The Greatest Estate Designer
Chapter 1: Became a Hooligan Inside a Novel

PR: yamyam

Something novel-like happened to me. When I opened my eyes, I found myself inside a novel.

[Iron-Blooded Knight]. An indomitable epic led by the icy cold hero, Javier Asrahan.

I transmigrated into the world of that grand story as the drunken young master whom Javier served when he was still unknown. I didn’t know back then that this was the beginning of a story in which I, an ordinary civil engineering student, became the guardian of this world.

♣

[Relationship Point (RP) System has been activated.]

[You can acquire RP by improving relationships with key characters.]

[You can develop skills by investing the acquired RP.]

[Your current RP: 0]

Strange messages rang like an alarm inside his head.

What is RP? What is skill development?

‘I’m tired. So sleepy.’

On the bed, Suho frowned and tossed his body.

It was annoying. Of course it was. He took classes during the day. At night, he worked hard at his part-time job. In the meantime, it was natural that he became exhausted because he read novels all night long. No, it was almost his karma.

‘But, I’ve done my homework.’

He could get up 30 minutes later than usual. A satisfied smile arose at the thought. However, Suho’s smile didn’t last long.

“…Please wake up.”

He heard an unfamiliar voice. The voice was cold and sharp.

‘Is this a dream?’

Maybe the sound came from a dream. Suho tossed and turned in the opposite direction. Even then, that gesture didn’t stop the voice from being heard again.

“It’s late. Time to get up, Lloyd-nim.”

(tl/n: 님 or nim is a suffix used to address someone with respect)

….Huh? This isn’t a dream. There is definitely a voice coming from right next to me.

‘How?’

Dazedly, he came to his senses. This was a 2-pyeong goshiwon room¹2-pyeong goshiwon room: pyeong is a Korean unit of area and floorspace. 1 pyeong is about 3,305 square meter. Goshiwon is a small room filled with everything you can replace in a normal house. It is originally a residential facility for exam takers.. He always locked the door. But, was there someone else who’d come inside and begun talking to him?

Suho carefully opened his eyes. His whole body stiffened without him even realizing it.

“Are you awake? You woke up quickly today.”

“….”

A silver-haired handsome man was sitting primly by the bed.

He looks to be about twenty.

He had a face bereft of a smile. His figure looked as sharp as a blade forged from icy frost.

“Javier… Asrahan?” Suho murmured unconsciously. His murmur could be heard clearly.

In the [Iron-Blooded Knight] novel that Suho binge-read last night, there was an illustration of the novel’s protagonist, Javier Asrahan, who looked just like the man in front of him.

No, it was exactly the same. Even his smile, the one with only one corner raised that looked like an elegant painting, was identical.

“You finally remembered my name. Thank you.”

“….” Just by looking at your face, I can tell you don’t appreciate it at all.

“But, why are you here?” Suho spat out unconsciously. Javier’s face grew a little darker.

“Because the Lord has entrusted me to be your escort.”

“The Lord? Escort?”

“Right.”

“Why?”

“Just in case something like last night happened again.”

“Last night, I…”

“You were so drunk you couldn’t walk. You went on a rampage in the tavern and destroyed three tables, six chairs, nineteen plates, and six candlesticks. Oh, you also wrecked the horn of the buffalo head ornament the owner used to love.”

… I am innocent. I mean it. I only read books at goshiwon last night.

Suho’s head was throbbing. Getting hungover because of alcohol he didn’t even drink felt a little unfair.

“Phew, then give me some water first.”

Suho wanted to pull himself together first. He then looked around the bedroom while gulping down the water Javier had brought him.

The bedroom was clean, unfamiliar, and spacious. Different from his 2-pyeong goshiwon room where the yellow wallpaper was in shambles.

‘This is a little crazy.’

Did he really take over some character in a novel? And, he possessed a nobleman?

Suho accepted this reality readily. This was paradise compared to a life full of anxiety without family at goshiwon. But, there was something that caught his eyes.

“What is that?”

Suho pointed to the cabinet on the other side of the bed. There was a red piece of paper attached to the cabinet that looked odd. It wasn’t just there. It was on the big bookshelf, on the refreshment table, on the chair where Javier sat, and even on his bed. Every single piece of furniture had a red label plastered on it.

‘This can’t be.’

Suho gulped dryly. His suspicions were confirmed by Javier.

“Have you forgotten already? It’s a foreclosure sign that was stuck on yesterday.”

“….”

That was a concise answer.

Thanks to that, Suho suddenly remembered something. The baron whom Javier served fell at the beginning of the novel. The baron and his wife were swindled by a vicious scammer, and after losing all of their possessions and land, they committed suicide.

And what of the Baron’s eldest son, Lloyd? He fell ill and died due to alcohol intoxication. Afterward, Javier built Lloyd’s grave and left the territory.

That was the prologue of the grand story where the protagonist, Javier Asrahan, took his first step into the world.

“So, I possessed the Young Master who died at the beginning because of alcohol? Me?”

The joy from becoming an aristocrat soon cooled down.

This felt like a huge problem.

♣

“Sigh, this is real. Truly.”

A few hours later, Suho, no, Lloyd, stood facing a mirror. On the full-length mirror with a red foreclosure label pasted on it just like all the other furniture, there stood a smooth-looking, black-haired man. He was Lloyd.

‘This is me now.’

In fact, he still couldn’t believe it. He didn’t hate it though.

No, to be honest, he liked it. Life in Korea was hard.

‘I’ve had a hard time.’

Originally, he was the only son of an ordinary family. He took the CSAT exam like everyone else. He became a civil engineering student in college. But when he was in the army, the shadow of a real estate investment scam strangled his parents. His parents, who died like that, left him with only a large amount of debt. The house and all of the properties were confiscated. In order to not take on the remaining debts, he had to give up his inheritance.

‘I wouldn’t have been able to go to school without the scholarship for the low-income class.’

At least, he did well in his studies. However, living expenses other than tuition fees were another problem. He had to move back and forth between part-time jobs. It wasn’t easy to maintain his grades while working.

In the 2-pyeong cramped goshiwon room, he had nosebleeds seven times a week. The free rice and kimchi provided by the goshiwon were the last barrier of his endurance. So, Suho survived like a crook until yesterday.

‘By becoming a nobleman in a fantasy novel I’ve read, I can catch my breath for the first time in a while.’

He wasn’t a grand aristocrat like a duke or a count. He was just a baron in the countryside with a single country estate, but Lloyd liked this more.

‘You won’t get caught up in big trouble. For example, something like treason.’

Whenever he watched historical or medieval dramas, that had always been a problem. No matter how prominent the aristocrats were, if they got tangled up in treason, it was over. They literally would get decapitated without any excuse given.

‘I’d rather be a baron on the periphery. It’s a niche position on its own.’

There was no way he’d ever get involved with big incidents such as treason. He can live in luxury and prosperity in the countryside as the heir to a countryside baron. Wouldn’t he be able to live contentedly in such a place?

‘Of course, it’ll be after settling the Baron’s debts.’

That was the problem.

‘I can’t believe now is the time I transmigrated.’

Javier’s explanation came to mind. The date of the foreclosure was yesterday.

In other words, what if the possession took place just a month or two earlier? He could’ve stopped the con-artist from approaching the Baron. This made him feel like he really wanted to grab the novel’s author by the collar.

‘Still, it has already happened so we just have to fix it.’

Otherwise, the Baron couple would commit suicide next year. Then, the mansion and the estate would be sold, and he’d become homeless.

‘It would turn out the same as when I was in Korea.’

It was a nightmare. Suho just wanted to avoid that. He didn’t want to go through the same mess again. To do that, he had to make money somehow. Money to pay off the Baron’s debt.

For a long time, he stared at the mirror. Then, suddenly, something came to mind.

Lloyd turned to Javier, who stood beside him.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Lloyd-nim.”

“Is our fiefdom rich?”

“Yes?”

“How much would it be if I collect money from the fief?”

“Are you talking about collecting taxes?”

“No, not that.”

“Then?”

“Like IMF’s gold-raising campaign. Sigh, no. It won’t work.”

Lloyd shook his head. He had wondered if collecting money from people in the fief would be useful, but thinking about it, it wouldn’t do. If the money was collected without any justification, it was obvious that there would be a huge backlash.

‘And that still won’t be enough to pay all of the debt in one sitting.’

He recalled the contents of the novel’s beginning. The deadline to pay off the debt was within two years. However, before that time came, the Baron couple committed suicide.

The continual pressure because of the debt. The rising interest. The debt piling so high there was no way to repay. Because of this, the couple lost all hope.

‘That’s exactly a year from now on.’

Five months after that, Lloyd died while throwing up blood inside his favorite tavern. That was mentioned in the prologue of Iron-Blooded Knight.

‘Damn it. This isn’t some decalcomania.’

How can it be so similar to what he experienced in Korea? The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.

“Tsk. Let’s go on a walk.”

It was best to take a walk when your head was a mess. Walking had been his habit since he was still Kim Suho of South Korea. No, maybe it was almost the only relief he could afford because taking a walk didn’t cost any money. So, he left the room with Javier.

When he got to the mansion’s hallway, he ran into a woman who was coming from the other side. She was a fine middle-aged woman with an aura full of elegance and grace.

‘Don’t tell me?’

Suddenly, a name popped into mind. Marbella Frontera. The baron’s mistress and Lloyd Frontera’s mother. She was the only middle-aged woman in this mansion who had that kind of atmosphere.

Lloyd swallowed dryly.

‘I’ve run into you, out of all people.’

Were there any parents who didn’t recognize their children? He might get caught just like this.

Fortunately, such worries were groundless. It was because as soon as the baroness saw him, she clicked her tongue.

“Are you going out for another drink?”

“….”

The woman gazed at him. Her expression was filled with sorrow and concern.

Who would look happy if your son only drank and played every day even though the family was falling apart?! Even he didn’t know anyone who’d be like that.

“Enjoy it in moderation. It’s not good for your health.”

“….”

The woman passed by with a small sigh. Lloyd had to pat his chest secretly.

‘I didn’t get caught. Should I say that it’s fortunate?’

Lloyd Frontera was a man who drank every day since he opened his eyes. Thanks to that, Lloyd’s mother seemed to be concerned about him in that vein of prejudiced thinking.

‘It feels a bit bitter though.’

Suddenly, Lloyd recalled the times when he’d been a freshman at college. It was a time when his family had still been well off. He was just a freshman who didn’t know anything. He remembered drinking at OT²OT: Student orientation in Korea, a welcoming event for freshmen. and MT³MT: Membership Training, an event where every student from the same major from freshman to senior spent time at the same place. everyday, Whenever that happened, his mother made him a dried pollack soup without saying anything.

Now, it was already in the past. He couldn’t turn back time.

Lloyd bit his lower lip hard. His stride grew by leaps and bounds. Maybe that’s why as soon as they saw him on the road, the villagers hurriedly retreated to the side of the road. Everyone lowered their heads to avoid eye contact. A woman trembled with her hands clenched tightly. Some farmer’s complexions even turned pale. Thanks to this, he was able to realize his situation at once.

‘Yes, this is what kind of person Lloyd is.’

The contents of the novel came to mind again. Lloyd Frontera was the name of Baron Frontera’s son. When he was drunk, he often broke or threw things. Violent assault and verbal abuse against his subordinates were the norm. In short, he was a trashy human being with truly bad qualities.

‘That’s why everyone hates me so much. It seems that I’m totally hated.’

He laughed bitterly.

“Hey.” Lloyd grumbled and asked Javier who was by his side, “What’s wrong with everybody? You don’t usually treat your lord’s son like that, do you?”

That was common sense. The Lord was the most powerful man in the region. So what if the Lord’s son was a mess? They should just smile and pretend to respect him at least in front of his face. They had to try to do that. Just like the owner of a chicken restaurant serving the son of the building owner who stopped by the store, or like a permanent manager who became a ‘yesman’ to the son of the boss who joined the company as an employee. Wouldn’t that be the case for the people here too?

“Usually, yes. But…”

“Usually? But?”

“Yeah.”

“Then what about now?”

Javier answered coldly, “Now, there’s an emergency.”

“An emergency?”

“In general, a territorial emergency refers to a time when there’s a great threat to the people’s livelihood, to their well-being, and to their safety.”

“….. And that’s me?”

“That’s correct.”

“That’s quite straightforward.”

“What’s straightforward?”

“Oh, you hit the bullseye with hard facts.⁴Here, the author used 뼈 때린다구, a Korean slang which meant ‘to point out a fact that causes mental suffering; ex: a weakness of another person.”

“….”

Javier stared at him with an expression that said ‘what the hell are you talking about?’. Even so, his appearance was still as cold and elegant as a painting.

‘Yeah, this is exactly the kind of guy Javier is.’

A noble and honorable knight. Javier was a man who didn’t compromise with any injustice. He was a hero who was literally the role model of knights in the novel, and his fame later rose throughout the entire Loracian continent. Of course, Javier’s personality wouldn’t be different just because he still hadn’t gained popularity yet, as of right now.

“This is kind of embarrassing. I swear I’ve never attacked Lloyd-nim.”

“Have you?”

“Never.”

“Don’t you know about attacking with facts?”

“I don’t know.”

“By any chance, have you ever hated me?”

“No, never.”

… no, you look like you’ve had enough.

Lloyd was able to realize that.

‘He hates me too.’

Javier was a noble knight who valued honor. So, it was only natural for him to hate rascals like Lloyd. Nevertheless, it was this guy who stood by Lloyd’s side until he died. He kept his loyalty to the baron, who was his main master, to the end.

‘What a great guy.’

A swordmaster who would create history in the continent of Loracian. The Greatest Swordmaster of all time. That was the kind of guy Lloyd’s faithful escort would be in the future.

Feeling a little strange, Lloyd kept on walking. As a result, he ended up standing in front of a shabby building.

“Where are we?”

“We’re at the tavern.”

“The tavern?”

“Yes. This is where Lloyd-nim spends more time at than the mansion.”

“Is this my regular pub?”

“That’s right. Unless Lloyd-nim used another tavern behind my back.”

“….”

Oh my God. Lloyd clicked his tongue inwardly. He was just walking aimlessly. After all that, the place he visited was his regular pub. How many times did he come and go to this place? Even though the soul changed, his body automatically came all the way here.

‘This isn’t some kind of homing instinct. Are you a puppy? Spawning salmon? Or General Kim Yu-shin?’

He lashed out at the eldest son of the baron who was this body’s original owner and then turned away.

‘Drinking during the day is too much, though.’

The original Lloyd would’ve enjoyed it, but not him. There was already a lot to think about, but drinking alcohol? He didn’t have the slightest intention of doing that.

“Are you going back like this?”

“Of course,” Lloyd replied to Javier’s question right away.

However, Javier’s next reply was unexpected.

“I’m disappointed, then.”

“… What?”

“Just as I said, I’m disappointed in Lloyd-nim.”

“Did you expect me to drink during the day?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then?”

“I thought Lloyd-nim came here to apologize and make amends for what happened last night.”

“So you’re disappointed I just turned around?”

“Yes. It’s the duty of a nobleman to be responsible and uphold one’s status.”

“…..”

This guy. Lloyd had felt this for a while, but Javier’s straightforwardness is no joke. Even so, the speed of his straight ball made of facts seemed to easily reach over 160kmph. In other words, Javier had a strange talent for carefully and painfully sneaking advice inside his words.

“The tavern is a home the owner has been building his whole life, even if it’s a shabby place. Last night, Lloyd-nim caused a riot and damaged the furniture in such a precious space.”

“….”

“Besides that, Lloyd-nim, he took care of his old mother alone.”

“His mother?”

“Yes. She has been in poor health lately. So the tavern owner was even more worried.”

“So, I’ve been torturing that poor guy?”

“That would be the case, yes.”

“…..”

It was something he didn’t even commit, but Javier’s straight jabs made of facts kept coming.

“Actually, the owner appealed to me last night. He said he felt like dying because his mother had suffered so much from the cold, and then he had to face this kind of misconduct.”

“….”

“You must not run away. After all, Lloyd-nim is the future owner of this estate…”

“Wait a moment. That’s it!” Lloyd interrupted Javier.

Is it because it’s hard to hear more? No, it wasn’t. It was because listening to what Javier said made him ponder about something.

“The tavern owner’s mother is having a hard time from the late winter cold?”

“Yes, young master.”

“Then, why don’t you just warm the floor with firewood?”

“Pardon?”

“The people here… Don’t tell me, they don’t know about the ondol heating system?”

“…..” I don’t know. That’s what Javier seemed to say from the look in his eyes.

The moment Lloyd realized this, he suddenly remembered.

‘Come to think of it, there was nothing like that in my bedroom at the Baron’s mansion.’

He was a civil engineer. It was his habit to look at the structure of the building wherever he went. Thanks to this, he was able to quickly grasp the structure of the baron’s mansion. There were no heating facilities, such as a circular heating system or the so-called ondol⁵Ondol: underfloor heating; a Korean traditional architecture..

Instead, did the fireplace occupy one side of the bedroom? If that’s the case, maybe the tavern owner’s house is similar. No, unlike an aristocrat’s mansion with fireplaces in each room, one fireplace placed in the kitchen would be sufficient for the entire house.

‘Of course it’s cold. The fireplace has more heat loss compared to the ondol.’

But obviously, it wasn’t without flaws.

How to implement a good ondol heating system? The building’s floor should be completely replaced or rebuilt. The insulation of the building should also be reinforced. We would have to deal with the monstrous consumption of firewood. But, both of these shortcomings….

‘I can overcome it. No, rather, I can use that. It’s possible if it’s me.’

What if I used my major’s knowledge?

While thinking of the grim reality on how to pay off the enormous debt, Lloyd came up with a plan to raise a large sum of money. When the plan was already settled, he drew the bigger picture.

‘This is it. It won’t be over with just the tavern owner’s house. It’s a bigger large-scale construction project. There will be plenty of chances.’

Lloyd was determined to make the big picture that came to his mind a reality. So, he went straight into the tavern.

• 1

  2-pyeong goshiwon room: pyeong is a Korean unit of area and floorspace. 1 pyeong is about 3,305 square meter. Goshiwon is a small room filled with everything you can replace in a normal house. It is originally a residential facility for exam takers.

• 2

  OT: Student orientation in Korea, a welcoming event for freshmen.

• 3

  MT: Membership Training, an event where every student from the same major from freshman to senior spent time at the same place.

• 4

  Here, the author used 뼈 때린다구, a Korean slang which meant ‘to point out a fact that causes mental suffering; ex: a weakness of another person.

• 5

  Ondol: underfloor heating; a Korean traditional architecture.