tell me you were planning some grand speech?”

“What speech?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You know, something like this. You’d put on this stern face and say, ‘Running is the foundation of all training. Strong swordsmanship and flashy techniques are all built on solid physical endurance,’ and then you’d go on and on, lecturing me.”

“…”

Javier fell silent, caught off guard.

Lloyd shrugged his shoulders.

“Then I’d go, ‘I don’t like that! Just teach me some strong sword techniques!’ And you’d respond with, ‘It was you who asked me to teach you swordsmanship, Lord Lloyd,’ before making me run anyway. Something like that, right?”

“…”

“Yep, I knew it.”

“…”

“Ah, come on. You’re acting like a kid. Tsk. Well, here I go.”

Thud, thud, thud.

Lloyd started running.

Left standing at the starting line, Javier frowned.

‘I thought he’d whine and complain about not wanting to run.’

Lloyd’s reaction was completely different from what he had expected.

He seemed remarkably composed.

‘But if I keep him running long enough, his true nature will come out.’

That’s what Javier thought.

Everyone is like that.

When the body is comfortable, people act confident.

They act like they can easily achieve their goals.

But when the hardship sets in?

When they hit their physical and mental limits?

That’s when the initial bravado fades away like a lie.

They start trying to compromise with their inner self, the one that cries out in exhaustion.

Like people who quit their diets after three days.

Or those who give up on quitting smoking after a single day.

Their weak nature surfaces.

‘Lloyd Frontera, you’ll be no different.’

The rogue young master Javier knew was exactly that kind of person.

He had never been in a situation where he was forced to run like this.

So after a few laps around the training ground, when he’s out of breath?

‘He’ll regret all that bravado he showed. Maybe he’ll even give up on the swordsmanship training altogether.’

Honestly, Javier hoped that would be the case.

He didn’t want to teach swordsmanship to this rogue.

He didn’t trust him.

This was someone who used to spend his days in a drunken stupor.

Whenever that happened, he would cause all sorts of trouble.

Now, to teach such a person swordsmanship?

The very thought of what kind of disaster might occur was terrifying.

‘I can’t allow that.’

Even though the young master had been showing signs of change recently, a person’s true nature doesn’t change easily.

The rogue young master would likely revert to his old ways soon.

Who could say if his bad habits wouldn’t resurface even today?

‘So, I’ll make this as harsh as possible. Until you collapse on your own. Or until you prove yourself worthy of this training.’

Javier steeled his heart.

He watched Lloyd with cold, determined eyes, waiting for the moment when the rogue would cry out in surrender.

But things didn’t go as he expected.

“Huff, huff! Huff!”

Thud, thud, thud!

Lloyd kept running.

He just ran, silently.

Ten laps, twenty laps, thirty laps, and on and on.

He circled the training ground, passing in front of Javier dozens of times.

Throughout it all, he didn’t utter a single word.

Even as his breath grew ragged,

Even as his sweat drenched his entire body,

Even as his tired legs wobbled,

He kept running, silently, at a steady pace.

‘How?’

At first, Javier’s gaze wavered a little.

But soon, his confusion became more evident.

It was an incomprehensible display of mental fortitude.

A determination that was hard to fathom.

Of course, the secret behind Lloyd’s determination was simple.

‘This is nothing compared to the hardships I’ve been through!’

That was the truth.

In the army, during marches and training, he had faced far worse.

When he lost his parents and had to work countless part-time jobs just to survive, that was even tougher.

‘Have you ever carried bricks up and down a four-story building all day? Or done night shifts loading packages until dawn?’

The exhaustion from those experiences was something only those who had lived it could understand.

It felt like your body was being reduced to a machine part, endlessly worn down, muscles on the verge of breaking.

‘And in the middle of it, you’d look at the clock, hoping it was almost over, only to realize you were only halfway through. That hopelessness—compared to that, this running is a walk in the park!’

Back in South Korea, that kind of hardship was a daily reality.

Every day, he had lived with that sense of despair.

The overwhelming question of how much longer he had to live like that.

But despite it all, he couldn’t afford to give up.

He had to keep going, just to survive.

Even if it was for a few bucks.

Even if it was just to keep from starving.

He had constantly pushed past his limits.

No, he had kept moving even when his limits had already been reached, like a zombie, devoid of a soul.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to feed himself.

But now?

‘All I have to do is run.’

There was no one forcing him to move like a slave.

He was running because he wanted to, to learn swordsmanship.

Sure, his body was tired.

But he was enjoying it.

He was happy.

Even when his breath caught in his throat.

Even when his body was soaked in sweat.

Even when his legs gave way and wobbled.

Even when his vision turned yellow.

‘I still like it.’

Lloyd kept running.

And when he passed by Javier after far more than fifty laps, he even flashed a grin.

“Huff, huff, huff! I’m the one running, but why do you look like you’ve swallowed a lemon?”

“…”

“Hoo, hoo, could it be you didn’t see this coming?”

“…”

“Are you going to just stand there with that dumbfounded look on your face?”

“…”

And so, Lloyd kept running.

He didn’t stop until Javier finally intervened and called an end to it.

“Lord Lloyd, that’s enough. Stop running.”

“Huff, huff, why?”

“You’re already staggering.”

“I know, huff, I know that.”

“That’s why I’m telling you to rest for a bit.”

“Huff, okay. Fine.”

At last, Lloyd came to a stop.

“Are you surprised?”

“No.”

“Yeah, you are. You’re surprised.”

“…”

“Hoo. Yeah. I guess you didn’t see this coming. You probably had all sorts of speeches prepared in your head, something like, ‘I’m disappointed in Lord Lloyd’s lack of willpower,’ or ‘You must keep running until I tell you to stop,’ right?”

“…”

“As I said before, hoo, you judge people based on your preconceptions.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Did you think I wasn’t serious when I asked you to teach me swordsmanship?”

“…”

Javier found himself unable to respond.

The smile had long vanished from Lloyd’s face, and now he was staring at Javier with sharp eyes.

Meeting that gaze, Javier felt a strange sense of guilt creeping over him.

It was as if Lloyd had seen right through him.

“Did you think swordsmanship was a joke? That’s what you thought?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why didn’t you take me seriously when I asked you to teach me?”

“That’s…”

“How can you teach swordsmanship with that kind of complacent attitude?”

“…”

Javier had no reply.

For the first time, he wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

The rogue young master he had thought so little of was now driving his words deep into him.

“Looks like you’ve been questioning whether I’m qualified to learn swordsmanship. But now I’m wondering if you’re even qualified to teach me. Am I wrong?”

“…”

“So, let’s do this properly. Instead of wasting time thinking about who’s qualified, how about you focus on how to teach better? Got it?”

“…Understood.”

Javier bit his lower lip unconsciously.

Who would’ve thought that a day would come when this troublesome young master would be the one pointing out his flaws?

It felt like he’d been struck over the head with a blunt object.

He wanted to argue.

But he couldn’t.

‘Because he’s right about everything.’

Javier acknowledged it.

Lloyd was correct in his criticism.

He had been fixated on whether his student was qualified.

He hadn’t put any thought into how to teach swordsmanship better.

He hadn’t properly prepared himself, yet he was testing Lloyd’s mental resolve.

Looking back, he felt ashamed.

And at that moment—

Ding-dong.

[Javier Asrahan’s favorability toward you has increased by +1.]

[Current relationship with Javier Asrahan: -28]

[You have earned 18 RP from a slight improvement in a key relationship.]

[Current RP balance: 29]

A new message appeared before Lloyd’s eyes.