After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

The generation of the current patriarch, Zaol, at least, wasn’t the same as his predecessors.

As to how the family created such a culture, it actually had quite a tragic history.

His father had a handful of women at his beck and call but, even so, only a few were born due to his high level.

Zaol had three other siblings, though mostly from different mothers, and he was actually the second child. Their age gaps were also quite big, sometimes with a decade or two apart from each other.

The oldest man—the former heir—was older than he was by over a decade. The man was a copy of their father, and acted completely like him.

He was borne from a frail woman sold by her family for some blus. Her level was not too high and it took about a decade of marriage before she got pregnant with him.

The main wife realized it was a son and caused his mother to have an accident. Fortunately, they both survived, but this caused him to be quite weak as a child.

When they determined he wasn’t a good seed from a young age, he had virtually been ignored, which was what ultimately saved his life in the end.

The next child was another boy from another woman—a young noble woman, in fact, and was even more beautiful than his previous wives.

His third brother was about five years younger than him, but he was definitely far more opportunistic than he was. That lad was always vying for their father’s attention, and trying to one-up their oldest brother. In some cases, he actually succeeded.

This was quite a feat. After all, the oldest was almost 2 decades older than he was.

Similarly, because the third brother’s mother was young, useful, and beautiful, she quickly became the Lord’s favorite woman, intensifying the rivalry between the two families.

While the tensions between the two women and their sons intensified, Zaol and his own mother lived peacefully.

Sometimes, their fights were only verbal, some were subtle, but as the sons grew up and got into each others’ necks, their mothers started behaving more aggressive as well.

Once, when the other women got into a shrewish fight, the Lord decided to take Zaol’s mother again. She was meek and quiet, and was refreshing to be with when the other women were too much.

Like this, his mother was added to his father’s roster and—after a few years—gave birth to his youngest sibling, Zinnia, who was the only girl in his generation.

Sadly, the birth was too much this time, and it took his mother’s life.

Zaol never blamed his sister for her death. Rather, he loved her so much because he considered her the only true family he had left.

For the next few years, the two of them survived quietly in their own corner. They tried to steer clear from the fights of the other women and their sons, as much as they could.

He protected his sister from prying eyes, and she safely grew up into a teenager without being forcefully taken by a noble like he had seen happen to other little girls.

However, it was one thing not to feel safe within your home, and it was another when one openly felt hostility inside it.

They were supposed to be a family, and yet they could never trust even their own family member. Every interaction would always end with bitterness—sometimes in outward fights. There were plenty of times one side sabotaged the other whatever chance they got, and vice versa.

This was actually a common practice amongst nobilities and Zaol felt that he was the only one wondering why things had to be this way.

It went on for years until his sister was married off to a man 50 years older than he was.

She was the man’s third wife, and the women before her all died gruesome deaths.

His family knew this yet they continued to send the girl to the beast. Zaol had always been soft-hearted—it was called his greatest flaw since as far as he could remember.

He adored his little sister—his only full sibling—whom he watched grow himself. How could he let her go to the monster’s den?

So, for the first time in his life, he rebelled. He hid his sister and helped her escape. He was caught and was put in isolation for a month, to be treated worse than slaves. At the time, he didn’t regret it because at least he saved his sister’s life.

Sadly, he was too naive. There were very few people willing to help women here, even if they were nobility, and especially if some reward money was involved. Zinnia was still shipped out to do the family’s bidding in the end.

His second brother even visited him in prison with a sly smirk on his face, and he told him how his sister died during her first night with her new husband. Zaol almost died in the prison cell that day.

At the same time, the new power and business received from the marriage caused the tensions within the family to exacerbate.

The Lord of Bleulle at the time, Bleumrick’s father, also fanned the flames. He promised to give more status to their family and hoped that an heir would be finalized within the year.

While Zaol was imprisoned, his brothers started trying to kill each other. One was direct assassination pinned on the other’s enemies, while the other set up various poisons. Their mothers also died in mysterious circumstances as per the other’s plans.

To the despair of the lord, both heirs died—leaving Zaol, who was half-dead in the cell—the only remaining heir.

One could imagine the complications.

It ended nicely after a few months because Gaia, one of the most viable bachelorettes in the entire City, insisted on marrying him.

They had known each other since they were children, though he had no idea why she would insist on marrying him at the time.

To him, she was so bright. She could’ve married anyone she wanted. She was a passing acquaintance that he could only admire from afar. When he found out he was going to be married to her, he legitimately believed he must’ve died in prison.

In any case, his father died 10 years after their wedding and he gained control of the family—much to the assistance of his wife.

At the time, he swore never to make the mistakes of the previous generation.

The pondering of these deep memories did not show on Zaol’s face at all.

On the surface, he was only listening to his children chatter and even argue, though it was more of a teasing nature. He knew in his heart that if any of their siblings were in danger, the others would jump in to defend them.

Zaol’s eyes glistened as he looked at his current happy family, heart filled with warmth. He also looked at his wife who supported him and built this good family with him.

He held her hand tightly, as if wanting to pass on his heart. ”Thank you.”

Gaia’s eyebrows rose as she looked at him, confused. ”What is this for?”

Zaol just chuckled. He just leaned down and gave Gaia a sound smooch on the lips—making the (40-year-old) kids gape in disgust, of course.

”EWWW!”