Being Born in the Empire Must Be Wonderful, Right?

"Young master, lunch is ready. Please come with me to eat."

"Mm... huh? How is it lunchtime already? Didn't I just have bread this morning?"

Even through the door, Elliot could hear Conrad sigh. "That was several hours ago."

"..."

Elliot stared in astonishment at the roaring Difference Engine. Surely this thing wasn't a one-way time machine? Had he traveled straight from morning to noon?

He'd only played for a little while!

At the dining table, Elliot casually shook out his napkin and spread it over his lap, looking eagerly at the old butler. "Any news? Preferably something supernatural!"

"There is some news, but none of it concerns the supernatural," Conrad replied at an unhurried pace.

"Oh, go ahead, then." Elliot immediately looked disinterested, lowering his head and picking up his fork to eat in large mouthfuls, as though he were in a hurry to get back to his game.

In truth, though, at times like these, he would always quietly prick up his ears, carefully committing every word and sentence he heard to memory, piecing them together, comparing them, and analyzing them in his mind.

He had none of the original owner's memories and could only infer his own personality from scattered clues. He avoided passing too much judgment on the news; the more he said, the more mistakes he could make.

His confinement trapped him in this mansion, and the news the old butler brought was his only window onto the outside world.

He certainly didn't think his life in this world would be smooth sailing. Quietly gathering information and waiting for an opportunity was the only preparation he could make for now.

"The new Poor Law has been promulgated, increasing relief for the impoverished. The poor can receive a relief payment to help them through difficult times, and a range of inexpensive drugs has also been approved for medical use."

Elliot nodded inwardly. The Empire treated those at the bottom quite well; it even handed out money. He remembered the old butler mentioning a dedicated Poor Relief Committee that held quite a few seats in parliament.

Making inexpensive drugs available for purchase was charitable, too. The Ministry of the Interior must have put quite a lot of money into subsidizing them, right?

"The Public Health Department has issued related regulations, enshrining the prohibition of unlicensed medical practice in the constitution. It has also worked with several other departments to introduce a social security system, allocating a portion of tax revenue to cover residents' medical care. This will further expand access to medical treatment."

That was a good policy, too. Many people who couldn't afford treatment finally had a ray of hope.

Living in the Empire must be wonderful.

Elliot reflected on this inwardly, while outwardly looking rather indifferent. "Any other news?"

Conrad smiled faintly and set aside the newspaper in his hands. "Young Master Garrett has been hoping to hold an art exhibition lately, but unfortunately, he hasn't secured a venue."

"Garrett?"

The name had come up before. He was a friend of the original owner, an idle rich boy with neither learning nor prospects-he was the family's second son and couldn't inherit the family estate.

Imperial nobles generally held their eldest sons to strict standards and invested heavily in their upbringing, while paying little attention to their other children who weren't heirs. If Elliot hadn't had inheritance rights, he would never have been confined in the first place.

Caused trouble? Just lie low in another city for a while.

"Him? Holding an art exhibition?" Elliot scoffed. "He's taken a fancy to some young lady who likes painting, hasn't he?"

Conrad raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying it.

"Ha, that useless fool and his whims... any word from Mother?"

"I'm afraid Madam's anger has yet to subside. The letter you sent last time was thrown straight away. She also dispatched an additional squad of guards to tighten security and made it clear that you are not to set foot outside the mansion before the end of the year."

Elliot nodded and returned straight to the study after finishing his main course. Lunch was a light meal with relatively few courses. Dinner, on the other hand, included dessert and drinks afterward, as well as the thing Elliot found most annoying: dishes served one course at a time.

Although he had more or less learned formal dining etiquette, that didn't mean he liked it.

Elliot eagerly sat back down in front of the Difference Engine. This was no act; he genuinely enjoyed playing this game.

Although it had no exquisite graphics or grand scenery, only cards constantly going in and out, it really was interesting.

The most important thing about a game was that it was fun.

Elliot didn't rush to do anything. Instead, he first looked at the slot that had jammed earlier.

The [Hard, Dry Black Bread] stuck in the [Eating] slot was gone. It really had been a bug; leaving it alone for a while let it fix itself.

"Now, then..."

Elliot's gaze fell to the desktop. Directly in front of him was a whole row of silver slots, but only one had its cover open. Beside the slot, several brass dials had a letter engraved on each face, together spelling out a few words.

[Humble Orderly Position]

Elliot inserted the card in his hand into the slot. Pressing it in seemed to trigger some mechanism, and the Difference Engine began calculating with a hum. Gears turned, slowly drawing the card into the machine, while the flip display in front of Elliot began clicking through its panels.

[Working: 600]

[Working: 599]

[Working: 598]

"Mr. Razi, I'm here." Vanessa looked cautiously at Old Razi, trying to discern some trace of emotion in his wrinkles and cloudy eyes.

"What, got black bread stuck in your throat again?"

The girl's expression darkened, and she said through gritted teeth, "No... I'm here to work."

Old Razi glanced at her and began wheezing with laughter like a worn-out bellows. "Heh heh... quite punctual, too. Being punctual is a good thing, especially for an orderly like you..."

"An orderly? Shouldn't I be a porter?" Vanessa ventured. "I'm supposed to... move corpses, right?"

"Oh, most of the time, they're corpses."

"Sometimes they aren't corpses? Am I supposed to move medical supplies?"

Old Razi grinned.

"Go out tonight and deliver this package. The address is printed on the slip... you can read, can't you?"

"Yes! I know lots of words!"

"Not a good thing. Those who can read go mad more easily... anyway, deliver the package and bring back the things from over there. It's that simple."

Vanessa wrapped her clothes tightly around herself and pulled a small flatbed cart out through the hospital's back gate.

The cold wind howled, but Vanessa barely felt it. Her newly purchased trench coat was wonderfully warm. She drew her hands farther into her sleeves so that they wouldn't freeze while she pulled the cart.

Darkness fell especially early in winter. The sun was already sinking in the west, and she reckoned it would be completely dark by the time she returned.

His noble Majesty the Emperor would fall asleep in his palace, and New Scandinavia would change masters at night. The local gangs would take over this city where chaos and order coexisted.

-At least, that was how it worked in the lower city.

Vanessa had once asked Old Razi what she should do if she ran into gang members at night. His unpleasant laughter had rung throughout the backyard.

Vanessa glanced back at the package. The address on it was in Mud Swamp Alley, which, like King's Road, was part of the dock district-the recipient was none other than the Wild Dog Gang, which controlled the area.

"To think I'd end up mixed up with gangs..." Vanessa muttered.

She had spent her time studying at school, then stayed on to work there immediately after graduation. Even the student loan she owed had been applied for through the school. She really had never dealt with gangs before.