Portrait of An Arrogant Master - Chapter 141

‘That boy…’

He seemed to have inherited the Krygen family’s genes strongly, with sharp blue eyes and a posture so stiff it bordered on rudeness. His refined appearance made his arrogance seem almost aristocratic.

Despite being a shoeshiner, he exuded the kind of pride typical of nobles. He was a fascinating boy.

If she could position that boy to replace Rubens, she could secure her place as the Madam of the Duke’s family.

That was the plan. She would make him the head of the Krygen family. That was where it all began.

As soon as Arzena returned to the mansion, she had her attendant investigate the boy.

His name was Eren Wood. He was 14 years old.

Eren was an orphan who had been cast out onto the streets after the Senia Orphanage near Lettern Village went bankrupt. Since moving to Lettern, Eren had taken up several odd jobs—shoeshining in the morning, selling newspapers, selling flowers at village events, and assisting with various tasks in the shops. He had done anything that brought in money.

However, it was said that Eren didn’t get along with the leader of the orphans, a boy who acted as the head of the orphans, and that Eren lived with another boy from the orphanage who was sickly.

The leader of the orphans regularly collected tribute money from the others and provided them with shelter, but Eren, taking care of the sick boy’s share, had been paying that tribute in his stead.

Additionally, his increasingly handsome appearance had made him quite popular with the women in the markets. Eren knew how to use his looks to his advantage.

‘But his attitude toward nobility is rather poor…’

Would Eren really go along with Arzena’s scheme? She wasn’t sure.

It was a life where he would have to wear another’s mask forever. And that mask would be the heir to the only Duke’s family in Obelit.

If the scheme were discovered, it would cost him his life. But what troubled her more was that Eren didn’t appear naive enough to fall for sweet promises of living comfortably without worrying about food.

So, Arzena decided to push Eren’s situation to a more extreme point, making it impossible for him to refuse her offer.

“You said he’s been living like a brother to the sick boy and doesn’t get along with the orphan leader?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s make use of them.”

“Make use of them? How?”

Arzena instructed her attendant on how to push Eren to the brink.

Then, on a winter’s night when heavy snow fell over Lettern Village.

“Child, you look like you’re freezing.”

Arzena found Eren in the middle of the slums, snowflakes falling around him as he grew colder. But no, she had timed her steps deliberately to meet him.

“Please, just go on your way…”

Behind Eren, a collapsing shack could be seen. Inside, a sick child was frozen stiff, like a statue. No, upon closer inspection, there was no warmth of life left. While Eren was away, the orphan leader’s gang had beaten the child to death, leaving him to freeze.

Eren wasn’t crying, but there was a hollow emptiness in his eyes, as though he had lost all reason for living.

‘I told them to just scare him a little, but it looks like they went too far and killed him.’

Arzena couldn’t help but feel some sorrow over this. Now she had lost the leverage she could have used on Eren.

Still, it wouldn’t be too difficult to make him accept her proposal.

“Won’t you come with me?”

“I told you not to worry about me. This is no place for a noblewoman to be—”

“I’ll help you get your revenge.”

At the mention of ‘revenge,’ Eren lifted his head. A cold, cutting hatred was engraved in his blue eyes.

Even in this state, it was clear he was too good-looking to end up rotting in a back alley. How had someone like him come to look so aristocratic?

“If you join my scheme, I can help you get revenge. In fact, I’ve been looking for someone like you.”

Without hesitation, Eren followed Arzena to Duke Krygen’s villa. While Rubens’s health deteriorated, Eren received an aristocratic education to appear as the rightful heir to the Krygen family.

Despite his young age, Eren was quick to adapt, a proof to his sharp mind. His appearance, coupled with his resilience and physical abilities honed from surviving the brutal streets, made it clear that he would surpass his noble peers in no time.

His prideful personality, which had always been evident, needed no change.

It wasn’t long before Rubens eventually passed away, and Eren took his place.

Arzena brought the boy, the former leader of the orphans, before Eren. His eyes and mouth were taped shut, and he was bound to a chair.