Chapter Text
Cale Henituse, better known as the trash of Henituse County, was currently experiencing one of the consequences of his action last night- a killer hangover. This was far from the first time or even the last time but that doesn’t mean that hangovers were any less annoying to deal with…nor would it stop him from drinking tonight. He already has the reputation of being an alcoholic and within the three years that he started, he is probably an alcoholic… good thing he had a great alcohol tolerance. He huffed to himself as Ron gave him another lemon tea, he wanted to argue with the other man- but he decided to grumble it to himself for now. Damn him and his disgusting lemon tea from hell. He had been called for a family breakfast today, and though he would normally refuse such an invitation, he guessed he was feeling a bit vulnerable today as he felt the need to see his family- even if they would probably be happier without him souring the mood.
“Ah! Good morning Cale, it’s great of you to join us”
His father greeted. Breakfast started shortly right afterwards. Despite the quiet atmosphere, it was not unwelcomed. Basen kept sneaking at him, however it seemed to be more out of curiosity rather than caution. While his mother and Lily seemed to just be content that Cale was attending breakfast especially since he made it a habit to miss breakfast. Cale was a bit tempted to act like trash but decided against it. This atmosphere was nice once in a while. A few more years…Once Basen becomes heir then maybe…
“Is there anything that you want?”
There it was again, his father had always asked this question to Cale- sometimes he wishes he could be honest. Just give the official title of heir to Basen, tell me to stop this trash act, pay attention to me, and all that other nonsense that he could list out instead..
“Money”
Just like the previous times that his father asked, he always seemed to brighten up whenever it was money. Afterall, it was the best thing that he could provide…at least from his father’s point of view. In a way, Cale guessed that it was his father’s own way to show affection to his wayward son...just throw money at it, He guessed.
The family finishes up their breakfast like usual, each of them heading to the welcome hall before they scatter and start their own routine for the day. It wasn’t too bad, some days were worse especially once Cale started his trash persona right in the morning. Cale sighed as they continued to walk,he didn’t know what he expected. In a way, he wishes that he could love his family without any pretenses, especially if it came from an outside force such as his cousins and other nobles that think that they had any say over how the Henituse county was run. He decided to walk ahead of his family, despite the relatively calm breakfast, he wouldn’t let any of the other servants think he was anything more than trash. Afterall, eyes were always on the family, even now he could see Ron, Hans, and the other servants - hell, even a few guards were at the door. He still had a role to fulfill- and spending time happily with his family wasn’t beneficial to his plans. The welcoming hall was suddenly filled with a bright red light- it was so bright that Cale had to cover his eyes with his hand while shouts from the guard filled the room. When the light finally dimmed, Cale felt like he saw something and yet it was too obscure to put it into words- an overwhelming sensation that filled his entire being with…
The overwhelming light that filled the welcoming hall was finally gone. Deruth looked over into his arms to see that his wife was alright, he then scanned the hall for his children. Basen looked alright though he seemed to be a bit disoriented, Lily still had her eyes shielded by her hands, Cale…where was his son ? Deruth panicked as he tried to scan the room- a bit more desperate to find Cale but it seemed that Ron had beaten him to it as he moved to approach Cale. Cale seemed to be in a similar disoriented state as Basen but he seemed to be looking at something in the direction that the light seemed to originate from; so Deruth looked toward the same direction.
The light seemed to have brought forth a man, somewhere in their early to mid 30s, deeply scarred and muscular- a potential threat if he ever saw one. Despite sitting on the floor, the man seemed to be cognitive though as he kept looking around the room before landing his gaze towards the direction of his son and butler. Deruth frowned, he looked towards the guards in the room- a silent order for them to surround the stranger- whether they were the cause of that light or not, it would be best to detain the man until it could be proven that he was not a threat towards his family. The guards nodded- slowly and silently making their way to the stranger, ready to contain or kill him on Deruth’s order but before they could get close enough to capture him. The young master Cale seemed to have woken up from whatever stupor that he was in- he even pushed Ron away as he ran towards the stranger.
“Cale, Don’t !”
Deruth shouted,worried for his son, however it seemed that Cale was determined to head towards the stranger. He had always known that his son was reckless and perhaps fearless- throwing bottles of alcohol towards the unsavory sorts in bars- but he thought Cale had some self preservation. Before either any of the guards or even Ron could stop him, Cale reached his destination in front of the stranger- with the stranger seemingly looking everywhere but him. Cale did something that none of them would have expected - he kneeled down on the floor and offered his hand out to the man.
“Please pardon my behavior, I don’t believe we’ve met but…would you do me the honor of taking hand in marriage ? You are the master of my soul.“
“...”