Two brilliant stars shone in the night sky, a canvas of inky black like a freshly inked parchment.
At that very moment, as midnight struck the Midlands, two children were born.
One of them, blessed by all, let out a mighty cry as if to announce his arrival to the world.
But the other child, who opened his eyes in a space filled with silence, did not burst into tears. Instead, he stared at the world with a hazy gaze.
As if he were chasing something.
"Haaaah—!"
House Sterling, the premier merchant nobility of the Silver Province.
Lord Cedric Sterling, the head of House Sterling who, in just thirty years, had transformed a small family business selling wool at the market into the greatest merchant syndicate in all of the Silver Province, had one very big worry.
"How many days has it been now?"
At his muttering, his ever-present and reliable captain of the guard, Thorne, answered.
"It's been a month and two weeks. A new record."
"Hah..."
Cedric felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
He had two children; the first was a son, and the second was a daughter.
Like almost all parents, Cedric raised his children as if they were precious gems, and the two, who had been bright since they were young, had been his pride and joy from the day they were born.
But at some point, his eldest son, Julian, began to laze about.
The reason for it was truly dumbfounding.
—Isn't Lillian brighter and more diligent in business than I am? Therefore, I plan to spend my childhood in wealth and peace, as befits the young lord of a wealthy house. Hahaha!
It would have been one thing if he had at least wandered outside and acted the part of a spoiled noble, but true to his grand declaration, Julian shut himself up in his chambers and refused to come out.
According to the maid who attended to him, Julian spent the entire day either sleeping or staring blankly outside.
Things that a normal person would get tired of in two days, Julian had been doing for a whopping forty-four days straight.
"What am I to do about this..."
Even Cedric, the peerless genius who had turned an ordinary house into the Goldcrest Syndicate, was at a loss when it came to his child's education.
Of course, just as Julian had said, his daughter, Lillian, had been smart since she was little, memorizing the High Imperial Lexicon at the age of three.
She was also bright in business matters, and now, not even ten years old, she was pestering him to take her on his trade expeditions.
Every time Cedric looked at Lillian, who was not just adequate but overflowing with talent, his stomach churned.
"It would have been simpler if Lillian had been born the eldest boy..."
As Cedric's mouth turned bitter with regret, the young guardsman stationed at the estate's wrought-iron gates came running, out of breath.
"My Lord! A guest has arrived."
"A guest? I'm not expecting anyone today... Well, who has come to see me?"
"His robes are shabby, so he doesn't seem to be of high status, and he appears to be an old man over seventy."
"An old man... Hah! Don't tell me he has a small scar on one cheek, like a dagger cut?"
"I believe that was the case."
Cedric was greatly surprised.
It seemed this young guard had no idea who the old man was.
"You fool! Let him in at once! No, wait! I must go myself."
While Cedric descended the stairs with a haste unbefitting the master of the premier merchant house of the Silver Province, a leisurely hum drifted from a corner of the great estate.
"Hwaaahm—! Sophie, how many days has it been today?"
The girl named Sophie snapped her head up.
Her short bob, tied tightly on both sides, bounced.
"It's the forty-fourth day!"
"I see! A new record?"
"Yes, that's right. The previous record was forty-two days."
"Ugh—! My skill at lazing around is improving by the day."
Julian lazed about on the wide marble balcony, enjoying the warm sunlight.
He was eleven years old.
Having been fortunate enough to be born the son of the wealthiest man in the region, he had used his sharp mind to ponder deeply and finally reached a single conclusion.
'Why should I go out of my way to suffer? My house is overflowing with gold.'
He had realized early on that 'even if one person like me does nothing and just lazes around, House Sterling, the greatest merchant power in the Silver Province, will not fall to ruin.'
Thanks to this, Julian became a lazy bum who enjoyed idling away each and every day.
His body, which had an extreme aversion to movement from birth, was limp like waterlogged wool.
His arms and legs, devoid of muscle, were used only for turning over, picking up pastries, or going to the washroom.
"Young Lord. Here, try some of this."
"It's an apple?"
"Yes! It's an apple from Old Yarrow's orchard. It's very sweet."
"Old Yarrow is a genius when it comes to growing fruit!"
Lying down, Julian munched on the apple Sophie fed him and smiled with satisfaction.
A lazy, wealthy, and peaceful life.
This was what one could call the true life of a noble heir.
"Oh, Young Lord! Did you hear that Lord Cedric has a guest?"
"A guest?"
"Yes."
"So what?"
As the house was the greatest merchant power in the Silver Province, guests coming to see Lord Cedric were overflowing.
Hadn't countless guests come and gone just today, ensuring the gates of House Sterling never closed?
Most were merchants, guildmasters, or mage guilds trying to establish a connection with the Sterlings.
But it seemed this guest was a little special.
Because Sophie, who vied for the title of quickest-witted in the world as befitting a merchant house's servant, had her eyes sparkling.
"You won't believe it. The Lord went out to greet the guest himself."
"Eh? My father, who's famous for how firmly rooted he sits, went himself?"
Cedric always said, 'The higher the house's prestige, the heavier the lord's presence must be. That way, you won't be looked down upon.' He never went out to greet anyone first unless it was the head of a prestigious noble house.
For such a father to go out and greet a guest himself, this was no ordinary matter.
'This feels ominous.'
Julian, who had a knack for sniffing out troublesome and annoying things, pushed himself up.
Sophie was startled by the sight.
"Young Lord! If you get up so suddenly...!"
"Ugh—!"
As Julian staggered from a dizzy spell caused by sitting up abruptly, Sophie quickly supported him.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Ah, let's go inside. And if anyone comes looking for me, tell them I have a terrible cold and am burning up with a high fever!"
Feeling an inexplicable chill, Julian moved his body for the first time in a long while and crawled into his featherbed.
Pulling the silk covers over his head, he couldn't feel more snug.
'I think I can laze around like this until day fifty.'
The comfort of the high-quality mattress made Julian's eyes slowly close.
Sleep came creeping in.