Rothmedici.
This, which looks like the name of a House, is not strictly the name of a family, but the surname that a commoner can have.
What’s the difference? You might ask.
There is, in fact, a big difference.
According to imperial law, to become free commoners, a family surname was required to prove ones’ origin, and the surname was usually obtained by paying a certain tax.
Then someone could ask the question,
What is the difference between a family name and a surname?
There was a difference.
A family name was recognised by the highest ruling classes like the imperial family and a surname was simply something one gained to have the privilege of hearing common courtesy.
‘If you think about it as positively as possible, I’ve avoided the worst-case scenario,’
Rockefeller Rothmedici.
It was the name given to him, who had the spirit of a thirty-year-old young man from the 21st Century and it was also the token which allowed him to receive, at the very least, the treatment of commoners from others.
That’s fine and all but…
‘If you’ve decided to shove me into this cliche of a novel-like world, couldn’t you have seen it all the way through? The normal cliches that everybody knows were the ones where one transmigrates into the body of a protagonist or at least the foolish child of a prestigious aristocrat!’
Why of all things did it have to be the eldest son of a beggar-like commoner without even a corner of the house to his name.
‘This is bullshit, there’s nothing.’
From the moment he realised his circumstances, Rockefeller had been searching within himself for some sign of a strange power or anything similar – just in case there was some hidden cheat-like force.
But there was nothing like that.
Absolutely nothing.
The poor stamina he remembered was still the same and he didn’t even have the sliver of potential, let alone the temperament to be an archmage.
‘This is really bullshit…’
So what about the origin story?
‘What was Rothmedici? I don’t think I remember a name like that while reading the novel?’
There were three famous families in this world whom everyone recognised.
The Great Family of Swordsman, Tevez
The Great Family of Mages, Sinclair
The Great Family of Assassins, Ismail
In addition to them, there were many noble families who were in some way connected to the imperial family or famous in other ways – but the origin of the person whom he had become was a mere commoner.
‘Haaaa…’
The more he thought about his newly given reality, the deeper his sigh became.
At least one fortune among these misfortunes was that it was not a serf or slave family, but that of commoners.
Looking at the crumbling corners of the house, it was hard to tell whether this was a temporarily built refugee shelter or a beggar’s home in the slums.
‘There’s no answer to his’
Worst of all, his father, the head of the family, was lying sick in his bed and it didn’t seem like his condition would be improving today or tomorrow either.
After he passed, the remaining family members would become his responsibility.
‘On top of that, I’m the eldest son… the eldest son!’
Rockefeller, who had been crouching outside, near a corner of the house, just sighing to himself without being able to forget the twisting hunger in his stomach realised someone was approaching him. Wondering about his newfound popularity, he glanced up to find it was Joshua, the third son.
‘So he’s the third son – Joshua right?’
Memories of the previous Rockefellerslife began to flow into him very slowly. Which meant that getting along with this new family – which he thought would have been awkward and difficult – wasn’t as bad as he imagined.
“Rockefeller hyung, dad’s calling you,”
The third son, Joshua was 12 years old – there was only a 3-year difference between them.
“Dad?”
“Yeah – He wants everyone to gather – I’ll go get the Second hyung as well,”
Although it wasn’t his real father, Rockefeller was unable to refuse when he said that he was called by the father of the person whom he had taken over.
‘I have to go since he called but.. Why is he calling so suddenly? What was the reason? Did something happen? And to think he was calling all of us,’
The third son went to find the more energetic second son who was not in the house. Rockefeller, with his previous memories, figured he would be wandering around outside with some of his same-age friends.
‘He should be back soon since he’ll be playing around nearby,’
Leaving the third behind, he entered the shabby house. There he saw his younger sister, she was the youngest in the family at 6-years old and always whining and throwing tantrums; along with the fourth child, the timidest of his younger brothers.
Perhaps because of the several days of starvation but his younger sister’s whining and was especially grating today. As he turned away from her with a grimace, he made eye contact with his fourth brother.
He looked especially gloomy today. Probably because, like his sister, he was especially hungry.
‘It really is like a beggar’s house in every corner of this place;’
It wasn’t long after he became Rockefeller that he learned to endure the hunger – but becoming the eldest son of his household was still unforgivable.
‘It’s like being told to just drop dead’
Looking around the room with an annoyed expression and seeing the mess, he felt even angrier.
His mother who was supposed to have looked after the household had died early, and so this house filled with this many children, was completely messed up. And he, who had been a stranger until a few days ago, couldn’t easily reach out to do anything about it which is why the mess just kept growing.
It wasn’t a good feeling but. ‘It’s not my house anyway, so what does it matter,’
Rockefeller, who avoided responsibility by telling himself that, turned away from the dirty house and spoke to his two younger siblings,
“Let’s go inside, dad’s calling,”
The fourth child was quiet and got up without a fuss but that whining younger sister was different. Though to be fair it was weird of him to expect anything from a 6-year-old child who barely knew anything.
Eventually, Rockefeller picked up his little sister and soothed her tantrums.
And like that, within a few minutes, at the call of Rockefeller’s father, Hans Rothmedici, all the members of the Rothmedici family were brought together.
“You’ve gathered, that’s good,” he was coughing between elongated breaths and it was easy to his condition was not good at all.
To Rockefeller’s eyes, his condition looked so serious that it seemed like he had little time left.
His seemingly endless coughs came to an end and Hans sighed, he lay back on his bed and slowly began to speak to his children gathered around his bed,
“Your grandfather was a wonderful, capable person. He was highly respected by others.”
The only pride of this family was their grandfather, David Rothmedici, who was a doctor.
“Your grandfather didn’t learn healing magic as the priests did, but he took care of so many people through first aid and various folk remedies that he learned while watching over the shoulder of others during the war. He was such a great doctor that we didn’t need a priest here.”
Reminiscent of his childhood, when he lacked for nothing, he got absorbed in nostalgia for a moment and then began to talk again.
“Even when this father of yours was young. This house wasn’t so bad. People in the provinces, rather than visiting priests who have high fees, would always visit your grandfather for medical treatment if there was an illness. It was really good back then. Even though we were commoners, we did not live badly,”
Then he suddenly blushed.
“Even only your grandfather didn’t keep forcing me to become a mage… It would have been really good. I didn’t have any of the right qualities to become a mage and we spent money in a useless place…I’m so sorry to you kids.”
“No dad, we never thought that,”
On behalf of his quieter brothers, Rockefeller comforted him, but they were words that didn’t even reach Hans’ ears. It was because he truly felt that a good household that had been on the rise, had been brought to ruin because of him.
Even though he poured so much money into the academy, he couldn’t become a mage, and he became sick and used up all his remaining wealth for medicine.
After coughing and sighing again for a time, Hans began talking again,
“Do you know why we are called Rothmedici?”
At the question, everyone, including Rockefeller remained quiet, since they didn’t know the answer.
“Your grandfather always wore red clothes so he was nicknamed Rothmedici. It means red doctor,”
Hans brought a yellow, dirty rag to his mouth and began to cough for a long while.
Rockefeller could see bloodstains on the cloths that had been discarded by the bedside table.
‘Will he really die like this? His condition is so serious,’
It wasn’t his real father so his weak condition hadn’t affected him that much since he figured a man would die when his time came anyway – but seeing his little siblings hiccoughing through their tears, he felt sympathy.
It may feel like someone else to him, but to the kids gathered around him, this was their real father.
“The reason I asked you all to gather today, is not for any other reason but because it seems like this father of yours doesn’t have much time left. So I wanted to say something to you all before going,”
Upon hearing those words, the kids who had been barely holding back their sobs now openly wept, the only ones not crying were the second son, who looked red in the face and distressed and Rockefeller who was calmly accepting the situation.
Their father’s red-rimmed gaze found his eldest son,
“Rockefeller,”
“Yes, dad?”
Hans saw his eldest son who looked calm and composed in the midst of this and felt very proud of him.
“I’m glad that you’ll be there,”
He didn’t say anything but Rockefeller felt like dying right then too. If it goes like this, then everything in this household would become his responsibility. It means becoming the head of the family and taking care of all of his younger siblings.
“Dad, even just thinking of me and my younger siblings, you should get better somehow,”
Hans was able to laugh lightly while looking at his eldest son, who looked unusually like an adult today.
“Rockefeller, if anything too difficult comes up, go to the territory lord. Your grandfather helped the previous lord a lot and I too have done a lot of work for the current lord – they won’t overlook you if you ask for help,”
Rockefeller didn’t agree.
If the territory lord was in any mind to take care of them then he would have done so much earlier.
“And this – it’s your grandfather’s teachings. Make sure you take his teachings into consideration.”